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But the whole number of benefices, according to the same authority, amounts to 10,784; the half of which is 5,392; so that the number of benefices not exceeding £200 per annum, is not very far short of half the whole number existing. This entirely agrees with the words of the Archbishop cited above, that "many of the clergy are in painfully straitened circumstances. For what is £200 per annum, the very largest income here given, for one educated as a clergyman of the Church of England is, to bring up a family upon, and to maintain his own due position in his parish? But let us look at this in another light. There are nearly 2,000 of these whose incomes do not exceed £100 per annum; and taking their incomes at a high average, these 2,000 clergy have not among them £140,000 per annum. On the other hand, the members of the hierarchy are only twenty-seven in number, enjoying amongst them the sum of £165,000 per annum. Can it be matter of surprise, that some of the 2,000 ill-paid incumbents should compare their incomes, not with their labours and talents, but with the incomes of the twenty-seven members of the hierarehy, and should feel themselves ag

grieved when they reflect that these large and excessive incomes are derived, for the most part, from their own impoverishment.

That we may not be thought to make more of this evil than it really is, we will state the full amount of it upon evidence which cannot be questioned or gainsaid. By a Commission bearing date the 8th of Jan. 1849, a new Board was appointed, whose designation is, "The Episcopal and Capitular Revenue Commissioners.' In their Report dated Jan. 31, 1850, and presented to both Houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty, these Commissioners make the following statement,-"The whole of the tithe commutation rent-charges, belonging to the several bodies, into the management of whose revenues your Majesty has commanded us to inquire, now produce a gross annual sum of £650,000 at the least." Now the bodies referred to here are, as implied by the title of the Commission, and as described in the Commission itself, "the Archbishops and Bishops, and the cathedrals and collegiate churches;" and thus it will be seen, that the main source of the wealth, from which these richly endowed dignitaries derive their incomes, is tithe rent-charges, which are the parochial funds, rightfully belonging to the impoverished parochial clergy, and which have been diverted from their proper uses, into channels, or rather reservoirs, that ought not to be the recipients of them. Should these lines meet the eye of any member of the legislature, as I hope they may, I trust he will not rest satisfied with himself until he have obtained a return to parliament, shewing distinctly the places whence these rent-charges arise; the impoverished condition of the clergy in them; the persons or offices to which they have been appropriated; the amount, in each case, of any portion that has reverted to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners; and, finally, as the test of the manner in which those Commissioners misemployed their powers, the very small sums that they have allowed in any case to dribble back to the parishes whence they flowed so

PRINCIPLES OF CHURCH REFORM ILLUSTRATED.

abundantly. Two cases in my own immediate vicinity, I can give, as examples of the liberality of the Commissioners. The parish of Chippingnorton, with a population of at least 3,000 souls, and contributing a large sum in tithes every year to the Dean and Chapter of Gloucester, has had £12 doled out, to raise its income to £150; and the parish of Deddington, with a population exceeding 2,000, and contributing a much larger sum than the former place, has had £15 of its own tithes most liberally bestowed upon it, to raise it to the sum of £150 per annum. And this is the manner in which the pauperism of the clergy, after having been made the stalking-horse for obtaining the powers of the Commission, has been relieved; and this is the meed of justice, equity, and fairness, with which parochial funds have been dealt.

Surely, then, the principle of restitution of parochial funds to the parochial clergy, to whom they rightfully belong, is one that cannot be questioned or contested, and the necessity for which has been made painfully evident. I have said nothing, neither do I attempt to say anything, about restitution to the Church, by other parties, of the funds that have been abstracted from it; for I feel that the Church itself is not clear in this particular, and that it is impossible for it to rebuke the world until it has first reformed itself. But this I do say, that not only ought the Church to do this as an act of common undeniable right, but that until it has done this simple act of justice, it will neither be itself right, nor a right example to those whom it ought to endeavour to reform. Until it has removed "the beam from its own eye, how can it see clearly to take out the mote from another's eye?"

4. Having discussed and explained the grounds upon which reforms in our ecclesiastical system are called for, it may be well, before I pass on to a consideration of other topics, to combine in one view all that at present seems desirable in remodelling the temporalities, and I will proceed, therefore, to exhibit them.

i. The ministry to be restored as nearly

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as possible to its original scriptural simplicity of bishops, priests, and deacons, all other dignities and titles, as those of archbishop, archdeacon, dean, canon, prebendary, and the like, to be suppressed. A greater number of deacons to be encouraged, who may be admitted to that office, without having graduated at a university, according to the judgment and discretion of the bishops, and who, "having used the office of a deacon well," may thereby "purchase to themselves a GOOD DEGREE, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus," 1 Tim. iii.13; so that they may be admitted in time, and after stated periods of service, to the higher degrees of the ministry; or upon trial, being not found worthy, may, if need be, be removed from their office, and restored to their position as laymen. Thus in this office of deacon might many godly persons be employed, and trained up to the work of the ministry in the practice of it.

