to their labours and study in their several degrees and stations, that they may give check to all profaneness and superstition, and as zealously affect to remove all scandals and reproach from them and their callings. Conceiving therefore a competent maintenance to be a neces- 5 sary encouragement; and that all other persons, who have power to dispose of tithes, may be invited to cherish a learned and godly ministry; we do resolve, that because where tithes have been appointed for the support of bishops, deans, and chapters, collegiate churches and 10 colleges, and other single persons, that have not taken due care to provide and ordain sufficient maintenance for the vicars of their respective places, or for the curates, where vicarages were not endowed; to settle for the future some good addition and increase on such vicarages 15 and curates' places. Our will therefore is, that forthwith provision be made for the augmentation of all such vicarages and cures, where your tithes and profits are appropriated to you and your successors, in such manner, that they who immediately attend upon the performance of 20 ministerial offices in every parish, may have a competent his majesty's letter, and giving it the date of the first day of June, in the twelfth year of his reign, confirms all augmentations made in compliance therewith, and all other augmentations which might thenceforward be made under certain expressed conditions. Burn, Eccl. Law, 25 art. Appropriations. Comp. No. CLVIII. Burnet, Own Times, vol. i. p. 338. Neal, Purit. vol. iii. p. 65. Grey's Examination of Neal, vol. iii. pp. 269-274. This declaration was issued within two days after king Charles' entry into London, and was intended to mediate between the two parties 30 whose interests were at stake, and who would both have a strong claim upon the sympathy of the nation; as, in conformity with the decision of the long parliament, the impropriations of bishops and of deans and chapters had not been sold, like the rest of the confiscated property, but had been reserved to increase the maintenance of poor ministers. 35 (Ludlow's Mem. vol. i. p. 300.) A committee was appointed by the house of commons to collect and digest materials for a bill on this And portion of every rectory impropriate to your see [a belonging to you or your successors]. And to this end our further will is, that no lease be granted of any rectories or parsonages belonging to your see, belonging to you or 5 your successors, until you shall provide, that the respective vicarages, or curates' places, where are no vicarages endowed, have so much revenue in glebe, tithes, or other emoluments, as will commonly amount to 100/. or 80%. per annum, or more, if it will bear it, and in good form 10 of law settle it upon them and their successors. where the rectories are of small value, and cannot admit of such proportions to the vicar and curate; our will is, that one half of the profit of such a rectory be reserved for the maintenance of the vicar or curate, [b and if any 15 leases or grants of such forenamed rectories have been made by you since the first day of June last past, and you did not order a competent augmentation of the vicarages and cures in their respective places, that out of the fines, which you have received, or are to receive, you do add 20 such increase to the vicar and curate] as is agreeable to the rate and proportion formerly mentioned. And our further will is, that you do employ your authority and power, which by law belongeth to you as ordinary, for the augmentation of vicarages and stipends of curates, and 25 that you do with diligence proceed in due form of law perplexing question, but having sat for a considerable length of time without making effectual progress, it was found to be inadequate to its purpose. On the 7th of August 1660, a royal message was delivered to the house, communicating his majesty's declaration to the bishops; 30 and it was accordingly resolved, that a bill should be drawn up immediately, reciting the substance of the declaration, and containing provisions for carrying it into effect. It appears however that nothing was done till the year 1677; when the statute 29 Charles II. c. 8. was passed; and even that statute did nothing more than confirm and per35 petuate the arrangements that were made voluntarily by the parties concerned. Commons' Journals. Kennet's MSS. vol. lxxxix. p. 248. a Desunt in Kennet. b Desunt in Kennet. for the raising and establishing convenient maintenance for those, who attend holy duties in parish churches. And if any prebendary in any church (the corps of whose prebend consists of tithes) shall not observe these our commands, then we require you, or the dean of the church, 5 to use all due means in law, where you or he hath power, to compel them; or that otherwise you report to the bishop of the diocese, where the said corps doth lie, that he may interpose his authority for fulfilling this our order. And if any dean, or dean and chapter, or any that holdeth 10 any dignity or prebend in the cathedral church, do not observe these our commands, that you call them before you, and see this our will be obeyed. And if you or any bishop do not your duty, either in their own