}. 'M. \^A f ^5is V C H A E G E DELIVERED TO THE CLERGY OF THE DIOCESE OF LLANDAFF, AT HIS FOTJETH VISITATION, SEPTEMBER, 1860. ALFRED OLLIVANT, D.D. BISHOP OF LLANDAFF. PUBLISHED AT THE REQUEST OF THE CLERGY. LONDON: EIVINGTONS, WATEELOO PLACE. 1860. LONDON : (ilJLBERT AND RIVINGTON, FRINTERS, ST. John's square. CHARGE, 8fc. Reverend Brethren, The rapid, though scarcely perceptible, jflitrht of time has brought us again to the triennial Visitation, — a gathering of more than usual solemnity, which compels us, as in God's sight, severally to put to ourselves such questions as these, How have I been discharging the duties of my ministry since we were last assembled on a similar occasion ? Does my conscience bear me witness that 1 have been serving God with my spirit in the Gospel of His Son ? What causes of thankfulness or humiliation can I discern in the intervening period ? What lessons am I to learn from the experience of the past ? What grounds have I for looking forward with cheerful con- fidence to the future ? May I safely conclude that, through God's grace, I have been a faithful steward of the trust committed to me, and that, when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, I shall receive the crown of glory that fadeth not away ? Such, I think, must be the reflections that will suggest themselves to the mind of a thoughtful and earnest Clergy- man at the recurrence of an Episcopal Visitation. Little, indeed, shall we enter into the spirit of such an institution, A 2 if we regard it merely as a lifeless formality,— as an occasion, perhaps, of correcting some crying abuse, should any such unhappily have arisen amongst us, or as an opportunity of hearing from the lips of the Bishop either a statistical account of matters relating to the machinery of the Church, or, at best, a discussion of one of the theological controversies of the day. These things, in- deed, may be necessary, and are not to be overlooked. But if they be the only results of our gathering together, I fear that we shall return to our respective spheres of labour with very little increase of spiritual impression. We shall have fulfilled an official obligation ; but will our hearts be quickened with holy zeal in the service of our Redeemer? Shall we take more earnest heed than here- tofore to ourselves, and to the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made us overseers? The occasion, I think, calls for deep searchings of heart and careful consideration of the objects we have had in view, the spirit in which we have discharged, and the success or failure that has attended our ministry. If it has pleased God to prosper the work of our hands, the contemplation of His goodness may well cause us to thank Him and take courage. If we have no progress to record, we may be prompted to inquire how far we are personally responsible for the want of it. Should a still deeper investigation bring home to us the conviction of sins committed and of duties wholly neglected, or in- adequately performed — and who amongst us, if he measure himself by a proper standard, can hope to escape such a conviction as this ? — we may well learn from our personal experience the value of that ministry of reconciliation which is entrusted to our care, and resolve, by God's help, to remove every stumbling-block that may have been occasioned by our own fault or negligence, that it may not impede us for the time to come. May it be your prayer, my Brethren, for him who is appointed over you in the Lord, that he may finish his course with joy, and the ministry which he has received of the Lord Jesus. , uiuc For you it is his heart's desire and prayer that the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Clirist, that great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant, may make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen \ There are few things so well calculated to aid the serious reflections to which I have referred, as the changes that occur in a body of Diocesan Clergy between one Visitation and another j reminding the survivors, as they do, in a tone too deep to be unheard, too clear to be mis- understood, of their own mortality. " Your fathers, where are they ? And the prophets, do they live for ever ^ ? " How many whom we have known and loved as our fellow- labourers, are gone to their last account ! Like ourselves they have severally had their allotted task, but their day of labour is ended ; they are gone, and the place that once knew them, knoweth them no more. Did they build upon the only true foundation, Jesus Christ, and Him crucified? Did they lay on this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, such materials as alone will abide the test, when the fire shall try every man's work of what sort * An excellent Clergyman of this diocese who closed his ministry in 1852, wrote in 1827, " Our Bishop has sent us very numerous and minute queries about Chui'ch matters. I hope, however, that in his Charge he will insist more pressingly upon the fundamental matters of doctrine, and the influence of the Spirit, than the old routine of circumstantial matters, Church repairs .... We want something home hei'e, both to enlighten and quicken us as a National Church, in the heart, head, and spii'it ; but if this do not take place, our buildings may look more comely, our con- gregations perhaps, in some degree, increased by external improvements ; still the whitened walls will be the abodes of spiritual death and cor- ruption, no better than the graves around and within." (Brief Memoir of Rev. E. Bassett, p. 81.) It was not till after my Charge was written that I fell in with these words. They inspire me with the hope that many whom it was my privilege to address, would look forward to my own Visitation with similar feelings and desires. 2 Zech. i. 6. it is ? Or was the superstructure which they piled upon it, nothing better than wood, hay, stubble, which shall be burned in the day of God's reckoning ? It is not for us to forestall the sentence that severally awaits them. But in their departure we may certainly behold the foreshadow- ing of our own. The solemn mandate that has gone forth in tlieii' instance, " Give an account of thy stewardship, for thou mayest be no longer steward," should surely remind us that " the night cometh when no man can work," and cause us more earnestly to seek the grace of God, that we may " work the works of him that sent us, while it is day." While musing upon this subject, we cannot, I am sure, forget how grievous are the losses which we have lately sustained among the lay members also of the Church. In this immediate neighbourhood, not to mention other valued friends, whose hearty co-operation in works of piety and beneivolence entitle them to our affectionate remembrance, it has pleased God to remove from us a most noble lady ', who to her power, yea and beyond her power, with a large heart and liberal hand, was ever ready to assist in our diocesan and parochial charities, and, so far as she could, to follow in the steps of her lamented lord, who had set her a bright example of the Christian use of property and