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DIOCESAN CONFERENCE. -
DIOCESAN CONFERENCE. SITTINGS AT CHESTER. INTERESTING DEBATES. The Chester Diocesan Conference commenced itB sitting in the Music Hall, Chester, on Wed- nesday morrang, when there was a largvj gather- ing of both clergy and laity. The members of conference filled the body of the hall, and overflowed in considerable numbers to the gal- leries, whence also numerous ladies watered the proceedings with interest-. The Lord Bshop of the Diocese (the Right Rev. Dr. Jayne) presided, and was supported on the platform by the Arch- deacon of Chester (the Ven. John Barbor), too Archdeacon of. Maoclesfield (thp Vcn. Ma-tlaiid Wood), the Rev. Canon Gore, the Rev. C&acn Royds, Colonel Cotton-Jodrell, C.B., Mr. G. B. Baker-Wilbiaham, Mr. Russell Hall, and the two hon. secretaries (the Rev. J. G. Elstob and the Rev. J. Stapleton Cotton). THE BISHOP'S ADDRESS. Proceeding Wllh msadaiesa his lordship re viewed some of the piaetical results of the conference;, during the iast twenty years. Commending the Church Lads' Brigade movement, he said:- Viewing it from the side of citizenship, I think the time has come when its relallOll to trie auxiliary forces should be carefully considered. I hope that a meeting for this purpose may soon be arranged between representatives ot tiie Volunteers and of the Oiiurcli Laxis Brigade within our area. Here is something, and, some- thing important, to be done. I am convinced that the quest-on should be frankly faced, but 1 must not attempt to antiapate the answer, which will, I hope, .n due time and after full dektvra- tion be forthcoming. The latest con ference, held m January, 1904, at Birkenhead, -was delightfully exhilarating, and our delibera- tions there have certainly borne fruit. As a diocese which knew from repeated experience the advantages resulting from sub-division, we were able to join in supporting the division of the hugie dioceses of Rochester and Worcester, now happily accomplished. The tilaims of thp deal and dumb were explained, thus leading to the foundation of a diooesan church mission, which is already at work. A resolution concerning the migration of lads and young men from the ooun- try to towns Led to the appointment of a com- mittee which met and reported, and whose work will be oont.nucd anl developed in our business I this aftemocn. Finally, after a debate conducted throughout with excellent temper cn a dcl oate and difficult subject, it was resolved cnat, m the opinion of this conference, it is desirable that the question of the better adaptation of the book of Common Prayer to the work of the Church under present conditions of 1-fe and thought, should receive early consideration." Tho resolu- tion I have quoted brings to mind some words written in 1706 by Joseph Bingham, the learned author of the "Antiquities of the Christian Church," to the enduring value of whcse monu- mental work the Bishop of Salsbury ha3 reoently borne testimony in his "Ministry of Grate" (pp. 8, 9). In one of his minor treatises—"The French (Reformed) Church's Apology for the Church of England"—B-ngh;.m is endeavouring to reason the Nonconformists of his day into union with the Church of England upon such principles as are common to all the Churches of the Reformation and, with this end in view, he draws his argu- ments either from the French Synods, or from their most approved writers, as tha subject re- quires. After quot'ng the treatise, his lordship said Two aenturies have passed since Binghaiii wrote thus, and the eaaa for suoh "adaptation" has surely become clearer and stronger. It should be observed, moreover, that the present pressure for a reasonable and seasonable settle- ment of differences comes dhiefly, not from with- out, but from within our own Communion. Our business is to become a really un ted family our- selves, that we, who have been and are 60 sadly "divided," may with a somewhat better grace in- vite these without to "join our happy throng." As things stand, we must admit with profound self-humiliation, yet not without profound thank- fulness to Him Whose ways are not our ways, that the essentially Christian Spirit of concilia- tion, forbearance and magnanimity is to be found, not where it should first of all be found, within any of those organiaat ons whidh represent the Christian Church, but in the international statesmanship and diplomacy of some of those Kingdoms of this world which, in so far as they exhibit the temper and promote the work of righteousness, peace and goodwill, are on their way to become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. Here, as too often, those who may be aooounted the children of this world have shewn themselves wiser and worthier than the children of light. Let us devoutly hope that the good example of these civil governments, in- cluding conspicuously our own, may provoke to godly emulation the state ecclesiastical. Return- ing to Bingham's treatise, it is relevant and in- structive to notice his view of the Ornaments Rubric. Richard Baxter, in his "English Non- conformity" (1689), had taken exoeption to this rubric, fearing that it might be so interpreted as to restore the use of discarded vestments. B ng- ham simply scouts the notion. It is "Mr. Bax- ter's great mistake." "His exceptions are founded upon mere ignorance and m stake." The 58th Oanon and too rubrics "all speak of surplices and hoods but of no other ornaments belonging to private m n"ste rg. He then prcceds to shew from French Protestant writers that in their opinion the uge of the surplioe in d vine service is lawful. ("French Church's Apology, etc. Bk. iii. oh. 7.) Far be it from me to suggest that Bingham himself, so peculiarly competent an authority, was mistaken in his view of the true ",ind of the Church of England upon this subject. But t:he controversies of the last half century have abundantly proved that he was "greatly mis- taken" in denying the possibility of such a con- struction of the rubric ias Baxter and other Non conformists feared. The lesson to be leamt from this strange upstarting of the unexpected aeems to me plain enough. You are aware of my con- viction (in which I am very far from standing alone) that a rubric so ambiguous, so miserably .prolific in demoralising controversies, ought no longer to be allowed to work mischief among brethren and dishonour to our Master's cause. If our Christian common sen'ID and regard for one another is unequal to the task of solving straightforwardly and equitably such a problem as this—if the adaptation of our Prayer-book in this minor respect is an achievement tro hopeles. to be attempted-then, I ask, into what spirit were we baptised? But I am persuaded better things of our Church, and, as regards our own diocese, the resolution adopted at Birkenhead has encouraged me to believe that, borrowing Bingham's words, you will mainta:n that "he is no true Churchman, nor true Protestant, who will not contribute his utmost endeavour to- wards" so reasonable and desirable a nacification. THE ATHANASIAN CREED. Another rubric, which was much before us at Birkenhead, is the rubric which governs the use of the Athr.nasian Creed. S:nce th?n it has b-en amply shewn that we had good reason for con- cluding that in this case also considerate "adapta- tion" is urgently needed. What was said at our conference has s;nce been ga:d after full delibera- tion and with precision of statement by the Upper Houses of bcth Convocations, by 18 Deans of Cathedral and Collegiate Churches, by Metro- politans of daughter and sister Churches, and bv manv other voices, which, for the learning and fidelity they represent, have a right to be respect- fully heard. The question as to the t per- e manent solut'on of the d fficulties connected w t.- the liturgical use of the Quicunque Vult is to h" brought before the Lambeth Coffr-nm, in IgOR. As a provisional remedy, the Bishop? of the Southern Province suggest "that each Diocesan Bishop should be authorised, upon sppl'o.t.'on from an incumbent, with sufficient reason s'npwn. to dispense with the public recitation of fie Quicunoue Vult, either on all or on poire of th.. days Whon the rubric orders its reeit?t'on." T shall content myself now with repeating what I have stated more than one-- before, that. having regard to all the circumstances of the cne, thef" is no rubric which can less justifiably oliim to be rigidly enforced than the rubric wh;r<n makes re- citation of the Athanasian Creed compulsory. Wis lordship havinsr tiaid a compliment to M". Elstob for the careful and sugorestiv^ papers which he is contributing to the "D:oce«an Gazette" on the musical renderings of the ser-
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THE EDUCATION QUESTION.
