wish them success in this and all their other useful labours, for the spread of the Divine Word.

ABSRACT OF THE CLERGY

BILL.

We have been for some time looking for a suitable opportunity of abstracting the very important Act passed in the last session of Par liament, (and which begins to be in force from December 31, 1817,) to consolidate the laws relative to the Clergy; and, therefore, gladly avail ourselves of a few pages of our Appendix for the purpose. We agree with the Bishop of Llandaff, though for somewhat different reasons, that this law for the government of the church is of "greater consequence than any ecclesiastical law which has been made since the Reforma tion."

It is, as bis lordship states, a Bill" to regulate the conduct of the Clergy in every thing relating to their residence, the performance of their spiritual duties, the extent of their temporal engagements, and the payments to which the Beneficed Clergy are subjected, when their duty is performed by a curate." To the probable effects of some of the provisions adopted in it we have alluded on former occasions, and may possibly again take up the subject at some future period. For the present, we give only an abstract, without comment; referring all parties interested to the Act itself, for the minuter details.

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Section 1. repeals such of the provisions of 21 Hen. VIII. cap. 13., 28 Hen. VIII. cap. 13., Eliz. cap. 20., 14 Eliz. cap. 11, 18 Eliz. cap. 11., 43 Eliz. cap. 9., 3 Car. I. cap. 4., as relate to spiritual persons holding farms; to leases of benefices and livings; to buying and selling, and to resi dence and such of 12 Ann. stat. 2. cap. 12., 36 Geo. III. cap. 83., as relate to maintenance of curates. The acts of 43 Geo. III. cap. 84., 43 Geo. III. cap. 109., 53 Geo.

III. cap. 149., are repealed wholly and entirely.

The chief of the new provisions are as follow:

Spiritual persons, holding any dignity or benefice, or in any wise ecclesiastically engaged, may not take to farm more than eighty acres, under penalty of 21. yearly per acre; except by consent in writing of their diocesan, setting forth the term of lease, which must not exceed seven years. Penalty may be sued for by informer. No spiritual person holding any dignity or benefice, or otherwise ecclesiastically engaged, shall, by himself or any other for him, carry on any trade or dealing for profit; or deal in any goods, wares, &c. Nothing in this Act is to extend to any spiritual person for any buying or selling in relation in any wise to the management, &c., of a school, &c.: or for the bona fide purchase for his own household, (although resold at a profit,) of any articles whatsoever; or to the purchase or sale of corn or cattle, &c. necessary or convenient for such lands, &c., as he may lawfully hold; unless he sell the same in person in a public market, &c. The penalties on beneficed persons for non residence without license or exemption,except they reside at some other benefice, are as follow:-For from three to six months, one third from six to eight months, one half; above eight months, two thirds; and for twelve months, three fourths of the value of the benefice, &c., after deducting all outgoings, except the curate's salary. Penalties, with costs of suit, to the informer.

not in the parish, but contiguous, after approval in writing and under seal of the diocesan, and entry in registry, are to be deemed houses of residence to all intents and purposes. In all cases of rectories having vicarages endowed, residence in the rectory-house by the vicar, is to be deemed legal residence; provided the vicaragehouse be kept in repair, to the satisfaction of the bishop.

The bishop may, where there is no house of residence belonging to the preferment, allow any fit house thereto belonging to be the house of residence.

Sundry enumerated persons, and any others specially exempt by unrepealed acts, are declared not liable to penalties for nonresidence, during the period in which they shall be in actual attendance on their several duties, but may account such period as legal residence.*

Dignitaries residing at cathedral churches for certain periods are exempted, and provision is made for cases in which the year of residence at cathedrals commences at any other period than the first of January; but a bishop may license for a longer period, if the duties of a cathedral require it.

Dignitaries in cathedral or collegiate churches, appointed previously to this Act, are exempted from the penalties of nonresidence on their benefices, so long as they shall be actually resident on their dignities. Spiritual persons, nonresident, who shall not keep the parsonage-house in good and sufficient repair, and shall neglect to put the same into repair within the time specified after monition, shall forfeit all protection from license or exemption, until the repairs be effected to the satisfaction of the bishop.

The bishop may in his discretion grant license for nonresidence in writing, setting forth the cause of such grant, in sundry peculiar cases such as illness or infirmity of the minister, his wife, or child; want of proper parsonage; occupancy of another house in the same parish; holding another benefice or licensed curacy; being master or usher of an endowed school; bolding an endowed lectureship, chapelry, preachership, &c. &c. In case of the refusal, on applica tion, of such license, an appeal may be made to the archbishop of the province.

