On a proposed subdivision of dioceses : a letter to Viscount Dungannon

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ON A PROPOSED

SUBDIVISION OF DIOCESES

A LETTER TO

VISCOUNT DUNGANNON;

CHR. WORDSWORTH, D.D.,

FoRMEI.Y VICAR OF STANFORD IN THE VALE,
NOW BISHOP OF LINCOLN.

REPRINTED BV REQUEST.

PUBLISHED AT THE OFFICE

OF THE

^tJtiitiaual l^ome BfeJjopricis (Putiokimcnt funtr,

7, Whitehall, London, S.W,

1877.

LONDON :

IIARLES CULL AND SON, PRlNTEJiS,

HOUGHTON ST., STRAND, W.C.

PREFACE.

The Committee of the "Additional Home Bishoprics'
Endowment Fund" having intimated to the writer of
this Letter a wish to reprint it, he has had great
pleasure in complying with their request for its
re-publication.

In so doing he feels it a duty to declare that
the opinions expressed in it by him sixteen years
ago as a Parish Priest have been confirmed by
the experience he has had for eight years as a
Bishop.

He is very thankful to have been permitted to
live to see the creation of two new Sees in
England— Truro and St. Alban's— with a prospect
of a further increase in the Episcopate; and it is
his earnest prayer to be permitted to take piirt
in the Subdivision of the Diocese of Lincoln — the
largest in territorial area among the Dioceses of
England and Wales.

• Some remarks on this subject may be seen in
the Appendix to this Letter; and also some
important and valuable statements by the Com-
mittee of the " Additional Home Bishoprics Endow-
ment Fund."

RisEHOLME, Lincoln.

S. Matthias' TJaij, 1877.

A

LET i KR,

d^c.

Vicarage, Stanford in the Vale,

Faringdon, Bet-ks, Nov., 1860.

My dear Lord,

A conversation with your Lordship
this autumn encouraged me to request permission
to address you ; and I asked for leave to do so by
means of the press, because the subject to which I
would now invite your attention is one of general
importance, and is likely to engage the consideration
of the Legislature and the Public, in consequence of
an announcement latelv made in the House of Peers,
and of a Bill which has been laid upon the table of
that House^

My thankfulness to your Lordship for your com-
pliance with that request is enhanced by the reflection
that it affords an opportunity of expressing publicly
the sentiments of respect and gratitude, which, in

1 By Lord Lyttelton, July 16, 1860. The Bill is entitled,
"An Act for enabling Her Majesty, and Her Majesty's suc-
cessors, to subdivide Dioceses, and to erect additional Sees in
England and Wales."

6 ON A PROPOSED

common with many others, I entertain for the zeal
and courage displayed by your Lordship in your place
in Parliament, on several recent occasions, in the
maintenance of the sacred cause of true religion and
virtue.

The question now proposed for consideration is, —
Whether any subdivision of Dioceses in England and
Wales is expedient and requisite at this time ?

This is a subject of considerable difficulty and
delicacy. It is also one of great moment, and
deserves to be carefully examined by those who wish
well to their country ; and in discussing it, it will be
my earnest endeavour, to treat it with a just apprecia-
tion of its solemn importance, and of the sacred
character and dignity of those, whose persons and
office ought ever to be objects of dutiful affection to
members and ministers of the Church ; and to whom as
spiritual Fathers we owe more than filial reverence.

1, In order to ascertain whether any subdivision
of Dioceses is necessary, we must inquire into the
nature of the Episcopal Office, and into the means
which are now available for the adequate performance
of its duties.

The Bishops of the Christian Church are suc-
cessors of the Apostles in their ordinary spiritual
functions. In Scripture, the Holy Spirit assigns the
first place among Apostolic duties to attendance upon
prayer and preaching the Word^ .

The Order of Deacons was instituted for the purpose

^ Acts vi, 4.

SUBDIVISION OF DIOCESES. 7

of relieving the Apostles from the charge of secular
functions, and of enabling them to devote themselves
to their spiritual duties ^ St. Paul, writing to the first
Bishop of Ephesus, Timothy, says, " Give attendance
to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine ; meditate on
these things ; give thyself wholly to them ^"

Accordingly we find, that in the first and best ages
of the Church, the persons most eminent for sacred
learning, and of most authority in guiding others,
were Bishops. I need hardly mention the names of St
Cyril of Jerusalem, and St. Cyril of Alexandria, of St.
Gregory of Nazianzus, and St. Gregory of Nyssa, of
St. Basil, St. Athanasius, St Chrysostom, St. Hilary,
and St. Augustine. All these were Bishops.

It cannot be alleged, that England has now little
need of an Episcopate able to devote time and atten-
tion to matters of sacred learning. If the salt should
lose its savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned^? If
there should be failures there, where the world looks
for guidance, they would bring more damage with
them than the faults of common men. " We find, "
says a wise man^, ^' by experience of all ages in the
Church of God, that the Teacher's error is the People's
trial ; harder and heavier so much to bear, as he is in
worth and regard greater that mispersuadeth them. "

Your Lordship has seen important questions of
Theology discussed in Parliament ; you have heard
religious topics debated in it, affecting the dearest
interests of our common country, and of every house-
hold. Such questions as these have arisen, are now
arising, and may continue to arise among us ; and for
safe guidance in such matters, the English Nation

=* Acts vi, 3 — 5. ■* 1 Tim. iv, 13, lo.

•^ Luke xiv, 34. "^ Hooker, V. Ixii. 'J.

ON A PROPOSED

ought to be able to look to her Spiritualty. She
ought to be allowed to see those momentous questions
deliberately considered and wisely determined by her
spiritual rulers, speaking in clear language, and, if
possible, with one voice.

It is no disparagement to our Chief Pastors to make
an honest avowal, that this is not the case. It would
be surprising, if it were : many of the Bishops of
England, with their numerous other occupations, con-
sequent on the size and population of their Dioceses,
do not enjoy the means and opportunities of doing
that which the Apostles regarded as their prime
duty ; they have not the power, however earnest
their desire, of complying with that injunction
which was given to the Bishop of Ephesus by the
Apostle St. Paul.

The evils arising from these causes are not limited
to discussions of grave parliamentary questions, but
extend themselves to other matters of not less vital
importance.

Your Lordship well knows the dangers which now
threaten the foundations of Christianity among us ;
and which, if not seasonably arrested, will shake the
fabric of our religious and civil Institutions. In
England, — especially in one of our Universities, — we
have struggled through the storm and conflict of
a violent and bitter controversy. Some good has
arisen from it. Many, who might otherwise have
passed their lives in a torpid and lethargic apathy,
have been stimulated and aroused thereby to examine
the foundations of the Faith, as taught in the Church
of England ; and are now able to render a good
reason of the hope that is in them. But others have
been carried away by the stream of false doctrine ;

SUBDIVISION OF DIOCESES. 9

others, exhausted by the battle, or irritated and
exasperated by the vehemence of the combatants,
have been driven back with a sharp recoil and
sadden reaction, and have sunk into religious in-
difference. The polemical paroxysm has been suc-
ceeded by passive prostration ; the fever has subsided
and collapsed into an ague. Others have passed into
the region of scepticism, and are now roaming in an
unquiet and restless spirit of doubt and uncertainty,
and are endeavouring to seduce the young and
unwary to quit the City of God, and to go forth
and wander with them in a dreary wilderness of
unbelief.

The consequences, public and private, of such
disastrous influences as these may well excite alarm.
The rising generation, especially in the middle and
upper classes of society, has a severe ordeal before
it ; and unless it can look for more guidance and
support than it has now, many, it is to be feared,
will be unable to endure the trial, and will fall away
from the faith

We have great reason to be thankful for the piety,
devotion, and, zeal which characterize the English
Episcopate. But the circumstances of our age and
country require a personal application to individuals,
of those spiritual gifts, by which our Chief Pastors
are distinguished.

It is essential to the public weal that they to
whom others look for guidance, should have leisure
to master the theological questions which are now
rife among us, and which affect our vital interests,
social and spiritual ; and to impart fatherly counsel
to others, especially to the younger Clergy, and to
direct them in their doubts, and to extricate them

10 ON A PROPOSED

from their difficulties. Such was the intention of
Christ Himself, when He appointed Chief Pastors
in His Church, and entrusted His flock to their
care.

But, my Lord, such personal intercourse and
cTuidance as this can hardly be expected from those
who have the Episcopal care of Dioceses, such as
some in England and Wales, which contain a million,
or even two millions of souls.

2. Contrast our condition in this respect with the
pattern of Diocesan Episcopacy presented to us in
Holy Scripture. The Miracle of the Feeding of
the Five Thousand by Christ^, multiplying the loaves,
and distributing them by the hands of the Apostles
to the multitude, has ever been regarded by the best
Expositors of Holy Scripture as a Divine representa-
tion of the method and plan^ which Almighty God,
Who is a God of order ^, approves and prescribes to
be adopted by the Christian Church, for the feeding
of His people with the Bread of Life, ministered to
them in the Word and Sacraments, so that every
soul may be refreshed thereby. Christ commanded
His Apostles to make the men sit down in ranks
and companies by fifties, and to feed them with the
provision which He in His Divine power supplied to
them.

In like manner He commands the successors of
the Apostles to feed His people, arranged in dio-
ceses and parishes of such reasonable size and
population, that none may be stinted of spiritual food.

' Matt. xiv. 16—24. Mark vi. 39—43. Luke ix. 11—17.
John vi. 10 — 13. ^ See 1 Cor. xiv. 33,

SUBDIVISION OF DIOCESES. 11

The Churches of the first Century illustrated and
exemplified these principles. Those Churches were
planted by the Apostles, who had Christ's presence
with them^, and to whom He promised the Holy
Ghost to "teach them all things, and to guide them
into all truth ^^." Therefore we may be sure, that
the primitive form of Church- Government, esta-
blished by the Apostles, was according to the mind
of Christ, and conformable to the will of the Holy
Ghost. We find, that when our Blessed Lord,
reigning in heaven, revealed Himself to St. John
in Patmos, and spoke by his means to the Seven
Churches in Asia\ He addressed Himself to the
Angels of those Churches^. He recognised the
several Angels as the Chief Pastors and Repre-
sentatives of their respective Churches. One of
those Churches was Ephesus. That Church, we
know, had many Presbyters in it^; but our Lord
speaks to its Angel as having principal rule over
them^ That Church may be regarded as a specimen
of the rest. The Angels of the Churches,— as ancient
authors testify,— were the Bishops of those Churches.

Here then, in these Asiatic Churches, is a pattern
of Diocesan Church Government, established by the
Apostles who were inspired by the Holy Ghost, and
who had Christ present with them ; a pattern
authorized by Christ Himself, and presented for our
instruction and imitation in Holy Writ.

If we examine the size and population of those
primitive Dioceses of Asia, and compare them with our

» Matt, xxviii, 20. '° John xiv, 26; xvi, 13.

' Rev. i, 11. ' Rev. ii, 1, 8, 12. Szq.

