LI E> RARY 
 
 OF THL 
 
 UNIVLRSITY 
 
 or ILLINOIS
 
 Bitmingbam Bisbopvic 
 
 ADDRESS 
 
 BY 
 
 HIS GRACE THE 
 LORD ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY, 
 
 AND 
 
 IReport of tbe ffiisbopric proceeDina^ 
 
 AT A • 
 
 MEETING OF THE WORCESTER DIOCESAN CONFERENCE 
 
 HELD IN THE 
 
 MIDLAND INSTITUTE, BIRMINGHAM, 
 
 ON 
 
 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1903. 
 
 ^3 
 
 THE LORD BISHOP OF WORCESTER 
 
 PRESIDING.
 
 Birminobam Bisbopric 
 
 OFFICERS. 
 
 Cbairman. 
 THE RT. REV. THE LORD BISHOP OF WORCESTER. 
 
 WicesCbairmcn. 
 
 THE RT. REV. THE LORD BISHOP OF MANCHESTER. 
 
 THE RT. HON. VISCOUNT COBHAM. 
 
 THE RT. HON. LORD NORTON. 
 
 Ureaeurers. 
 SIR JOHN C. HOLDER, BART. 
 ALEXANDER M. CHANCE, J. P. 
 
 Ijon. Clerical Secvetavies. 
 
 THE VEN. ARCHDEACON DIGGLE. 
 
 THE VEN. ARCHDEACON HODGSON. 
 
 CANON CRESSWELL STRANGE. 
 
 CANON MANSFIELD OWEN. 
 
 1bon. Secretary. 
 WALTER N. FISHER, J. P. « 
 
 The Amount required for the 
 
 ENDOWMENT FUND 
 
 is £105,000. 
 
 In addition to which a suitable House for the Bishop will have 
 to be provided to meet the requirements of the Ecclesiastical 
 
 Commissioners. 
 
 Subscriptions (which may be paid by three instalments, 
 the last on or before the 30th June, 1905), are earnestly solicited, 
 and will be received at any of the Banks in Birmingham, Worcester, 
 Coventry, Leamington, and Warwick ; or by any of the Officers 
 as above, addressed to the Offices of the Honorary Secretary, 4, 
 Waterloo Street, Birmingham ; or may be paid to the credit x)f the 
 Treasurer at Lloyds Bank Limited, Temple Row West, J3irmingham.

 
 BIRMINGHAM BISHOPRIC. 
 
 The Afternoon Sitting op the 
 
 WORCESTER DIOCESAN CONFERENCE 
 
 on 
 Wednesday, October 7, 1903, 
 
 was devoted to the consideration of the Birmingham 
 Bishopric Scheme, His Grace the Lord Archbishop of 
 Canterbury and the Lord Bishop of Lichfield attending 
 to give their support to the movement. The Lord 
 Bishop of Worcester occupied the chair, supported, 
 among others, by Earl Beauchamp, Viscount Cobham, 
 and Lord Norton, and in addition to the members of 
 the Conference there was a large number of visitors, 
 the lecture theatre at the Midland Institute being 
 crowded. The President opened the proceedings by 
 giving a cordial welcome to the Archbishop, and to the 
 Bishop of Lichfield, and after stating the order of the 
 proceedings, called upon the first named to address the 
 meeting. 
 
 HIS GRACE THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY: 
 
 I ask you to believe me when I say that it is in no formal 
 or conventional sense that I am using the words when I 
 tell you that I regard it genuinely as a high privilege to 
 be here this afternoon. Among the responsibilities, the 
 anxieties, the burdens which belong to the office that I 
 hold, which are not light, and which I venture to believe 
 have never been less light than they are to-day, there are, 
 on the other hand, some compensations. Among the 
 compensations or alleviations which attend the carrying of 
 these responsibilities is this, that the Archbishop is allowed 
 perhaps more frequently than other men who hold 
 episcopal office to be in personal touch with the life of
 
 6 
 
 other dioceses and other centres of religious and moral 
 work, and to carry back to his own diocese and his own 
 special work, the stimulus and the cheer that comes from 
 seeing what better things are done and planned elsewhere. 
 To-day I regard it as no small privilege to be allowed to 
 be in touch with a bit of work which seems to me to be 
 brimful of hope, and of significance, and closely to con- 
 cern the welfare of our Church as a whole, and to congra- 
 tulate you on the facts with which we are face to face 
 to-day. For this is a cheering meeting — to me at least. 
 I have nothing new to say upon a well worn subject ; I 
 can bring to you, I am afraid, no fresh information, or any 
 fresh ideas, but I myself can gain a great deal from being 
 here to-day in close touch with a bit of work significant of 
 strong vigorous life and high resolve, and of readiness on 
 your part to give as well as to receive, as members of the 
 Church of Christ in our land. I have had to do elsewhere 
 than here with plans, with undertakings, with accomplish- 
 ments similar to that which you have planned and are 
 accomplishing now. And constantly we have found in 
 such matters that the main difl&culty has lain on the 
 material side — in the practical raising of the required funds. 
 Birmingham and the Worcester diocese have set a noble 
 example in showing that at all events the material difficulty, 
 now that the matter has been adequately taken in hand, 
 shall not stand in the way, and you are not only within 
 sight, but practically within touch of the actual finish and 
 accomplishment of the task that you have had in hand. 
 You have taken a large view of the Church's needs at this 
 time, and you have met them. To-day, in connection with 
 this matter, two personal memories are to me pervading 
 and strong. More than twenty years ago I was examining 
 chaplain to one of the greatest of Birmingham men — 
 Bishop Lightfoot. (Applause). Some of us who had
 
 been inexpressibly keen about his undertaking that great 
 task in the North of England, felt just at first a little 
 disappointment — sometimes perhaps a little irritation — 
 at finding that with all his great ideals, his splendid 
 knowledge of the past brought to bear upon the facts of 
 the present and the plans of the future — that with all that, 
 he seemed to us to be concentrating too much thought, 
 too much time, too much energy, too much speech, 
 upon the division of his diocese and the forma- 
 tion of the diocese of Newcastle. I can remember 
 more than once our expressing, behind his back, what we 
 had not dared to say before his face, our feeling that he 
 thought too much about that, and exaggerated its 
 importance. Gentlemen, he was right: we were wrong. 
 (Applause). No single thing has told more for the 
 religious well being — aye, and the well being in other 
 ways than those technically called religious — no other 
 thing has told better for the well being of the North of 
 England than the consummation of that plan which he had 
 in hand for the formation of the new diocese for which he 
 cared so much. I have been within the last few days, 
 almost within the last twenty-four hours, in that region, 
 and in close touch with those who were Bishop Lightfoot's 
 counsellors and friends, and those who cared about the 
 well being of those great northern counties, and I find to- 
 day an absolute unanimity of opinion that an inexpressible 
 amount of good was done when the great diocese of 
 Durham was divided into two, and the diocese of New- 
 castle was formed for carrying on that work more efficiently 
 by two dioceses, than it could even under his leadership 
 be accomplished while they were both one. (Loud 
 applause). 
 
 That is one reminiscence that is with me to-day, and 
 another is this. Thirteen years ago I was the guest
 
 8 
 
 of my dear and revered friend, Archbishop Benson, when 
 he was starting to attend here in the Town Hall of Bir- 
 mingham a meeting for the promotion of the scheme 
 which we are advocating this afternoon. As he was 
 starting I remember asking him whether he had thought 
 of what, on that occasion, he was going to say. And I 
 remember the glow that lightened his face as he answered 
 — answering with full memory of what his own Truro life 
 had been, and what the foundation of that diocese meant 
 — " we speak that we do know ; and testify that we have 
 seen.'^ If there have been two men of our day who have 
 been able with a seer's power of vision to penetrate 
 beneath the surface, and to understand what is best for the 
 life of our Church in our land to-day, if there have been 
 two men whom we should put in the front rank, it would be 
 Bishop Lightfoot and Archbishop Benson. (Applause). 
 Both these men were equally strong, equally clear as 
 to what had been meant by such an enterprise as that 
 which you have in hand, and what its result must be. 
 In one case twenty years of experience have justified the 
 effort that was made. In the other the experience is yet 
 to come, but I think we may fairly say to-day that the ship 
 is sailing into view, and that before very long, aye, before 
 many months have passed your plans will themselves be 
 accomplished, for you are going to have this work com- 
 pleted and that soon. (Applause). Of that, I for one 
 entertain no doubt. There have been disappointments. 
 There was one, somewhat sudden and somewhat crushing, 
 a month or two ago ; but that is rather a stimulus, a 
 wholesome stimulus perhaps, and it will soon be 
 forgotten. I hold no brief to-day to defend the House of 
 Commons or to defend those who lead the House of 
 Commons; but as to the episode which disappointed 
 us so much in the middle of August of this present
 
