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 THE CHURCH IN WALES 
 
 INCREASE OE THE EPISCOPATE. 
 
 H paper 
 
 RE/VD BEFORE THE CARDIFF CHURCH CONGRESS, 
 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2ND, i88q. 
 
 BY 
 
 WILFRED S. DE WINTON, M.A., 
 
 Hai-oldston, Haverfordwest. 
 A member of the House of Laymen representing the Diocese of S. David. 
 
 PRINTED BY BEMROSE & SONS, DERBY; 
 AND 21, OLD BAILEY, LONDON,
 
 A PRAYER FOR THE INCREASE OF THE 
 EPISCOPATE. 
 
 Recommended by the late Bishop Wordsworth, of Lincoln, and used 
 by him, daily, at his family devotions. 
 
 O Lord Jesu Christ, the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, Who 
 didst continue all night in prayer, and then didst choose Thine 
 Apostles, and hast bidden us pray the Lord of the harvest to send 
 forth labourers into His harvest to gather fruit to life eternal, and 
 hast promised to be with Thine Apostles alway, even unto the end 
 of the world ; we beseech Thee to quicken and bless the endeavours 
 and offerings of Thy people for an increase of Bishops in Thy Church, 
 and to raise up faithful men for the work of the Apostleship, in 
 spreading forth Thy Gospel, in dispensing Thy Word and Sacraments, 
 in laying on of hands in Confirmation, in ordering of Priests and 
 Deacons, in ministering sound doctrine and godly discipline by driving 
 away error and by defence of Thy truth, and in watchful oversight, 
 wise and loving guidance, and good government of Thy Church ; and 
 to all who are called to that holy office give Thy grace and heavenly 
 benediction, that they may faithfully serve before Thee to Thy honour 
 and glory. Who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy 
 Ghost, One God, blessed for ever. Amen.
 
 THE CHURCH IN WALES. 
 
 (a) Increase of the Episcopate. 
 
 By Wilfred S. de Winton, M.A., Haroldston, Haverfordwest, 
 
 a Member of the House of Laymen, representing the 
 
 diocese of St. David's. 
 
 I LOOK to Llandaff as an object lesson to instruct Welsh Churchmen in 
 the advantages of a diocese of manageable dimensions. If this diocese 
 were not only of such small area, but also so well provided with railway 
 facilities, is it conceivable that the bishop's influence could be felt as it 
 is in every corner of this diocese ; each incumbent feeling that his work 
 is known and appreciated by his diocesan, not from hearsay report but 
 from frequent personal inspection ; each curate knowing that his con- 
 scientious toil will not pass neglected, but that it is seen and will be 
 rewarded by*his Father in God, whose presence has often cheered him 
 in his work, and whose kindly sympathy has encouraged and nerved him 
 to fresh effort, and that a warm ready welcome awaits him if he would 
 seek for counsel and advice, not a formal request that, as the Bishop's 
 time is already appropriated, he must content himself with communicating 
 his troubles through the chilling medium of the post office ; that every 
 churchwarden, if only a small tenant-farmer, and every churchworker, if 
 only a collier or mechanic, could realize as he does that he has a friend 
 in his bishop never too busy to hear and adjust parish difficulties ? I be- 
 lieve that many a humble churchworker has felt his interest in his Church 
 more quickened and his zeal more stimulated by a shake of the hand 
 from his bishop, accompanied by a few kindly, sympathetic words in his 
 own native tongue, than by all the historic proofs he may hear that his 
 Church is the Church of St. David, St. Dyfrig, and St. Teilo. 
 