3 Acts XX. 17. ' Kev. ii, 1 — 7.

12 ON A PROPOSED

own, we find that the seven Dioceses of Asia collectively,
to which St. John wrote, were not greater in size and
population than some one or two of our English
Dioceses.

The mind of Christ in this matter is revealed to us
in Holy Scripture; and if we desire to receive the
spiritual blessings which He designs to convey to us
by means of an Apostolic Ministry, it cannot surely
be a matter of indifference, whether we endeavour to
conform ourselves to that plan of Church-regimen
which He has displayed to our view.

We deplore the ungodliness and demoralization
which prevail in our large Towns, and we sometimes
feel tempted to despair of their spiritual restoration.

But it may be remembered, that the Apostles had
greater difficulties to encounter than those which beset
us. And they have taught us by their own practice
and example, the true method of Christianizing great
Cities. They planted Bishops in them. This was
the Apostolic mode of evangelising the world. And
the Apostles were inspired by the Holy Ghost. If
Ave do not conform to that Divine plan, we have no
reason to wonder, that we have not the Divine
blessing on our work. And without it, all human
labour is vain.

3. Let us consider this subject in reference to the
administration of a special function of the Episcopal
Office, — Confirmati07i,

The Church of England prescribes — in her office
for the Public Baptism of Infants — that all her
children should be trained by her Parochial Clergy, and
be prepared by them for Confiirmation ; and that, after
such preparatory training, they should be confirmed by
her Bishops. The Church of Christ was not instituted

SUBDIVISION OF DIOCESES. 13

for the sake of her Ministers ; but her Ministers
exist for the sake of the Church. Her children
have a claim on their respective Pastors for such
preparation ; and they have a right to expect, that
their Bishops, as Chief Rulers in the Church, should
take care that such preparation is afforded to them ;
and, after such preparation, they have also a claim
on their Bishops for Confirmation at their hands. It
is part of their spiritual heritage.

There is something remarkable in the law of our
Church, derived from Holy Scripture and primitive
practice, that Confirmation should be administered
by Bishops and by Bishops only. It seems to have
been dictated with a wise and providential purpose,
for the adequate extension of the Episcopate accord-
ing to the needs of the population. It seems to
have been ordered with a judicious and charit-
able intention, that Bishops should not remain
stationary in any one place, but should visit the
several Parishes of their Dioceses, and examine per-
sonally their spiritual condition, and should dispense
the spiritual graces which the Great Head of the
Church vouchsafes to bestow by their ministry.

Such a work as this requires much personal labour
on their part. And whenever a Bishop finds himself
unable to perform it, and whenever he feels himself un-
willing to require his Clergy to do their duty in pre-
paring the youngpersons of their Parishes, and in bring-
ing them to him for Confirmation, and whenever he
finds himself unable to visit and inspect those Parishes,
and to administer Confirmation to all who ought, by
the directions of the Church, to be brought to him,
then, my Lord, the Church of England, or rather

14 ON A PROPOSED

Christ Himself, plainly speaks, by these facts, in clear
and solemn language, and declares His Divine Will
that the lambs of His flock are not to suffer loss by
their Bishop's incapacity ; but that he ought to be
provided with help, and that the Diocese ought to be
divided, or that some other means should be supplied
for the due execution of the Episcopal office.

The character in which I now venture to speak is
that of a Parochial Minister. It is sometimes alleged,
that we, who have the pastoral care of Parishes, espe-
cially in country places, are prone to settle down into
a state of languid quiescence. Doubtless we need to
be stirred by stimulants from without ; and of all
the excitements to pastoral watchfulness and dili-
gence, and to ministerial faithfulness and zeal, none is
so healthful and effective as the frequent and regular
administration of the Apostolic Rite of Confirmation.
The spiritual pools of our parochial Bethesdas need
often to be stirred by the descent of an Angel .to
trouble the stagnant waters, and awaken their healing
virtue^. Such an effect is produced by the visit of a
Bishop coming among us to hold a Confirmation. It
is like that of the Angel troubling the pool. The
waters feel the movement of his wings, even before
he comes down ; and a ripple is seen on their surface.
Even the expectation of a visit from the Bishop to
confirm the young people of our Parishes, exercises a
salutary influence upon us for several weeks before his
arrival.

The notice which we receive from the Bishop of
his intention to visit our Parishes, and to hold a Con-
firmation there, sets us immediately to work ; it sends

^ John V. 4.

SUBDIVISION OF DIOCESES. 15

US forth on our pastoral rounds from house to house,
and makes us inquire who is of a fit age to receive in-
struction for Confirmation, and, after due training, to
be confirmed. It makes us open our Night Schools,
and gather our peasant lads into our Parsonages ; it
employs us in the work of Catechizing, one of the most
important, if not the most important, of our pastoral
duties. For it is vain for us to preach, unless we
first catechize. We might as well sow our fields
without ploughing them.

Thus Confirmations bring us into close spiritual
relations with our people at that critical time when
they are about to enter into active life ; when their
wills most need to be regulated, and their passions to
be disciplined, and their reason to be informed, and
their conscience to be enlightened, by God's holy
Word ; and when they require to be equipped and
armed against the temptations of tjie world, and to
be prepared to fight a good fight, as valiant soldiers of
Christ, by regular training in the articles of the
Christian Faith, and in the duties of the Christian
Life ; and to receive supplies of grace in Confirmation
itself, and, — after Confirmation, — in the regular re-
ception of the Holy Communion, in order to qualify
them to do their duty in that state of life to which it
may please God to call them, and to attain a blessed
immortality.

My Lord, it may be confidently affirmed, thai nothing
in the whole sphere of ministerial labour represents
so much real work,— and work of the best kind, —
done by the Parochial Clergy, as a Confirmation,
The Confirmation itself may be administered by the
Bishop in a couple of hours ; but it gathers up the
previous pastoral labour of many days and weeks ;

16 ON A PROPOSED

it is the harvest of a long spiritual seed-time ; the
fruit of much spiritual tillage ; the crowning work of
our spiritual husbandry.

Nor is this all. A Confirmation is also a pledge
and earnest of future spiritual blessings. Confirma-
tion is the door to the Holy Communion. A Confir-
mation, therefore, not only represents what is already
do7ie, but it reveals to the eye of Faith and Hope the
cheering prospect of msmy future gatherings of Christ's
children,— long after we are in our graves,— kneeling
at His altar, after self-examination, and confession
to God, and receiving in the Holy Communion the
pledges of pardon and peace, and the continual
refreshment of spiritual grace, exciting and enabling
them to do their duty to God and man, and preparing
them for the joys of heaven. When, my Lord, we
consider these things, we need not hesitate to say, that
the regular and adequate administration of Confirma-
tion in the Cities, Towns, and Villages of England,
would, by its effects, both retrospective and prospec-
tive, produce greater moral, social, and religious
improvement in the condition of this whole Nation,
than all the other agencies which the mind of man
can devise.

4. But what is our present condition in this most
important respect?

It has been my happiness to spend a portion of
every year, during the last ten years, in a country
Parish in the County of Berks, in the Diocese of
Oxford. And in mentioning that Diocese I. speak of
one which possesses great spiritual advantages. It is
not one of the more populous Dioceses ; it stands only
the fifteenth in order of population among the Dioceses

SUBDIVISION OF DIOCESES. 17

of England and Wales. And for the last fifteen years it
has enjoyed the unspeakable benefit of the Episcopal
superintendence of a Chief Pastor, whose genius and
eloquence, brilliant as they are, are not more tran-
scendent than the zeal, devotion, and energy, with
which his Apostolic functions are discharged, espe-
cially in the ministry of Confirmation.

But what, my Lord, is the condition even of this
favoured Diocese in this important respect ?

At the last Census in 1861, — ten years ago, — the
population of this Diocese was a little more than half
a million of souls'^, and at the present time it probably
falls little short of 600,000. And what is the number
of those who are annually confirmed in it ? About six
thousand three hundred souls '. That is to say, a little
more than one per cent, per annuvi of the population.

Instead of this result, the number annually confirmed
ought to be about twenty-five thousand. Confirma-
tions are usually held once in three years for our rural
Parishes. In this Parish, by the kindness of the Bishop
complying with our request that he would visit it more
frequently, three per cent, of the population have been
confirmed annually. But at least Jive per cent, ought to
have been confirmed here. And this may be accepted
as a fair average for the rural Parishes of the Diocese.
It ought to be higher in the towns, on account of their
past arrears. In other words, the number which
ought to be confirmed in this Diocese, would only

« 503,042.

'■ In the three years ending Nov. 1857, the number annually
confirmed was 4686. In the three years ending Nov. 1860, the
number was 6249 ; a large increase, and the more gratifying on
account of the admirable manner in which Confirmation is admi-
nistered in that Diocese.

18 ON A PROPOSED

then be confirmed, if the Diocesan were engaged in
Confirmations every day in the year, and if he were
to confirm about seventy persons daily. Indeed, if
he had no other employment than to administer Con-
firmation, that work alone might suffice to occupy his
time, and require all his strength.

This statement may serve to refute the allegation,
that if the Parochial Clergy did their duty in bring-
ing their people to their Bishops to be confirmed, the
proper number of persons would be confirmed. Doubt-
less we may be in fault here. A Confirmation causes
us a great deal of trouble. And in pleading for
the adequate administration of Confirmation, we are
pleading for what would greatly increase our own work.
And therefore there may be perhaps a disposition in
the Clergy to be content with things as they are.
They may fairly say, that it is not for them to stir up
those whose duty it is to stir up them. They may
charitably think, that it is not for the Clergy to
overburden their Bishops, who are already taxed
beyond their power.

But this Diocese, as I have already observed, pre-
sents a very favourable case, as compared with others.

Let me pass to another Diocese with which I have
also been connected for many years, — the Diocese of
London. In 1851 it contained more than two millions
of souls. The number of persons confirmed by
the Bishop of that Diocese yearly is about twelve
thousand ; a very large number, and one of the many
signal proofs, which that Diocese displays, of the
noble resolution, with which its indefatigable Chief
Pastor is animated, to spend and to be spent in his
heavenly Master's service.

But here is another evidence of the total inade-

SUJ3DI VISION OF DIOCESES. 19

quacy of the English Episcopate, as now constituted,
to execute the work which is required by God an;!
the People at their hands. The number that ought
to be confirmed annually in the Diocese of London is
about seven per cent, of the population, in order to
provide for the present demand, and to make up in
some degree for past arrears. A number not less
than one hundred and forty thousand annually ought
to have the means offered them of being confirmed in
that Diocese. In other words, about a hundred and
twenty-eight thousand who might receive Confirmation
are left unconfirmed every year. And they who are
left unconfirmed, are left also without that to which
Confirmation leads ; they are left without the Holt/
Communion,

It would be presumptuous to advert here to the
manner in which Confirmations are often administered
in our populous cities, if such a reference were not
needed. The Church of England prescribes, that,
in administering Confirmation, the Bishop shall 'Uay
his hand upon the head of every one severally ^ "
whom he confirms, while he utters the prayer,
" Defend, O Lord, this Thy child ; " and the reason
of this injunction is obvious.