vices, went on to refer to the use of the Revised Version of the Bible. If I were an incumbent, 1 should be disposed to make frequent use of the Revised Version for Old Testament lessons; but, as regards the New Testament, my experieuoo has been t ;iat the constant occurrence in the Rie- v.sed Version of minute changes is somewhat dis- turbing to tongue and ear. I should therefore keep, dS a rule, to the authorised version, only introducing from the other a few carefully selected variations of unquestionable advantage and importance. In other words, I should em- ploy tne Revised Version to supplement, not sup- plant—to rectify, not supersede. THE EDUCATION QUESTION. For t-lic education question in its various branches and aspects I can spare only a few sen- tences. it is not improbable that next year a special meeting of the con tare nee may be re- quired to deal expressly with this subject. As iar as Cheshire is concerned, after making due allowance for difficulties which, at the outset were inevitable, the new Act is, I believe, settling down to its work with an honest des-re to make t.ie welfare of the children its supreme object. Passive Resisters, it is true, have here and thore been playing with the double-edged tools of a,iiarci,y; but the local education authorities arw addressing themselves to their onerous duties so fa; rrn indie til y and efficiently, and with such a readiness to learn, that we may look hopefully forward to solid improvements in both tihjJ secondary and the elementary departments of edticat.on. Not long ago it became the duty of our valuable Diocesan Church Schools Associa- tion to jo:n i.n a temperate remonstrance against a certain series of "Moral Lessons," which were inadvertently sent to head teachers for use in non- provided as well as provided schools by the Edu- cation Committee of the Cheshire County Coun- cil. These books have now, I understand, been withdrawn, and the fact that we ware compelled to take action against them makes me all the more desirous to recognise the conspicuous merits of the syllabus of religious instruction drawn up for their own schools by the Cheshire Comittee, and of the instructions to teachers which acoom- panied the syllabus. I speak for our chief dio- cesan inspector, Mr. New, as well aa for myself, in testifying thankfully to the excellence, of the spiritual provision thus made for schools in wb oh, hardly less than in our own Church schools, we are bound to be interested. Two events of great importance and promise affecting three educational institutions, in which thsa dioceses of Liverpool and Mandhesber, with our- selves, are keenly and harmoniously interested, have taken place airice we last met in conference. The Clergy Daughters' School has been removed oion from Warrington to delightful surroundings and commodious buildings at Darley Dale, where its life ia expanding felicitously under the distin- guished headship of Miss Kennedy. Its removal has, of course, been a costly matter, and has in- volved the temporary suspension of some sorely needed bursaries. Thus, though the school it- self is better worth going to than ever, the pecun airy aids to entrance for daughters of clergy have been most regrettably diminished. Till these have been restored the spirit of the com- mittee will know no rest. Among the advantages resulting from the removal of the school, not the least is this, that the very embarrassing tangle of ownerships as between the school and the War- rngton Training College for Mistresses has been untied. Only those who have been struggling with this obstinate problem for at least a decade w oan realise the relief and gain of its solution. The seaond event is the affiliation of St. Aidan's College, Birkenhead, to the University of Liver- pool. Here again, money is needed that the col- lege may equip itself to meet its new opportu- nities and responsibilities. The college is a Liverpool as well as a Chester institut on, and it should be widely known that the Bishop of Liverpool has set the broad seal of he sagacious approval upon its work and policy. Our new diooosan rooms are open for inspection and use by members of the conference. The Bishop resumed his seat amid loud ap- plause. INTEMPERANCE AND JUVENILE SMOK- ING. The Rev. G. M. V. Hickey moved "That this conference desires to see some organised temper- ance work in every parish, as well as some en- deavour to check juvenile smoking; and suggests that this work be carried on in oonnootion w t'h the O.E.T.S. He admitted that the resolution was not very definite, and it did not permit the oonference anything more than a pious hope. It was to his mind not forcible enough. Of the two evils named by the resolution, intemperance was the greater. Ho put forward the following points: The gravity of the evil, which demanded aggressive action; the necessity of the Church taking her part in temperance work; the objec- tions of many of the clergy to the cause of tem- perance and their remarkable silence on the ques- tion, the usefulness of parocthial organisation and the advisability of supporting the Church's organisation first, and acting in conjunction with the C.E.T.S. It was not sufficiently recognised that the national evil required all the efforts of the National Church to resist it. It was the duty of the Church, by virtue of her position, to lead the way in reforming what was recog- nised as a gigantic evil. The mi&guided zeal of enthusiasts was no excuse for neglecting the duty. As Mr. John Morley said in his latest biography, no reformer was worthy of the name if he was frightened off by the excesses of an extreme wing. An extraordinary attitude was adopted by many that they had no right to pneaoh temperance unless they practised total abst,nonce. as if it were not the influence and voice of the moderate man that was so sorely needed to bring about reform, and as if there were not the remedy of self-denial and personal abstinence. The C.E.T.S. was a standing protest against self-in- dulgence; it was a source from which methods for brightening people's lives might spring; it was a body for watching and calling attention to any irregularities and unscrupulous practices of "The Trade" and it was an unfailing means of employment for keen lay workers in the Church. As to juvenile smoking, action had been taken by the county education authority, and at Wins- ford a league had been formed and measures of a preventive nature had been taken. Isolated branches of the C.E.T.S. were striving against the evil, and there were recognised non-smoking brigades in connection with parochial branches. It was a strange thing that in the diocese there were temperance associations which deliberately threw in their lot with Nonconformist agencies and other bodies outside the Church, and ignored the main organisation of their Churdh. It was a strange thing that some clergymen insisted on the principle of affiliation in connection with every other kind of work, and ignored the principle in connection with the cause of temperance. BOYS AND CIGARETTES. Mr. C. Ru-seell Hall seconded, and said he hpd be-on deputed to speak chiefly with reference to smoking. He said the increasing growth of the habit of smoking among the children of this land one that was tending largely to deteriorate their physical health. He had enquired of a small hairdresser who kept a shop what amount of rew cigarettes hf .sold in a day and to whom. He was informed that the sale was chiefly to boys whose nrreri ranged from seven to twelve years. They brought in their penny and got a packet of five cigarettes. Perhaps another boy had subscribed of the penny, and thus each would ?moke two and a half cigarettes. This particular hairdresser had no fewer than twenty-five of these packets in one day. and if one tiny shop had a trade of that character and size, what must be the evil c-'oincr on in the country? He found from pub- lished statistics that about five millions of the smokers of this country are children. That was an enormous number, and it was still more re- markable when we found that about twenty-five millions a year was spent in tobacco. The Bishop: Does Mr. Russell Hall know how many children there are in the country? What is t.he proportion? (Laughter.) Mr. Russell Hall answered in the negative. He took