Mr. Bright explained at some length on'Thursday the reason why
Dissenters dislike the so-called religious census, as it is understood in this country. The reason is, first, that they feel it insulting to be asked their religion at all ; and next, that of perfectly indifferent persons asked about their religion, and not liking to answer " Virtually none," the greater number will register themselves as belonging to the Established Church. We do not understand the first objection. So far as we can see, the tendency to treat your religion as a sort of strictly private affair of your own, in which nobody else has any right to be interested, is an unworthy one, and proceeds from a vulgar state of mind. But the second objection is perfectly legitimate. No doubt, a census obtained by asking every man to register his own religion would unduly favour the religion of the Establish- ment. Mr. Bright's proposal to get, as the United States do, at the number of seats occupied in all the churches and chapels of this country, and to estimate the value of the property there, seems to us a reasonable one, and much more likely to convey instructive information than the other.
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