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cils bill. Resolutions concerning the liquor traffic were adopted to the effect that the house trusted that some legislative measure might speedily be passed which should largely diminish the number of places in which intoxicating liquors are sold; that it would welcome a further limitation of the hours in which public houses may be open on Sunday; and that it was of the opinion that there was need of some legislative measure for the compulsory registration and stringent control of clubs where intoxicating liquors are sold. A motion was agreed to contemplating such alterations in the service of prayer on the accession of the sovereign as shall make it generally acceptable to the people and the clergy," by bringing it into consonance with the circumstances of the empire, the needs of the age, and the feelings of the Church and nation." The report of the Committee on the Incumbents' Resignation Acts, 1871 and 1877, was discussed, and a resolution was adopted respecting it. The opinion of the house was expressed that the recommendation of the committee appointed by the archbishops with reference to the education question should be considered by the two convocations before being made the basis of any attempted legislation. The House of Laymen expressed the opinion that the permanent augmentation of poor benefices is the best remedy for the impoverishment of the clergy; recommended that a diocesan association, similar to those already existing in several dioceses, should be formed in every diocese in England and Wales; the objects for which such associations shall invite subscriptions to include an endowed fund to increase permanently the income of small benefices and a sustentation fund to assist impoverished benefices by annual grants. Several suggestions were made with reference to the Parish Councils bill. A report was made by the Committee on Christian Training in Public Elementary Schools concerning the operation of what is called the Birmingham system, and the committee was further instructed to consider and report the best method of securing to the baptized children of the Church of England who attend those schools "such definite instruction in the principles of the Church of England as will at least satisfy the requirements of the rubric in its Book of Common Prayer."

The Houses of Convocation met again April 24. In the upper house a report was adopted on the use of hymnals in the churches, showing which books stood most in favor, and revealing an "overwhelming preponderance" of one particular compilation. It also expressed the opinion of the committee that a Convocation hymnal, starting with the absorption of the best features of the three chief hymnals, would probably obtain and keep the confidence of the English Church. A report recommending an amended scale of ecclesiastical fees was adopted. Concurring with the resolutions on the subject of temperance passed by the lower house in January preceding, the house further invited the attention of the parochial clergy to the opportunity afforded by acts of Parliament, and especially by the Local Government act of 1894, for the provision of such permanent counteracting agencies to the Social attractions of the public houses as free libraries, reading rooms, recreation grounds, al

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lotments, parish halls, and the like." Relative to the movement for the disestablishment of the Church in Wales, the house conveyed to the bishops, clergy, and laity of the same "its assurance of the warmest sympathy with them," and the pledge of the house to do its utmost sist the attack now made upon the Church." The lower house, on the report of the Committee on the Relations of Church and State, declared that "to sever the union between Church and state at present existing in six dioceses of the province of Canterbury, and to deprive in whole or in part those dioceses of their ancient endowments would be an act fraught with disastrous consequences to the English nation, and would be a grave injustice to those dioceses and to the whole Church of England." While generally approving the Church Patronage bill, the house decided to present a petition to Parliament for the provision of means, under proper safeguards, of getting rid of incumbents whose continuance in their cures is, through their own fault or negligence, injurious to the spiritual welfare of the parish." On the presentation of the report on hymnals, the house resolved "that it is inexpedient in existing circumstances to interfere with the clergy and congregations in the use of hymns.' The House of Laymen, concerning the Welsh Disestablishment bill, "expressed its desire to affirm" that disestablishment would be a misfortune to the country, and should be opposed by loyal Churchmen as wrong in principle and injurious in practice; that piecemeal disestablishment and disendowment such as is now proposed is open to the strongest objections, and ought to be resisted by the whole strength of the Church of England; and that the house protested against any attempt to transfer the parochial and other endowments of the Church from their sacred uses to secular purposes.