influence. I am sure, too, that I am only doing justice to your feelings as well as my own, if I say that we have heartily sympathized with another noble lady ^, to whom the Church, both in this diocese and elsewhere, is largely indebted for her munificent liberality, in the premature removal of a very near relative °, who was also our neighbour and friend. Thank God, we are not without noble and gentle families, the heads of which consider it the best use thev can make ^ The late Marchioness of Bute. * Tlie Baroness Windsor. ^ The Hon. Robert Windsor Clive, M.P. of the property He has entrusted to them, to devote it to His service. But in the peculiar condition of our diocese, overwhehned, as it is, with an ever increasing tide of popu- lation, and having a vast arrear to overtake of past indif- ference or unaccomplished purposes of good, to us short- sighted mortals it would appear, that the losses we have had to deplore are not likely soon to be replaced. In the re- storation of the venerable building within which we are now assembled ', both the one and the other of the departed friends to whom I have referred, exhibited the most sub- stantial proofs of a generous interest. Should these pro- vidential visitations remind us, as they no doubt are intended to do, of the Divine admonition, " Cease ye from man whose breath is in his nostrils, for wherein is he to be accounted of?" let them persuade us to fix our hopes more simply upon Him who has promised to His Church, " Lo, I am with you alway, even to the end of the world." If this be the practical instruction that we derive from the changes that pass before our eyes, assuredly we shall find that " God will be merciful unto us and bless us, and show us the light of his countenance and be merciful unto us." And, I think, my Reverend Brethren, that upon a review of our diocesan Church history for the last few years, we may venture to say, without incurring the charge of pre- sumption or self-adulation, that it has pleased our Hea- venly Father to bless us in no ordinary measure. It is true, indeed, that there may be an increase in the external apparatus and machinery of a Church, without a corresponding growth in the inner and spiritual life of its professing members. The one should never be mis- taken for the other. Woe unto us if we can say nothing better to our Lord than, " Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here ' !" However zealous we may be in building Churches, or promoting National Education or Missionary work at home or abroad, if our " The Cathedral, LlaiidafT. ' Mark xiii. 1. labours are not labours of love, they will profit us nothing ; it is only to the true Christian individually, and the col- lective body of the Church, that we can really apply the Apostle's declaration, " Know ye not that ye are the tem- ple of the living God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you*?" Although, however, we must not exclusively depend upon that which is outward and visible, still it is only from the contemplation of what presents itself to our observation, that we can form any judgment at all of the vitality of a Church. When, therefore, we find that the hearts of those around us have been prompted to further our efforts for the religious improvement of their fellow- creatures, we cannot but hope, — in many cases it is impos- sible for us not to feel assured, — that these outward acts are the manifestation of an inner life, and prove that there is a growing sense of the responsibilities of wealth, a deeper feeling of the value of the soul, and a more earnest desire for the temporal and eternal welfare of those whom our Lord has redeemed with His most precious blood. While comparing the present with the past, I would thankfully commemorate the fact that our venerable Cathe- dral is now completely covered from east to west, and the intersecting wall which for more than a century had divided the pseudo-Italian temple from the beautiful but roofless early English ruin, with the exception of a small portion of it which is left for a purpose of temporary convenience, is swept away- The exhaustion of our funds, will, I fear, prevent us from proceeding at present with our work. So much, however, has been done, and so thoroughly well done, that beyond a doubt, if we ourselves have not the privilege, those who come after us will see it accom- plished. The historian of the Cathedral, writing in 1718, tells us that some fragments of the pipes of an organ, which had been presented after the Restoration by Lady Kemeys of s 1 Cor. iii. 16 ; vi. 19. Cefn Mabley, were in his time lying about in a loft at the top of the stalls; and a letter of Mr. Browne Willis is preserved in the Bodleian Library, in which he pleasantly observes that the organ and organist had breathed their last about thirty years before. I need not remind you that since then our Cathedral has possessed neither organ nor choir. An effort is now being made to raise the necessary funds for the purchase of an instrument suitable to the dignity of the sacred edifice, which the exertions of the Dean and Chapter and public liberality have, if I may so speak, raised from the dead. We have no means of our own available for the purpose ; but should an organ be provided, as, from the measure of assistance already pro- mised, we confidently hope it will, by contributions from the friends of the Church, the falling in of certain leases which the Chapter on public principle have forborne to renew, will enable them, it is believed, ere long to defray from their own resources the expenses incidental to the restoration of the Choir. As the Cathedral of Llandaif is the only one in the kingdom that is without an organ — a help to congregational worship which almost every Parish Church in our cities and towns, and many of our Rural Churches, are privileged to enjoy — may we not hope that our Christian brethren, not only in this diocese but through- out the land, will aid us in our eifort to supply this pressing necessity ; that the voice of joy and melody may again resound within the hallowed walls of our Mother Church, and that with one mind and one mouth, and with a fitting expression of praise and thanksgiving, we may glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ ^ ? " Since the Charge was delivered the Dean and Chapter have entered into an engagement with Messrs. Gray and Davison to build an organ at the cost of 9001., of which about 2001. have yet to be raised. The recon- struction of the roof of the north side-aisle, which is absolutely necessary, will probably entail an additional expense of nearly 1000/.; and, in order to prevent injury to the instrument, it is most desirable that this should be undertaken before the organ is introduced. 