Page:Distinguished Churchmen.djvu/71

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THE ARCHDEACON OF LONDON
47

part of the population. In social work its influence is very great, as Mr Charles Booth has said. We are certainly not keeping pace with the population, nor are we overtaking the neglect of past generations. There was a great deal more church-building in Bishop Blomfield's time than now. He consecrated 200 new churches during his episcopate, and it was quite a common thing for rich people to build a new church single-handed. The Bishop of London's Fund is working for this purpose; but it remains at the inconceivably small sum of £20,000 a year and has made no progress for many years past.”

“You could say much of interest about St Paul's Cathedral, no doubt?”

“When I joined the Cathedral body, thirteen years ago, Dr Church was our Dean and the other three Canons were Gregory, Liddon and Scott-Holland. Church and Liddon are dead; Gregory has become Dean; Newbolt has taken the place of Liddon; Canon Browne has come and gone, and so has Bishop Ingram; and now we have Bishop Lang as Canon. I have noticed great growth in the attendance during the thirteen years. The afternoon congregation, before which the Canon in residence always preaches, is now about even throughout the year. The dome and half the transepts are filled, and there is some part of the congregation in the nave. The largest congregation of the day is always in the evening, when the service is short and simple, and the