THE STANDARD OF ORTHODOXY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11986, 7 June 1902, Page 4 (Supplement)

THE STANDARD OF ORTHODOXY.

m ' Is the course of a thoughtful article in the Contemporary Review, on "The Standard of Orthodoxy," theßev. J. Gamble mentions' . facts that will be new to some of our leaders: -7 •. .•'•■■ If the revenue of every benefice. in the country could be raised at once to £500 a year'-would not the ? ablest young men in ; the Universities still shrink from Holy Orders? 'Of this one.striking* fact f' seems 'to, afford conclusive; evidence—a fact to which l it is surprising that greater prominence has not- been «given -in - this discussion. - * Some' of the Bishops in. Convocation f did indeed |i;-V;: rank among the reasons for the scarcity .of candidates - the \ startling v decrease/- in the number of clerical masters in public schools. ■ ' ■• '. But none of the speakers in the debate made ny attempt to ; account in, its turn for this i diminution. That it exists and has long been "in progress the following. figures will show. In 1871 there were in Eton 908 boys and 43 masters, of whom 20 were in; Orders; in 1901 !>>:,v there were• 1034"boys and 56 masters, of, ■ whom only 9 were in Orders. In Winchester, out of a total of 18 masters in 1871, 11 were clergymen; in 1901, out of a total of 28, only 7 were clergymen.;; In Harrow, in fc- 1871.; out of 27 masters 9 were in Orders; in 1901, out' of 42 ; masters,, 4 lonly, were in. Orders: And these figures might be paralleled by statistics equally startling from many other schools. Their full significance is' realised only when we bear in mind that I the worldly considerations which do often .£'■;'„ unquestionably deter ordinary men from taking Holy Orders { are. in the case of schoolmasters, weights put into the opposite scale. Every worldly ; reason is. present to induce a schoolmaster to take Orders. He cannot rise to the highest position in his profession •unless he is a clergyman. /It is indeed a I''- . matter of common knowledge that the governing body of more than" one great.' school , has. been i seriously embarrassed; within recent years by the difficulty of finding a clerical . headmaster whose fitness in other rev" spects for the post will be equal to that of j his lay cpmpetitors. SSi'v-' ; ; : ■■■••• ■••* ; ; - ■' -?v-7