Incombustible Unitarian

A mild-mannered, lofty-minded Anglican is Lord Hugh Richard Heathcote Cecil, 68--brother of Viscount Cecil and of the Bishop of Exeter--for 26 years an M. P. for Oxford University, now provost of Eton. Living in a stratosphere of piety, Lord Hugh regards the Established Church as above and apart from England's Protestant sects. "Scandalous"' it was, to him, when some years ago the Bishop of Liverpool announced that he would let Unitarians be guest preachers in his cathedral. Last week in London, in a speech before the Assembly of the Church of England, Churchman Cecil again bracketed Unitarians--of whom there are 5,000 in England--with scandal.

Before the Assembly was a proposal to repeal a church law which, since the reign of Henry VIII, has forced the Church of England to consecrate any and all bishops appointed by the Crown (i.e., the Government). Speaking in favor of this, Lord Hugh reminded his fellows that the present Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, is a Unitarian, as are all his family. Said Churchman Cecil: "Whatever function he is called upon to perform under the Constitution, the present Prime Minister performs it thoroughly and conscientiously. Nevertheless ... he is ... a Unitarian Christian,* and it certainly does seem to me . . . that it is unseemly and ... in the technical sense of the word scandalous that he should have that function [advising the Crown on the appointment of bishops] to perform. If we lived in the reign of King Henry VIII a Unitarian would not be in Downing Street. He would be burned at Smithfield. And if Mr. Chamberlain has ceased to be combustible at Smithfield, that has been due to a movement of enlightenment and toleration. . . " Impressed by Lord Hugh's arguments, the Church Assembly nevertheless put off action on the repealer until its next session. The Assembly did take action en another matter put over at its last session. An Anglican layman named G. W. Currie had read, in a survey of 30.000 London houses owned by the Church, that some Maida Vale properties were "of dubious reputation morally." There were stories that girls in chains had been found in a Church-owned flat. Layman Currie moved a resolution deprecating this situation. But from testimony it appeared that, wherever possible, the ecclesiastical commissioners are getting out of bad leases, and that, according to Scotland Yard, "There is no need to capture girls and chain them up . . . . because conditions in London today are such that people go of their own accord." Almost unanimously, the Assembly voted down Mr. Currie's resolution.

* A tactful phrase. Many British and U. S. divines arjuie that Unitarians cannot be Christians since they do not believe in Christ's divinity.

* Technical sense of the word scandal: "Offense, doubt or bewilderment occasioned to the religious feelings of others by one's un-seemlv conduct."

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