care to devise a remedy which will not union of the church with the state, can tax the sectarians or Dissenters. It is alone prevent our infidel or irreligious absolutely necessary to prevent any re-patrons of livings from presenting here sistance on their part. Though the Epis- tical, Unitarian, worthless persons to copalians of England would never have the benefices of the church. The power objected to an assessment for the sup- of the state is required, to allow the port of a Presbyterian or Independent ecclesiastical ruler of the church to lechurch establishment, if the dynasty of gislate for the general good. The Cromwell and the Long Parliament had church, in return for this benefit, preremained permanent-though they, sub- serves the nation from anti-Christianity mitting themselves to every ordinance in all its forms. The Church of Engof man for the Lord's sake, would have lands may be called, the eclectic sect of paid every tax which the Government the Christianity of the world. It poshad imposed upon them, we cannot sesses within itself all the truth and all expect such proofs of Christian princi- the advantages which other societies of ple, from the enemies of the Episcopa- Christians variously propose to themlian establishment. My plan, therefore, selves. It enjoys the spirituality of would make an exception in favour of worship aimed at by the Dissenters, with all Dissenters, so that they should sufficient external discipline to prevent have no reason to raise the war cry against us.

We must not look for pecuniary aid from the Government, in any other form than that which the Government grants to railroads or canals, or to any public work. It is certain that Christianity is of such infinite importance to nations, as well as individuals, that the Government of England, as well as that of every Christian country, ought to be ready and willing to make great sacrifices for the good of the church of Christ. It is, however, to be feared, at this period of our history, that the state would not he disposed to take upon itself the expense of removing, either wholly, or in part, the evil which now oppresses the church. Other plans, therefore must he suggested, and a remedy must be found, which shall affect the parties more immediately interested, the patrons and the incumbents, and to a certain extent, the state.......

The patrons of livings are interested. If the value of the livings in their gift is materially increased, the advowson becomes increased in value in the same proportion. Y

come.

*

its disciples from falling into heresy or error. It comprises all the supposed excellences of the church of Rome, by maintaining a standard of faith, a gradation of ranks, and a well-defined and well-ordered authority. It possesses property of its own, and it is exempted therefore from the temptation of becoming the slave of the crown, or submitting to the caprices of the people. It is the link between the prince and the peasant. It binds man to man, and man to God. Like the sun in the heavens, it shines alike upon the palace and the cottage: and the influence of its ministers is felt through all classes of the community, from the halls of Parliament to the bed of the pauper.

In thus speaking of the blessings of Christianity, how can I pass over the clergy of the Church of England. They deserve, and receive the approbation of the wise and good. Encompassed as we are by infirmities, some few excep. tions there must, and will be found out of twenty thousand ecclesiastics: but the far greater number deserve the eulogy of Cave, and the testimony quoted

The incumbent is interested: the * In te renovatam (says Cave, in his Deobject being to improve his yearly indication to the Church of England) intuemur ævi Cyprianici simplicitatem, Constantiniani zelum ac puritatem, Theodosiani decus et EUTAğav, utinam addere liceret, et felicitatem. Vigeat apud te magis magisque antiqua fides, virtus, simplicitas; sint Laici tui moribus inculpati, in fide firmi fortesque; sint Sacerdotes

The state is interested. The Church of England deserves the approbation, the sanction, and the protection of the state which it has so long enjoyed. The

from Dr. Chalmers by Lord Henley, bent of a living to mortgage the living "How are they honored in the midst of for the building of a parsonage house. "the people in the going forth of the sanctuary. When they put on the "robe of honour, and are clothed with "the perfection of glory, they make the garment of holiness honourable."* Ithe Lords of the Treasury to issue money

trust they will ever remain faithful to their trust, and obtain that love and homage which are due to them, as the servants of Christ.

The Archbishop's Act enables ecclesiastical patrons to increase their livings by annexing to them certain tithes. The Church Building Act empowers

for certain ecclesiastical purposes specified in the act.

Here are four several laws, which enable a bishop to value-an incumbent to mortgage-a patron to contribute, and the state to assist, in the augmentation of livings.