the figures from a publication dealing with that question only. Ho was not going to say smoking was absolutely bad, except for children. (Hear, hear, and laughter.) He himself was a very moderate smoker. (Laughter.) He enjoyed :t.. but he took good care to take no more than did him no harm. (Laughter.) Quality of tobacco, perhaps, had a good deal to do with it. Some tobaccos were stronger than others. He himself took care to get a moderate strength. (Lausrhter.) It was a very striking fact that in the Manchester district of twelve thousand Volun- teers who offered to go to South Africa, 8.000 were disqualified, and of the four thousand remain- ing only 1.200 were ultimately accepted, the vast, majority being rejected in consequence of palpi- tation of the heart, due chiefly to smoking. In many of the states of America there were towns which would not accept anybody into their bank- ing or railway service unless he was a non-smoker a.nd abstainer. We had not reached that stage yet. (A Voice: "Hear. hear," and laughter.) The Church of England Temperance Society might well take up the work. Medical opinion was almost unanimous in stating that there was no necessity to drink anything—(laughter)—that tended to elevate and make us feel what we called happier. (Laughter.) Mr. Hall discussed to the merriment of Conference the opinions of how much alcohol we might take without evil effects, and made some suggestions for bettering the condition of the people. Mr. T. C. Horsfall drew useful lessons from the Continent with reference to alcoholism in its con- nection with degeneration. It was partly because G-erman women were so often saturated with alcohol that the death-rate among children under one year of age was so extremely high in Ger- many. With regard to children and tobacco, one of the principal causes of physical deterioration and moral deterioration in Manchester was the habit of smoking cigarettes. The habit tended to make a boy morally weak, made him less able to resist the power of pilfering postage stamps and taking coppers if he had the chance. It was a terrible weakener of his self-control. Boys were going about in this country smoking as many cigarettes as they could afford to buy with their own money or money they stole, and nobody inter- fered. It was a scandal that children were allowed not only to poison themselves, but to poison the whole of the English race, as boys all over the kingdom were doing at the present time. (Ap- plause.) The Archdeacon of Chester, in supporting the resolution, complimented Mr. Hickey on the way he had introduced the paper. To shew that some- thing practical was possible to combat the evil of juvenile smoking, he mentioned that Sir Ralph Littler, chairman of the Middlesex Quarter Sessions, had drawn up the draft of a Bill for this purpose, and had forwarded it to Parliament with a petition. CLERGY AND SELF-DENIAL. The ICev. W. J. Spink, rector of Moreton. near Birkenhead, said that every man of God should have nothing to do with alcohol and should give up smoking. They should have nothing to do with that which did so much evil. The greatest doctors said it was better not to take any stimu- lants. and he believed, for the sake of example and the cause of conscience, it was better to have nothing to do with drink. There was a time when he had an occasional cigarette—(laughter)—but not in the last few years. (Laughter.) He must say it was beautifully soothing—(laughter)—and he thought he could develop into a smoker—(laugh- ter)—but his conscience had not said "Yes." To pass from the ludicrous, he would tell them that tie was not able to smoke a cigarette. The Bishop said he did not think they ought to discuss the question from an autobiographical point of view. It was most interesting and valuable for a private conference, but not for public use. (Laughter.) Mr. G. B. Baker-Wilbraham mentioned that the County Education Committee had secured that there should be temperance teaching in aU the schools in the county. Mr. Chapman mentioned the case of a man whom he had never seen properly clothed, and who lived in a common lodging-house. The man told him he earned E3 a week, but his position was due to drink. The man had told him he could lake 38 pints a day. The Rev. J. G. Grant Bird (Dukinfield) thought tho conference ought to shew their sanction of the Bill mentioned by the Archdeacon. The Cheshire County Council had already conquered the Education Department and had insisted upon tempcra-noe lessons being given in elementary schools. The other day the committee had in- structed all schoolmasters to warn children against the evils of smoking. The more the Church of England was in favour of promoting temperance, the stronger support she would have from the British public. At the request of the Bishop, the ArohcJeaoon of Chester read an abstract of the draft of the Bill suggested by Sir Ralph Littler. It provided for a. penalty of 409. for a first offenoe, and JB5 for subsequent offences for anyone found sell- ing cigarettes or tobacco to ohildren. It also proposed to make children under 16 who were found in the possession of tobacco liable to a prnaity of 40s. and subject to the Youthful Offenders Act, 1901. The Rev. Dr. Cogswell asked1 if it would be possible for the conference to express its approval of the B;ll in its general principle. LEGISLATIVE SUPPRESSION. Mr. J. A. Cowley (Northwich) suggested that a ridor to that effect should be added to the reso- lution. The Bishop: Do you think it would be well to pledge too comferenoe to any Bill? Mr. C. P. Douglas (Chester) suggested that the conference m'gbrt express itself favourable to legislation, and Mr. Cowley moved the addition of the rider, "That this conference declares itself favourable to legislation having for its object the suppression of juvenile smoking." Mr. Walter Peel thought that to get an Act meant that they could not depend on the moral fibre of the people to keep a thing right. It was cik-ar a family could not be managed by Act of Parliament. (Laughter.) Tho Rev. Shettle (Tranrnere) seconded Mr. Cowley, Tho Bishop, in winding up the, discussion, thought a conferenoo between the Church Lads' Brigade and the Volunteers would be useful. Some in the C.L B. were anxious about what sur- roundings the lads would find when they, in ac- cordance with the duties of citizenship, entered the auxiliary forces. That point might gain a great deal if representatives of both bodies met. The same thing held good with regard to those in charge of factories and mills. With reference to Mr. Peel's arguments, his lordship said if the parents were to be- successful should not the. fact be recognised by education! Right-doing was oo-operative, and parents, however wise and will- ing they might be, were terribly handicapped if the salesmen of cigarettes to juveniles were not restrained by legal forces. They should be in a muoh better position if they were to put the thing under some restrictions. On the other hand, they as a conference ought not to be slow to rush into legislation. The Rev. G. M. V. Hickey's motion was car- ried nom. con. The rider was carried with only about six dissentients. The conference then adjourned for luncheon. RURAL LABOUR PROBLEM. At the resumption of the conference in the afternoon, Col. Cotton-Jodrell, C.B., rose to move the following resolution :—"That this con- ference. having read the report of the committee appointed on January 22nd, 1904, and in further- ance of the duty of the Church to co-operate in movements for improving the condition of the people, heartily approves of the attempts now being made--(I) To prevent excessive migration from the country to the town by obtaining facilities for the auction cf sanitary and suitable cottages, by providing village clubs, and by securing allot- ments where required. (2) To prevent, over- crowding both in towns and villages, and to re- place insanitary property by suitable tenement dwellings." In the first place. Col. Cotton- Jodrell alluded" to the attitude of Volunteers to- wards the Church Lads' Brigade. Speaking for hirfiselr, Tie was quite sure any oonference between commanding officers of Volunteers and represen- tatives of the Boys' Brigade would be welcomed by the Volunteers. (Applause.) He felt a great deal might be made