10 During the last eleven years — the period that has elapsed since my respected predecessor was removed from among you — in this comparatively small diocese, twenty-four en- tirely new churches have been built, twenty-three old parish churches have been rebuilt from the ground ; in many cases upon a larger scale, and with more architectural beauty than they before possessed. In forty others there has been, upon the whole, a very large outlay for the pur- poses of restoration or additional accommodation. It is most satisfactory, too, to be able to say of our churches generally, that they are in a condition of far more than decent propriety ; and, in the name of the Church, I beg to thank you. Gentlemen Churchwardens, for the zeal and readiness with which you have attended to the suggestions of the Archdeacons, upon the various points which they have brought before you. It is to your combined exertions that we must ascribe this happy result. " There seems," says the Archdeacon of Monmouth, in his triennial report to me as to the condition of the churches in his Arch- deaconry, " to be yet no abatement in the zeal which has happily prevailed in the diocese for the last sixteen years or more for the appropriate repair of the churches, and their orderly arrangement for public worship, as well as their provision with more decent and suitable furniture. I am often astonished at the sums of money which are raised in very poor districts for the re instatement of the parish church. The flame seems to catch on every side. No sooner has one church in any neighbourhood been de- cently repaired or restored, than similar measures begin to be talked of in the surrounding parishes; and it would appear that the result after a few years will be, that a church greatly out of repair, or in a thoroughly neglected state, will be the exception and not the rule, as it once was in this diocese." To this statement I am thankful to be able to add — as I can from the report of the Archdeacon of Llandaif — that the same spirit has animated the other Archdeaconry in a no less remarkable dei^ree. I] In addition to the increase of accommodation provided in the new, and by re-arrangement of the old churches, there are now no fewer than thirty-four buildings, in which divine worship is celebrated with the sanction or license of the Bishop, of which, if I am not mistaken, not more than five existed or were so employed ten years ago. It is true that this fact is an evidence of the need there still is for more churches, and of the difficulties with which the parochial system is hindered and oppressed in this diocese. But if at present we have not a sufficient number of churches, we are thankful for the mitigation of the evil by means of these licensed rooms, and trust that they are at least the dawn of a brighter day. The question is worthy of con- sideration, whether, in the interior arrangements of some of these rooms, something might not be done to give them more of an ecclesiastical character. In some cases, per- haps, it would not be expedient to build a church even if the funds for so doing were at our command ; but in all cases, it is desirable to form and strengthen such habits of mind in the school- room worshipper as may tend to re- verence and devout feeling, and cause him to appreciate the sober dignity of our liturgical services. In 1821 Bishop Van Mildert complained that "more than two-thirds of the livings in this diocese had no glebe houses," and " that scarcely more than one-third of the parishes were provided with schools of any description." During the episcopate of Bishop Copleston very great exertions had been made to supply the want of parsonages, and since his death in 1849 twenty-eight more have been built, or secured either by gift or purchase. The progress of education within the same time has also been marked and decided. No fewer than fifty-seven school-rooms have been erected in connexion with the Church, and, generally speaking, are well attended. The inquiry made by the National Society during the years 1856-7, and published in 1858, showed that the number of scholars under Church instruction, in the whole county of Gla- morgan, was at that time 16,507, or about one in fourteen 12 of the entire population ; in Monmouthshire, 10,472, or about one in fifteen. The total annual income of Church Schools in the former county, including endowment, school- pence, capitation grant, and subscriptions, was 4482^. '2s.Sd.; in the latter, 3984^. 4s. 10(/.' And here it is but common justice to acknowledge the munificence with which the employers of labour in several instances of late years, have contributed their aid to the progress of education. In both our counties Prize Asso- ciations, mainly supported by them, have been founded, with a view to induce the children of the labouring class to remain longer at school than is ordinarily the case. The schools of Dowlais, Abersychan, and Pontymoel are striking instances of a princely liberality. Neither are they the only ones that might be so described. It is true that in some cases the schools are not in union with the Church. We do not dissemble our regret that a necessity is felt for conducting them upon another principle ; but we do not on that account withhold this grateful acknowledgment. Better far that the children of the labouring classes should be edu- cated as Christians, though not by ourselves, than that they should not be instructed at all. It is with pleasure we accept the assurance which we find in the report of one of them, and which, we hope, may be extended to all, that its conductors "make the Bible the basis of their religious teaching, and, resting upon this, inculcate only such funda- mental doctrines as that of the Divinity of Christ and the Atonement, and avoid carefully any sectarian teaching "." Among the causes that are likely still further to promote the interests of the Church in this diocese, provided we zealously devote ourselves to our work, may be mentioned the rapid extension of the English language. Hitherto the Church has been under a manifest and painfully felt disadvantage as compared with the Dissenting communities, because the Clergy have been obliged to provide both for ' See Appendix, No. I. 2 Report of Dowlais School, 1857, p. 13. 13 their English and Welsh parishioners, needing of course separate instruction ; while the Dissenting Ministers have had to preach and pray, for the most part, only in one lan- guage, their congregations consisting almost exclusively of the Welsh speaking part of the population, and of per- sons in the same class of society. In many parishes, where the resources of the Church have scarcely sufficed for the support of one clergyman, the services of two have been imperatively required, and the want of two separate churches, with services respectively in one or other of the two languages, has thrown a very great hindrance in our way. Do what we would, we have found it impossible suc- cessfully to contend with this difficulty. Happily a change is coming over us, which will gradually remove this obstacle, and if we are not wanting to ourselves, will place us on the vantage ground of which other religious bodies have hitherto been in possession. That such a change is rapidly going on is patent to every one resident in the country, and the fact is confirmed by testimony which is beyond dispute. " One proof," says Her Majesty's Inspector, "of the increase of efficiency of Schools in Wales, is to be found in the greater diffusion of the English language. This result, for which the inhabitants of the Principality are really anxious, is capable of confirmation by any one who, like an Inspector, has to visit the country in its length and breadth, mix with all classes of the people, and hear their wants and wishes expressed on this point without reserve, and, I may add, (for it is not without its significant meaning) without compulsion'." But a 3 Report of Rev. H. Longueville Jones to the Committee of Council on Education, for the year 1859. A curious application, illustrative of the desire referred to by Mr. Jones, was made to myself a few years ago. The members of a congregation worshipping in a licensed room, in which I had directed that the service should be conducted in Welsh, sent a deputation to me to request that I would allow it to be in English ; upon my asking the bearer of the request, who spoke the latter language imperfectly, why they desired the change, he replied, that they wished their children to learn English. 