Welsh Disestablishment.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 15, 12 October 1907, Page 5

Welsh Disestablishment.

■]" J : 'V ;« ; • NOT TO BE DROPPED. (Ree. -Oct. 11, 11.43 p.m.) • By TelOEraph.—Asaociatioi).-Copyright. London, October 11. v The Hon. D. Lloyd Georgo, Chairman of the Board of-Trade, and M.P. for .Carnarvon, spoaking at a Nonconformist Convention at' Cardiff, doolared that if tho Government wont to the country on tho Houfo of Lords question, Welsh Disestablishment would / bo in the forefront of. tho issues. .

;; A'; Nonconformist manifesto on the question of the Disestablishment of the Church in Wales, issued, recently, declared that'"the country must tako the matter into its own hands. Nonconfolmist Wales must call authoritatively upon, her 'Parliamentary representatives ti.'don their armour for, a determined fight. The Wolsh members-must malco' it clear -to the 'Government that Wales insists now upon payment for generations; of loyalty, of struggle,,of sacnficp,. and of silonce. Th'e granting. of. this oiir reasonable request v must do made a condition of the: continued allegiance of Wales and her members to the Liberal Ministry y and the Liberal party." The manifesto ■ winds up with definite recommendations how to organise the wholo denomination for, the fight, and how 'to secure- the co-operation of other denominations'. Tlio' situation' is •certainly • more ■'< threatening;- for ..tho Liberal party in Wales than it baa been within living memory. , . ■ Speaking at a. recent Church 'defenco demonstration at Rhyl, Lord Hugh Cecil, referring to. tho disestablishment ques* iion, asked what. good: was to be done by this great scheme-of spoliation.. It ■was proposed to take -away vast masses of. moneywhich, ■ great as they wore, .werei not sufficienti.as things- stood for-, the spiritual -which- lay before the' Christian -.'community!.-, -in order to weaken,. .at the very crisis of the struggle/ ota; of tli6- great - forces for good. Was there any good Nonconformist who desired: that, these things should come to pass? If Nonconformists would look' to'tho facts of the, case thev would realise - that, though they might harm': the Churoli, they could,not benefit therhselves. They - might injure one religiouS body/ribut.) , ; thafc would not do any good to,others. They would then cease*•£>;clita'o«V,':to? whiit- really _ discredited tnem, w'liilo it forced' Churchmon to spend, in' controversy what could be liiuch better spent in furthering the common 'catise. Let them go forward certain of tliis, that theirs.,.ivas_ the. cause of.. Christian faith .and Chrisiau. Bishop St. Asaph said, they all; knew his view • of disestablishment, and as to disendowment, when the Nonconformists realised'that this question was not one of Nonconformists against' tho Church, but a. question of the future of the Christian faith of this country, thev would bo drawn-; to. what-he believed -to be- tho side of justice and right.. ■