 9 
 
 year, I think in fairness we ought to remember that 
 
 none but those who are behind the scenes and within 
 
 thfif; House can perhaps adequately weigh what are the 
 
 difficulties which attend the passing of a measure in the 
 
 closing days of a tedious, anxious, and rather tempestuous 
 
 session of Parliament. This I can say, that no one was 
 
 more disappointed than those on whom the responsibility 
 
 of leadership lay, for the necessity, as it seemed to them, 
 
 of the postponement of the fulfilment of your hopes, and 
 
 consequently that we have a right to count, and I trust 
 
 we shall very definitely count, upon the fulfilment of what 
 
 was then promised to us — that at an early period 
 
 in the ensuing session we shall have this matter 
 
 brought to a consummation. (Applause). I believe 
 
 that that will come true, and I can at least assure you 
 
 of this, that on my part, so far as responsibility lies upon 
 
 me, or co-operation on my part is possible, that nothing 
 
 whatever shall be lacking to bring to an accomplishment 
 
 that which I have shared with you in desiring foi* so long. 
 
 (Applause). And it does seem to me that if we face it 
 
 fairly, it is impossible to think that these hopes can 
 
 fail to be very speedily realised. It depends at this 
 
 moment no longer upon the people whose representatives 
 
 I am speaking to now, for you have done your part, and 
 
 what remains to be collected is a mere trifle — but it rests 
 
 upon the House of Commons, and I venture to say on the 
 
 credit not of a Government, but of the House of Commons 
 
 as a whole. When all these forces are combined : when 
 
 every churchman here in the Midlands desires to see the 
 
 work of our Church made more efficient and thorough by 
 
 the establishment of the bishopric of Birmingham ; with 
 
 that in the first place : when in the next place every citizen 
 
 of this great city desires to see it in this, as in so many 
 
 other respects, take its place among the foremost cities of
 
 10 
 
 England; and when in the third place every liberal, every 
 radical worthy of the name, desires to roll away the 
 reproach that is sometimes brought, that men for factious 
 or partizan purposes, desire to mar the efficiency of the 
 Churches work in England — when you have these three 
 things in combination, as I honestly believe that you have 
 them now, the time cannot be far distant when we shall 
 see our hopes accomplished and the bishopric of Birming- 
 ham a fact for which we can thank God as we look back, 
 and as we look forward. (Applause). After all, when 
 people who have been hesitating or doubtful about it come 
 to handle or to look at what have been the objections 
 raised to the formation of your bishopric here, they 
 practically crumble in your hand, the vision fades as you 
 try to trace its form. So far as I know there are literally 
 and truly only two lines of objection that have been taken. 
 The first is the objection that there are in the (Jhurch to- 
 day, as indeed there always have been when the Church 
 was specially active and vigorous, keen partizan feelings 
 and elements of strife; and then men say that so 
 long as you have these difficulties, and until they are 
 remedied, we do not want to take any step in the direction 
 that you in Birmingham contend for and desire. Out of the 
 mouths of the same men we find the answer. What 
 we are told is : why don't the bishops do more to bring 
 these troubles to an end, and to bring us into the haven of 
 peace and complete harmony where we would be ? To 
 that we reply : let the bishops have it in their power by 
 so relieving them of the over-pressure of work, that they 
 can be in touch with our separate parishes one by one, and 
 with the needs of each district as they stand, and then you 
 will find that we have gone a long way towards removing 
 those difficulties, such as they are, and bringing about that 
 condition of things that we all desire. (Applause). Literally,
 
 11 
 
 no step could be better calculated to mend what is amiss 
 as regards the strife in the Church of to-day than to 
 relieve some of us, and I speak from painful personal 
 experience, from the overburden of constant work which 
 renders practically impossible that personal attention, that 
 personal touch on the bishop^s part, which God be thanked, 
 has often done so much to bring about peace where 
 there has been strife and difficulty before. And surely if 
 that be so, there can be here in your great diocese nothing 
 more definitely needed, than a division of work, a relief 
 of the burdens from shoulders which are certainly over- 
 burdened to-day, however gallantly that burden may be 
 borne. This would make results possible that would be 
 possible in no other way. (Applause). 
 
 I turn to the other line of objection, or of criticism, 
 which has been in Parliament or elsewhere brought forward 
 to your scheme, and to others like it. It is this, that at 
 this moment the clergy of England are suiffering from 
 poverty as they have never sufiered before in consequence 
 partly of agricultural depression, partly of other causes. 
 It is a penury that however magnificently borne, has 
 been unknown in almost any generation that we can look 
 back to in times that are gone. It is said, and we are bound 
 to face it, is this a time when you desire to multiply the 
 great places, when you ought rather to be thinking of 
 the needs of those whom these leaders have to govern 
 and to guide ? Gentlemen, I am absolutely sure that here 
 as elsewhere, the proper answer is to go forward with what 
 we are doing now. It is just in proportion as people learn 
 that the Church is not a big machine, but a living organism 
 guided by a Head who can make every part of that 
 organism not to move only, but to live, and burn, and 
 glow ; it is proportion as you can make that come true 
 that we shall awaken the Church as a whole to the need
 
 12 
 
 of doing that which is so terribly necessary — so absolutely 
 necessary to her well-being, the setting of that difficulty 
 straight, and putting things upon their proper level as re- 
 gards the income of those who are ministering to the needs 
 of all. Those who make that criticism, and I am bound to 
 refer to it, for it has been made not seldom, talk as if 
 there was some abstract or impersonal fund from which a 
 quantity of money can be drawn either for the formation 
 of a bishopric, or for some other pressing and particular 
 need. Of course there is nothing of the kind existing. 
 What happens is that a large number of people after 
 thinking and praying about the Church's needs, find out 
 how and where the necessity is greatest, and offer their 
 gifts for that particular object. You have no sort of right 
 to say that a single £10 note of what is now offered for 
 the formation, the endowment, and the setting on foot of 
 your great bishopric scheme, would be diverted in the way 
 these critics desire if you broke this scheme down to- 
 morrow. Therefore it is simple ignorance, or thought- 
 lessness, or lack of appreciation of what the facts of to-day 
 are which makes people imagine this one need can be set 
 against the other, and that you would relieve that great and 
 growing and crying need, which every one of us desires to 
 see relieved, if we held back the idea of forming a new 
 bishopric like the bishopric of Birmingham. On the 
 contrary, I am absolutely persuaded, and the examples 
 are forthcoming at our call, that it is by the formation of 
 our new dioceses, by the multiplicafcion of our centres, by 
 the making of our organization a more living, growing 
 and breathing whole, that you will get rid of difficulties 
 like that and bring about the result that the parish clergy 
 who are with such self-restraint, such splendid courage, 
 bearing the trials and difficulties with which they are face 
 to face, shall be, by the help of all, relieved of some part
 
 13 
 
 of the hardship which they are enduring for the sake of 
 the Lord, in whose service they are enlisted. (Applause). 
 All I can ask you to do is to go forward bravely, hope- 
 fully, expectantly in that which you have taken in hand 
 and to make this great city a strong centre for the 
 religious and moral welfare of our people, their children, 
 and their children's children, to make it what Archbishop 
 Benson used to call a "white hot'' focus of strong life 
 and a hotbed of energy of every kind. A centre, because 
 there, in the old sense of the word, a leader is placed, 
 around whom the work must circulate, and the centre is 
 therefore a centre in the true sense of the word for the 
 well-being of the whole. We hear a contrast sometimes 
 drawn between our old dioceses with their magnificent 
 traditions, and sometimes with their stately, far too stately 
 homes, and these new dioceses which come forth without 
 these magnificent traditions and heritages. It has 
 been my fortune to live in more than one house where 
 day by day at one's work one is surrounded by magnifi- 
 cent portraits of those who in the last few centuries have 
 preceded one in the post one holds ; and as one sits 
 surrounded by solemn pictures of those bland potentates 
 in ample wigs, one wonders as one ventures to contrast 
 what their work was with what one's work is now. I 
 doubt whether there will ever be a bishop of Birmingham 
 who will wear a wig. I don't quite know where the 
 Hartlebury pictures are to-day, but I believe that 
 there will be found among them not a few splendid 
 figures of powerful men, really ^reat men who did a 
 magnificent work, but then they had far more time 
 to do it in than we have got to-day. I do not 
 anticipate that the bishop who, without a wig, will 
 come to occupy the bee of Birmingham in days to 
 come will ever be able to acquire quite such serenity of
 
 14 
 
 expression as almost seems to be a characteristic of 
 those kindly portraits with which I am only too 
 familiar as I look upon them and contrast them with 
 the facts and problem of to-day ; but I do believe that 
 the See which we have almost founded, and which is 
 going to do so much for the well-being of England as a 
 whole as well as for the diocese itself, that that See has a 
 great destiny, only it is yet to be written. It is yours 
 to go forward and to make that history, history which 
 has to be written in lines deep and strong upon the tables 
 which record the nation^s life. In no place could history 
 be better made than here at one of these great centres 
 that is to be. As I look forward now and thank God for 
 the diocesan and non-parochial spirit which has enabled 
 you to bring this work to so very near its full consum- 
 mation, so with all my heart do I from a still more 
 central point thank God and take courage. May His 
 blessing rest upon the work you have in hand as you go 
 forward to do it in His name. (Loud Applause). 
 
