The Sun.
London, England, 1868-09-22 00:00:00

so suspended. We recommend that the suspen-

sions shall be extended to all cases where at any

time such non-performance shall have occurred for
the preceding twelve months. A judicious exercise
of these several statutAble powers of uniting, divid-

ing, and re-arranging the area of benefices would

effect much towards removing such anomalies as at

present exist of parishes, on the one hand, with
large endowment and small Church population,
and on the other, with large Church population
and inadequate endowment. But no redistribu-
tion would afford a sufficient remedy where the

aggregate of the endowments of the whole district
falls below what is required to supply its claims. In
order to meet this exigency we recommend—First,
to enable the Ecclesiastical Commissioners and

bishop to suspend any benefice in Rhich the Church
population does not reach a certain number, which
we would suggest to be forty, the revenues there-

upon to vest in the commissioners ; and second, to
raise the soak of ad valorem tax now levied on all
benefices above £3OO a year, in such of these as
have not a Church population of at least 100. The
number of benefices in lay patronage amounts to
309. 'We advise the provisions for suspension to
be extended to these, if possible. Some charges

now pressing upon the clergy may, in our opinion,
be either otherwise provided for or rendered les3
burdensome, as the lending of money for build-

ing or repairing glebe houses, with extension of
the time limited for repayment, &c. We
recommend that all instruments to encumber the
benefice shall be declared void, as against
not only the successor but the incum-
bent himself. In like manner we regard non-
residence as inconsistent with the purposes of a

parochial ministry. We recommend the law on
these subjects to be amended. A large portion of
the temporalities of the Irish branch of the Estab-

...
lisped Church (upwards of £204,000 a year) con-
sists of income derived from lands. Of these lands

much the greater part, producing about £142,000
a year, belongs to the bishops, the Ecclesiastical
Commissioners, the corporations aggregate, and the

dignitaries of the cathedrals. The remainder (in
value about £62,000 a year) belongs to the parochial
clergy. The income arising from the lands of the
clergy, although they are generally let at moderate
rents, may be considered to represent the improved

value. But as to all the other lands of the Church,
the income received by the ecclesiastical landlord

bears a small proportion to the. value. Originally
there was an unlimited power of leasing and alien-
ating the lands of bishops, dignitaries, and corpora-
tions aggregate. Statutes have substituted a limited
power, which still continues, to lease such lands
when situate in towns for 40 years, and when situate
elsewhere for 21 years, during the duration of the
lease at the old rent, and after its termination at a
moiety of the value. Certain lands given by the
Act of Settlement of Charles IL•may be leased for

lives."

" The Board of Ecclesiastical Commissioners in
Ireland is constituted under the provisions of the
Church Temporalities (Ireland) Acts. These Acts
provide that it shall consist of four ex officio mem-
bers, namely, the Lord Primate of All Ireland, the
Lord High Chancellor of Ireland, being a member
of the United Church of England and Ireland,

