" ■ LIBRA R.Y OF THE. UNIVERSITY Of 1LL1 NOIS vZ^C^ (For Private Circulation.) LETTER THE DEAN OF SALISBURY. THE RIGHT HON. SIDNEY HERBERT. LONDON : GEORGE WOODFALL AND SON, ANGKL rODRT, SKINNER STEEKT. 1849. (For Private Circulation.) PROPOSALS THE BETTER APPLICATION CATHEDRAL INSTITUTIONS THEIR INTENDED USES; A LETTER THE VERY REV. THE DEAN OF SALISBURY. THE RIGHT HON. SIDNEY HERBERT. if % A LETTER, ETC. My dear Dean, My attention has never been much turned to Eccle- siastical matters ; I have none but the most superficial acquaintance, therefore, with the subject of this letter. To you, on the contrary, it is familiar, and I write because my suggestions, however crude, will be at any rate a text in discussing which, better informed men can express objections and opinions which will be of real value. There is no doubt that the population of this country has far outgrown our means of religious instruction, and the efforts hitherto made to remedy the evil have proved inadequate even to keep pace with its daily growth. Among Churchmen, whether Clergy or Laity, there is no dispute on the matter. Many, not professed Members of the Church, but looking upon her as the main trunk of Christianity in this country, and the readiest and most powerful in- strument by which these new populations may be 6 rescued from what, in truth, is Heathenism, will assent to any measures by which the field of her ministrations may be extended, provided no call be made on the public purse. Churchmen themselves entertain in the interests of the Church equally strong objections to asking assist- ance from the Exchequer. I share that objection. This, at any rate, is certain, that, if assistance be asked in that quarter, it will not be given. It must then be sought in the better distribution of the existing resources of the Church, and in the libe- rality of her members. This appears to be the prevalent opinion in Parlia- ment during the last three Sessions : discussions have been raised with respect to the deficiencies of the Church, her abuses, and the means of correcting them and extending her influence in places whose modern origin or sudden development have produced a popula- tion, for whose spiritual instruction no adequate pro- vision, or no provision at all, has been made. Mr. Horsman, who usually originated these dis- cussions, dwelt most upon pluralities, non-residence, and inequality of stipend ; but the two first of these are evils already dealt with by law, and which cannot, except under certain limitations, recur, and the anec- dotes with which Mr. Horsman enlivened his state- ments are traditions of a bygone time, rather than examples of any state of things now requiring remedy. Nevertheless, these discussions elicited no expression of hostility towards the Church, but the contrary ; and, at the close of the Session of 1848, Mr. Horsman de- livered a speech marked by a most striking difference of tone, and by a full acknowledgment of the zeal. piety, and self-devotion of the Clergy, and the ex- pression of an anxious desire to extend the field of their labours and better their condition. His plan was shortly this : — he proposed to raise the income of all existing benefices to 300/. a year, and then, having made every living sufficient to support its minister, to abolish all plurality and non-residence, without any exception as to income or distance. That the attainment of such an object, had we funds for the purpose, would be most desirable, no one can deny; but whether such funds might not be much better employed in endowing new cures in populous places, instead of devoting the whole to raising all incomes to an arbitrary standard, without reference to numbers or the wants of the population, may well be doubted. To obtain the means, however, for this augmenta- tion, Mr. Horsman proposed to fuse the surplus of the Episcopal Fund, now kept distinct, with the surplus of the Capitular Fund now administered by the Eccle- siastical Commission, and, by keeping all the estates of the Church in hand, ultimately to secure to her the enjoyment of the whole rental in lieu of the fines on renewals, &c, &c, &c. Years, however, must elapse before the leases shall have fallen in, which would enable you to deal in that manner with Church property ; and most complicated questions of equity arise when you attempt to deal thus summarily with the interests of lessees *, But the mere fusion of the two surplus funds would A Commission has been recently appointed to inquire into and report upon the management of Church Property. 8 not produce anything like a sufficient sum for Mr. Horsman's scheme, which, indeed, is far more ex- tensive than he is aware of. He puts the number of cures whose incomes are under 300/. a year at 6000 out of 10,571 benefices; but the number of benefices had increased between 1835, on the returns of which year he based his calculation, and 1844, which gives the last returns, by 556. The same rate of increase, down to 1848, would give an addition of about 800 new benefices since 1835, most of which, probably all that were formed under Sir Robert Peel's Act, are under 300/. a year. Here, then, is an extent of de- ficiency coming under Mr. Horsman's rule, but which he had not included in his calculation, and he must, therefore, seek elsewhere for additional funds to supply it. But if the formation of new cures be a necessity still more urgent than that of augmenting or equalizing the incomes of all ill-paid ones, the difficulty as to means is further increased by rendering a still larger outlay necessary. But let us see what the requirements in this way are likely to be. If Mr. Palmer be right in his estimate that for every 2000, or according to Lord Ashley for every 4000, souls a pastor is required, then nearly 3000 additional cures in the first case, or 1500 in the second, are re- quired for the 17,000,000 of persons in England and Wales to satisfy the arrears of non-endowment, and a further annual addition of 100 or 50 to meet the annual addition to our population of 200,000 souls. When it is recollected how many parishes have populations under 1000, it is obvious that the addition 9 of 3000 clergymen would not give a pastor to every 2000 persons, nor an addition of 1500 a pastor to every 4000 persons in our unendowed districts. How- ever impossible of attainment, therefore, such an object may be, yet, in calculating not what we can get, but what we ought to have, such an estimate is not extra- vagant. No " surplus funds " can meet this, nor a tithe of it, and men will therefore cast about for other means, and will see if the first and original charges on these funds cannot be so reduced as to give a larger available sur- plus for their purpose. I have quoted Mr. Horsman. I will now quote men whose general opinions are quite opposed to his. A statement has been published by Mr. Colquhoun, of the proposals which he, in company with Lord Har- rowby, Lord Ashley, and a few others, submitted to Lord John Russell in the summer of 1848, as a plan of church reform. The object was the creation of new endowments, not new churches ; for they wisely think that where once we have a congregation and a pastor, a building in which to worship will soon be found. These endow- ments they propose to fix at no greater amount than 100/. a year, to be added to a similar sum produced by voluntary efforts ; and, subsidiary to this, they contem- plate the creation of ten new sees, with 2000/. a year each. But, to provide a fund capable of creating even such moderate endowments, they propose not only to appropriate the whole present surplus, both of the episcopal and the capitular funds, but they propose likewise to suppress all Deaneries, and apply the pro- ceeds (36,000/. a year) to the payment of the new 1(1 Bishops and Rectors ; or, if it should be necessary to maintain some Deaneries, they propose to do so by ap- propriating Canonries to them. It might certainly seem preferable to pay Bishops out of the Episcopal Fund, and to maintain Deans out of the property of Deans, instead of first robbing the Bishops to make Rectors, and compensating the Bishops by robbing the Deans, who again are to rob the Canons. Any of these courses may be justified by necessity, and can be justified by precedent; but there is a wantonness in the manner in which the payment of every one body out of its own property is avoided, and each is quar- tered on the funds of the other. The real and ulti- mate sufferers, however, by this scheme, are the Chap- ters, and I mention it as an indication of their pro- bable fate. Indeed, the public state the question thus : — The Bishops, they say, perform for their stipends arduous and onerous duties. The mode of payment may be objectionable, the management of their estates objec- tionable, but the duties are performed, and well per- formed ; and, so far from its being possible to dispense with them, they would be better performed could the work be subdivided amongst a greater number of per- sons. The insufficient numbers of