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424 VIII. THE MODERN PERIOD (A.D. 18121910).
1907, contained in his charge to the Prest-mote of 1908,
a charge which must, I feel sure, have given him great
pain to deliver.
42
I count it an honour to have him for a
friend, and, should he read this book, he will believe that
1 recall his observations with the deepest sympathy. The
general result described is that the Church is unpopular
in many parts of the great diocese which he is called to
administer ;
that the attendance at its regular services is
more often poor than good, or even fair ;
that the communi
cants are in very many places few in number; that the
number of persons confirmed is declining; that there is a
great decay of faith and a growth of Socialism and in
fidelity ;
that the relations between employers and employed
are often uncomfortable, and that there is a lamentable
laxity of morals among the young people. There are also
important signs of encouragement.
We are accustomed from time to time, and, at all times,
in different parts of the country, to observe such phe
nomena here in England, and I suppose that they are
evident in all regions of Christendom. They are due,
generally speaking, to the spread of an independent
democratic spirit, which reacts everywhere against custom,
tradition and authority. They have to be met, and are
met elsewhere by a restatement of Church doctrine and
principles in a manner suited to the age, and by a frank
acceptance of new conditions, and especially by using the
principle of voluntary association, and enlisting the ser
vices of laymen, young as well as old, in their propaga
tion. This, as I shall show, is being done with consider
able enthusiasm in Sweden. But there are several special
difficulties there which ought to make English Churchmen
patient and sympathetic, if the efforts of the Church to
counteract this spirit, and to turn it into proper channels
of new life, do not develop and mature so fast as we could
hope. I will try to summarize them at the risk of some
repetition of what has already been said in the last section.
42
Tal och Foredrag, etc., Wretman s Boktryckeri, Uppsala,
1908,
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