ii. In conformity with the rule made to themselves by the Apostles, when they declined " serving tables, that they might give themselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word," Acts vi. 4; all bishops, priests, and deacons, to be relieved from all offices, employments, or engagements, strictly secular; as bishops to be relieved from their labour as peers of parliament, and from all the duties, engagements, and incumbrances of the same, and thereby enabled to attend solely to the spiritual and charitable duties of their respective dioceses; and all ministers to be relieved from magisterial duties, according to that exhortation of St. Paul to Timothy, the primitive pattern and scriptural example of what ministers should be. "No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier." 2 Tim. ii. 4.

iii. The present number of dioceses to be doubled, so that instead of twentysix there be fifty-two. The population of England, Wales, and the Channel Islands being more than 16,000,000, this number divided by 52, would give an average of more than 300,000 to each diocese. But, as in the Me

tropolis, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Leeds, Bristol, and other densely populated places, the labours of a bishop would be more easily discharged than when his diocese extends over a wider sphere; in such places or districts a bishop might superintend a larger amount of population. Thus the Metropolis might be divided into four dioceses, giving nearly 500,000 to each; while Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, &c., together with certain districts around them, might be formed into dioceses nearly similar.

iv. The incomes of the bishops to be materially reduced from what they are at present, so that none shall exceed £1,500 per annum, as those of the Metropolis, on account of the greater charge of living there, as compared with that of the country; and so that their incomes generally shall not exceed £1,000 per annum; which since they will be relieved from all expences of parliament and the like, and will have much less labour than at present, when there are but twentysix to the whole of England, will be quite adequate. The present bishops' palaces to be disposed of; moderate and suitable houses of residence to be provided out of the proceeds; and the surplus to be applied in endowing populous places ill-provided with ministers. The reductions in incomes, as stated above, notwithstanding that the number of bishops is proposed to be doubled, would cause a saving of more than one-half of the whole sum

at present enjoyed by the hierarchy, so that there would be a considerable sum to provide more labourers in the vineyard of the Lord. The amount of incomes at present divisible among the bishops is £165,000. The amount required for fifty-two bishops, allowing four at £1,500 per annum each, and forty-eight at an average of £1,000, would be £54,000, which being deducted from £165,000, will leave an available surplus of 111,000, a sum sufficient to provide an income of £200 per annum each, for as many as 555 additional ministers.

v. The number of bishops having been doubled, and the labour of each consequently so much diminished,

there would no longer be need of archdeacons, whose separate courts, independent jurisdictions, and intervening visitations, occasion much clashing of interests. It would be far better for bishops to hold visitations more frequently, as every year, and to come more immediately into connection with the parochial clergy; besides that, it is a much simpler system, and more in accordance with apostolical rule and discipline, than to delegate to others such important charges as the supervision of the ministry, the overseeing of the preaching of the Word, the exhorting to greater vigilance and usefulness, and the counselling in cases of emergency or difficulty in the management of parochial concerns.

vi. Fifty-two bishoprics would allow of four provinces instead of only two, as at present, in each of which there should be a presiding bishop, whenever an episcopal synod should assemble for mutual consultation and advice. The clergy also should have their synods for the same purposes, statedly held within the several divisions of dioceses that now exist, known as the Rural Deaneries; and these should be called Clerical Synods. The bishops should be elected to their sees by the clergy and laity assembled in their synod ; each synod, after solemn prayer for the aid of the Spirit, through the intercession of the Great Head of the Church, proceeding to vote for the several persons commended to them; the majority of all the votes, as taken in each synod, determining the elec

tion.

vii. Church patronage has of late years been very largely accumulated in the hands of the bishops. Before the changes recently effected by the Ecclesiastical Commission, the bishops had as many as 1,240 benefices in their patronage; but this number has been largely augmented by the transference to them of all cathedral patronage, and by the many new endowments appropriated to them. The cathedral patronage amounts to at least 1,075 benefices, while the nunber of new endowments I have not the means of obtaining. Now the power of bestowing patronage is one of the

PRINCIPLES OF CHURCH REFORM ILLUSTRATED.

most dangerous that can be committed to men. It is doubly tempting, both to those who have the bestowment, as tending to increase, and unduly to magnify, their influence over the clergy; and to those who must necessarily be the candidates for it, as tending to make them subservient. Of all men the clergy ought to be placed in as independent a position as possible, so that in the exercise of their own judgment, faithfulness, discretion, and zeal, they should do the most they can for the improvement of their people. Theirs should be "not eye service as men pleasers, but singleness of heart, fearing God." The present system of patronage in the hands of the bishops, its over increase and accumulation, tends rather to the former than to the latter. Besides, patronage is really one of the rights of the people, and in ALL THE EARLIEST AGES of the Church was possessed and enjoyed by them. Where the people have the power of election and choice, but not of dismissal or removal, then may they safely and beneficially exercise such a power; safely, because the minister, having been chosen, will be independent of them, and so beyond the temptation of courting their favour; beneficially, because the having to choose, gives the people an interest in their minister, his character, learning, piety, and all due qualifications, which must excite in them a livelier concern in their own spiritual matters than they would otherwise take. No minister should be eligible until he had been ordained priest; and as to the bishops would belong the sole power of ordination, in their hands would be the responsibility of admitting to the ministry fit and proper persons, from amongst whom the people might

elect.

