Many expressions of Charles Bradlaugh die hard, like his fame. Of course it is not to be wondered at that sensible, hard-headed Lancastrians refused to be beguiled into sharing his religious doubts; but, while firm and unbending in that sense, they treasured, and treasure still, some of his comments on their Church and the distinguished sons of their race.
“If all Churchmen were like Canon Maclure I would join the Church to-morrow.” Thus spake the great exponent of “Free Thought” on one notable occasion, and it was remarkable testimony. If the bare truth must be revealed, from his first curacy up, the man to whom Bradlaugh paid the compliment has been something of a conundrum to his fellow-churchmen, who, to adapt a phrase of a hymn well known to them all, have ever been curious in relation to his views, “the breadth, length, depth and height to prove.” The obvious reason for this is that Dean Maclure, the Canon of Bradlaugh's day, has, with acknowledged consistency, resolutely turned his back upon party spirit in the affairs of the Church. “I am a prayer-book Churchman,” he has more than once observed. And all the parties wondered! Time brought a flood of light, though not the slightest consolation to any one particular party. As a finishing touch to a stormy meeting, at which the Manchester Cathedral services in general and the Dean in
