The Sun.
London, England, 1854-03-22 00:00:00

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SUN OFFICE, Seven o'Clock.

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF COMMONS—(THIS DAY.)
The SPEAKER took the chair at 12 o'clock.
PETITIONS.
Mr. BRADY presented petitions from different parts
of the country, in favour of the Medical Registratic rM
Bill.
Mr. STRUTT presented a petition from the mane•
facturers of Nottingham, against the Payment of Wagel
(Hosiery) Bill.
Mr. BRIGHT presented a petition from Manchester,
against the Medical Practitioners Bill.
NEW WRIT.
_

On the motion of an hon. member a new writ wag
ordered for Westmoreland, in the room of Alderman
Thompson, deceased.
DUNGARVON ELECTION.
The members chosen to serve en the Dungarvon
election ?.ommittee were called to the table and sworn.
The committee to meet to-morrow.
PROPERTY TAX.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER brought
in the Property Tax Bill, which was read a first time,
and ordered to be read a second time to-morrow.
SIMONY LAW AMENDMENT BILL.

-----
Mr. PHILLINIORE moved the second reading of
this bill, which he said, with some slight additions,
was precisely the same measure that he laid on the
table last session. The present state of the law of
simony was highly objectionable, and the amendment
which he proposed to make in it had received the assent
of the assembled judges of the land. The first statute
which related to the subject of simony was passed in the
reign of Elizabeth, and it inflicted a very severe punish-
ment upon parties convicted of the offence of simony
Subsequently various acts were passed down to the reign
of Anne ; and-now, according to the existing law, it %V$
competent for a layman or a clergyman to purchase ad-
vowsons, or the right of next presentation to a living.
The consequence was that the law as it now stood gave
rise to great abuses ; the living could only be sold
while the present incumbent was living —so long an
he had a particle of breath in his nostrils, the
right of presentation could be legally sold and purchased
and the object of this bill was to prevent even such s
sale as that--a course which, he repeated, had been re'
commended by the assembled judges of the land. Ths
sale of civil offices in patronage was prohibited alike by
law and morals, and the reason for that was obvious.
Patronage, or the right of presenting to an office either
clerical or civil, could only be treated in the former as s
spiritual, and the latter as a moral trust. It certainly
was not property, and therefore it was idle to tell him
that a bill like this was an undue or improper interfer'
ence with the vested rights of individuals or corporations.
Trafficking in matters connected with the cure of souls
become quite a common practice in modern times ; livings
were daily hawked about and advertised in the public prints
for sale, while the cure of souls was knocked down to
the highest bidder at auctions, the price in such cases
depending, of course, upon the annual returns of the in-
cumbency. For the purpose of preventing such abuses
in future he had introduced this bid, and he hoped the
house would allow it to go to a second reading.
Mr. G. BUTT moved as an amendment that the bill
be read a sec9nd time this day six months. The hon.
gentleman who had just addressed them had not quite
correctly stated the law on this subject. An advowson
was an alienable estate in fee, but the right to make the
next presentation was only a chAttle. Both, however,
were saleable, and liable to be made the subject of settle'
ment or mortgage ; in fact, they were properties which the
law of England allowed to be bought arid sold, and all
the restrictions which the law imposed upon the owners
was contained in the qualification which the person pre-
sented to the living was bound to possess. In all times
both the advowson and the right of presentation had
been treated and dealt with as properties ; and this
measure, therefore, was a direct violation of the
rights of property. (Hear, hear) But the bill, ~,
passed, would prove inoperative, because it did not in'
terfere with the advowson ; all that it did, in fact, was
to prevent the sale of the next presentation ; but did
not the house perceive if that were prohibited, recourse
would be had to the sale of the advowson. How, then,
would the bill get rid of the evil complained, if evil it wits?
It would do nothing of the sort, and inasmuch as it
would not only interfere with the rights of property, but
would have a tendency to prevent lay patronage, he
trusted the house would reject the second reading
of the bill. Two-thirds of the livings of England
are private patronage, and it would be most
unjust to adopt the Romish principle of transferring it
to the bishops or heads of the Church, which would be
the ultimate effect of this bill.

Mr. SPOONER, seconded the amendment.
Sir W. HEATLICO rE thought it was unwise to rest
the opposition to this bill upon grounds of property, be'
cause such a ground could not be maintained. There
was a wide difference between the advowson and the
right to the next presentation ; the one might be a legi'
timate object of sale and purchase, but the other cer-
t,iinly was not The next presentation was by far ton
near to make it safe to legalise its sale without opening
the door to corruption and abuse ; and on that account
he supported this bill, believing that the right of presen•
tatiou was a spiritual trust which it was quite right to
entrust to laymen, but decidedly wrong to make a mat'
ter of traffic.

Sir G. GREY could see no sufficient ground which
should induce the house to pass the second reading of
this bill, though he quite agreed that it ought not to be
treated as a question of pounds, shillings, and pence.
At the same time he did not think any legislative enact-
ment necessary to arrest the abuses of the present sys•
tern, as the bishops and heads of the church had suffi-
cient powers in their hands to prevent the open and
scandalous trafficing in livings which the bill was ill'
tended to, but would not, probibit, so long as it did not
touch the sale of advowsous. For his part, he could see
no objection to the legitimate sale of the next presen-
tation or the advowsons, and he thought no suffi-
cient reason had bean shown why such sales should be
directly prohibited by the law.
Lord GODERICH remarked that the operation in
the present system was highly calculated to bring scan-
dal and discredit upon the Church of England. It was
just as safe, and just as proper, to sell the right to a
judgship as to sell the right of presenting to the cure
of souls. In point of morals both were equally impro-
per, because such a power gave rise to manifest and !patri-
fold abuses, which were greatly detrimental to the inte-
rest and well-being of the State. Surely it was unwise
to permit a state of things which allowed the open traf-
ficing in clergymen's livings, and permitted parties to
make presentations without any reference whatever to the
wishes or wants of the parishioners. He therefore
begged the house to pass this bill.
Mr. NAPIER, was unwilling to argue this bill as a
question of property, but still it could not be denied
that property was not altogether connected with this
subject. He doubted, however, whether this bill would
receive a better administration of the trust which lay'
men held than that which now prevailed, not that be
denied for a single moment that abuses did not exist
u present system, but the bishop had ample'
powers
his own hand to prevent the presentation of
nderthine
improper persons, or persons who were averse to the
wishes or unacquainted with the wants of the pa'
rishioners. The fact was the bill would not accomplish
the object it had in view, since the proper excess of the
trust could only be enforced by the moral influence of
the bishop, while, if the bill passed, there was nothing
in it which could in any way prevent secret bargains
for the next presentation. F, :r these reasons, then, he
should support time aineadaient in preference to the bill,
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL fully appreciated the
motives which imitlei-d time hon. anet learned member for

Tavi,tock to bring forward thin bid ; but, ou the other
hand, he felt bound to oppose the measure. (Hear►
hear.) It was quite true that the law of simony
stood in an anomalous awl doubtful condition ; Ss
but, before the house attempted to change the log
it must be clearly shown that there was an absolute
necessity for it, or that the change would correct a great
and glaring evil. Now, would the bill correct the oil
complained of in this case Certain:y not, for althoul2b
they had heard a good deal of the abuses and scandal SO
tending the sale of next presentations, the provisions 0
this bill were net such PA could get rid of tilt 1)1'4.

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