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Title: Churchwardens' Manual
their duties, powers, rights, and privilages
Author: George Henry
Release Date: November 15, 2007 [eBook #23476]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHURCHWARDENS' MANUAL***
Transcribed from the 1897 Simpkin and Co. edition by David Price, email
[email protected]
Winchester:
Printed by Warren & Son, 85, High Street.
Churchwardens' Manual:
_THEIR DUTIES_,
_POWERS_, _RIGHTS_, _AND PRIVILEGES_.
BY
GEORGE HENRY, D.D.,
_Bishop of Guildford and Archdeacon of Winchester_.
Third Edition.
LONDON:
SIMPKIN AND CO., LIMITED.
WINCHESTER:
WARREN AND SON, PRINTERS AND PUBLISHERS, HIGH STREET.
_All rights reserved_.
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
The fact that a Second Edition of this Manual has been called for within
a few months of its first publication, shows, I think, that it has met a
want which was previously felt by Clergy and Churchwardens. The whole of
the Manual has been revised, and additions made with special reference to
the Burial Laws, the position of District Churches as regards the Mother
Church, and the conveyance of land or buildings to trustees for mission
or other purposes, which it is hoped will add to its value.
G. H. G.
THE CLOSE,
WINCHESTER.
_October_, _1890_.
PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION.
Additions have been made to the present Edition, especially with
reference to the changes which the Local Government Act, 1894, has made
as to the duties of Churchwardens. It is hoped that these additions may
be found useful. I once more express the hope that this Manual may be
found increasingly helpful in the hands of the Churchwardens in the
carrying out of their very responsible duties as officers of the Church.
G. H. G.
THE CLOSE,
WINCHESTER,
_1897_.
INDEX.
Acts quoted:-- PAGE
7 Gul. IV, and 1 Vict., cap. 45, 66
sec. 3
58 Geo. III, cap. 69 67
59 Geo. III, cap. 85, sec. 1 69
14 and 15 Vict., cap. 97, sec. 23 71
18 and 19 Vict., cap. 128, sec. 78
18
15 and 16 Vict., cap. 85, sec. 10 80
24 and 25 Vict., cap. 125, sec. 2 82
43 Geo. III, cap. 108 84
36 and 37 Vict., cap. 50 84
4 and 5 Vict., cap. 38; 7 and 8 85
Vict., cap. 37
Aggrieved Parishioners, how to 58
deal with
Cemetery, how to be provided 32
Churchwarden:--
Origin of Office 1
Who qualified to act 3
Not to act except in concert with 9
his colleague
Declaration to be made 10
Legality of Election, how 12
ascertained
Vacancy, how filled 13
Canonical Duties 20
Duty in connection with New 23
Incumbent
Duty in connection with Fabric, 21, etc.
Churchyard, Church Goods,
Insurance, Church Seats, Faculty
Pews, Sequestration, Parish
Documents
Churchyard, enlargement of 31
,, Closed, to be kept in order by 30
Churchwardens at expense of
Parish Council
Corporation. Churchwardens not a 94
corporation except under special
circumstances
Council, Parish--Powers of Vestry 13, etc.
transferred to with certain
exceptions
Custody of Keys of Church 53
,, Church Bells 54
,, Tithe Map 18
District Churches. Banns not to 39, etc.
be asked or Marriages to be
Solemnised in the Mother Church
Ratepayers residing in District 41
have a vote in Vestry of the
Mother Church
Music of Church, management of 53
Offertories, power over 54
distribution of
Sidesmen, why so called 7
,, How elected 6
Trust deeds. How land and 49
buildings for mission and other
purposes should be conveyed
Vestry, Notice of, how to be 7
signed
,, Incumbent Chairman of 8
,, How Votes taken 10
,, Select--abolished 10
Notices of First Edition 87
The Duties of Churchwardens.
I am so constantly asked in the course of my inspection of the Churches
in the Archdeaconry of Winchester what are the duties and
responsibilities of Churchwardens, that I have thought it might be useful
to publish the following remarks, which were in substance delivered in my
charge to the Clergy and Churchwardens of the Archdeaconry of Winchester
in the Spring of 1889. Many requests were then made to me that I would
publish my charge as a manual for Churchwardens, and it is in consequence
of those requests that this publication has been put forth.
Let me first refer to the origin of the office. The name appears in
connection with the ecclesiastical history of the fourth century. St.
Augustine refers to certain officers in the Church called _seniores
Ecclesiastici_. These officers were not ordained persons, but yet had
some concern in the care of the Church. They were entrusted with the
treasure and management of the outward affairs of the Church. These
persons may be looked upon as the ecclesiastical ancestors of our present
race of Churchwardens. {2} In Lyndwood's _Provinciale_ there are
allusions in some of the Provincial Constitutions of the fourteenth and
fifteenth Centuries which seem to point to officers in connection with
the Church corresponding to our present Churchwardens. It is not,
however, until after the Reformation that we find their duties distinctly
defined in successive Canons, as in 1571 (Cardwell's _Synodalia_, I,
122), in 1597 (Cardwell's _Synodalia_, I, 160), and in our own Canons of
1603.
It is not desirable on the present occasion to trace the variations in
the duties of Churchwardens through successive centuries. Each age has,
of course, its own special features, and may require different treatment
to its predecessor, but there is no doubt whatever as to the fact that
ever since the Reformation Churchwardens have been recognised as officers
of the Church, with their position and duties distinctly defined both by
canon and statute law. Before particularising their duties I must point
out what is the law as to their election.
Who, then are qualified to be Churchwardens?
Aliens, Roman Catholics, Jews, children under ten years of age, and
persons who have been convicted of felony are absolutely disqualified.
The following cannot be compelled to serve the office if they personally
object to do so:
Peers, Sheriffs, Clergymen, Members of the House of Commons, Magistrates,
Barristers and Solicitors, Physicians and Surgeons, Dissenting Ministers,
Officers in the Navy or Army on full pay, men in the Militia or Army
Reserve, Registrars of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, Officials of the
Customs, Excise, or Post Office, and those already acting as
Churchwardens elsewhere.
With these exceptions the law of the land is that, if a householder
dwelling in the parish be legally elected to the office, he must serve as
Churchwarden. In old parishes dissenters, if elected, may appoint a
deputy to be approved of by the Vestry. {4} But in parishes formed under
the Acts 1 and 2, Will. IV, c. 38, sec. 16; 6 and 7 Vict., c. 37, sec.
17; or 19 and 20 Vict., c. 104, which re-enacts 6 and 7 Vict., c. 37,
sec. 17, with reference to this point, it is expressly en-acted that
Churchwardens must be Churchmen. Churchwardens ought to be elected in
new parishes twenty-one days after the consecration of the Church
thereof.
Females, although there has been no legal decision authorising their
appointment, are occasionally, if otherwise eligible, appointed to serve
the office, but it is not likely that the Courts, if called upon, would
be so ungallant as to compel a female householder, if elected, to serve
against her will.
In my own Archdeaconry there are several ladies who have been elected
Churchwardens, and they do their duty right well.
A Churchwarden must be resident in the parish for which he is elected to
serve. The contrary has been held to be the law for some years past, but
a decision of the Court of Queen's Bench, reported in the _Times_ of Nov.
20th, 1889, decides absolutely that both in new and old parishes none but
residents are qualified to serve as Churchwardens. {5}
With reference to this point, the following memorandum has been issued
for use in the diocese of Rochester by Chancellor Dibden:--
It is desirable, wherever practicable, to be careful that the persons
chosen "live" in the parish. It sometimes happens, however, that it
is difficult to find suitable persons inside, and the parish wish to
appoint an outsider. This should never be done if objection is
raised even by a single parishioner, because the appointment is
technically faulty, and could be set aside on _mandamus_ on the
application of even one individual. If, however, the parish vestry
are unanimous, and the appointment is desirable in other respects, no
harm will ensue from the fact that the chosen churchwarden is
technically ineligible. Unless and until his position is challenged,
as by a _mandamus_, he will have the same powers and rights as any
other Churchwarden. For the election of a disqualified person as
Churchwarden is not absolutely ineffective, but the person so
elected, when once admitted, can do all lawful acts belonging to the
office until he has been displaced.
The 90th canon of 1603 (which is the date of the setting forth of the
existing code of canons) directs that "the choice of . . . Churchwardens,
or Questmen, Sidesmen, or Assistants, shall be yearly made in Easter
week." An election at any other time is valid in law. {6}
It is supposed that the Churchwardens were called Questmen or Searchers
from the fact that they were empowered and instructed to search for cases
of heresy, or open sin, in their several parishes, and report them to
their Ecclesiastical Superiors.
Two derivations are given of the title of Sidesmen. Some suppose that
they are so called because they are elected as assistants to the
Churchwardens to stand by their side; other suppose the word to be an
abbreviation of Synodsmen, because in ancient times the Bishops summoned
certain persons of credit from the various parishes in order to testify
as to the morals of the clergy and people. These witnesses were called
Testes Synodales, and hence some suppose the title of Sidesmen, or
Synodsmen, to have taken its origin. Of late years in populous towns
Sidesmen have often been elected, and are found to be of great help in
assisting the Churchwardens in the execution of their duties.
The Vestry at which the Churchwardens and Sidesmen (if any) are to be
elected must be duly summoned. The notice summoning the Vestry must be
signed either by the Incumbent, the Curate, one Churchwarden, or one
Overseer of the poor. {7}
It is obviously advisable that the signatures of the Incumbent and of
both Churchwardens should be attached to the notice of the Easter Vestry.
