Security of Church-rates.

143

whereof not less than fifteen years shall be unexpired, or determinable upon life or lives, shall dissent therefrom, such dissent to be entered in the book containing the proceedings of the vestry, and to be signified in case of any future vestry within two months after any resolution for the purposes aforesaid of such vestry or select vestry as aforesaid, and in case of any vestry already holden, at which such resolutions shall have been passed, within two months from the passing of this Act, under the hands of such proprietors and persons interested as aforesaid, and in case of corporations aggregate, under the hand of the president, head, or chief member thereof for the time being, and in case of femes covert, minors, insane persons, and persons absent from the kingdom, under the hands of their respective husbands, guardians, committees, trustees, attorneys, or agents, who are hereby respectively authorized to sign such dissents, and in cases of trustees of charitable institutions, under the hands of the major part of the trustees, or of any such body of any such trustees as may, under their respective trusts, be authorized to act in the execution of the trusts."

But by section 25, it is provided, "that it shall be lawful for the inhabitants of any parish who shall be assembled and present at any vestry, or the major part of the inhabitants so assembled and present at any such vestry, of which notice shall have been given upon two successive Sundays preceding the meeting of such vestry, or for twothird parts of such of the persons exercising the powers of vestry in such parish, as shall be assembled at any meeting of which due notice shall have

144

On Borrowing Money on the

been given according to the mode of giving notices for the assembling of such persons, to order and direct the making and raising of any rate, not exceeding the amount of one shilling in the pound in any one year, or the amount of five shillings in the pound in the whole, upon the annual value of the property in the parish, for the purpose of building or enlarging any church or churches, or chapel or chapels, either wholly or in part, by means of rates, without any further or other or greater number of consents of any inhabitants or proprietors ** Provided always, that no greater or larger rate than aforesaid shall be ordered or directed to be made or raised, in relation to any application or offer to enlarge or build any church or chapel, either wholly or in part, by means of rates, if any such proportion of dissents as are in this Act specified are signified in writing in manner directed by this Act."

It will be observed, that 58 Geo. 3, c. 45, s. 19, relates only to the enlarging or otherwise extending accommodation. By other sections (k) of the Act provision is made for borrowing money in certain events, and upon certain conditions, on the security of church-rates, for the building of new churches; but no power is given by that Act for raising money on the security of church-rates, for the purpose of repairs.

This desirable object is secured by 59 Geo. 3, c. 134, s. 13, by which it is enacted, "that it shall and may be lawful for the churchwardens of any

(k) Sects. 14, 60, & 61, amended, and in part repealed, by 59 Geo. 3, c. 134, s. 24, regulating the requisite consents,

ante, p. 142, and s. 75, requiring one-fifth of the whole of the sittings to be "free seats" for the poor.

Security of Church-rates.

145

parish, with the consent of the vestry, or persons possessing the powers of vestry, and with the consent of the bishop and incumbent, to borrow or raise upon the credit of the church-rates of any such parish, such sum or sums of money as shall be necessary for defraying the expenses of repairing any churches or chapels, and they are hereby empowered and required, in any case in which such sums shall have been borrowed, to raise by rate a sum sufficient, from time to time, to pay the interest of the money so borrowed, and not less than ten per cent. of the principal sum borrowed, out of the produce of such rates, until the whole of the money so borrowed shall be repaid” (l).

By this and subsequent Acts the building and rebuilding of churches upon certain conditions, in part or in whole by the means of money raised on the security of church-rates, are further provided

for.

Thus under this Act (m), churchwardens of any parish may, with consent of vestry, ordinary, patron, incumbent, and lay impropriator, if there be one, pull down and rebuild the church on the same or a more convenient site; and may borrow money on the security of church-rates for this purpose, subject to the provisions in sects. 24, 25, one-half of the additional seats to be free-seats.

By this Act, also, the power of borrowing money on the security of church-rates, for the purposes of these Acts, is extended to townships, hamlets, vills, chapelries, and other divisions of parishes (n).

(1) 5 A. & E. 10; Blunt and Fuller v. Harwood, 1 Cur. 648, see post, c. 3, s. 2.

H

(m) 59 Geo. 3, c. 134, s. 40. (n) 59 Geo. 3, c. 134, s. 5.

By 3 Geo. 4, c. 72, s. 5, the commissioners may lend money for the purposes of the above Acts, on the security of the church-rates; and by sect. 6, money may be raised by the churchwardens for the same purposes by the grant of annuities.

And lastly, by 5 Geo. 4, c. 103, a power is given, upon certain conditions, for building churches or chapels by private subscription, or partly by subscription, and partly by rates, or money raised on the credit of the rates (o).

In order to render a rate made under the authority of any of the Church-building Acts valid, the requisites of the Acts must have been strictly complied with (p).

(0) Sects. 5, 6, 9, 10.

(p) R. v. Churchwardens of Dursley, 5 A. & E. 10; Blunt and Fuller v. Harwood, 1 Curt.

648, post, c. 3, s. 3; Williams v. George and Nunn, 3 Curt. 343; 2 N. E. C. 85, S. C.

CHAPTER III.

ON THE METHODS OF ENFORCING THE PAYMENT OF CHURCH-RATES, AND THE VARIOUS GROUNDS OF

RESISTING PAYMENT AND THE MODE OF COMPELLING THE MAKING OF THEM.

SECTION I.

On the Summary Proceedings before Justices of the Peace, for enforcing Payment of Church-rates.

IF any parishioner, duly assessed to a church-rate, should, upon demand made, refuse or neglect to pay the amount at which he is assessed, it will be the duty of the churchwardens forthwith to commence proceedings against him for the purpose of enforcing payment. But, of course, they should, before taking hostile proceedings against him, furnish him with all reasonable information which he may require respecting the rate; and it must be borne in mind, by those who have the custody of the vestry books (a), that he has a right to inspect the minutes of the vestry at which the rate was made, and may enforce this right, if necessary, by mandamus (b).

At common law, these proceedings must, in all cases, have been taken in the Ecclesiastical Courts, for there only this matter was cogniza

(a) See 58 Geo. 3, c. 69,

8. 6.

(b) R. v. The Churchwardens of Stepney, 11 J. P. 420.