 THE LORD BISHOP OF LICHFIELD: 
 
 In the few minutes which I can claim for addressing 
 you this afternoon, or rather which your Bishop has 
 claimed on my behalf, for pleading the cause which you 
 are going to bind yourself to in the resolutions which will 
 follow, I must be as brief as possible, but I must 
 endeavour to be practical too. And the first question 
 which I put to myself is this. Why is it that your Bishop 
 has asked me to be present and address you on this occasion? 
 And the answer to that is very simple. It is because the 
 Birmingham Bishopric Bill when it becomes an Act of 
 Parliament will materially afiect the neighbouring see of 
 Lichfield. Under the provisions of that Act the Rural 
 Deanery of Handsworth will be transferred from the see of
 
 15 
 
 Lichfield to the new See of Birmingham. ( Applause). That 
 rural deanery is the largest and most populous and, I sup- 
 pose, the wealthiest in the whole of my diocese ; and, there- 
 fore, it may well be asked : " How is it that you can consent, 
 and how is it that the churchmen of that rural deanery 
 can consent to this transfer ? '' There are many things 
 against it. But before I refer to these, when I am 
 mentioning the name of Handsworth, I must say what 
 is in my heart, and I think must be in the heart 
 of many here — that we sadly miss this afternoon the 
 presence of one who I am sure would have been here by 
 the invitation of your Bishop, and whom you know so well 
 in Birmingham, the Rector of Handsworth, Archdeacon 
 Hodgson. We hope and most earnestly pray that the 
 dark cloud which overshadows him for the present may, 
 by the mercy and goodness of God, be cleared away, and 
 that he may be restored to the work which he loved, and to 
 the cause in which he worked so effectually. (Applause), 
 But there are no doubt reasons that I might adduce against 
 this annexation of Handsworth to Birmingham. First of all, 
 there are personal considerations. I have known Hands- 
 worth from my childhood. I recollect it when it was a 
 charming country village and no more, and in driving 
 from Sandwell into Birmingham the old Church of 
 Handsworth was a feature which one will always bear in 
 one^s recollection. And I remember, too, and I think it 
 was still in the country in those days, a little brook that 
 we used to cross where I was told that we passed out of 
 Staffordshire into Warwickshire, and, I suppose, out of 
 the parish of Handsworth into the parish of Birmingham. 
 Whether that brook is still visible to the naked eye or 
 not, I do not know. But we know how greatly everything 
 has changed in this neighbourhood since those days. 
 Then, again, when we come to the thouo^htof Handsworth
 
 16 
 
 itself, that rural deanery has been associated with the 
 Diocese of Lichfield from time immemorial ; and I know 
 how many of those who live there look upon the Cathedral 
 as their Cathedral — (applause) — have a very special 
 interest in it, and are proud of its beauty, and of the way in 
 which it is preserved ; and yet the churchmen of 
 Handsworth and myself are prepared to support this 
 movement, which is being brought so near to its consum- 
 mation, for the creation of a Diocese of Birmingham, 
 which shall include that portion of the Diocese of Lichfield. 
 What is the reason, then, for that ? I might make one 
 personal allusion here, I do feel an interest, a particular 
 interest, in this proposed see of Birmingham, because 
 twelve years ago this last Michaelmas, when I was con- 
 secrated Bishop of Lichfield in St. Paul's Cathedral, the 
 first Bishop Suffragan of Birmingham, Bishop Bowlby, 
 was consecrated by my side, and the offerings on that 
 occasion were gathered for the foundation of the see of 
 Birmingham, and when the first efforts to create that see 
 collapsed, and the contributions that had been made to- 
 wards the fund for its endowment were returned, it was, of 
 course, impossible to return that £80 which we collected in 
 St. PauFs on that day ; and that has remained ever since as 
 a nucleus at least for the endowment fund of the Bishopric 
 of Birmingham. (Applause). But the reason why we 
 are prepared to support this movement is because we 
 place first — I was going to say Imperial considerations 
 before insular ones (I suppose one is always more or less 
 a creature of one's environment) — but what I mean is 
 that we really do desire to place Church of England 
 considerations before mere diocesan ones. (Applause). 
 And we are convinced that it is for the good of the 
 Church of this Country that this diocese should be formed, 
 and that Handsworth should form an integral part of it.
 
 17 
 
 (Applause). Consider for a. moment — and it is the point 
 that I have to consider — how it will affect the present 
 diocese of Lichfield. The rural deanery of Handsworth 
 has sixteen or seventeen separate parishes, and it has 
 a population of 120,000 souls. These will pass out 
 of the Diocese of Lichfield, and that Diocese will be 
 so far relieved, and yet here I call your attention 
 to the fact that between the Census of 1891 and 1901 
 the population of the Diocese of Lichfield increased by no 
 less than 165,000 persons; so that if the transfer is made 
 that Diocese will still be left with 45,000 — and probably 
 by that time 50,000 — more persons in it than there were 
 when I first took up the work of the Diocese myself, so 
 that so far I shall find myself face to face with as large a 
 population as I had before, and larger. It may be said, 
 perhaps, that if the Diocese is going to be relieved to 
 that extent then the see ought to make some contribu- 
 tion towards the endowment of the Diocese of Birming- 
 ham. Well, that matter has of course been under one's 
 consideration. 1 have been willing to do what I 
 personally can in regard to the contribution to the 
 endowment fund (Applause) but the experience of 
 twelve years has shown me that the 'fatal opulence of the 
 Bishop of Lichfield does not leave at the close of the 
 year a large margin, if any, for himself, when we 
 consider the fact that the Diocese covers an area of 
 one whole county and half another, and that there is 
 in it a population which is rapidly approaching one 
 million and a half scattered over that vast area, implying 
 the giving up of domestic life, implying a life which I 
 cannot compare more nearly I think than to that of a com- 
 mercial traveller, taking one constantly away from home, 
 and making the railway carriage one's study. Then, so 
 far as Handsworth itself is concerned. Handsworth is
 
 18 
 
 conscious after all that it is now an integral part of the City 
 of Birmingham. (Applause.) It may have its own local self- 
 government at the present moment, that may or may not 
 be absorbed by Birmingham in the future, but that is not 
 the point which I have to consider. All the interests of 
 Hands worth lie in Birmingham, and all the contribu- 
 tions towards philanthropic and other purposes go to 
 Birmingham; and I am confident of this, that both 
 Birmingham and Handsworth will benefit by the amalga- 
 mation of the two. When they become one see the 
 contributions from Handsworth will flow in liberally to 
 every effort that is made towards the extension of Church 
 work in Birmingham ; and Birmingham on the other 
 hand will be in the possession of funds which will enable 
 it to meet the needs of the rapidly growing rural deanery 
 of Handsworth. Reference has been made by His Grace 
 the Archbishop to two of those great men who were 
 trained in King Edward's Grammar School. I venture 
 to refer to something which was said by the third of that 
 great trio. Bishop Westcott of Durham. (Applause.) 
 
