THE NEW BISHOP OF ROCHESTER.
TN a major key the popular voice in England, in 1 minor tones, but with quite equal confidence, that of Leeds, has applauded Lord Salisbury's selection of Dr. Talbot to succeed Bishop Davidson at Rochester. With happy discernment, all England recognises the singular qualifications for episcopal office in a densely -populated Metropolitan See, possessed by one of the most truly humble-minded, most averse to self-adver- tisement, of parish clergymen. His own parishioners, in the great, black, strenuous centre of West Riding industrial life, recognise them all too well. Perhaps there would be less sadness about this acknowledgment on their part if they were in a position to realise more 'fully the needs of the diocese of Rochester. For those -who know it and its new Bishop best, will be the first to see that it is precisely the kind of work which he has done so well in Leeds, and, in doing, has learned how to do still better, that is supremely needed to be done well in Rochester. Perhaps the most urgent need there is the establishment of an effective sense of diocesan unity. The See comprises elements the most heterogeneous,— parishes purely rural, middle-class suburban parishes, suburban or sub-rural parishes in which great masses of wealth, and London parishes in which still greater masses of toiling poverty, are concentrated. A diffu- sion through all these diverse constituents of a con- sciousness of corporate oneness, and of the mutual responsibility arising therefrom, would bear fruit of inestimable value in the solution of Church and social problems. The extension of the principle of affilia- tion of poor with rich parishes is probably one of the most important of the forms which such solutions would take. The creation among families belonging to the rich and leisured classes of the feeling that there are districts of poor houses which, so to say, belong to them, and the -families in which have a peculiar claim on their sympathy -and help, is, in many parts of the country, and con- • spicuously in some parts of the Rochester diocese, where present parochial boundaries largely dissever rich and poor, a matter of great moment. And the more rapidly such work can be carried forward the better, for the sense of comfortable and coldly indifferent isolation on the part of the rich, of suffering and resentful isolation on the part of the poor, crystallises very quickly when favoured by local conditions. Such work as that of University " settle- --ments " is very useful as a counteractive agent to the tendency of which we speak, as well as in many other ways. It, too, is doubtless capable of large development in the Rochester diocese, and the quickening there of a pervading sense of unity amon g Churchmen and other Christians would, it may reasonably be supposed, result in such development. But valuable, and on all grounds to be encouraged, as are "settlements " of men and women of culture and leisure in thickly populated industrial districts, they cannot meet or neutralise more than a small part of the evils arising from the increasing local separation of rich and poor. In the main, the remedy for those evils must lie in the existence among the rich, where their dwellings are apart from those of the poor, of a dominating sense of duty, firs t to some of their less fortunate fellow-country- -men in particular, and next, to all those within some not hopelessly large area. The judicious affiliation of parishes responds to and promotes the growth and maintenance of the first branch of this department of the Christian con- science. The diocese furnishes, especially in such a case as that of South London, where there is no ancient centre of civil life, a most convenient, and, in the hands of a man of uniting and inspiring power, a most promising, area for the development and beneficent activity of the sense of -duty to one's neighbour on an extended scale. It is diffi- cult to exaggerate the call for such influences in South London and the adjoining districts. According to their strength, and within the time at their disposal, Bishop Thorold and Bishop Davidson have laboured in that -direction with very encouraging results ; and the re- markable success of the Ten Churches' Fund, and the manifold helpful activities of the Rochester Dio- joesan Society, bear witness to the self-sacrificing generosity and zeal of the leading Churchmen of the See. I But there are large sources of wealth untapped, large • numbers of Churchmen by whom hitherto the obligation of supporting spiritual or social work outside their own parish has never been realised, whi's, on the other hand, the crowded populations for meeting whose spiritual needs and brightening whose lives there is sadly inadequate pro- vision, are ever growing rapidly.
For dealing with a diocese thus circumstanced Dr. Talbot's work at Leeds has shown that he is eminently fitted. Nothing has marked his vicariate more decidedly than his success in appealing to the spirit of unity not only among Churchmen, but among citizens of all sections. The sense of unity, no doubt, was there ; it is an important source of strength in the life of the great manufacturing towns of the North ; but it is too apt to lose its constrain- ing force as populations become vaster, and the dwellings of rich and poor become further and further apart. Dr. Talbot has known how to call it into action, on a greater or smaller scale, according to the need, in connection with sanitary matters and other questions of social reform. He has known how to bring men of varied views and traditions into cordial co-operation for objects of common local benefit. Again, he has known how to unite Churchmen in successful action for the vindication of their educational rights, while setting an example of the careful avoidance of all needless offence to Nonconformists. Among the latter, his singularly fair temper and kindly bearing, together with his deep religiousness, have won for him on all hands the most cordial regard. His high culture and considerate courtesy, together with his profoundly sympathetic in- terest in all things touching the welfare of the poorer classes—an interest which he has manifested with both wisdom and courage during " unemployed " agitations— have commended him to all ranks and conditions of men in the great Yorkshire city. He has been careful to keep himself in touch with the movements of thought among the Trade-Unionists, and is recognised by them as a sympathetic student of their work and objects. There is indeed no section of the population of Leeds from which the retiring vicar has not sought to learn, and to which, if the opportunity has offered, he has not sought to be of service. But, first and foremost, he has been the vicar of the parish church, working strenuously for the furtherance of all its mani- fold agencies for the spiritual and moral elevation of the dwellers in the very poor and populous district where it stands, recognised by all as possessed with an intense and burning zeal for the religion of which it is the central organisation in the city, helping all by his teaching and example towards a better comprehension of the Christian message, a less distant approach to realisation of the Christian ideal. It is by such a man that the great diocese of Rochester is now to be administered. There is the best reason, having regard to his past record, to believe that the new Bishop will prove himself able to enlist the active interest in Church work of the greatest possible number of men and women of goodwill throughout the See ; able to discern the lines on which new advances may most wisely be undertaken ; able to secure the largest amount of effective co-operation from those who wish to to help ; and able, above all, to give and maintain an in- spiration by which old work and new work shall be carried forward with cheerful heartiness.
There is another side to the change. It is at sore cost to Leeds that this happy prospect has been secured. And it is no thanks to those in authority that the loss which Leeds now suffers was not inflicted years ago. It may be said that sacrifice is the law of progress in the Church. But the people of Leeds may be inclined to think that the illustrations of that law might be distributed a little more fairly than has been the case so far as they are concerned. There is necessarily a great deal of waste of valuable time and strength when posts so important as the Vicarage of Leeds are vacated on the average once in four or five years, and, besides the sorrow and distress which are caused under such a system, there is an injury to the continuity of local Church work which cannot but be con- siderable. The case for the elevation of Dr. Talbot, in the interest mainly of Rochester, but also of the Episcopal Bench and the general guidance of the affairs of the Church of England, in which his statesmanlike gifts will be of great service, may be irresistible. But it is worth the consideration of our rulers whether the recent practice in regard to the removal of the Vicars of Leeds, after a more or less brief term of service, constitutes a precedent which can be advantageously adhered to.
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