We print elsewhere a letter which shows that in the
late election in East Worcestershire, the district to which the writer refers actually produced six Liberal clergymen who voted for Mr. Lyttel- ton against only fire in the last contest,—a gain absolutely of one in ten years, in spite of Mr. Gladstone's Irish Church policy. But East Worcestershire is not a fair field in which to measure any sort of progress in Liberalism. We are happy to observe that a petition to the House of Lords has been prepared by a number of very distinguished clergymen, declaring their conviction "that to maintain the present Established Church in Ireland as the National Church of that country is an injustice which legitimately offends the majority of the Irish people," and, therefore, begging their Lordships "to adopt such measures as may appear best suited to remove this cause of offence." The petition is signed by the Deans of Canterbury and of Bristol, by Archdeacon Sandford, the Master of St. John's College, Cambridge, Professor Maurice, the Head Masters of Harrow, Rugby, Haileybury, and Clifton, the Hon. and Rev. W. H. Lyttelton, Professor Plamptre, Rev. W. Rogers, Rev. W. H. Fremantle, Rev. Stopford Brooke, Rev. J. Llewellyn Davies, and others. Clergymen wishing to sign the petition may obtain copies from the Rev. E. A. Abbott, 39 Abbey Road, N.V., and the Rev. W. II. Milinan, 14 Charter House Square.
Previous page