 Ten years ago when the Church Congress was held in 
 Birmingham, Bishop Westcott was to preach in St. 
 Philip's Church, and he preached a sermon, which has 
 since been published, the subject of which was '^ Citizen- 
 ship : Human and Divine.'' The subject was one which 
 you must all know was very dear to his heart. He men- 
 tioned the fact that he had himself been baptised in St. 
 Philip's Church. He pointed out that while the city had 
 schools, libraries, art galleries, halls, council chambers, 
 and courts of justice which had arisen since the day of his 
 baptism, and the splendid array of municipal institutions 
 might be taken as impressive witnesses of the freedom of 
 the city life, he deplored the fact that there was no 
 cathedral. A cathedral implies a Bishop and a see, and
 
 19 
 
 he impressed it upon myself and all his hearers that 
 citizen life was not complete unless the spiritual element 
 were as strong in it as the civil element. (Applause). 
 Birmingham has been a city now, I think, for some few 
 years : Lichfield, where I live, has been a city for many 
 centuries. And why ? Because for 1,200 years and more 
 Lichfield has been the seat of the Bishop of the Diocese, 
 and the Bishopric and the city were one. What is the 
 meaning of the word ''city ^'? I suppose we may define it 
 as meaning a community which is complete in itself. Your 
 community here in Birmingham is not yet complete in 
 itself, because, though it has rightly taken the rank of a 
 city it has as yet not got its Cathedral and its Bishop. I 
 am here to-day to plead the cause of the Bishopric because 
 it is my desire that your community in Birmingham shall 
 be as complete as my community in Lichfield. (Loud 
 applause). 
 
 THE RT. HON. VISCOUNT COBHAM 
 
 Moved : — 
 " That this Conference cordially approves of the revival of 
 the Scheme for a Bishopric of Birmingham, and heartily 
 congratulates the promoters of that Scheme on the 
 signal success already obtained. It urgently commends 
 Churchmen in all parts of the Diocese to do their 
 utmost to promote the foundation of the new Bishopric 
 by prayers and liberal gifts." 
 
 His Lordship remarked that when he first accepted the 
 invitation that was pressed upon him to speak to this 
 resolution he was very well aware that after all that had 
 been said on this great question, and more especially after 
 what was going to be said by his Grace the Archbishop 
 of Canterbury, there would be nothing whatever left for 
 him to say, either new or interesting. But he felt that
 
 20 
 
 as a representative — if he might call himself so — of that 
 Lord Lyttelton (applause), who many years ago was 
 the most prominent among the laymen of that day 
 in reviving interest in the question of the increase 
 of the Episcopate, and who was the first to promote 
 legislation on this subject, it would ill become him 
 to stand aloof from this discussion, and not to ex- 
 press a word of absolute confidence in the righteous- 
 ness of the scheme, and of his assurance of its ultimate 
 fulfilment and success. He must confess that the 
 position of the scheme was a somewhat critical and 
 singular one. Taking them back a good many years, 
 he would remind them that at the time of the Reforma- 
 tion the population of this country was about four 
 millions, but so scanty and inadequate at that date 
 did the supply of Bishops appear to those in authority 
 that no less a person than King Henry VIII. himself 
 — a monarch whose inclinations one would have thought 
 were for plurality in other directions than that of 
 Bishops — directed a Bill to be brought in, of which 
 he wrote the preamble in his own hand, setting up a 
 number of new Bishoprics, and of new Suffragan Bishop- 
 rics, and bringing up the total number to forty-three 
 Diocesan Bishops and twenty-six Suffragan Bishops, and 
 that for a population of four million souls. Well, the 
 scheme was not carried out in its entirety, but six new 
 Bishoprics were added. He only quoted those figures 
 as showing them the measure of responsibility which 
 at that time devolved upon the Bishops apart from 
 the Suffragans — the care of the souls of about ninety 
 thousand people, and that was all. What was the position 
 they had to face to-day ? Here they had to deal with a 
 Diocese rapidly approaching a million and a half in 
 population. It was proposed that out of this diocese, a
 
 21 
 
 diocese for the City of Birmingham and district should 
 be carved, containing he supposed at the present moment 
 something like 900,000 persons. That was to say, that 
 the responsibility of a Bishop in these days appeared 
 to have been multiplied tenfold in comparison with what 
 was thought to be the measure of it three hundred 
 years ago. Well, this present scheme had been set on 
 foot, and he himself had heard no word of opposition 
 to it within the diocese. He believed that it had been 
 put forward with absolute unanimity. Not only that, but 
 ways and means had been practically provided. No charge 
 upon the public purse was attempted to be made, no 
 charge even upon the general fund of the Ecclesiastical 
 Commissioners, and the scheme had been backed and 
 supported in the most practical of all ways by the noble 
 self-sacrifice of the Bishop of the Diocese (loud applause). 
 Was it not a most extraordinary thing that in the face of 
 these circumstances, in the face, he believed, of the unani- 
 mous desire of this great community of 900,000 souls, that 
 Parliament should have trembled before the opposition of 
 a few ill-wishers of the Church, and not have set apart one 
 or two days for the promotion of the just and urgent 
 desires of the City and district of Birmingham ? Well, the 
 question remained, what was to be done ? He thought 
 that the answer was a very simple one. They must 
 go on as though they had sujSered no check whatever 
 (applause). They must complete their preparations, 
 already almost completed. They must find the minimum 
 sum required, £105,000; they must find that sum and 
 they must press for a good deal beyond it. They 
 must go back to Parliament and must press this 
 scheme upon the attention of the Government and 
 of Parliament. He had been told that if the present 
 Government went out of office and another one of a
 
 22 
 
 different complexion took its place that there was not 
 the least chance of any Bill of this sort being carried 
 — he for one did not believe it for a single moment. 
 (Applause). He did not believe that a Government or 
 Parliament would dare to oppose the unanimous desire 
 of a community such as this, or would have the face 
 to thwart their just desires. (Applause). With regard 
 to one objection which had been touched on by the 
 Archbishop he should like to say just one or two words. 
 He referred to that very plausible and mischievous objec- 
 tion that while the poverty of a large number among the 
 clergy was so great they ought not to devote funds towards 
 the establishment of new Bishoprics. That was an argu- 
 ment urged which all those who were interested in any 
 way in foreign mission work were very familiar with. They 
 well knew the old argument — until you have got your 
 home affairs in proper order and home matters properly 
 supported, what is the 'good of thinking of foreigners ? 
 Put into other words, and it was only in other words, for it 
 was exactly the same argument, although it did not sound 
 so well or so plausible when put in this way, the argument 
 was : — we have not done our duty in one direction, there- 
 fore we should not try to do it in another. (Applause) . It 
 seemed to him that the answer was a very obvious one, 
 and it had been touched upon in most eloquent terms by 
 the Archbishop. It was simply this — that if we do the 
 one thing, we shall be promoting the other. Here in Bir- 
 mingham the argument did not apply, because fortunately 
 the clergy of this great town were relatively speaking very 
 fairly well endowed. But supposing they relieved the 
 Bishop of Worcester of the largest and heaviest part of his 
 responsibility, the care of Birmingham, supposing they 
 thus enabled him to be in real, constant and effective 
 touch with the remotest and humblest of the parishes
 
 23 
 
 of his diocese, and to acquire an acquaintance and 
 sympathy with the lives, the needs and distresses 
 of each one of his clergy, could any man be so well 
 qualified to stimulate the laity to effective action on this 
 great and menacing evil ? There were illustrations by 
 the score of the truth of what he was saying. Let him 
 remind them that since the See of Liverpool was estab- 
 lished the Bishop and his co-adjutors had grappled with the 
 question of the poverty of the clergy in the most effective 
 manner, and they had brought up the incomes of every 
 clergyman in the diocese to a minimum of at least £200 a 
 year. Further, he would remind them of what had been 
 done in this diocese here at home, which would appeal to 
 them even more. Nearly every shilling which was now 
 devoted to the relief of impoverished clergy was due to the 
 efforts of three Bishops — Bishop Philpott to begin with, 
 then Bishop Perowne — (applause) — and last but not least. 
 Bishop Knox, to whose initiative it was wholly due that 
 the Diocesan Endowment Fund was founded. They had 
 to remember that that had been done by a Suffragan 
 Bishop, and perhaps a little rule of three sum would 
 occur to many of them, viz., if so much could be done 
 by a Suffragan Bishop, what could be done by a Diocesan 
 Bishop ? He should say no more, but only thank them for 
 the kind way in which they had listened to him, and for 
 the deep interest in and sympathy with the scheme which 
 they had manifested. 
 
 Mr. WALTER N. FISHER, J.P. : 
 
 I have much pleasure in seconding the resolution 
 proposed by Viscount Cobham, and desire to express in 
 behalf of my colleagues and myself our warmest thanks for, 
 and appreciation of, the kind sympathy and valued support
 
 24 
 
 given to our Bishopric movement by the presence of His 
 Grace at our meeting to-day. 
 