That the governors of the same be

Let us now, then, consider what principles are sanctioned by the existing laws of the country, to enable us to complete a safe, just, efficient, and perma- I would propose, then, that when a nent removal of the evils of pluralities living is under 150l. a year the bishop, and non-residence. I find the acts of on the principle recognised in the Parliament which recognise the founda- Bounty Act, return the report of the tions of the plan which I contemplate. said living to the governors of the They are these the act called the board. Queen Anne's Bounty Act-the Gilbert Act-the Archbishop's Act for enabling empowered to apply to the Lords of the ecclesiastical patrons to augment livings Treasury for a temporary advance of and the Act for Building and Enlarg- money, not exceeding in the first ining Churches and Chapels. Though the stance any sum above 5,000l. or 5,700l., state is deeply interested in this matter, for the repayment and interest of which the parties more peculiarly and person- ample security shall be given. ally so are the patrons of the poor livings, and the incumbents of the same, together with the bishop of the diocese, upon whom the duty devolves of enforcing residence to the utmost.

In the Queen Anne's Bounty Act, or in the supplemental Act, 1st Geo. I., I read a clause which requires the bishops to return to the Board of Commissioners appointed under that act, an account of the value of all the improved livings in their dioceses. The same act also encourages the patrons of livings to make benefactions, for the augmentation of the living, on condition that the governors of the bounty will do the same.

That the Treasury be empowered to advance this sum upon the joint security of the patron, the incumbent, and the Governors of the Board of Queen Anne's Bounty. The money to be funded, or laid out in land, at the discretion of the patron and incumbent, with the approbation of the bishop and governors.

By the advance of 5,000 at four per cent., or 5,700l. at three and a half per cent., the living would be nominally increased 2007. a year.

To repay the principal, of the money borrowed, I would propose that the incumbent give security, that the sum of 1007. be paid by him, and be funded every year-and be permitted to remain The Gilbert Act enables the incum-in the funds at compound interest. By

tui justitia amicti, doctrina ornati, et sit tu omne ævum, ut hactenus, stupor mundi Clerus, Britannus. Propitius experiaris (he goes on) serenissimum Regem, omnesque in eminentiâ constitutos, ut pro quorum salute in-. dies ad Deum preces fundis eorum præsidio, muniaris, tuique omnes vitam agant quietam ac tranquillam, cum omni pietate et gravitate. Cave's Dedication to his Historia Literaria. Ecclesiasticus, ch. 50., v. 5—11.

this means, 100l. per annum, at three and a half per cent., the present price of the funds, would pay off 5,000l. in about twenty-nine years, or 5,700l. in about thirty-two years.

To provide for the payment of the interest of 5,000l. at four per cent. per annum, or of 5,700l. at three and a half per cent., I would propose, that one per cent. be paid by the incumbent,

W.

who shall mortgage his living for the man who would become security for same, or offer otherwise ample se- the regular payment of the required curity. interest.

The only question we have now to answer is in what manner can the remaining two per cent., or one and a half per cent., be raised, to assist the patron and the incumbent in their laudable undertaking to increase the value of the benefice?

That the patron be also required to give security to the bishop and the governors for the payment of another one per cent. of the same interest; and that he do this in consequence of the increase in the value of his advowson, at the end of the time, when the principal borrowed shall have been repaid. To raise, then, the remaining per The justice of thus calling on the pa- centage which is necessary to aid in the trons to contribute one per cent. will abolishing of the pluralities and non-reappear from a brief estimate of the in-sidence which offend the church, I would creased value of the advowson. The propose, that the lay-impropriators in advowson of a living will generally sell general should be required to make up for twelve years' purchase. Let us sup- the deficiency in the interest of the sums pose the living which we desire to aug-borrowed from the Treasury to augment, to be 150l. a year. The advowson ment their own livings; and that the at this valuation might be purchased Government be empowered by Parliafor 1,8001. If we add another 50%. per annum to the living, it immediately becomes worth 2,400l. At the end of the period when both principal and interest shall have been paid, and the living permanently increased to 350l. a year, it will be worth 4,200l. It is, therefore, but just that the patron should himself contribute to the improvement of his own property.