It conduces much to the solemnity of the effect of
that holy ordinance on the minds of the young, which
are most susceptible of religious impressions. It also
involves and declares an important Christian doctritie,
—the doctrine that every baptized person is a child
of God, and that He is willing to give the Holy Spirit
to every one who comes to Him with faith. It is a
practical protest against sectarian notions, and is a
visible profession of faith in the article of Universal

Redemption.

8 Eubric in the Office of Confirmation.

20 ON A PROPOSED

But, unhappily, from the necessities of the case
this rule of the Church is very often not complied
with, and the Prayer of Confirmation is uttered for
a large number of persons at once. The religious uses
of that holy rite are thus greatly impaired, and its
doctrinal teaching is obscured ; and this deviation from
the order of the Church may be pleaded as a pre-
cedent, to justify other infractions of her laws.

But it has its moral. It proclaims an important
truth. It shows the insufficiency of the present
number of Bishops to execute the sacred work which
they are commissioned to j)erform.

Again ; the Church prescribes, that Confirmations
should take place in the presence of the godparents
of those who are confirmed. And the benefits of a
Confirmation are greatly enhanced by its ministration
in the Parish to which the Candidates belong. It
exercises a salutary influence not only on the Candi-
dates, but on their parents, relatives, and friends.

But, in consequence of the size and population of
our Dioceses, it often happens, that young persons
are taken away from their own homes to some distant
Parish, perhaps to a county Town, in order to be
confirmed there. An unhappy necessity. For thus
the day of Confirmation, which ought to be a day
of seriousness, becomes a day of distraction, perhaps
a day of dissipation. The very act of renewing their
vow to renounce the temptations of the world, the
flesh, and the devil, is encompassed with those
temptations ; and the candidates, their friends, and
their Parishes are deprived of those sanctifying,
solemnizing, and spiritualizing influences, which the
Church designed for them, and which they would
derive from the reverent administration of Confirma-

SUBDIVISION OP DIOCESES. 21

tion in the peaceful sanctuary of their own Parish
Church, which would thus be more endeared to them
by the holiest associations ; and from the fatherly
admonitions of their Bishop speaking to his young
spiritual children in the presence of their parents
and friends, offering up in tlieir behalf the prayers
of lovino^ hearts to the common Father of all.

Such Confirmations, administered quietly and so-
lemnly, greatly increase the people's veneration and
affection for the Episcopal Office, and make them feel
in truth, that they have a Father in God.

It is superfluous, however, to say, that, under
present circumstances, the people of England in many
Dioceses are deprived of these benefits.

The Rite of Confirmation bestows a spiritual gift
upon those who are duly prepared for it; and it
gives them access to the Holy Communion, and to
the spiritual benefits of pardon and grace, and hopes
of a blessed resurrection and a glorious immortality,
which are promised to the penitent and faithful
receiver of that Sacrament ; and it presupposes an
important work of preparation and training pre-
viously performed by the spiritual Pastors of those
who come to Confirmation.

If this work is left undone,— if they who ought
to be confirmed are not confirmed,— then, my Lord,
the truth must be spoken, the youthful children of
Christ, for whom He shed His precious blood, have
been robbed of their spiritual birthright, they are
spoiled of their Christian privileges. A retribution
follows. The consequences are inevitable. They
who have been left to grow up to man's estate without
spiritual nurture and discipline, and without ad-
mission to those means of grace, will turn round in

22 ON A PROPOSED

bitter enmity against their Rulers, Spiritual and
Temporal ; they will lead reckless and godless lives, or
they will fall into schism, perhaps into scepticism and
unbelief, with all their unhappy consequences of de-
moralization, disaffection, disloyalty, and anarchy.

Your Lordship has taken a leading part in Par-
liament, in remonstrating against the unhappy con-
fusion of sacred and secular things in the combination
of the solemn truths of religion with the motley
associations of the stage. You have given us a sea-
sonable warning, that when Theatres are turned into
Churches, Churches will soon be turned into Theatres.
You have also courageously contended for the main-
tenance of that ancient law and usage, by which
provision was made by our forefathers for the susten-
tation of Churches for the Poor.

But, under existing circumstances, when, from the
fewness of Bishops, so many hundreds of thousands
are deprived of religious training for Confirmation,
and from access to it, and to the Holy Communion,
are we to be surprised, that many should resort to
questionable expedients for preaching to the semi-
pagan masses of the people ? Are we to be asto-
nished, that many who have been suffered to grow
up without access to the means of grace, should rise
up in opposition to a tax, from which the vast multi-
tudes in our cities derive little benefit ?

The preaching in Theatres, the resistance to
Church liates, the riots at St. George's in the East,
these are some of the symptoms of the dangerous spiri-
tual disease, under which we now" labour ; but they are
not the root of the disease. That lies far deeper. Let
us not merely deplore the symptoms ; but let us go to
the root. It lies in our own neglect of the commands of

SUBDIVISION OF DIOCESES. 23

Christ, setting before us certain rules for the spiritual
training of His people. It lies in our disobedience to
His precept, '* Do this in remembrance of me ; Drink
ye all of this.'' For how can we be said to obey this
command, if we do not provide that others, com-
mitted to our care, should be able to obey it? It
lies in inattention to the solemn charge which the
Church, of which we are members, utters by the
mouth of her ministers at every Baptism, " Ye are
to take care that this child be brought to the Bishop
to he confirmed by him'^ For, how can sponsors be
expected to take care that godchildren are brought to
the Bishop to be confirmed by him, if the requisite
means are not afforded to those children, of receiving
Confirmation from their Bishop ?

In the name of Christ's little ones,— in the name
of their Heavenly Father, Whose will it is that not
one of those little ones should perish ^, — in the name
of their Parents,— in the name of the People of
England,— I appeal to your Lordship, and to other
Legislators, Spiritual and Temporal, and in the name
of Christ I earnestly implore you to provide for
the eternal welfare of His children, and to afford
them free and ready access to those spiritual rights
and privileges, which He designed for them, and
bought for them with His own blood, and from
which they are now shut out. This, my Lord, is
not only an Ecclesiastical question. It affects also
our civil relations. It is not a question merely
for Bishops and Clergy. It concerns the Lnity ; it
concerns all. And in the name of all, I would re-
spectfully and solemnly entreat your Lordship to
vindicate and recover the rights, which are the
" Matt, xviii. 1 k

24 ON A PROPOSED

common heritage of all. Here, my Lord, is a noble
enterprise ; here may be a glorious exercise of piety,
patriotism, and zeal. And when this work is accom-
plished, when, by the wise and paternal care of the
English Legislature, all the People of England have
gained admission to spiritual privileges ; when our
Dioceses are so subdivided, and our Episcopate so in-
creased, that all may be duly instructed by their Pas-
tors, and may feel that Episcopacy is indeed a living
and energizing principle, that it is — what Christ
and the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Apostles, act-
ing by their commission and inspiration, intended
and prescribed it to be, — a mainspring of parochial
action, and a channel of spiritual grace, — then, my
Lord, there would be no more demand for Preaching in
Theatres, then w^e should see no more of opposition to
Church Rates, or of riots in Churches ; the People of
England would rejoice to sustain their Churches, and
would dwell together in unity.

5. Another point which deserves to be considered
in reference to this question, is that of Episcopal
Visitations,

Episcopal Visitations usually take place once in
three years. The Clergy, and the Laity — represented
by the Churchwardens of the Diocese— are summoned
to attend them. The Churchwardens take their
oaths of office, and they and the Clergy pay certain
customary fees. Many of them come from a distance
for this purpose. Many of them join in prayer
together, and in receiving the Holy Communion, and
in hearing the Charge of the Bishop. These are the
uses,— and they are important,— which our triennial
E^piscopal Visitations now serve. But it w^ould be a

SUBDIVISION OF DIOCESES. 25

delusion to say, that these results correspond to the
amount of effort which they involve ; or are pro-
portionate to the benefits which might accrue from
periodica] meetings of the Clergy and Laity of a
Diocese at Visitations held by the Bishop.

Episcopal Visitations are Church Synods. The
very terms Synodals, and Sidesmen, or Synodsmen,
which still survive in connexion with them, remind
us of their origin. They were instituted for the
purpose of affording to the Clergy and Laity oppor-
tunities of personal conference with one another, and
of taking counsel with their Bishop, and of supplying
him with the means of ascertaining their feelings and
opinions concerning matters which affect the welfare
of the Diocese and the Church.

In our own age and country such opportunities of
personal intercourse and conference of Clergy and
Laity with their Bishop are urgently needed ; and a
strong desire for Lay Co-operation has been recently
manifested in every part of the kingdom.

Episcopal Visitations supply the safest, because the
most ancient and orderly, means, for the accomplish-
ment of this desire. But it cannot be attained in our
present circumstances, on account of the extent and
population of our Dioceses. They contain on an
average about seven hundred Clergy, and about four-
teen hundred Churchwardens. These form too nume-
rous a body for consultation, and the Bishop has not
the necessary leisure to engage in conferences, which,
in order to be productive of benefit, require much
thought and time.

The consequence is, that our Visitations have
dwindled down into a state of ineflaciency, and are
mere shadows of the past. But, if Dioceses were

26 ON A PROPOSED

subdivided, Visitations would afford the best ma-
terial for such a Diocesan organization of Clergy and
Laity as would encourage the harmonious action of
both, and would tend to heal differences, and promote
the cause of peace and truth, and would be fraught
wdth the happiest consequences, spiritual and tem-
poral, to the people.

6. Let us now proceed to consider objections, that
are sometimes made to these statements.

In contravention of them it has been alleged, that
some of the Bishops of the Church feel a strong
repugnance to any subdivision of Dioceses. They
do not feel, it is said, that they have too much
work to do. They affirm, we are told, that recent
improvements in postage and locomotion have so
altered affairs in England, that Bishops are now
able to communicate readily and sufficiently with all
their Clergy and People.

It is with great reluctance, my Lord, that I notice
this allegation.

It cannot indeed be denied, that recent facilities of
communication have done much for our great centres
of population; but they have also isolated many of
our rural Parishes ; and in many cases have rendered
it more difficult for a Clergyman to gain access to his
Bishop, than it was fifty years ago.

But surely, my Lord, this great and sacred question
is not to be argued by reference to the arrangements
of the Post Office, or to the Time-tables of a Railway.

The office of a Bishop cannot adequately be per-
formed by writing letters, and by rapid journeys
from place to place. It consists in giving attendance

SUBDIVISION OF DIOCESES. 27

to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine \ in guiding
the Church of God, in speaking the things which
become sound doctrine^, in showing uncorruptness,
gravity, sincerity, sound speech which cannot be
condemned "\ in administering counsel and reproof,
where it is needed^ ; in private and public conference
with Clergy and Laity; and in diffusing, as from
a living centre, to every Parish and household in
the Diocese, those spiritual gifts and graces which
the great Head of the Church bestows by means of
the Episcopate.