 We also desire to warmly acknowledge the generous 
 help given by the Lord Bishop of Lichfield. 
 
 It is now almost ancient history to refer to the little 
 meeting I and a few others had the pleasure of attending 
 at the Queen's Hotel, as far back as 20th July, 1889 — 
 14 years ago — on the invitation of the late Bishop Philpott 
 — whose name will always be held in regard and esteem — 
 and who on the occasion referred to, expressed the desire 
 for the division of the unwieldy Diocese of Worcester, and 
 for the establishment of a Bishopric for Birmingham. 
 
 This meeting, and the formation of a Provisional 
 Committee led up to the splendid meeting held in the 
 Town Hall on the 21st January, 1890, when the then 
 Archbishop of Canterbury — the late Dr. Benson — 
 whom we are always proud to think of as belonging 
 to Birmingham — addressed a crowded audience, warmly 
 advocating a Birmingham Bishopric, and never shall 
 I forget the stirring and eloquent words of the Arch- 
 bishop, and the unanimous adoption of the resolution 
 proposed by His Grace, and warmly supported by the 
 late Bishop Westcott and others. The resolution 
 read : — " That it is desirable to establish a Bishop's 
 See in Birmingham." 
 
 Other resolution followed, appointing the standing 
 Bishopric Committee and the Honorary Officers. 
 
 Of the supporters at the meeting I am referring to, I 
 regret to say, many have since passed away, and of the 
 original Officers only Canon Strange and I remain. Of 
 the speakers at that meeting, [ rejoice to see with us 
 to-day Lord Norton, one of our best friends. (Applause). 
 
 Subsequent events and the ups and downs of the 
 Movement I will pass over as buried and forgotten, and
 
 25 
 
 gladly do I welcome the revival and marvellous impetus 
 given to the Movement by our present Bishop of Worces- 
 ter. (Applause). 
 
 I had the honour and pleasure of joining with others in 
 addressing a few words of welcome to Dr. Gore on his 
 appointment to the Diocese, at a meeting held in the 
 Council House, on the 27th February, 1902, and on that 
 occasion I ventured to touch upon the revival of the Bir- 
 mingham Bishopric, a movement I have always had much 
 at heart, and which I still hope to live to see an accom- 
 plished fact. 
 
 It may be remembered that with that thoughtful and 
 persuasive magnetism so marked in his Lordship, he 
 replied : " That before expressing an opinion, he should 
 like a year or so to look round and consider.'' With these 
 words I was perfectly content, knowing that it would soon 
 become apparent to such an indefatigable worker as Dr. 
 Gore, that the division of the Worcester See was an 
 absolute necessity, and that Birmingham was ^not only 
 entitled to, but absolutely demanded a Bishop of its own ; 
 and when I say a Bishop, I mean a real Bishop — (applause) 
 a real head — a Bishop, dealing with city life and city work, 
 moving and living amongst the people, and in touch with 
 his clergy and laity, and the great masses crowded in our 
 courts and alleys. 
 
 We all acknowledge and admire the splendid work done 
 by the Bishop of Coventry (applause), still it must be 
 admitted that it is impossible for a Suffragan — no matter 
 how able-— to exercise that influence which can only be 
 exerted by a non-dependent Bishop living in Birmingham, 
 and not at Hartlebury or Worcester. 
 
 The time for consideration spoken of by the Bishop soon 
 passed by, and at a meeting of the Committee, held on 
 the 24th of February last, his Lordship was pleased to say
 
 26 
 
 that he had arrived at the conclusion of the necessity for 
 the promotion of the Bishopric of Birmingham, and reso- 
 lutions were thereupon unanimously passed, pledging the 
 Committee to use their best endeavours towards securing 
 the necessary funds for the establishment of a Birmingham 
 See, since which date, the Bishop, Officers, and several 
 friends keenly interested in the Movement have been 
 doing their utmost towards obtaining subscriptions, and 
 we had hoped to have been able to-day to have 
 made the pleasant announcement of the passing of an Act 
 of Parliament establishing the Birmingham See, but for 
 some reason, somewhat difficult to understand, the Bill has 
 been postponed. We, however, are glad to have the 
 assurance of the Prime Minister that he will introduce the 
 Bishopric Bill as a Government measure at an early period. 
 With this assurance we must wait, and hope. 
 
 In the meanwhile both clergy and laity must be on the 
 alert, and leave no stone unturned, by urging upon 
 members of Parliament not only the desirability, but the 
 absolute necessity of securing a Birmingham Bishopric. 
 
 To accomplish this, as you are aware, an Endowment 
 Fund of £3,000 a year and a House, or £3,500 a year 
 without a House must be raised or provided, and towards 
 which, stimulated by the princely generosity of the 
 Bishop of Worcester (Dr. Gore) and the splendid pi'omise 
 of' "Ignotus," it is gratifying to announce that our 
 first published List of Subscriptions up to the 24th of 
 June last, amounts to the handsome sum of £94,206. 
 This should surely encourage us to hope that 
 the general appeal, which will be issued to-night, 
 and the collections to be made throughout the Dio- 
 cese on " Bishopric Sunday ,^^ in February next, will 
 secure the remaining sum required to provide the En- 
 dowment Fund, as also the amount required for the
 
 27 
 
 purchase or building of a House suitable for the Bishop, 
 and to meet the requirements of the Ecclesiastical Com- 
 missioners. Since the first list was published I am 
 glad to say additional promises have been made and I 
 now estimate that we require about £8,000 to complete 
 the Endowment Fund and about £10,000 to provide a 
 House and to meet the general expenses, or say £18,000 
 in all. To accomplish this, means that Subscriptions must 
 come, not from Birmingham only, but from all parts of the 
 Diocese, whether the amount be large or small, and that 
 every Churchman and Churchwoman should thus show a 
 real interest in this great effort for the advancement of 
 the Church, and for the division of the See of Worcester, 
 the result of which would be the setting free much of the 
 energy and time of the Bishop of Worcester for the benefit 
 of that portion which will remain under his supervision. 
 
 I know some people still say — '^ Why do we want a 
 Bishop of Birmingham ? ^' To me the answer is simple 
 enough. Birmingham with all its varied activities — 
 raised to the dignity of a City — with our Lord Mayor, 
 and University — surely should not be behind Manchester 
 and Liverpool, and beyond this it must be admitted that 
 whenever a new Diocese has been formed, an impetus has 
 invariably been given to the extension of local Church 
 work. (Applause). Take for example the See of New- 
 castle formed out of the Diocese of Durham, in regard to 
 which each of the two Dioceses — the old and the new — 
 within four years raised nearly a quarter of a million 
 pounds for Church Extension. 
 
 Again, in the first six years after the formation of the 
 Liverpool Diocese, no less a sum than £340,000 was sub- 
 scribed. Why, I ask, should we not have similar results, 
 or something approaching the same results from the 
 establishment of a See of Birmingham. (Applause.)
 
 28 
 
 A Bishop of Birmingham would in the highest degree 
 help to raise, invigorate, and influence for good the whole 
 life of the city, and, as it has been so truly said, would 
 unite the common forces of religion, quicken the springs 
 of Charity, promote kindliness of feeling, bring together 
 and influence for high and noble purposes many who now 
 stand separate, and lend powerful aid in the solution of 
 social problems, and in the promotion of moral and 
 intellectual progress. 
 
 With such thoughts and ideals in our mind, let us not 
 rest until we have a Bishop^s See in Birmingham, and let 
 us cherish the hope that Dr. Gore will be our first Bishop. 
 {Loud applause). 
 
 REV. CANON BEAUMONT, M.A.: 
 
 He had been asked by the President to speak to some 
 extent on behalf of the Archdeaconry of Coventry, and 
 his thoughts were carried back even farther than 
 1889, for this Bishopric Scheme was very much older 
 than that. Forty-two years ago, before the appoint- 
 ment of the late Bishop Philpott a largely signed 
 memorial was presented from the clergy and the laity 
 mainly, he thought, of the County of Warwick, and the 
 first name on the list was that of the Lord Lieutenant, 
 Lord Leigh, who was their much beloved and respected 
 Lord Lieutenant still. And the prayer of the memorial 
 was that the new bishop should be appointed subject to 
 certain conditions by which a division of the see might be 
 efiected, with a view to relieving the Bishop of Worcester 
 of some part, at all events, of the charge of the County of 
 Warwick. He did not think that Birmingham was very 
 prominent in that movement. In those days it was a 
 very diff'erent Birmingham from what it was to-day. 
 There were 238,000 people in Birmingham then, and he
 
 29 
 
 was not quite sure what the population was to-day, but 
 he knew that when they spoke of Birmingham they spoke 
 of something hke 750,000 people. If the diocese needed 
 division in 1861, how very much more must it need 
 division in 1903. He did not think they could exaggerate 
 the importance of securing a division of the diocese, 
 ^'hen with regard to another matter — the question of 
 boundaries. At present, as he understood the plan, the 
 new Bishopric would consist of the Archdeaconry of 
 Birmingham, and the Rural Deanery of Handsworth. 
 
