Social gossip has, as usual, made merry over the delay
of Dr. Benson in accepting the Primacy, as if such coyness could only be the result of a conventional reluctance to accept ecclesias- tical sway. In reality, however, quite apart from the very serious doubts which any man, however able, may cherish as to his fitness for a very difficult post—especially if he be con- scious, as Dr. Benson, perhaps, may be, of a somewhat eagerly combative spirit, —the pecuniary obligations of a new Primate are, we believe, by no means trivial. A contemporary even goes so far as to say that something like £30,000 must be found by him, either by way of security, or by way of a life investment in property that must be depreciated during the tenancy of the incoming Primate and which, therefore, can never be restored intact even to his representatives after his decease. Surely this alone is enough to make a man who is not wealthy hesi- tate before accepting such obligations. It would be well, we think, 89 long as the Church continues to be connected with the State, that less serious difficulties should be put in the way of choosing the absolutely fittest man,—whether poor or not,—for the Primacy.
