Forces Marshalled

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 378, 12 June 1928, Page 9

Forces Marshalled

PRAYER BOOK BATTLE Coming Clash in Commons THE leaders in the Prayer Book clash in the House of Commons this week are marshalling their forces, and preparing for the fray. The crisis is described as the most grave one the Church of England has faced in three centuries.

(United P.A.—-By Telegraph — Copyright) (Australian P.A.—United Service)

LONDON, Monday. Interest in the Prayer Book measure will overshadow everything else in Parliament this week. At 11 p.m. on Thursday, after a two days’ debate, the House of Commons will make a decision settling the Church of England issue which the Bishop of Winchester, Dr. F. T. Woods, describes as the most grave it has faced for three centuries. Lobbying has been in progress on a large scale, and shoals of correspondence have been received by members in the last few days. The Home Secretary, Sir William Joynson-Hicks, and the Attorney-Gen-eral, Sir Thomas Inskip, are marshalling their forces and speakers against the measure. These include Mr. Lloyd George. Forty members are ready to speak in favour of the measure, including the Prime Minister, Mr. Baldwin, Sir Robert Horne and the Duchess- of Atholl. APPEAL TO LABOUR Rev. F. L. Donaldson, Canon of Westminster, struck a new note at the week-end, when he appealed to the Labour Party to support the Bill, on the ground that it cannot consistently demand freedom for trades unions if it denies freedom to the Church. Mr. Donaldson expresses the opinion that the rejection of the measure will result in ecclesiastical controversy occupying so much attention that social reform will be retarded for a generation.

Prayers for the rejection of the measure were offered iri many of the Nonconformist churches on Sunday. The Primitive Methodist Conference passed a resolution appealing to Parliament to reject the measure. Opinion in the lobby Is that the decision either way will he narrow.

bishops’ proposals. He said a com mittee of compe tent men was al ready engaged in the task and would produce a book to cover the non-con tentious enrich ments and variations which were contained in the “deposited book,”

This was the preparation of an alternative measure for consideration if the one passed by the Church Assembly and embodying the bishops’ revised proposals, should be rejected by Parliament next week. Sir William is president of the National Church League, and one of the leaders of the opposition to the

and which, there was reason to believe, would be generally acceptable. It was only contentious matter relating to the Holy Communion upon which a difference existed. It should only be necessary, therefore, to take it out of the Prayer Book. The alternative measure, of course, would have to be sponsored by the Church Assembly. Sir William said he believed that if the archbishops and bishops should agree upon a scheme of this kind the matter would go through by general consent, and thus an end would be put to the controversy.