14 more remarkable testimony is to be founrl in the circum- stance, that the dissenters have begun to discover that they can no longer hope to retain their influence by the exclusive use of the Welsh language. " In many dis- tricts of the Principality," observes an eminent dissenting minister of this diocese, " the state of society is just now passing through an important change by the rapid increase of the English population, and the consequent prevalence of the English language. Nothing will prevent the utter extinction of our interests in those districts but the imme- diate establishment of efficient English preaching ; we have been taught by experience that English and Welsh services in the same chapels will never answer ^" Alas ! how often have we had to complain of the same result ! How often have we been blamed for a want of success, which, under existing circumstances, it was almost idle to expect ! For the increased number of our churches and schools, and for the large addition that has been made to our staff" of clergymen, we are very deeply indebted to the great central societies. But it is to the admirable working of our own Diocesan Society for Promoting Additional Church Accommodation and Pastoral Superintendence, that we must chiefly refer the good that has been accomplished; not, perhaps, so much for the actual amount' of money which it has been enabled to raise and expend — though this has not been small — as for the spirit it has tended to excite, the sym- pathy it has created between the Laity and Clergy, the various objects to which, as being under our own manage- ment, we have been enabled to adapt it, and the fact of its furnishing within our own limits a centre of operation, which has also proved a centre of unity and source of strength. Many a good work has been undertaken and * From " The Congregational Churches of Wales." A Paper read at the Autumnal Meeting of the Congregational Union of England and Wales, held at Halifax, October, 1858, by Thomas Recs, Beaufort, Monmouthshire, p. 11. 15 carried to a successful termination, which would never have been thought of, or, if contemplated, would at once have been abandoned in despair, had it not been for the assurance that a local society, capable of appreciating the facts of the case, and not bound by the rigid laws which a central and distant association may find essential to the proper conduct of its affairs, would regard it with a favour- able eye, and assist it with a liberal hand. Ten years have now elapsed since the Society entered upon its work. During that time it has been actively employed in furthering the erection of new churches, the rebuild- ing of some of our ancient parish churches, or the in- crease of the sittings in others, the building of school- rooms to be licensed for divine worship, and the support of additional pastors, paid wholly or in part by its funds. Until the state of its finances compelled it to lessen its expenditure, it contributed 100/. per annum in Exhibitions at St. David's College, hoping thereby to mitigate the evil of what is perhaps the greatest of all the wants of the Church in South Wales, the inadequate supply of well-educated Welsh speaking clergymen. In addition to these objects, it has assisted several of the clergy of our miserably endowed benefices in the erection of parsonages, helping by this means not only to lessen the evils of a small clerical income, but also to remove one of the causes of non-residence, and by so doing to promote the general efficiency of the Church. By the grant of 50/. it co-operated with the Tithe Redemption Society and several individual contributors, in the purchase of the impropriate tithes of a hamlet in the District Cha- pelry of Resolven, and helped to restore them to the spiritual uses for which they had originally been dedicated to the service of God. By another grant of 100/. it doubled a sum which had been bequeathed for the aug- mentation of the Incumbency of Glyntaff, and thereby secured a donation of '2001. more from the Governors of Queen Anne's Bounty for the same object. Its total 16 expenditure has been 11,299/. 65. 5d., — a sum, however, which very imperfectly represents the expenditure it has occasioned, and the benefit that has been conferred upon the diocese through its instrumentality. It was not without considerable apprehension that, as a comparative stranger in 1850, after reflecting upon the letter which had been publicly addressed to me by our present Dean, at that time Archdeacon of Llandaff, upon the spiritual wants of the diocese, I ventured to request the clergy and gentry of the two counties to assemble at Bridgend and Newport, that we might look our diflBculties in the face, and deliberate by what means they might be best met and overcome. The result of those preliminary meetings was, as you know, the formation of the Society, which has accomplished this large amount of good. The cursory review which I have taken of its pro- ceedings, must be sufficient, I think, to awaken an universal feeling, that an institution that has proved itself so effec- tive, cannot possibly be allowed to languish or expire. For whatever the good that has already been done, we have yet thousands of people with whom our clergy have no means of coming into contact. Making every allow- ance for the activity of dissent, and supposing that the question between Dissent and the Church were purely speculative — that it matters nothing whether a man be spiritually trained by the one or the other — even then we might cast our eye over many portions of our diocese with the feelings which melted the heart of our blessed Redeemer, when He beheld the multitudes, and had com- passion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd. If, however, the Society is to continue in its efficiency, it is absolutely necessary that some vigorous measures should be adopted, and that at once, for the augmentation of its funds. Many of its supporters in the first instance subscribed large sums, to be paid by annual instalments in five years. These 17 sums have long ago been paid in full ; and as the income of the Society has never equalled its expenditure, it has only been able to comply with the urgent entreaties of the applicants for its bounty, by living on its capital. Unless, therefore, something is done to recruit its nearly exhausted stock, its operations must, ere long, be confined to the comparatively small expenditure of its annual subscriptions and parochial collections. And here. Reverend Brethren, you must bear with me if I remark that these latter, the parochial collections, have never equalled the expectations — the just and reasonable expectations, I cannot hesitate to say — which the intrinsic importance of the Society's objects, the urgency with which the clergy apply to it for help, and the direct bearing of its work upon the welfare of the diocese, had led us to form. Upon the average of nine years — for the accounts of the tenth year have not yet been made up — the total receipt of each year from this source has been 279/. 