This notice specifying the particular business to be transacted must be
affixed on a Sunday, three clear days before the holding of the meetings,
at or near the principal door of all the Churches and Chapels in the
parish. {8a} The Incumbent of the parish is by law the ex-officio
Chairman of the Vestry. {8b} In his absence the ratepayers present must
elect a Chairman for the occasion. The Curate does not necessarily take
his place as Chairman, unless elected to do so by the Vestry. The usual
custom in parishes is for the Incumbent to nominate one Churchwarden and
the parishioners the other. Sometimes the parishioners elect both. The
canon {8c} indeed seems to point out the election of both Churchwardens
by the joint consent of the Minister and the parishioners as the normal
mode of action, and the nomination by the Incumbent of one and of the
parishioners of another as only to be resorted to when they cannot arrive
at a common agreement. But custom goes for a long way in this matter,
and the usual course is certainly for the Incumbent to nominate one and
the parishioners the other. In the absence of the Incumbent the Curate
has the same right to nominate one Churchwarden as the Incumbent if
present would have. {9a}
In whatever manner the election may be carried out, the two Churchwardens
subsequently stand on an absolute equality. The Incumbent's Churchwarden
is not elected to look after the Incumbent's interests only, nor the
parishioners' Churchwarden to look after the parishioners' interests
only. The interests of both must be equally dear to the one and to the
other. Nor can they act except jointly. The Vestry even is powerless to
clothe one Churchwarden with authority to act against the will of his
colleague in office. {9b} Any election by the parishioners must take
place in the usual manner. Ratepayers present, whether paying directly
or indirectly (32 and 33 Vic., c. 41, section 19), have a right to vote,
and if a poll is demanded it cannot be refused by the Chairman. The
votes must be taken in accordance with the provisions of the Vestry Acts,
58 Geo. III, cap. 69, sec. 2, 3, 4, and 59 Geo. III, cap. 85. If the
votes are equal the Chairman has by right a casting vote, in addition to
whatever number of votes he may have as an individual ratepayer. By 58
Geo. III, cap. 69, sec. 3, it is ordered that minutes of the proceedings
shall be written out before the close of the Vestry, and after having
been read be signed by the Chairman and any of the members present who
may like to do so. {10a}
In some new parishes there are select Vestries, but by the 14 and 15
Vict., cap. 97, sec. 23, in parishes formed under any Church Building
Acts before 1851 they are abolished, and it was enacted that after that
date no select Vestry should be formed. {10b}
The Churchwardens thus duly appointed must make the following declaration
before the "ordinary, or other person" qualified to receive it:--
"We do solemnly and sincerely declare that we will faithfully and
diligently perform the duties of the Office of Churchwardens, to the
best of our skill and understanding, and that we will present such
persons and things as to our knowledge are presentable by the
Ecclesiastical Laws of this Realm."
This declaration ought to be made at the visitation of the Bishop,
Chancellor, or Archdeacon next ensuing upon the election. Until this
declaration is made the Churchwarden is not legally qualified to act, and
could not enforce his authority as Churchwarden if objected to. In case
of the death of the Incumbent the parish would have no legal
representative to act as the custodian of the temporalities of the Church
in that particular parish. The fee payable by law at visitations is
eighteen shillings (30 and 31 Vict., cap. 135). {11}
If there is a dispute as to whether a Churchwarden is legally elected or
not, it is sometimes supposed that it is the Archdeacon's business at his
visitation to decide the question. Of course Archdeacons are at all
times ready, willing, and anxious to advise any persons who apply to them
for advice to the best of their power. But it is no part of their duty,
nor are they by law authorised to decide a disputed return. Their duty
is simply that of returning officers to declare the election as certified
to them by the Vestry. A copy of the minutes of the Vestry, in case of a
dispute, should be laid before them, and the aggrieved party can, if he
wishes to do so, apply for a mandamus commanding the Rector and
Churchwardens to convene a Vestry to make a fresh election. It is for
the court to grant or to refuse the application. I hope I may not be
understood as recommending this course. I am merely stating what the law
is. {12} But all these matters should, if possible, be settled out of
court. Law-suits are apt to leave an unpleasant taste behind. If such a
case should unhappily arise it might be advisable for the Archdeacon to
suggest to the parties that they should agree to submit to his decision
of the disputed question, and waive their right of appeal to a Court of
Common Law. If this were agreed to the case might be amicably settled at
once without resource being had to any external litigation.
If a Churchwarden duly elected ceases in the course of the year to reside
in the parish he does not _ipso facto_ vacate the office, though it is a
good reason for resignation and the appointment of another in his place.
{13}
The Churchwardens being thus duly elected, and having made the legal
declaration at the visitation, continue in office until their successors
are elected, and have in their turn made the said declaration.
What, then, are their duties?
The Local Government Act, 1894, has in many ways affected them.
Churchwardens in rural parishes are no longer _ex-officio_ Overseers of
the Poor. {14} An additional number of Overseers may be appointed to
replace the Churchwardens, and reference in any Act to the Churchwardens
and Overseers, shall, as respects any rural parish (except so far as
those references relate to the affairs of the Church), be construed as
references to the Overseers, and the legal interest in all property
vested either in the Overseer of a rural parish (other than a property
connected with the affairs of the Church, or held for an Ecclesiastical
Charity), shall, if there is a Parish Council, vest in that Council.--V.
2, (_a_), (_b_), (_c_).
The Poor Relief Act, 1819, _i.e._, 59 Geo. III, cap. 12, enabled
Churchwardens and Overseers of a parish to acquire lands, &c., and they
were made a Corporation for that special purpose alone, and for the
specific purposes mentioned in the Act. Such lands, as regards rural
parishes having a Parish Council, now come under the management of the
Parish Council.
The Churchwardens of every rural parish are now only concerned as
Churchwardens with the affairs of the Church. What changes then, it will
be asked, are made with regard to Vestries?
Speaking generally as to rural parishes, the powers, duties, and
liabilities of the Vestry except (i) so far as relates to the affairs of
the Church or to Ecclesiastical Charities, or (ii) any power, duty, or
liability, transferred by this Act from the Vestry to any other authority
are transferred to the Parish Council.--6, a, 1, 2.
One word with regard to the expression, Ecclesiastical Charities. These
words include a charity, the endowment whereof is held for some one or
more of the following purposes:--
(_a_.) Any spiritual purpose which is a legal purpose, or,
(_b_.) For the benefit of any spiritual person, or ecclesiastical person
as such, or
(_c_.) For use, if a building, as a church, chapel, mission room, Sunday
School, or otherwise by any particular church or denomination, or
(_d_.) For the maintenance, repair, or improvement of any such building
as aforesaid, or for the maintenance of Divine service therein, or,
(_e_.) Otherwise for the benefit of any particular church or
denomination, or of any members thereof as such (Sec. 75, i).
Any endowment of a charity other than a building held in part only for
some of the purposes aforesaid, will be dealt with by the Charity
Commissioners on the application of any person interested.
The expression, Ecclesiastical Charity, includes any building which in
the opinion of the Charity Commissioners has been erected or provided
within forty years before the passing of this Act, mainly by or at the
cost of members of any particular church or denomination.
The expression, affairs of the church, includes the distribution of
offertories or other collections made in any church (sec. 75).
It may be well to add that the expression Parochial Charity, when used in
the Act, means a charity the benefits of which are, or the separate
distribution of the benefits of which is, confined to the inhabitants of
a single parish, or of a single ancient ecclesiastical parish divided
into two or more parishes, or of not more than five neighbouring
parishes. (_Ibid._)
These also come under the management of the Parish Council.
The provision of parish books and of a vestry room or parochial office,
parish chest, and the holding or management of parish property not being
property relating to affairs of the Church or held for an Ecclesiastical
charity, are also in rural parishes transferred to the Parish Council.
The custody of the registers of baptisms, marriages, and burials, and of
all other books and documents containing entries wholly or partly
relating to the affairs of the Church or to Ecclesiastical charities,
except documents directed by law to be kept with the public books,
writings, and papers of the parish, remains as provided by law before the
passing of the Local Government Act, _i.e._, in the hands of the
incumbent.
The Parish Council have a right to reasonable access to all such books
and documents referred to above, and the incumbent and Churchwardens have
a similar right with respect to books, etc., in the custody of the Parish
Council (xvii, 8).
There is one matter connected with the particular section of the Local
Government Act, 1894, now under consideration, which has given rise to
some discussion. In whose custody should the Tithe Map and Award be
placed? Should the Incumbent or the Parish Council have the charge of
them? Now, I am no lawyer, and I should be very sorry to be supposed to
give any opinion on a question which admits of so much argument on both
sides. But I do very strongly deprecate any litigation on the matter.
It is a very doubtful point, and he who takes the question into a Court
of Law must at any rate be prepared to have to back up his opinion with a
well-filled purse. The final paragraph of Section 17, Sub-section 8,
almost seems as if the draughtsman of the act expected questions to arise
under it. It runs thus:--"The Incumbent and Churchwardens on the one
part, and the Parish Council on the other, shall have reasonable access
to all such books documents, writings, and papers, as are referred to in
this Sub-section, and any differences as to custody or access shall be
determined by the County Council." Is it not just a case in which, if
there is no cause for complaint, and no reasonable access refused, these
documents should remain in their existing custody (usually that of the
Incumbent), and that if differences arise, an amicable appeal should be
made to the County Council, and the decision of that body acquiesced in
by both parties?