out of the CLB. move- ment. Proceeding to deal with the foregoing pro- position, he said the fact that within the last thirty or forty years a large rural exodus had taken place was well known. Within the period he had mentioned quite a million agricultural labourers 'had removed off the land, and had gome presumably into the towns. There was no doubt that besides that million there were many youths nowadays who resolutely from the first set them- selves against agricultural labour, and determined to go and seek their livelihood in the big towns The evils which result from such a state of things had been the topic of debate during the last few years in every chamber of agriculture and in every farmers' club throughout the land, and they might take it that they were fully recognised. Most of them, probably unsuccessfully, had tried to look at this question from tho labourer's own point of view. We had tried to imagine him asking him- self whether the education he had received had been of a character calculated to imbue him with a love of the agricultural life and to popular ise the study of the science of agriculture. When the schoolboys became workmen in the fields, many of them asked themselves whether they could not do something better if they had the opportunity. When his day's work was done how was the agricultural labourer to spend his. time? Theie had been many attempts to provide coun- ter attractions to the village "pub. The village "pub had too often had the best of it in the long run. Perhaps the most paramount question in the labourer's own mind was as regarded his spare time. Sons of tenants of his, young men in his own employment, and others had gone into Crewe Works and left their avocations in the fields. The reason given by one. was that, in C'0wû Works they got from Saturday mid-day to Monday morning entirely free. to themselves. That was. at. all events, one of the factors of rural depopulation. It was a factor which it was almost impossible to deal with satisfactorily, be- cause from Saturday mid day to Monday morn- ing animals must still be fed and cared for, and we had not yet, with all our science and civilisa- tion. arrived at that point when we could induce the dairy cow to withhold her milk for thirty-six hours. (Laughter.) The question of exodus from country to town was by no means confined to Great Britain. In France, which certainly was pre-eminently the home of the peasant proprie- tors, the migration from country to towns shewed an increase from 25 per oent. to 35 per cent within a period of thirty years; in the United States of America more than one-fifth of the whole population lived in towns of over 8,000 in- habitants Perhapa the strongest instance of all was Australia, where there were millions of acres still uncultivated. The town of Sydney alone absorbed one,-th,rd of the whole population of New South Wales. This shewed that the phen- omenon could not be altogether explained by what were called "bad land laws" or by what. ¡ was also named by the term of the "land hun:- r-er." Speaking of tha attempted remedies, the Colonel oal!ed attention to the Small Holdings Act and the Allotments Act. which had had a certain measure of success. Still, they at present only touched the. fringe of the problem, and had really not done anything practical to mitigate the evil. Another experiment was the Garden City, which was an attempt to develop a sort of com- bined residential, agricultural and manufacturing centre- on what, we might call the mutual profit- sharing principle. It was an experiment no doubt in the right direction, and if it did answer and prosper, he saw no reason at all why it should not be multiplied to a large extent. (Applause.) Estates in England constantly changed hands. One had only to look at the London papers week by week and see the sales of land which took piace there It could not be outside the Lbility of people such as those who had engaged in the Garden City movement to buy up parcels of land here and there throughout the country in order to develop the Garden City principle if the ex- periment sucoeeded. He commended the pro- vision of cheap workmen's trains, which gavo I facilities to workmen to -Eiide in the suburbs, where they could have sa-nitary cottages and per- haps a little garden to cultivate. Speaking of cheap cottages, he said if a cottage could be built I for B150 it must be built of something different from bricks and mortar. He did not think they could build for that sum a cottage suoh as he should like to see a labourer occupying. All these remedies only touched the fringe of the question. At the present moment there were 36,000,000 cultivateable acres in Great Britain, and oniy 1,300,000 men and women workers in the fields to cultivate them. Unless we could at- tract more and more people back to the land in order to labour in the fields, much of this 36,000,000 acres must in the future, as it was doing to-day, go out of cultivation. In fact, wo had to reai.se that the land is being starved for want of labour. Mr. Hatt-Cook, Northwich, seconded. He divided the attempts that had been made to solve the problem into two parts, those which appeared on the statute book and those which had not yet reached that stage. In connection with the for- mer, he mentioned that the Public Health Act, a very far reaching and magnificent piece of legis- lation, the Local Government Orders framed under that Act, the Housing of the Working Classes Acts, extending from 1890-1900, the Small Dwell- ings Acquisition Act of 1899, the Local Govern- ment Act, 1894, and the Municipal Corporation Act. We had here a body of legislation to meet most of the difficulties we found to-day, but those Aots were not administered as they might be. Parliament having given the power, it was for the different councils to see that the powers were fairiy and impartially and thoroughly made use of. Only four rural councils in the country had built property for themselves, and he believed those four councils had been able to build only 35 houses. As to future attempts to solve the problem, Mr. Hatt-Cbok appealed for more unity of action. He said that instead of pulling tho other man's plan to pieces, it was better to join with the other man. In local districts, he advo- cated the formation of housing councils, which should consist of both men and women. As to village clubs, he commended the Limited Liability Acts as a solution of the difficulty. By forming a club with one pound shares, every man with a shilling would be able to take an interest in the olub. Speaking as a Churchman, and to Church- men, it was to the Church he looked for the solu- tion of the problem. (Applause.) Mr. G. B. Baker-Wilbraham said public opinion had been working strongly upon individuals. In the case of landlords and land agents there had been a good deal of thought, and it had resulted in a considerable attempt to make the surround- ings of rural labourers better and more healthful than they were. Many districts had been made habitable as a result of the county councils' atten- tion to water supplies. He believed the country was becoming day by day more attractive. He commended the movement to teach young people in schools to love the country. (Applause.) He believed interest in a garden was the strongest influence in favour of the country, and that in- fluence had been working through the medium of flower shows. (Hear, hear.) Mr. T. C. Horsfall said Prof. Long, who wrote the agricultural articles in the Manchester Guardian," had formed a small company, in which he (the speaker) took shares, and Professor Long bought 365 acres of excellent land, the price being about JB17 an acre. Mr. Long found no difficulty in obtaining tenants for every part of the estate, because it had been broken up into small holdings provided with suitable buildings. He hoped the scheme would soon be tried in Cheshire. The Bishop: How has it worked financially thus far. Mr. Horsfall: Not very satisfactorily so far, but I live in hopes. (Laughter.) With such powers as town councils possessed, it was im- possible to prevent the growth of slum property, and he strongly advocated the giving to town councils of powers similar to those possessed by German towns for the regulation of the extension of towns. The Bishop asked