It is of comparatively little moment, whether any
Chief Pastors of a Church may suppose themselves
able to do these things or no. The best among the
successors of the Apostles will be the first to adopt
the Apostolic language, " Who is sufficient for these
things ^ ? " And they will be the most forward in
their endeavours to provide, that the sheep of Christ's
flock may be duly nourished with spiritual food.

The main question is, whether evidence enough
cannot be adduced, and has not been already adduced,
to convince an impartial observer, that under the
present Diocesan arrangements of England, sufficient
provision is not made for the spiritual welfare of the
People, by the diffusion of those blessings which
Christ Himself designed that thev should receive
through the instrumentality of the Episcoj)al Office,
for their growth in grace here, and for their
attainment of glory hereafter ?

This, my Lord, is the question ; and, Heaven be
thanked, many Bishops there have been and are in

1 1 Tim. iv. 13. =' Titus ii.

3 Titus ii. 8. -^ Titus i. 9.13.

^ 2 Cor. ii. 16.

28 ON A PKOrOSED

Christ's Church, who, with a reverent regard for the
commandments of Christ, and the laws of the Church,
and with a tender concern for the People's needs, and
with a just estimate of their own powers, and with
the genuine greatness of noble minds sacrificing self
for God's glory, have been the first to ask for a
subdivision of their own Dioceses. Like Moses in
the wilderness, they have listened gladly to the voice
of a Jethro^ and of their own hearts counselling them
to share their labours with others. St. Augustine,
feeling himself unable to discharge his Episcopal
duties at a place forty miles from his own See, had
a Bishop consecrated for it '. St. Gregory Nazianzen,
himself a Bishop, commended the piety of St. Basil
in increasing the number of Bishoprics in his pro-
vince ^ The sixty Bishops assembled in the second
Council of Carthage, expressed the mind of the
ancient Church in a decree, that " wherever the
Christian population increases, and the people signify
their desire to have a Bishop, they ought to be
provided with one ^" Three centuries ago in our

^ Exod. xviii. 24

'' St. Augustine, Epist. 261 (al 209) ad Cselestinum.

^ Greg. Kazianz. Orat. xx. de Laudibus Basilii, "whence," says
the learned Bmgham (Eccl. Antiq. book ii. chap. xii. sect. 2),
" we may collect, that in Nazianzen's opinion it is an advantage to
the Church to be well stocked with Bishops, and that it is no
dishonour to her to have Bishops in small towns."

^ Concil. Carthag. ii. Can. 5, " Si accedente tempore, crescente
fide, Dei populus multiplicatus desideraverit proprium habere
rectorem, ejus videlicet voluntate in cujus postestate est Dioecesis
constituta habeat eqiscopum." A.D. 428: see Bruns, Concil.
p. 119, and p. 131. The Canon Law says, ''where the Christian
population has increased, there additional Bishops are to be conse-
crated." " Ubi multitudo fidelium excrevit, ibi episcopi sunt ordi-
nandi." Decret. 2 pars, can. 16, qu. i. 53.

SUBDIVISION OF DIOCESES. 29

own land those holy men, who gave their bodies
to be burned in defence of the pure Gospel of
Christ, laboured in this cause. Archbishop Cranmer
and his Episcopal brethren endeared themselves to
posterity by a subdivision of Dioceses in this country.
They accomplished much in this respect, and they
expressed a desire, and undertook measures, for fur-
ther subdivision \ We profess veneration for the
English Reformers, and zeal for the English Ee-
formation; let us then follow the example of the
Reformers, and promote the principles of the Re-
formation.

If the Reformers affirmed, as they did, that a
further subdivision of Dioceses was needed in their
own age, niore than three centuries ago, what would
they say now, when the population of this land has
been so greatly increased in the course of three
hundred years, and only one additional Episcopal See
has been founded in that time ^ ?

What would they say, if they were now to revive,
and to see the Church of England left to strain her-
self in a painful struggle to do her work in the

^ According to the 31 Henry VIII. c. 9, and Henry the Eighth's
scheme of Bishoprics, is was proposed to erect about twenty addi-
tional Sees at that time ; of which number six were erected.

Besides this, by the Act of Henry VIII. (26 Henry VIII. cap.
14.) tiventy-six'^\2(.Q.Q^ were named as Sees for Suffragans, so that
according to the design of the Reformers, there might have been
upon the whole about seventy Bishops in England and Wales
at that time. See pp. xxxvi— xlv. of the First Report of
Cathedral Commissioners Lond. 1854. and the Third Report, p.
XXV and p. xli, which contains valuable information and sugges-
tions.

^ New Sees have been erected at Ripon and Manchester ; but
Biistol hR^ IxM'n merged in Gloucester and Bristol.

30 ON A PROPOSED

nineteenth century with machinery which they
deemed inadequate for the sixteenth ?

From the age of the Reformation to the present
day Bishops have borne testimony to the needs of the
Church in this respect.

To speak only of our own times ; the late Bishop
of Gloucester and Bristol declared in his Charge
to his Clergy in 1838 his own judgment on that
matter ^

The Bishop of Lincoln said, in 1854, that, if a
Bishop of Lincoln " should wish to preach in every
church of his Diocese, and to devote one Sunday to
each Parish, it would require more than fifteen years
to make the circuit^.'' The Bishop of Exeter has
expressed a desire for the subdivision of his own
Diocese \ and promised a contribution to the income
of the new Bishop.

Among the Cathedral Commissioners appointed in
1851 were the present Archbishop of Canterbury, the
late Archbishop of York, the late Bishop of London,

3 " My own opinion was, and still is, that the simplest remedy
for the acknowledged evil was likewise the most desirable ; I mean
a division of each of the large Dioceses of York, London, Lincoln,
Chester, Exeter, and Lichfield, and the erection of the requisite
number of additional Bishoprics." Bishop of Gloucester and
Bristol's (Dr. Monk's) Charge, 1838, p. 9.

^ See the First Report of the Cathedral Commission, p. xvi.
See also the Letter of the Bishop of Llandaff, July 4, 1853, ibid,
p. 588. " No doubt there are Dioceses in which additional
Episcopal superintendence is necessary. I am inclined to think
that a division of such Dioceses, with additional number of
Bishops equal in power, would be more desirable than the res-
toration of suffragans."

^ April 1855. See Appendix to Third Report, p. 20, and see the
important " Statement of facts concerning a Cornish Bishopric, "
by the Rev. Arthur Tatham, Bodmin, 1859, p, 9.

SUBDIVISION OF DIOCESES. 31

the present Bishops of Durham and Oxford ; and they
recommended in their third and final Report to the
Crown, *' that a permissive Bill should be framed and
introduced into Parliament (similar to the Act 31
Hen. YIII. cap. 9), empowering her Majesty, and
her Majesty's successors, to divide any Diocese under
certain conditions of territory and population; and
with the consent of the Bishop, where it is proposed
to effect the division before the avoidance of the
See." In addition to this general recommendation, the
Cathedral Commissioners specified certain Dioceses,
which ought, in their judgment, to be subdivided ^.

Besides this, my Lord, almost every address to the
Crown, for the last twelve years, from the Bishops
and Clergy of the Province of Canterbury in Convo-
cation, has contained a petition that measures may
be adopted for the increase of the Episcopate.

After such declarations as these, it may seem almost
superfluous to cite other opinions of individuals.

But I cannot forbear one or two notices of this
kind. The wise and pious Hooker reminds us that
in ancient times " there was great care had to pro-
vide for every Christian City a Bishop as near as
might be ".'' What would he have said, w^hat would
the ancient Christian Fathers have said, to our
Liverpools and Birminghams, to our Leeds, Notting-
ham, Sheffield, Derby, Newcastle, Plymouth, left
without Bishops ? What would they have said to our
Coventry, which was a separate Episcopal See for
many hundred years, and has now been despoiled
even of its share in the later Episcopal title, " Lich-

® See Third and final Report of the Cathedral Commissioners,
p. XXV, A. P. ISoTi.

'' Hooker's Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, VII. viii. 1.

32 ON A PROPOSED

field and Coventry;" and to our Bristol deprived of
its ancient prerogatives, and of the personal residence
of a Bishop, which it possessed for some centuries ?
AVould they not have said, that we have ahandoned in
these respects the very first principles of missionary
labour, of pastoral superintendence, and of Church-
reofimen ? Would thev not have warned us that we
could not expect to see the gifts and graces of the
Holy Spirit, and the consequent " fruit of the Spirit,
in love, joy, peace, long-sufiering, gentleness, good-
ness, faith, meekness, temperance ^'' in our great
Cities, when we did not use the divinely appointed
means for obtaining these gifts and graces, and for
producing that fruit ?

The most learned English writer on the ancient
laws and usages of the Church, — Joseph Bingham, —
has left a remarkable testimony on this matter.

*' Every City or place of civil jurisdiction should be
the seat of an ecclesiastical magistracy, viz. a Bishop
with his presbytery. That this was the general rule ob-
served in the primitive Church, I think I have made
it appear beyond all dispute. . . If the Church of
England should think fit to add forty or a hundred
more Bishops to her present number, she would not
be without precedent in the practice of the primitive
Church. Archbishop Cranmer," he adds, " was very
well apprised of this, and therefore he advised King
Henry YHL to erect several new Bishoprics as a
great means, among other things, for reforming the
Church. In pursuance of which advice the King
himself drew up a list of near twenty new Bishoprics

' Gal. V. 22.

SUBDIVISION OF DIOCESES. 33

which he intended to make, and a Bill was passed in
Parliament anno 1529 to empower the King to do
this by his letters patent. The whole transaction
and the names of the intended Sees may be found at
large in Bishop Burnet's History of the Beformation,
vol. i. p. 262. . . It shows us the sense of the leading
men in the Reformation ^"

These words were written by Bingham at the be-
ginning of the eighteenth century, when the popula-
tion was only about a fourth of what it is now.

It would be endless to quote the opinions of more
recent writers on this subject. One may suffice —
that of the late Dr. Arnold. " In order to any effi-
cient and comprehensive Church system," he says,
" the first thing necessary is to di\dde the actual
Dioceses. . . .Every large Town should necessarily be
the seat of a Bishop ; the addition of such an element
into the society of a commercial or manufacturing
place would be itself a great advantage \"

A Declaration has recently been put forth, signed
by six thousand Clergymen, expressing their desire
for a subdivision of Dioceses.

7. An objection sometimes urged against any in-
crease of the English Episcopate is, — that it would
have the effect of lowering the secular dignity and
social rank of our present Bishops ; and that, if addi-
tional Sees were formed, without any parliamentary
peerage annexed to them, such a measure may have
the effect of strengthening the hands of those who

" Bingham's Ecclesiastical Antiquities, Book ix. chap, viii.at end.
1 Principles of Church Reform, by the Eev. Thomas Arnold, D.D.
Lond. 1833, p. 48.

34 ON A PROPOSED

desire to remove the Bishops from their ancient
places in the House of Peers.