This is evidently the opinion of the President of the Board of
Agriculture (Mr. Chaplin), who on February 8th, 1897, in the House of
Commons, replied as follows to a question on this subject:--
I am aware that questions have arisen with regard to the custody of
documents under Sub-section 8 of Section 17 of the Local Government
Act, 1894. The Act contemplated that this would be the case, and has
provided that any questions as to such custody shall be determined by
the County Council. The Local Government Board have no jurisdiction
to determine questions as regards the Tithe Map, and it has been
their practice to inform Parish Councils to this effect. I am
advised that Tithe Maps are under the Tithe Commutation Act, 1886, to
be kept "with the public books, writings, and papers of the parish,"
and the Sub-section to which I have referred requires therefore that
they shall either remain in their existing custody or be deposited in
such custody as the Parish Council may direct.
It may be well to mention here that when there is in a rural parish an
existing Vestry Clerk appointed under the Trustees Act, 1850, he shall
become the Clerk of the Parish Council, holding office by the same tenure
as before, and while performing the duties shall not receive less salary
or remuneration than before (sec. 81, 2, 4).
In our canons, which date from 1603, no fewer than eighteen refer to the
duties of Churchwardens. One canon enjoins them to present to the
ordinary those guilty of notorious crimes and scandals, hinderers of the
Word of God, disturbers of Divine Service, and non-communicants at
Easter. Other Canons refer to their duties in not allowing loiterers
near the Church in time of Divine Service, in providing bread and wine
for the Holy Communion, and marking those who present themselves at the
Lord's Table. Others enjoin them to take care that no stranger be
admitted to preach in Church without showing his licence; to provide a
sure coffer for the safe keeping of the registers, and to see that the
proper entries are therein made; to provide for the Church service books,
font, Communion table, and pulpit, and a chest for alms; and further, to
see that the Church is kept in sufficient reparation, that neither the
Church or Churchyard be in any way profaned; that the bells be not rung
at any time without good cause to be allowed by the minister of the place
and by themselves; to see that the parishioners duly resort to their
Church upon Sundays and holy days; that none stand idle in the
Churchyard, or make any disturbance in the Church or Churchyard during
the time of Divine Service; and further, call upon and exhort such as are
negligent in resorting to the Church that they fail not to amend their
ways; to keep the accounts connected with these matters; and, "last of
all, going out of their office they shall truly deliver up to the
parishioners whatever money or other things of right belonging to the
parish which remaineth in their hands, that they may be delivered over by
them to the next Churchwardens by bill indented." {22}
In the fulfilment of these duties it is, in my opinion, difficult to
exaggerate the influence for good which a Churchwarden may exercise in
the parish in which his lot is cast. Of course it is possible to perform
the duties perfunctorily, or to let them slide altogether; but if his
heart is really in his work, if he is anxious to do all in his power that
the ecclesiastical machinery in the parish should work smoothly, I will
undertake to say that he will find plenty of scope for his energies. If
lethargic or antagonistic he may greatly hinder the Church's work; but if
in a friendly spirit and with words of wisdom he is always ready to meet
the Rector and consult as to the advisability of this or that particular
course of action, the office becomes neither a surplusage nor a sinecure.
There is nothing worse in a parish than either clerical or lay clan-ship.
Isolation is good neither for the one nor the other. The interests of
both are the same, and surely their hands should be joined together for
common action in the common Master's cause.
And as it seems to me this side of his office comes into prominence in
connection with the induction of a new Incumbent. For the entering upon
a new cure is of undoubtedly great and solemn importance to the Parson
himself, but it is hardly less so to the parish. How much depends, as
regards the future peace, happiness, and prosperity of the parish, upon
the relations existing between Pastor and flock. No doubt the character,
zeal, energy, devotion, and even the idiosyncrasies, manner, and general
bearing of the Incumbent are of vital importance. Courtesy begets
courtesy. Consideration for the feelings of others is met in the same
spirit. But sometimes, I fear the Laity suppose that the peace of a
parish depends almost entirely upon the Clergyman. He is but a unit in
the parochial system. If one thing is more absolutely necessary than
another for the harmonious working of Clergy and Laity in a parish, or
the welfare of the whole, it is that there should be no suspicions the
one of the other. Perfect confidence and a generous trust should be the
rule of all dealings between Incumbents and Churchwardens.
It cannot but be expected that an Incumbent on first coming into a parish
should find some things which he would prefer otherwise. The special
hobbies, so to speak, of his predecessor may not be his. His energies
may not be put forth on exactly the same lines as those of the Incumbent
whom he succeeds. And then sometimes the staunch friends of the former
ministry may look coldly and askant upon the new Rector's labours and
think that his very efforts in fresh and hitherto untried fields are
reflections upon the past. It should not be so. All men are not cast in
the same mould. One branch of ministerial work may be more congenial to
one parish priest than another, and it is only natural that he should be
more devoted to that particular portion of work in which he seems to be
most successful. But changes are not synonymous with reflections upon a
former _regime_. A man should not be made an offender for a word. A
Churchwarden should be prepared in all good faith to transfer his
allegiance, if called upon so to do, from one Incumbent to another. It
is no disloyalty to do so. The "King is dead; long live the King" is
loyalty alike to the past and to the newly reigning Sovereign. If old
customs are changed, old practices discontinued, the Churchwarden should
find out by private inquiry from his Rector the why and the wherefore,
and if the change is for the better he should not let love of existing
practice be stereotyped into a desire of a never changing system, which
may perchance easily slide into lethargy and somnolent repose. In these
days it does not do merely
"Stare super antiquas vias."
Some persons I know are so constituted that they suspect the existence of
a snake under every blade of grass. It is not a happy disposition either
for the person who is possessed with this idiosyncrasy, or in its reflex
action upon others. True charity thinketh no evil. It is far better to
be over sanguine in our charitable estimate of other men's motives, even
if we do sometimes ultimately find that our estimate was wrong, than to
be constantly living in an atmosphere of suspicion. Suspicion and
consequent mistrust often produce the very effects which otherwise would
never have had any existence at all.
I have ventured to say these few words because I feel very strongly how
much the ecclesiastical peace of a parish depends upon the harmonious
action of the Incumbent and Churchwardens. It is not often that the case
is otherwise. Generally speaking they work zealously and actively
together, ready as occasion may arise to adopt, if necessary, new methods
of warfare in the conflict against sin and evil as fellow-workers with
the Clergy in the great work of the Church on earth.
Let me then state, as briefly as I can, some of a Churchwarden's duties.
I suppose him to be duly elected, and to have taken the declaration at
the visitation either of the Bishop, the Chancellor, or the Archdeacon.
It would be well that the first step should be to look to the fences of
the Churchyard and the general state of the fabric of the Church--the
roof, the tiles, the tower or spire, and the general fittings of the
Church. If any of these are found to be seriously out of order, counsel
should be at once taken with the Incumbent as to the proper course to be
adopted. In these matters a stitch in time often saves nine, and though
we have now no compulsory Church-rate to fall back upon for Church
expenses, yet in an harmoniously worked parish there really ought to be
no insurmountable difficulty in raising the sum necessary for the due
repairs of the Church and for the services of the Sanctuary. Offertories
and subscriptions can be made to supplement one another, and if what is
necessary in the way of repair is really honestly done year by year, it
will be much easier to raise the funds wanted than if by neglect and
postponement a large outlay is suddenly found to be absolutely necessary
in order to avoid some dreadful catastrophe.
In this general preliminary survey the state of the Churchyard will
naturally come under his notice. The Churchyard is the freehold of the
Incumbent, which he holds in trust for the service which it is intended
to subserve. Sometimes an arrangement is made by him with the
Churchwardens as to the keeping the Churchyard tidy. No doubt the
Churchwardens are bound to see that the proper measures for this purpose
are taken by themselves or the Incumbent. But although our Churches,
speaking generally, are in good repair, yet it seems to me that in many
cases sufficient attention is not paid to the keeping of the Churchyard
in proper order. The days are gone by when horned cattle were allowed to
find sweet pasture in the resting-place of the dead, but sheep still
linger in some country districts. And there is often a temptation not
always successfully resisted--when the Churchyard is large--that the crop
of grass during the summer months should be allowed to grow without
interference by scythe or machine, until fit to be cut for hay. But I do
feel strongly that the temptation _should be_ resisted. Nothing so
quickly awakens doubtful feelings in the breast of a passer-by as to the
zeal, energy and devotion of the Incumbent, as a Churchyard untidy and
unkempt, paths full of weeds, hedges untrimmed, grass long and
straggling. Nothing, on the other hand, is so grateful to all the
parishioners of a particular parish as the Churchyard well kept and
looked after, the graves neat and trimmed, the whole place by its very
appearance asserting its right to the title of God's Acre. I do not like
to see the Parsonage garden filled with lovely flowers, and in beautiful
order, while the adjoining Churchyard is starved. Let each receive the
attention which is its proper due.
With regard to closed Churchyards the obligations of the Churchwardens in
rural parishes with respect to maintaining and repairing closed
Churchyards, wherever the expenses of such maintenance and repair are
repayable out of the Poor Rate under the Burial Act, 1855, {30a} are
transferred to the Parish Council. Provided that such obligations shall
not in the case of any particular parish be deemed to attach, unless or
until the Churchwardens subsequent to the passing of this Act shall give
a certificate as in the Burial Act, 1855, provided, in order to obtain
the repayment of such expenses out of the Poor Rate (sec. 6, II, _b_).
It has been decided that {30b} if a Churchyard is closed by order in
Council it must be kept in order by the Churchwardens, and if it be a
Cemetery formed by a Burial Board, then by the Burial Board. In the
former case the expenses would, under the Local Government Act, be repaid
to the Churchwardens in rural parishes by the Parish Council, on
presentation of the proper certificate as mentioned in the previous
paragraph.
