We had not space last week to mention the rejection
by the Lords of the National Assembly's Bill for the establishment of a new Bishopric of Shrewsbury. We quite understand, and in a measure sympathize with, the view that an increase in the number of Bishoprics detracts from the dignity of the episcopal office. This view has a natural home in the House of Lords. The heads of the Church, it is thought, should be Comparatively few and all men of eminence. It is said that the needs 'of the Church could be perfectly well met by the appoint- ment of more Suffragan Bishops. Some of the Bishops themselves are of that opinion—for instance, the Bishop of Durham and the Bishop of Norwich who spoke against the Bill. Apart from this doctrine of principle there is, of course, always some strong local opposition to a new .Bishopric which is regarded as interrupting an historical continuity. All the same, the scheme for the new Bishop- ric had reached its final form after most anxious and laborious discussion, and we feel that this was a matter in which the Lords should have deferred to the decision of the National Assembly.
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