55. lOrf., which, if the number of churches during the whole time had been what I believe it to be nearly at present, viz. 279, would give an average of \l. for every church. But, inasmuch as some parishes contribute large sums, — 10/., 20/., or even 40/., — we are driven to the conclusion that very many fall far short of that average amount. In fact, though I speak it with unfeigned regret, there are not a few parishes from which no response what- ever is made to the circular letter which, at the special request of the Society, I annually address to the clergy- man of every parish and district on its behalf. I cannot think that this result will, upon reflection, commend itself to your own approbation. A very little exertion on the part of the clergy would surely produce somethinf/ where nothing has hitherto been collected, and possibly somethiiDj more where a remittance has been already made. We cannot have deliberately come to the conclusion with re- spect to the people, w^hom we are bound to train to the exercise of every christian grace, that their sympathies B 18 need not be enlisted on the side of an object so eminently calculated to promote the glory of God, and the welfare of man. It is, I know, urged by some, that the multi- plicity of charitable objects for which they have to plead, is an obstacle in their way. Let it be understood that in this matter I claim no right to interfere with your liberty. But I may, perhaps, be permitted to express my hope that wherever this plea is urged, the exertions that are made for some or other of these benevolent purposes are such as to prove its validity, and to vindicate it from the suspicion of being merely adopted as an excuse for doing nothing at all. And I think, too, that I may seriously propose to the consideration of those who avail themselves of it, whether any object at home or abroad can be com- pared for one moment with the spiritual necessities of our own brethren, the persons with whom we have been brought, by Divine Providence, into immediate connexion, the souls that are especially committed to our own ministry as pastors of the same flock, and of which, so far at least as we are capable of promoting their spiritual welfare, we shall have to render an account. The problem by what means we are to provide for the support of a sufficient number of clergy for the amazingly increased, and ever increasing, population of the counties of Monmouth and Glamorgan has not, I think, as yet been solved in a satisfactory manner. That our endow- ments cannot possibly meet the demand is too obvious to need remark. To expect that a Welsh diocese, abound- ing in mineral wealth, and whose commerce and population are expanding themselves on every side, should be per- manently dependent, even to the degree to which it is so at present, upon societies mainly supported by English charity, is as unreasonable in itself, as it is unmanly and unworthy of our position. To suppose that the pro- prietors of land or minerals, or the employers of labour should do all that is requisite, would be to overlook the fact that others, as well as they, are profiting from the 19 commerce and wealth of the diocese, and consequently that their responsibility, great as it necessarily must be, does not supersede that of the sharers in their gain. If the farmer has an advantage in the higher price of his produce, the tradesman in the greater demand for his wares, and the labourer in the higher rate of his wages than he would obtain elsewhere, it is a necessary result that every one of these is placed under a greater responsibility; that every one, according to his ability, is bound to devote a portion of his property directly to the service of God. And even without introducing the consideration of personal advantage, supposed to be derived from the altered condition of the country, there is no class or individual amongst us exempt from the obligation of taking a part in the grand Christian enterprise of bringing our miners and colliers, and the dense masses of our town populations, to the obe- dience of the faith. We must, then, I think, come to the conclusion that the providing of such agencies as may be necessary for the evangelizing of our people, can only be hoped for in pro- portion as we can interest all classes of society in the work, and bring it home to the conscience of every individual, that he himself, as a member of the Church, has a part in it to perform. Did it please Almighty God, He could, no doubt, accomplish it without human agency at all; and sad indeed would it be, did we substitute human agency in our secret thought for the outpouring of His Spirit upon the hearts of men. But in His moral and spiritual, no less than in His providential government, He is wont to accomplish His purposes by human instrumentality. To expect His blessing, then, if we are not employing a suitable machinery, is rather to cast ourselves down from the mount in a spirit of presumptuous confidence, than humbly to wait upon Him in his appointed way. If, however, the machinery is to be provided on a scale commensurate with the necessities of the case, the habit of giving for directly religious pur- poses must become far more general, and our collections must B 2 20 be drawn from a much wider area than at present is the case. When property was exclusively in a few hands, as it was some centuries ago, the lord of the soil, acting upon that voluntary principle of which we hear so much in the present day, as if it was known only to dissenting com- munities, but which in fact is the basis of all our own Church endowments, built a church and endowed its minister for ever with a tenth part of the produce of his lands. By so doing he acknowledged the religious obliga- tion that attaches to property, viz., to render to God the things that are God's, while he demanded from his vassals and tenants the return that was due to himself as their tem- poral lord. In the present day, the same obligation rests upon the many, though of course in a different degree, which in those days was confined to him alone. The cir- cumstances of society are changed, but the claims of Christian charity are fixed and unchangeable. If