On Tuesday the Archbishop of Canterbury made a speech of
some iniportance to his Diocesan Conference. He said the Church must become stronger, and she might be made stronger by being formed into a political party. That would not be her own act, but a certain kind of attack " would create her in- evitably, though unintentionally, into a political party " which " would be the most powerful party in the State." Let " the Clergy under any pressure be compelled to assume a political attitade, and they had a propaganda of opinion with which no organisation in any country could compare." The Archbishop strongly advocated the multiplication of Committees -as the modern method of organisation, and spoke with not unjust bitterness of the habit of refusing to the Church the right of reforming itself, solely on the plea that such a right was too great an advantage for her. We heartily concur in that protest, and believe that a serious attack on the Church might end in the formation of a Church Party ; but we should not think that the wisest method of defence, and should deeply regret to see the Church, as a Church, ally itself with either party. The party chosen would be necessarily Conservative ; and we note already that Conservative papers make the mistake of quoting the Archbishop—who is, we believe, a moderate Liberal—as advocating the clerical support of their party at the next election. Dr. Benson meant nothing of the kind, and that course would simply throw all the new electors into the arms of the Liberation Society.
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