The diocesan, if he see fit, may grant license. for nonresidence in nonenumerated cases, and in such case may assign any salary to the curate employed; and, in case of the incumbent's absence from the realm, he may grant and renew such license without application, and appoint. curate and salary where none, or to in crease salary where he sees fit, out of sequestration: but, in all nonenumerated cases, no license to be valid until allowed and signed by the archbishop after examination, by himself or his commissioner, of the reasons set forth by the diocesan for grant of such license.dent

Every application for license for non-residence must be in writing and signed; and may not be granted, unless specifying whether the incumbent intends to perform the duty; and if so, where and at what distance he resides;-and if he intends to employ a curate, what salary he proposes to give ;-whe ther the curate is to reside in the parsonage, &c. &c.

are

Licenses for nonresidence revokable by the grantor or his successor; and in no case to be in force for more than two years from the 31st December immediately following the grant of such license; and in case of revokation there is right of appeal to the archbishop

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The bishops, &c. shall return annually to the king in council,.

the name of every benefice, &c. in their diocess, and the name of the incumbent resident or nonresident thereon; and also the names of all curates licensed to such nonresident incumbents, the amount of their salaries and place of residence; and whether the gross annual value of such benefice amount to or exceed 300l. Nonresidents by exemption shall notify the same to the diocesan within six weeks from 1st January, with the nature of the exemption; and whether the benefice is of 300l. annual value or more.

And every

spiritual person having more than one benefice, who shall reside on one of them, or who shall reside on any dignity, &c. or shall be nonresident by any exemption in this Act during any period of the year, shall in like manner notify the same to the diocesan.

A penalty of 20l. attaches for omission to make such notification; to be applied by the diocesan to charitable uses, or remitted or mitigated at his discretion.

The Act is not to exempt nonresidents without license, or lawful cause of absence, from ecclesiastical censure; but no proceeding in any ecclesiastical court is to be admitted for a nonresidence of less than three months, unless instituted by the diocesan.

Nonresidents (absent contrary to the provisions of the Act,) returning to residence upon monition, remain liable to costs, &c. of monition.

In all cases where spiritual persons shall have become subject to penalty, &c. for any nonresidence, the local diocesan may proceed for such past nonresidence, and levy penalties by monition and sequestration. Benefices under sequestration on account of nonresidence for two years together, or thrice under sequestration in two years, without relief on appeal, are declared ipso facto void; and notice shall thereupon be given by the bishop to the patron to present.

All contracts for letting parsonage houses are void where residence is ordered by the bishop. No oath is to be required of any vicar in relation to residence on his vicarage. Penalties are not recoverable under this Act for more than one year beyond 31st December preceding; and no action for penalties is to be commenced before 1st May of the year following the alleged offence. The year is to be reckoned, for the purposes of the Act, from 1st of January. The months are to be calendar months; and, when made up of several parcels of time, consist of thirty days. No writ to be issued out, nor any process to be commenced by the informer, until one month after written notice given to the incumbent, and to the diocesan, setting forth explicitly the cause of action, the penalties to be sued for, &c. In any depending action for penalties, the Court may require the diocesan to certify the value of the defendant's benefice, and such certificate shall be received as evidence; without prejudice, however, to other evidence of its value. An incumbent not residing, and neglecting to secure the due performance of its ecclesiastical duties, the bishop may appoint and license a curate with such salary as this Act directs, unless the incumbent do the duty of the benefice, having at the same time a legal exemption from residence, or a license for residing out of the parish or house of residence. Provided always, that the curate's license shall in every case either state that he is to reside in the parish, or specify the grounds of permission to reside elsewhere, together with the distance of such other residence from the church or chapel which shall not exceed five miles, except in cases of necessity allowed by the bishop and specified in the license.

Where the benefice of any nonresident incumbent to which a curate is appointed, shall amount

in gross value to 300l. per annum, having a population of 300 persons, or have a population of 1000 persons, whatever be its value, such curate shall be required by the bishop to reside within the parish; unless the bishop shall be satisfied that great inconvenience would arise from such requisition.

In cases where it shall appear to the satisfaction of the diocesan, (either upon his own knowledge, or proof by affidavit) that the ecclesiastical duty is inadequately performed, by reason of the number or distance of churches or chapels from each other, or from the residence of the person serving the same, or by reason of the negligence of the incumbent, if the incumbent do not, within three months after the bishop's requisition, nominate for license a curate with sufficient stipend, the bishop may appoint a curate or curates with any salary not exceeding the allowance of this Act, nor, except, in case of negligence, exceeding one half of the gross annual value, although the incumbent may reside or do his own duty; but with a right of appeal to the archbishop.

The diocesan may, where he sees proper, enforce by monition and sequestration, the performance of both Morning and Evening Service, or any other service required by law in any church or chapel, or extra-parochial chapel.