The Convocation of York met March 29. The archbishop delivered an opening address dealing with the subject of lay ministration. He pointed out that they had no hesitation about permitting a layman to minister in schoolrooms, and to conduct services and even deliver sermons there, and he advanced the proposal whether they might not be allowed to minister in the parish church. He asked the houses to consider how far it was safe or right that persons approved by the bishop should be allowed to make use of the church under exceptional circumstances and under certain restrictions. A resolution was passed in the upper house to the effect that it was expedient to authorize duly qualified laymen to preach in consecrated buildings, but as the legality of such a course had been doubted it was desirable to seek the opinion of the ecclesiastical lawyers on the question. The lower house resolved that the question was beset by so many legal difficulties that it would be advisable to defer it for further consideration. It further resolved that it recognized with great thankfulness lay ministrations under proper authority in unconsecrated buildings. The House of Laymen resolved that, while fully recognizing the importance of extending the powers existing enabling laymen to conduct services, it felt that as yet it hardly possessed sufficient information to enable it to recommend that the authorization should be extended to services in consecrated buildings. The upper

house expressed itself as unable to agree with the interpretation given by the Convocation of Canterbury to the requirements of the act of Uniformity (amended) in respect to additional services. The lower house requested the archbishop to appoint a committee to consider and report upon the subject of the law relating to ecclesiastical vestries and church wardens (involved in the pending Parish Councils bill). Liberation Society.-The jubilee of the Society for the Liberation of Religion from State Patronage and Control was celebrated in London April 30 and May 1. The report of the executive committee represented that, owing to the absorption of the last session of Parliament by two great governmental measures, the progress of all the society's minor objects had been retarded; but the complete abolition of Church establishments had been perceptibly advanced. Successful resistance had been made to a measure dealing with Liverpool churches and to the London University scheme. The action of the bishops and other friends of the Church on the Parish Councils bill, which was in some degree a measure of disestablishment, had deepened the impression that the existence of a privileged Church was obstructive to social progress. It was expected that the act would do more than promote mental activity and independence in the country. The Church of England would still have its local affairs managed by the unreformed vestry, besides a vigorous popular body, and the concessions Churchmen were already asking in this respect could only be obtained by disestablishment. The Welsh bill seemed a complete and satisfactory measure of disestablishment, but its pecuniary arrangements would need careful consideration. It would be strenuously resisted in order to defend the English Establishment, and the friends of religious equality in England as well as Wales must prepare for a struggle which must have far-reaching issues. The Scottish bill introduced by Sir Charles Cameron, for which there was little chance of progress this session, might be considered too liberal to vested interests, but the circumstances of the two countries differed greatly. If the terms offered were rejected, they were not likely to be renewed. A final struggle in Scotland must now be prepared for. Efforts to secure ecclesiastical ascendancy in connection with popular education were increasing in number and boldness. Reference was made to the opportunity which the consideration of the Church Patronage bill gave for showing that only after disestablishment could the Church devise a satisfactory mode of appointing and allocating its ministers. The report concluded by reminding the society that its aim was "not so much to right ourselves as to right Christianity." A resolution was passed expressing satisfaction with the Local Government act as a measure which effected a severance between civil and ecclesiastical matters in parochial affairs, diminished the legal powers of incumbents and other officials of the Established Church, and would lead to beneficial changes in the condition of the rural population.

Other Societies.-The annual meeting of the Liberal Churchmen's Union was held in London, April 13. Mr. George Russell, M. P.,

presided. Recalling, in his opening address, the history of the society, the president said it was mainly the product of the election of 1892 and of the general feeling of regret on the part of Liberals who were also Churchmen that the Church, both during that election and before it, had come to be identified in the eyes of the voters with the Tory party. That was felt to be a reproach which should not be allowed to continue to exist. The events of the last fifteen months had abundantly demonstrated the truth of that thought.

