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Chap. X1IL] Church Gatherings, various. 161
Hove (twice); Brighton (4 times); Lewes (4 times); St. Leonards (twice); Hastings (twice); Horsham (once); Tunbridge Wells (once); Rye (once). The lack of a sufficiently large room has prevented the Conference ever being held at East Grinstead, or a second time at Horsham.
Another local ecclesiastical affair on which I look back with much interest, was my work as one of the Honorary Secretaries of the Brighton Church Congress in 1901. This brought me face to face with some quaint aspects of human nature, all England in variety, and not simply Sussex local. My duties included the editing of the Official Guide of the Congress which I endeavoured to make, not only more readable than such things usually are, but more useful. I laid great stress on the importance of good maps and ample explicit railway and travelling information for strangers—a matter which has been ignored in many Official Guides, especially of later date since Jewish trade influences have been allowed to nobble the Congress far too much. If the Congress should be held at East-Bourne in 1911, I hope this mistake will be guarded against, and the Official Guide made something more than a trumpery pamphlet of speakers' names, and hymns to be sung.
Prompted by the feeling that the number of people coining to reside at East-Bourne, but making their money in London, gave the East End of London some claim on East-Bourne, on June 30, 1884, we got up a garden meeting at Northfield Grange on behalf of what was known as the " Bishop of Bedford's Fund." The Fund was represented by its Secretary, Mr. Beebe, as a speaker; and during subsequent years, the matter was taken up with great zeal in the town by others. I afterwards withdrew from the movement myself when I found that under a different Secretary and Managers no small portion of the money raised reached Clergy who defied the law respecting Ritual, and taught doctrines and practised ceremonies at variance with the Prayer Book and their Ordination Vows.a
(a) For an outrageous proof of this, see the Church Gazette, published by the National Church League, vol. xi. p. Ill, May 1910. |
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