 By way of contrast let us now turn to St. David's diocese, and here I 
 must begin with a reminder that, though the cathedral is in the remotest 
 corner of Pembrokeshire, almost washed by the waves of the Atlantic, 
 the working centre of the diocese is Carmarthen, close to which the 
 Bishop resides at Abergwili. St. David's stands first of the dioceses in 
 England and Wales in area with 2,238,021 acres, nearly 250,000 in front 
 of Norwich, which thus makes a bad second with only 1,994,525 acres. 
 In area, St. David's is larger than Durham before it lost Northumberland, 
 and is only slightly smaller than Lincoln before the See of Southwell was 
 founded. Its size can best be understood if I say that it includes the 
 whole of South Wales except two thirds of Glamorganshire and half a 
 dozen border parishes in Radnorshire. Its greatest length from east to
 
 west is nearly loo miles, or about the distance from London to Leicester ; 
 its greatest width from north to south is some 70 miles, or nearly the dis- 
 tance from London to Portsmouth. In population it comes twenty-third 
 wiih 482,245; in number of benefices twenty-first, with 404; and in 
 number of clergy at work, twenty-third, with 456. For the purpose of 
 this comparison I take the dioceses as they were in 1887, before Wake- 
 field was formed, omitting Sodor and Man. If St. David's is a good 
 first in point of area, in its lack of railway facilities it quite defies com- 
 petition. It takes five hours to get from its eastern border in Radnor- 
 shire to Milford, the railway terminus near its western limit ; and six 
 hours to get from its northern boundary on the Dovey to Swansea in the 
 south, not allowing for delays through trains not fitting, which, I may 
 add, is an experience not unknown to travellers in this locality. It is 
 simply impossible to find any town where a meeting can be held for 
 representatives from every parish in the diocese so that they can all go 
 and return the same day. How is it possible for the influence of any 
 Bishop, even were he a Wilberforce, to be felt as it should be over so 
 wide an area by clergy or laity ? The bishop must be unknown by face 
 to an overwhelming majority of the people, even in the towns of his 
 diocese. There must be a very large number of his churches in which 
 a bishop has not been seen for centuries, except when they were re- 
 opened after restoration. Even within my own knowledge there are 
 many cases in which laymen have refrained from bringing matters before 
 the bishop, which should have been brought before him, because they 
 knew he had not sufiicient leisure to go thoroughly into them at a 
 personal interview. 
 
 The greatest source of weakness of the Church in this diocese is the 
 isolation of the clergy ; it is bitterly felt by them, and its consequences 
 are most serious. 1 believe I am right in saying that in a majority of its 
 country parishes there is no resident squire, and the most important 
 personage is a small tenant farmer cr freeholder, who is generally a 
 deacon of the chapel, which as often as not is under a pecuniary obli- 
 gation to him ; the parishes are large, the clergy distant from each other, 
 so their isolation may well be conceived. I am sure many a clergyman 
 has gone to such a parish full of zeal and energy, whom the terrible 
 isolation and want of sympathy have driven to sloth and despair, if 
 not to something worse. I have heard clergy from all parts of this 
 diocese say how helpful a visit, not a visitatmi^ from their bishop would 
 be, how anxious they are for his sympathy, how impossible it is to find 
 an opportunity for conversing with him on the difficulties they meet with 
 in their parishes, how unreasonable it is to hope that the revived interest 
 of their people in the Church may be quickened by a sermon from the 
 bishop, or a few words of encouragement to the churchworkers. Of 
 course it is impossible for any bishop of this diocese to find time for 
 any but purely official functions ; personal contact with his clergy 
 and laity, with its spiritualizing and energizing influence, is, except in 
 a few cases, quite out of the question. Ought we to be surprised at the 
 prevalence of Baptist teaching, when a confirmation has never been seen 
 in the vast majority of country parishes which do not make good 
 " centres," or that when the delegation of the cure of souls from the 
 bishop to the incumbent takes place in the privacy of the palace, the
 
 Church is given credit for Erastianism, and her " Hberation " is 
 earnestly demanded by so many religious Nonconformists who have 
 never had an opportunity of learning from the public institution of their 
 clergyman what the truth of the matter really is? 
 