if Mr. Horsfall was prepared to move a rider. He thought it would be very interesting to bring it to special attention. Mr. Horsfall said he would do so. Mr. J. R. Thomson (Chester) said the money point of view could not be excluded from their vision. The ratepayers of the country felt them- selves already severely taxed. He thought limited companies with a view to carry out the work would not be likely to prove more successful than Mr. Honsfall's company. (Laughter.) He nro- posed an amendment that a committee of the Con- ference be appointed with instructions that they should enquire into the best process that could be adopted in their opinion to bring about a better state of affairs in the matter of dwellings of the poor, both in the country and in the towns. The Bishop: Such a committee to take into consideration Mr. Horsfall's arguments? Mr. Thomson: Certainly, my lord. LESSON FROM GERMANY. The Bishop then read the rider, which Mr. Horsfall had sent up to him. It read as follows: And is of opinion that for these purposes our local authorities should possess powers for regu- lating the growth of towns similar to those exer- cised by German town councils through the Town Extension plan." The Rev. A. M. Hertzberg, Ashton-on-Mcrsey, seconded Mr. Horsfall. The Rev. J. H. Thorp, Stockport, seconded Mr. Thomson. Mr. James White, Helsbv, said immense quanti- ties of agricultural produce were coming into this country, produce grown on very cheap land and by very cheap labour, and the British farmers could not compete with the prices of that produoe. (Hear, hear, and applause.) The result was that the farmers would only grow those things which would pay them beet and those things they got with the smallest amount of labour. (Hear, hear.) If they wanted to get people on the land, they must find them employment. The Rev. F. S. M. Bennett asked the Conference to take into consideration the question of tenure. At present, if a labourer fell out with the farmer, he not only lost his employment, but his cottage and garden and everything he was interested in. That was a very considerable factor in driving people into the towns. Mr. John Newton, Brinkaway, said stringent bye-laws prevented landlords from building cot- tages as they liked. In that way rents were raised. The Rev. J. Beggs (Woodford) said he was tinder the impression that farmers could not find sufficient labourers in the county of Chester. Canon Woosnam endorsed the view that thero was a great demand for labourers on the farms. He emphasised the importance of providing vil- lage clubs, and said village clubs could be self- supporting, espeoiaJly if a billiard table were provided. FARMER'S POINT OF VIEW. Mr. AntwLss (Whitley, near Northwiehl said foreign competition at the present time, with rents at the same rate and rates double what they weie twenty-five years ago, were together the reason Cheshire and Lancashire farmers were not able to pay their labourers wages equal to those offered by townspeople. (Applause) Far- mere could not do it, and they could barely live on the- farms. "We can make no monev," added the speaker, and after some laughter, "You can believe it or disbelieve it." (Laughter.) Mr. C. P. Douglas suggested that the isolation of dwellings in the country had a bearing on the question If there could be a clustering of dwel- lings to make a community it would be better. Mr. Stokes (Runoorn) said good cottages upon farms were badly wanted in many plaaes. Ho agreed that, free week-ends was a great reason for rural depopulation. Mr. John Wyatt stated that much had been said about the village olub, but there was a better club, and that was home. (Applause.) Facilities should be provided for workingmen to own their own dwellings and land. Those facilities would do more for temperance than all the speeches he could make. Co'. Cotton-Jodrell, in replying, said two of the speakers had struck the key-note in his own mind when they alluded to the fact that if we were going to get the labourers back to the soil, we must make the land more, attractive than it was at the present time. Mr. Hatt-Cook suggested that the proposed oommittee should take into consideration forestry as a means of us;ng up the vast amount of waste land in the country. The origiaial motion, with the rider and Mr. Ihomson's motion, were all carried. This ended the afternoon sitting of the con- ference*
EVENING MEETING.
EVENING MEETING. BISHOP OF RIPON AND NATIONAL CHARACTER.. ELOQUENT SPEECH. A public meeting was held at, the Music Hall in the evening. Every part of the building ex- cept the top gallery, which was not open, was well filled. The Bishop of Chester presided, and among others on a crowded platform were the Lord Bishop of Ripon (the special speaker for the evening), the Ven. Archdeacon of Chester. Sir Horatio Lloyd, the Ven. Archdeacon of Maoclesfield. the Rev. Canon. Gore, the Rev. Canon Woosnam, Mr. G. B. Baker-Wilbraham. Mr. H T. Brown and other members of the con- ference. A number of ladies also graced the platform gathering, including Mrs. MacGilly- cuddy. Mrs. Gibbons Frost, Miss Jayne, et,c. The Bishop explained that the Bishop of Ripon, who had been announced as the chief speaker, but who had not yet appeared on the platform, would shortly arrive. The King had commanded I his presence at Windsor as Clerk of the Closet, to perform his functions in connection with the doing of homage by the now Bishop of Ely. That ceremony, which, he need not tell them, was, of prior importance to that meeting, had required the Bishop to be at Windsor at one o'clock. He was taking the 4.15 train from Euston, and would be at the station at Chester at 8.30, they hoped, and be with them in a short time. (Applause.) They would have the treat of hearing one of the most genuine orators that it had, at all events, been his (the Bishop's) privilege to hear. They were to have had another distinguished man and welcome speaker with them, General Sir Fredk. Maurice. He supposed many of them knew him for his own servioe and attainments and distinc- tions. Others knew him as the son of an English- man and clergyman, who during the last century left upon the Church and nation of England a ma.rk mof-t profound, and an influence most whole- some and brood-he meant Frederick Dennison Maurice. (Applause.) Sir Frederick Maurice had unfortunately met with a bicycle accident, and blood poisoning of the hand had set in, and and blood poisoning of the hand had set in, and his doctor had forbidden him to leavt his bed. Sir Frederick had sent him (the Bishop) his notes of the speech he intended to make pn the subject of "Tho Church and National Health," and it followed most harmoniously in connection with their discussions that afternoon. (Applause.) The Bishop then read the noi.es of Sir Frederick Maurice, who dwcct on the deplorable rate of infantile mortality of the country. To insist in Cheshire on the grave necessity which lay before us to deal at the present time with that problem of national life would be ind 'cd bringing coals to Newcastle. The chairman of the Public Health Committee of the County Council, earlier than sonae other public men, hud spoken out m unmistakable terms on the facts that were under his eyes. He had said that in oertain towns two to three hundied in every thousand cnildren born died, and there were some mont.us of the year when the death rate of infants amounted in some places to eight hundred per thousand children. That wras the case in many of the smaller towns where it seemed to be no ones business to en- lighten the people. It was not merely the chil- dren who dl ed. whom wo lost. but the vast num- bers who lived at a very much lower standard of life than they might have iived if they had been properly brought up He did not think there was any exaggeration in saying it was a matter of national importance. What would be the state of things at the end of the century? What were the towns going to be liko if some effort was not made to make them different from what they were at present? Sir Frederick Maurice in- sisted that if there was one body rather than another which in its corporate capacity and through its several members did necessarily find that state of things under its observation, that body was. or ought to be, the National Church. The National