 'J'he President : So far it includes that, and for the 
 rest it leaves the matter for determination subsequently 
 under an order in Council. 
 
 Canon Beaumont : He was very glad to hear that 
 because he hoped that it might be possible to extend the 
 Bishopric a little further. He knew that there was a 
 feeling, a very considerable feeling indeed, in the Coventry 
 Archdeaconry agftinst being taken out of the Diocese 
 of Worcester, but he had reason for thinking that 
 that feeling was not so strong as it was some years since, 
 and one could not, living and working at Coventry, help 
 feeling how very much more convenient it would be, 
 with regard to Episcopal supervision, to be connected 
 with the Diocese of Birmingham than with the Diocese 
 of Worcester. (Applause). He knew that the feeling 
 was very strong on the other side, but there was 
 a feeling, at all events in that part of the Archdeaconry 
 nearest to Birmingham, that they would very gladly see 
 some extension of the scheme in that direction. However, 
 in any case it was absolutely certain that the Arch- 
 deaconry of Coventry as well as the Archdeaconry of 
 Worcester must benefit largely by the division of the 
 See. It must largely affect for good the episcopal work 
 in the diocese if the Bishop of Worcester were
 
 30 
 
 relieved of the care of that great population of 750,000 
 people. It was quite evident that there would be an 
 extension and increase of Church work in the remaining 
 part of the Diocese. Therefore, he would impress upon 
 the Conference that it was most clearly the duty of all 
 those who were living in the Archdeaconries of Worcester 
 and Coventry to do all in their power to promote the 
 success of the Bishopric. (Applause). Birmingham had 
 led the way, as it was quite right that Birmingham 
 should; and it had led the way most nobly. At present 
 they were told that no general appeal had been made. 
 That appeal they had been told would be issued that day, 
 and he was confident that a very generous response would 
 be made to it from all parts of the Diocese. They in 
 Coventry had had a comparatively small part of the work 
 left to them, owing to the exertions which had been made 
 in Birmingham, and he was certain that the response to 
 the appeal which would be made throughout the Diocese, 
 on what would be known as Bishopric Sunday next 
 February would show that the Bishopric would be 
 founded, as the President had told them he desired, not 
 merely on the offerings of a few of the wealthy and rich, 
 but on the generous contributions of all classes of the 
 community. He begged, therefore, most cordially to 
 support the motion, and to congratulate the Committee 
 on the progress they had already made. He ventured to 
 hope that the example set by Birmingham would be 
 followed throughout the Diocese ; and that they would 
 very soon see the accomplishment of this work, one of the 
 greatest works which the Church of England had under- 
 taken in their day. (Applause). 
 
 The President : I shall now ask the Rector of 
 Birmingham, Mr. Diggle, to say a few words, because he 
 was cognisant of what went on in connection with the
 
 31 
 
 foundation of the see of Liverpool, and is able to speak 
 from personal knowledge of the effect on the religious life 
 of Liverpool of the foundation of that see. 
 
 REV. JOHN W. DIGGLE, M.A., R.D. : 
 
 He had been called upon most unexpectedly to say 
 something, and supposed the Bishop had asked him 
 because he happened to be associated with the Diocese 
 of Liverpool at the time of its formation. The result, the 
 net result, of forming the new Diocese of Liverpool and 
 dividing it from Chester had been practically this : in 
 every department of Church life — confirmations, ordina- 
 tions, church building, benevolent action of every sort in 
 connection with the Church of England — in each half of 
 the Diocese as much had been done, if not more, than was 
 done in the whole of the Diocese before it was divided. 
 (Applause). The Bishop had spoken to them that morning 
 upon the great necessity and use of the cultivation of the 
 diocesan spirit, but it was exceedingly difficult to cultivate 
 that spirit in an area which was all straggling limbs, and 
 in which the distances from the heart were so great that 
 the circulation was necessarily very slow. The Archbishop 
 had touched upon a question which he should like to recall 
 to their remembrance, in connection with the opposition 
 which was sometimes made to the establishment of new 
 Bishoprics, on the grounds that the money ought to go to 
 the augmentation of the livings of the struggling clergy. 
 But he thought that His Grace had made it clear that it 
 had yet to be proved that a single £5 note that went to 
 the establishment of a Bishopric would otherwise go to the 
 augmentation of a poor living in any part of the Diocese. 
 But what had happened in Liverpool, and what had 
 happened in Chester since Liverpool was cut ofi* from the 
 old Diocese of Chester was this : in the Liverpool Diocese
 
 32 
 
 to-day there was not a single incumbent with a parish of 
 over 5,000 inhabitants who had not £300 a year, or, 
 what was equivalent to £300 a year, £275 a year and a 
 house. (Applause). And every incumbent of that Dio- 
 cese with a population under 5,000 had an income of 
 at least £235 a year. (Applause). A similar work 
 was now going on in the Diocese of Chester, which had 
 never been thought of before the division of the Diocese. 
 All these benefits had accrued to the clergy since the 
 foundation of the Bishopric of Liverpool, and as a con- 
 sequence of the foundation of that Bishopric. (Applause.) 
 Since the formation of the Diocese of Liverpool there 
 had also been built in Liverpool a Church House than 
 which he supposed there was no Church House, except 
 at Westminster, in the kingdom to match or equal 
 it. Round that Church House had been gathered all the 
 diocesan organisations, and from it, with the Bishop at 
 its head, there was proceeding a new sense of church life, 
 of united corporate existence, and he believed that Church 
 House would never have been brought into existence, 
 certainly not in the glorious way in which it appeared to- 
 day, if it had not been for the foundation of the Bishopric 
 of Liverpool. Liverpool was going to have a cathedral — 
 (applause) — with all that a cathedral meant — or might be 
 made to mean — in the diocesan life, a magnificeut 
 cathedral, not to the glory of Liverpool, but to the Glory 
 of God and the benefit of the Church. (Applause) . When 
 they banded themselves together to form the Diocese of 
 Liverpool they knew no party ; in fact one of the greatest 
 influences that had ever been brought to bear upon 
 Liverpool in the liberalisation of its thought, and in the 
 nurture of generous feelings between men who either 
 by situation or conviction did not look upon things in the 
 same light — nothing had helped more to bring men of
 
 33 
 
 different opinions and ways of looking at things into 
 generous harmony and warm co-operation than the 
 founding of the Diocese of Liverpool. In Birmingham 
 too he was sure the Bishopric question was not a ques- 
 tion of party. It was a question of the Church as a 
 whole. Neither was it a question of Church against 
 Non-conformity. They said " God bless everybody who 
 named the name of Christ." At the same time they did 
 wish that their own special Church of England organi- 
 zation might be made efficient and complete. It was a 
 joy to him to be permitted in the Providence of God 
 to be associated with the founding of a second Bishopric 
 as he had already been with the one at Liverpool. What- 
 ever they did they would not think of themselves, they 
 would not even think of their city, though the Bishopric 
 would mean a great deal to the civic life of Birming- 
 ham ; but they would think of the Church of which 
 they were members, and above all things they would take 
 this gift of the Bishopric as a crown, and lay it at the 
 feet of Jesus Christ their Lord. 
 
