DEARTH OF CLERGY.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 191, 7 May 1908, Page 4

DEARTH OF CLERGY.

ITS CAUSES. ' , ' <, A HOPEFUL VIEW. • , • [bt telegraph,-—press abspciation,] > Chrlstchurcli, May 6. ' i In • the course'of a recent • mterview.jin. ■ ■ Dunedin tho Primate (Bishop Nevill) stated. ' that; young men'', were not coming'forward /in -, y any numbers to take positions as clergymen.':. He gave his views: on tho : subject, stating ■' : ■ that/in all probability pcoplo were too prone nowadays to look.'upon wealth as the source of all satisfaction. 1 , ' A/Teportcr'.,who /'intei-- / viewed the liev., C. W. Carrington gleaned; I some information of ail,interesting 1 charac- . ter. (hrrington is tho. principal of, tho . ■v' ; " upper department of Christ's pollege, and ..is . 1 ' in chargo of ' the , theological "• 'lego House/' 'In'/'diicussjiijj th'e:j : <i%Bti6n.'-l}os > '!./'spoke'hopefully■ $Hs- boing"; done, 'and/s:BMiribd. ( .itliq^'ugttS ;6f: ? ;.\',";tho'':future;'." : .V ,7 -' : .#^ . .".The dearth,"-.;said Mr.' Gjirrin'gton, "is- ■: partly: in.'coiiseqUQnco/of^.soolal'-schanges, irt' . //the last'tialf', : -hal J explained, the. seryicoipffttKe churtlrwaß Con- . 'Jsidered n credit&blo and not • unluerative calling for youiig men of the 'upper classes. Good livings and good society were obtain- •■■■■ able,' but in England .the;.,value': of the: liv.-. . : , -ings had .become,so.' reduced?.that. that',MtWo f ; . had " disappeared/ .and .'/parents 'preferred to: : put their.sons into business which waa now considered thoroughly, rcspectablo. Nobody would seek holy orders nowadays' Unless in real earnest, and that was on the whole a .very good tiling. ' ■ At, tho. present time the number of earnest .young'men i .who,,;did^.desije;.hply:^r.dors ti ; was. becoming more' and:'moro encoriraging," ' . . but the great difficulty -' was one'-'of/fm.-uico. The public rightly looked for a, highly eduV : cated: clergy', but' thoy would, not pay -for its education, iior support it properly when educated. Parents would not pay for a university education, for' a'boy, oaiid: ,maintain him. to tho i ■age for: ordination,,iwithvthp.-riP'iP-Wpct'.Qf) a,., i', .starvation. career .at./ : thp.':hVnd3. or , ioners when tliey might put him into' a' luci-oV ' tivo business when lie reached eighteen, and • it needed a good .deal of"devotion/'in ■a'Tad' . to tackle a job with, so Jittle,..prospect.^to,, ' encourage him. "'ln- an averago'vicarage tho parson was expected to. keep up ( his sociaj . standing, keep a liorso or horses,''and' p'r'oW ably groom; them, himself,. : lccojy'his.'clericai' *- work going, and keep his temper-oil a 'fixed income which hoicould. not possibly increaso: of, say, : £200 a, year. The people .preferred 1 ■ him'to bo married. 'They could starve: Mm . out if they did wot like him. Their profits f or wages rose in prosperous, .times, his inf., come was stationary when, perhaps, the "cost' / . of living had increased. -The. parson .did not : wish to bo rich, but ho did want to. bo free - from anxiety if his work 'was;.to• be doiio properly. s. aw Mr; Cnrrington;added that;if..tho. laity •i' would make it clear, not only 'that they /'■' /• -wantod a well-educated and efficient clergy, •-'-'•but', that they;;wero, prepared to assist, in, - their education ; and maintain'-thorn 'in -a se- ' euro and honourable/position thoro would be7littlo''dilEcult'y 'ih''obtaining men of tho right stamp/for ■ tlioro % no' ' calling," ho added, .in which a man worth' ' his salt, can gain j greater influence or bettor. . realise the highest ideal."