Were very simple and almost universal ideas always followed, as for instance in episcopacy, which naturally adapts itself to the simplest and most common conceptions and experiences of men, in that the bishop is closely related in idea to the father of the family, or the head man of a village, or the governor of a province, or a chief of a tribe, or an autocratic emperor, or a constitutional monarch, according to the notions and experience of the people--so that a bishop is as easily understood by a nomad family, or a village community, as by a democratic nation, according to its stage of development, and if native bishops were universal, as they are not, the problem would be comparatively simple. Indeed then we need scarcely ask the question at all. Either patriarchal episcopacy, or monarchical episcopacy, or constitutional episcopacy all men can understand, whether the bishop is elected by his people, or appointed by his predecessor, or by his fellows, or both elected by his people and confirmed by his fellows--such things all men can understand and maintain, each the form suited to their own stage. But constitutional episcopacy when the people are at the patriarchal stage of development, or republicanism when the people are at the monarchical stage, they cannot understand, until they have learnt to understand it by long and slow experience. But many of the systems introduced by us are the latest and most advanced systems. How then can we discover to what extent the Christians have mastered them? We can find no question which solves this problem. We can only suggest the bare questions, what proportion of the people take a proper and active part in the system of Church government under which they live; and what proportion of the congregations take an active part as congregations in that system of Church government. ---------------------------------------------------------|-----| Number of Christians who take any part in Church | | Government by Vote or Voice. | | ---------------------------------------------------------|-----| Proportion of Total Christian Constituency | | ---------------------------------------------------------|-----| Number of Congregations who take a share as | | Congregations in Church Government. | | ---------------------------------------------------------|-----| Proportion of Christian Congregations. | | ---------------------------------------------------------|-----| Remarks and Conclusions. | | ---------------------------------------------------------|-----|