If the Churchyard requires enlargement, and an adjoining piece of ground
can be obtained, it is well to remember that a special Act has been
passed (30 and 31 Vict., c. 133) for diminishing the expense connected
with the consecration of ground so added to an old Churchyard. The form
of conveyance is given in the Act; the powers given in the School Sites'
Act "to persons being seised in fee simple, fee tail, or for life of and
in any manor or lands of freehold, copyhold or customary tenure, and
having the beneficial interest therein, to grant, convey, or enfranchise
by way of gift, sale or exchange in fee simple, or for term of years, any
quantity not exceeding one acre of such land as a site for a school" are
"deemed to apply to all persons desirous of granting land for the purpose
of such enlargement" (of an existing Churchyard) "in the same way as if
the said land had been granted as a site for a school."
In cases in which it is wished to provide a burial ground under a burial
board, the first step to be taken is for a vestry to be summoned _seven_
days before the holding of such meeting, to take the subject into
consideration, and if it is agreed to proceed in the matter, a
requisition to that effect must be sent to the Home Secretary, and the
officials of the Home Office will send down full directions as to the
mode of procedure. {32}
The following general information on this subject may be found of use:--
The enlargement of a Churchyard sometimes makes it necessary that graves
should be built over, or the bodies therein contained removed to another
part of the Churchyard, and it occasionally happens that the parties
interested object to the former but are prepared to agree to the latter.
It is well, therefore, to know that this removal can take place by
faculty granted by the ordinary for that purpose without application to
the Home Secretary (20 and 21 Vict., cap. 81, s. 25). When a Churchyard
is closed and a cemetery has been provided under a burial board to be
used for interments, the custody of the old registers belongs to the
Incumbent, and he is entitled to the fees for certificates of burial
previous to the closing of the Churchyard, but the custody of the
registers of interments in the cemetery belongs to the chaplain or
officer of the burial board. The Act 52 Geo. III., cap. 146, s. 4,
requiring certificates of burials in any other place than the Churchyard
of the Parish Church to be sent to the Incumbent, has been repealed as
far as burials are concerned in grounds provided by the Burial Acts (20
and 21 Vict., cap. 81, s. 15).
Then I wish that it were universally acknowledged that the next step
should be for a new Churchwarden to inspect the Church goods which are
placed under his charge; to see that they tally accurately with the list
which ought to be kept in the iron chest of all movable articles
belonging to the Church in that parish. {34a} If this were universally
done we should not hear, as we do now unfortunately hear from time to
time, of Church goods having disappeared during a vacancy, or of
registers being missing which may be absolutely invaluable. Legally
speaking, the safe custody of the furniture of the Church rests upon the
Churchwardens. {34b} This list should be signed by the Incumbent and
Churchwardens, and kept in the parish chest, and include all movable
articles of Church furniture and belongings.
There should also be a report on the fabric of the Church, mentioning the
character, date, and cost of alterations made, the date of consecration;
if a modern Church the Act under which built. Any specially
characteristic features of the Church should be mentioned.
The inventory of Church furniture should include Church plate, with
copies of inscriptions and dates, Church linen, Service books of all
kinds, furniture of the vestry, ornaments for the Holy Table, special
gifts, brasses, lectern, everything in short that is moveable, the bells,
with inscriptions, if any, and the rules for ringers, the parish register
books, with dates carefully made of the first entry in each book. If
there are any gaps in the registers it is well to mention them.
Benefactions should be noted; also the nature of the tenure of the parish
school, with an intimation as to where the trust deed is kept. A terrier
of glebe lands, with any exchange noted, should be made. There should be
a table of the customary fees charged, {35} and of any payments due to
the Ecclesiastical Commission or to Queen Anne's Bounty, with the amount
of any receipts due from any public body. It is clear that the more
complete such a list can be made the more valuable will it be for future
generations.
It would also be very useful to keep in connection with this inventory a
complete list of the various services held, with the amount of the
offertories and the purposes to which they are devoted.
Then with regard to insurance of the fabric. It is most important that
this should be looked into. There is no excuse for any Church to remain
uninsured. The premium for insurance is now fixed at such a low rate
that the expense is really very small, and the Churchwardens should do
all in their power to persuade the Vestry, if persuasion is necessary, to
sanction the insurance of the Church for a proper sum. I have sometimes
found, after making enquiries on the subject and having ascertained
either that the Church was not insured, or, if insured, only for a very
small sum, that the churchwardens always supposed it was "all right."
Very seldom have any held back from doing their duty when it has been
quietly pointed out to them. An Ecclesiastical Buildings Fire Office has
been established on a sound basis, the offices of which are in Norfolk
Street, Strand, London. It is doing a very large business, and whatever
surplus profits accrue are appropriated to the support of Church work in
the various Dioceses in proportion to the amount of insurances in each,
and to such special objects as are recommended by the Bishop and
Archdeacons. I may also mention Mutual Fire Insurance Offices, such as
the Hand-in-Hand (New Bridge Street, London, E.C.) and the County Fire
(Regent Street), which are old-established offices, and which
periodically return to insurers a certain amount of the premiums paid on
their policies in cases in which no fire has taken place during the
preceding few years. Of this I am quite certain, that if an uninsured
Church were unfortunately burned down, those in the parish interested in
the erection of a new Church would have the greatest possible difficulty
in raising the necessary funds, in the face of such a manifest want of
due caution and forethought on the part of the proper authorities in past
years.
It is, perhaps, hardly necessary for me to say that a strictly accurate
record of every sixpence that is spent upon these and such like matters
must be kept by the Churchwardens, so that at the close of their year,
when they pass on the parish books to their successors, they may be
enabled to lay before them a clear and detailed account of all the
receipts and expenses of the preceding year, with vouchers for all
payments, and to hand over the actual balance remaining after all
liabilities have been met.
It is often supposed that Church Rates are abolished. But such is not
the case. _Compulsory_ Church Rates are done away with by 31 and 32
Vict., cap. 109, except in cases where the rates have been legally
mortgaged, or are subject to private Acts of Parliament. Section 6,
however, of the above Act states distinctly that "this Act shall not
affect vestries, or the making, assessing, receiving, or otherwise
dealing with any Church Rate, save in so far as relates to the recovery
thereof"; and Section 9 authorises the appointment of trustees, the
Incumbent, and two householders or owners or occupiers of land in the
parish, to be nominated, one by the patron, the other by the Bishop of
the Diocese in which the parish is situate. These trustees form a body
corporate, and may, as circumstances require, pay to the Churchwardens
any funds in their hands for the building, rebuilding, enlargement, and
repair of any Church or Chapel, and any purpose to which, as before
defined in the Act, Church Rates may be applied.
Questions are so often put to me as to the relation existing between
district parishes and the mother Church, that it may be useful if a few
points are mentioned with respect to which difficulties occasionally
arise. The preliminaries of marriage and the solemnization of the rite
itself are a fruitful source of difficulty. They have however, as a
matter of fact, been set at rest by a decision in the Court of Queen's
Bench, in the case of Fuller _v._ Alford, before Mr. Justice Cave and Mr.
Justice Day, which affects all new parishes hitherto created, or that may
hereafter be created, under the Peel and Blandford Acts. The question at
issue was as to the right of the inhabitants of a district parish to have
their banns published and to be married in the Church of the mother
parish, and as to the right of the Incumbent of the mother parish to
publish the banns, solemnise the marriage, and receive the fees for the
same in the case of residents in the district parish. The case is fully
reported in the _Times_ of March 9th, 1883. Mr. Justice Cave, in giving
judgment for the Plaintiff, said that the Act of 1843 as well as that of
1856 (the words of the latter being clearer than those of the former)
made the district a new parish for all ecclesiastical purposes, and banns
of marriage might be published and marriages solemnized, and all the laws
and customs then relating to them would apply to the new parish, the
effect of which was that the banns must be published in the Church of the
new parish. Though recent legislation had brought into prominence the
civil character of the marriage contract, and had enabled it to be
entered into before a Registrar, still he had no doubt that the
solemnization of matrimony in a Church was within the words
"ecclesiastical purposes." The inhabitants therefore of a district
parish have no more right to have their banns asked or their marriage
solemnised in the mother Church than they have in any other Church in
England, so long as they reside in that district.
District parishes, it will be observed, are separate parishes _for
Ecclesiastical purposes_. These words affect the question as to the
right of the ratepaying parishioners of a new district voting for the
Churchwardens of the old parish. This they have a right to do on the
following ground:--The Churchwardens of an old parish have functions to
perform which are rather secular than ecclesiastical. They are in some
cases _ex-officio_ Overseers, and in many cases officially concerned in
the management of endowed charities. The creation therefore of a
district for ecclesiastical purposes does not deprive the inhabitants of
the new district of the right which they had before of voting for
Churchwardens in the old civil parish of which they continue to be
ratepayers. The ratepayers of the _whole_ of the old parish have
consequently a right to vote in vestry at the election of the
Churchwardens in the old parish. The privilege, however, is not
reciprocal, for the ratepayers in the old parish have no similar right of
attending at the vestry and voting for Churchwardens in the new district,
because they are elected "for ecclesiastical purposes" only.
