A CHURCH APPROACH.

The article explores the report, Christianity and Industrial Problems, from the Archbishop of Winchester's Fifth Committee of Enquiry. The report does not put forward a body of doctrine as does the Cities Committee as to how Eutopia may be attained, but it is full of repentance for past shortcomings and of the desire for better things. It is at this stage that far-reaching and mentally revolutionary conceptions such as those of the Cities Committee can be entertained and adopted. The accusation brought against the report by some Guild Socialists and others, that it does not put forward definite and far-reaching remedies for the present state of class-war is at least premature. If the Church can rouse its members to realize the evils of capitalistic society it is doing a much needed preparatory task of purification. When this is accomplished it will naturally go on to adopt a third alternative which will take us away from the régime of repression and reprisals which we know. The summary of a part of the report states that the fundamental evil of modern industrialism is that it encourages competition for private gain instead of cooperation for public service. Among the minor recommendations would definitely attack anti-social interests in every town in the country and which are usually considered highly controversial. The first recommendation is that in order to secure the publicity which is essential to the realization of social responsibility, the names and addresses of all owners of urban land and house property and of all other persons having a legal interest in them should be registered with the local public authority, and should be accessible to the public. Second, in order to facilitate the orderly and healthful growth of towns, local authorities ought to have power to acquire and hold land for such purposes as they may deem proper. Third, in order to discourage the withholding from the market of land, urban land should be specially and heavily rated.