We do not desire to go into the matter in
greater detail now. We would, however, with all the earnestness at our command, ask the Nonconformists, who may now be said to hold the matter in their hands, not to forget the very great difficulties with which the path of the Archbishop is beset. Unless he can bring his colleagues and followers into line, it is useless for him to make concessions. He must secure the endorsement of his policy by the majority of Churchmen, and this is no easy matter. There are plenty of Churchmen, most unjustly and unwisely as we think, who declare that no compromise is necessary, and that the Church has only to hold her ground and wait and all will be well. The Archbishop has, we expect, all he can do to restrain such persons within the bounds of reason, but we trust and believe that he will not flinch from doing so. But it will not be enough for those behind the Archbishop to be reasonable. Unless the more militant Nonconformists are equally reason- able, no way out of the difficulty can be found. If the Non- conformists insist on asking for their full pound of flesh, the hope of compromise must be abandoned. They command a majority in the Commons, and if they like they can wreck any and every effort at compromise. Our hope is that they will remember that great power ought to be accompanied by a correspondingly great sense of responsibility, and, we may add, generosity.
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