It would be impossible to speak of the duties of Churchwardens without
touching upon the vexed questions of pews. I suppose that if we could
turn the hands of the clock back for some centuries, and were then
legislating for the future of the Church with our experience of the pew
system by a prophetic anachronism clearly present in our minds, we should
hardly suggest for legislation such laws as would bring about the
existing state of things. With the Epistle of St. James in our thoughts
there are some points in our present legal system which most persons find
it difficult to justify. But it is a thorny subject, and I do not want
to dogmatise. It is, perhaps, just the one very point with respect to
which great caution is needed, much charity, much forbearance. You
cannot ride rough-shod over old prejudices, or if you do you are sure
sooner or later to suffer for it. No doubt in theory (to use the words
of the Bishop of Carlisle) the Churchwardens, as the officers of the
ordinary, have, subject to him, the sole appointment and arrangement of
the seats. They are to act to the best of their judgment, and without
favour, to the best advantage of all. {43} And for the most part, in new
Churches, this arrangement works well. Either by agreement of the heads
of the parish the Church is declared to be in the popular sense of the
term "free and open," which is perhaps on the whole the best of all or
else by mutual forbearance and general co-operation an arrangement is
arrived at by which the worshippers in Church have from time to time
seats allotted to them.
It is not, however, in the case of new Churches that difficulties arise,
except when these new Churches take the place of old ones. Then it may
be that the old abuses of faculty pews and of supposed exclusive rights
in certain holdings have to be contended with. Cases have occurred where
supposed usurpers have been kept out of faculty pews when there is plenty
of room, or of locking up the pew when the so-called owner is absent.
Faculty pews are an anomaly, and I wish there were none, but if the title
to them can be proved they are legal and must be dealt with accordingly.
I do not imagine that any new faculties are now issued by the Courts, but
in the rebuilding of old Churches the dealing with existing faculties
requires very tender handling. It were heartily to be wished that all
legal holders of faculty pews would consent to waive their rights for the
future, for the sake of peace and the avoidance of jealousies. Of course
in such a case the Churchwardens would feel it an obligation which it
would be their pleasure to fulfil, to provide those who give up their
rights with such accommodation as their families may require. But if, as
is sometimes the case, they stand exclusively upon their rights,
Churchwardens have no power to abrogate the law, and can only look
forward to the future with hope, either that a short Act of Parliament
may be passed enacting that at the death of the present owner of a
faculty pew that particular faculty should cease, and determine, only
excepting (unless with the consent of the owner) cases in which under the
Church Building Acts the faculty was issued in consequence of money paid
down for the building of the Church with the understanding that the
faculty would be granted in consequence: or if this be not done that in
the lapse of time some holder of the faculty may regard the matter from
an unselfish standpoint and voluntarily resign his rights.
Meanwhile it is well to remember with regard to existing faculty pews
that:--
1. The form of appropriation in old faculties varies considerably. In
order to ascertain the wording of a particular faculty application should
be made to the Diocesan Registrar.
2. With regard to pews annexed by prescription to certain messuages the
right to the pew passes with the messuage, the tenant of which for the
time being has also _de jure_ for the time being the prescriptive right
to the pew. {46a}
3. No faculty can be legally granted entitling a non-parishioner to a
seat in the body of the Church. {46b} Any faculty so worded as to allow
this is void as far as that particular point is concerned.
4. No faculty gives power either to the owners and occupiers of the
house in respect of which the faculty has been issued to let such seats
apart from the houses, or to appropriate them to other persons.
No Churchwarden should ever allow a parishioner to repair the pew which
he may temporarily occupy. Such an act, if done with the sanction of the
Churchwardens, may in after years seem to give a claim to proprietorship
in that particular pew. Too great care cannot be taken to avoid any
future misunderstanding.
The matter is too often looked upon as a party question. The great Duke
of Wellington was no party man, and I cannot forbear from quoting in
connection with this subject an extract from a letter written to my
father, the Bishop of Winchester, in 1836, in response to an application
to him to support a Diocesan Church Building Society, which was then in
course of formation. The Duke writes concerning providing accommodation
in country Churches as follows:--
"It has frequently occurred to me that when Church room is required
the first thing to do is to prevail upon individuals to give up the
pews which they cannot use . . . If more space was required I should
propose that all pews should be given up, that the whole space of the
Church should be laid open for the accommodation of all the
parishioners indiscriminately, separate chairs of a cheap description
being provided for their accommodation. This being done, and space
being still required for the accommodation of the parishioners in
their attendance upon Divine Service, I would propose to consider the
mode of enlarging the Church, or if that could not be effected, of
building another Church or Chapel. It must never be forgotten that
another Church or Chapel would require the attendance of another
Clergyman, who must live and must be remunerated. He can be
remunerated only by the sale or hire of the pews and places in the
new place of Divine worship; and here again would commence the evil
which has in my opinion been the most efficient cause of the
non-attendance at Divine worship of the lower classes of the people
of this country." {48}
Surely these words, which (bearing in mind who was the writer of them)
cannot be supposed to have been the offspring of heated ecclesiastical
partisanship, are well worthy of consideration, even after the lapse of
more than half a century. It does, indeed, seem sad that parochial
difficulties should so often arise in respect of Church sittings. There
is no part of the parochial machinery which more requires the free
application of the oil of common sense--Christian charity and a true
spirit of forbearing courtesy in order to avoid friction. Blessed are
the peacemakers.
Difficulties not unfrequently arise in connection with the conveyance of
buildings or of land to be used not only for public worship, but also for
meetings, classes, etc. The subject was under the consideration of the
Committee of the Incorporated Church Building Society in 1889, and with
the co-operation of their legal advisers a statement was issued clearly
pointing out the advantages and the disadvantages of the several modes of
procedure possible. With the permission of the Church Building Society's
Committee, I add in Appendix X a summary of the conveniences and
inconveniences of the several Acts. The Minister and Churchwardens are
not a corporation with perpetual succession under the common law, though
often supposed so to be because they are specially so made for the
purpose of carrying out the Schools Sites' Acts. The advisers of the
Church Building Society on the whole recommend that a conveyance should
be made to individual Trustees, "which will be good according to the
ordinary law of mortmain as a charitable conveyance, the only real
objection to this being that if the conveyance be a gift, without price
paid, it will fail if the grantor dies within twelve months." A form of
such conveyance has been settled for the parish of Staines. This form
has been printed by the Church Building Society, but they recommend that
it should be amended by adding a power, to be used if a consecrated
Church is eventually built on the land, to revoke the trusts and convey
the land and building for the purpose of a Church to any person or body
lawfully authorised to accept such conveyance. If the Staines form is
not adopted, it is on the whole recommended that action should be taken
under 43 Geo. III, cap. 108. {50}
I pass on to another point. On a vacancy occurring in an incumbency
either through the resignation or death of the Incumbent, certain duties
of considerable importance devolve upon the Churchwardens. During the
vacancy they are in charge of the temporalities of the incumbency, and
therefore it is necessary that a sequestration of the living should be
issued, empowering them to do such things as are necessary in connection
therewith. Application should at once be made with reference to this to
the Bishop's Registrar. It is then their duty to see that Church
property, whether in connection with the fabric, endowment, or glebe,
suffers no loss during the vacancy. They have also to provide for the
services in Church and any occasional duty which may arise. A
newly-appointed Incumbent does not become legally responsible for this
until he has been instituted, or collated, as the case may be. But it
would be well always if the Churchwardens, immediately on an appointment
being notified to them, should communicate with the Incumbent-elect and
consult with him as to the best mode of providing for the duty. It is
well that Churchwardens should know that the license of a Curate does not
lapse in consequence of the death of the Incumbent. Six weeks' notice
within six months after institution is legally necessary if a change is
to be made. {52a} The widow of a deceased Incumbent has a right to
remain in the parsonage house for two calendar months subsequent to the
death of her husband. {52b} All these points should, if possible, be
made a matter of friendly arrangement, but the actual law of the case is
as I have stated it.
There is one question sometimes asked by Churchwardens to which it may be
well to refer. Have they the custody of the keys of the Church, the
appointment of the organist, control over the Church music, and over the
ringing of the Church bells?
With regard to the keys of the Church. It is the undoubted fact that the
church is the freehold of the Incumbent, subject, of course, to the right
of the parishioners to be present in it at all legal Services of a
religious character. It may be often convenient that the Churchwardens
should have a duplicate key of the Church, in order that they may be able
to fulfil their duties in connection with the survey of the fabric, or
for other causes, but this must be clearly understood to be subject to
the will of the Incumbent.
The same with regard to the musical portion of the Service or appointment
of the organist. Lord Stowell's words are:--
"The Minister has the right of directing the Service, _e.g._, when
the organ shall and shall not play, and when children shall chaunt
and shall not chaunt, though the organist is paid and the children
managed by the Churchwardens." {53}
Nothing can be clearer or stronger than this.
So too with regard to the Church bells. The Churchwardens have the
custody of the bells, and the bell ropes are in most cases Church
property placed under their charge, but the law with reference to the
ringing of the bells is undoubted; that for any occasion except that of
Divine Service the permission of the Incumbent is absolutely necessary
for the ringing of the bells. Without that permission they cannot be
rung. {54}
There is one further point on which a question sometimes arises in
connection with offertories and collections in church. With reference to
offertories gathered at the time of the celebration of Holy Communion at
an ordinary Service the Churchwardens and Incumbent are expressly
directed by the rubric to dispose of them to such pious and charitable
uses as they shall think fit, wherein if they disagree it shall be
disposed of as the Ordinary shall appoint. The Incumbent has the
responsibility of arranging with reference to collections made not in
connection with the celebration of the Holy Communion. Incumbents are
thankful when the Churchwardens help them with their advice as to what
objects shall be brought before the congregation. In the case of all
collections, for whatsoever purpose they be made, it is most desirable
for the avoiding of any possible difficulty that a written statement
should be put upon the Church door on the Sunday after, stating the
amount of the collections made on the previous Sunday. If the collection
be made for any charitable or missionary society the official receipt for
the money collected and sent should also be affixed to the church door.