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The first annual report of the National Protestant Church Union showed that the number of members had reached nearly 4.000. About 48,000 pamphlets had been sold or circulated, comprising 21,000 copies of Archdeacon Farrar's tract on Undoing the Work of the Reformation.” A parliamentary subcommittee had been appointed, and the formation of a board of patronage had been considered by the council. The income of the Union was £1,500. The need of such an association as this was represented as becoming daily more apparent. Meanwhile the council had observed with much thankfulness the signs of awakened interest in Protestant principles in various parts of the country. Especial thankfulness was expressed "for the recent bold and faithful utterances of our spiritual rulers, as indicating that they are not insensible to the dangers which threaten the Church from these causes." Particular reference was made in connection with this point to some utterances of the Archbishop of Canterbury against extreme ritualistic declarations and practices; the declaration of the Archbishop of York that " England is Protestant to the core"; an exhortation to clergymen by the Bishop of Liverpool to "stand firm" in the paths of the Reformation: a declaration made by the Bishop of Worcester; and anxiety expressed by the Bishop of Wakefield on account of the growing practice of "reservation of the sacrament."

A memorial, signed on behalf of the National Protestant Church Union, was presented, in August, to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and the English bishops, calling attention to the "use of unauthorized service books, side by side with the Book of Common Prayer, in the administration of the holy communion, and also to the wide circulation of manuals, especially among the young, containing not a few of the distinctive errors of the Church of Rome." Among these are named "Notes on Ceremonial," "The Priest's Ceremonial," "The Server's Ceremonial," "The Ceremonial of the Altar," "Directorium Anglicanum," and "The Ritual of the Altar," all of which are intended, it is expressly stated by the compilers, for the use of the clergy and their assistants in the public administration of the holy communion. Numerous quotations are given from the service books, with a view to showing that their teaching is alien to the whole tenor and teaching of the Book of Common Prayer, of the Communion Office, and of the rubric at the end of the Communion Office. The archbishops and bishops are asked to express their disapproval of the use of these books by the clergy and to discountenance their circulation.

The Irish Episcopal Church.-The twentyfourth report of the Representative Body of the

Episcopal Church in Ireland gave a more satisfactory account of the financial condition of the Church than did the previous report. The contributions from voluntary sources amounted to £156.597, showing an increase of £5,695 over the amount in 1892. The parochial assessment account for stipends amounted to £2,144, showing a considerable decrease. The contributions received from voluntary sources since disestablishment amounted to £4,376,197. The total revenue was £487,681, and the total expenditure £421,553, leaving a balance in hand of £66,128.

At a meeting of the bishops of the Church of Ireland, held Feb. 20, letters were read from the Archbishop of Dublin and the Bishops of Clagher and Down, in reference to the consecration of bishops for the Reformed Churches of Spain and Portugal. The letters recited that the decision of the bishops in 1889 adverse to the consecration of these bishops under the sanction of the Irish Church was not based upon the ground of principle, but upon a difference of opinion which existed on the subject, and upon a hope that the churches mentioned might before long obtain consecration from some other source. The difference of opinion had now undergone considerable modification, and the hope had been disappointed. Further, the lapse of time had materially strengthened the claims of the churches requesting the service. During the fifteen years that had elapsed since they first came with their petition they had met with much discouragement and hostility, but had nevertheless "adhered with singular patience and steadfastness to the resolve that, come what will, their churches shall be organized after the primitive model." The writers were determined, unless they met with formal protest from the bishops or General Synod of the Church, to visit Spain and Portugal, and there consecrate for each of the two churches a bishop-provided the synods of those churches affirm guarantees similar to those which they offered, of their own accord in 1883, and that provision is made for an endowment fund. A resolution was adopted authorizing the course marked out in this letter.

The Reformed Church in Spain.-The Archbishop of Dublin with the Bishops of Clogher and Down, representatives of the Irish Episcopal Church, proceeded to Madrid in September, and with due form consecrated Señor Cabrera as the first bishop of the Reformed or Protestant Congregations of Spain and Portugal. The new bishop at one time held a Government office at Gibraltar, but, having been converted to Protestantism, resigned his position and engaged in missionary work at Seville. He soon became the recognized leader of the Spanish reformers, and was subsequently elected bishop, but failed to secure consecration. The Lambeth Anglican Conference of 1878, when the question came before it, declined to sanction the election. The Conference of 1888 passed resolutions on the subject that did not commit it, but expressed a hope that the reformers may be enabled to adopt such sound forms of doctrine and discipline and to secure such Catholic organization as will permit us to give them a fuller recognition." These resolutions were afterward supplemented by a declaration that without desiring to interfere with the rights of bishops of the Catholic Church to