Such a result, my Lord, is indeed very greatly to
be deprecated. But it is not probable that any such
consequence would ensue from subdivision of Dio-
ceses. The position of the English Bishops in Parlia-
ment has not been weakened by the erection of an
additional See without any baronial rank ^

Indeed, one of the strongest arguments at present
against the Peerage of English Bishops is, that with
their vast and populous Dioceses, they cannot properly
discharge their spiritual duties, and that therefore
for their own sake, and for the sake of their Dioceses
and of the Public, they ought to be ''relieved'' (such
is the usual phrase) from the ''burden''' of parlia-
mentary attendance and legislative functions. But if
Dioceses were subdivided, that argument would have
far less weight.

Of this also we may be sure, the time cannot be far
distant, when the Dioceses of England will be sub-
divided. New Bishoprics have been erected in our
Colonies. Those Dioceses themselves have been sub-
divided. Colonial Bishops have pleaded for their
subdivision. The Bishops of Sydney, Newcastle, New
Zealand, and Cape Town have done this ; and the work
of subdivision is yearly going on. The Clergy and
Laity at home will not be long debarred from that
liberty which is already conceded to the Colonies
The Colonial Episcopate of Great Britain has been

^ By the Act of Parliament which established the Bishopric
of Manchester in 1847 ; the 10th and 11th Vict. cap. 108, sect. 2,
" Number of Lords Spiritual not to be increased."

SUBDIVISION OF DIOCESES. 25

increased from five Bishops to thirty-nine in thirty
years ; and why should the Episcopate of England
remain almost stationary for three centuries ?

A great work of subdivision of Parishes is already
proceeding in England. It seems a necessary conse-
quence, that it will be followed before long by a corre-
sponding subdivision of Dioceses. A Memorial has
been signed by a Noble Duke *, who with exemplary
zeal and energy has taken the most active part in
framinD^ a Wislative measure for the subdivision of
Parishes, and by some of the most distinguished lay-
men of this land, pleading for a subdivision of Dio-
ceses ; and it is a pledge that such a result is not far
distant. They who discern the signs of the times
will foresee and provide for it. The wise course will
be to r emulate what is inevitable. If this work
of subdivision had taken place twenty-five years ago,
ample funds would then have been forthcoming for
the creation of new Sees. Some of the vast sums, of
the Church's inheritance, spent in buying parks and
palaces, might then have endowed Bishoprics. That
opportunity is gone. Five years ago funds were offered^
for the endowment of a See in Cornwall. That has
been lost also. It may be true, probably it is, that
England will now be content with Bishoprics less
amply furnished with worldly goods, than was formerly
the case. But, if the Clergy and Laity of England
were constrained to say, whether they would prefer the
present insufficient Episcopate with its social rank and
secular dignity, but with a people in spiritual poverty^

* His Grace the Duke of Marlborough,

^ By the Rev. Dr. Walker ; see the Second Report of the
Cathedral Commission to the Crown, March, 1855,

3G ON A PROPOSED

or to see a poor Episcopate with a people enriched
in spiritual wealth, there are few who would hesitate
which alternative to choose. We are not yet driven
to this dilemma ; but it is not far off. It has already
come in the Colonies. And let those therefore who
wisely desire to maintain the just claims of the
Episcopate to social consideration and secular posi-
tion, with a view to spiritual influence, be respectfully
entreated to avail themselves of the present oppor-
tunity, before it is lost for ever.

8. An objection sometimes urged against the sub-
division of Dioceses, and against the erection of addi-
tional Sees, is, that all our existing resources are needed
for the endowment of additional Clergy^ and for the
increase of the incomes of some of the Clergy who
are in straitened circumstances ; and that many addi-
tional Clergy might be provided, and the incomes of
many might be augmented, with the same sum which
would be required for the endowment of one Bishopric ;
and that therefore w^e ought to begin with providing
for more Clergy^ and for those who already exist ; and
that, if we have any surplus remaining, after this
work is done, then— but not till then— it would be
time to found new Episcopal Sees.

To this allegation it may be replied, that the Bill
now in Parliament does not propose to force Epis-
copacy upon any one. It provides only, that if
the inhabitants of a populous town, or of a large
extent of territory, are desirous to enjoy the benefits
of Episcopacy, their desires are entitled to be con-
sidered, and, if reasonable, may be complied with.
The present Bill follows the advice of His Grace the
Archbishop of Canterbury, and the late Archbishop

SUBDIVISION OF DIOCESES.

37

of York, and the late Bishop of London, and present
Bishops of Durham and Oxford, and the other Cathe-
dral Commissioners *. It is only a permissive Bill.
It only seeks to remove an impediment, and to take off
a disability and penalty under which Englishmen now
labour. It would rescue them from the indignity of
having funds offered them for a Bishopric— as was
lately the case with the people of Cornwall— and not
being able to accept them ! It would merely concede
to the English Church a liberty which is possessed by
every other religious body in Christendom ; that of
increasing the number of its Chief Pastors, ac-
cording to the needs of its people. The Bill
would emancipate the Episcopate of England from
that restraint by which it is now hampered ; it would
take it out of that rigid cast-iron framework,
in which it is now cri imped and stereotyped ;
and would give it that freedom, elasticity, and power
of expansion, w^hich is necessary for its healthful
action, and for the exercise of its spiritual functions,
and for the spiritual good of the Nation.

^ See above, p. 27. It may here be mentioned that the Cathe-
dral Commissioners had before them the question whether it would
be expedient to recommend that the Act of Henry VIII., (26 Henry
VIII. c. 14,) which gave to a Bishop the power to nominate a
Suffragan, should be put in force ; and were of opinion that such a
mode of providing for an increase of the Episcopate was not so
expedient, as that which they recommended, namely, a Subdi-
vision of Dioceses, the late Bishop Kaye said in 1838 (Letter
on Eccl. Com., p. 17) that he " had conversed with several of his
brethren on the revival of Suffragan Bishops, and had not met
with one who did not strongly deprecate the measure." The
Cathedral Commissioners did however recommend, that a Bishop
in case of infirmity, should be allowed to have a Coadjutor cum
jure successionis ; and this recommendation would he ap[)lica]>lc
to an increased Episcopate.

38 ON A PROPOSED

People are allowed and encouraged to give money
for the increase of Schools, Churches, and Clergy,
they are permitted to form societies for the employ-
ment and endowment of Catechists, Scripture readers;
and Bible-women ; and why should they not be allowed
to subscribe their money for the increase of Bishops ?

The people of America have seen their Episcopate
increased from one Bishop to thirty-two in less than
eighty years ; but the people of England have had no
augmentation of their Episcopate, except by the
addition of a single Bishop, for the last three centuries.
Why should England be precluded from that benefit
which America so freely enjoys ?

It is universally allowed, that a large increase of
Clergy is needed ; and in order to ensure an increase
of Clergy, the most efficient mode is to augment the
number of Bishops. This has been proved in a striking
manner in our Colonies. Wherever a Bishopric has
been founded, the number of the Clergy has almost
always been rapidly augmented ^.

Nor is this all : not only is the number of the
Clergy greatly multiplied by the foundation of a
Bishopric, but the efficiency of the Clergy already
existing is greatly augmented also. Their energy
and activity are stimulated by the presence and minis-
trations of a Bishop. There are about 17,000 Clergy in
England and Wales ; and if the number of the Bishops
were increased, and if the performance of Episcopal
functions were thus greatly facilitated ; if the admi-
nistration of Confirmations in the various parts of the
land were doubled ; if Ordinations were held in the

' The Eev. W. T. Bullock, Assistant Secretary (now Chief Sec-
retary, 1877) of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel,
has favoured me with the following evidence of that fact ; [Table

SUBDIVISION OF DIOCESES.

39

principal Towns ; and if Episcopal Visitations were
animated with new life and vigour, — if the Episcopal
office were brought to the homes and hearts of the
people, in all its holy, hallowing, and endearing in-
fluences of fatherly authority and love, then the Clergy
would be inspired with new zeal, and the fruits of their
ministry would be greatly increased, in the everlasting
salvation of souls.

One of the things which most hinders and mars
the usefulness of the Church, and brings scandal on
religion, is this, that the Clergy in our large Towns
have no centre of unity. They are left to work in a
disjointed manner. Each parochial district becomes
like a petty principality, in which the Incumbent rules
in his own way. Hence jealousies, suspicions, and
estrangements prevail. The Clergy do not form one

Table

of Increase of Clergy in Eighteen New Dioceses',

Number of Clergy. j

Foundation
of See.

See.

Before Founda-

In January

tion of See.

1860.

1841

New Zealand

12

54

1842

Antigua

25

30

1842

Guiana

23

31

1842

Tasmania

19

57

1842

Gibraltar

30

39

1845

Colombo

22

42

1845

Fredericton

30

53

1847

Cape Town "J

43

1859

St. Helena f

14

6

1853

Grahamstown (

38

1853

Natal }

13

1847

Newcastle

17

35

1847

Melbourne

3

67

1847

Adelaide

4

30

1849

Rupert's Land

5

19

1849

Victoria

10

16

1850

Montreal

45

62

1852

Sierra Leone

15=274

38=673

40 ON A PROPOSED

compact body, but are split up into independent, per-
haps antagonistic, parties. I^'ow, it is vain to expect
that a person of their own rank and order can combine
together those discordant elements. No ; that happy
and holy work of concentration can only be effected by
one who has authority to bring them together. It
can only be done by a common superior — a Bishop.
As long as the Clergy of our Towns are without this
harmonizing element, they will be like loose strings of
an instrument often jarring in unseemly discord ; but
let them have a Bishop, and then — to use the expres-
sive language of an ancient Father,^ a scholar of St.
John, — they would become like well-strung chords of
a lyre, and make sweet music to God*

The temporal condition of the poorer Clergy would
thus be improved also.

One of the greatest difficulties of the Parochial
Clergy is, to obtain funds for the support of their
schools, their churches and chapels. The burden of
providing for the spiritual wants of the parochial
household often falls mainly upon them.

But give them a Bishop — a man of piety, learning,
and zeal,— who can plead their cause with the voice
of authority, in Christ's name, and without any sus-
picion of being swayed by motives of personal interest,
and can engage the sympathies of the Laity in their
behalf, then their temporal condition would be greatly
improved. It has been found by experience, that
wherever a new Episcopal See has been founded,
pious and charitable Institutions have been greatly

^St. Ignatius ad Ephes. c. 4, where he speaks of ^' the Freshytery
of a city as strung together by its Episcopate, as the strings of
a harp."

SUBDIVISION OF DIOCESES. 41

augmented ^ Upwards of half a million sterling has
been raised by voluntary efforts in the Diocese of
Kipon, and expended there in the erection and endow-
ment of churches, parsonages, and schools, within
sixteen years from the foundation of that See. The
creation of the See of Manchester has led to similar
results. There was much wisdom in the primitive
rule, that the alms of the faithful should be laid at
the Apostles' feet \

This may be accej)ted as an axiom of Ecclesiastical
Economics : in order to increase the number and
efficiency of the Parochial Clergy, and to relieve their
temporal distress, the wisest plan is to provide an
adequate number of Bishops.