This leads me to mention another point of considerable importance. In
these days of monetary difficulties and agricultural depression the
frequency of offertories is often a question difficult of solution. It
is perhaps still more difficult wisely to decide the objects for which
the offertory shall be made. With regard to local objects there can of
course be no question. We recognise in these days the power of the
pence, and no one grumbles at the collection of money for purely
parochial purposes. But it is when our people are asked for money for
objects outside the parish that the difficulty really arises. But it
ought to be remembered that we do not lead individual isolated lives
apart from our fellows. The parish is not the centre of the universe.
The tendency of the uneducated mind is to isolate itself from the
interests of others, and to look at all matters from a purely selfish
point of view. The parish is an accidental collection of individual
souls in a particular diocese. The diocese is an aggregation of separate
parishes scattered through an assigned area. The members of the Church
in a particular parish and diocese are members of the Holy Catholic
Church, which by its very nomenclature abrogates individual isolation.
It follows, therefore, that parochial interests must not absorb attention
to the exclusion of larger and less personal objects. The Body is one,
and the members of the Body should work together for the good of the
whole. Corporate as well as individual life is a reality, and this fact
must not be lost sight of in connection with our offertories. I venture
to say that a parish which confines its offertories to local and
parochial purposes will lose by the very contraction of its sympathies.
The duty that lies upon us as trustees of God's gifts to utilize them for
His honour and glory, should be pointed out. The privilege of being
allowed to help with our substance, those who stand in need of our
assistance, should be duly urged; and the warmth which is thus kindled in
the heart towards others will react in infusing fresh life into the
support of parochial institutions. The habit of giving grows by use.
The blood must not stagnate round the heart, or the extremities will soon
suffer. Your fingers die because the action of the heart is weak. The
promise is that "He that watereth others shall be watered also himself."
I have no intention of entering into many details in this matter, but I
cannot be wrong in enforcing this principle. Church work at home and
abroad, as distinct from parochial organizations, should be
systematically brought before all congregations however small: Church
work at home, including home missions; and Church work abroad, including
foreign missionary societies.
Let me give very emphatically this caution. If aggrieved parishioners
come to a Churchwarden and endeavour to persuade him to join a cave of
Adullam, he should be careful not to be rash or hasty in his answer. He
must not take all for granted which heated partisans may allege, but
remember there are always two sides to every question. We are none of us
infallible in our judgment, and many matters after consultation with
others assume a very different aspect to that which at first sight they
seemed to present. If difficulties arise he must not threaten. It does
more harm than good. Let him try what conciliation will do. Let him see
whether common ground of action cannot be found. Certainly it is unwise
to rush into print; it only tends to inflame the smouldering embers of a
quarrel which, but for the unfortunate publicity given to it, might soon
have come to a happy termination.
Churchwardens _must_ work with the Clergy and the Clergy with the
Churchwardens if they are to be a blessing in the parish in which they
are elected to serve. They have not been brought by chance into
connection with the Incumbent of their parish, for chance is not a word
to be found in the Christian's dictionary.
With regard to all these cases, if difficulties arise in connection with
any of them it is seldom, if ever, wise to stand out for strict law. If
the matter cannot be settled amicably the interposition of the Rural Dean
or Archdeacon, or, as a final resort, the Bishop, will often smooth a
wrinkled brow and restore to a parish the inestimable blessing of peace.
It is because I feel the great importance and usefulness of the office of
a Churchwarden, that I have ventured, in accordance with the wish so
kindly expressed by those to whom the foregoing words were in substance
addressed, to publish them in this more permanent form; and I have only
to express the hope that they may be found useful in pointing out to
Churchwardens that their office, far from being a sinecure, may, if
faithfully used, tend very directly to the furtherance of our common
Master's cause, and that work done by them in a spirit of faith and love
will not lose its reward in the great Hereafter.
GEORGE HENRY GUILDFORD.
THE CLOSE, WINCHESTER,
_August_, _1897_.
APPENDIX I.
QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION.
(_Before_ LORD COLERIDGE _and_ MR. JUSTICE MATHEW.)
THE QUEEN V. HARDING, VICAR OF BECKENHAM.
This case raised the question whether, in new parishes under the Church
Building Acts, it is necessary that Churchwardens shall be residents in
the parish or whether it is enough that they are rated occupiers. The
question had arisen under these circumstances. There was a new Church
built and consecrated in Beckenham, Kent, in 1875, and by an Order in
Council in 1878 a district was constituted and annexed to it under the
Church Building Act, 59 Geo. III, cap. 134, sec. 16, constituting a
"district chapelry." In 1885, on the death of the Incumbent, all the
fees of the district became due and payable to the Minister of the new
Church, and then, by the operation of Lord Blandford's Act (19 and 20
Vict., cap. 104), the district became a separate parish for
ecclesiastical purposes; and the question was what effect this had as to
the election of Churchwardens. Under 8 and 9 Vict., cap. 70, sec. 6, it
was provided that "two fit and proper persons should be annually elected
Churchwardens, they residing within the district;" and if that statute
applied, it was admitted the Churchwardens must be resident. But it was
disputed whether it did apply, or whether at common law Churchwardens
must be resident. In Lord Blandford's Act it is provided, in sec. 14,
that wherever and as soon as banns of marriage are authorised to be
published in a consecrated Church or Chapel to which a district belongs,
and the Incumbent is by such authority entitled, for his own benefit, to
the fees arising from the performance of such services, then such
district shall become and be a separate parish for ecclesiastical
purposes, as is contemplated in 6 and 7 Vict., cap. 37, sec. 15, and all
the provisions of the same shall apply; and then, under that Act, sec.
15, when any Church or Chapel shall be built, etc., such district shall
from and after consecration be deemed to be a new parish for
ecclesiastical purposes. This, however, did not in terms, it will be
seen, deal with the present question, and appeared to leave it open, and
so it will be seen it was discussed in the alternative on the ground that
at common law Churchwardens must be resident, and that is not altered by
one Act, and is re-enacted in the other. However, in the present case it
appeared that it had not been so understood, and on April 25, 1889, when,
at Easter, two Churchwardens were chosen for the new district parish of
Christ Church, Beckenham, one of them was a gentleman who had been chosen
in previous years, and who is not a resident, though he is a rated
occupier in the parish. The gentleman in question, a Mr. Matthews, was
elected by a majority of three; no objection was taken at the time, but
afterwards his opponent, a Mr. Hayland, desired to raise the objection,
and on June 24th last obtained a rule _nisi_ for a _mandamus_ to the
vicar to hold a new election of churchwarden on the ground that the
election of Mr. Matthews was invalid, as he was not a resident in the
parish, he having premises there, a "store" and some stabling for which
he was rated, but not living in the parish. The case now came on to be
argued.
Mr. Dibden appeared for the applicant.
Mr. Jeune, Q.C. (with Mr. Houghton), appeared on the part of the vicar to
show cause.
Lord Coleridge said, in giving judgment, that the party elected was not
entitled to hold the office. The effect of the statute was that the new
parish was to be treated for all purposes as the old one--that it was to
be subject to the same law. Now, it was necessary under the old law that
churchwardens should be living in the parish. This gentleman was not so;
and therefore was not under the old law "a fit and proper person" to hold
the office of churchwarden. The Churchwarden had to discharge various
duties which required knowledge of the parish and parishioners. It was
said that there were authorities to the contrary in the Ecclesiastical
Courts; but speaking of them with the utmost respect, those were
ecclesiastical cases, and this was a common law case--that is, a case to
be decided by the common law--and he did not think that by the common law
a party not living in the parish, and perhaps living at a distance, was
qualified to be elected, and, if elected, bound to serve the office of
churchwarden. It appeared to be clear, rating would not be enough. It
was admitted that there must be some kind of occupation equivalent to
actual residence, and in the present case there was nothing of the kind.
No doubt the parishioners were glad to have a respectable gentleman to
fill the office. No doubt the word "residence" had received under
different statutes different interpretations, the sense being necessarily
different. Sometimes it meant where a man could be found during the day;
sometimes it meant where he slept or lived; and for some purposes perhaps
this gentleman might be deemed a resident, but for this purpose it was
necessary that he should live in the parish, be acquainted with the
parishioners, and thus be able to exercise the duties of his office,
which were to be personally exercised. The rule for a _mandamus_ to the
vicar, therefore, must be made absolute.
Mr. Justice Mathew concurred.
Rule absolute for a _mandamus_.
From the _Times_, Nov. 29th, 1889.
APPENDIX II.
7 Gul. IV, and 1 Vict., cap. 45, sec. 3.
Be it further enacted that no such notice of holding a Vestry shall be
affixed on the principal door of such Church or Chapel unless the same
shall previously have been signed by a Churchwarden of the Church or
Chapel, or by the Rector, Vicar, or Curate of such parish, or by an
Overseer of the Poor of such parish; but that every notice so signed
shall be affixed on or near to the principal door of such Church or
Chapel.
APPENDIX III.
58 Geo. III, cap. 69, 3rd June, 1818.
_An Act for the Regulation of Parish Vestries_.
Sec. 2.--For the more orderly conduct of Vestries be it further enacted
that in case the Rector, or Vicar, or perpetual Curate, shall not be
present the persons so assembled in pursuance of such notice shall
forthwith nominate and appoint, by plurality of votes to be ascertained
as hereinafter is directed, one of the inhabitants of such parish to be
the Chairman of and preside in every such Vestry; and in all cases of
equality of votes upon any question arising therein the Chairman shall,
in addition to such vote or votes as he may by virtue of this Act be
entitled to give in right of his assessment, have the casting vote; and
minutes of the proceedings and resolutions of every Vestry shall be
fairly and distinctly entered in a book, to be provided for that purpose
by the Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor, and shall be signed by
the Chairman and by such other of the inhabitants present as shall think
proper to sign the same.
