A beneficed priest, with a living of the net value of £160 and without private means, calls our attention to the subject of the payment of the clergy. In normal times £160 could scarcely be considered an adequate stipend even for a celibate priest, still less for a priest who is, as the people generally expect him to be, a married man. But these are not normal times; in fact, the cost of living has risen at least by 25 per cent. For many of the poorer clergy this means the haunting spectre of debt, and this is a fact which churchwardens in particular and the faithful in general should bear in mind. There may be some who fondly imagine that all is well with the holders of benefices, the incomes of which have been provided by past generations. But is it really well when it is possible to see in our advertisement columns the appeal of the Poor Clergy Relief Corporation for clothes, new or old, for clerical families? This year an effort should be made by the laity, even if they are themselves hit by the war, to increase their Easter offerings to the extent of balancing for their parish priests the difference between the cost of living in good times and that in bad times. The priest who is constantly harassed by the struggle to make both ends meet must find his efficiency sorely impaired.

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