Church, having such opportunities as still lay in her hands, should give its service for God most primarily to the nation, although he did not state it was possible for the who-I.o of the work to be done by the various corporate bodies which existed under the ffigis of the Church. To support his statements, Sir Fredk. Maurice quoted several statistics compiled by the medical officer of health for the county of Chester. The Bishop said he wondered whether the subject had come before the Quarter Sessions of the county, and as they were so fortunate as to have the Chairman of Quarter Sessions with them he would ask him whether he had anything to add to Sir Frederick Maurice's notes. He admitted that it was a complete surprise to Sir Horatio Lloyd, as he had not given him the slightest hint that ho was going to cail on him. He asked what Sir Horatio said to that. (Laughter.) Sir Horatio Lloyd, who rose amid great applause, characterised the Bishop's call upon him as the most artful way of drawing anyone lie had had experience of. (Laughter.) It was quite true he had been acting as Chairman of Quarter Sessions for nearly thirty years. (Applause.) He was bound to say that this subject had never been dis- cussed by them. They had other duticn to per- form at Quarter Sessions, and they had not gone into these theoretical questions. He had seen General Maurice's paper, and he would see whether the matter could not. be brought. before Quarter Sessions when he was in a position to speak with more authority than he was at that moment. (Hear, hear.) He felt the subject, worthy of consideration by such a body as the Quarter Sessions, and he confessed he was sur- prised somebody had not mooted it before. The Bishop said he had wondered whether the terrible statement by the Chairman of the Public Health Committee of the County Council had come under the notice of Quarter Sessions. Sir Horatio Lloyd said the functions of Quarter Sessions were entirely different from those of the County Council, and they were very jealous of treading on each other's toes. The Quarter Sessions was a very old institution and the County Council was a modem one. (Laughter.) But this was a matter which was too grave to be shunted by considerations of that kind, and both bodies ought to put their shoulders to the wheel to see if they could not do something to remedy the evil. The Bishop caused much merriment by calling upon the Archdeacon of Chester to say something on a meeting which was to be held on the subject of the Church Representative Council, and the Archdeacon was speaking on the matter when the Bishop of Ripon arrived, and was greeted with applause. The Lord Bishop of Ripon, who received an ovation, delivered an eloquent address on national character. He quoted a Frenchman's tribute to the characteristics of the Anglo-Saxon race, and said it was for us to say We are entrusted with a certain amount of responsibility towards ourselves, but also responsibility towards the nation at large, and one thing which surely as patriots and as Christian men and women we ought to be resolved to do is to take every possible care that the nobility of character, the strength of char- acter, that proud humbleness of character which once distinguished the Englishman shall never be stolen away from us in the days that are to come." There was every reason why we should maintain that great and precious possession—our character. The moment he opened the book of history—and history was only the record of the great outwork- ing of the Providential laws-he discovered that one of the biggest impostures which we could possibly bow down to and worship was that idea which had been spoken of in some quarters that nations had their rise, their culminations, and then of necessity their decline. (Hear, hear.) It was not a matter of necessity that a nation should rise to culminating splendour and then decav. There was no necessity for a great nation's periefi- ing, unless it perished as through inward moral rot; and there was not a nation that ho had looked out that did not- bear out the general principle that as long as it possessed moral force, so long would it have power to advance. The very moment moral force passed from a people they became weak and at the mercy of the first foe that came in. There was no more fatal hour for a nation than when the things that the men of the nation ought to do themselves were being done by deputy. There was nothing which he thought waa to bo deplored more than to discover in England that football was practised by the few and not by the many, and that twenty or thirty thousand people looked on to see the few pro- fessionals play the game which they had lost the power of playing themselves. (Applause.) The day the Greeks allowed the games to be carried on by the merely trained professional was the day the very conception of beauty and strength and grace began in partnership to pass away, and so he said That any who looked back upon history found there was certain moral vigour which made for defence, and made for success and made for domination; and the moment they got weakness and luxury in men, and men became content to let anyone do things for them, and mercenary, troopr- took the place of the patriotic citizens, then, he said, THE DAY OF DOOM was already at hand, and the writing was upon the wall. Character lay at tho root of Christian endeavour, just as it lay at the root of national prosperity. The Bishop dwelt on the control of the emotions, the tlaining of which he believed should commence as soon as a child was a. month old. and drew an analogy between the constitution of the State and its development, and the de- velopment of tho individual. Pleading for the proper oontrol of the emotions, his lordship stated that revivals, unless very carefully conducted, made for the ,t of the emotions, because they made people think they were the subject of religious power, but what had happened was that the emotions had been stirred for the moment. We should watch every growth of the emotional power, and recognise that the value of emotion was that it was a working power; but if a man allowed it to go forth and never gave it anyth'ng to do, he was spoiling that power, and the end of that man's condition was great hard. liees of heart. In watching our emotions we watched the raw material out of which character might be formed. Thac whioh made the greatness of the country and tho sweetness of the home was tho sp;rit which breathed through them. The character might be built up, and a man might be a very virtuous man, but. still a very unpleasant man. Character must, have a certain charm about it, and if it had not, it was like the svstem of tho universe with the sun darkened. Just as the Sun was to the system of the universe, so was the spirit to the constitution, and the spirit to the home and the spirit to the man, and here the last and final necessity for religion came in Morals and determination could, build up the character, but useful as that material was. it could not. create character, it could not harmonise it, and it could not, give it its charm We ill;d not create character, and we did not bring it into the way it could be presented perfect, until we had enshrined it in the Christ spirit, until the fire of the Divine spirit had fallen upon it, and the prepared virtues and energies had been drawn into the prepared sacrifice, and it went up to the Most High. Th' perfect character was not the clean, virtuous character that was so angular and disagreeable, but it was the character swept into beautiful harmony, it was the character brought out in its bea.uty, not appealing through tho position of all its members, or from the èwkllOW- ledgment of its humanity, but appealing by the y beauty of its form to the admiration of the soul. Speaking of education, his lordship said let us by a.U means abolish books for a time. Let us remember that the best students of education were reminding us that, we overtaxed our little children with books. (Applause.) We had even little children of two and three years brought into school; but the wise student s were saying that a child of five years of age ought not to be asked to do more, than one hour's work per day. and a child of eight ought. not. to do more than two hours' work. It