the Episcopate is a thing admitted. The still greater insufficiency of the parochial system is the difficulty, and the only difficulty, in the way of their increase, the possibility of merging the funds being once admitted. The necessity of its being so merged is rested on the fact, that, great as is the want of new Bishops, the want of new cures is incalculably greater and more pressing. Such a proceeding, however, would only affect the 11 surplus of the Episcopal Fund. No one dreams of re- ducing the number of Bishops; no one doubts the value and importance of their functions; no one im- peaches the industry with which those functions are performed. But the capitular bodies stand in a dif- ferent position. It is openly asserted, that " the in- comes enjoyed by capitular bodies are given for dis- charging no duties at all, and that, so far as regards the interests of the Church, it might be better if those revenues were thrown into the sea." I believe this, however ill-founded, to be a very common opinion, not very much exaggerated in the expression. Those who are so anxious for a direct increase in the number of priests to be employed in the cure of souls, that they are blind to the necessity of maintaining and improving the quality, and strengthening, indirectly, it is true, but still strengthening, the parochial system, by learning, by preparation, and by discipline, will not scruple to augment the "available surplus" of the Capitular Fund, by following out the principle of the Act of 1840, and still further curtailing, if not entirely abolishing, the reduced Chapters who now serve our Cathedrals. The Chapters will be the first attacked, because the least defensible upon proof of present utility. I think their sacrifice would be a heavy loss and injury to the Church, and, if a loss at all, an irre- parable one, for we shall never persuade people to re- create what, when existing, we cannot induce them to retain. But I am bound to say, that my sense of the loss and the injury to the Church is founded rather upon what they have been, what they ought to be, and 12 what they might be again, than upon what they actually are. Every day the greater extension of the parochial system, the greater subdivision of districts, the more complete absorption of all the time and thought of the Priesthood in the cure of the vast populations com- mitted to them, make unity of doctrine, of practice, and of spirit, and uniformity of ritual, more necessary and more difficult of attainment. Every day the necessity of some centre from which a regulating and diffusive power can emanate is greater, and more felt by the Clergy; but, unfortunately, less seen by the Laity, even by those most attached to the Church, but who are too much occupied in endeavouring to procure more Clergy for their own particular use, if I may say so, to think of the difficulties under which the Clergy themselves are suffering. How much of the present diversity of doctrine would have been avoided had there been in every diocese real centres of learning and authority, at which the parochial Clergy would have themselves been trained, and to whom, in after life, habit would have taught them to defer ! To the insufficiency of the Episcopate, and the inefficiency of the Chapters, may be attributed in no slight degree those divisions, often upon the most ordinary matters of form, which have been not only an injury to the Church, but a scandal to religion. But if these centres are to be maintained, they must at once be made efficient for their purpose. If once destroyed, their place cannot be supplied by private efforts. There is no difficulty in obtaining assistance from voluntary liberality when the advantage to be 13 derived is immediate, direct, and, above all, local ; but the case is far different when the good is not local, but diffused, general and indirect, nay, almost insensible in its effects. To have a Clergyman and a Church where there was no Clergyman and no Church, is a result tangible to every man, and which appeals so directly to the selfishness as well as liberality of the inhabitants of any district, that the want is almost certain in crying cases eventually to be supplied. But to raise the tone, to strengthen and cheer the efforts of the Clergy by giving them a sense of union and fellowship, to secure an uniform ritual, and an orthodox teaching, is a thing so little tangible, and the effects of which are so little observed by individuals, that it is no man's business to further it. We cannot, therefore, hope to secure such advan- tages to the Church except through the means we already possess ; and, unless those means be forthwith made available, and in such a manner that their efficiency shall be recognised, those means will be forcibly taken from us. It will be too late when the attack is made to plead what Chapters might do. They will be judged on what they have done, and still more on what they actually are doing ; and I am for this reason most anxious that something should be effected by them before they are called to account. I have, therefore, made a slight and rapid sketch of the mode in which it appears to me that the revenues of the Chapters might be employed by them, so as to be most conducive to the welfare of the Church, and consequently, to their own safety. And having thus explained how much I would retain, and in what manner, I shall feel bound to state likewise how T 14 would deal both with episcopal and parochial ex- tension. We all know how dangerous it is, even for the sake of reparation, to alter ancient buildings. Regard should be had to the original plan, and the ancient foundations should not, if possible, be meddled with. It is in the Statutes of the Cathedrals that we shall find the plans by which we must be guided. If the defence of the Chapters is to be grounded at all upon the respect to be paid to the intentions and objects of their founders, the Chapters must show that these objects and intentions are carried out. It is worth while, therefore, to consider what these objects and intentions were. Our Cathedral Establishments were greatly increased in number in the reign of Henry the Eighth. These are generally known by the name of the new founda- tions. They were, in some respects, the substitutes for the monastic estabishments suppressed. Prior to the Reformation, Cardinal Wolsey obtained bulls for the suppression of forty monasteries, to endow Colleges at Oxford and Ipswich, and erect Chapters. At a later period Cranmer, continuing the policy of Wolsey, advised the suppression of monasteries and proposed to erect new Sees, the Bishoprics being then considered too large to be administered with ef- ficiency*. The King, when suppressing large monasteries with * The population of England and Wales was at that time ahout 4,000,000, and after the addition of the five new Sees then consti- tuted, the average population of each See was about 150,000. The population is now 18, 000, Cm Ml, giving an average to each of the J 7 Sees now existing, of upwards of 960,000. 16 lands of the value of £130,000, proposed to erect eighteen new Bishoprics, to be endowed with £18,000 a year, but only a third part was actually done. With the Bishoprics were erected Chapters, whose charters and statutes generally compass the following objects — all more or less suitable to the wants of the present state of society. 1 . The formation of a Council for the assistance of the Bishops. 2. The maintenance of ecclesiastical learning, i. e. Theology. 3. The pure administration of the Sacraments, and maintenance of a model Ritual, which should preserve uniformity. 4. The maintenance of discipline and good morals by the example of the Chapter, and their employment under the Bishops, in matters concerning the trial of offences against discipline. 5. The encouragement of general learning (ut juven- tus in Uteris liberaliter instituatur). 6. The provision of a due retreat for those who may be worn out by age in the ministry. 