XIV DISESTABLISHMENT AND DISENDOWMENT 251 



culture and scientific or literary tastes, such as will leave 

 them sufficient leisure to devote themselves to original 

 research in their favourite pursuits. But the position of a 

 National Parish Rector would supply this want in the most 

 complete manner. From their liberal education and 

 special training, and the high intellectual standard 

 required for the appointment, a large proportion of them 

 would be men of excei^tionally active and powerful minds. 

 They would have a good elementary knowledge of modern 

 science and philosophy. Their duties, though numerous, 

 and in the highest degree important, would not, as a rule, 

 be laborious, and would leave them a considerable amount 

 of leisure — and leisure with such men necessarily 

 implies occupation. Some would devote themselves to 

 science, some to experimental agriculture or horticulture, 

 some to history, philosophj^, or other branches of literature ; 

 and we may fairly conclude, that from the body of six or 

 seven thousand National Church Rectors, we should have 

 a very large accession to our original thinkers and general 

 workers — a class of men who not only reflect glory on 

 their country, but more than any others help on the work 

 of human progress. 



It has been already suggested that the rectors would 

 be able to see that Sanitary Inspectors and School Boards 

 did their duty ; but I think we may go further, and say, 

 that over a large portion of the rural districts no sanitary 

 or educational legislation will be efficiently carried out till 

 some such body of men is called into existence. Their 

 value, too, can hardly be exaggerated as a means of 

 obtaining trustworthy information on the working of any 

 new law affecting our social relations, and especially those 

 connected with pauperism. The narrow education, im- 

 perfect training, and sectarian prejudices of so many of 

 the clergy of the Established Church, prevent their 

 opinions having much weight, either with the public at 

 large or with the Government. But the National Rectors 

 would be in a very different position. Their education 

 and special training would render them well fitted to 

 consider such questions in all their bearings, and their 

 perfect independence would give weight to their opinions ; 