did not mean that they were not to get education beyond those hours. It meant we must be taking- with the children and playing with the children and walking with the children, and doing in that, way far more to draw out the character of tho child. Let the children know that behind the universe stood God and His love, and that tho Divine love was greater to them and more tender1 than the love of the father and mother. Let them. grow up with the feeling that when God's &un was shining, it was like the smile of lih-oir father. Let them believe the fruits of the earth which sprang up in their season showed the providence of the Father, that that gave to man his meat in due season. Let them go into the world filled with the one idea of tho Divino love. It was in that sort of way that we would breed the kind of citizens with the right enthusiasm about them, for they would be the people who would understand that they wore not brought up in intellectual keenness to out-reach or out-wit one another, but they would under- stand and fully believe tho supreme purpose of their lives was this, that by love they would serve one another. Too Bishop resumed his seat amid enthusiastic applause. Sir Horatio Lloyd moved a hearty vote of thanks to the Bishop of Ripon for his able ad- dress. He said they had listened with interest and pleasure to the remarkable and eloquent ad- dTc-ss by one of the most distinguished prelates of the Church, and one who was known to them as one of tho ablest and most eloquent leaders they had the happiness and privilege of possess- ing. Citron Gore seconded. Ho mentioned that his friendship with tho Bishop of Ripon was possibly the oldest friendship in the room, as it dated from the Bishop's childhood. Alderman H. T. Brown and the Bishop of Chester supported. The motion was carried with hearty applause, and the Bishop of Ripon briefly replied. THURSDAY'S PROCEEDINGS. The oonforenoe was resumed at 10.45 a.m., on Thursday. The Lord Bishop again pre- sided. At the outset the Bishop proposed a. vote of thanks to the hon. sees, of the oonference, to trie hon. treasurer, to the local secretaries and committee, to the friend who had been good enough to play the organ for them, and to all others who had helped, in various ways. The vote was heartily carried. The oonferenoe proceeded to the election of Nix clorgyrnen and six laymen to serve on the oon- ferenoe committee of management. The Rev. Oanon Woosnam moved the followia-Chester Archdeaoonry, the Revs. W. H. Binney, T. H. May aad Hughes, and Messrs. Hairgreaves, Hatt- Oook and Walter Peel; Maoclesfield Arohdea- oonry, the Revs. Canon Gore, W. L. Paige Cox and T. H. Sheriff, and Meeera. Baker WHbraham, T. 0. Horsfall and R. Joyneon.-The motion was carried. The next business was to eleot two repreaenta- tives on tho National Society's Consultative Oom- mittee. The Rev. Canon GOTO moved the elec- tion of Arohdeaoon Maitland Wood and- Mr. Bromley Davenport, M.P. The Rev. J. G. Bird seconded, and it was heartily carried. The Venerable Archdeacon of Maoclesfield moved the adoption of the report of the Diooesan Committee on Foreign Missions, and said he was sorry the Vein. Archdeaoon of Chester, chairman of the committee, was absent through being oalled away from Chester by the death of a near relative. After reviewing the main points of the report, the Archdeacon said there was something radically wrong when nothing was done in a parish for home and foreign mis- sions. (Hear, hear.) He wag told that the ob- stacle in some parishes was the churchwardens, who always wanted money for other nings. Be had never had any experience of such opposition. The Rev. Dr. Binney (Northwich) seoonded. The Bishop said he was perfectly oertain that tihere waa a screw loose in that parish which was not 'hearty in its missionary spirit.—The motion was carried. la the absence of the Archdeacon of Chester, the Rev. J. G. Bird moved the adoption of the report of the Oommittee of the Chester Diocesan Mieflion to the Deaf and Dumb.-The Rev. J. H. Thorpe (Stockport) aaconded, and it was car- ried.-—The Bishop characterised it as an excellent bit of quiet, practical work. "THE PARSON'S FREEHOLD." The Ven. Archdeacon Luoius Smith (Maocles- field) was to have introduced a discussion on the "Parson's Freehold," but was prevented from attending by his doctor's order&-The Bishop, in making a sympathetic allusion to his illness, said they were expecting to know him before long as Suffragan Bishop of Knareeborough. (Ap- plause.)—Mr. Luoius Smith forwarded' a paper on the subject, and asked that Mr. Elstob should read it "as he read so beautifully." (Laughter and heair, hear.) Mr. Elstob readily complied with the request. At the outset the writer ex- plained that the bill consisted of four parts. The first part dealt with the formation of church- wardens councils. In every pariah there was to be a oounoil. The clergy of the parish might attend the meetings and take part in the discus- sions but might not vote. Theoo churchwardens were to possess all the powers at present possessed by the vestries relating to the affairs of the Church or ecclesiastical charities. The second part of the Bill dealt with "The Pareon's Free- hold," and proposed to mafee all benefices tenable for ten years only, instead of for life. At the end of every ten years every incumbent must seek reinstitution, and the Bishop might refuse to re- institute an incumbent for any ground on whifclh he would have been justified in refusing institu- tion in the first inetanoe. If the Bishop refused be re-institute an incumbent on account of age or infirmity, the incumbent might have a pension under the Incumbent Resignation Aota of 1371 and 1887, but the pension might amount to two- thirds instead of one-third of tho value of the benefice. Part III. of the Bill dealt with eoclesi- astioal suits and- public worship. The fourth part of the bill oonnisted chiefly of definitions, and oontained only one very important provision, vie., that the Public Worship Regulations Act, 1874, be repealed. With regard to the "parson's freehold," the Bishop of Birmingham had said that any ordinary sensible man with a decent con- science must see that in the "Parson's Freehold," as it existed at present, we had the transforma- tion of a true principle into an intolerable abuse. The endowments of the Church did not exist to provide a respectable set of blameless and ex- pensively educated gentlemen with a pleasant and secure position for the rest of their lives after they once beoame beneficed. Thy existed to pro- vide spiritual ministratons for the benefit of the community. If they were not doing so in a satisfactory manner they were failing of their object. The writer also quoted the Rev. Dr. Moberley, and said the defenders of the present system would probably ohiefly rely upon the im- portance of securing for a clergyman a position of sufficient security and independence to enable him to constantly speak the truth and boldly re- buke vioe without the necessity of patiently suffering for the truth's sake. Certainly they must feel that it was not desirable that the clergy should be so absolutely at the mercy of the wealthy members of their flock as seemed to be the case sometimes with some of their Nonconformist brethren. It certainly must be pleasantor to 00 under the gentle rule of a kind Bishop at a distance than under the stem dominion of a dea- oon on the spot. (Laughter.) It was only right that an adequate pension should be provided for inoumbents who, through no fault of their own, but because of advancing age and growing in- firmities, beoame unfit to be re-licensed. Opinions would differ as to Lord Hugh Cecil's proposal. Perhaps it would be felt that a strong central pension fund would be a safer a.nd better way of making provision for clergy, who, owing to age or infirmity, were refused re-institution. Lord Hugh Cecil's Bill could not bo a final settlement of the difficulties associated with the subject, but it gave some fruitful thoughts, and afforded a most useful basis for discussion. (Applause.) He moved "That the proposed modification of "The Parson's Freehold" embodied in the pro- visions of Lord Hugh Cecil's Bill merits the grave and sympathetic consideration of Church- people and especially of the clergy." Tho