7. The exercise of a general charity (et caetera omnis generis pietatis officia illinc exuberanter in omnia vicina loca longe lateque dimanent). The object, therefore, of the Cathedral Institution is not, as some seem to suppose, the same, but the very opposite of that of the parish. The object of the parochial system is the concentra- tion of the attention of individual men on specified small localities. The object of the Cathedral system is to counterbalance and correct the evils of these multiplied isolations, by erecting a body whose at- I (I tention, authority, and labour shall be diffused over the whole ; the parish of the Cathedral is not the Close but the Diocese. The late so-called reforms in the Cathedral Esta- blishments entirely lost sight of these objects, and by confounding their duties with parochial duties, have created non-residence and plurality — the very abuses they wished to suppress — and have deprived the paro- chial system, which they wished to strengthen, of the support which it was the original object of the Cathe- dral to afford. A non-resident Canon, if he has duties, is as great an evil as a non-resident Rector; and if he has not duties, he is an indefensible sinecurist. The Act of 1840 was drawn by persons who either ignored the fact of there being special duties to be performed by Cathedral bodies, or who were quite insensible to their value and importance, if performed. They found these bodies in an inert state, and their duties in abeyance. They should either have insisted on the duty being performed, or they should have abolished the office. They did neither ; they accepted the non-performance of the duties, recognised and established the neglect, and merely reduced the numbers and the income. But a non-performance of duty is as much overpaid by £500 as by £800 a year, and the Cathedrals which before were accidentally useless by lapse and neglect, are now made necessarily useless by law. The Chapters cannot be maintained in a state so anomalous and so discreditable, and they will fall just when their labours are most required, and, if pro- perly enforced, would be of the greatest benefit. Again, the Dean was made resident ; but in some 17 oases — at Salisbury, for instance — he was relieved of all his duties (and in his Peculiars he was a quasi Bishop, with a diocese ample for his time, if really devoted to it). The abolition of such Peculiars, scattered as they were, has, I believe, done great good. Their consoli- dation under episcopal jurisdiction has created uni- formity of system, and encouraged the laity to assist in augmenting the stipends of these little cures, in the confidence that the patronage will be better adminis- tered by the Bishop, as part of the general patronage of the diocese, than it could be by the Dean. But to relieve a man of all his duties at the same time that you insist on his devoting his whole time to their discharge — to allow every canon to be non- resident both on his canonry and on his living, when non-residence is the abuse you profess to eradicate, is an absurdity. But before I state how much of the original objects contemplated by Cathedral Institutions are still desira- ble or applicable to the altered state of society, and how far in the attempt to restore the means of attain- ing them it would be prudent to recede from or adopt the new constitution of the capitular bodies, as settled by the Act of 1840, I will give in each case, from Mr. Selwyn's work on " Cathedral Institutions," a short ac- count of those objects, and the means by which they were attempted to be compassed. Cathedral Institutions seem oripinallv to have been formed on the model of the Council of Presbyters, with which, in ancient Episcopal governments, the Bishop was always provided. Dr. Racket, in his speech before the House of Commons, in behalf of Cathedral Esta- blishments, in 1C41, calls the Chapters " the Council of B 18 the Bishops, to assist them in their jurisdiction and greatest censures, if any tiling be wrong, either in the doctrine or the manners of the Clergy." He admits and laments that Bishops had gradually usurped sole juris- diction and " disused the Presbyters from concurring with them." He quotes Ignatius Cyprian, and other authorities, who required that grave and discreet Pres- byters should be " Senatus Episcopi " to advise him in his consistory. Now, in these days, when the discipline of the Church has become so ineffective that the public has been shocked to see Clergymen of notoriously vicious lives defying all authority, and retaining their benefices and emoluments, one great difficulty in finding a remedy has been this — that the Bishop's is the only extant authority which you can strengthen by the addition of fresh powers, and there is an unwillingness to entrust to any one individual arbitrary unchecked power to ex- amine, decide, and punish, in cases affecting the cha- racter and whole worldly prospects of the accused party. It is not that the Bishop is mistrusted as such. It is a matter of habit which makes us prefer the verdict of a jury to the decision of a judge, who is more learned, more competent, and, in ninety-nine cases out of one hundred, more unbiassed than any jury can be. Right or wrong, this is a fact ; and it is a question whether it might not be advantageous, not as a safe- guard against caprice or tyranny, but as a support and protection to the Bishop, that his judgment should be assisted and his verdict fortified by the concurrence of a Council. The restoration, therefore, of this part of the duties of a Cathedral body, might possibly be an 19 important assistance to the order and discipline of the Church. It might likewise tend to reunite the Chapter and the Episcopate, which have hitherto been, each for their own safety, too much dissevered. The Chapter, divorced from the Episcopate, has maintained a sort of sulky independence ; and, having lost their legitimate influence, often resisted and repelled the interference of the Bishop. Whereas they should be the staff of the Bishop ; acting under his orders, and carrying out his views for the benefit of the diocese. "Omnes, tarn Decanum quam Canonicos et alios Ecclesiae Ministros, quoad omnia pramiissa, volumus et mandamus ipsi Episcopo parere et obedire." The conge d 'elire to the Canons to elect the Bishop is also quoted to show the close union which existed between the two orders. I, however, make no proposal on the subject. I am not competent to form an opinion how far such a resto- ration is possible under existing laws, and how far desirable in the present state of the Church and of society. I am anxious, likewise, not to embarrass the question I am treating by the introduction of un- necessary topics, or endanger the objects I have in view by coupling with them others of less immediate value, and whose attainment is more difficult. But I have alluded to this point to show how com- prehensive were the original foundations, and how much we have lost and sacrificed by suffering their objects to be lost sight of, and their duties neglected. I insert here, from the Rev. G. A. Selwyn's work, the Statutes of Ely Cathedral, showing how the Capi- tular body was constituted; what were the qualificn- b 2 20 tions required for its several members, and what the duties they had to perform. THE CATHEDRAL ESTABLISHMENT. " Unus decanus." Stat. Cath. Ch. Ely. Ch. i. " Statuimus et ordinamus, ut Decanus sit Presbyter vitae et famae integrae, nee doctus modo et eruditus, sed doctrina etiam titulo insig- nitus." lb. Ch. ii. " Quoniani Decanum vigilantem esse decet, veluti oculum in cor- pore, qui reliquis corporis membris haud negligenter prospiciat, sta- tuimus et volurnus, ut Decanus, qui pro tempore fuerit, cum omni sollicitudine prosit, et Canonicos ca3terosque Ministros omnes Ec- clesiae moneat, increpet, arguat, obsceret, opportune importune insist, tanquam excubias agens in reliquum gregern sua? curse commissum, et curet ut Divina officia cum decoro celebrentur ; ut conciones prae- scriptis diebus habeantur; utpueri cumfructu instituantur ; ut elee- mosynae pauperibus distribuantur ; ut in universum concedita sibi munera singuli fideliter obeant." lb. Ch. v. " Octo Canonici." lb. Ch. i. " Volurnus autem, ut nullus in Canonicum admittatur, qui non fuerit Presbyter Integra fames, nee doctus modo et eruditus, sed qui doctrines etiam titulo insignitus fuerit." lb. Ch. viii. " Quinque Minores Canonici ; unus Prelector Theologicus ; quatuor Sacellani, (videlicet ad curam Ecclesiarum S. S. Trinitatis et S. Mariae, atque Capellarum de Chetisham et Stuntuey;) unus Diaconus ; octo Clerici Laici." lb. Ch. i. " Statuimus et volurnus, ut tarn illi quinque presbyteri, quos Minores Canonicos vocamus, quam octo Clerici Laici, ad haec Dia- conus, qui Epistolam leget (quos omnes ad Dei laudes in Ecclesiae nostra? templo assidue decantandus decrevimus), Bint, quantum fieri possit, eruditi, fama bona; et conversationis honesta, denique can- tando periti." lb. Ch. xix. " Duo Informatores Publici puerorum in Grammatical (quorum unus sit Preceptor, alter Scb-pr.eceptor;) viginti quatuor Pueri in Grammatica erudiendi." lb. Ch. i. " Statuimus, ut unus eligatur, Latine et Grace doctus, bona fama et pia vita, docendi facilitate imbutus, qui tarn viginti quatuor illos Ecclesiae nostras Pueros, quam alios quoscumque Grammaticam dis- 21; cendi gratia ad Scholam nostrani conflueutes, pietate excolat, et bonis Uteris exornet. Hie in Schola nostra primas obtineat, et Archidi- dascalus, sive praecipuus Inforniator esto." lb. Ch. xxv. '• Rursum per Decanum et Capitulum volumus virum alterum eligi, bond fames et pia vitd, Latine doctum docendique facultate im- butum, qui Hypodidascalus, sive secundarius Informator appella- bitur." lb. Ch. xxv. " Sint perpetuo in Ecclesia nostra Eliensi viginti quatuor pueri, pauperes, et arnicorurn ope ut plurinium destituti, ingeniis (quoad fieri potest), ad discendum natis et aptis." lb. lb. The above extracts contain the titles and offices of most of the members of the Cathedral Church of Ely : — 1. The Dean. 7. The Lay Clerks, Organist, 2. The Canons. and Choristers. 