 I am glad to say that we have already passed from the stage of 
 academic discussion with regard to the remedy for this unworkable 
 diocese to within measurable distance of practical politics. The 
 diocesan conference having discussed the question at Brecon in 1887, 
 and again at Carmarthen last year, unanimously resolved : '* That a sub- 
 division of the diocese is desirable," and appointed a committee " to 
 consider and report upon the best means of carrying it out." This com- 
 mittee unanimously recommends the separation of the eastern portion of 
 the diocese, viz., Breconshire, Radnorshire (exclusive, of course, of the 
 border parishes now in Hereford diocese), and Gower (which includes 
 Swansea and its populous suburbs), to form a new diocese to be called 
 " the diocese of Brecon and Swansea." This would leave to St. David's 
 the three counties of Cardigan, Carmarthen, and Pembroke, with an area 
 of 1.428,973, a population of 286,958, and some 260 benefices; and 
 would rank eighth, thirtieth, and twenty-fifth in these respects, giving to 
 " Brecon and Swansea " diocese 809,048 acres, a population^ allowing 
 for estimated increase to date in Swansea district of 230,000, and some 140 
 benefices, thus ranking twenty-seventh in area, above Hereford and 
 Bangor in population, and above Bangor in number of benefices. I do 
 not pause to criticise or commend the wisdom of thecommittee's scheme; 
 it is their unanimous recommendation, and as such will no doubt be 
 received and adopted by the diocesan conference and by Churchmen in 
 general. It was suggested by the Bishop of St. David's at Brecon Con- 
 ference in 1887, it was approved by the Bishop of Llandaff in his charge 
 of 1888, and it has the warm commendation of the Bishops of Ciiester 
 and St. Asaph, who are both of course competent judges of the needs of 
 their old diocese ; and I think this is a case where the principles of 
 Home Rule and Local Option may be deemed not out of place, even by 
 those who are most strongly opposed to them in their ordinary 
 application. 
 
 Next, as to its feasibiUty. Supposing that ^4,000 is recognised 
 as the minimum for old sees, and that St. David's will surrender 
 ^500 a year, and the three other Welsh sees ;£2Go a year each, 
 ^1,100 a year will be available from old endowments ; and we shall 
 have to look to the public spirit of Churchmen to subscribe ;£^5 5,000 in 
 order to make up a ^£"3,000 a year endowment ; or ^£26,000, if, as 1 
 hope it may be, ^2,000 a year is allowed as a minimum to start with. 
 I have seen it stated that our laity take no interest in the sub-division, 
 and that it is only desired by certain of the clergy ; but, as Mr. Dillwyn 
 Llewelyn said on a recent occasion, the movement is not initiated by 
 the bishop in order to relieve himself of some of his too heavy responsi- 
 bilities, but by the laity because they demand more thorough episcopal 
 supervision. 
 
 It was a layman who pressed the discussion on the conference in 
 1887, and again in 1888, and eight lay persons, including the Lord- 
 Lieutenants of two counties in the diocese, have already headed the 
 endowment fund for the new see with promises of ^1,000 each, and
 
 three with ;£"5oo each, though no appeal has yet been printed or any 
 pubhc meeting held. 
 
 The diocese of St. David's has found from voluntary sources during 
 the past four years no less than ;^i 20,000 for Church extension. I am 
 sure that ^^26,000, or even ;£"5 5,000, will not, after this, appear an 
 impossible sum. ;^i 1,000 towards this has already been promised, and 
 I trust that all Wales will make common cause with us to support as a 
 national movement what I believe the B ishops ofRnng n r , T ,1an daff, and ^ 
 tij^/j §t-.-A&aph,^v4th4^o- 4ir€Ct-ad¥aftta ge to themse lves, are prepared cordially 
 /^ and generously to further at-tb ^ir own p e rsonal s acrifi ce ; and I hope that 
 when Wales has given her fair share, English Churchmen will not fail to ex- 
 tend to us their sympathy, especially if the higher minimum is forced 
 upon Wales lest an awkward precedent should be created for English 
 sees. 
 
