The Sun.
London, England, 1836-03-11 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS, 31AEcm 10.
The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat a few minutes
after 5 o'clock.

COURT OF PROBATE.
The Earl of RIPON presented two petitions against the
Ecclesiastical Bill from Chichester.
The Bishop of EXETER presented a petition to the same
effect from Chester, and
The Bishop of LONDON presented a petition from a place
we did not hear, to the same effect.
The Duke of CUMBERLAND presented a petition, the
facts of which he was entirely unacquainted with, from W.
Gaythorn Butt, who had been tried and found guilty of some
offence in the Court of King's Bench, and praying for a

revision of his sentence.
BANKRUPTCY LAWS.
The Bishop of EXETER presented a petition from
Chester, complaining of certain grievances under the Bank-

ruptcy Laws. -
DISSENTERS' GRIEVANCES.
Lord HOLLAND presented a petition from the Dissenters
of Houghton-lc-Shields, praying for a redress of Dissenters'

grievances.
PUBLIC EDUCATION IN IRELAND.
The Bishop of EXETER moved fora copy of the Cons.
mission under which Commissioners had been appointed to
enquire into public education in Ireland.--Ordered.
The Earl of RODEN presented a petition from St. Cle-
ment Danes, in the county of Middlesex, against Sunday

trading.
The Earl of WINCHILSE A moved for copies of any let-
ters that had passed between his Majesty's Government and
the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, relative to the appointment of
Mr. Lee, High Sheriff of Wexford.
SLAVE COMPENSATION AMENDMENT BILL.
The Earl of SHAFTESBURY moved that the House do
resolve itself into a Committee of the whole House on the
Slave Compensation Amendment Bill.
The Bill went through the Committee.
Lord LYNDHURST presented petitions from Essex and
other places, relating to agricultural distress ; also a petition
from the debtors confined in the gaols of London and Mid-
dlesex, praying that the Bill introduced last Session might
pass into a law; also several petitions from places In North-
ampton and Oxford, against the Probate clause of the Eccle-
siastical Courts Bill.