If the patron should decline paying this one per cent., he may be permitted by the Act of Parliament to sell the next presentation to any person who will engage to do so in his place. To effect a general increase in the value of benefices, and thereby to induce residence, is so important; and the lay patrons are so much interested, that every facility should be afforded, by the public law, to encourage and to assist their attempts to promote this great object.

ment to extend their present ecclesiastical inquiry to the whole of that large amount of property which was originally vested in the church, whether it be land or tithes while the bishops, in the meantime, shall ascertain from the incumbents and the patrons the number of applications that will be made for grants of the 5,000l. or 5,7001., in order that they may be made acquainted with the amount of interest that will fall to the share of the lay-impropriators, after that the incumbents and patrons have advanced their two per cent.

When this is effected, the state by Act of Parliament may assess all the lay tithe property and all ancient church landed property which have been granted to laymen by the rapacious Henry, Instead of taxing the lay-impropriators in the heavy manner in which the church itself is willing to be charged by the acts of Charles II. and by the Archbishop of Canterbury's bill, for the purpose of

The crown livings being large, would of course be exempted from the neces-raising all the poor vicarages in their sity of requiring augmentation.

Many of the livings in the gift of the Chancellor are of small value. To call upon this great legal authority to increase these by paying one per cent., upon the money borrowed for their augmentation, would be absurd. The Chancellor might be empowered, therefore, to grant the next turn of the presentation of his livings to any gentle

gift, at their own expense, to 3001, a year, I would recommend, that the lay church property in general be assessed for the lay livings in general; and thus a fund be formed, from which the remaining per centage on the sums advanced by the state might be drawn.

By this means, the incumbent of every living would be immediately benefited to the amount of fifty pounds a year.

2

At the end of twenty-nine years, or year, and of the latter at 3 per cent. thirty-two years, when the capital re- about 598,500. In either case one per ceived would have been repaid, the be- cent. or about 150,000l. would be pronefice would be worth 3501. At that vided for, by the patrons; 150,000l. by time if it seemed advisable, another the incumbents, and the remaining 5,000l. or 5,7007. could be borrowed on 300,000l. by the lay-impropriators. the same principle; the living would then be raised to 400l. a year, and at the end of the second twenty-nine years, it would be increased to 550l-and so, on this plan, the livings of England would be gradually augmented, without spoliation, to the suitable and adequate maintenance required by the ancient law. This would prepare the way for the measure proposed by Lord Henley, that residence should be enforced; and no plurality should be permitted where a living has been increased to the amount of 400l. per annum. Such would be the happy result in every living now worth 150%, at the end of twenty-nine or thirty-two years. In the course of one generation the evils of non-residence and pluralities would wholly

cease.

If the ecclesiastical part of the church is assessed to benefit the poor livings in their gift, on what principle of justice can it be enacted that they should be also taxed out of their burdened revenues to increase the livings, and add to the influence and wealth of the layimpropriators! Why should the property of the ecclesiastics be taken from them, to enable this nobleman, or that gentleman, to present his relation or friend to a more valuable living than he had formerly the power to do? Tax the church to benefit the church livings; tax the lay-impropriators and the lay patrons, to benefit the lay livings.

Before the reformation more than half the lands of England and the whole of the tithes belonged to the church. The rental of England has been estimated at 37,000,000l. Let us put it down at 30,000,000%., and take the half of this sum, which has been bestowed upon laymen. The result will be that 15,000,000l., half of the rental of England and Wales, will be subjected to the assessment, which I propose. The whole of the tithes of England and Wales, have been lately valued at 2,000,000l., one-third of which have been also confiscated to the use of laymen. One-third therefore of 2,000,000l., which is 666,666., will fall under the census I wish to establish. The confiscated rental added to the confiscated tithes, will give 15,666,6661.; one and a half per cent., or two per cent., upon this sum, will be sufficient to meet the 300,000l. of interest, to be advanced by the lay-impropriators, as the assessment upon the lands which formerly belonged to the church.

