The Express.
London, England, 1866-06-13 00:00:00

CHURCH RATES.

The following is a copy of a bill just introduced rt
into the House of Commons by Mr. Bevil] and Mr. Berer 91
ford Hope, to anlead the law relating to church rates : te
" Whereas it is expedient to amend the law relating to SI
church rates, be it enacted by the Queen's most excellent :II
Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the lords sj
spiritual and temporal, and commons, in this present par.
Bement assembled, and by the authority of the Nara, as 14
follows:
- -

"1. That from and after the passing of this act no
church rate Anal be recoverable by law, or levied in any I si
parish in England or Wales, from or upon the goods of
any person who before the making of such rate shall have
given notice in writing under his hand to the church.
wardens, or one of them, that he objects to contribute
toward the expenses of the parish church, and who shall 8
not have withdrawn such notice.
_ 8

"2. That where any person shall have given such
notice as aforesaid in writing under his hand to the
churchwardens, or one of them, and shall not have with-
drawn the same by writing under hie hand delivered to the
churchwardens or one of them, such persons shall not be
at liberty to speak or vote at any parocial or vestry meet.
ing in the election of churchwardens, nor as to the
making of a church rate, nor upon any matter or thing
relating to the church or its services.
" 3. That when any person shall have given any such
notice as aforesaid, and shall not have withdrawn the
same in manner aforesaid, it shall not be necessati to
include such person in the rate.
"4. That if no such notice as aforesaid be given, or it
given be withdrawn, the rate shall be deemed to be valid
and recoverable accordingly.

" 5. That every churchwarden shall enter in a book to
be kept for that purpose the particulars of every such
notice which he shall receive, and shall hand over such
books to his successor in office.
" 6. That the churchwardens and the incumbent of any
pariah may take or acquire, and hold or dispose of, any
real as well as personal property, for the maintenance
and support of the parish church and its services, and
they and their successors shall be a body corporate for
that purpose, with perpetual suceresion, by the name of
the incumbent and churchwardens of therariah or district,
as the case may be : provided always that such corporate
body and the property so held by them shall be subject to
the control, powers, and jurisdiction of the Charity Com-
missioners for England and Wales, in like manner as other
charities now under their control. _ _

" 7. Provided always, that in any parish where a sum of
money is at the time of the passing of this act due on the
security of church rates to be made or levied in such parish
under the provisions of any act of parliament, such rates
may still be made and levied, pursuant to such provisions,
for the purpose of paying off the money so due, until the
same shall have been liquidated. _ _

" 8. Any church rate made at any time before the pass-
ing of this act may be collected and recovered in the same
way as if this act bad not been passed.
" 9. The words importing the singular shall include the
plural ; ` person' shall include company and corporations;
imasculine' shall include feminine ;1' churchwardens' shall
mean and include the churchwardens of any parish or
separate ecclesiastical district ; and ' parish' shall mean
and include any separate ecclesiastical district.
" 10. This act may be cited as The Church Rates Amend
went Act, 1806."

AFRICAN STEAM SHIP COMPANY.-( TILMDA Y. )

The annual general meeting of proprietors was held
this day, at 1 p.m., at the company's offices in Leadenhall-
street ; Mr. P. D. HADOW in the chair. The following is
the report of the directors, which was adopted ;
" The mail service has been performed in a highly effi-
cient manner during the past six months, and, with the
exception of the sinking of the hulk William Money at
Fernando Po, there have been no casualties. The sinking
of this vessel does not involve any loss of capital,
as her first cost account had been reduced to a
nominal sum. There is, however, a lees on the
coals which were on board at the time she sank. This
has been discharged out of the half-year's revenue. The
directors do not propose to replace the William Money im-
mediately. The fleet is at present in a very high state of
efficiency. The Mending° and Lagos have both been deli-
vered by the builders, the former has completed one voyage
with a most satisfactory result, the latter is now on her first
voyage. The performances of these vessels fully equal
those of the Macgregor Laird and Calabar, constructed
by the same builders, and quite realise your direc-
tors' expectations. Your directors intimated in
their last report that they were taking steps to
replace the Margaret, which vessel had been
despatched to Lagos to serve as a floating depot, but
had not been mince heard of. They have purchased the
Anna, which they trust has arrived at her station. They
also intimated in that report they had prepared a
tender to the Postmaster-General for the performance
of the mail service on the expiration of the exist-
ing contract with sundry alterations and modifi-
cations which experience had shown desirable, and they
have much pleasure in informing the proprietors that,
after considerable correspondence and negotiation, it has
been accepted. The contract will be for a period of six
years from the 25th September next. The subsidy payable
under it will be considerably leas than the amount at present
paid, but your directors have every reason to believe that
the modifications in the service, and the development of
the traffic, will compensate for the decrease. The accounts
shew a balance of 5,8501. sa. 9d. to the credit of
revenue account, after making the usual reserves for
depreciation, adding to the boiler and repair fund accounts,
defraying the expenses of navigating and maintaining the
ships, and discharging the cost of the intercolonial service,
&e. Out of this balance your directors recommend the
payment of the usual dividend of Bs. per share, free of in-
come tax. This will absorb 4,4031. 4s. ; and leave 1,4471.
ls. 9d. to be carried over to next half-year's account."

Lord Stratford do Radcliffe will move, on Friday,
for papers respecting the Danubian Principalities.
On Tuesday next, in the Commons, Mr. Earle
will call attention to the present state of the Danubian
Principalities, and will move an address for papers.
Mr. Maguire intends to move, on the 26th, for a
select committee to inquire into certain allegations as to
the incapacity of the Lord Chief Justice of the Queen's
Bench in Ireland for the efficient and satisfactory dis-
charge of the varied duties of his office.
Mr. Ewart will ask the Secretary of State for
the Home Department, to-morrow, whether it will be
practicable to produce or procure any evidence of the
effects of the imprisonment for life in American and
Continental prisons.
The Saliaburg Journal states that a market gar-
dener at Devises, in Wiltshire, has lost 40 pip within the
, last fortnight. The disease of which they have died has
I not been ascertained.