REVISION OF PRAYER BOOK

Taranaki Daily News, 12 June 1928, Page 11

REVISION OF PRAYER BOOK

IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT ALTERNATIVE PLAN PROPOSED. MAY PUT END TO CONTROVERSY. British Official Wireless. Rugby, Juno 9. A new and important devclc - >ment in Prayer Book controversy v. as announced last night by Sir William JoynBon -Hicks, Home Secretary, namely, tho pr— 11 * ration of an alternative measure for consideration if the measure passed by the Churen Assembly and embodying the bishops revised proposals should be rejected by Parliament next week. The Home Secretary, who is president of the National Chureh League, and is one of the leaders of the opposition to the bishops’ proposals, stated that a committee of competent men, who were already engaged in the task, would produce a book to cover non-contentious enrichments and variations which wera found in tho "Deposited Book,” and which there was reason to believe was generally acceptable. It was only contentions matter relating to Holy Communion upon which the difference existed. It should only be necessary, therefore, to take out of the Prayer Book the contentious parts to enable a common agreement to bo reached. Such new Prayer Book measure would, of course, have to bo sponsored through the Church Assembly. Ho believed if the archbishops and bishops should agree upon a scheme of this kind the matter would go through by general consent and thus would an end be put to tho controversy. FATEFUL DECISION PENDING. GRAVEST IN THREE CENTURIES, Australian Press Association; Received June 11, 9.45 p.m. London, June 11. Interest in the Prayer Book measure overshadows everything else in Parliament during the coming week. The House of Commons, at 11 o’clock on Thursday night, following on a two day’s debate, will take the decision deciding the Church of England issue, which the Bishop of Winchester describes as the gravest in three centuries. Lobbying on a large scale, wiTh shoals of correspondence to members, has been experienced in the last few days. Sir William Joynson-Hicks and Sir T. W. H. Inkship ar© marshalling their forces and speakers against th© measure, which include Mr. Lloyd George. Forty members are ready to speak in favour, including Mr. Stanley Baldwin, Sir Robert Home and the Duchess of Atholl.

Canon Donaldson, of Westminster, struck a new note during the week-end, appealing to the Labour Party to support the Bill on the ground that it cannot consistently demand freedom for the trades unions if it denies freedom to th© church. Canon Donaldson expresses the opinion that rejection of th© measure will result in an ecclesiastical controversy occupying so much attention that social reform will be retarded for a generation. Prayers for tho rejection of tho measure were offered in many Nonconformist churches on Sunday and at tho Primitive Methodist conference.

Lobbyists agree that the decision either way will be narrow.