I would propose, then, that after the bishops have reported the exact number of poor livings in the gift of laymen; and after the return also of the extent of lands and tithes once belonging to the church, but now possessed by laymen, is completed and given in; that the Government assess all such lands and tithes, to the amount necessary to meet the interest required to enable the lay Let us now suppose, that the incum-patrons and incumbents of the smaller bents, and lay patrons of each of the benefices in the gift of laymen, to augthree thousand poor livings in their gift, ment such benefices to the amount of make application to the interest fund 300l. per annum. raised by the contributions of the lay- This plan is not only efficient, but it impropriators for the purpose of increas-is just. For while the ecclesiastical ing the value of their separate benefices part of the church have agreed to take we shall find, that the sum which care of their poor benefices, it calls would be demanded from the Lords of upon the laymen to make a competent the Treasury, would amount altogether provision for their own impoverished to 15,000,000l, or to 17,000,000l. of benefices; and to remove that humi money. The interest of the former sum liating poverty of which themselves 4 per cent., would be 600,000l. a alone are the cause. I have demon

and that the means of grace should be
freely and ever open.
For this great

strated by unanswerable documents, that the ecclesiastical part of the church is totally incompetent to remove the evil. and holy purpose it is necessary that If all, aye all, the ecclesiastical reve- every parish should have its resident nues were to be at this moment equally clergyman, for whom a competent divided among the poor livings, they maintenance should be provided. God would not be raised to 300l. a year, is the King of kings, and the Lord of while the whole church would be re-nations; and kings and nations are reduced to one hopeless, remediless, pain- quired, as their first duty, to provide ful, state of poverty. The clergy have made, and are willing to make every sacrifice. Let the laity who possess the largest share of the revenues, formerly appropriated to the support of the Christian religion among us, he required to do the same. They have as yet done nothing. It is not just that those who receive ecclesiastical revenues, should be called upon to contribute to the support of that sacred service, for which those revenues were originally bestowed.

for the establishment of true religion, and by so doing to provide for the best happiness of their subjects and people. The king or senate, the magistrate, or government, or by whatever name the sovereign power of a people may be designated, which does not provide for the propagation of the faith of the Son of God, among the people over whom he may be appointed to rule, is guilty of the violation of the most sacred duty,, which can devolve upon a rational, accountable, and religious being.

The plan is just, as it affects the To these advantages it may be added, Dissenters; for it does not expose them that the plan I have proposed is strictly to any tax for the benefit of those insti- and wholly conservative. It maintains tutions which they are pleased to dis-all the existing framework of the church. approve. Many Dissenters are, how-It makes no innovation, while it effects ever, the owners of lay tithes. These, the most extensive, and most desirable: of course, could not be exempted from improvement. It keeps all things in the operation of the act.

their places. It proposes no capricious, The efficiency of the plan, too, is useless, harsh, arbitrary changes. It is more evidently developed, when it is opposed to the principle of the leveller, taken into account, that at the end of who would reduce us all, to an equal the twenty-nine years, or thirty-two and degrading poverty. It is opposed years, when the first sum borrowed, to the Jacobin in religion, who would will have been replaced, application dishonour the bishops by committing may be made for another 5,000l. or their power to the hands of self-elected 5,700, so, that the benefice, may be societies. It puts to silence the clamour increased indefinitely, to any amount. of the enemy, on the only point in which The plan is worthy of the greatness the church can with justice be attacked. of the nation. Fifteen millions of money Nor is this all; the great and peculiar. may at first sight appear to be a large advantage derived from my plan appears sum. But it must be considered that it to me to consist in this, that it strengthens is only borrowed for a definite time, the sacred union between the church upon fair terms, and upon good, secu- and the state and in this hour of the rity; and it is borrowed to accomplish renewed trial and danger of our venea most momentous object, to make rable episcopacy, it increases the power provision for the establishing and the of the bishops of the church, in that perpetuating of the worship and service manner which was once sanctioned by of Almighty God. As a Christian the public law of England, and by the nation, our first duty is to serve and decrees of the best councils in the primihonour Him. The state is, therefore, tive church, and which is most accord-> bound by the most solemn obligations ant with the very object and design of to take care that all its people should episcopacy. The office and care of the have the benefit of religious instruction, bishops, says Bingham, was, to see that