viii. Although the cathedral establishments have already been reduced, and the funds saved thereby have been applied to the benefit of the Church at large, by providing more clergymen, they are quite capable of further improvement, and of a more profitable adaptation to the spiritual necessities of the people. They might have cures of souls attached to them, and each member of a Chapter should

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be always resident and charged with the immediate spiritual oversight of allotted districts or parishes; and they might further be most usefully engaged in training up candidates for the ministry. The Manchester Rectory Bill of last Session, restoring the cathedral offices to their original duties, is a most valuable measure, as exemplifying what can and therefore ought to be done in such cases.

ix. Having reduced the episcopal incomes as above, and also having thereby obtained a fund for the increase of clergymen; having further shewn how the cathedral establishments may be made more beneficial in relieving the spiritual necessities of the people; it only remains that we observe upon what might be done by reducing rich livings, and applying the funds so raised, in other places. The late Regius Professor, Dr. Burton, and others, have recommended taxing all livings according to their value for this purpose; I myself drew up, and published in 1837, a scale of reduction, showing how a very large annual sum might be obtained; but, however arranged, certain it is that some livings are unnecessarily wealthy, while others are much impoverished. Now to these the rule of the Apostle might well be applied. "I mean not that some be eased, and others burdened, but by an equality, that now at this time the abundance of one may be a supply for the wants of another, that there may be equality: as it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack," 2 Cor. viii. 13, 15.

x. One abounding source of evil to the Church, is the influence which the executive government has over it by means of patronage, perverting it thereby into a state engine, instead of allowing it free power as a spiritual agency. That every state, that is, every community, whether great or small, is bound to provide itself with religious instruction, ordinances, &c., cannot be doubted, whatever questions may arise as to the manner of doing so, whether voluntarily or compulsorily. But this duty of the state, to provide religious instruction, is a thing

altogether apart from the exercise of control or influence by the government of the state therein. A government will always use such a power for its own support, and though this of course will be done avowedly with the best intentions, and for the benefit of the state, yet temporal rulers do not always clearly discern what is spiritually good, and often imagine that their own political designs are necessarily religiously beneficial. This mistake leads them to countenance and encourage those ministers who uphold their system, and thus the Church becomes secularized. The remedy for

these evils is the withdrawal of patronage from the government, that is, from secular influence, and placing it wholly under spiritual. The mode of doing this is most simple, as has already been more than once referred to, namely by giving to the people, that is the true members of the Church, the power of electing their own ministers, so that they would be chosen for their spiritual qualifications, not for political or literary; and allowing ministers and people to elect in reality, not by the mockery of a conge d'elire, their own spiritual governors.

A PLEA FOR OPEN-AIR PREACHING.

A LETTER ADDRESSED TO INCUMBENTS, BY THE REV. J. H. TITCOMB, M.A. [Continued from page 73.]

THE next point which claims our attention, with reference to this interesting subject, is the following:

III. The state of the country requires it.

When I say that the state of the country requires parochial open-air preaching, I mean that there is no other available agency by which vast masses of our population can be brought within the sound of the Gospel; and that we have no other hope of staying the plague of infidelity and crime, which is at present making such fearful ravages amongst us; I may add also, of resisting the gigantic exertions which Romanism is now making among the more degraded portion of our poor.

1. With regard to infidelity. I know not in what terms to speak of this. It runs like a leprosy over the whole land. Judge of its extent by the fact that there is a yearly issue from London of nearly thirty millions of copies of infidel and licentious works, which exercise a baneful influence on the minds of large numbers of the people." This statement appears in the Jubilee Volume of the Religious Tract Society, edited by Mr. William Jones, secretary. The items which

make up this vast aggregate I believe
to be as follows:-

There are ten stamped newspapers
of an infidel tendency, whose
annual circulation is

There are six unstamped news-
papers, whose annual circula-
tion is

Of miscellaneous publications of a
light and evil tendency, there are
Of the worst class of all

Total, about

11,700,000

6,240,000

10,400,000 525,000 28,000,000

In London, some of the statements which have been received by the Church Pastoral-Aid Society are truly appalling. The incumbent of a metropolitan parish lately informed the secretary, that adjoining his district there is a manufactory which employs 500 men, and amongst these there is scarcely one who is not avowedly an infidel.* "Not long since, a sick man in the Birmingham hospital stated to the chaplain, that out of 300 men who worked in the same manufactory, 100 were professed infidels."+ With facts

See last Report.

+ See "A letter of Rev. J. C. Miller to Pa rishioners of St. Martin's, Birmingham, called Earnest and Anxious Words."

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