When I ask him about the present condition of the peasantry, his account does not differ substantially from that of his elder colleague, but he does not condemn their sins in the same forcible terms.

He laments their shortcomings in an evangelical spirit and has apparently aspirations for their future improvement.

Admitting frankly that there is a great deal of lukewarmness among them, he hopes to revive their interest in ecclesiastical affairs and he has an idea of constituting a sort of church committee for attending to the temporal affairs of the village church and for works of charity, but he looks to influencing the younger rather than the older generation.
"His interest in his parishioners is not confined to their spiritual welfare, but extends to their material well-being.

Of late an association for mutual credit has been founded in the village, and he uses his influence to induce the peasants to take advantage of the benefits it offers, both to those who are in need of a little ready money and to those who might invest their savings, instead of keeping them hidden away in an old stocking or buried in an earthen pot.

The proposal to create a local agricultural society meets also with his sympathy." If the number of parish priests of this type increase, the clergy may come to exercise great moral influence on the common people..