3. The Minor Canons. 8. The Upper and Lower Mas- 4. The Divinity Lecturer. ters of the Cathedral Gram- 5. The Chaplains. mar School. 0. The Deacon. 9. The Scholars of the Grammar School. This was, probably, the same establishment which was allotted to most cathedrals. A Dean, to rule the whole. The eight Canons, to preach, to visit the different parishes in the diocese, under the directions of the Bishop, as a sort of home missionaries, to refute error where it may prevail, to revive the gospel in neglected parishes, to preach on public occasions, and to conduct church charities and societies. The five minor Canons, stationary ministers, to per- form the cathedral services, to be skilful in singing, &c. The one Divinity Lecturer, to instruct a class in divinity. The Chaplains, to take charge of hamlets attached to the Chapter. 22 The Deacon, a probationary minister, to fill the suc- cession. The Organist and Choristers, whose duties require no reciting. And the Masters of Grammar Schools attached to the cathedral, the scholars being selected for talent and good conduct from among orphans and destitute children. Here we find a complete and comprehensive organiz- ation, made as if it were in anticipation of the very evils from which we are now suffering, specially adapted to our wants, and able, if carried out, to effect, by an efficient and authorized system, the very objects which here and there we are vainly seeking by de- sultory unconnected efforts to attain, by societies which die with their founders, whose unaided zeal alone kept them alive, or which vegetate in humble in- efficiency, merely indicating what ought to be done, and occupying the ground which it has not means to cultivate. Curates-Aid Societies, Church-Union Societies, Train- ing Colleges for the Clergy, Training Schools for School- masters, and the like, which endeavour, so far as volun- tary zeal can do it, to perform the functions which the Chapters have gradually abandoned. When the Cathedral, from her numerous and well- appointed staff, could send out her Chaplains and Dea- cons to aid the Parochial Clergy in populous places, her Canons to visit, to preach, to heal differences, to prevent schism by refuting error ; when the aged Curate found shelter in some of the minor offices of the Ca- thedral (when too old to endure the labour of parochial 23 duties), when Schools of Theology for the Clergy and of liberal learning for the young were maintained within her precincts, then duties were performed con- tinuously, systematically, the greatest want first sup- plied, the hardest case first relieved. They were performed as they cannot be performed by societies, whose means vary from year to year, whose administration depends on some one person making a hobby of them, and whose officers have not that organiz- ation under them, which would enable them to take a general survey of their whole diocese, and distribute their labours judiciously and impartially. Some labour might be saved to the Parochial Clergy if they were relieved of the management of all Dio- cesan Charities and Church Societies, and some advan- tage gained if able preachers were always sent out to advocate the cause of those Church Charities, of which the Parochial Clergy, overwhelmed with their local cares, have not sufficient knowledge to enable them to be their sufficient expounders. But when we come practically to consider how much of the ground which the Chapters have lost may now be recovered to them, and what duties and what emolu- ments may now be assigned to them, we must not risk all by attempting too much. It will not, in my opinion, be wise to depart from the altered constitution of the Chapters, so far as num- bers are concerned, as settled by the Act of 1840. I do not propose to augment those numbers, nor, if possible, to increase their expense, because public feel- ing would resist such augmentation till experience shall have shown that the Cathedral dignitaries are not mere sinecurists, existing for the sake of ornament rather 24 than use, and paid a good salary merely for sitting in their stalls. It would be easy to allot duties to the Chapters, far more numerous than with their present numbers they could perform. But I propose to take the existing numbers, and to be content with such duties only as they are capable of performing, but to give them the means of efficiently performing them. Those duties must be such, that their influence on the general welfare of the Diocese and on the parochial system may be clearly discerned, and the almost uni- versal sympathy among Churchmen for Church Exten- sion and Church Education may be enlisted in favour of the proposed changes, by making them directly and obviously subservient to those two purposes. Firstly : — I would relieve the Parochial Clergy, already overtasked by the labours of their cures, from the labour of keeping the accounts, drawing up the reports, and collecting subscriptions for the various general or Diocesan Charities. All such matters ought to be transacted in the ca- thedral town, and their management should devolve on those who there represent the Church and the Diocese, viz., the Chapter, one member of which ought to undertake this. I would resuscitate the Cathedral School, by placing the Training Schools, of which, either for school- masters or schoolmistresses, there is, or ought to be, one in every Diocese, under the direct control of one of the Canons, who should himself constantly examine and teach in it, as well as exercise a general supervision. Another Canon should act as Diocesan Inspector of 25 schools, and one of the two would likewise act as secre- tary to the Diocesan Board of Education *. Again, I would place under their care all such establishments as Penitentiaries, institutions of Nursing Sisters, and the like, making the Cathedral, as originally contemplated, the centre of all Diocesan charity. The Divinity Lecturer has already reappeared both at Wells and Chichester f , though not in connection, as it ought to be, with the Chapter. The Colleges at those two places give an opportunity to the Candidate for Holy Orders to study Divinity, and to prepare himself for his office by that special training which no other profession so much requires, and which scarcely any other profession is without. Such Colleges should form part of the Cathedral Establishment. They should be conducted under the rule of the Dean and such Members of the Chapter as may be necessary to assist him. But I would not limit to Candidates for Holy Orders the instruction to be given in Cathedrals. There is a still wider sphere for their exertions, one which was allotted to them at their original foundation, and which it is more necessary than ever that they should occupy. In the Statutes of Henry VIII., the boys in the Cathedral School are appointed to be taught Latin, Hebrew, and Greek, and further it is said, that " Juventus in literis liberaliter institu- * At Salisbury this has been done with the most complete success. The Diocesan Training School is placed under the daily care and attention of one of the Canons. f At Queen's College, Birmingham, Dr. Warneford has given '^000?. to endow a Professorship for training in the practical duties of the ministry young men destined fur Holy Orders. 2G atur." Now, it is hopeless to attempt to bring down the expenses of a University education to the level which would enable the Clergy and smaller Gentry, Merchants, and Tradesmen, to avail themselves of it for their sons. The wealth of England is brought up at Oxford and Cambridge, and you cannot force down wealth to the practice of poverty by any educational sumptuary laws whatever. It may be true that the strictly educational and necessary expenses, University and Collegiate Fees, Battles, &c, &c, do not amount to more than 80/., and there is no doubt that many young men, exercising a rigid self-denial, pass through Oxford at a cost not exceeding 120/. a year, but these are exceptional cases ; the mass of young men will not be better than the public opinion of their fellows requires them to be. The temptations and difficulty are too strong, and you have no right to expect the generality of young men to lead exceptional lives. Besides, the actual necessary expenses are higher at a University than they might be elsewhere. And you may give elsewhere, namely, in our cathedral towns, the same education at a far cheaper rate, affiliating these Ca- pitular Colleges to Colleges at the two Universities, the Cathedral Students going up to Oxford and Cam- bridge for the examinations necessary for the various Degrees. The boon to the poorer Gentry and to the Clergy would be immense. At one-third of the cost, with equal, nay, much better, moral superintendence and discipline, than can be given in a crowded University, they would have all the advantages of a University Degree, with the possibility of University Honours and Emoluments. 