The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-03-06 00:00:00

ABOLITION OF CHURCH RATES,

Sir W. CLAY, in moving the second reading of the
Church Rates Abolition Bill, said that the question µ'o,,
one more of civil and religious liberty than c"
pecuniary relief. The bill was almost the same as that
proposed last session, the principle of which bad been
approved by the House of Commons. Since the decbion
in the House of Lords in the Braintree case, that a church
rate was only valid when passed by a majority of rale'
payers, the question had assumed a new aspect, and man,'
parishes had refused the rate. He quOted a number of
statistics in reference to the adoption and refusal (,f church.,
rates, shewing that out of 258 rural parishes 109 hack
opposed and 129 had allowed a rate, and of 99 cases from'
which the rate was levied, there were only 47 instances ill:
which it was really paid. He considered it unjust that
the minority should be compelled to pay a rate to which
they objected, and he, therefore, asked for support to his
measure which proposed to abolish church rates in every

case, except when there was a charge upon the rates.

without interfering with the power or responsibilities or
the churchwardens. lie held that the church should be'
supported by voluntary contributions, and pew rents, an
dt
remarked that it must be little respected by the peo.ple
this country if it suffered by the removal of the coml3l°.
With regard to the argument that it we's_
unwise to interfere with constitutional principles, be
adverted to the fact that the proposition which be "iv
urged had been', concurred in by Lord John Russell, wh°
had four times run the risk of upsetting the constitution,
and his efforts had, in each case, been attended with °
most perfect success. He felt ;that the time had come'
when legislation on the question was inevitable, and 11°
believed that the measure which he had brought forward'
was the only one calculated to set the question at rest',
and to promote peace in parishes between those

sory rat,

different religioJs opinons.
Lord JOHN MANNERS, in asking the House not to asseue'
to the motion for the second reading of the bill, adverted
to the remarkable absence of petitions in favour of the
~
hon. member's proposition. He admitted the injustice 01
compelling dissenters to contribute to church rates, hilt
submitted that the simple remedy for that injustice, via°
to exempt them from liability to the, rates, and at the'
same time to remove from them the power which tile
now possessed and exercised in the control of the church('
and the clergy. There was nothing in the preamble
the bill, in reference to the grievance which Wag
justly complained of by non-conformists, and the enact-
ment of the measure would inflict a greater grievance t°
churchmen than was now felt by dissenters. He
tained that the evils of the church-rate system were mu`b
than counterbalanced by the moral and social goo" "' d
hie
resulted from it. Proceeding to examine the clatise° s's
the measure the noble lord remarked that its purpose fla
r
not to exempt dissenters from the payment of the rate
but to prevent churchmen from taxing their own property'
for the support of the church; and referring to the opP°'
sitions 'of dissenters to church rates, the noble lord ob;
served that out of the £700,000 realised by church rate
- tO

a'600,000 was contributed by churchmen. He referreu:
the provision of the measure appointing auditors for tne_
application of the voluntary contributions to the purpose
for which they were intended, who were to be selected'
not by men who subscribed the money, but by a majority
of the vestry, which, in populous towns, was composed
principally of dissenters. The noble lord concluded by
moving that the bill be read a second time that daY
months. ,

