“He would willingly have been spared the necessity of addressing them, but that he had one strong motive for doing so; namely, that of declaring the singular benefits which this Society had been the means of conferring upon the diocese over which he had the honour to preside.”
The Bishop of Chester said—
“Over the space to which this Report refers, only seventy-one Clergymen were engaged for this population before the time when the aid of this Society came in; and this was one great reason, among many others, why he should be grateful to a Society which had enabled him to look to the vast concerns under his care with so much less anxiety of mind, as to the means provided for their discharge, than he could otherwise have hoped to have done. But there was still a vast amount remaining of the benefits which this Society had conferred upon the Church and upon the people, and which could never be stated in the words of a Report.”
The Bishop of Norwich said—
“I willingly come forward in support of the Church Pastoral-Aid Society. There are two Church Pastoral-Aid Societies: they are called rivals, but they are established entirely and solely for the purpose of doing good. I welcome the introduction and success of the Society; and I heartily wish it God speed, and that it may prosper throughout the land.”
The Bishop of Winchester having been prevented by domestic affliction from attending the last public meeting, and the Bishop of Llandaff being absent in his diocese, their testimony is derived from public declarations of a year previous, 1839:—
The Bishop of Winchester:—
“He was bound, then, in the spirit of unfeigned thankfulness, to add his testimony and expression of gratitude to those already given. He, too, could refer to that part of the country over which he presided in spiritual things, as furnishing, to his own knowledge, an amount of obligation to the Society for the timely aid it had afforded to his clergy; and in many respects he could testify both to its direct and indirect usefulness. He could point to the stimulus to good works which it had given in many quarters of his diocese, by the aid afforded through its instrumentality: he could point to subscriptions raised on behalf of additional churches; to school-rooms erected, and soon, as his Right Rev. Brother had expressed it, to be converted into places of worship, and endowed according to the use and form of the National Church.” . . . “I rejoice in the existence of this Society, and am thankful to God for having put it into the hearts of many to aid this work of faith and labour of love.”
The Bishop of Llandaff:—
“The Right Rev. Prelate said, that though it might appear late in the day, he had been anxious to make amends for apparent neglect in past time, by taking part in the proceedings of the Society, and ESPECIALLY TO EXPRESS HIS BELIEF, THAT THAT PREJUDICE, WHICH FOR SOME TIME HAD KEPT MANY BACK FROM SUPPORTING THIS DESIGN, WAS ENTIRELY UNFOUNDED. EXAMINATION AND EXPERIENCE HAD TAUGHT HIM, that general, religious, and benevolent purposes HAD ANIMATED THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, and A CAUTIOUS AND SOBER-MINDED DESIRE NOT TO DEPART FROM THE TRUE DOCTRINES AND DISCIPLINE OF THE CHURCH. HE COULD NOT BUT ADMIRE THE CHRISTIAN TEMPER AND ABILITY WITH WHICH THE SOCIETY HAD BEEN CONDUCTED, AND BY WHICH ITS MANAGERS HAD ENDEAVOURED TO LIVE DOWN ALL PREJUDICE AND OPPOSITION. HE LOOKED TO THIS SOCIETY, THEN, WHICH WAS NOT INFLUENCED BY A PARTY SPIRIT, AS A REMEDY FOR THE EVIL. He was happy to have this opportunity of testifying his cordial approval of the designs and operations of this Society.”