WELSH CHURCH BILL.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1707, 26 March 1913, Page 8

WELSH CHURCH BILL.

. ' 0 ———- REJECTED-BY- THE LORDS., .POINTS IN".the: debate, ;'Aftef 'a'/lthnta' days' debate in the House if- temlv tlii;H'/eiwi 'Diszstablishment Bill «vaa "rejlfiHT. * o"H : -' 'second -readingon, •February 13'by;u'liliijority. of>2ol. -Tho \igures lor tlie divi.'-ioii - " Agaijist,tiie iJiil v. 252 'Jiuivth : »,.liiniu,!.\..'...',vl;..„V.V,.sl • "against;■ 201 The Government's second -great measure oiithe'seiSiJn stilus lhet the'ifate of the llstne! JCnlii Bill, whifch was: rejected by the Hoiise'of "Lords by : a majority of 257, 828 against: a'ml :G9 'for tho .Will.

'Lord' Beauchiiiiip, while ' acknowledging that the Government know the Bill was doomed, to ..rejection, when he moved its EMOiul-reading strove conscientiously to recommend: it to tho good' will of tho limes.";; "W'e r i(re iil)le.;to provo to your lorAjhips,-''h« said, formulating his case, "that 'tho-niajority . of peoyle in Wales' liivyii-aslcEii-for the disestablishment and ■that the Church' of . England is there the Church:of .the: minority.".. A fr,co Church in "a fret' Stale was their aim:' In place of iho Church of England in Wales they wi:ht;d to tta "Iho Church of Wales .the Church,of the Welsh 'people." The disond'jwuient proposals ware recommended as "most generous." All the Church would lese was J;51,38 i ■ a year. "If the subscriber of SUs. wil\ in future'" giVo 235. del., tho Church will suffer, no -iloss," : lie plausibly urged. . ' *.?„

■ Tho rejection'of the mcasura was moved by'Lord-Keiiyon. "It is.unwise, unwanted, and unjust," lio said' alliteratively, and added emphatically that this being a matter of principle -tlicre-could ba "no compromis?." . ' . ; Tb.> Bishop of London's "view of the Bill was that it would indict "a''cruel and ljnV deserved blow on a vigorous and thriving Liiurch." ~ ,-rho Archbishops . of. Canterbury and Torlc were the two most prominent speaker* on Wednesday. "It would ba a mistaken policy to' give the Bill-a second reading,'-' counselled tho Archbishop of • Cantorbur£« -The C'hurch : objected'to it "rcot uiid'brantih." "He relied upon the plain, . unvaraisned talo of the Church in Wales to condemn the Bill. - . It,.was,;.the -wildest..institution, in the land) it'-exisled long before the Mnn-' iU'chy as -i\!t.Cluiow -:.i t^'^iv-.thoiisand f yeiirs before' 'ii. tuted -tile priests of (he Church' ministered in tho Welsh'hills'/iand nven 1 after go on, though,, he lameiiied."it "v/ould be crippled. %ku reiterated'? demand of Wales for dis-establishment, us '.signified by 31 to in the proportion of her members of Parliament in favour of it, was an important;-,fact; he acknowledged, but on a step-so irrevocable-as' 'this Bill took that outweigh Other considerations, .and he'.dwelt at length on the part the Church played, in llw life of the people as a wholo and- the many votes cast against it.

The' Bishop of Oxford, in'an eloquent speech . inttrked vby many ..rhetorical touches, pleaded for;a second' r rea'ding of the Bill. Towards the close Di\ Gore became mournful over tlio present position of the Church, of England. "We cannot claim,tint in virtue of its establishment'it. has really succeeded in being the Chiirch'of the poor,";lie, said..sadly. "The religions of- the-poor are'the religions for which they have to pay," and he citod as examples ;the Methodists and tho Salvation Army. Tlio religions which Gay ''Here-we are; we are waiting.for you'; nothing ;is . expected; of you," were faring badly.. "This Bill touche9 principle too closely to allow us to enter on any such bargain as the.right revorend Prelate seems to desire." was tlio answer of the .Archbishop of York to Dr. Gore. "For eight years I worked in the East End of London," Br. Lane recalled, "and I do not hesitate to c. Vl - th.Ht'if ;theTo'i3 one .religion .which .has n ''yi*>it to- claim''to be ' the Church "of the poor/a.s .well, as.tho Church' for: tlio poor, ir the Church of England." T«e ens? for the Government was wound v „ i,v I"vd Crewe, 'and the division was takoa vi ith tho result as recorded above. ■