LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
DISESTABLISHMENT.
(TO THE EDITOR OF TEl "SPECTATOR.")
SIR,—In the Spectator of February 18th the Rev. Sinclair Carolin writes of the Disestablishment of the Church of England as if it would be no spiritual loss to her people. The rector of Wyvenhoe probably knows the rural districts of Essex. I am not particularly well acquainted with that county, but know every part of Suffolk, from which Essex is divided only by the river Stour. The depression in agriculture has left the landowners in both counties in a state of resources totally unable to bear any further strain. Of the two, perhaps Essex is the poorer district. Now, Mr. Carolin must know that Diseetablishment is but another name for Disendowment. The majority in Parliament who could bring about the one would certainly accomplish the other. Let me picture to the rector of Wyvenhoe what would be the result of such a calamity. Here I would remark that I am dealing with the rural districts ; what the voluntary system may effect in our wealthy towns may be another matter; but in our country parishes what Mr. Carolin so lightly writes about would simply be the suppression of the administration of the Church of England altogether. I have before me "White's Directory of Suffolk." I take the first fifty parishes in the index under one thousand inhabitants; in each of these there are a church, a clergyman, and funds for his support, however inadequate at the present time, derived from a first claim on the land. I know pretty well the circumstances of each of these villages, and I fearlessly assert that there are not five of them where the parishioners would be in a position to support an educated resident clergyman. The landowners would say the tithes appointed for religions purposes have been diverted to secular use, but we are still required to pay them; rates, taxes, and repairs barely leave us enough to live upon. What the tenants, shopkeepers, tradesmen, and others would do I leave your readers to guess. And what would take place in Essex and Suffolk would be repeated in nearly every county in England. I know there are a few clergymen who hold the views on this question which Mr. Carolin believes he holds himself. Two such at our last election followed the unsuccessful candidate and echoed his cry for Disendowment of the Church. One held a living returned at £600 a year and the other stands in the" Clergy List" at £;93. They both had a grand opportunity of putting their theories in practice. Nothing could have been easier than to have apportioned this £1,180 to the various purposes the spoilers of the Church have in view. They could then have thrown themselves on the liberality of their congregations, and have proved to the world the sound- ness of their views on the voluntary system. This would have been an object-lesson worth watching. The experiment would also have demonstrated the truth of the words with which the rector of Wyvenhoe concludes his letter—" The fact is a great deal of nonsense is spoken and written in England in connection with the Dieestablishment question."
—I am, Sir, Sze., HERMAN BIDDELL. Plagford, Ipswich, March Std.
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