27 This system is already adopted by the London Uni- versity and by King's College. As in their case, it would strengthen the Universities by giving them new ramifications through the country, and attaching to them classes daily increasing in numbers and import- ance, and who would be animated by a friendly spirit towards them, if no longer debarred from all access to them. It would include in the embrace of the Church, through her education, classes now driven to seek their education in Proprietary Colleges, Chartered Uni- versities of a lower class, Athenaeums and Academies, various in their discipline and doctrine, but agreeing for the most part in the inculcation of a pseudo-philo- sophical spirit most hostile to the Church and to her creed. To the Parochial Clergy, this offer of a cheaper and yet liberal education for their children, would be practically an indirect enhancement of income — to the Candidate for Orders, an opportunity not now possessed of acquiring some practical knowledge and some special training for the sacred calling he is about to embrace. Educated with the Laity, our Clergy are not a body isolated from society. There is a strong sympathy between the two, arising from their common edu- cation ; but something more is required for the Clergy in addition to that common education. The Layman, who takes a Degree at Oxford, is not a learned Divine. The Clergyman surely ought to have the means of acquiring a little more theology than the squire he is to preach to. Again, there are habits, tact, a tone of mind, and a learning besides that of books, which a Clergyman ought to possess, and 28 for which a special training is necessary. The law requires proof of study, attainment, and skill, before the medical practitioner is allowed to deal with the body ; but the physician of the soul in England too often begins as an empiric, having had no previous insight into or practice in the performance of the duties which the day after his ordination he com- mences, per saltum, to perform. Voluntary efforts have attempted to supply this ne- cessity. The Colleges at Wells and Chichester produce admirable Curates, who have learned the duties of their calling before they attempt to practise them. Such institutions should be multiplied, strengthened, and regulated, and a year's residence in them might be required of every Candidate for Orders. Those set over them would thus acquire a far better insight into their character and fitness for their Holy Office than any mere examination for Orders can give, and much scandal and injury to the Church might be avoided by the timely rejection of young men seeking Her Orders in a spirit utterly unfitting them for Her offices. Lastly, if means could be found, a certain number of men might be maintained by the Chapter while passing through these two classes, with a view to their Ordination. I am aware that the reintroduction into the Church of Priests drawn from a class unable to procure a University education, or indeed any fitting education at their own expense, is looked upon by many of the best friends of the Church with suspicion and alarm. They fear to deprive the Clergy of the Church of England of that character, on which they now justly pride themselves, of being all men of edu- cation and all gentlemen. They fear the introduction 29 into our Clmreli of that democratic element which we see exercising so baneful an influence on the Priesthood of Ireland, and, through them, on the whole population. I do not myself see that the restoration of an inferior order of Clergy need produce these consequences ; and I see the probability of great advantage to counter- balance these possible evils. Were there no special disadvantages to be adduced against it, I think it would be admitted as a self-evident proposition, that the Church, which is for all classes, ought not to be recruited exclusively from one — that all should be represented among her members — that she should render no class hostile to her bv debarring it from all access to her ministry. In Ireland, the Roman Catholic Priesthood is de- rived almost from one class exclusively. In this respect it resembles our Church ; but here the resemblance ceases, for their Priesthood is derived as exclusively from the peasantry as ours from the gentry. The cha- racter of their Church is thereby degraded : but the class from which their Clergy is drawn are incapable of perceiving that degradation, and regard it with an un- bounded affection. With us it is directly the reverse; our vast town populations look upon our Church as something altogether above them — too refined — too aristocratic for their coarser touch — and they take their teaching from those to whom they can go with more confidence for consolation and advice, namely, the Dissenting Minister, drawn from, understanding the wants, and sympathizing with the feelings of their own class. But might not this population often be drawn to the Church by a representative in its Ministry, puri- fied by education from the vulgarity, the ignorance, 30 and the fanaticism which disgrace too often the self- educated men of this class ? How many men of superior talent and ardent piety, whose undirected zeal leads them now into bitter Dissent, might not only be saved to the Church, but be numbered among her most useful and efficient defenders ! Brought up with and under the guidance of our own existing Clergy, their minds, habits, and intellect would be raised to their standard. Drawn from a class accustomed to more frugal and simple habits, they could be educated and provided for at a cost which would make their maintenance practi- cable. The whole case is so well put in a striking passage by Mr. Selwyn, that I quote the extract at length : — " May the Universities long continue to be the main feeders of the Ministry ! It would be anything but an advantage to a young Candidate for Orders, to be con- fined to a strictly professional education ; and there- fore it is impossible to object to the resolution which most of the English Bishops have formed, of ordaining no one who is not a member of one of the English Universities. But, at present, this regulation, though founded upon principles of sound policy and expediency, is the means of debarring from the Ministry many de- serving poor men, who are unable to meet the expense of an academical education. On the other hand, the pulpit of the dissenting chapel is open to them without any such qualification. It is certain that many pious and able men are thus lost to the Church # . It is no doubt true, that much is done to remedy this evil, by * A Society has lately been formed at Cambridge, for the purpose of assisting poor and deserving men through their academical course, with a view to their admission to Holy Orders 31 Exhibitions and Scholarships in most of the Colleges at both Universities ; but the Scholars thus maintained are not subject to the same probation which the Stu- dents from the Cathedrals might be made to undergo. In taking Ministers from the lower orders, the greatest caution is necessary, to avoid injury to the character of the Priesthood. My fervent prayer is, that the Ministry of the Church may take root downward ; that many a rustic mother may feel an honest pride in the profession of her son, and bless the Church which has adopted him into her service. But these must not be Jeroboam's Ministers, " the lowest of the people ;"* but men who, by their talents and virtues, have proved themselves worthy of a higher station t. If sufficient caution be used in selecting Ministers from the great body of the people, the Church must be strengthened, and cannot be degraded. It seems to be essential to the perma- nent efficiency of all the higher orders of men, that they should be recruited from time to time by well- chosen reinforcements from the ranks below them. The Cathedral Institutions have the means of providing such a course of probation in youth, and such a system of encouragement to the deserving in after-life, as might be sufficient, under the blessing of God, to ensure the good conduct of their students in the Universities : and thus, without injury to the character or efficiency of the Ministry, they might become the avenues by which the * 1 Kings xii. 31. f Such men are they, who have made poverty honourable in the College of which I am a member ; where humble and retiring merit has never failed to meet with patronage and support ; and of which some of the brightest ornaments have been drawn from the lower ranks of society. 