the Lord Archbishop of Dublin, and the Lord Chic
Justice of Ireland, being a member of the United
Church of England and Ireland, of four bishops
nominated by the Crown, and of three other ' pro-
per and discreet persons,' of whom two are to be
nominated by the Crown, and one by the Arch-
bishops of Armagh and Dublin. Since the death of
the late Bishop of Derry, who was a member of the
board, the vacancy has not been filled by the Crown;
and another vacancy has been caused by the recent
death of Sir B. L. Guinness. The persons who now
form the Board are the Lord Primate, the Lord
Chancellor of Ireland, the Lord Archbishop
of Dublin, the Bishops of Meath, Ossory,
and Cashel, the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, Dr.
Gayer, Q.C., and Mr. Quin. Dr. Gayer was ap-
pointed by the Crown and Mr. Q fin by the Arch-
bishops of Armagh and Dublin. Dr. Gayer and MI..
Quin receive salaries ; all the other commissioners
are unpaid. A very large amount of property has
by the operation of provisions iu the Church Tem-
poralities (Ireland) Acts become vested in this
board. The net annual revenues at present re-
ceived by them may be estimated at upwards of
£113,000 a year. These revenues are derived from
the episcopal estates, which were transferred to
them on the reduction of the bishoprics by the Act
of 3 and 4 Will. IV., c. 37 ; from the property of
dignities and benefices which have been suspended
by orders in council; from tithes and lands disappro-
priated fromother dignities by similar orders in coun-
cil; from rent charges payable to the commissioners
out of the sees of Armagh and Derry ; from an
ad valorem tax imposed on all bishoprics, dignities,
and benefices exceeding in annual value £3OO, and
which increases in its proportion according to cer-
tain scales of income ; and from the accumulations
of the purchase money received on the conversion
of leasehold interests into perpetuities. The com-
missioners also hold as trustees some property ap-
propriated for particular purposes. Thus the funds
known as Primate Boulter's and Primate Robin-
son's Funds, the former amounting to upwards of
£89,000 Government Stock, and the latter to £985
Consols, being bequests of those prelates to buy glebes
and augment small benefices, were transferred to the
commissioners for these purposes. They also ad-
minister for like purposes in the dioceses of Water-
ford and Lismore a fund called Bishop Gore's Fund,
bequeathed by a prelate of that name ; and
some private endowments for churches, in all
about £4,240, Government Stock, are also standing,
to their account. Some changes in the present ar-
rangement of the board appear indispensable. Two
of the ex officio members are judges, whose attend-
ance is extremely rare, and if they happen not to
be members of the Church, there is no provision
made to supply their places. We are of opinion
that the laity is not in proportion sufficiently re-
presented on the board. It would be more advis-
able to have only two ex officio members—viz., the
prelates of the sees of Armagh and Dublin ; two
other bishops to be selected by the Crown, one
from the province of Munster, and the other from
the province of Connaught, to represent the local
interests of the dioceses situate therein respectively,
the two ex officio member‘sufficiently representing
the interests of the dioceses situate in Ulster and
Leinster ; three laymen, unpaid, to be nomi-
nated by the Crown, and two paid commissioners,
to be nominated, one by the Crown, and the
other by the Lord Primate. Au examination of the
working of the Establishment has satisfied us that
the official duties are discharged with diligence and
ability. The proportion which the expenses of ad-
ministration and management bear to the revenues
is high, and, in our opinion, capable of being re-
duced, without prejudice to efficiency. At present
there are two paid commissioners, two chief subor-
dinate officers, the secretary and treasurer ; two
architects, each with a salary, bound to give their
entire time to the business of the commission ; a
travelling agent, some local agents ; and, in addi-
tion, a portion of the income is collected by an agency
firm. The percentage. for collection is in some in-
stances as high as 10 per cent. 'There are also paid
local inspectors of the churches, and of the outlay
upon their building and repair. The clerks are 25
in number, of whom twenty-one are termed
permanent and four supernumerary. The paid
commissioners of the Board of Ecclesiastical Com-
missioners in England, with the assistance of the
Bank of England, discharge the duties of the trea-
surer's department under their commission ; no
separate office of treasurer exists. The secretary
of the Bank of Ireland has satisfied us that a like
system might be adopted in Ireland, and the ex-
pense of the separate office of treasurer saved. Two
paid commissioners, with the assistance of the Bank
of Ireland, should act as treasurers. The employ-
ment of a head clerk in the agency department is
unnecessary. The clerks' departments could be so
modelled as to reduce expenditure without impair-
ing efficiency. The percentage for collection of
rents and tithe rent charge ought to be revised with
a view to reduction, and the system of
supervision
of rentals and accounts.is capable of improvement.
" The surplus income of all estates and funds
vested in the Ecclesiastical Commissioners should
be applicable to the suitable augmentation of bene-