CHURCH AND EDUCATION. 211
of churches, chapels, and 'mission stations' 1,122; the monasteries or convents of men, G7 ; the nunneries, or convents of women, 214; and the colleges 18, including some preparatory colleges. Of the Roman Catholic chapels in England and Wales in 1869, there were 640 registered for marriages. There were thirteen high dignitaries of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales in the year 1869, namely, one archbishop and twelve bishops in England pre- siding over as many ' dioceses,' united in the so-called ' Province of Westminster.' The Roman Catholic Church in Scotland was presided over, in 1869, by four bishops, and geographically divided, not into ' dioceses,' but into ' districts.' These were three in number, the Eastern, the Western, and the Northern. These districts numbered 201 clergy, who served 207 chapels and mission stations. Besides these, there were in Scotland 18 convents for women and two colleges. The total Roman Catholic population of Great Britain was estimated in 1869 at 2,000,000.
The Church of Scotland differs in many and important respects from the Episcopal Church of England. The Scottish Church is a perfect democracy, all the members being equal, none of them having power or pre-eminence of any kind over another. There is in each parish a parochial tribunal, called a kirk session, consisting of the minister, who is always resident, and of a greater or smaller number of individuals, of whom, however, there must always be two selected as elders. The principal duty of the latter is to superintend the affairs of the poor, and to assist in visiting the sick. The session interferes in certain cases of scandal, calls parties before it, and inflicts ecclesiastical penalties. But parties who consider themselves aggrieved may appeal from the decisions of the kirk session to the presbytery in which it is situated, the next highest tribunal in the church. The General Assembly, which consists partly of clerical and partly of lay members, chosen by the different presbyteries, boroughs, and universities, comprises 386 members, and meets annually in May, sitting for ten days, the matters not decided during this period being left to a commission.
The dissenters from the Church of Scotland are very numerous, being estimated as comprising from one-half to two-thirds of the entire population. The largest body is the Free Church formed from a secession in 1843. Next is the United Presbyterian Church, re- cently formed from the amalgamation of several bodies of seceders, some dating as far back as 1741. The Established, the Free, and the United Presbyterian Churches may be said to divide the Scottish nation among them. There are also bodies of Baptists, Indepen- dents, Methodists, and Unitarians. The Roman Catholics have in- creased largely of late years, chiefly from the influx of Irish popu- lation. There is an Episcopal Church which includes a large portion
p 2