32 poorest man of merit might arrive at academical dis- tinction, and pass on to the highest offices of the Church. " In considering this part of the question, we are sometimes apt to rely too much upon the continuance of the worldly prosperity of the Church of England. The objection which is generally raised against any plan for drawing supplies of Ministers from the great body of the people is, that there are candidates enough of a higher rank, who are willing to undertake the sacred office. It might be sufficient to protest once for all against this objection, as involving an exclusive and therefore an unchristian principle. It is not evident, however, that the cause of this plentiful supply of Ministers is, in a great measure, the prosperity of the Church ? But, in the present state of political feeling in this country, there is little to justify the expectation, that the Clergy will be blessed with the perpetual en- joyment of their present temporal advantages. This is not to be looked upon as a melancholy foreboding of evils which may never happen, but as a prudential fore- thought, which must be suggested to every Clergyman by daily observation of the spirit and temper of the times. It is not a gloomy prospect ; for the Ministry of the Church, whether in adversity or in honour, must have within itself a comforting and sustaining power, to those who have learned to value its privileges, and have felt the peace and satisfaction which is imparted by the performance of its duties. But it is well to be prepared for the worst, if it were for no other reason than that we may be the more thankful, if it should please God to preserve us from that extreme. The main point of this preparation is, to strengthen every 33 part of the Church Establishment, and especially those parts which connect it with the poorer classes. It may be necessary, and perhaps at no very distant time, to draw largely upon that source for the supply of the Ministry, if any great political change should diminish the number of those who now embrace the Priesthood as a liberal and dignified profession. In what state will the Church find itself, if it shall then have parted with all its institutions for the education of the Clergy, upon the improvident supposition, that Candidates for Holy Orders will always be able and willing to educate them- selves ? We should then be most happy, if we could revive, by public subscription or otherwise, one tenth part of that efficient and comprehensive system, which now lies dormant in our Cathedral Establishments." Such a body, educated and maintained within the Chapter, would form a Clergy-aid Society far more efficient than could be produced by the irregular efforts of precarious Societies. Wherever the want was most pressing, there, by the direction of the Archdeacon, could a Deacon, or Priest, as the case might require, be sent to assist. From these men, themselves most carefully selected, some would be certain to give proofs of such efficiency as would entitle them, when in Priests' Orders, to a Benefice, where occasion offers — an additional stimulant to the zeal of all. This would restore, in their original intention, the Chaplains enumerated in the Statutes, though the benefit would be still more widely diffused through the Diocese. I have not proposed to make the Archdeacon a Canon Residentiary, because the duties here proposed to be assigned to the Chapters will more than occupy the c 34 time of the four Canons, to which number the Act of 1840 reduced them. It is likewise, in my opinion, most important to the interest of the objects pro- posed, to disturb existing arrangements as little as pos- sible ; and I understand that the Ecclesiastical Com- mission have it in contemplation to apply for powers to charge the salaries of Archdeacons on the Episcopal Fund. It would be imprudent, therefore, to saddle the Chapter Funds with any additional expense, when that expense can be defrayed from other sources, and where the new duties to be assigned to the Canons, or rather the revival and modification of their now obso- lete duties, will, though without adding to the numbers of the dignitaries, yet draw considerably upon their funds. The case of Charities, the Superintendence of Train- ing Schools, the visiting and directing Penitentiaries and similar institutions, where they exist, can cost nothing. These establishments are there; all that is wanted to be given is time, care, and labour. But the opening of a theological class, and the training of Can- didates for Orders, or the establishment of branches affiliated to the Universities, would require in either case lecture rooms and places of study for the scho- lars. In nearly all cases suitable localities might be found in the vacant houses of the suppressed Canonries, or within the precincts of the Cathedral itself, the Chapter House, Libraries, &c. ; but in some cases the purchase of a house for the purpose may be necessary, since in all residential accommodation must, if pos- sible, be provided for a portion of the students who have not friends or connections in the town with whom to reside. These things once acquired, no material 35 annual expense need be incurred, as the payments of the students, though moderate, ought to cover the cost of their maintenance or education, as the case might be. It would be impossible, however, to main- tain a body of Deacons without a considerable annual expense. You could not keep up the number — say to eight for the diocese — for a less sum than COO/, a year: but this would be a direct contribution in aid of the parochial system, as a very small payment would be required of the parish to which a Deacon might be sent out, compared with the stipend necessary to secure the services of the most ordinary Curate. Indeed, if the maintenance of such a body be of value, it is a question whether it would not be worth while to appropriate a Canonry to that purpose, rather than forego its advantages. Additional funds might also be procured in aid by contributions, such as are given to the Curates' Aid Society. Further, it is obvious that if the duties which I have here proposed to assign to the Chapters are to be performed, residence through the entire year will be necessary. Indeed, it is obvious that if Chapters have duties to perform, they will be better performed by a resident than by a non-resident Chapter, in the same degree in which a parish will be better administered by a resident than by a non-resident Rector. If we are accustomed to think otherwise, it is only because we are accustomed to look upon Chapters as sinecurists, which, indeed, we have ourselves, by law, almost com- pelled them to be. Half the inutility of our present Chapters arises from this very non-residence. Zealous and active parish priests, promoted to a Canonry, come up to their residences only too anxious to devote their c 2 36 three months' leisure to some good work or another, and find all their offers rejected. They find that they can only interfere with, not discharge, any man's busi- ness. At the end of three months' residence, they must withdraw from whatever they have undertaken. By the time they have learned their business, they must give it up ; by the time some one else has for- gotten his, he must recommence it * ! Their assistance, not being permanent, or continuous, is valueless ; and, with every disposition to work, the members of the Chapter are forced into a state of un- settled idleness. They saunter about their Cathedral closes, a spectacle which delights the eyes of every enemy to the Church, and affords a point and an epigram for every attack on her discipline. Their cure of souls, in the meanwhile, where they have duties, and important ones, is left to a curate, equally unsettled from the shortness of his residence. Even if the present system were to continue, and no new duties to be exacted from the Chapters, it would be absurd to prevent a man from performing his duties on his living, because he has none to perform at his Cathedral. But if you insist, as you must, on residence, and if, as the necessary consequence, you do away with these pluralities, you must in some way augment the value of the Canonries, which are to become the sole support of the Canons. But here again, indirectly, you are add- * The office of Precentor at Salisbury is filled by a Canon, who was presented to his Canonry by the Bishop, on the condition that he should hold no other preferment with it. He is constantly resident. His time is more than fully occupied, and there is no man in the diocese whose labours are more useful, or more appreciated. 