 THE LORD BISHOP OF WORCESTER: 
 
 Our programme for to-morrow contrasts with our pro- 
 gramme to-day in this respect, that our programme for 
 to-morrow contains contentious matter upon which 
 there threatens to be considerable difference of opinion. 
 This afternoon I do not gather that there is any 
 divergence of opinion, for I have had no cards sent 
 up to me from persons wishing to speak to this 
 resolution. We have a second resolution to come before 
 us, so that unless there is anyone with something 
 which he wishes specially to contribute to the discussion, 
 I will say what I have to say, and needless though the 
 words may very well seem to be, I cannot deny myself the
 
 34 
 
 privilege of saying them, although on this matter I have 
 been heartily thankful to the Archbishop for what he has 
 said. I feel that no one not actually living on the spot, 
 no one who has not gone through the experience that I 
 have actually gone through in the last eighteen months, 
 can feel the full force of the argument for this most 
 necessary subdivision of the diocese. It is difficult to find 
 the words I want for fear of seeming exaggeration ; but 
 it is heart-breaking to find oneself set to a task which 
 cannot be done with any degree of efficiency, not from 
 anything in the necessities of the case, though there are 
 obstacles to efficiency which are deep in human nature 
 and are as far as we can see by our effi)rts irremov- 
 able; but what is heart-breaking is to see all around you 
 a great work needing to be done, to see with moral 
 certainty that a great and permanent improvement could 
 be accomplished here and here and here, if only 
 the man who is entrusted with the superintendence of 
 this work could give time to this and the other departments 
 of it. It is heart-breaking to feel that the real efficiency 
 and progress of the Church is only hindered in our own 
 diocese by the fact that the Bishop has a task which is 
 beyond perhaps any human strength and power, but at 
 any rate beyond his strength and power. A.nd this 
 obstacle is removable. It is only our extraordinary 
 readiness to abide by conditions of organization, which 
 date from a past utterly unlike those of the England of 
 to-day, which has made us so tolerant of dioceses which are 
 quite contradictory to the very idea of episcopacy; for 
 episcopacy means supervision, and a single man cannot 
 in any 'efficient sense supervise a diocese of the size of 
 Lichfield or of Worcester. 
 
 Also I beg those of you who belong to the Arch- 
 deaconries of Worcester and of Coventry to bear in
 
 35 
 
 mind what has been said by several speakers already. 
 I suppose at present three days out of seven are 
 occupied in the business of Birmingham or the Arch- 
 deaconry of Birmingham. That I think would be about 
 true on the average; and it is due no doubt to the 
 amount of population which the Birmingham Archdeaconry 
 comprises. Well now, I can hardly exaggerate how 
 much the Bishop of Worcester might do for those parts 
 of the diocese which would remain to him, if he had those 
 three days free. There are so many parts besides Birming- 
 ham where Church extension, and the elaboration of Church 
 organization, and the building-up and consolidation of the 
 Church are needed ; and it will be an immense gain to 
 those parts of the Diocese which are not included in the 
 new Bishopric, when it is founded. (Applause.) I beg you 
 to remember that. 
 
 Once more, it is an argument of overwhelming force 
 that a great civic centre like Birmingham, a great 
 city controlling a great district, must on every principle 
 which has ever regulated the character of church organisa- 
 tion — must^ as it is a civic centre, also be a centre of the 
 life of the Church. The life of the Church has always 
 followed the lines of national and civic organisation, and 
 what Birmingham is in the state, Birmingham ought to 
 be in the Church. You have heard from Mr. Diggle (your 
 Kector) of what in the case of Liverpool occurred as the 
 result of the foundation of the new Bishopric. I have no 
 doubt that there is a similar outpouring of life and energy 
 destined for Birmingham, when Birmingham has got a 
 Bishop of its own. Of course you know it, but I do want 
 to say it, because this is the first occasion on which I have 
 been able to speak to anything like a representative 
 gathering of the Diocese on this matter — the reason why 
 a suffragan is not the right thing for Birmingham is
 
 36 
 
 because a Fuffra^an, or assistant bishop, is a dependent 
 bishop, and Birmingham is not a dependent area. No one 
 who knows as well as I know what the Bishop of Coventry 
 has been in the life of the Diocese, could dream that in 
 saying things disparaging of a suffragan bishop as such, 
 I am saying anything disparaging of his unparalleled 
 energy, or detracting from the extraordinary debt which 
 the Diocese of Birmingham owes to him and will continue 
 to owe. But a suffragan bishop is, under the necessities 
 of the case, a dependent bishop, and is fitted for a 
 dependent area like the areas round about a great centre 
 such as London, which must be dependent upon the 
 heart of London. Birmingham is not a dependent district, 
 but is itself a centre. Those are arguments which you 
 have heard over and over again, but they are arguments 
 so cogent that there must be in the minds of us churchmen 
 of this diocese a resolution that nothing can alter — an 
 intention to carry through this great enterprise to a con- 
 clusion which shall be speedily successful. (Applause). 
 
 About the obstacles of which you have heard I will say 
 nothing except about one which has been already referred 
 to. We hear sometimes that the great reason against 
 multiplying bishops is that bishops do not do their duty, 
 or because ecclesiastical troubles are not put down. Well 
 now, my friends, you know well enough that our ecclesi- 
 astical troubles lie very deep in the differences of human 
 nature, and since men abandoned the short and easy way of 
 burning people who disagreed with them — I hope you 
 don't think that I wish it revived — there has been no 
 other equally expeditious way of dealing with differences of 
 human opinion discoverable ; but for my own part I am 
 quite sure of this, that the main difficulty in dealing with 
 our differences in a satisfactory manner, so far as they 
 admit of it, has been the fact that the Church of England
 
 37 
 
 has suffered herself to lose that power of self-government 
 — that power of applying old laws to new needs, 
 that power of advancing legislation in proportion to 
 advancing and changing wants. Because the Church of 
 England lost that power, and is bound as things are at 
 present to administer in many respects so very antiquated 
 a law — it is that which has been really at the heart of our 
 difficulties. People sometimes ask me why the law is not 
 applied ? I have known no one who asked that question, 
 who, when he was confronted with the facts, has not been 
 bound to admit that what he wanted applied, was not the 
 law as it stands, and which is mainly written in the 
 rubrics and in the Prayer Book. You might confront 
 him with a rubric — part of the law — and say '' do you 
 want me to enforce that ? " and he would reply " I should 
 not like that enforced." And so you might go from point 
 to point. What he wants enforced is some portion of the 
 law, or something which he thinks is law. But this I am 
 quite sure of, and it is a fact of which anyone can convince 
 himself, that the difficulty in dealing with diffi3rences of 
 opinion amongst us — the main difficulty short of what lies 
 in the differences of human nature — has been in the fact 
 that we have lost what is essential to the well-being of any 
 community, the power of self-government, the power of 
 applying old and abiding principles to new needs. But so 
 far as dealing with those difficulties depends upon the 
 personal energy of the episcopate or a particular bishop, 
 and a short experience would enable you to speak feelingly, 
 I am quite sure that in countless instances those difficulties 
 have arisen because the clergy were too far off the bishop, 
 and the bishop too far off the clergy ; and the church- 
 wardens and the parishioners too far off the bishop ; and 
 that if you had dioceses which admitted of some reality 
 of personal knowledge, and personal touch, as the
 
 38 
 
 Archbishop says, you would so far have gone a great way 
 to mitigate those difficulties. Therefore, so far from 
 the existence of these difficulties being an argument 
 against the subdivision of dioceses,! can conceive no state of 
 things which could more imperatively suggest that bishops 
 should be put into the position of controlling dioceses 
 of such a size as to make personal touch between bishops, 
 presbyters and lay officers practical and real. (Applause). 
 There is only one other word I want to say before I put 
 this matter to the meeting. I do earnestly trust that we 
 shall be diligent and earnest next Sunday in beginning 
 prayers throughout the whole diocese for this matter. 
 We are to pray through the winter, and we are to prepare 
 collections through the winter, and then we are to make our 
 collections in the middle of February. But in spite of what 
 has been said, and will be said hopefully about the political 
 situation, we must remember that there are real obstacles, 
 and that these obstacles require to be met chiefly and first 
 by prayer. It is not a mere matter of mechanism that is 
 at stake, it is the real spiritual life of the Church in the 
 diocese that is at stake. And therefore I would earnestly 
 beg you to be zealous and constant in prayer that what 
 difficulties remain may in the good pleasure of God be 
 removed, and that we may speedily see the crowning of 
 our efforts in this respect. 
 
