Page:The Annual Register 1899.djvu/31

 1899.] 'The Church and Parliament. T23

selected from the Eitualist party, themselves broke the law. The root of the evil lay in the training given to candidates for holy orders in the theological colleges. The manuals in use in many of these colleges taught almost all the doctrines of the Church of Rome. The voluntary schools were also becoming mere seed plots for the spread of Romanism. Viscount Cran- borne (Rochester), a representative of the High Church party in the House, disclaimed any sympathy with the extreme practices of certain Churchmen, least of all did he sympathise with the attitude some of them had taken towards their ecclesiastical superiors. But quite as distinctly must he dissociate himself from any approval of the methods which had been adopted in what was virtually an attack on the Church — an attack made with weapons some of which were altogether unworthy.

Mr. BirreJl (Fifeshire. W.) followed with a racy speech, in which he declared that, though a Nonconformist of the Non- conformists, he found himself quite unable to support the amendment He declined altogether to have anything to do with any legislative measures designed to harry any particular class or school of thought within the Church. The only cure for the present state of things was to be found in. Disestab- lishment.

Sir John Kennaway (Honiton, Devonshire) said that the question for the, House to decide was whether they would give the bishops time to do what he believed they were bent on doing, or rush into legislation, and thereby run the risk of bringing about a disruption of the Church of England, which those who remembered what happened in Scotland in 1843 might well regard as a warning and beware. Ultimately, Mr. A. J. Balfour (Manchester, E.) closed the debate with a judicious speech, which satisfied all but the extremists on both sides. On one point, he said, they were all agreed, and that was that the law of the Church must be obeyed by the clergy of the Church. How obedience could be best enforced was another question. He should earnestly deprecate any course which might have the effect of alienating in the smallest degree the sympathies of any single section of the English Church, or of diminishing the broad toleration which was a characteristic mark and most glorious heritage of that Church. He could not see that any good would be done by depriving bishops of the veto. On the contrary, should need be shown, it would be the duty of the Government to strengthen the bishops' hands. The amend- ment was then rejected by 221 votes to 89, the Nonconformists and Roman Catholics taking no part in the division.

The next amendment, moved (Feb. 10) by Mr. E. J. C. Morton (Devonport), expressed regret that no measure dealing with the ownership, tenure and taxation of land in towns was promised. The debate turned chiefly upon the escape of ground landlords from local taxation, and the proposal that unoccupied land in towns should be taxed at its full value. Mr. Asquith, Q.C.