9. One more objection to an increase of the Epis-
copate demands consideration.

The appointment to Episcopal Sees is in the
Crown ; and the disposal of Episcopal Preferments
is usually in the hands of the first Minister of the
day. And, it has been said by some, that when the
maintenance of power by the Minister depends on
Parliamentary majorities, the distribution of Eccle-
siastical Patronage may be influenced by political
considerations ; and that consequently the increase of
Episcopal Sees might endanger the spiritual character
of the Church, and render her liable to be made an
instrument of secular ambition and party politics.
An addition to the number of Episcopal Sees might,
it is said, increase the risk of bad ecclesiastical

^ As has been clearly slio"\vn in a letter to the Earl of St.
Germans by the Eev. Reginald Hobhouse on the Cornish
Bishopric ; Bodmin, 1860, pp. 11, and 16 — 18.
^ Act* iv. 34, 35, 37.

42 ON A PROPOSED

appointments, and thus inflict an injury on Religion
and the Church.

Such an objection as this seems to proceed on
suppositions which ought not to be lightly made. It
assumes that Rulers will forget, Whose ministers they
ai-e, and to Whom they must give an account ; and Who
will award them a just requital according to their
treatment of His Church. It arises from want of
faith. It presumes, that there is little efficacy in the
prayers of her people, that the Church of Christ may be
preserved by Almighty God " from false Apostles, and
be ordered and guided by faithful and true Pastors."
It does not take into account that it is an essential
attribute of God to overrule evil by good, and to elicit
the greatest good even from the worst evil, especially
in the affairs of His Church ; and that He never fails
to do so, when men do their duty, and trust in Him,
and use the means which He has appointed for the
government and guidance of His Church, and commit
her cause, with prayer, to His Almighty protection.

But suppose that bad Episcopal appointments were
made, yet the evil of such appointments might be
neutralized, but the benefits of Episcopacy are per-
manent. Bad men are often bettered by office. The
habit of performing Episcopal functions, such as the
ministry of Confirmations and Ordinations, cannot
fail to have a beneficial spiritual effect upon those
who perform them. And even if this were not the
case, yet the acts themselves are the means of im-
parting great good to others. Consider, for example,
the benefits conferred by Confirmation. What a
salutary influence it exercises on the Clergy, in lead-
ing them to inspect their flocks, and to prepare their
young people for Confirmation and first Communion ;

SUBDIVISION OF DIOCESES. 43

and what inestimable benefits thence accrue to the
people themselves ! These benefits, my Lord, are
sure and enduring ; and even if the Diocesan were
no better than a Judas, these benefits would flow
from God's goodness working through and by the
Episcopal Office ; and the sacred character of that
office would be displayed in its true and essential virtue
and efficacy, even because it would be contrasted with
the human infirmities of him who bears it.

Besides, it is probable that these dangers, which some
apprehend from an increase of the Episcopate, would
not be augmented, but would, on the contrary, be much
lessened by such an increase of Bishoprics.

If Dioceses were subdivided, as may now be expected,
the Church would probably be prepared to see poorer
Bishoprics. And the new Bishops would not have
seats in the House of Peers, — at least for some time.
The wealth of Prelates, and their presence in Parlia-
ment, have been productive of much good. But they
are not essential to Episcopacy. Great gratitude is
due to our civil Rulers, acting in concert with the
English Episcopate, for the Episcopal appointments
in our Colonial Churches, which are adorned by Chief
Pastors deserving to be named with some of the
holiest Bishops of primitive Christendom. The ap-
pointments to those Sees are not swaj^ed by poli-
tical influences. Those Bishoprics are not objects
of worldly ambition, and present great opportunities
of spiritual usefulness. If the Episcopal Sees in
England and Wales were multiplied according to the
needs of the population, we might expect to see the
same beneficial results at home, which we rejoice to
recognize in the Colonial Dependencies of the British
Crown.

44 ON A PROPOSED

Jf Episcopacy is, as we believe it to be, a divinely
instituted form of Church Government, if Episcopacy
is, as Scripture and primitive Antiquity testify, a
di\inely appointed channel for the conveyance of
manifold spiritual gifts and graces to the whole body
of Christ's Church, let us have faith in Him Who
ordained it for that purpose, and let us earnestly pray,
and humbly hope, that, if we do our part in providing
the means. He will not fail to bestow the blessings
which He has promised to those who endeavour
to promote His glory by obedience to His will.

10. One word more: England, above every country
in the world, possesses great facilities for the erection of
new Sees. She has resources of wealth which mio^ht be
elicited in such a holy cause. The same pious muni-
ficence which has endowed new Sees in her Colonies
would not be wanting in a similar effort at home.
She has still Ecclesiastical Dignities,— such as the
Deaneries of some of her Cathedrals,— which might
be available, under proper restrictions, for that pur-
pose. And there is scarcely any large District, or
any populous Town in England, which does not pos-
sess some noble ancient Church, distinguished by
architectural beauty, which might soon become a
Cathedral ^ If the inhabitants of a District or a
ToAvn are desirous of such a result, — and if the desire
is right, — let them be enabled to attain it. It would
infuse new life into ancient municipalities ; it would
impart new dignity to the country ; and give fresh
vigour to those sacred and generous principles and

' The evidence of this may be seen in Mr. G. Gilbert Scott's
(now Sir Gilbert Scott's) Letter on "Additional Cathedrals."
J. H. and J. Parker.

SUBDIVISION OF DIOCESES, 45

feelings, which unite Christians and Englishmen, in
the spiritual and social bonds of piety, loyalty, and
peace.

I have the honour to be,

My dear Lord,

With much respect,

Your Lordship's obedient faithful servant,

Chr. Wordsworth.

APPENDIX.

ON THE DIVISION OF THE DIOCESE OF LINCOLN.

From the Bishop of Lincoln s Charge, 1873, jp. 56.

The mention of Confirmation leads me to express my dutiful
and loyal gratitude to Her Majesty the Queen, for graciously
assenting to the petition presented by me to the Crown, and
commended by the authority of its constitutional advisers, that
the Bishop of this great Diocese, containing about a thousand
Clergy, and extending over more than two millions and a quar-
ter of acres, might have the assistance of a Bishop Suffragan,
according to the ancient use of this Realm, before and after the
Reformation ; and let me also express my thankfulness to the
good Providence of God for associating with me in that sacred
office my dear brother in Christ, Henry Mackenzie, Bishop Suff-
ragan of Nottingham.

In making this acknowledgment publicly, I cannot disguise
from you my deliberate opinion that the Diocese of Lincoln ought
to be divided. The county of Lincoln, the second in size among
the counties of England and Wales, and larger in extent than any
one of twenty dioceses, and numbering nearly 600 parishes, many
of which are difficult of access, is more than enough in itself to
engage, if not to exhaust, all the powers of a Bishop, even in the
prime of life ; and the populous county of Nottingham — one of
the foremost in England for intelligence, enterprise, and opulence
— ought to have a Bishop of its own. The appointment of a
Bishop Suffragan, with a title derived from it, may be expected
to lead to that result.

In expressing such sentiments as these, I am only following the
example of the holiest Bishops in past ages of the Church. St.
Augustine, not being able to discharge his Episcopal duties at a
place forty miles from his own See, had a Bishop consecrated for
it. St. Gregory Nazianzen commended the piety of St. Basil in
increasing the number of Bishoprics in his province. The sixty
Bishops assembled in the second Council of Carthage expressed
the mind of the ancient Church in . a decree, that " wherever the
Christian population increases, and the people signify their de-
sire to have a Bishop, they ought to be provided with one. Three
centuries ago in our own land those holy men who gave their

APPENDIX. 47

bodies to be burned in defence of the pure Gospel of Christ
laboured in this cause. Archbishop Cranmer and his Epis-
copal brethren endeared themselves to posterity by a sub-
division of Dioceses in this country. They accomplished much
in this respect, and they expressed a desire, and undertook
measures, for further subdivison. We profess veneration for the
English Reformers, and zeal for the English Reformation ; let
us then follow the example of the Reformers, and promote the
principles of the Reformation.

In the mean time, the benefits accruing from the revival of
the ancient office of Suffragan are sufficiently evident from the
single fact that already in the present year 1709 persons have
been confirmed by the Bishop Suffragan, holding confirmations in
twenty-six different places in Nottinghamshire. Only a small
portion of these could have been confirmed without his
help.

Surely, therefore, •brethren, since by these means many hun-
dreds of immortal souls, in a few months of a single year, have
now, we humbly trust, been brought nearer to God in prepara-
tion, and in Confirmation itself, and Holy Communion, we can-
not doubt that the restoration of the office of Suffragan is one of
the best of all re\dvals, and one most pleasing to Him ; and the
more general the restoration is, the wider will be the diffusion of
spiritual blessings among us.

Let me add that, by means of the appointment of a Suffragan
in this Diocese, Confirmations ^vill henceforth, I hope, be held
biennially or even annually in many places where hitherto, from
lack of such help, they could only be administered once in three
years.

The appointment of a Suffragan Bishop for this Diocese was
due in no slight degree to your valuable assistance, my
brethren of the Laity, and to the expression of your opinion
in its favour. On Thursday July 29th, in last year, a Lay Con-
ference was held at Lincoln, which was attended by the Lord
Lieutenant Earl Brownlow, and by many of the principal Lay-
men of the county. One of the resolutions then unanimously
adopted was that the Diocese ought to he divided, and that in default
of ^uch subdivision this Conference expresses an earnest hope
that the appUcation made by the present Bishop for the aid of a
Suffragan may be successful." This resolution was forwarded to
the head of Her Majesty's Goverament, and exercised, I have
reason to believe, no inconsiderable influence in bringing about
the desired result.

4,8 APPENDIX.

The Bishop of Lincoln on the Increase of the Episcopate, and the
Division of the Diocese of Lincoln.

Lincoln Diocesan Conference, Friday, October 13, 1876.

Gentlemen, — You will expect that I should say something on
this subject ; and I will now speak upon it without reserve. In
doinf^ so I siiall be obliged to refer to some matters personal to
myself ; which, under the circumstances, you will, I am sure,
forgive. For many years I have desired to see an increase of the
English Episcopate, and have endeavoured to promote it by
writing, speaking, and acting, especially as a Member of the
Cathedral Commission, in which twenty-four years ago I served
with Archbishops Sumner and Musgrave, Bishop Blomfield,
Bishop Wilberforce, Sir John Patteson, Dean Hook, Canon Sel-
wyn and others, who are now gone to their rest. That Com-
mission, after careful consideration, framed and recommended a
scheme for the division of Dioceses, and the erection of new Sees.
In its Third Report it advised that the Diocese of Lincoln should
be divided, and that each of its tivo counties, Lincolnshire and Not-
tinghamshire, should form a separate Diocese.

In the year 1870 I was enabled, with your help, and mth that
of Her Majesty's Government at that time, especially of Mr. Glad-
stone, to obtain the assistance of a Bishop Suffragan, the first who
had been appointed in England for more than two hundred
years.