property is now diifused instead of being concentrated, the religious necessities of the land having still to be supplied from the same source, the contribution must of necessity be spread over the whole community, instead of being the offering of private and individual liberality. I fear, my Reverend Brethren, that our congregations, generally speaking, are very little aware of this Christian obligation. And if they are not, have not ice especially a duty to perform, viz., to enlighten them upon the subject? In the evidence taken before the Committee of the House of Lords on the assessment and levy of Church Rates, it is stated, that " some 2000 charitable individuals bear all the expenses of all the good deeds done in Birmingham *," and 5 Evidence of the Hon. and Rev. G. M. Yorke, Question No. 409. The testimony of Dr. Miller is to the same effect : " It would release," he says, " a good deal of money which is now got from the pockets of the generous few ; we should get a great deal of money from those unworthy Churchmen who call themselves Churchmen, but never give us any thing : I think one great mischief of the present system is this, that every thing we get is got from some few hundreds of persons, and that the great majority of those 21 yet in 1851 the population of Birmingham was 173,951 ', the number of its Churches was eighteen, and of sittings in those Churches, 23,796''; and this, I fear, corresponds very much with general experience *. The sums that are raised for religious objects within the Church are unques- tionably far greater in the present, than in any preceding age; but it is the same persons, or nearly so, whose names are inscribed in every list. The number of those who offer to the service of God, so far as we can judge, is comparatively small ; the great mass of the people partake of their own religious privileges, but think little, it would appear, of the spiritual wants of their countrymen — they do not practically recognize the duty that rests upon them- selves of throwing a portion of their substance into the treasury of Christian love, for the specific purpose of becoming fellow-labourers with God in the extension of the kingdom of Christ. The parliamentary publication to which I have just referred, exhibits in the very clearest light, not only the painful influence of this defect of duty as a blight upon our efforts for Church extension, but in its bearings also upon the occupations, the character, and the effectiveness of our clergy themselves. In our large towns especially it has cast upon them a burden which they cannot possibly sustain with a due regard to the spirituality of their office. I speak not now of a pecuniary burden, though this too is imposed upon them to a degree very little considered or understood ; but a burden of actual labour, of time robbed from their proper and religious duties by the post or the press ; of energies consumed in wearisome appeals to the charitably- who belong to us give us nothing," No. 185, " The upshot is that all the money we get foi" religious objects comes from comparatively very few pockets," No. 186, fi Census, vol. i,, Div, vi, p. 79, ' Census of Religious Worship, p. 76. * See No. 1182, of the Report on Church Rates. disposed, to supply the lack of service which their own people cannot, or will not, render. " There is not a Bir- mingham Clergyman at present," says Dr. Miller, "who if he wants to do any thing that is at all out of the way, does not sit down and write appeals, and I could count oif upon the ends of my fingers the first ten persons that every Clergyman would write to as a matter of course V " The truth is that begging is now a chief element in our duties "." It "most seriously" interferes with the time which the Clergyman ought to give to his parochial duties, and does " most heavily" add to his anxieties*. "We all feel in Birmingham that we are becoming secularized more and more every day : we get on by constant begging ^." " It has been very injurious to my ministry," says the Vicar of St. Mary's, Nottingham, " to have been always engaged in begging, when I ought to be making way with the population in spiritual matters ^." It may be said, perhaps, that Birmingham and Nottingham are particular cases, from which no general conclusion ought to be inferred. But may we not confidently ask whether the experience of the Clergy of these towns, as thus described, is not a mirror in which many others may see a too faithful image of their own ? How much precious time is thus consumed which you would gladly devote to your pastoral and other professional duties, many oi you, my Reverend Brethren, well know, for precisely the same necessity is imposed upon yourselves. The fact that so little is done for the extension of the kingdom of Christ at home and abroad by multitudes who call themselves churchmen, is well calculated to suggest the inquiry whether we, their ministers, are in the habit of faithfully instructing them how great is their respon- sibility in reference to this matter. When we have laid 9 No. 236, Report as above. lo No. 238. 1 See Nos. 240, 241. * No. 242. See also the evidence of the Hon. and Rev, G. M. Yoi'ke, Nos. 349. 356, 357, to the same effect. 3 No. 1183. 2a the one only foundation of all true piety, the finished work of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, do we habitually show them how their principles ought to be reduced to practice, how they ought to abound in the work of faith and labour of love ? Do we urgently inculcate that their gold and silver are the Lord's, and that " he that soweth bounteously shall reap also bounteously ?" Or is the prac- tical application of our doctrinal teaching lost in a vague generality of statement ? Are we afraid — perhaps under the idea of interferinof with the fundamental truth of our justification through God's free and unmerited grace — of speaking of almsgiving as our Lord and His Apostles constantly speak of it, when flowing from, and con- sidered as a manifestation of, Christian principle ? " These shall go into life eternal." " Charge them that are rich in this world .... that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to commu- nicate; laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life." "Mercy rejoiceth against judgment." " Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment ; because as he is, so are we in this world." Do not all these passages show — and if so, ought it not to be a substantive portion of our teaching ? — that love to man, testified by acts of self-denying, practical benevolence, is an evidence that we are animated by the Spirit of Him who is Love itself; and that if such be our spirit and prac- tice. He will acknowledge us as His own at the last day? If we have been negligent in this matter, how much may we have to account for, not because this or that charitable project may have partially failed, but, which is of far more consequence, because the Christian character of our people may have sufi'ered loss through our neglect. The standard they have aimed at may have been too low, possibly be- cause ive may not have taught them