Sec. 3.--And be it further enacted that in all such Vestries every
inhabitant present, who shall by the last rate which shall have been made
for the relief of the poor have been assessed and charged upon or in
respect of any annual rent, profit, or value not amounting to fifty
pounds, shall have and be entitled to give one vote and no more; and
every inhabitant then present, who shall in such last rate have been
assessed or charged upon or in respect of any annual rent or rents,
profit or value, amounting to fifty pounds or upwards, whether in one or
in more than one sum or charge, shall have and be entitled to give one
vote for every twenty-five pounds of annual rent, profit, and value upon
or in respect of which he shall have been assessed or charged in such
last rate, so, nevertheless, that no inhabitant shall be entitled to give
more than six votes; and in cases when two or more of the inhabitants
present shall be jointly rated, each of them shall be entitled to vote
according to the proportion and amount which shall be borne by him of the
joint charge; and when one only of the persons jointly rated shall
attend, he shall be entitled to vote according to and in respect of the
whole joint charge.
Sec. 4.--Provided and be it further enacted that when any person shall
have become an inhabitant of any parish, or become liable to be rated
therein, since the making of the last rate for the relief of the poor
thereof, he shall be entitled to vote for and in respect of the lands,
tenements, and property for which he shall have become liable to be
rated, and shall consent to be rated, in like manner as if he should have
been actually rated for the same.
Sec. 5.--Provided also and it is hereby further enacted that no person
who shall have refused or neglected to pay any rate for the relief of the
poor which shall be due from him and shall have been demanded of him,
_and_ (see Sec. 3 of the next Act quoted) shall be entitled to vote or to
be present in any Vestry of the parish for which such rate shall have
been made, until he shall have paid the same.
59 Geo. III, c. 85, sec. 1.
. . . From and after the passing of this Act, any person who shall be
assessed and rated for the relief of the poor in respect of any annual
rent, profit, or value arising from any lands, tenements, or
hereditaments, situate in any parish in which any Vestry shall be holden
under the said recited Act (58 Geo. III, c 69), although such person
shall not reside in or be an inhabitant of such parish, shall and may
lawfully be present at such Vestry . . . and have the same privileges as
though he were an inhabitant of the said parish.
Sec. 3 of the same Act states that the word "_and_," marked in italics in
the above quotation from Geo. III, c. 69, was inserted by mistake.
APPENDIX IV.
14 and 15 Vict., c. 97, sec. 23.
From and after the passing of this Act no select Vestry shall be formed
under the provisions of the Church Building Act, and every such select
Vestry already formed under such provisions shall be and is hereby
declared to be abolished, and all the powers and provisions therein
enacted relative to such select Vestries shall henceforth cease and
determine, provided that all matters and things done by any such select
Vestry in pursuance of any powers given them by such Acts, or any of
them, shall be and remain as valid as if such select Vestry had not been
abolished.
APPENDIX V.
It was agreed in 1870 between some of the leading Laity of the Counties
of Hants and Surrey and the then Bishop of the Diocese that the sum asked
should only be five shillings, payable annually by each parish and
ecclesiastical district by the hands of the Churchwardens. When there is
an election of a Proctor to Convocation, an additional shilling is added,
making the total due six shillings. It was also decided at the meeting
before referred to that this charge might be defrayed out of the
offertory or other voluntary collections for Church purposes in any
parish or ecclesiastical district. I am happy to say that the cases are,
comparatively speaking, rare in which the Churchwardens decline to pay
this charge, reduced by voluntary action as it has been from the legal
figure of eighteen shillings to either five shillings or in some years
six shillings, the extra shilling being added when an election of a
Proctor for the Archdeaconry takes place.
APPENDIX VI.
Canons agreed upon by the Convocation for the Province of Canterbury
assembled by the king's licence in their Synod, A.D. 1603, published by
His Majesty's authority under the Great Seal of England.
89. _The choice of Churchwardens and their Account_.
All Churchwardens or Questmen in every parish shall be chosen by the
joint consent of the Minister and parishioners, if it may be; but if they
cannot agree upon such a choice, then the Minister shall choose one, and
the parishioners another: and without such a joint or several choice none
shall take upon them to be Churchwardens: neither shall they continue any
longer than one year in that office, except perhaps they be chosen again
in like manner. And all Churchwardens at the end of their year, or
within a month after at the most, shall before the Minister and the
parishioners give up a just account of such money as they have received,
and also what particularly they have bestowed in reparations and
otherwise, for the use of the Church. And, last of all, going out of
their office, they shall truly deliver up to the parishioners whatsoever
money or other things of right belonging to the Church or parish, which
remaineth in their hands, that it may be delivered over by them to the
next Churchwardens by bill indented.
90. _The choice of Sidemen_, _and their joint office with
Churchwardens_.
The Churchwarden or Questmen of every parish, and two or three or more
discreet persons in every parish, to be chosen for Sidemen or Assistants
by the Minister and parishioners, if they can agree (otherwise to be
appointed by the Ordinary of the diocese), shall diligently see that all
the parishioners duly resort to their Church upon all Sundays and
Holy-days, and there continue the whole time of Divine Service; and none
to walk or to stand idle or talking in the Church, or in the Churchyard,
or in the Church-porch, during that time. And all such as shall be found
slack or negligent in resorting to the Church (having no great or urgent
cause of absence) they shall earnestly call upon them; and after due
monition (if they amend not) they shall present them to the Ordinary of
the place. The choice of which persons, _viz._, Churchwardens or
Questmen, Sidemen, or Assistants, shall be yearly made in Easter-week.
85. _Churches to be kept in sufficient Reparations_.
The Churchwarden or Questmen shall take care and provide that the
Churches be well and sufficiently repaired, and so from time to time kept
and maintained, that the windows be well glazed, and that the floors be
kept paved, plain and even, and all things there in such an orderly and
decent sort, without dust, or anything that may be either noisome or
unseemly, as best becometh the House of God, and is prescribed in an
Homily to that effect. The like care they shall take that the
Churchyards be well and sufficiently repaired, fenced and maintained with
walls, rails, or pales, as have been in each place accustomed, at their
charges unto whom by law the same appertaineth: but especially they shall
see that in every meeting of the congregation peace be well kept: and
that all persons excommunicated, and so denounced, be kept out of the
Church.
88. _Churches not to be profaned_.
The Churchwardens, or Questmen, and their Assistants, shall suffer no
plays, feasts, banquets, suppers, church-ales, drinkings, temporal
courts, or leets, lay juries, musters, or any other profane usage, to be
kept in the Church, Chapel, or Churchyard, neither the bells to be rung
superstitiously upon holy days, or eves abrogated by the Book of Common
Prayer, nor at any other times without good cause to be allowed by the
Minister of the place, and by themselves.
52. _The names of strange Preachers to be noted in a book_.
That the Bishop may understand (if occasion so require) what sermons are
made in every Church of his diocese and who presume to preach without
licence, the Churchwardens and Sidemen shall see that the names of all
Preachers, which come to their Church from any other place, be noted in a
book which they shall have ready for that purpose; wherein every Preacher
shall subscribe his name, the day when he preached, and the name of the
Bishop of whom he had license to preach.
111. _Disturbers of Divine Service to be presented_.
In all visitations of Bishops and Archdeacons the Churchwardens, or
Questmen, and Sidemen shall truly and personally present the names of all
those which behave themselves rudely and disorderly in the Church, or
which by untimely ringing of bells, by walking, talking, or other noise,
shall hinder the Minister or Preacher.
118. _The old Churchwardens to make their presentments before the new be
sworn_.
The office of all Churchwardens and Sidemen shall be reputed ever
hereafter to continue until the new Churchwardens that shall succeed them
be sworn, which shall be the first week after Easter or some week
following, according to the direction of the Ordinary, which time so
appointed shall always be one of the two times in every year, when the
Minister, and Churchwardens, and Sidemen of every parish shall exhibit to
their several Ordinaries the presentments of such enormities as have
happened in their parishes since their last presentments. And this duty
they shall perform before the newly-chosen Churchwardens and Sidemen be
sworn, and shall not be suffered to pass over the said presentments to
those that are newly come into office and are by intendment ignorant of
such crimes, under pain of those censures which are appointed for the
reformation of such dalliers and dispensers with their own consciences
and oaths.
APPENDIX VII.
18 and 19 Vict., cap. 128, sec. 18.
_Burial Board to keep in order closed burial grounds_, _etc._
In every case in which any order in Council has been or shall hereafter
be issued for the discontinuance of burials in any churchyard or burial
ground, the Burial Board, or Churchwardens, as the case may be, shall
maintain such churchyard or burial ground of any parish in decent order,
and also do the necessary repair of the walls and other fences thereof,
and the costs and expenses shall be repaid by the Overseers upon the
certificate of the Burial Board, or Churchwardens, _as the case may be_,
out of the rate made for the relief of the poor of the parish or place in
which such churchyard or burial ground is situate, unless there shall be
some other fund legally chargeable with such costs and expenses.
The words in italics have given rise to some dispute as to their
interpretation. Some Burial Boards have claimed the right to maintain
closed churchyards. The question was brought into the Court of Queen's
Bench in 1879, and it was decided that a Burial Board was required to
maintain a closed cemetery, and that Churchwardens were the proper
persons to maintain a closed churchyard. {79}
APPENDIX VIII.
15 and 16 Vict., cap. 85, sec. 10.
_Churchwardens after order or at any time upon requisition of ten
ratepayers to convene Vestry Meeting to determine whether a burial ground
shall be provided_.