Much has been done since the reports of the Cathedral Com-
mission, to advance this work of increasing the Episcopate ;
especially by the late Lord Lyttelton, and by a gentleman who
had hoped to be among us to-day, Mr. Beresford Hope.

The Church is also deeply indebted to the present energetic
Home Secretary, Mr. Cross, for the recent Act which has created
two new Episcopal Sees ; that of St. Albans and of Truro.

Now that the Diocese of Exeter is to be divided by the erection
of Truro into a Bishoprick, the Diocese of Lincoln will be the
largest in territorial area among all the Dioceses of England
and Wales ; and it contains more clergy than the Diocese of
Exeter did before its division. It ought, therefore, to be divided.
And if the Diocese of Lincoln were to be reduced to Lincolnshire
alone — mthout Nottinghamshire — it would still continue to be
one of the largest of English Dioceses, and would contain many
more Clergy than most of them do. Lincolnshire is the second
county in England for size. It contains more than a million and
three-fourths of a million of acres. This is, I think, a greater area,
than that of any existing Diocese execept four. Also the County
of Lincoln contains about 720 Clergy. This is a larger number
of Clergy than in most of the present English Dioceses.

APPENDIX. 49

This, therefore, seems to be evident, that Lincohishire ought
to become a distinct Diocese.

The Cathedral Commissioners of 1852 recommended that the
County of Nottingham should form a separate Diocese. My predecessor
in the See of Lincoln concurred in that opinion. Its area is more than
half a million of acres ; it has 275 Parishes ; and its population is
increasing. It has risen from 140,000 in 1801 to about
820,000 souls in 1871.

This being premised, next comes the question of patronage and
endowment for the new See in the County of Notts. On this
point you will look for some announcement from me.

If the division should take place during my Episcopate, I should
be ready to surrender all the patronage that the Bishop of Lincoln
has in tlie County of Nottingham i.e, (the patronage of twenty
benefices) to a Bishop for that County.

With regard to the endowment of the new See for that County ;
if adequate funds were not forthcoming from other sources (which is
greatly to be preferred) I should not be unwilling to surrender
the patronage of the Subdeanery of Lincoln, towards the main-
tenance of the Bishop of Nottinghamshire. This would be about
a thousand a year and a house. The canonry held by the Sub-
dean of Lincoln is the only available one in that Cathedral for
the purpose ; special duties being annexed to the other three
stalls — that of the Precentor, Chancellor, and Archdeacon— Avhich
would render it impossible to connect them with the Episcopal
office.

It would be my desire to submit the question of the portion of
endowment which might be taken from the See of Lincoln for the
benefit of the bishoprick of Nottinghamshire to the judgment of
others. When a Bishop is entering his 70th year (as I am), and
is looking forward to be relieved ere long from the weight of the
physical and menal labours to be borne hj the Bishop of such a
Diocese as this, if he makes an offer like that which has been so
generously made by the Bishop of a Southern Diocese, who is
happily in the prime of life, he would, in fact, be surrendering
what belongs to his successors rather than to himself ; and it
must not be forgotten that, if he is constrained by age and
infirmity to retire from this office, his immediate successor Avould
be taxed with the burden of paying him a jDension from a
diminished income.

Let me also be allowed to say from personal experience, that
the adequate discharge of the duty of contributing to the numer-
ous good works, such as Church building and Church restorat on,
and the other many pious and charital)le designs, which we
rejoice to know abound among us, and the heavy expenditure
entailed upon the Episcopal office in various other ways (especially
in this Diocese, which I purposely refrain from specifying), would
reduce the Bishop of Lincoln, with his present Episcopal income

50 APPENDIX.

to financial difficulties, if he had not some private resources to
fall back upon.

But I will not dwell on this topic. I cannot however forbear
saying that it would be with feelings of much sorrow that I
should find myself separated from any portion of this Diocese, in
every part of which I have received many acts of kindness from
those Avhom it is my privilege to call my friends and brethren in
Christ. But private feelings must give way to public duties,
especially of a spiritual kind.

Let me now conclude with a practical suggestion. Happily we
have at present a Government which is prepared to bring in a
larger legislative measure for the increase of the Episcopate. Let
us be ready with a scheme to be embodied in such a Bill. It
may be that Parliament will not at once divide the Diocese of
Lincoln, and found a new Episcopal See for County of Notting-
ham. But we may confidently anticipate that it will be disposed
to do for us what it has already done for the Dioceses of Winches-
ter, Rochester, and Exeter. It will be willing to pass an enabl-
ing Act containing provisions for the eventual founding of such a See,
on our comjolying ivith certain conditions, as to extent of area, patron-
age, and endoivment. Let us he agreed as to these conditions ; let us
present them to the Home Secretary ; let us ask him that they may be
embodied in his Bill, and in due time, when these conditions have been
complied icith by us, the Diocese of Lincoln will be divided, and an
Episcopal See will be erected for the County of Nottingham and may
the blessing of the Gh^eat Head of the Church rest upon the work.

A Prayer for the Increase of the Episcopate.

0 Lord Jesu Christ, the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls,
AVho 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 off'erings 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 dis-
pensing 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.

APPENDIX.

51

Additional Home Bishopries Endowment Fund,

Office-?, WHITEHALL, LONDON, S.W.

Chairman.

THE EARL OF DEVON.

Committee

The Earl of DQVon{Ghairman <£• Treas. ).

The Earl Nelson.

The Earl of Wharncliffe.

Lord Clinton.

The Hon. Charles L. Wood.

The Right Hon. J. G. Hubbard, M.P.

Tlie Hon. Wilbraham Egerton, M.P.

Sir William Heathcote, Bart.

Sir John H. Kennaway, Bart, M.P.

{Trcas.)
Sir G. Gilbert Scott.
General Sir Richard Wilbraham, K.C.B.
T. C. Baring, Esq., M.P.
Hugh Birley, Esq., M.P.
Thomas Brassey, Esq., M.P.
W. H. Gladstone, Esq., M.P.
A. W. HaU, Esq., M.P.
W. U. Heygate, Esq., M.P.
A. J. Beresford-Hope, Esq., M.P.

{Trcas.).
Lewis A. Majendie, Esq.
Arthur Mills, Esq., M.P.
S. G. S. Sackville, Esq.,
W. T. Spencer Stanhope,
J. G. Talbot, Esq., M.P.
J. Torr, Esq., M.P.
E. B. W. Balme, Esq.
John Borough, Egq.
Philip Cazenove. Esq.(T?'easi*rcr).

E. Carlyon, Esq.

F. H. Dickinson, Esq.
Robert Few, Esq.
Richard Foster, Esq.
J. S. Gilliat, Esq.
J. W. Hawkins, Esq.
W. G. Kemp, Esq.
F. S. Powell, Esq.
W. H. Rawson, Esq.
Thomas Turner, Esq.

, M.P.

M.P.
Esq.,M.

The Ven. Archdeacon Hessey, D. C. L.

The Ven. Archdeacon Mild way.

The Ven. Archdeacon Grant, D.C.L.

The Ven. Archdeacon Earle.

The Ven. Archdeacon Emery.

The Ven. Archdeacon Hans Hamilton.

The Ven. Archdeacon Balston.

The Rev. Canon Gregory.

The Rev. Canon MiUer, D.D.

The Rev. the Warden of Keble College,

Oxford.
The Rev. Walter G. Abbott.
The Rev. H. R. Bailey.
The Rev. Brymer Belcher {Hon. Sec.)
The Rev. R. M. Blakiston, Sec.LC.B.S.
The Rev. A. Blomfield.
The Rev. J. Ingham Brooke.
The Rev. W. T. Bullock, &c. S.P.G.
The Rev. Arthur Cazenove.
The Rev. AV. R. Churton.
The Rev. J. Erskine Clarke,
The Rev. Dr. Currey.
The Rev. E. L. Cutts.
The Rev. C. B. Dalton.
The Rev. J. Duncan, Sec. Nat. Society.
The Rev. Arthur J. Ingram {Hon. Sec),

Sec. A.C.S.
The Rev. H. M. Ingram.
The Rev. Alfred Jones {Hon. Sec).
The Rev. Harry Jones.
The Rev. J. E. Kempe.
The Rev. Dr. Gott.
The Rev. Dr. Alfred T. Lee

{Ho^i. Sec), Sec C.D.I.
The Rev. W. D. Maclagan.
The Rev. Dr. Maclear.
The Rev. John Oakley.
The Rev. F. Pigou.
The Rev. J. G. Pilkington.
The Rev. J. C. Ryle.
The Rev. L. E. Shelford.
The Rev. H. Swabey. (Sec.SP.C.K.)

The Rev. G. H. Wilkinson.

The Very Rev. the Dean of Lichfield

{Prolocutor of Canterbury).
The Hon. and Very Rev. the Dean of
York (^Prolocutor of York).

Treasurers.
The Earl of Devon. I Sir John H. Kennaway, Ikit, M.P.

A. J. B. Beresford-Hope^Esq., M.P. | Philip Cazenove, Esq.

Bankers.
The London and W^estminster Bank, 1, St. James's Square, London, W.
Hon. Secretariats.

The Rev. Alfred Jones.
The Rev. Dr. Alfred T. Lee.

The Rev. Brymer Belcher.
The Rev. Arthur J. Ingram (Finance
Sec).

Organising Secretary.
The Rev. B. Mercdyth Kitson, 7, Whitehall, London, S.W

52 APPENDIX.

At a large and influential Conference of Clergy and Laity in-
terested in the general question of the Increase of the Home
Episcoj^ate, which was held in London on the 10th of February,
1876, under the Presidency of the Earl of Devon, the Archbishop
of Canterbury spoke as follows : —

"/ therefore do hope, that the first result of this Meeting will he
actual foil ntling of the Sees of S. Albans and Cornwall, and that
there will he other districts readij to follow the example. And if, in
the course of the next year, we have three or four new Sees, we should
realize that which was promised by Lord Russell's Government a
long time ago, and we should show practically that we are in earnest
in the matter ^

The following Resolutions were then carried unanimously, and
embodied in a memorial to the Prime Minister : —

I. '' That the spiritual necessities of England require a well
organised scheme for the Increase of the Home
Episcopate."
IT. '' That with a view to immediate Parliamentary action
for the extension of the Home Episcopate, and the re-
distribution and division of Dioceses, a memorial be
addressed to Her Majesty's Government soliciting their
support for any well-considered measure that may be
introduced with this object."

A Committee out of those present, with power to add to their
number, was also appointed, to carry out the object proposed.