Sir S. NORTHCOTE seconded the amendment.
Sir G. GREY urged the House in the consideration of
question, to keep it distinct from the totally differed'
law in Scotland upon the subject. He denied that W..
effect of this m-_asure would be to separate Church adc;
State, and observed that in Ireland, where the rate hail
been abolished by act of parliament, the National Chnreof
was in no way affected. There were no legal means
of
enforcing a church rate against the wish of a major" io
the ratepayers, and a number of the large towns tb
country had refused to rate themselves for the supPlert'°f
the church, and, therefore, it became necessary to legis-
late upon the subject. Ile believed that any attempt "78
make a compulsory church rate in places where it .anti
been refused, and where the church was supPerV's,
upon the loyal voluntary system, would fail, and nude.
the circumstances the Government had come to the con;
elusion that the measure on the subject must contain tb
114
principle of the abolition of the compulsory rate, Yeti t,;511
did not, however, think it would be advisable to abth-e
they
church rates, where they were voluntarily levied. and
would, therefore, propose that the obligation of the 'hero
ment should be for ever put an end to in parishes
the rate had been refused for a time sufficient to 1195 Pg.
that the ratepayers were determined in their objet
This was the principle contained :in a bill presented "1;i
the heads of the church in the other House of Parlia,tene
last session. The noble lord who moved hold
amendment had admitted that dissenters sates.
be exempted from the payment of church r`;lso
and in this he (Sir G. Grey) concurred, and ITA nal
agreed in the justice of the argument that they shoei-lica'
ifso exempted, haveany power of levying or in the aPProe.
tion of the rtes. Under the circumstances of
the Government were prepared to sanction the Pl coati
of the abolition of church rates, by voting for the toge
reading of the measure before the House, and to
amendments in committee to carry out the views Iva- •
had epressed. t
Mr.xDittnemoND held that the amendments suggestiennser
Sir G. Grey were so very unlike the bill before the ent to
that it would be but fair on the part of the Govern
NP
reject the measure and bring in one of their own. P,ie on
agreed with all the propositions that had been In, 3;,..4• raj
the subject of church rates, and in the course of Jl-antf
marks he charged the bishops with neglecting the,,firig
in failing to provide means for public worship, attelrwitil
the deficiency to the churches being overcrowde,", for
pews, so that there was not sufficient accommodti°-
the poor. the
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL defended himself frofTlollo
charge of recklessness which had been made by Lnrto 01°,
Manners in the course of his speech. Passing
question of the abolition of church rates, he stage sure.
reasons for supporting the second reading of the in reseed
Lord J. RUSSELL thought that with the views eX,Pri h 3"/
by Sir G. Grey, the most convenient course vv°9-,-gre
been for the Government to have introduced a IneaThitit/
their own rather than propose, in committee. °be' ,etee-
alteration of the measure under consideration. g? ?h. e-eb':
to the measure of Sir W. Clay's, as it abolishe"
gation upon a parish of supporting w
its church sr,eiviS;
providing a remedy, though he agreed that it asid-ii
able for the sake of peace that the church sbth;ts °"-
11
enforce an obligation which existed, but which *vi;tnirc
legally binding, he held that, at the same time, tbe'nvore.'"
;
had a right to demand some other means of sP the'd"
This was not proposed by the government, an,;',,,stit
propositions would only tend to complicate the ti"ivireP"
without satisfying the just demands of the c torch
The exemption of Dissenters from the pa-ement,of CvestLel
rates and their consequent exclusion from t"e,g to 0,
when any question connected with the church
considered, would be most injurious, as it would
the
nl of
the separation of the Established Church from t„ia
of the people, and, after such a step the church en-sitieT
maintain its dignity, property, government, and rby tn'd
Lord PALMERSTON vindicated the course tallel ev• has
Government, remarking that the decision which t Id Dee
come to had not been hastily resolved upon,
adopted after mature deliberation.
Mr. MIALL supported the bill.
The House then divided. The numbers were
the second reading
Against

Maj0rity.............................................
t4ht tbtre
Sir G. GREY in reply to Mr. Walpole, sai— tho to
Government amendments would be laid on
before Easter.

MARRIAGES. ile
Mr. A PELLATTDISSENTERS moved the second reading Of t the
senters' Marriages Bill, which, he said, was in e,ec,s;lni
same as the one that passed a second reading las' 1/4
After a few words from Sir W. HEATIIOO'S,
o.
PALMERSTON, Mr. HENLEY, Mr. 11. n0v61311110 t
GLADSTONE, Sir G. GREY, and Mr. WALroix• fitted 013
was read a second time, and ordered to be counu
the
The Consolidated Fund (426,000,000)
llt h of April. Teed a
Bill was
second time.
The House_adjourned at half-past five o °look.