 I speak as a man who in this matter has been dealt 
 with extraordinarily well by those who might have 
 opposed obstacles in the path of that which with 
 others he desires. I cannot let the Bishop of Lichfield 
 go without taking the opportunity of thanking him 
 publicly for the complete unselfishness with which he 
 has dealt with this matter. There is human nature in 
 all of us, and it never is agreeable to any man to give 
 up a great part of what has belonged to his control and
 
 39 
 
 a great mass of what has belonged to his patronage ; but 
 the Bishop of Lichfield has done that so generously, so 
 unselfishly, because he felt it to be for the benefit of the 
 Church as a whole ; and I am sure we ought to express 
 very great gratitude to him ; and, if he were here to the 
 Archdeacon of Stafi*ord, for the entire unselfishness with 
 which he has thrown himself into the scheme. As to the 
 Bishop of Coventry I can hardly bring myself to speak. 
 Everybody knows, and he must have felt as everyone must 
 have felt — I can say it the more easily as he is not here — 
 that the foundation of the new See would make his 
 position in Birmingham a difficult one; but I do not believe 
 that for one moment the perception of that difficulty has 
 been an obstacle to his throwing himself heart and soul 
 into the promotion of this scheme. It is a good augury 
 for any undertaking when so much unselfishness has been 
 shown in the inception of it; and as to the officers, clerical 
 and lay, I do not know quite how to express what we owe, 
 as to others, especially to Mr. Fisher. The Archbishop said 
 that bishops in the future would not look so smooth-faced 
 as the predecessors whom he contemplates in wigs on the 
 walls of Lambeth. In the Art Exhibition of Birmingham 
 to-day there is an extraordinarily beautiful picture which 
 belongs to Hartlebury. It is by Gainsborough — a picture 
 of Bishop Hurd in his wig, and one of the most beautiful 
 Gainsboroughs you can see in this country, and he has 
 got a face of extraordinary calmness as well as penetration 
 and depth. But when I think of how much has been 
 done for me by laymen with whom we have been associ- 
 ated in this matter of the promotion of the Birmingham 
 Bishopric — when I think of Sir John Holder, Mr. 
 Alexander Chance, Mr. Fisher and others, I feel that the 
 Bishop of Birmingham in the future has a considerable 
 prospect, not of wearing a wig, but of having his face
 
 40 
 
 almost as calm and contemplative, and deep and serene 
 as Bishop Hurd in the 18th century. (Loud applause). 
 
 The Bishop then put the resolution, which was carried 
 unanimously. 
 
 ALDERMAN LAWLEY PARKER, J.P.: 
 
 Moved : — 
 " That this Conference urges upon Parliament the passing 
 of the Bill, making it possible for Birmingham to 
 obtain a Bishop without any delay, because it is only 
 common justice to the Church to enable her to render 
 her organization more efficient at her own expense; 
 and further, that this Conference presses upon all 
 members of the House of Lords resident in the 
 Counties of Warwick and Worcester, and all members 
 of the House of Commons representing constituencies 
 in the same Counties, the importance of exhibiting a 
 zealous insistence until the Bill is passed." 
 
 He had, he said, been asked to add the following to that 
 resolution : — " And that a petition be presented to Parli- 
 ament as from the meeting embodying these resolutions/^ 
 He was quite sure that everyone would approve of the 
 addition which had been suggested ; and he was equally 
 sure that, owing to everything having been said by 
 previous speakers that would have occurred to him to say 
 on the points, there was no occasion for him to make a 
 speech on the subject. He would only say that it was 
 due to the admirable organization headed by the Bishop of 
 Worcester, and the policy displayed by that organization, 
 and to the Bishop^s noble generosity and the self- 
 effacement of the Bishop of Lichfield in connection with the 
 matter that the financial diflSculty had subsided. The}' 
 were, therefore, left with the question of how they could 
 best attain the Parliamentary power which they desired,
 
 41 
 
 and without which all that had been done would be of no 
 effect. He was very glad to hear the expressions from 
 His Grace the Archbishop and Lord Cobham as to its 
 being in all probability certain that at no distant date 
 Parliament would give the power they sought. At the 
 same time it would be unwise for them to abstain from 
 doing all that they could to press their Members to do 
 their part to bring the necessities of the case before the 
 Houses of Parliament, and particularly before the House 
 of Commons. (Applause). He could not believe that 
 whatever Government should follow the present Govern- 
 ment, if perchance this Government should not be able 
 to effect the object, would say '' no '' to that most 
 reasonable and proper application. He believed it would 
 be found that whatever Government they had at the head 
 of the country, when the matter was brought forward it 
 would receive the Royal Assent, As had been pointed 
 out, the advantage was not solely confined to Birmingham; 
 the advantages would be found in the other ^dioceses 
 affected for the reasons which had been so fully set out. 
 He thought that not only in that city, but in the sur- 
 rounding counties of Worcester, Warwick and Stafford, 
 they could fairly call upon the members of Parliament to 
 do all that lay in their power to help them to obtain the 
 end which they so much desired. 
 
 Mr. C. WRIOTHESLY DIGBY, J.P. : 
 
 in seconding the motion, said : Speaking as a layman I 
 should like to express the extreme disappointment that I 
 felt when 1 heard of the postponement of the Bir- 
 mingham Bishopric Bill. It seemed to me that the 
 Government might have found time for so useful 
 and important a measure. I was surprised to see in the 
 Ladies' League Journal for September a good deal of
 
 42 
 
 satisfaction expressed at the postponement of the Bill. 
 There were two reasons given : one that there were a 
 certain number of recalcitrant clergy in the diocese. 
 Surely this is a strong argument for increasing the 
 number of the bishops, that there may be more super- 
 vision over the clergy. The second reason was a financial 
 one. It was said that the income of the bishop was to 
 be not less than £3,000 per annum ; this was a retrograde 
 step, as in recent cases dioceses had been formed with 
 endowments of £2,000 to £2,500. I doubt if this is 
 the case, as I cannot find that any diocese in England 
 has an income of less than £3,000 per annum. If these 
 are the only reasons that can be brought against 
 the scheme, they have been fully answered, and the 
 opposition should cease. I hope that before long the 
 new Bishopric may become an accomplished fact, and 
 that it may be the means of doing much good in the new 
 diocese. 
 
 THE LORD BISHOP OF WORCESTER: 
 
 I do not think there is any need for me to say 
 much on this matter ; there are so many who are 
 much better able to speak than I am of Parliamentary 
 probabilities. But I am sure that we have all heard 
 with the greatest satisfaction the words spoken by 
 both the Archbishop and Lord Cobham with regard 
 to the Parliamentary prospects of the Bill. Certainly I 
 heard what each of them said with a real sense of relief and 
 encouragement. But at the same time I am quite certain 
 that we must do our best to make those Members of Par- 
 liament who represent different parts of the Diocese, and 
 those responsible for the Government of the Country, 
 understand that we do not present ourselves as mere 
 supplicants in the matter, but that we do really claim
 
 43 
 
 a right to make our organization tolerably efficient. 
 (Applause). Of course there would be no difficulty 
 with regard to such power in Parliament if we were not an 
 established Church. But what does Establishment mean ? 
 Well, it mean, I suppose, at least this, that the nation 
 thinks that the Church has still a work to do for her. 
 We could not be established, we ought not to be estab- 
 lished, unless the body of the nation still thinks that the 
 Church has a work to do for the country. But if estab- 
 lishment means that, then certainly establishment must 
 carry with it on the part of the Church the right to have 
 liberty to make her organization tolerably efficient. 
 (Applause). It is intolerable that we should have the 
 responsibilities of an established Church, and that the 
 nation should be able to look to us to serve the 
 whole community to the best of our power, it is intolerable 
 that holding responsibilities of a national church we should 
 be shackled from obtaining the ordinary facilities for doing 
 our work, which lies in the power of adapting our 
 organization to the completely changed conditions under 
 which we now stand compared with the position in which 
 we stood at the Reformation. Well then, I do hope that 
 the members of this Conference, as well as this Conference 
 corporately, will use whatever power of influence they have 
 got to make those who are chiefly responsible for the 
 government of the country, and the members of Parlia- 
 ment both in the upper and lower houses, understand that 
 there is a really resolute determination on the part of this 
 Diocese to have a new see in Birmingham — (applause) — 
 and that we claim the right, as we have been at pains at 
 our own expense to collect the money, to have the parlia- 
 mentary facilities for efi'ecfcing the modification in our 
 organization in accordance with our needs. (Applause). 
 I think, of course, that the announcements of the past few
 
 44 
 
 days make it important for us to remember that we have 
 now a member of thi* Conference in the Cabinet — 
 (applause) — and the responsibilities of that situation will 
 rest upon the shoulders of the Hon. Alfred Lyttelton. 
 (Applause). 
 
 The motion was carried unanimously. 
 
 It was subsequently moved by Lord Norton, seconded 
 by Alderman Lawley Parker, and agreed unanimously 
 that the Bishop of Worcester should present a petition 
 embodying the resolutions to both Houses of Parliament, 
 and that the Secretaries should send copies of the resolu- 
 tions passed at this meeting to all persons concerned. 
 
 The proceedings then closed with the Benediction given 
 by the Archbishop of Canterbury. 
 
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