Page:Distinguished Churchmen.djvu/41

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THE BISHOP OF LLANDAFF
19

Bishopric, because I could not see what good I could accomplish while thus badly handicapped. There was such a dearth of churches, affording such limited accommodation, that it seemed impossible to teach and retain those who were already resident Church people. What was to be done with those who were coming into the Diocese, especially the Church people? Take one instance. The Rhondda Valley is one of the great mining districts. At the beginning of the century it had a population of 501; to-day it has at least 100,000. When I came into the Diocese, eighteen years ago, the Church accommodation in that valley was for something like 4000 persons. There is to-day, I suppose, accommodation within it for certainly 15,000, if not more.”

Although his lordship, beyond the bare statement of his inclination, was dumb on the point, the public know that he did not resign his See, and that, to use an expression which has become popularised, he took the bull by the horns, and by so doing by no means found himself upon the horns of a dilemma. Questioned as to the encouragement he received in his determination to grapple with the difficulty, his lordship's face brightened as he replied, “Yes; I was very much encouraged by the response to my appeal for Church extension. The fact that I got the amount I asked for goes to prove that. It is interesting