and was reckless in his statements. These are things which go down with a popular audience; but with an unsympathetic audience he failed. When he attacked the Bishops, as before stated, he had an unsympathetic audience and was disconcerted; he apologised and said he was not used to speaking at such meetings.

Dr. Molesworth's voice was not nearly so powerful as Mr. Bright's, but in his younger days it was very clear, and, when occasion demanded, he was a very effective speaker; but in the ordinary routine of a clergyman's life no such occasion appears. When he spoke on the Hustings at Canterbury, more than forty years ago, his opponents were so afraid of his powers of speech, that their bands struck up to drown his voice.

At Rochdale, on one occasion, he succeeded where Mr. Bright failed, i.e., with an unsympathetic audience. Mr. Bright had collected his forces as usual at some Church meeting; the Doctor stood almost alone, like a rock in the midst of a storm. Mr. Bright made one of his violent harangues and talked of a bigoted priesthood. The Doctor gave him such an able and spirited reply, that he drew a round of applause from Mr. Bright's own followers.

Anyone who has known Dr. Molesworth for the last forty years, and has known him argue publicly or privately and on all kinds of subjects, will at once allow that, if he had gone into the House of Commons in early life, he would have been second to no debater there. Whenever he has crossed swords with Mr. Bright the latter has been foiled, and so it would have been in the House of Commons.

Yours truly,

A CHURCHMAN.

CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS

It was not long before Dr. Molesworth bestirred himself actively in the interests of education and church building. His first efforts were directed towards the building of a new Sunday-school, and a new grammar school, as the existing schools were miserable, dilapidated buildings utterly inadequate to accommodate the rapidly increasing population; and by his influence, exertion, and generous contributions he succeeded in having built an excellent grammar school and a fine national school for which he gave the site. This school was afterwards declared by the Diocesan Inspector to be the finest in the county, and the tuition under James Wrigley, who had been trained in the Masters' Training College, evoked the highest commendation.

The parish of Rochdale was enormous, extending in some directions more than seven miles from the parish church at Rochdale. It was densely populated and contained several manufacturing towns of considerable size. At that time there were eleven churches in the parish, viz. :

St. Chad's, the parish church at Rochdale; St. Chad's, Saddleworth; Holy Trinity, Littleborough; St. James', Milnrow; St. James', Wardleworth; St. John's, Smallbridge; St. Thomas', Friarmere; Holy Trinity, Dobcross; St. Ann's, Ludgate; St. Mary's, Rochdale; St. Clement's, Spotland.

As an inducement to stimulate church building, Dr. Molesworth offered to endow any church needed in his parish with £50 a year, provided that the laity in that parish would raise a similar endowment.

Under this stimulus the following churches were built and endowed: St. Alban's, Rochdale; St. Martin's, Castleton; St. James', Wardle; St. Paul's, Norden; Christchurch, Healey; St. Peter's, Walsall.

The value of the living when Dr. Molesworth was appointed to it was about £1800 a year, but it increased gradually from the beginning of his term, for the railway station had been built on glebe land; and the remainder of that land increased so largely in value that the vicar applied for an Act of Parliament, by which the greater part of the income would be made over to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, and applied to an increase of the stipends of the clergy in all the other churches of the parish above mentioned.

At the time this Act was passed the vicar's income had risen to £5000 per annum. This he might have enjoyed until the time of his death, which occurred eleven years afterwards, if his motives had been influenced by filthy lucre' (of which John Bright accused him to his followers, because he insisted on the right of the Church to Church rates).

By this Act his income was reduced by several thousand pounds a year. The Ecclesiastical Commissioners considered that this sacrifice was more than was proper and actually needed, and suggested the retention of a larger share of his income; but he persisted in his refusal to take it.