37 ing to the efficiency of the Parochial system, by giving resident in lieu of non-resident Clergy, to upwards of one hundred cures now held, together with their stalls, by members of Chapters. In calculating the cost of the augmentation of the Canonry to supply the loss of the benefice, now gene- rally held with it, it must be recollected that the whole value of the living is not profit, as there is the expense of paying a Curate, of maintaining two houses of resi- dence, two distinct sets of subscriptions, charities, &c, and the expense of moving a household twice every year. Still the plan adds to the annual expense of the Chapters. Four Canons who are to hold no Livings together with their Stalls ought not to be paid less than 600/. a year, especially as they are to perform duties not only laborious and important, but requiring no ordinary learning and ability properly to discharge them. This additional annual expense would, however, in great part be defrayed by the fees and payments of the students, and the first cost of the Collegiate Establish- ment, in the adaptation of a house and the purchase of books, furniture, &c, would find cheerful contributors in the Laity, who would derive so much advantage from their institution. I believe, too, that a regular payment would be a still greater advantage than an augmenta- tion ; an average income of 500/., but which consists in one year of 300/. and in another of 700/., is not to be compared in value to a fixed annual income of 500/. I do not see why the Chapters should not receive some settled sum, paying over the surplus to the Commission in good years, and receiving the difference in bad years, 38 instead of dividing a varying sum, as they do now, with the Commission, and among themselves. It must likewise be recollected, that it may not be necessary to have both a pastoral and an affiliated college in each Diocese, any more than a training school for both masters and mistresses in each cathedral town. The educational wants of the Dioceses of Winchester and Salisbury are supplied by joint training- schools, the one for masters being at Winchester, and that for mistresses at Salisbury. The same system may be equally applied to the proposed Diocesan Colleges, a Pastoral College at one Cathedral, an Affiliated College at another, supplying the Clergy to, and taking Students from, both Dioceses. I have little doubt, however, that ultimately there will be a greater demand than such limited establish- ments could supply. After a few years there will pro- bably be few candidates for orders who will not have passed through the Pastoral Colleges. With the greatly increased numbers of cures which we shall year by year see created, the number of young men taking orders every year upon titles for England and Wales alone, without counting the colonies, w T ill give ample employment to twenty-six Pastoral Colleges. Twenty-six Colleges offering University Education and Degrees would not be too many, when once known, for the wants of those classes whose limited means put Oxford and Cambridge beyond their reach ; but whose talents, habits, and position give them the wish to secure for their children the advantages of a University Education. For the present, how- ever, half that number might be opened as vacancies in Chapters give the opportunity: it will be time :39 enough to increase them when their insufficiency shall be complained of. It Mould be a great error to create more than are required. We must not exchange Canons without duties for Professors without scholars. I do not, however, anticipate such a result; of necessity the introduction of these changes must be gradual. In some few cases existing Canons fitted for the duties may be willing to resign their benefice in order to reside on their Canonry, and undertake some of the duties here pointed out; but I doubt whether such a course will often be adopted, and we must rather look to future vacancies to provide the men necessary for the work. I do not exclude the recommendation that one Canonry should be attached to a small and insufficient living in the cathedral town*; but, could it be done in no other way, I had much rather of the two, that the proceeds of that Canonry should be devoted to the maintenance of Chaplains ; which would practically be attaching the Canonry not to one, but to many insuf- ficiently endowed parishes; and could I recover the proceeds of one of the Canonries suppressed by the Act of 1840, I would have a house devoted to the reception and maintenance of poor Clergy, whom age and infirmity had incapacitated for active duty. A recapitulation, moreover, of the proposals made, will show that the work proposed could not be executed * My own opinion is, that it is a waste and a misapplication of Cathedral Funds, but I doubt the possibility of now rejecting it ; but if it be done, the Canonry had far better be suppressed, and the proceeds divided among two or three populous parishes, than that the abuses of uon-residence, plurality, and neglect of Cathedral duties should be continued and sanctioned by law. 40 by less than a Dean and four Canons where the Colleges are established, and if, when established, they are suc- cessful. The proposals amount to this : — That the Dean and Canons should hold no other Benefice ; That they should reside not less than nine months in every year ; That each Canonry should have a special office and duties attached to it ; That the Dean should share in, and overlook, the whole. The special offices would be : — A Principal of a Diocesan Pastoral College. A Principal of an Affiliated College for Laity. Principal of Diocesan Training School. Inspector of Schools and Secretary to Diocesan Board of Education. Secretary to Diocesan Church-Building Society, and all Diocesan Societies and Charities, of which the Secretary should also be the Visitor and Chaplain. The Dean might be Principal of both Colleges, assisted by a Canon in each. The Chaplains, also, w 7 ould of course be under the authority of the Dean. The other two Canons might divide between them the Training School inspection, and the management of Charities. It is obvious that these duties would in time be more than five men could perform ; but the minor Canons might assist, and, in some Cathedrals, their number might be reduced, and their stipends augmented ; so that their whole time and service might be secured to their 41 Cathedral duties. But for the present, two Colleges, as I have before stated, would not be required in eacli diocese. As the Dioceses of Salisbury and Winchester have their joint training schools, so any two Dioceses may unite to have their Pastoral College and the Lay College in common. These are details which can only be decided upon data which are not now in my posses- sion, and as any such plans can only be introduced gradually, experience will show how best we should proceed after the first step shall be taken. Neither do I propose one plan as suitable to all Chapters. The old foundations differ very much from the new, and very much again from one another. I merely indicate the objects which Ave must seek to attain, though the form may differ in different localities. There will be great objections to the principle of some of these proposals, and great difficulties to over- come in carrying them out, even were the objections overcome. The Lay Colleges, or Halls, would be the most ob- jected to, and the most difficult to establish. They would be objected to as a diversion of the funds of the Church to the purposes of general educa- tion. I think that such an objection would be a sound one, were it proposed to apply to the erection of these Colleges either the surplus of the Episcopal Fund, or funds belonging to parochial cures. But this purpose is one which was contemplated in the foundations of the Chapters. The Chapters were not designed for parochial pur- poses, but they were designed to foster learning ; nor can it be said that their statutes, (at least those I have quoted,) upon any fair interpretation, were meant to 42 promote learning among the Clergy alone, " ut juventus liberaliter instituatur." * The foundations of Cranmer were clearly designed, by the promotion of learning, and the diffusion of a taste for letters, to bring up for him adherents and advocates among all classes in the great controversy in which he was engaged. He wanted to arm and strengthen the Anglican as against the Roman Church. It was necessary to have a well-affected and a well- educated laity. The King loved learning for its own sake, and still more for the uses to which he might put it. It was a counter-movement, having, to a great degree, the same object in England, that Contarini. Lippomano, Pole, and others, sought to effect by the oratory of love in Italy. But, even were these objections overcome, there would be great difficulty in carrying the proposal into practical effect. Corporate bodies are not easy to deal with, and it would be unreasonable to expect that the two Universities should be exceptions to the rule. The proposal has the demerit of being a thorough innovation on their system, and its success, though I believe it would greatly increase their moral power and extend their influence, might appear likely to diminish their receipts by establishing a number of small rivals who would intercept the stream which now flows into them alone : not that there need be much fear of such a result, for all who can will, as now, go to the Universities themselves, while the proposed Colleges would, in fact, only be sought by those who are excluded from the former by their want of means. * Prebendal Schools, being Grammar Schools, are still main- tained in some Cathedrals. 