At the London Diocesan Conference, on Tuesday, Bishop Temple delivered
a lively defence of the Church of England against the view of those who insist with so much emphasis on religious equality. "Formerly," he remarked, "a great deal used to be said in favour of religions equality, and those who attacked the Church seemed to think it was quite enough to invoke that principle to determine the question off-hand. But in the course of' the controversy it had been shown that that notion had very little hold upon the nation at large. No doubt equality in its proper place was a word of great power ; for if any man enjoyed any kind of privilege, it was perfectly fair to ask him why he should continue to enjoy it any longer. There were many examples of privilege in this country,—such as the Post Office, the Government dockyards, and other State manu- factories. In all these cases the question might arise why the private citizen should not be left to compete for the public employment on equal terms ; and the answer would be deter- mined by the further question,—Was it for the interest of the country, as a whole, that the system should continue ? If it was for the good of the nation at large that these public works should be kept up, they would be maintained ; but on no other plea could they be defended. We saw privileged institutions maintained, not for their own sake, but for the service they rendered to the country ; and so the claim of the Church of England would be decided by the question whether, after all, she was not the best agency for maintaining, for fostering, and for promoting the religious life of the country."
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