THE CHURCH AND SOCIAL REFORM.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 16, 14 October 1907, Page 4

THE CHURCH AND SOCIAL REFORM.

. Ameoting was ; held under tho auspices of the .Christian Social .Union recently "at' Exeter College, Oxford, undovithe presidency of the Bishop of Birmingham (Dr.- Gore) to consider, thi question of '"The Duty- of tho,Church in Social Reform.", ■.-;.', , .-.;. -,;.-..,'■.,;

' ;The Bishop said the Christian Church-was a; body with a creed and a literature;, both'of which led to certain ethical and moral-prin-ciples, and the object ot the Christian < Social Union, was to bring those, moral principles, or certain of them, to tho fore, and' to force them . upon: the ■ attention; of Churchmen. Ho had seen it stated-irccntly that the Christian Social Union, was.an attempt, doomed to failure, on the part of tho Church to get hold of-tho Labor party. Of course ho wished the labor of,tho country was insido the Church; and ho beliovod the -Church ought. to : bo .the true ,home of labor; but, for reasons ho , would not' 'dwell upon; them,: it had-become quite otherwise, and he fancied, if they were so foolish as to have tho desire of capturing the-Labour , party, ■: tho labour movement would; be quite ..strong enough to.resist it. :•■ And -very , wisely. For his own-part; he was quite sure labour had got, to work out,its own. problem, and make its-own mistakes; and exort its own .power on the basis of its own needs, which it fought.to understand better than anyone eso.. So he.,was quite; suro; he was Speaking tho truth whpn ho said their object was to lead ' Chiirchmen ,to iknow their: own position and .their own duty. They had neither the object nor the desire of capturing any one else. They, were also : told., they wero.- going about, to ! flatter .the working classes.- , There, again, ho • trusted,;they would do.nothin gof. ho kind. The Church; hai suffered; greatly:in tho past by. making it-self subserriont to formsof "poll-' tical'ppwor., Hβ hoped it would not do ; so.in the future. The Church;and tho Labour.party miist always act as a whole,: largely and mainly by. different means,'because tho main business, of the Church was. to wprk through character, and always to keep prominently, before people's "minds! that not- the .best and most' oxcellont of; political agencies would, over .produce the good in their,< abstract natuio' .they were intended to produce, unless there was constantly going on a transformation of human character., And, of course, ho saw ,with regard to Socialism.in particular; that any) advancp in the Socialistic direction laid on people n 'deeper,-and deeper ethical, claim', niaile a greater and greater domand on moral■ ;character, and it was. their business to keep that claim .on he moral character in view. They had got certain principles, :and those that ■ claim on the; moral,< character : in viow. ; Thoy : had got certain, principles, and.;tho3o principles had ; a very direct bearing oik tho social questions! -of tho certain* cementary .and fundamental Christian principles which had been obscured; ■"• As a ; body they woro trying to arouse the Church to'realise its duy in this , direction, and what thoy desired was that every com- , lnunity-should arouso itsovrn mombors in the sanio way, so that could combine'on a common platform when'it camo'tq tho mattor of taking action and bringing influence to bear on. society in the social interests '■■'["■ ' was the basis on which ho desired all tho different Christian communities should bo brought into common action. :