Mr. Jacob Bright has- found a new argument- against the -
Established Church, which be explained to his Manchester con- stituents in the Free Trade Hall on Tuesday. night. It is- that' the Established Church is a Parliamentary Church, and- that- Parliament consists almost wholly of rich men, and since rich men • are to find almost as much difficulty in getting into the Kingdom of God as a camel in passing through the eye of a needle, it is not fit and right that they should have so much. influence. We imagined Mr. Jacob Bright had 'ha& more sense. Does he suppose that Mr. Beresford Hope, M.P., for instance,—a great pillar of the Church,—if- he were cut off from all ecclesiastical legislation as an M:P., would have less influence in the Church as a rich man? Would riches be leis powerful in the Church if there were no Parliamentary power- to regulate the Church-? No, but more. At least the rich men of Parliament have, usually, poor constituencies which they try,. more or less, to represent. But as mere subscribers to a Church, their influence would vary far more- exclusively in proportion to their wealth. It is all very well to try for a fresh argumeht on a. worn-out subject, but the fresh argument should not be an insult. to poor men's understandings.
Previous page
