CLERGY FOR POOR PARISHES.
[TO THE Ennou OF THE "SPECTATOR."' SIR,—A word of caution seems necessary at this time with regard to the Archbishops' Committee on Church Finance, and what can reasonably be expected of it. The Committee is industriously at work, and will certainly produce a Report as soon as it is possible. That Report, when it appears, will deal prominently, we have been told, with the maintenance of clergy, and therefore with the provision of clergy required for service in poor parishes. But it is important that every one should understand that fully three years must elapse before any scheme can be put into working order. There seems to be a keen desire in many quarters for the appearance of a new and improved scheme, and some recognition of the idea that a more generous money response will be necessary when an authorised and thoroughly satisfactory scheme can be pro- duced. In the meantime there is real danger of trouble, almost amounting to disaster, through the difficulty of providing for the maintenance of the clergy now at work in poor parishes, and of supplying the additional clergy required for service in such places. The Bishop of London's Fund announces a gap of £1,500, which must promptly be made up ; the East London Church Fund reports that the receipts up to the present moment are less than at the corresponding date last year ; the South London Church Fund and the Bishop of Win- chester's Fund make statements of somewhat similar import, and rumours of a similar kind are heard from other local institutions doing the same kind of work ; while the Addi- tional Curates Society, at the centre of things, dealing with needs of the kind in all the dioceses, has knowledge of more than forty parishes that are badly needing an additional clergyman, and cannot have their wants met until additional contributions are provided. It seems clear that Church. peopleneed to realise at this juncture that no authoritative scheme can be set on foot for fully three years as the result of the Archbishops* Committee, and that there Must be serious trouble with regard to the maintenance of the clergy in our big poor parishes unless individual Churchpeople will make some effort to inform themselves as to what is needed by the Church for matters of this sort, and ask themselves how largelythey can possibly contribute in spontaneous gifts .to meet the pressing necessities of the time.
In view of the great urgency of this matter—urgent, I say, -because strong action is wanted promptly before the close of
this year—I trust you may feel able to give space in ymer paper for this word of caution.-4 am, Sir, &c.,
14 Great Smith Street, S.W.
PETIT,
A011. Canon of Canterbury...
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