On Saturday last Canon Beeching preached a sermon at the
consecration of the Bishop of Chichester in Westminster Abbey, which is reported in full in Wednesday's Guardian,— a sermon which should be studied by all liberal Churchmen. Nothing could be wiser, saner, or at the same time more spiritual in the best sense, than the manner in which Canon Beeching dealt with the doctrine of the ministry. The spirit which inspires his sermon is opposed to sacerdotalism, not merely in name, but in essence. Very sound also was Canon Beeching's suggestion that the Bishops should think more and talk less, and that the true function of a Bishop was general superintendence rather than personal contact. No man requires a fresh mind more than a Bishop ; but how can a man's mind be fresh when he has to write thirty letters a day and be perpetually mobilised for insignificant action P