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interpose in cases of extreme necessity, we deprecate any action that does not regard primitive and established principles of jurisdiction and the interests of the whole Anglican communion." While the Irish bishops at that time declined to consecrate Bishop-elect Cabrera, Archbishop Plunkett, in his private chapel, ordained a Mr. Cassels, in 1891, to serve in Spain. The discussion which this act aroused in England resulted in a protest deprecating interference on the part of the Church of England with the Church in Ireland in the conduct of the relations between itself and the Spanish reformers who had appealed to it for help. Among the signers of this protest were the Deans of Llandaff and Canterbury, the Master of Corpus, the late Prof. Jowett, and Archdeacon Farrar. Subsequently, the Archbishop of Dublin went to Spain and opened the church at Madrid of which Señor Cabrera was the pastor. The adherents of the Reformed community in Spain are represented by Archbishop Plunkett to number nearly 3,000 souls. They are found in Madrid, Seville, Malaga, Salamanca, Valladolid, the neighborhood of Barcelona, and other centers of life. The congregations among which they are distributed have their vestries, and each sends a clerical and a lay delegate to a central synod, which meets when occasion demands. They have a liturgy and a hymnal of their own. Their buildings at Madrid include a handsome church, a synod hall, a residence suitable for a bishop, and accommodations for students for the ministry.

The Church Congress.-The Church Congress met at Exeter, Oct. 9. The bishop of the diocese presided and delivered the opening address, in which he touched upon a number of topics relating to the condition and interests of the Church and its work. The first subject discussed was the relation of cathedrals to the work of the churches; upon which the Bishop of Peterborough read a paper on "Cathedrals in Relation to the Cathedral City, the Diocese, and the Church at Large." Archdeacon Robeson discussed the financial aspect of the subject, Canon Cornish considered the attitude of the parishes toward the cathedrals, the Earl of Mount Edgecumbe spoke on the management of new cathedrals, the Dean of Chichester on cathedral worship, and the Dean of Norwich on the ministry of hospitality as a duty of cathedrals. On the subject of biblical criticism papers were read by the Bishop of Gibraltar on "The Grounds of our Belief in the Divine Origin and Authority of the Bible"; by Prof. Driver, on "The Growth of the Old Testament"; by Dr. Stanley Leathes, on "The Organic Unity of the Old Testament"; and the Rev. Dr. Sanday, on "The Fullness of Revelation in the New Testament." Papers relating to the Catholic Church were read by Canon Meyrich on National Churches," and Canon Overton on " The Church of England and Nonconformity." The subject of "Christian Doctrine in its Relation to (1) Agnosticism; (2) Indifference; and (3) Anarchy and Atheism," was discussed by R. H. Hutton, editor of the "Spectator," in reference to Agnosticism; and the Rev. R. Bayne, of Whitechapel, in reference to Anarchy and Atheism. Other subjects presented in papers and general discussion were: "Temperance Work and Legislation"; "Ele

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mentary Education"; "The Care of the Poor"; The Church in Country Districts"; "Secondary Education and Public Schools"; "The Present Relations between Morals and Politics"; "The Relations between Morals and Commerce"; "The Ethics of Amusements," including athletics, field sports, the theater and the music hall, and club life; Church Reform and Discipline"; Central Church Organization"; "Church Worship"; "Church Defense "; " Training and Studies of the Clergy"; "Clerical Ministration and Church Finance"; "Work among Soldiers and Sailors"; "Church Work and Workers"; "Sunday Schools," in the three aspects of catechizing, the keeping of scholars under religious influence, and the training and recognition of teachers; The Care of the Poor"; "Religious Life in the Church: (1) How affected by Party Spirit in Different Schools of Thought; (2) How best promoted in Ordinary Life"; Characteristics of Christian Ethics as compared with some nonChristian systems (Hinduism, Buddhism, Mohammedanisin, Confucianism, and those of the Roman Empire in the third century after Christ); and Church Worship and Hymnology. The meeting of women workers considered the special characteristics of woman's work, “What Women can do to raise the Standard of Morality," temperance work among women, the training of women for the Church's work, the protection of working girls, and "First Principles in Women's Education.'