with sufficient faithful- ness how they might attain to the full measure of the stature of Christ. Their hearts may not have been warmed 24 with that heavenly grace of charity, " without which who- soever liveth is counted dead before God," because we have not inculcated, as we should have done, the great principle, that he who loveth God should love, and prove by his actions that he really does love, his brother also. There is, however, another consideration that connects itself with this subject. That the Church must look to the voluntary principle in her efforts to prevent our population from relapsing into a semi- heathenism, is a fact from which it is impossible to turn our eyes. Are we then adopting that course which is best calculated to impress this truth upon the minds of our people ? A great many societies are in active operation, and by their instrumentality a large amount is collected for the furtherance of many useful and excellent objects. It is not my intention to say a word against the principle upon which these associations are formed, nor to discourage in any degree the willing mind which prompts to their support. So far as they are doing God's work, we wish them good luck in the name of the Lord. It is, however, worthy of consideration, whether the restoration of a weekly Offertory, or if not, the esta- blishment of a monthly, or at any rate of a periodical col- lection in our churches on the Lord's day, — if it could be accomplished,— might not, under God's blessing, provoke our people to love and good works ; and whether our want of success may not in some measure be ascribed to an abandonment of a mode of collecting alms which rests on the authority of Holy Scripture, which was practised by the Primitive Church, and which our own Church has ex- pressly enjoined us to adopt. For that we have abandoned such a custom is beyond a doubt. I am of course aware of the prejudice that exists against the restoration of the weekly Offertory. Strange as it may seem, the Offertory is regarded by many as an indication of certain peculiar theological tendencies — a practice adopted only, or chiefly, for party purposes. But surely, if we are reasonable men, Yve are not to be carried along by mere prejudice; we are 25 not to approve or condemn what is submitted to our judg- ment, merely because it is advocated by this, or disapproved by that party in the Church. Do we profess to take Scripture as our rule ? Let us then appeal to its decision. Are we faithful members of the Church ? Let us inquire whether she has given any direction to assist us in our judgment, or laid down any rule for our actual conduct. The question for our consideration is, How are we to enlist the sympathies of the middle and lower classes in works of charity, and to persuade them to take their part in building up and furthering the extension of the Church ? When Christianity was first planted, its converts were chiefly of the lower classes. Not many mighty, not many noble were called. Under these circumstances it was that St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, " Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the Churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store as he hath been prospered, that there be no gatherings when I come *." The collections of the infant Church were not made exclusively for the poor. That the Clergy at a very early period were supported by the oblations of the Church, is a fact as certain as any in Ecclesiastical History *. And inasmuch as "the whole fiscal apparatus of the Church, as it became developed in the lapse of time," — to use the words of Professor Blunt, — "was merely a super- structure naturally arising upon the lines laid down by the Apostles themselves*," we may reasonably conclude that they who went forth in Christ's name, taking nothing of the Gentiles ^ partook of this portion of the Church's oflferings, as well as of her other oblations. The mention made by Justin Martyr * of the offerings * 1 Cor. xvi. 1, 2. 5 Bingham. Vol, i. p. 406. London. Edit. 1821. » Hist, of the Church in the First Thrie Centuries, pp. 27, 28. ' John iii. 8. * First Apol., chap. Ixvii. 26 in the solemn assembly on the Lord's day shows that the rule prescribed by the Apostle was recognized and acted upon by the Church in the second century. With regard to our own Church there can be no doubt whatever in what light she regards the matter, or what would be our practice did we strictly follow her directions. For the Rubric enjoins that " then," i. e. after the sermon, "shall the Priest return to the Lord's Table, and begin the Offertory, saying one or more of these sentences fol- lowing, as he thinketh most convenient in his discretion ;" the sentences referred to bearing not only upon almsgiving to the poor, but also upon the support of the clergy ; as, for instance, " Do ye not know, that they who minister about holy things live of the sacrifice ; and they who wait at the altar are partakers with the altar ? Even so hath the Lord also ordained, that they who preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel ;" and a further direction is given, that "while these sentences are in reading, the Deacons, Churchwardens, or other fit persons appointed for that purpose, shall receive the alms for the poor, and other devotions of the people," — devotions or gifts, evidently distinguished, as you will observe, from the alms for the poor '. The subject of Church Extension has naturally engaged the attention of Convocation ; and with a view to this object it has been recommended by the Upper House, " That in new Churches generally, and in existing Churches, where the adoption of such a practice would not excite jealousy or opposition, weekly collections should be made for these purposes, that so even the poorer members of the Church may have the opportunity of contributing on the Lord's day according as God hath prospered them." Supposing, however, that the Offertory is unobjectionable ' See a work, entitled, " How shall we Conform to the Liturgy of the Church of England !" By the Rev. J. C. Robertson, M.A., 1843, p. 104. 27 in principle, and claims on its behalf this high authority of Scripture and the Church, what, it may be inquired, would in all probability be its practical results ? Is there reasonable ground for the expectation that it would pro- duce that augmentation in the Church's funds, which would enable her to provide better than she does at present for the spiritual instruction of our augmented population ? Is there not, on the other hand, some reason to apprehend, that the restoration of the practice would be so distasteful to the majority of Churchmen in the present day, that even the augmentation of our funds for spiritual purposes might possibly be purchased at too high a price ? Here, then, let me distinctly state that, in thus bringing the subject before you, it is very far from my intention to counsel an immediate and universal restoration of the Church's rule under adverse circumstances, or to re- commend any rash and precipitate action in reference to this practice. Even that which is right in itself, if it has long been discontinued, is apt to be regarded with sus- picion by persons who have not considered the grounds on which it rests; and, if hastily resumed, would very pro- bably be regarded as a novelty, though, in fact, it might be as old as Christianity itself \ It is, however, equally true that where prejudices exist in respect to a matter which is intrinsically right, those prejudices may often be overcome by the possession of additional information, especially if it be communicated in a spirit of forbearance, and with a careful avoidance of every thing that may prevent a calm and dispassionate investigation. I have, therefore, thought it advisable to invite your attention to this question, that it may receive your candid consideration, and that through you such ' See the evidence of Archdeacon Jones before the Committee on the Means of Divine Worship in Populous Places. Nos. 5875 — 5879. 