 I have said that I hope ;^2,ooo a year may be sanctioned as the 
 minimum endowment of our new see ; this is a recommendation of the 
 committee, and was opposed by only two votes. When it is remem- 
 bered that a Welsh deanery is worth only ;£"7co a year, instead of 
 ranging as in England from ^1,000 to ^£"3,000 ; that a Welsh canonry 
 is worth only ^^350, instead of from ^^500 to ;^i,4oo ; and that of the 
 404 benefices in St. David's diocese, 226 are under ;£^2oo a year, and 
 according to this year's "Crockford" only three are over ;£"4oo a year net; 
 it will be seen that Welsh endowments are altogether on a lower scale 
 than English, and I hope it will be felt that ^2,000 a year is enough 
 for the new see to begin with. It will, of course, be said that if it begins 
 at this it will never be raised. In answer I can point to Newcastle, 
 where, after the ^£3,000 minimum was completed, a donor gave ;£"i 0,000 
 to put the see nearer the level of its richer sisters ; and it would be easy 
 for the Bishop of Brecon and Swansea to beg for his see without asking 
 for any personal benefit to himself, by soliciting subscriptions towards 
 the completion of the endowment on the understanding that they should 
 accumulate at compound interest during his tenure of the see. It is ob- 
 jected that we should be creating two classes of episcopal endowments. 
 I answer that there are already thirteen varieties, ranging from the Bishop 
 of Sodor and Man's ;£"2,ooo a year to the Archbishop of Canterbury's 
 ;^i5,ooo, and I do not propose to create a fourteenth variety. There is 
 another very telling precedent which seems to have escaped most Church 
 reformers. I mean the Bishops' Resignation Act of 1869, made per- 
 petual in 1875. It is here provided that in the event of a bishop or 
 archbishop being permanently mentally incapacitated, a coadjutor cum 
 jure snccessionis may be appointed, with all the rights and duties of the 
 ordinary occupant of the see except the possession of the palace and the 
 seat in Parliament, and that the revenues of the see shall be chargeable 
 for the coadjutor's support, in the case of Canterbury with ^4,000 a 
 year, in the case of York with ;^3,ooo, in the case of Sodor and Man 
 with ;£i,ooo, and in any other case ^2,000 a year. I submit that 
 if ;^2,ooo is not insuflicient for the acting bishop of London, Durham, 
 or Winchester, it is not inadequate for the Bishop of Brecon and Swansea, 
 at least to begin with. 
 
 I now propose to deal with objections I have heard to the creation of 
 a fifth Welsh see. 
 
 r\ 
 
 . UIUC ,
 
 (i) " We are going to be disendowed, why make the plunder more 
 attractive ? " 
 
 To begin with, if we do our duty I do not believe we are going to be 
 disendowed, but if I did, I should be even more anxious than I am to 
 see the new diocese created ; if disestablished, i.e.^ if left to organize 
 herself, the Welsh Church would want the new see rather more than less 
 than at present, and even the most acquisitive liberationist does not 
 propose to *' nationalize" any endowment from voluntary sources given 
 since 1818. We should be merely in fine weather putting by so much 
 for a rainy day, and thereby doing a great deal to ensure a continuance 
 of sunshine. 
 
 (2) The difficulty of filling Welsh sees while a knowledge of Welsh is 
 a necessary, qualification. I admit that it is not only a desirable but also a 
 necessary qualification that a Welsh bishop should be able to address 
 liis people, and especially his confirmation candidates, in the language of 
 their childhood and of their affections, if the Church is to compete on 
 equal terms with Nonconformity. But the difficulty of selection is 
 getting less each year we live. During the last fifty years there have been 
 eight appointments to Welsh sees. The single diocese of St. David's 
 has found four Welsh-speaking bishops in the last twenty years. Surely if 
 one diocese has supplied a Welsh-speaking bishop every five years, the 
 whole principality can supply one every six years. I have said that 
 there have been four native Welsh-speaking bishoi)s appointed. The 
 first was received with surprise, the second with gratitude, the third and 
 the fourth with positive enthusiasm : does this look as if the difficulty were 
 increasing ? Before the last two bishops were appointed, I heard in the 
 diocese that supplied them the same tale of the impossibility of finding 
 satisfactory Welsh-speaking bishops that I hear now. This shows me 
 the value to be attached to such an objection. 
 