ANTWERP EXPOSITION. Preliminary. The great World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 had scarcely been fully inaugurated when the official announcement of an international exposition of arts, sciences, and industries, to be held in Belgium in 1894, was received. Antwerp, on the river Scheldt, the principal seaport of Belgium, and the outlet of much of the commerce of the Flemish Netherlands, the Rhineland, and the western provinces of Germany, was chosen as the most desirable place in which to hold it. Government appropriations were made, buildings were erected, and May 5 was designated as the time for opening. Exhibits from all nations were solicited, and as vessels of 8.000 tons could sail direct to the place, an important problem in transportation was easily solved. The opportunity so happily seized upon by California to hold a Midwinter Fair subsequent to the close of that in Chicago led to the transportation of many of the exhibits to San Francisco, and thence to Antwerp.

Administration.-The management of the Antwerp Exposition was in charge of an extended list of officials under the honorary presidency of the Count of Flanders, brother of Leopold II. It included Count Pret Rooze de Colesberg, president of the executive committee, M. Hertogs, director-general, and Count de Ramaix, secretary-general. M. Hertogs, who is also a town councilor of Antwerp, devoted his chief attention to the erection of the buildings, while the Count de Ramaix, a deputy for Antwerp, was occupied in the work of securing exhibits.

Location. The grounds selected for the fair were in the southern quarter of the city, bordering on the river Scheldt, and included the historic site of the old South Citadel, built by the Duke of Alva. They covered an area of more

than 200 acres, and besides being directly connected with the principal railways, were easily accessible from the city by means of street cars and omnibuses.

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Buildings. The main buildings, designed by M. J. L. Hasse, covered over 1,100,000 square feet and were continuous. They consisted of a hall devoted to the display of industrial and commercial products, from which it was possible to pass direct to a smaller building in which were the electrical exhibits, while by means raised corridor access was had to the hall assigned to machinery, besides which there was a festival hall covering 54,000 square feet and capable of seating 5,000 persons. These exhibition halls were built of iron and steel and were roofed with zinc. They were devoid of architectural features, for none of them were monumental in appearance or even elaborate in design. There was a certain amount of decoration on the long low façade that formed the principal front facing upon the beautiful Avenue du Sud, one of the great boulevards of Antwerp, but no money was spent on ornamental effects. The roofs were small in span and simple in construction, the result being a long series of welllighted galleries, unobstructed by heavy columns or springing of massive arches. The grounds, carefully laid out by a landscape gardener, contained exhibits of trees, shrubs, and other products unsuitable for exhibition in the principal halls, as well as minor buildings and pavilions. Among the popular attractions were a Street of Cairo, a Turkish village, a Chinese bazaar, a captive balloon, an Indian village, a Wild West show, Captain Boyton's water entertainment, and similar enterprises. Chief, however, among the outdoor exhibitions were the Congo settlement and Old Antwerp. The former included an admirable panorama of the Congo region; a very complete series of exhibits of the natural and artificial products of the Congo Free State; and an extensive open-air encampment copied in every particular from a Congolese village in which natives occupied the quarters prepared for them. Old Antwerp represented an entire quarters of the ancient city reconstructed with such consummate ingenuity and skill that the unaided eye could hardly detect the artificiality of the materials of which it was composed. The streets and monuments, the churches, theaters, and houses-90 famous old structures in all

presented as substantial an appearance as those of Antwerp of to-day, only the time was that of the sixteenth century. Realism was carried to the highest pitch in this quarter of the exhibition, for not only were the buildings perfect in every detail, but the most minute care was taken in preparing the costumes of all the occupants of the buildings, where the pursuits of the time were carried on. Here also were held at appropriate times many of those gorgeous historical fêtes and processions for which Belgium has long been famous. But this structure was unfortunately destroyed by fire before the close of the exposition. A special building belonging to the Royal Society of Fine Arts, also in the grounds, was used for an exhibition of paintings, sculpture, engravings, and architecture, to which artists of all countries had been invited to contribute.

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