The Rev.- Frederick Burnside, the Honorary Secretary to the Committee
which brings out the "Official Year-Book of the Church of England," sends to the papers a statement that the voluntary expenditure of English Churchmen during the twenty- five years between 1860 and 1885 has been £81,573,237,—or, counting the people of England and Wales at 26,000,000, and giving the half of these to the Church, we may say, speaking in the rough, it amounts on an average to E25 a family in twenty-five years, or nearly LI per annum per family during that period. Moreover, according to Mr. Burnside, these figures leave out various other sums which he has not been able to compute accurately. On the whole, that does not speak badly for the liberality of English Churchmen, though we dare say an even more splendid account could be given of the liberality of other religions bodies, especially if we take relative means and resources into the account. Doubtless English Churchmen are quite capable of much more heroic sacrifices on behalf of their communion.
Previous page
