THE BISHOPS IN THE LORDS

Freethought Review, Volume I, Issue 12, 1 September 1884, Page 14

THE BISHOPS IN THE LORDS

"The notion that English Christianity would suffer damage if the Bishops were withdrawn from the House of Lords appears to me entirely devoid of foundation." That was written by Canon Ryle; but the canon has since become a bishop, and, as ho is the junior bishop in the House of Lords, he had to tell a company of Episcopalians at Liverpool lately that "to his own great inconvenience, he ■ was now obliged to be absent from his diocese a considerable portion of the year. He had every day to read prayers in the House of Lords. He did not read them to a very large audience. He thought perhaps half-a-dozen made up the whole number; the prayers were over in about five minutes." It has been suggested that the Lords might, like the Commons, have a chaplain; but mark Bishop Kyle's reply to that suggestion : " Some one had suggested that a chaplain should take that place, but he could not help remembering that it would be one more step towards taking the bishops out of the House of Lords altogether, and if once that was done people would ask what was the use of the Church of England being connected with the state at all. " So that the bishop has completely turned his back upon the vicars. But, as we know, " circumstances alter cases."—' The Liberator.'