Rev. Canon Gore seconded, and said he believed that tin7) "Parson's Freehold" was one of the gravest question* before the Church at the present time. The pressing interest in the matto:- through past years had been the difficulty of deailing with incompetent and unworthy clergy, who were, however, a very small minority. There were unworthy clergy who brought shame on the Church, and there were incompetent clergy who had done excellent service for the Church in the past, and who saw themselves and knew them- selves to be unfit for the work in the. days to come. They would very gladiy resign and refc'te from their position if it were made at all possible for them to take that step. They must dis- tinguish between the two. Lord Hugh Cecil's proposal, in its present form, was not to his (the canon's) mind tho solution whioh would ultimately be accepted. Lord Hugh Cecil's Bill was some- thing in the nature of a new constitution, at àmy rate for the parishes. When the question oame up. "Shall this ma.n be reinstituted?" troubles might arise which it would be very difficult to aliay for years. (Hear, hear.) That these troubles should recur in each pariah once in every ten years was a very serious question indeed. (Hear, hear.) The Rpv. W. S. Johns (rector of Pleniistall) said that the endowments in England differed from those on the Continent. They were parochial, not diocesan, aad Lord Cecil's BiU struck at a principle ingrained in tho growth of the English Church. If they began with incumbents, would not the principle be extended to dignitaries? The Bishop, he thought, as tho source of ministerial authority, would only be oanonically dealt with, and stood on a different footing. Fixity of tenure was indeed a unique privilege of the clergy, but the incumbents had unique disadvantages, seeing that half the incumbents of the English Church did not rcceivo a "living wage" for tho;r services. Lord Hugh Cecil's scheme of periodical reinstitu- tion was impracticabla His scheme for pensions would not work, and it wouJd be difficult to transfer a clergyman to another parish, seeing that more than half the benefices of the English Church were in private patronage. If an incum- bent and his people could not get on together, a periodical reinstitution would mean a periodical disturbance in the parish, whereas otherwise they might get to understand each other The speaker advocated a thorough reform, whereby the laity would contribute to maintain the clergy, and then justly claim their due privileges whereby the right men would be put in the right place, and a proper provision made for those who had done good work. If we reformed the "Parson's Stronghold" we must carry out other reforms previously or simultaneously in connection there- with. The Rev. T. H. Sheriff said certainly Lord Hugh Cecil's was not the beet proposal, but it was preferable to the present system. The proposed ton years' tenure was contrary to the oonditions
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EVENING MEETING.
not only of the English Church, but of the wh!O Church. The Rev. C. D. Cox (Stockport), dealing with a suggestion that the clergy should allowed to retire on a pension of throe-quarters ° the stipend, remarked that it would be a ,vcr^ valuable check against an agitation to driv» clergyman out of a parish. The Rev. Canon Coopor Scott (Chester) tended that better service wars given by aI*T cum bent on hia honour under the present ey^ri. than would be likely to be given by a man un(1!l'1 the oort of observation proposed. The Rev. T. H. May (Heswall) eaid the moot painful of all eights was to see an honest pri* who had lived all his life and given his beet servim to God lingering out his la.st days at eome wateJ- ing place or country village, where he only oce^ aionally came across an old friend who knew faithful service he had rendered. If they c^xi\0 gather round the Cathedral some kind of for prieste, where they could occasionally £ kindly recognition from their superior office^ there would certainly be more benefices vacated W men who at present had to remain in them b" oause it. was their one link with life. The Bishop said he did not believe that man who at the end of their ten years—suppo^V't that that particular provision were adopted, he did not recommend himself—said the thing was right or true, in Cheshire, Lancashire or other part, would be otherwise than respected W the people; and he would be far more likely be carried through his next institution than other wise. (Applause.) The motion was adopted. CLERGY PENSIONS. In the absence of the Rev. H. B. Blogg (F, ei sham), whose non-attendanoe through a straIXlCJ leg was regretted, the Rev. W..L. Paige Cox r.L a paper by him, and moved, on his behalf, of j following proposition—"That in the opinion^ this oonference it is desirable in the best of the Chureh to have an adequate system j pensions, in order to faoilitate the retirement olorgy, who may be incapacitated far woik 0«j old age, ill-health, or other disabling cause; I the members of this oonference undertake t promote this object as they may have Opportll- lIity." Mr. Blogg, in his paper, mentioned that tM7^ were two pension funds available by the el<" in Cheshire, viz., the Diocesan Fund and t'hat the C'iergv Pensions Institution. He asked to the existing Diooesan Committee ehould enla^ the scope of its operations, and so promote J welfare of the two funds, which, though diffc''1' in constitution, had both the same object in vlC j The Dioccsan Fund had a capital of £ 18,000, the committee desired to increase it to £ 30, He suggested that if the clergy themselves tributed moderately the laymen v.-ould contnh' handsomely. What was needed was that g^a prominence should be given to clergy peo!JS II a measure of Church reform, and if the Committee would undertake to represent thC ,a, funds thie might well be brought about lfc, j surely astounding that the Church of Eng'j'11 with all her wealth and influence, should 'ia reached the beginning of the 20th century have a proper system of pensions. In all otner services, including the railways and the P^ i principle of pensions was recognised and emorcr.u- There was a compulsory system of pensions in tin Church of Ireland. Why not in the Cliureli < England? (Applaud.) i The Rev. J. H. Thorpe, Stockport, seconded, .alll gave some interesting particulars of the pension^ eoheme of the Irish Church, in which he was for' merly doing service. The Rev. Canon Gore addrc.-vsed the Conference with reference to a scheme for parish pt"IIÚoJl which he had roughly sketched and printed oopicØ of which he had distributed in the Conference- The essence of the idea was, he said, that tb1 parish i.teelf should provide its own pension fut- ile did not want that the pariah should provide the whole of the pension; he recognised that. othe" sources might be called upon very legitimately ti, help to provide the pension. In the diocese Chester there were 272 benefices with a nefc'' aggregate income of £ 70,300, average JE258. Tho average annual contribution under his scheO*r would be £ 7,030. The accumulated fund in ff years, with compound interest, would be in «av. £ 186.000. The Rev. Robert. Wright, vicar of Smallwoo* criticised the management of the Central P-ensiwlf- Instituta, contending that the directors were a.p- pointed by the members, and the members by tho directors. In the neighbouring diocese of Maw j1 cheater the beneficiaries had consulted oounsel OIl one point. The motion was oarried, as was also the follow- ing motion by Canon Gore, seoonded by Mr. Hatt. Cook "That the various schemes for the pro- motion of oleirgy pensions for this diocese be re- ferred to a oommittee of the oonferenoo to be ap- pointed." <. MASSACRE OF THE JEWS. The following was carried on the motion of tho Rev. J. G. Elstob (in the absence of the Rev. W ■ Griffiths, of Warmingham), seconded by the Rev- C. R. Nunn (Norley): "That this oonference, re- pregenting, as it does, many t'honsands of Chris- tian people, desires to convey its horror at the massacre of Jews in Russia, and its deep sym- pathy with the Jewish people in general and those in Russia in partioular." After a cordial vote of thanks to the Bishop, pro- posed by Mr. J. R. Thomson, Chester, the confer- ence closed with the Benediction.