himself, surely heaven and earth shall be overturned ere the appeal can fail of being answered. And if it be not of God, it will be as water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again, and so shall rest yet still be as a memorial to the glory of God in faith-which laughs at impossibilities; delights in insignificant means; rejoices, with a joy unspeakable, to magnify the grandeur and greatness of our Triune God; and to put the insect, man, into the dust before his Majesty. This faith has levelled the bulwarks of a fortified city with the blast of a ram's horn:-has quenched the nature of fire-has turned water into blood before the enemy :-and stopped the mouth of the hungry lion. It can remove mountains, and it brings down the invisible God to our sight, senses, apprehension, and grasp-for it says, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me." On this foundation let me stand. A few thousand pounds will be required; but what are thousands or millions with the Lord? It remains, then, to give the addresses; and sure I am, that the Rev. Henry Beamish, the Rev. T. B. Paget, the Rev. Dr. Holloway, the Rev. T. B. Baker, the Rev. Peter Hall, the Hon. and Rev. Baptist Noel, of the Establishment; or, the Rev. J. H. Evans, the Rev. J. Leifchild, the Rev. T. Stratton, the Rev. T. Cumming, or any other true and dear child of God, and minister of Christ, would kindly take charge of any sums, and deliver them at once, either at the office of the Record, or to the Rev. A. S. Thelwall, Secretary to the Trinitarian Bible Society, Exeter Hall, who is well able, as a conscientious, upright, holy Christian, to take care of that which a magnificent God entrusts freely to his stewardship, without being fettered by treaties, &c. That the Lord may bless this appeal to his own glory, is the prayer of AN EARTHEN VESSEL, IN ITS MEASURE, FILLED WITH RICHES ETERNAL, (Though not possessed of half-a-sovereign in the world; and, consequently, obliged to borrow money for this advertisement—and thus is God magnified in the weakness of the means he uses, and for ever adored be his great name.)" [It is due to Mr. Thelwall, though it is hoped that it is quite unnecessary, to say that the Editor neither supposes, nor imagines that any one else can suppose, Mr. Thelwall to have had any connexion, direct or indirect, with this business.] DOCUMENTS. AN ACT TO ABRIDGE THE HOLDING OF BENEFICES IN PLURALITY, ANNO PRIMO ET SECUNDO VICTORIE REGINE, CAP. CVI. 21 H. 8. c. 13. 57 G. 3. c, 99. Both Acts now wholly repealed; saving as to Penalties already incurred, or Licences already granted. WHEREAS an act was passed in the twenty-first year of the reign of King Henry the Eighth, intituled " An Act that no Spiritual Persons shall take to ferm of the King, or any other person, any Lands or Tenements for Term of Life, Lives, Years, or at Will, &c.; and for Pluralities of Benefices; and for Residence," the whole of which recited act (excepting only such parts as relate to pluralities of benefices) has since been repealed by an act passed in the fifty-seventh year of the reign of King George the Third, intituled" An Act to consolidate and amend the Laws relating to Spiritual Persons holding of Farms; and for enforcing the Residence of Spiritual Persons on their Benefices; and for the Support and Maintenance of Stipendiary Curates in England:" And whereas it is expedient to consolidate and amend the said laws, and to restrain the holding of pluralities, and to make further provision for enforcing the residence of spiritual persons upon their benefices, and to limit the exemptions from such residence; and also to make further provision respecting the appointment and support of stipendiary curates in England: be it therefore enacted by the Queen's most excellent majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal, and commons, in this present parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, that so much of the said recited acts as is now in force shall be, and the same is hereby repealed, save and except only such part of the said last-recited act as repeals certain acts and parts of acts therein particularly recited: provided always, that nothing herein contained shall exempt any person from any penalties incurred under the said last-recited act before the time of passing this act, or take away or affect any proceedings for recovery thereof, whether commenced or not before the passing of this act, or shall annul or abridge any licence granted under the provisions of the said last-recited act before the time of passing this act. Not more than Two Preferments to be held together; 2. And be it enacted, that from and after the passing of this act no spiritual person holding more benefices than one shall accept and take to hold therewith any cathedral preferment, or any other benefice; and that no spiritual person holding any cathedral preferment, and also holding any benefice, shall accept and take to hold therewith any other cathedral preferment or any other benefice; and that no spiritual person holding any preferment in any cathedral or collegiate church shall accept and take to hold therewith any preferment in any other cathedral or collegiate church; any law, canon, custom, usage, or dispensation to the contrary notwithstanding: provided, that nothing hereinbefore contained shall be construed to prevent any archdeacon from holding, together with his archdeaconry, two benefices, under the limitations hereinafter mentioned with respect to distance, joint yearly value, and population, and one of which benefices shall be situate within the diocese of which his archdeaconry forms a part, or one cathedral preferment in any cathedral or collegiate church of the diocese of which his archdeaconry forms a part, and one benefice situate within such diocese, or to prevent any spiritual person holding any cathedral preferment, with or without a benefice, from holding therewith any office in the same cathedral or collegiate church the duties of which are statutably or accustomably performed by the spiritual persons holding such preferment. Nor Two Benefices, unless within Ten Miles of each other; 3. And be it enacted, that, except as hereinafter provided, no spiritual person holding any benefice shall accept and take to hold therewith any other benefice, unless it shall be situate within the distance of ten statute miles from