grants, or seeing others to do it, then we will, that upon complaint, 15 the archbishop of the province see all performed according to this our declaration, will, and pleasure. And whereas there are divers rural prebends, where the vicarages are not sufficiently endowed, we require you to see these our commands fully to be observed by them. And 20 we do declare our will and pleasure in all the particulars forecited to be, that if you or any of your successors, or dean, or dean and chapter of that our cathedral church, or any other person holding any office, benefice, or prebend in the same, do or shall refuse or omit to observe 25 these our commands, we shall judge them unworthy of our future favour, whensoever any preferment ecclesiastical shall be desired by them from us. And lastly, our will and command is, that you or your successors do, at or before the first day of October in every year, render 30 an account to the archbishop of [Canterbury] how these our orders and commands are observed, that the archbishop afterwards may represent the same unto us. By his majesty's command, EDWARD NICHOLAS. 35 c Deest in Kennet. CXLVIII. Archiepisc. Cant. Anno Christi Reg. Angliæ His majesty's gracious commission to search into and examine the pretended sales and purchases of the honours, manors, lands, and hereditaments of and belonging to his majesty, his royal mother, the archbishops, bishops, deans, and chapters, prebends, and other ecclesiastical persons; giving such powers and authorities as is necessary for the ends, intents, and purposes in and by the said commission specified and expressed. CHARLES the Second, by the grace of God king of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, defender of the faith, etc. to our trusty and right well beloved counsellor Edward lord Hyde, lord chancellor of Eng 5 His majesty's gracious commission] One of the first and the most embarrassing of the questions that offered themselves to the legislature on the restoration of king Charles II. was the arrangement to be made between the purchasers of confiscated estates and the crown or the church, to which they had originally belonged. They had been sold 10 by authority of the long parliament in and about the year 1649; and the purchasers of them could urge in their own favour not only whatever plea of right such an authority could give them, but also the fact that in most instances the full value had been paid for the estates, the prices amounting generally to the clear income of 15, 16, and 17 15 years. (Ludlow's Mem. vol. i. p. 299.) But it soon appeared from the progress of the debates that the property of the crown was to be restored without reserve or limitation; and the property of the church, although the dignitaries themselves would have readily entered into some amicable adjustment, was connected with so many interests and 20 difficulties, that the house of commons was not able to come to any arrangement respecting it before their adjournment on the 13th of September 1660. On that day, in compliance with their request that land; and to our right trusty and right well beloved cousins and counsellors Thomas earl of Southampton, lord treasurer of England, and the lord chancellor, lord high treasurer of England, and the chancellor of the exchequer for the time being; and to our right trusty 5 and entirely beloved cousin and counsellor George duke of Albemarle; and to our right trusty and right well beloved cousins and counsellors James marquess of Ormond, steward of our household, Edward earl of Manchester, chamberlain of our household; and to our right 10 trusty and right well beloved cousin Jerome earl of Portland, and to our right trusty and well beloved counsellor John lord Roberts, and to our right trusty and well beloved John lord Finch, Francis lord Seymour, chancellor of our duchy of Lancaster, and to the chancellor 15 of our duchy of Lancaster for the time being, John lord Lucas; and to our trusty and well beloved counsellors Denzill Hollis esquire, sir Edward Nicholas, and sir William Morris, knights, our principal secretaries of state, sir Anthony Ashly Cooper baronet, Arthur Annesley esquire; and to our trusty and well beloved sir Robert Foster knight, chief justice of our bench, sir Orlando Bridgeman knight and baronet, lord chief justice of our court of Common Pleas, sir Robert Hyde knight, one other of the justices of our said court of Common Pleas, 25 sir Edward Atkins, and sir Christopher Turner knights, 20 a royal commission might be appointed for the purpose, his majesty informed the two houses, that he "had not been without much thought upon the argument, and had done much towards the accommodation of many particular persons; and that he would put the business into 30 such a way of dispatch that they should find a good progress made in it before their coming together again." (Commons' Journals.) It is clear that the king's government had determined to put the business into the hands of commissioners appointed by themselves, having seen that it was a matter of too many details to be directed by an act of 35 parliament, and that the royal commission, already employed in deciding on similar claims in the two universities, had provided them |