CHURCH REFORM.
Lord MELBOURNE had it in command from his Ma.
jesty, to lay before their Lordships the Second Repor
of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the state
of the Established Church in England and Wales, with re-
gard to its claims, its duties, and its revenues. In perform-
ing that duty it gave him great pleasure to state to their
Lordships, that that Report had been unanimously agreed
to, that it bore the signature of all the Commissioners,
and that althpugh there might have been upon such a subject
some differences of opinion, there was no material difference or
discrepancy among the Commissioners upon that subject. It
perhaps might be necessary, considering the magnitude of this
subject—its great importance, and the great interest it natu-
rally excited—it might not be inconvenient to point out the parti-
cular recommendations which the report made to their Lord-
ships. In doing so, he should be probably exceedingly
imperfect, but he had the satisfaction of speaking in the pre-
sence of those who were much more intimately acquainted
with the subject, and who would be able to correct any error
or supply any deficiency discovered in the short sketch he was
about to make to them. Their Lordships were aware this was
the second Report presented to them on this subject—that the
first was the Report of Commissioners who had been appointed
under the late Administration, and they had divided the subject
into the three branches of territory, revenue, and patronage.
Ecclesiastical patronage was a most delicate subject. It was
one of much intricacy, and it was distinctly reserved for fur-
ther consideration. The last report recommended that there
should be such a new division of the dioceses of England and
Wales as they thought would put an end to the inequality which
at present prevailed. In some of the dioceses the duties were
so extensive as to be out of human power to perform ; while
in others there were not duties enough. In the former Report
they had recommended that the dioceses of Bristol and Llandaff
should be consolidated. They had many objections urged
against that plan, and as they appeared to them to be weighty,
they had altered the plan, and now recommended that Bristol
and its suburbs should be added to the diocese of Bath
a-id Wells, while the remainder of the diocese should
be added to tae bishopric of Gloucester.—( Hear.) This
arrangement would make some alteration necessary in the dis-
tribution of the districts of Glamorgan and Brecon. The
Report also reeommended that, as soon as it could be found
quite convenient, the diocese of Sodor and Man should
be joined to that of Carlisle.—( Hear, bear, hear.)
It further went on to say that there should be a reduction
made from the revenues of the larger and more opulent Sees,
for.the purpose of increasing the revenues of those which were
less amply provided for.—(Hear, heay.) They did not
recommend that there should be a perfect equality in all
dioceses ; in his opinion a perfect equality would be con-
trary to the best interests of the Church—would be contrary
to our form of government, and to the state of society in which
we were now placed.—( Hear.) He thought there should be no
income which should be open to a charge of being grossly ample ;
while, on the other hand, there should be none which would
not sufficiently provide for its holder. The present estimated
value of the See of Canterbury was seventeen thousand pounds-;
they prop,_esed that it should now be fixed at fifteen thousand
Elea:. ) The see of London was now
12,0001. ; they proposed it should he reduced to 10,0001.
Durham was 17,8001. ; they proposed it should be reduced
to 8,0001. Winchester was 10,7001. ; they proposed that it
should be reduced to 7,0001. Ely was 11,0001. ; they proposed
it should be reduced to 5,51101 Worcester was 6,5001. ; they-pro-
posed it should be reduced to 5,0001. St. Asaph and Bangor
had a revenue tegether of 9,0001.-3,800/. belonged to Bangor,
and 5
,2001. to St. Asapi: ; they proposed to unite the two,
and sale the whole of the revenue of the larger bishopric.
This would give a fund of 28,500/., which, together with the
sum of 2,300/. taken fro::; ho bishopric of Ely, would leave a
total of 30,800/. to be divnied among the other bishoprics,
giv'ner an income to them varying from 4,090/. to 5,0001. per
annum. The sums apportioned to the different Bishoprics had
not yet been determined. With respect to the Bishoprics
of Bath and Wells, Norwich and Salisbury, no alteration was
proposed. Their Lordships would see that the greatest
amount had been taken from the Bishopric of Durham ; and
the reason of that was, the recommendation of the Commis-
sioners that the temporal and secular jurisdiction hitherto
vested in the Bishopric of Durham should be here-
after separated from the ecclesiastical functions. When
these temporal and secular functions were taken away,
there would, naturally, be taken away a great portion
of the expense hitherto attending that Bishopric—such
for instance as the reception of the Judges, and so on. It
was also intended that in future the Bishop should have
nothing further to do with Durham Castle, that his only resi-
dence should be Bishop Auckland, and the Castle was to be
appropriated to the use of the University that had lately been
established in that part of the country. The same recom-
mendation with respect to the separation of the civil and
religious duties had also been made with respect to the
Archbishopric of York, and the Bishopric of Ely, when
this arrangement would be carried into effect.—( Hear.)
The next important subjest to which the attention of the Go-
vernment had been directed, by the terms of the Commission,
was the state of the Collegiate and Cathedral Churches in
England and Wales ; and looking to those great institu-
tions, it was natural for his "Alajesty's Government to
advert to that which their Lordships would be well acquainted
with, viz., the extremely reduced state of a great number
of the benefices of the country. Such a reduced state
had great effect upon the character of the Clergy, and
the interest they would take in religion. The situation
they ought to hold was sunk materially, and they were ex-
posed to temptations which they otherwise would not be.
The Report of the Commissioners further stated, that in order
to give increased efficiency to the establishment, it was indis-
pensable to improve the condition of many benefices, where
the population was of a very considerable amount, and to
make adequate provision for the religious instruction of
an increasing population. The Report entered into details to
show 'the state of such benefices, but it was unnecessary for
him to repeat them. The Report went on to state that there
were benefices in the Church of two kinds—some old
and some new.—( Hears) Those they called " old" which
existed before the time of Henry VIII . ; and those " new,"
which arose about the time of the Reformation, and under
the reign of that monarch.—(Hear.) In the old there
were minor canons, who had no duties to perform, except
occasionally preaching a sermon or two upon visitations.
These preferments were not resident, and it was recom-
mended to suppress them altogether—of course upon the
determination
of present interests—that the proceeds of them
should be paid into the fund mentioned, and applied to the
purposes he had already stated. It was proposed to abo-
lish them, with the exception of some cases in which
they might be preserved merely as titles of dignity,
and as a means of rewarding distinguished merit in the
Church. With respect to these churches, both old and new,
it was recommended that hereafter for the service of Ca-
thedrals there should be in each one dean and four canons
—one of the latter to be attached to the archdeaconry of
the diocese, for the purpose of giving employment to those
officers whose duties were most useful, most necessary, and
most extensive, and who had hitherto been left with very in-
adequate remuneration. It was recommended that the Chapters
in the new churches should consist of aper and four Canons,
which was the number at present existing in the Cathedral of
York ; and it was further recommended that until the existing
Chapters were reduced, no election should take place. It was
also recommended that the residence of the Dean should be for
nine months, and that of the Canons for threemonths.
—(Hear, hear.) He wished also to call their Lordships'
attention to a further recommendation, viz., that these bene-
fices should be limited according to the wants of the popula-
tion ; but this was reserved for further consideration. It was
impossible at once to lay down any general rule upon the subject;
they must, necessarily, be guided in their considerations by a
reference to local circumstances. Their Lordships were aware
of the course taken by the late Administration with respect to
a prebendal stall of Westminster—it was annexed to the parish
Church of St. Margaret—and as there was one vacant at pre-
sent, the same course would be taken with respect to it. It was
intended to annex it to a parish in a part of the City, in which
it was now placed ; and he could state that he had
received the recommendation of his Majesty to apply it
in this way, and he
.was sure that his Majesty was as
anxious as any man to carry into effect a salutary and
useful reformation in the Church.—( Hear, hear, hear. )
There was another circumstance of considerable importance
which he wished to state. It was desirable that those benefices
should be bestowed on those whose qualifications were
proved by a certain period of service.—(Loud cheers.)
It was therefore recommended that no person should receive