such first-mentioned benefice. Nor if Population of One such Benefice is more than 3000, or joint yearly Value shall exceed 1000l. 4. And be it enacted, that, except as hereinafter provided, no spiritual person holding a benefice with a population of more than three thousand persons shall accept and take to hold therewith any other benefice having, at the time of his admission, institution, or being licensed thereto, a population of more than five hundred persons; nor shall any spiritual person holding a benefice with a population of more than five hundred persons accept and take to hold therewith any other benefice having, at the time of his admission, institution, or being licensed thereto, a population of more than three thousand persons; nor shall any spiritual person hold together any two benefices if, at the time of his admission, institution, or being licensed to the second benefice, the value of the two benefices jointly shall exceed the yearly value of one thousand pounds. If yearly Value of One of said Benefices be less than 150l., and the Population shall exceed 2000 persons, the Two may be held jointly, after Statement of Reasons by the Bishop.—Proviso as to Residence on larger Parish. 5. And be it enacted, that in case the bishop or bishops, as the case may be, to whom any two benefices within the distance of ten miles from each other shall respectively be subject, which, under the provision herein before contained, might not be holden together, but one of which benefices shall be below the yearly value of one hundred and fifty pounds, and the population of which shall exceed two thousand persons, shall think it expedient that the incumbent of one of such benefices should be permitted to hold the said two benefices together, the said bishop or bishops shall be at liberty, upon application made to him or them for that purpose by such incumbent, to state in writing, under his or their hand or hands, the reason why such benefices should be holden together, and in such case it shall be lawful for the said incumbent to hold the said two benefices together: provided always, that in the lastmentioned case the bishop of the diocese within which such benefice having a population exceeding two thousand persons is situate may from time to time, if he shall so think fit, by an order under his hand and revocable at any time, require that such incumbent should keep residence on and personally serve such benefice during the space of nine months in each year; and if such incumbent shall not, in obedience to the terms of such order, and until the same be revoked, reside on and personally serve such benefice, he shall be liable to all the penalties for non-residence imposed by this act, notwithstanding he may have a legal exemption, permanent or temporary, from residence, or may be resident on some other benefice of which he may be possessed, or may be performing the duties of an office, and the performance of the duties of which might in other cases be accounted as residence on some benefice: provided always, that such spiritual person may, within one month after service upon him of any such order, appeal to the archbishop of the province, who shall confirm or rescind such order as to him may seem just and proper. Licence or Dispensation to hold together any Two Benefices must be obtained from the Archbishop of Canterbury. 6. Provided always, and be it enacted, that before any spiritual person shall be allowed to hold any two benefices together under any provision of this act it shall be necessary for such person to obtain from the Archbishop of Canterbury for the time being a licence or dispensation for the holding thereof, which licence or dispensation the said archbishop is hereby empowered to grant under the seal of his office of faculties, upon being satisfied as well of the fitness of the person as of the expediency of allowing such two benefices to be holden together, and that such licence or dispensation shall issue in such manner and form as the said archbishop shall think fit; and for such licence or dispensation there shall be paid to the registrar of the said office the sum of thirty shillings and no more, and to the seal-keeper thereof the sum of two shillings and no more; and that no stamp duty, nor any other fee, save as hereinbefore mentioned, shall be payable on the licence or dispensation to be granted as aforesaid, nor shall any confirmation thereof be necessary; nor shall it be required of any spiritual person applying for any such licence or dispensation to give any caution or security, by bond or otherwise, before such licence or dispensation is granted; and if the said Archbishop of Canterbury shall refuse or deny to grant any such licence or dispensation as aforesaid, it shall be lawful for her majesty, if she, by the advice of her privy council, shall think fit, upon application by the person to whom such licence or dispensation shall have been refused or denied, to enjoin the said archbishop to grant such licence or dispensation, or to shew to her majesty in council sufficient cause to the contrary, and thereupon to make such order touching the refusal or grant of such licence or dispensation as to her majesty in council shall seem fit; and such order shall be binding upon the archbishop. A Statement of certain Particulars to be made by every Spiritual Person to the Bishop of the Diocese previous to application for a Licence or Dispensation. -Bishop may make Inquiry as to the Accuracy of Statement.-Bishop to transmit a Certificate to the Archbishop of Canterbury, setting forth Copy of the Statement made to the Bishop, and other Particulars. 