NEWS OF THE WEEK.
DR. EDWARD WHITE BENSON, ninety-fifth Arch- bishop of Canterbury, who was on a visit to Mr. Glad- stone at Hawarden, died on Sunday morning while kneeling in Hawarden Church, either from apoplexy or the bursting -of an aneurism. The cause of death was so plain, and the circumstances so clear, that the doctors had no hesitation in granting a certificate, and thus avoiding the distressing formalities of a coroner's inquest. Dr. Benson, who was sixty-seven, was supposed at the time to be in full health, but he had overworked himself, and had been greatly moved, even excited, by his reception in Ireland, where the Disestablished Church felt itself greatly honoured and soothed by his friendly visit. His death is the loss to the Anglican Church of a man who was worthy to fill its highest position. Not remarkable as a theologian, and surpassed by many of his clergy in eloquence, Dr. Benson may still be ranked among the greater Archbishops, for he was a great ecclesiastical lawyer, he understood ecclesiastical states- manship, and without any priestly arrogance he could claim and maintain for his own a grand position among the Churches of the world. His judgment in the Lincoln case ended a deplorable contention which at one time rendered a schism not impossible. It was almost avowedly a politics decision, but it bad the rare good fortune of moving all concerned to a peaceful acquiescence. As Master of Wellington College and as Bishop of Truro Dr. Benson displayed unusual administrative skill; but the business of an English Archbishop is rather that of a diplomatist than an administrator, and Dr. Benson, by his wide knowledge, fine temper, and devotion to his Church, was unusually fitted for the part.
