16 JULY 1942, Page 14

SIR,—" Janus" in "A Spectator's Notebook" in your issue of

the 3rd instant, gives 2,391,730 as the " effective " membership of the Church of England, a rough estimate based on the number of Easter communicants. Of course, the actual membership is considerably more. A Church authority a few years ago put it at round about nine millions, but one would wish to know whether there be any general consensus of opinion as to this.

" Janus " states that the Roman Catholic " population " is put at least as high as the number who attended Easter Communion in the Church of England, but what is meant by population " ? The number of over 2,000,000 allotted to the Free Churches is probably correct.—Yours