242 STUDIES, SCIENTIFIC AND SOCIAL chap. 



cumstances of his parishioners. He would also allow 

 the church to be used during the week for any purpose not 

 inconsistent with the main objects of his position, but 

 always having regard to religious prejudices so long as 

 they existed, his first duty being to promote harmony and 

 good-will, and to gain any object he might think bene- 

 ficial by persuasion rather than by an abrupt exercise of 

 authority. His knowledge of law, and his position as 

 ex-ojfficio magistrate, would enable him to settle almost all 

 the petty disputes among his parishioners, and so greatly 

 diminish law-suits. He would be an ex-officio member of 

 the School Board, and of the governing body of any other 

 public educational institution in his district. It would 

 be his duty to see that new legislative enactments were 

 brought to the notice of the persons they chiefly affected, 

 so that no one could offend through ignorance. He might, 

 if he pleased, visit the sick, if his services were asked 

 for, but this would be altogether voluntary. It would 

 be an essential part of his duty to be on good terms with 

 the ministers of all religious sects in his district, to 

 bring them into friendly relations with each other, and to 

 induce them to work harmoniously together for moral and 

 educational objects. 



With a sphere of action such as is here sketched out, 

 the rector of a parish would have far more influence for 

 good than the existing clergyman can possibly have. The 

 position would be one of weight and dignity, and would be, 

 I believe, in a high degree attractive to some of the best 

 men in the country. The choice of men to fill it would 

 be indefinitely wider than it is now, since no special 

 religious beliefs would be insisted on. The educational 

 qualifications being at once broad and high, and the 

 appointment offering a wide field for useful labour, a sphere 

 would be opened for a class of able men who, while they 

 are imbued with the purest spirit of philanthropy, are too 

 conscientious to teach religious doctrines they cannot 

 themselves accept. 



Some years ago, a proposal for a nationalization of the 

 Church of England was made by Lord Amberley, in two 

 very striking articles in the Fortnightly Review. These 