Bishops are not to grant license for curates to nonresident incumbents without a statement of all such particulars as are required on an application for license for nonresidence: such statement to be filed, and disclosed only in such manner as directed in statements for nonresidence.

Bishops are required (subject to the restrictions of this act) to appoint to every licensed curate such stipend as is therein allowed, and to insert the amount of salary in the license; and the bishop may, on application, summarily deter mine any dispute arising out of

such allowance; and, in case of wilful neglect of payment, is empowered to sequester for the same. Twenty shillings, over and above stamp duty, to be paid for such license, in lieu of all fees for license, declaration, or certificate; and one certificate to be sufficient for any number of curacies in the diocess. In cases of incumbency prior to 20th, July 1813, the bishop may not, except in case of neglect to appoint a proper curate, assign more than 751. per annum, and 15l. additional where no house is allowed. But in all cases of benefices to which institution has been given since 20th July, 1813, where the incumbent is nonresident, unless with license or exemption and doing duty thereon, the bishop shall appoint for the licensed curate, 80l. at the least, if the gross annual value thereof be so much; 100l. where the population is 300; 120l. where it is 500; and 150l. where it is 1000. The value, where it does not exceed 150l. per annum, is to be taken from the return to the governors of Queen Anne's Bounty. In cases where the actual income of the ber.efice, clear of all deductions, shall appear, to the satisfaction of the bishop, to exceed 400l. he may assign to the curate, being resident and having no other cure, 100l. per annum, although the population do not amount to 300; and where the population amounts to 500, he may, to resident curates having no other cure, augment the salaries allowed in this Act by any sum not exceed. ing 50l. The bishop may, however, assign smaller salaries, when it is made out to his satisfaction, that, from special circumstances of age, sickness, and other unavoidable cause, great hardship would arise to the incumbent from the full allowance; but the license to the curate must state the existence of special reasons; and the particulars must be registered in a separate book, not open to inspection but with leave of the

diocesan, as in the case of nonresidence. The bishop may, in the case of a curate serving two or more cures interchangeably with the incumbent dividing his residence of nine months between his benefices, assign a salary not exceeding the allowance for the largest, nor short of the allowance for the least of such benefices; and in the case of a curate permanently attached to either of them, such lesser salary as he sees fit, provided the incumbent be bona fide residing as aforesaid.

Curates are not to serve more than two churches, &c. in one day, unless, from special causes, the bishop sees fit to allow the same where the churches, &c. are not distant more than four miles from each other, and where the duty may be performed without travelling more than sixteen miles in the whole but the licenses are not valid unless they specify the reason for such allowance. The bishops are authorized to diminish, by any sum not exceeding 301., the salary of any beneficed person licensed to another cure, or of any curate licensed to two curacies.

All contracts contrary to this act, and all agreements to accept less than the stipend stated in the license, are void; and the curate and his representatives shall, notwithstanding any acquittance he may have given, remain entitled to the sum short paid; and on proof to the satisfaction of the bishop, within twelve months of the death or removal of the curate, the payment of the full sum with treble costs shall be enforced.

Where the salary assigned by the bishop is of the full value of the benefice, the curate is to be liable to all legal outgoings. The bishop may also allow a deduction, for actual expenditure to prevent, dilapidation.

Where the incumbent does not reside four months in the year on any benefice, the bishop may assign the residence house thereunto he

longing in whole or in part to the curate. The curate, when licensed at the full gross annual value of the benefice, shall pay all rates and taxes on the house and residence, if the same be assigned to him by the bishop. The incumbent may not dispossess a curate, to whom the residence house has been assigned, without three months' notice, and permission in writing from the bishop; nor, in the case of a new incumbency, till within three months after institution, and one month's previous notice. Licensed curates shall not quit their curacies without three months' notice to the incumbent, and to the bishop, unless with the consent of the bishop, under the penalty of a sum at his discretion, not exceeding half a year's stipend; to be retained out of their salary, or recovered by the incumbent, as are other penalties by this Act.

The bishop may, without any nomination from the incumbent, license any curate actually employed by him, and may summarily revoke any license, and remove any curate, for what shall appear to him good and reasonable cause; subject, however, to an appeal to be summarily determined by the archbishop.

In all cases where the term Benefice is used in this Act, it is to be taken to mean benefice with cure, and no other; and to include all donatives, perpetual curacies, and parochial chapelries. The Act. extends to all peculiars, exempts, &c.; and for the purposes of the Act, all (except such as belong to any archbishoprick or bishoprick, which continue subject to their peculiar diocesan) are placed under their local diocesan; and peculiars, &c. situate in more than one diocess, or between the limits of two, are placed within the jurisdiction of the bishop, whose cathedral is nearest to the church, &c. of such peculiar, &c.

The Act is not to extend to Ire

land.