The newspapers, some months ago, announced and commented on the proposal to revise the canon law of the Church of England, and a handsome volume was produced by the Commission appointed in 1939 by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. It was published by the S.P.C.K. in 1947, and contains, together with a number of very scholarly introductory articles, the draft of a proposed scheme of ‘The constitutions and canons ecclesiastical of the Church of England, 194—, with annotations’.

This publication is of the greatest interest, not only to members of the Church of England, but to all students of canon law, who cannot but welcome the perfecting of ecclesiastical discipline, wherever it may be, and the reading of these proposed canons will most certainly evoke in every canonist’s breast sentiments of sincere admiration, of puzzled wonder, or of charitable disapproval, as the case may be. Therefore, it should cause no offence if, in a review like Blackfriars, we take the liberty of putting on paper some observations which it has occurred to us to make when running through this interesting document. This we do in no spirit of carping criticism, but with the sincere desire of contributing something objective, and possibly constructive, to this important undertaking.