5890. " On what is that prejudice founded ? First, it is new ; they have not been accustomed to it," &c. 5878. 28 information may be conveyed to your parishioners as may gradually enlighten the public mind, and prepare the way, if it may be, for a general compliance with the rule, which, under present circumstances, it might not be expedient in all cases to attempt. Discussion can only help to dispel prejudice, and advance the cause of truth. If we wish the Laity to assent to the restoration of the Offertory, we must at once consult their feelings, and appeal to their reason. But if, instead of adopting this prudent course, we endeavour to force compliance with a rule, which they may consider obsolete ; if we will not explain to them as reasonable men the grounds and motives of our conduct ; if, instead of seeking to draw them with the bands of love, we arrogate to ourselves a priestly authority, incom- patible with their rights as men, and as members of the Church, we shall certainly fail not only in this, but in every other good work. Upon the question of probable results we may find, to say the least, considerable encouragement in facts that have actually occurred under very various circumstances. The system has been tried ; and a large number of cases tends to the conclusion that where the Offertory has been wisely and discreetly introduced, it has not only not been attended with any evil consequences, but has called forth in a remarkable degree the sympathies of the people. And this has been the case not only in large and wealthy towns, but also in small rural parishes, where the popula- tion consisted solely of labourers and farmers. In the city of Manchester, to quote the words of the Coroner for that city, " a monthly collection from the whole congregation has for many years been adopted in those Churches which are the most opposed to what is called the High Church." ..." A meeting of the Churchwardens " (of the several parishes) " was summoned by the Senior Churchwarden, and resolutions were adopted by the meet- ing strongly recommending the use of the Offertory as frequently as possible from the whole congregation, and 29 the devotion of it to charitable purposes ^" During the last two months of 1857 great distress prevailed in Man- chester in consequence of the stagnation of trade. To meet this difficulty, resort was had to the weekly Offer- tory ; and so successful was the appeal, that from one congregation alone 1000 persons received weekly relief^. It may be thought, perhaps, that this was an exceptional case, and that in the majority, whether of poor town parishes or small agricultural parishes, the system must of necessity fail. But here, again, we can reply, that the result in many such parishes has succeeded beyond expectation. In one of the poor District Churches of Bethnal Green 122Z. 2s. 6c?. were collected by the weekly Offertory in twelve months; and the congregation, con- sisting of poor persons, manifested no objection to it, till their minds were poisoned by the notion that it was part of a system intended to hand them over to the Church of Rome *. The Incumbent of St. Peter's *, Stepney, having in his parish 14,000 persons, of whom 12,000 at the least are labouring men, dock-labourers, weavers, costermongers, and day-labourers of various kinds, pays the expenses of his Church, by an Offertory four times a year, with the full consent of the Churchwardens. The people, he says, are most eager to pay it. Every week he has a collection at the Offertory from the communicants, and a general Offer- tory once a month. The people think this mode of offering 2 Evidence of E. Herford, Esq., before Committee on Spiritual Destitu- tion. 5668. * I take this information from the " Literary Churchman," March 16, 1858, the Editor of which inserts the qualification, "if we rightly read his (i. e. the Rev. T. Todd's) statement." * Evidence of W. Cotton, Esq., Committee as above, 66—74. 143, 144. Rev. H. Vivian, Incumbent of St. Bartholomew's, Bethnal Green, who says he gave it up " because it produced so little," speaks of its being opposed " as a matter of Popery," but adds, that " there are several Churches known to him, as St. Matthias, Stoke Newington, where it has been tried with success." 406. 411, 412. 5 Rev. T. J. Rowsell. their gifts more sacred. There is not one that does not wish that all collections should be made at the Offertory '. With respect to agricultural parishes, very many Clergy- men have had proofs of its success. In the very small Parish of Hawksworth, Northamptonshire, containing only 171 people, the whole sum collected by weekly and special Offertories was 281. V2s. S^d. ; the weekly average of copper, the poor man's gift, being Is. 2^d. ; the whole amount offered in copper, being 3/. 65. d^dJ Of the sum total, 171. were given to the Missionary work of the Church instead of 91. 10s., which the parish had contri- buted in former years, and this without abstracting any thing from the poor. Other instances of similar success might be mentioned *, but I will confine myself to our own diocese. In one small parish, containing 138 people % of whom "nearly half" are stated to be dissenters, the late Vicar informs me that the experiment succeeded be- yond his hopes. All classes contributed, and in as just proportion as could be desired. Very nearly one-half of what was collected was in sixpences, fourpences, and copper. The total sum collected in this small parish, during the first year, was 261. 4s. l^d. In the Cathedral, 6 Nos. 886—888. 929—936. Evidence, Sic, as above. 7 See " The Right Way the Best Way ; or, a Plea for the Weekly Offer- tory." By Rev. G. H. Smythan, Rector of the Parisli. J. H. and J. Parker, 1858. * East Bradenham, Norfolk, is a small agricultural Parish of 422 people, with a few well-to-do farmers, but no resident squire. It had been cus- tomary to have about two collections after the sermon in the year, two pounds after each being considered a good collection. Since the restoration of the weekly Offertory 14Z. 8s. 7d., exclusive of that at the Holy Commu- nion, have been collected in lieu of the former 41.; and the Offertory at the Communion, instead of being diminished, amounts to 81. 13s. 5|