In the debate on the 16th February on the second reading of
the " Increase of the Home Episcopate Bill," the Home Secretary,
Mr. Cross, made an important statement on behalf of Her
Majesty's Government, from which the following extracts are
taken : —

" Looking at the way in which populations had grown up
witliin the past few years, especially in the manufacturing dis-
tricts, no one, he thought, could avoid coming to the conclusion
that the bishops, in order to do their work fairly, must have
assistance. * * * It was evident that from time to time some
revision of the number of bishops was necessary, in order that
the w^ork devolving upon them should be properly performed.
* * * The introduction of the S. Alban's Bill last year was a
proof that the Government were alive to the requirements of the
case. * * * He would proceed briefly to state what the Govern-
ment were prepared to do in reference to the Episcopate. The
Diocese of Exeter undoubtedly called for some action being
taken. Well, a proposition was made to him some months ago
to place at his disposal a sum of £1,200 a year for the formation
of a new Diocese in Cornwall. That generous offer was made on
condition that the Bishopric should be founded in the lifetime of

APPENDIX. 53

the donor ; and the Bishop of the Diocese proposed also, in t he
most generous spirit, to give up £800 of his own income towards
founding the new Bishopric. As soon as sufficient additional
Funds were provided to "furnish a proper income for the new
Bishop, a scheme for the establishment of a Bishopric of Corn-
wall would, no doubt, be prepared : and in that case he would
strongly recommend the adoption of a measure for effecting the
object in view. It ivoidd not be verij wise, however-, to have separate
Bills for each Diocese, and therefore he ivas not at all prepared to
say, 011 the part of the Government, that he icoitld not consider some
tvell-devised scheme for a limited number of neiv Dioceses. * * *
Instead nf dealing with cases individually, he should prefer to lay on
the table of the House a scheme for a limited number of Bishopric^,
so that the ivork of the Bishops might be properly divided at all
events, until changes in the population of the country rendered some
readjustment necessary.''

It has therefore now become the urgent duty of all who desire
to see the organization of the Church extended, and the number
of Sees increased somewhat in proportion to the growth of the
population, both to stir up Churchmen in these Dioceses in which
the difficulty is most severely felt, and also to invite liberal Offer-
ings from the Church at large.

It can scarcely be doubted that the progress of the Church is
hindered in many of the larger Dioceses by the want of adequate
Episcopal supervision, Avhich is so necessary for the quickening of
Her life, and for the systematic development of all religious
agencies. It must be remembered, that after all changes, the
present number of bishops in England and Wales is the same as
it was at the death of Henry VIII., when the population was
about one-sixth of its present number.

Without attempting to state how many new Bishoprics are
required, it should be borne in mind that Parliament has sanc-
tioned the creation of a new See of S. Alban's ; that the Home
Secretary has undertaken, so soon as the necessary funds are
raised, to bring in a Bill for erecting a Diocese of Cornwall ; and
that a large sum of money has also been conditionally promised
towards the division of the Diocese of Ripon. Further ; — the
Bishops of Lichfield, Lincoln, and Norwich have urged the
necessity of their being relieved from a portion of their over-
whelming duties; whilst the people of Li^^erpool are putting
forward the claims of their important town to be made the seat of
a Bishop.

Our immediate duty, therefore, is to secure such an addition to
the Episcopate as may be now within reach— (1) by hastening
the completion of the Endowinent of the See of S. Alban's ; by
(2) supplementing throughout the country the efforts that are
being made in the Diocese of Exeter for Endowing a new See for

54} APPENDIX.

Cornwall ; and by (3) furthering any similar local efforts which
may be made elsewhere, and which indeed are encouraged by the
prospect of the Bill conditionally promised by Her Majesty's
Government.

The Committee therefore earnestly appeal for Funds. Contri-
butions may either be appropriated to any particular Diocese ; or
will, in the absence of any such appropriation, be applied by the
Committee as they may think desirable in furtherance of the
general objects of the Fund.

Lists of Contributions will from time to time be published.

(Signed)

DEVON, Chairman.

DEVON,

JOHN H. KENNAWAY, . r

A. J. B. BERESFORD-HOPE, > treasurers.

PHILIP CAZENOVE,

N.B. — Contributions may be paid to the account of the
" Additional Home Bishoprics Endowment Fund," at the London
and Westminster Bank, No. 1, St. James's Square, London, W.,
or to any of its Branches.

Or to the Eev. Arthur J. Ingram, Hon. Finance Secretary,
7, Whitehall, London, S.W.

>i

APPENDIX. 55

Additional Home Bishopries Endowment Fund.

7, WHITEHALL, LONDOX, S.W.

REPORT UPON INCREASE OF EPISCOPATE.

The Committee of the Additional Home Bishoprics EndoMTnent
Fmid having considered the question of the increase of Sees — re-
gard being had to the size and population of the existing Dioceses
of England and Wales, and the suitableness of new See towns —
report as follows: —

In approaching the subject submitted to them, your Committee
had first to consider whether they ought to face an increase of an
extensive character involving a notable alteration in the existing
and long recognised status of the Enghsh Episcopate, or only a
moderate addition of Bishops in parts of the country where the
Sees were, by reason of area or of the gro^^-th of population, mani-
festly too few for the actual condition of the Church, — the new
Bishops being, as far as possible, to be placed on the same footing
as the existing Bishops. The Committee unanimously resolved to
approach the question from the latter point of view. They also
decided that in every recommendation which they might make, it
was expedient, as far as possible, to have regard to the boundaries
of counties.

There will be in England and Wales, when the Sees of St. Albans
and Truro are constituted, twenty-nine Dioceses, the area of the
country being 37,545,817 acres, and the population (by the census
of 1871) 22,857,183. The great differences in size and popula-
tion of the present Dioceses need not here be specifically set out.

The Committee are no advocates for pedantic and absolute
equality, but they desire as far as possible to redress inequality,
so that greater justice may be done to all parts of the country.

No better proof is needed of the variety of considerations which
must be borne in mind than the fact that the Diocese which stands
lowest in acreage, also stands highest in population.

On the whole your Committee ad\ise the addition of six new
Sees to the twenty-nine which will soon exist. Of these, three
would belong to the Pro^^nce of York, and three to that of Can-
terbury. They also recommend, as will be shown, certain alter-
ations in the boundaries of the actual Dioceses.

I. The present Diocese of Durham in the main is composed of
the county of Durham, with an area of 647,592 acres, and a popu-
lation of 685,089, and of that of Northumberland, with an area of
1,290,312 acres and a population of 386,646. A See for Northum
berland is recommended which should include the detached portion
of the County of Durham lying in Northumberland. The Cathe-

66 APPENDIX.

dral Commission in its report of 1855 recommended the grand old
minster of Hexham to be constituted the Cathedral. Considering
however the comparative insignificance of the town of Hexham,
the Committee have no hesitation in recommending that the large,
growing, and very important county town of Newcastle should be
the See town, and its noble Church of St. Nicholas the Cathedral.

II. Yorkshire is at present divided between the See of York —
comprising the whole of the East, the North and an important por-
tion of the West Eiding, — with an area of 2,261,493 acres, and a
population of 1,060,878; and that of Eipon, formed out of the
West and a small portion of the North Kiding, with an area of
1,567,793 acres, and a population of 1,357,053. These Sees also
extend in a slight degree into neighbouring Counties.

It is recommended to form a new diocese in theWest Riding for
the benefit of the wide and populous series of towns and closely
inhabited villages engaged in the important trades of that district,
the See town to be chosen with reference to local circumstances.

III. Lancashire with 1,207,926 acres, and 2,819,495 inhabitants
are (with the exception of a district in the extreme north of Lanca-
shire, attached to Carlisle,) mainly divided between the Sees of Man-
chester and Chester; the south-western corner of Lancashire which
includes Liverpool, as well as all Cheshire, belonging to the latter.

It is proposed to relieve the See of Chester by detaching the
Lancashire portion of Chester and constituting a See of Liver-
pool. The See and the county of Chester would then be conter-
minous. The See of Liverpool might be augmented by a portion
of the Diocese of Manchester, including Preston. A further
portion of Lancashire might also be added to Carlisle.

This disposes of the Province of York.

IV. The first Diocese calling for consideration in the Province
of Canterbury is Lincoln, which is composed of the county of
Lincoln with 1,767,962 acres, (being the second in size of the
English Counties), and of 436,599 inhabitants, and of that of
Nottingham with 526,176 acres, and 319,758 inhabitants;

There can be no doubt as to the necessity of a See of Notting-
ham with its See town at Nottingham or Southwell. The former
is much the larger place, and has a w^ell-built and handsome
Church. Southwell enjoys the ancient prestige of what has been
a collegiate church since Saxon days and can point to the exist-
ence there of an Episcopal Palace and of buildings suitable for a
Chapter. On the whole the Committee recommend that Not-
tingham should be made the See town.

The large and populous diocese of Lichfield is next to be con-
sidered. It contains 1,740,607 acres, and 1,356,869 inhabitants,
and extends over Staffordshire, with 732,434 acres, and 858,326
inhabitants, Derbyshire with 656,243 acres, and 379,394 inhabit-
ants, and part of Slu'opshire. The rest of Shropshire and all
Herefordshire compose the See of Hereford, with 986,244 acres,

APPENDIX. 57

but only 237,138 inhabitants. Stafifordshire is a county with two
groups of large manufacturing towns : the " Potteries " in the
North and the " Black Country" in the South. There seems to
be little doubt that all Shropshire ought to belong to Hereford.
If the population of Nottinghamshire should be considered
insufficient, the Parliamentary Division of East Derbyshire
might be added to the See of Nottingham. The Diocese of Lich-
field would be relieved in Staffordshire by joining a portion of
the Black Country (not including Wolverhampton) to Worcester,
if, as further on recommended, Warwickshire should be consti-
tuted a separate See.

V. The Diocese of Worcester comprises, speaking generally,
the counties of Worcester w^th 472,453 acres, and 338,837 in-
habitants, and of Warwickshire with 566,458 acres, and 634,189
inhabitants. Accordingly,

A new See for Warwickshire is needed. The choice of See
town would lie between Birmingham and Coventry. The former
is far the larger place, but it is inconveniently placed on the
border of the county, while Coventry (itself a considerable place),
besides being more central, has the distinction of being still a
" city," of having been for many centuries, and until modern
changes, the joint See town with Lichfield of Bishops who were,
till the Restoration, Bishops of Coventry and Lichfield, and of
still possessing two noble churches, each adequate to become a
Cathedral, now that the ancient Cathedral has been destroyed.
Coventry is accordingly recommended as the seat of this
Bishopric.

Vast as the population of London is, and overwhelming as are
its needs, your Committee are at present unable to make any
other suggestion except that of confining it to the county of Mid-
dlesex, with a view to possible sub-division at some future period.

VI. Provision has been made by a recent Act of Parliament
for the Metropolitan Counties, other than Middlesex, by the
creation of the See of St. Alban's, and the attribution to Roch-
ester 0^ a large portion of Surrey, taken from Winchester and
London.

The Committee highly approve of the erection of the See of
St. Alban's, for the counties of Hertford and Essex.

As, however, the scheme, of which this is a part, is not yet in
operation, it is recommended, in regard to the pressing wants of
that important District that the County of Surrey, containing
more than a million of inhabitants, should form a See of South-
wark, in which case those portions of the Parliamentary division
of West Kent, which do not already belong to Rochester, would
be attached to that See.

July, 1876.