 Then again, it is something new for the supply of good material for 
 English bishops to exceed the demand. Lord Melbourne is credited 
 with saying that no part of his patronage gave him so much trouble, and 
 when exercised, so little satisfaction to the public, as the nomination 
 to the episcopal bench. My lord, I strongly feel that if we do our duty 
 in finding the endowment we may rest assured that, in answer to our 
 earnest prayers, the Divine Head of the Church will provide the man. 
 
 (3) The money that would be spent on endowing the see is urgently 
 wanted for Church extension in Swansea, and for augmenting the 226 
 starvation benefices to which I have referred. 
 
 It is because I am so keenly alive to the need of supplying these two 
 requirements that I so warmly advocate the creation of the see. We 
 liave here experience to guide us. The Churchmen of the north spent 
 ^75,000 in endowing Newcastle, though they knew that the money was 
 terribly wanted for Church extension in Durham and Northumberland, 
 where the churches only found accommodation for one-seventh of the 
 population, and where parishes of from fifteen to twenty thousand souls 
 cried for sub-division — with what result ? Why, in the first four years 
 after Newcastle was founded, Northumberland raised ;£"244,ooo for 
 Church extension and Durham ;£'2 23,000 for the same purpose, so 
 that Bishop Lightfoot could truly say, " In nothing has the wisdom of 
 dividing the see been more conspicuously vindicated than in its 
 financial results."
 
 In the first four years after Newcastle was founded, the deacons 
 ordained in Northumberland and Durham were 170 against 134 for the 
 last four years of the undivided diocese, and the number of persons con- 
 firmed was 37,132 against 25,815. In Liveipool diocese in the first 
 seven years 217 deacons were ordained against 133 in the previous seven 
 years for the same area; in the three years ending 1884, Liverpool 
 diocese subscribed for Church extension ^145,385, in the three years 
 ending 1887, ^£"197, 821 ; for parochial charities, diocesan institutions, 
 and home and foreign missions in the three years ending 1884, ;£98,77i, 
 in the next three years ;^i 17,508, making; for the six years a total of 
 ;£"559,485 ; not a bad return for the expenditure of ;^ioo,ooo on the 
 foundation of the see. 
 
 But I shall be told it is useless to argue from the wealth of Newcastle 
 and Liverpool to the poverty of St. David's. I can, however, point to 
 results of sub-division quite as striking in Cornwall, the West Wales of 
 the ninth century. In 1850 the assistant curates in Cornwall were 47 ; 
 in 1869, 50 ; in 1876, 51. Truro See was founded in 1877, and in 1885 
 the 51 had become 78. Before 1877 the average number of churches 
 built and restored was 3*5 per annum, and since it has risen to 6*6. 
 
 I have the Exeter calendar for 1887, the last that included Cornwall, 
 and the Exeter and Truro calendars for 1889. From these I gather 
 that the amounts given in a single year to various Church societies by 
 Devon and Cornwall have increased since Truro was created as follows : — 
 Missions to seamen by ;£485, foreign missions (S.P.G. and CM.S.) by 
 ;^i,293, home missions (i.e., the general funds of Additional Curates 
 and Pastoral Aid Societies) by ;£"2,869, Cornwall under the last head 
 giving more than Devon and Cornwall did together before 1877; and 
 yet during this time ^110,000 had been spent on Truro cathedral and 
 ;^7o,oco had only just been raised for the endowment of the see. 
 
 An eloquent speaker said at Manchester Congress last year, " We have 
 to convince Churchmen, and to convince the capitalists, that episcopacy, 
 as a real energizing force, working as the living centre of each diocese, 
 radiating to the very outer ring of its circumference, and sending the 
 heart's blood of the Church to the extremities, is essential to the vitality 
 of the body spiritual." My lord, I think the experience of Truro, 
 Liverpool, aad Newcastle should convince theni. 
 
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