No attempt is made where action was taken by one House and not by the other in 1916 to make any record of this fact. This is not because the action of one House or the other at that time is not of interest, or has not been carefully considered by the Commission, but because any attempt to record such actions would complicate the report, and also because an item which failed to pass the Convention has no standing, and must necessarily be approached as new material.

Every memorial presented to the Convention, or received by the Commission, from Provincial Synods, together with every resolution presented to the Convention and referred to the Commission, has received very careful consideration. The final result of the Commission's study of these matters will appear in the Schedule as reported. It is not deemed necessary to refer specifically to each individual reference of this kind.

It may be said, furthermore, that every communication or suggestion by letter or otherwise which has come to the Commission has received the most careful and painstaking consideration.

The report is signed by the Chairman and Secretary of the Commission, and it is in

tended by this method to signify that the great majority of the recommendations are unanimously approved by the Commission, or have a substantial unanimity. There are, of course, items from which any given member of the Commission will dissent, or in regard to which he may feel indifferent. It is understood that any member of the Commission is free to express his dissent in regard to any item, either in the Convention or in any way which may seem best to him.

The names of the members of the Commission from the beginning are printed on another page, in such a way as to show both the present members and the changes which have been made from time to time.

There are certain matters in regard to which the Commission wishes to make comment, though in general it is believed that it will be best to let the Schedule speak for itself. These matters are here taken up under numbers corresponding to the numbered sections of the Schedule.

I. (a) The Order of the Parts.-Changes have been made in the order of the parts of the book for practical reasons, and in the belief that they will render the book more easily usable. The same reason applies to

the titles which are suggested for the different divisions of the book.

(b) Omissions.-It will be noted that Forms of Prayer to be Used at Sea, and the Visitation of Prisoners, are dropped from the Book of Common Prayer, only a prayer from each being retained among the Prayers and Thanksgivings. It does not seem necessary to print the Office for Thanksgiving Day as a separate Office, and its parts have accordingly been distributed. Especially is it to be noted that Family Prayer has been removed from the Prayer Book proper, with the proposal that it be printed at the end of the volume after the Articles of Religion, a place which will more readily command attention. Certain additional prayers have been provided that they may be tested by use, and that in this collection prayers may be withdrawn or added from time to time without the necessity of going through the usual process of Prayer Book revision.

(c) New Services.-There is only one new Office proposed for the Book. This is the Office for the Admission of Deaconesses. It is believed that the inclusion of this Office will commend itself, and that it is the mind of the Church that the work of women in the

Church should be recognized by giving this Office a place in the Book of Common Prayer.

The

The Commission has considered the question of including other new Offices which are not for Special Occasions, like the Admission of Deaconesses, but for general use. greater flexibility which is recommended in the new General Rubric "Concerning the Service of the Church" gives opportunity for the use of such Offices. Nevertheless, the Commission does not deem it wise to propose the incorporation of new Offices in the Prayer Book itself. It does deem it desirable, however, that the General Convention should sanction the experimental use of certain new Offices, such as a Short Office of Prayer, the Office of Compline, an Office for Missions, and certain others, the intention being that these should be placed immediately after Family Prayer with its additional prayers, and be bound up with the Prayer Book between the same covers.

(d) The Calendar of Memorial Days.-In advocating the printing of certain names against the appointed dates in the Calendar, the Commission believes that it is giving expression to a growing need for a larger realization on the part of the Church of the

In

Communion of Saints. The observance of days of commemoration in various places in the Church is proving helpful. In some cases men are commemorated who have lived and influenced the Church in recent years. compiling a list, however, the Commission has found the difficulties in the way of including the names of more recent worthies to be practically insuperable. The list proposed is therefore the traditional one of the so-called Black Letter Saints. This has, however, been carefully studied, and additions and subtractions have been made. It should be stated, furthermore, that the compelling argument for proposing this list in the mind of the Commission was a practical one. There is no Church in Christendom more truly cosmopolitan than ours, and it seems peculiarly appropriate that somewhere in the Prayer Book days should be appointed for the commemoration of patron saints of various nations and races. Moreover, there are many churches bearing the names of some of these saints, and these parishes may very naturally desire to observe their name-days. The Commission recommends as a part of its report a common Collect, Epistle, and Gospel for a Saint's Day, and this may obviously