THE ANGLICAN PRIMATE.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume II, Issue 38, 27 January 1912, Page 3

THE ANGLICAN PRIMATE.

RETURNS TO NEW ZEALAND. eHIS IMPRESSIONS REGARDING ENGLAND. After a sojurn of some months in England the Primate of New Zealand, Bihop Neville, of Dunedin, returned to the Dominion by the Tainui. arriving in Wellington on Wednesday. Though now-well past his seventieth year, Bishop Nevill retains much of the vigour of his early days, and appears to have recovered completely from the illness which overtook him while in England. “Do you think that the church is losing her influence on the people of England ■” a “ Times” reporter asked.

The Bishop replied that it was hard to make comparisons over such a wide area as the church’ at Home covered. “I went to churches of every colour.” he continued, “and 1 found that in every case the attendance was very good—much better than I expected. It is said that the men are going to church less now than formerly, but I did not find that o. Some of the churches that were surprisingly 'well attended had quite ns many men as women in the congregations. In one very high church which T went to the men were separated from the women, and there were fully as many of of the one as x the other.

“Of the working people I am not so well-qnalified to judge, as I did not go into the East End, where the greater numbers of them are, but I do not think there is any falling off in their adherence to the church. They do not like going into fashionable churches, where the people are well dressed. The fashionable churches I found were al] full, though f course ,there is a great number of people outside the church who never ittend. “1 do no; believe that the church’s influence is waning. I am not at all one of those croakers of whom one hears so much.” WORK \MONG THE WORKING CLASS. Bishop Nevill added that there was a difficulty in working among the multitude of people of the East End, as many of them were not English at all, but Jews and of other foreign races. POLITICS. "Il is not for me to criticise Parhamer.laiy affairs.” said th? bishop, “but I think there is a general feeling of disgust at the pi esent trend of things. There is a verv' strong feeling in regard to the attempt to swamp the House of Lords with tive hundred new peers. I should say that no man is much more disliked than Mr. Lloyd George. I observed this feeling not in one circle ouU. but in many classes.” The feeling in England in regard to Home Rule, Bishop Nevill thought, was that it would never be carried. H? did not enquire into th? subject especially, but, meeting and dining with various members of Parliament, that was the impression that he formed. The bishon. accompanied bv Mrs. Nevill. left i>>r the South Island by the Maori last night.