THE DEAN OF ST. PAUL'S.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 147, 23 June 1934, Page 8

THE DEAN OF ST. PAUL'S.

I regret that I must strike a discordant note with "M.A.T." in his analysis of Dean Inge. Alas! the Anglican Church has fallen on evil days. At one period Dean of St. Paul's was a position that carried or stood for much dignity. But to-day there is hardly any deference paid to the high officials in the Anglican Church. It is obvious that there has b(\cn a lowering of the standard in those who to-day-ill England seek admission to Holy Orders. There are hundreds of Anglican Clergymen superior to the Dean. (Many years ago Joseph MeC'abe dubbed him "a buffoon; in gaiters.") His moaning from St. Paul's only served to amuse the English people. Dean Inge, a shallow reasoner, seemed to want England to remain a petri/ied, stodgy England— a country .of Victorian stupidity, Puritanism and non-progressiveness. He failed to realise England has a glorious future. A future more intelligent, more liberty-loving, more independent, more prosperous and more courageous than the period he has passed through. He finds that "the English younger generations are losing their respect for institutions and traditions. . . . All Europe is galloping toward paganism, England leading the •way." .This means that the 'English people are proving more enlightened. There ir» no longer a subdued lower order in England. The period of

"God bless tlie squire and all liis rich relatione" lias gone, never to return. But the Dean regrets this. He fails to realise that the forces that count for progress are liberty and broadness of* outlook. "Dogmatical Christianity is doomed," lie wails. No -one will shod a tear over this. Natural progress is a vulgar iconoclast. and deals ruthlessly with the ideas of our forefathers. In the last analysis, the Dean of St. Paul's resented the transitory law that changes all social and mental •outlook. HERBERT MULVIiHILL.