RELIGION OF THE VILLAGE 139 



obstinate opposition to reform with which the 

 clergy and wealthier laymen have been 

 associated. If an independent position were 

 taken up, if the Church could be recognized as 

 taking a line of its own on social questions, the 

 hopes and affections of the people would gather 

 round her in a way hitherto unknown. The 

 part played by the priesthood in the agri- 

 cultural revival of other countries, e.g., in 

 Ireland, Belgium and Italy, is well known. 

 Nevertheless it is doubtful if the great mass of 

 clerical and lay Conservatives will be sensibly 

 affected by the " forward policy " of the few. 

 A Church prominently identified with the well- 

 to-do classes cannot easily ally itself with a 

 policy of reform, bitterly opposed by many 

 of those on whose financial support it largely 

 depends, and this difficulty will be rendered 

 more pronounced when the inevitable dises- 

 tablishment and disendowment of the Church 

 of England comes to pass. Even within the 

 narrow compass of parochial differences and 

 disagreements complete independence is some- 

 times very difficult for an incumbent. The 

 well-known case of Canon Girdlestone is 

 typical, for a country clergyman who, in the 

 event of a quarrel, sides with the labourers 

 against the squire and the farmers, may find 

 his position rendered almost unendurable. 



