Wales had now won full political recognition, and its members were in a position to bargain with the Liberal leaders for the inclusion of such measures as Welsh Disestablishment and Disendowment in the party programme. After long waiting, and much acrimonious {244} discussion, that measure became law in 1914. It was a great act of justice, and its benefits have been felt by the formerly Established Church no less than by the Free Churches. Indeed, one of the most wonderful and hopeful things in the recent history of Wales is the way in which the new Welsh Church has organized itself, and adapted itself to the new situation. It is now a truly national body, with its own Archbishop and a thoroughly democratic constitution, in which the lay element counts for at least as much as the clerical. * * * * * Thus from being the last refuge of hunted tribesmen, a land swept time after time by the tide of invasion, Wales has come to be actively and amicably associated with England in her high destinies. Everywhere Welshmen are participating to the uttermost in the wider life of the Empire. In all the professions, in literature, in the arts, in trade, in the Civil Service, in the Army, in the Navy, and in the Diplomatic Corps they are winning distinction for themselves. The outlook in Wales is full of promise. The old period of antagonism between Welshmen and Englishmen seems, happily, to have come to an end. The democracy has won the day; and all obstacles in the way of the {245} development of what genius lies hidden in the people have been removed. Home Rule is sometimes spoken of, but it is generally by theorists and doctrinaire pedants. Most patriotic Welshmen would be content with a slightly increased measure of local autonomy. The vast majority of the nation are satisfied that equality of opportunity for all the inhabitants of the British Isles, irrespective of race, has been achieved, and that in literature, in art, in music, in scholarship, in the professions, in politics, and in commerce there is nothing to hinder a Welshman from winning any distinction he may merit. The discordant cry of the extreme nationalist is occasionally heard, with its glorification of all that is vulgar and unworthy of preservation in the Welsh tradition. But this wins little sympathy. As a whole the people have seen a fairer vision than that of an independent Wales: the vision of a Commonwealth living a life of ordered prosperity; upholding and illustrating the great principles of justice, equality, and freedom, to secure which so many eyes have been dimmed with tears and so many fields sodden with blood; a Commonwealth in which Wales, in virtue of its splendid tradition of passionate idealism and of tireless spiritual effort, shall enjoy a foremost place. {246} APPENDIX ILLUSTRATIVE PASSAGES FROM WELSH LITERATURE