43 No real opinion, however, can be given, either as to the amount of the difficulty, or the power of over- coming it, until there has been communication with the two parties interested, i. e. the Chapters on the one side, and the Universities on the other. Even, however, should this portion of the plan be postponed or abandoned, there is ample work cut out for the Chapters in the other proposals, and more than they could for some time execute, many of the present members of those bodies being either unwilling, or from age and previous habits unfitted, for the discharge of such duties as those proposed. Such are the proposals so far as the Chapters are con- cerned. I know it will, in limine, be objected to them that they tend to increase the amount of the funds to be annually spent in the Cathedral Close, and in the same proportion to diminish the amount of surplus to be devoted to parochial purposes ; and that, therefore, they are inadmissible. To this I answer, first, that as the new system will come but gradually into operation, the increase of ex- pense will, probably, not be greater than the increase of the whole Capitular fund ; and that the actual surplus payable to parochial purposes will, therefore, not be diminished. Again, against such loss, or rather non-increase of available surplus, must be set the advantage to be derived by the parochial system in the release of so many livings now held by law in plurality with Dean- eries and Stalls, and the assistance to be derived by populous places from the Cathedral Chaplains. But the Church must decide whether or not her Cathedrals and Chapters are worth retaining. If they 44 are to be retained, they must be made defensible, that is, efficient. You cannot have efficiency without some cost. If the original objects of Cathedral Institutions were useful and good, let them be restored, and such restora- tion be the first and the legitimate claim on the funds which were bequeathed for that, and for no other, purpose. These proposals, too, would be made at a time when a general change of system is at hand. I feel perfectly certain that we shall see the Episcopal merged with the Capitular fund. I have stated before the popular impression on the subject. The appropriation of the Capitular fund is a precedent ready to our hand. We want more Bishops, we want more Clergy. The last want seems the more pressing of the two. The same sum will produce far more visible effect if applied to the latter than if applied to the former purpose. What are called the " working Clergy," (very justly so called, except in the invidious sense in which it is meant,) are a body popular in the country — and the Bishops are not — though the feeling towards them is getting more just and more healthy. The case between the two is to be decided by a popular body. I have no doubt how it will be decided ; and be it remembered what the work is that is before us. We want an army of missionaries to combat ignorance and infidelity, on ground where the Church has never yet been known. There is no time to be lost. Such a sum as the surplus of the Episcopal Fund, judiciously used, will call out and be met by an enormous voluntary offering. If the opportunity is lost, no man can fore- see the end. It is not a time to be squeamish. 45 I think the surplus of the Capitular revenues is justly applied to this purpose ; and when I see the Episcopal surplus applied in the same manner, it will be not only without surprise, but without regret or alarm, provided we can succeed in making some con- ditions on the subject. The process of making single Bishops by separate Acts of Parliament, is one by no means encouraging to those who witnessed the Debates on the Bill for creating the See of Manchester. Incalculable injury is done to the Church by such discussions. Every kind of calumny and ribaldry is heaped on the order. No one can contradict what he never before heard. There circulate through the country, on the morning after, as many libels on the Episcopal Bench as there are copies of newspapers sold throughout England, and they come stamped with a sort of Parliamentary authority. Many such victories would be fatal. Even that one was secured by something almost amounting to a promise that no similar attempt should be made. In short, by Parliamentary authority, from the Episcopal Fund, you cannot make new Bishops, while the want of parochial extension is unsupplied. I have no sort of sympathy with those who deny the want of Bishops, or deny that they have more labour put upon them than they can efficiently perform. I entirely disagree with the Parliamentary estimate of a Bishop, his duties and his responsibilities. Irreproach- able character, gentlemanly manners, punctuality in correspondence, and liberality in subscriptions, are not the only things wanted to constitute a Bishop. But this is true — that, give a man a Diocese so large that he can never be thoroughly acquainted with it ; 46 overlay him with the necessary quantity of mere routine, till he has no time for anything- else ; and it is not the saintliest man but the clearest-headed man of business who will make you the best Bishop. Under this system the Bishop is made to become what the Home Secretary is to the magistrates, or the Poor Law Commissioner to the Boards of Guardians. He is a check. You select pious, learned, and able men ; but these qualities are thrown away, if the possessors have no opportunity for their exercise. To infuse their own spirit into their clergy, to raise their tone, to enlarge their views, to animate them with a spirit of lofty self- devotion ; these things require personal intercourse, in- tercourse sufficiently constant and unreserved to make insensibly a certain and a lasting impression on those admitted to it, whether Clergy or Laity. But these are things in many of our Dioceses almost unattainable. The flock is too numerous for the shepherd to know 7 . I admit at once, therefore, the necessity of an increase to the Episcopate ; and I want not again to encounter the battle in the arena of the House of Commons each time a new See is to be created. I would pass an Act once for all, on the model of the one under which the Colonial Sees are created, em- powering the Queen in Council to erect a new See whenever it shall be certified to her that a certain sum has been placed by voluntary offerings in the hands of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for the purpose of its endowment. One Sunday's Offertory through the land would pro- duce an endowment. No one would have a right to object to an endowment so created. No one could say 47 that Church revenues were being devoted to a secondary want, when a primary necessity was unprovided for. But I would still fix the purchase of a suitable residence on the original Episcopal Fund; and I should be glad, let me here add, to see steps taken upon the next avoidance, or as opportunity offers, to place the residence of every Bishop, except where the nature of the diocese renders it inexpedient, in close proximity to his Cathe- dral *. In many cases the change might be effected without any pecuniary loss whatever. I earnestly trust that every resistance will be made to the suggestion of Mr. Colquhoun, that a fund should be raised by the sale of all advowsons of Benefices now under Episcopal patronage. I can conceive no step so fatal to the sanctity of the Church. In the first place, the more patronage is concentrated in single hands the better. Almost every man has some one person, be it friend or relation, in whose favour he will do one job. Ten livings in the hands of one Layman produce one younger brother and nine conscientious appointments. In the hands of ten men they will often result in ten jobs. To propose to sell the Benefices in England, not * The Sees in which the Bishop's residence is no longer in the Cathedral city are fifteen in number : Canterbury. Exeter. Oxford. Gloucester and Bristol. London. Lichfield. York. Lincoln. Durham. Llandaff. Winchester. Rochester. Carlisle. St. David's. Worcester. For the first three, special grounds of exception might be shown. I trust that it is not true that Manchester is to be added to the list. 48 already in lay patronage, to be purchased by all the squires, and merchants, and lawyers in England, to be converted into " family livings," and to deprive the Bishop of all power of rewarding merit, of advancing ability, and of selecting efficient men for difficult and important Cures, appears to me as heedless as any scheme which has yet been advanced by any friend of the Church. Let us have no increase of irresponsible patronage. Let me now repeat what I began with. I have no claim to treat this subject, but what an anxious desire to promote the welfare of the Church may give to any one of its members who takes part in public affairs. I do not advance opinions, but I make suggestions, in order that they may be discussed by others, and that I may thus obtain the reasoned opinions of those who are competent to give them. I need not add that there must be much inaccuracy in a paper so hastily drawn up. Believe me, my dear Dean, most sincerely yours, SIDNEY HERBERT. Wilton, February, 1849. O. Wood fall and Son, Printers, Angel Court, Skinner Street, London. SUM *> *: ~i H ..-Ml ■ tf