7. And be it further enacted, that where any spiritual person shall be desirous of obtaining a licence or dispensation for holding together any two benefices, such spiritual person shall, previously to applying for the grant of such licence or dispensation, deliver to the bishop of the diocese where both benefices are situate in the same diocese, or to the bishops of the two dioceses where such bencfices are situate in different dioceses, a statement in writing under his hand, verified as such bishop or bishops respectively may require, according to a form or forms to be promulgated from time to time by the Archbishop of Canterbury and approved by the Queen in council, in which statement such spiritual person shall set forth, according to the best of his belief, the yearly income arising from each of the said benefices, separately, on an average of the three years ending on the twenty-ninth day of September next before the date of such statement, and the sources from which such income is derived, and also the yearly amount, on an average of the same period of three years, of all taxes, rates, tenths, dues, and other permanent charges and outgoings, to which the same benefices are respectively subject, and also the amount of the population of each of the said benefices, to be computed according to the last returns made under the authority of parliament, and also the distance between the two benefices, to be computed according to the directions of this act; and it shall be lawful for the bishop to whom such statement shall be delivered to make any inquiry which he may think right as to the correctness of the same in respect to the benefices or benefice within his diocese; and such bishop is hereby required, within the space of one month after he shall have received such statement as aforesaid, to transmit to the Archbishop of Canterbury a certificate under his hand, in which certificate such bishop shall set forth or shall annex thereto a copy of the statement delivered to him as aforesaid, and shall thereby certify the amount at which he considers that the annual value and the population of each of the two benefices (where both benefices are situate in the same diocese) and the distance of the said two benefices from each other, or the amount at which he considers the annual value and the population of the benefice within the diocese of such bishop (where the two benefices are situate in different dioceses) and the distance of such benefice from the other benefice, ought to be taken, with respect to the licence or dispensation in question; and whenever both or either of the benefices shall be in the diocese or jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Canterbury, a certificate shall be made out in manner aforesaid by the archbishop, and shall be retained by him. How annual Value of Two Benefices to be held together by Dispensation to be estimated. 8. And be it further enacted, that in estimating the annual value of any benefice for the purpose of any such certificate as aforesaid, it shall be lawful for the archbishop or bishop by whom such certificate shall be made, and every such archbishop and bishop is hereby directed, to deduct from the gross amount of the yearly income arising from such benefice all taxes, rates, tenths, dues, and other permanent charges and outgoings to which such benefice shall be subject, but not to deduct or allow for any stipend or stipends to any stipendiary curate or curates, nor for such taxes or rates in respect of the house of residence on any benefice or of the glebe land belonging thereto as are usually paid by tenants or occupiers, nor for monies expended in the repair or improvement of the house of residence and buildings and fences belonging thereto. Certificate to be deposited in Office of Faculties; and be conclusive Evidence of Value, Population, and Distance. 9. And be it further enacted, that the certificate or certificates to be transmitted to or retained by the Archbishop of Canterbury as aforesaid shall be deposited in the said office of faculties, and in the event of the required licence or dispensation being granted, shall for the purposes of this act be conclusive evidence of the annual value and population of each of the benefices to which the same shall relate, and of their distance from each other; and the registrar of the faculties shall and he is hereby required to produce such certificate or certificates to any person who may require to inspect the same. In other cases how annual Value to be estimated. 10. And be it further enacted, that for all the other purposes of this act the annual value of all benefices shall be the net annual value thereof, to be estimated in the same manner as is hereinbefore directed for the purpose of any such certificate as aforesaid; and that it shall be lawful for the court before whom any suit shall be depending for the recovery of any penalty or forfeiture under this act, and for any bishop acting under any of the provisions of this act, to make or cause to be made such inquiries and call for such evidence as such court or bishop shall think fit, and otherwise to proceed upon the best information which such court or bishop may be able to procure for estimating in manner aforesaid the annual value of any benefice; and with respect to the same, the decision of such court or of such bishop, founded on such evidence or other information, shall be final and conclusive, save when appealed from in due course of law. Acceptance of Preferment contrary to this Act vacates the former Preferment. 11. And be it enacted, that if any spiritual person holding any cathedral preferment or benefice shall accept any other cathedral preferment or benefice, and be admitted, instituted, or licensed to the same, contrary to the provisions of this act, every cathedral preferment or benefice so previously held by him shall be and become ipso facto void, as if he had died or had resigned the same, any law, statute, canon, usage, custom, or dispensation to the contrary notwithstanding and if any spiritual person holding any two or more benefices shall accept any cathedral preferment or any other benefice, or if any spiritual person holding two or more cathedral preferments shall accept any benefice, or if any spiritual person holding any cathedral preferment or preferments, and benefice or benefices, shall accept another benefice, he shall, before he is instituted, licensed, or in any way admitted to the said cathedral preferment or benefice, in writing under his hand, declare to the bishop or bishops within whose diocese or dioceses any of the cathedral preferments or benefices previously holden by him are situate, which cathedral preferment and benefice, or which two benefices, (such two benefices being tenable together under the provisions of this act,) he proposes to hold together, and a duplicate of such declaration shall by such spiritual person be transmitted to the registry of the diocese, and be there filed; and immediately upon any such spiritual person being instituted, licensed, or in any way admitted to the cathedral preferment VOL. XIV.-Oct. 1838. 3 N |