Upon the requisition in writing of ten or more ratepayers {80a} of any
parish in the metropolis {80b} in which the place or places of burial
shall appear to such ratepayers insufficient or dangerous to health (and
whether any Order in Council in relation to any burial ground in such
parish has or has not been made), the Churchwardens and other persons to
whom it belongs to convene meetings of the Vestry of such parish shall
convene a meeting of the Vestry for the special purpose of determining
whether a burial ground shall be provided under this Act for the parish;
and public notice of such Vestry Meeting, and the place and hour of
holding the same, and the special purpose thereof, shall be given in the
usual manner in which notices of the meetings of the Vestry are given, at
least seven days before holding such Vestry Meeting: and if it be
resolved by the Vestry that a burial ground shall be provided under this
Act for the parish, a copy of such resolution extracted from the minutes
of the Vestry, and signed by the Chairman, shall be sent to one of Her
Majesty's principal Secretaries of State.
APPENDIX IX.
24 and 25 Vict., cap. 125, sec. 2.
The Overseers of any parish may, with the consent of the Vestry, provide
proper depositories of all the documents, books, and papers belonging to
such parish, for which no provision is otherwise made by law, and charge
the cost thereof on the poor rate.
52 Geo. III, cap. 146, sec. 5.
And be it further enacted that the . . . register books . . . shall be
kept by and remain in the power and custody of the Rector, Curate, or
other officiating Minister of each respective parish or chapelry as
aforesaid, and shall be by him safely and securely kept in a dry, well
painted iron chest, to be provided and repaired, as occasion may require,
at the expense of the parish or chapelry, and which said chest,
containing the said books, shall be constantly kept locked in some dry,
safe, and secure place within the usual place of residence of such
Rector, Vicar, Curate, or other officiating minister, if resident within
the parish or chapelry, or in the parish church or chapel; and the said
books shall not, nor shall any of them, be taken or removed from or out
of the said chest, at any time or for any cause whatever, except for the
purpose of making such entries therein as aforesaid, or for the
inspection of persons desirous to make search therein, or to obtain
copies from or out of the same, or to be produced as evidence in some
court of law or equity, or to be inspected as to the state and condition
thereof, or for some other purposes of this Act; and that immediately
after making such inspection, entries, or producing the said books
respectively for the purposes aforesaid, the said books shall forthwith
again be safely and securely deposited in the said chest.
APPENDIX X.
43 Geo. III, cap. 108.
CONVENIENCES.--Permits conveyance of site to any Body Political or
Corporate.
--Contains no clause avoiding the conveyance if Service is discontinued
for a time.
INCONVENIENCES.--Requires the concurrence of Ordinary.
--Will be avoided (unless made for valuable consideration) if grantor
dies within three months.
--Must be strictly for a Church or Chapel.
--Must be enrolled within six months.
--No provision for grant by a person under disability, _e.g._, tenant for
life.
_Place of Worship Sites' Act_.
36 & 37 Vict., cap. 50.
CONVENIENCES.--Enables tenant for life to convey.
--Does not require consent of Ordinary.
--Deed will not be avoided by death of grantor within twelve months after
execution of it.
INCONVENIENCES.--Contains no power of conveyance to a Body Corporate
except permission given to make Ecclesiastical Commissioners trustees of
the site.
--Contains clauses involving the loss of the property, (_a_) if the land
be used for any other purpose than that of a site for a place of worship;
(_b_) if Service be discontinued in the place of worship for one year.
--May give difficulty as to consecration, if the Mission Room becomes a
Church, owing to possible reversion to profane uses on the temporary
discontinuance of Services.
School Sites' Act.
4 & 5 Vict., cap 38; 7 & 8 Vict., cap. 37.
CONVENIENCES.--Enable tenants for life to convey.
--Permit conveyance to Bodies Corporate making Minister and Churchwardens
a corporation with perpetual succession for the purposes of these Acts.
INCONVENIENCES.--Contain clauses involving the loss of the property if
used for other purposes than those of education.
--Require enrolment of deeds.
Churchwardens' Manual
_NOTICES OF THE FIRST EDITION_.
"Churchwardens will find in the _Churchwardens' Manual_ some useful brief
notes put together by the Bishop of Guildford relative to their duties,
powers, rights and privileges."--_Guardian_, April 9th.
"The Bishop of Guildford has just published a very useful little handbook
for the use and guidance of Church wardens . . . The book is a most
helpful one with regard to Church matters."--_Hampshire Chronicle_.
"The Bishop of Guildford's _Churchwardens' Manual_ meets a real want, in
that it provides in small compass . . . a handy pocket book containing
the many matters legal and ecclesiastical, which concern the
Churchwarden's office . . . No one ought to assume it without being armed
with such a work as this, and an Incumbent cannot do better than present
his Churchwardens with this little Manual."--_Church Times_.
"It is a Manual which ought to be in the possession of every holder of
the important office of Churchwarden, and which other Churchmen also
would do well to familiarise themselves with, as a better understanding
of the subject would be greatly to the advantage of many parishes; clear,
precise, handy and cheap, it is precisely the handbook that was
wanted."--_Winchester Observer_.
"A thoroughly useful and practical work, and just the one which ought to
be in the hands both of Incumbents and Churchwardens."--_Ecclesiastical
Chronicle_.
Footnotes:
{2} _Smith's Christian Antiquities_, i, 391; _Bingham's Antiquities of
the Christian Church_, B. ii, c. 19, sec. 19.
{4} 1 Will. and M., ch. 18, sec. 5; 31 Geo. III, ch. 32, sec. 7.
{5} See Appendix No. I.
{6} _Prideaux's Churchwardens' Guide_, p. 17.
{7} 7 Gul. IV, and 1 Vict. cap. 45, sec 3. See Appendix No. II
{8a} 7 Gul. IV and 1 Vict., cap. 45, sec. 1, 2.
{8b} Note 58 Geo. III, c. 69, sec. 2.
{8c} See Appendix No. VI.
{9a} Phillimore II, 1470.
{9b} Dewdney _v._ Good referred to in _Addresses delivered to the
Churchwardens and Sidesmen of the Diocese of Liverpool_, by Thomas E.
Espin, D.D., Chancellor of the Diocese. Liverpool: Holden, Church
Street. p. 29.
{10a} See Appendix No. III.
{10b} See Appendix No. IV.
{11} As far, however, as the diocese of Winchester is concerned, see
Appendix No. V.
{12} _Cripps' Practical Treatise on the Law relating to the Church and
Clergy_, 6th Ed., pp. 178, 182.
{13} _Cripps' Practical Treatise on the Law relating to the Church and
Clergy_, 6th Ed., p. 174. It may be a question whether Lord Coleridge's
judgment as to the residence of Churchwardens may not affect this. See
Appends No. I.
{14} Churchwardens are _ex officio_ Overseers under the Poor Relief Act,
1601 (43 Eliz., c. 2, s. 1), only in the case of an ancient
ecclesiastical parish, for which overseers are appointed under that
Act.--_Jenkin's Local Government Act_, p. 25.
{22} See Appendix No VI.
{30a} 18 and 19 Vict., cap. 128, sec xviii. See Appendix No. VII.
{30b} The Queen _v._ the Burial Board of Bishop Wearmouth.--_Law
Reports_, _Queen's Bench Division_, vol. v, p. 67. See Appendix VII.
{32} See Appendix No. VIII.
{34a} See Appendix No. IX.
{34a} See _An Address to Churchwardens_, by the Bishop of Carlisle,
published by the S.P.C.K., p. 13.
{35} By 59 Geo. III, c. 134, s. 11.--The Ecclesiastical Commissioners
are empowered to make a table of fees for any parish with the consent of
the Vestry, and with the consent of the Bishop of the Diocese.
{43} Bishop of Carlisle's _Address to Churchwardens_, S.P.C.K., p. 17.
{46a} See _Fuller v. Lane_. 2 _Adams_, 419. Prideaux's _Churchwarden's
Guide_, appendix, XLVI. Phillimores' _Ecclesiastical Law_, II, 1801-4.
{46b} _Fuller v. Lane_. Prideaux's _Guide_, XLV.
{48} _Life of Charles Richard Sumner_, _D.D._, _Bishop of Winchester_
(Murray), by the Author of this manual, p. 250.
{50} In many Dioceses now a body of trustees has been appointed for the
special purpose of holding Church properties. It is hoped that ere long
every Diocese in the country will have its own special body for the
purpose, with a carefully considered Trust Deed. I believe that the
scheme in the Arch Diocese of Canterbury is found to work very
satisfactorily.
{52a} 1 and 2 Vict., cap. 106, sec. 95.
{52b} Ditto, sec. 36.
{53} _Addresses delivered to the Churchwardens and Sidesmen of the
Diocese of Liverpool_, by Thomas E. Espin, D.D., Chancellor of the
Diocese; p. 29. Liverpool: Holden, Church Street.
{54} _Cripps' Practical Treatise on the Law relating to the Church and
Clergy_, p. 190. See also Canon 88 in Appendix vi.
{79} In the Court of Appeal, 1879, The Queen _v._ The Burial Board of
Bishop Wearmouth.--_Law Reports_, Queen's Bench Division, Vol. V, p. 67.
{80a} Sections 10 to 42 of this Act, inclusive, as well as secs. 44, 50,
51, and 52, are extended to the whole Country by 16 and 17 Vict., cap.
134, sec. 7.
{80b} The provision in this section as to the requisition of ten or more
ratepayers is done away with by 18 and 19 Vict., cap. 128, sec. 3, by
which it is enacted that a Vestry can be convened for the purpose without
any previous requisition of the Churchwardens.
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