The Express.
London, England, 1849-12-22 00:00:00

THE LAY CLERKS AND THE DEAN AND
CHAPTER OF CANTERBURY.

[Er= the Kent 'bred j
Some months et( ce the lay clerks presci.ted a mist
resotetful y worded memorial to the Dean and Chewer of
Canterbury, setting fit h the miserabty inadequate is ary
ovsigntd to them, and the impossibility of their providing
out of it a deviant maintenance for themselves end their feal-
ties. In reply to this, a preposition in writing ens wads
during the recent audit in which the Dean and Chapter *Ur
to iocressa the stipends of II e Icy c!erke by " shilliog foe
every day on which thee rive attendance at both the m. th-
ing and evening serc.c.•." Tots =Milt, on an average,
produce as increase of ten, twelve, or perhaps fit sea
pon..ds per ant tau to the f. r:y already riassivorl—little enough,
the reader will my, motmy, quite ins Emma f the require-
ments of the most humbleminded probational man among
them. But mark the condition which wit attached t, this
niggardly and closely-ealculata d boon ! They were only to
receive this "shilling" on condition of th it eonekntirg to
retire on • petition of " 251." per annum, wh , "in the
judgment ot the Dean and Chapter," th, y wee: "
disgnali-
fi,d ' for the situations they bed:—at pr sent they hold
their appointments for life. So, that for • relations aug-
mentation of ten or fifteen pounds they were to give up the
life tenure of their present appointment, value 401. (ant in
one cue we believe 601) per annum, and place themselves
wholly at the mercy of the Dean and Chapter's caprice or
resentment. What constnutis " isetpocity "in the eyes of
Demos and Chapters may be seen in the case of the head
master of the cathedral whom at Rochester. Any member
of the lay clerks' body, who had made himself obnoxious to
the church authoriti-s by m wing in the matter of this me-
moritl, for instance, might be found " diequatified " next
week, next month, or tilt year, be dismissed end lose half
the men he would otherwise have been receiving from the
tathedral fund. Of course the lay clerks looked on this
propoofindo as nothing but " • mockery end a snare " and
repli d by an answer, still moat reipecttully worded, stating
that they could not ei,ent to the condition of the offer. On
this they receive a 'scenic reiiinder, reminding them i.t a
way wh eh say.,nrs more of a threat that th, y al, eady re-
ceive more than the " statutable sum " assigned them :—ths
writer, or authors, forgetting or omitting to say that this
statutable sum "of some 41. or 51. was calculated by the
founder proportionally t the incomes of the dean end canons,
end that if this proportion were still observed the stipends of
the lay clerks would be such en tg need no augmentation
nor to occasion any complaint on the part of the recipients.
Here, then, the matter rests at present. A column, and pro-
fitable state of feeling must exist between the dean, preben-
daries, and lay clerics when they assemble together daily at
divine service ! Tote facts require bat little comment.
Immediately upon this—we will not say whetter post Aoc
nr propter hoc—one of the signatures to the related of the
Dean and Chapter's cffer, who had been far four years on
probation as a las clerk. "17. Lyon, received an official inti-
mation that be was .imequalified," and he is dismissed ! A
significant exemplitication ot the real meaning ot the '• con-
dition" above rsterred