The Choice of BishOpS - - The strong 'Committee of
the thiirch Aisembly which his been 'emisideiing the system of appointing Bishops has issued an'interim refloit! At present all of iniportance that they recommend is (I) that the Chapters should have the right to refuse to act upon the 6nge-d'elire; no right, to make sUggestions or nominations is proposed ; (2) that the Prime Minister shbuld Consult an Advisory Com; mittee chosen by him from the Aasembly but including the two 'Archbishops. The mildnesa of these sound proposals will be charged to the Committee by some as timidity. They recognize, as we all do; that the system is based on outworn constitutional practice, is unreasonable, and can appear' as an offence to many consciences. They also admit, as we all must, that it works extremely well and that the objections to every other system proposed are immense. - We feel that the Church as well as the State can get' good out of the Moderate Erastianisrn that now prevails in the form of appointment. No other system could have brought together on the Bench the brilliant but unfashionable brains of Bishop Barnes, the scholarship of Bishop Frere, the philosophic mind of Archbishop William Temple, the statesmanship of Archbishop Lord Davidson and (let us avoid taking a living example)- the saintliness of the late Edward King.
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