Yet come they did; and it is well for this country that such qualities should be appreciated as they deserve. He was called in due time to a distinguished place on the Bench of Justice, first as Vice-Chancellor, afterwards as Lord Justice; and then he was called to shed lustre upon the Office in which, when I think of him, I feel more than ever my own unworthiness to succeed him. He was called to the great Office of Lord Chancellor, and he carried himself so meekly in the discharge of his public duties, so diligently and so zealously supported every measure which, according to his judgment, was for the benefit of the country and for the advancement of liberty and justice, that when from failing health, or rather failing eyesight, after four years' sitting in this place and presiding over your Lordships' deliberations, he was compelled to relinquish that Office, he carried with him into private life, I am sure I may say, as large a share of esteem and respect as ever fell to the lot of any Predecessor of his in that exalted position-as large as any who may be called upon hereafter to succeed him can possibly hope to obtain. Nor did he, even when his eyesight was partially destroyed, cease to labour in the Public Service to the public advantage; for still as a Judge he discharged his duties in your Lordships' House with that sound, accurate, and extensive knowledge of the law, that calm, equal, and dispassionate judgment, that desire to do justice, incapable of being biassed by any other feeling, which had previously distinguished him throughout his judicial career. And even when suffering under the heaviest calamity which could fall upon him or upon any other of your Lordships who may be blessed with domestic happiness as he had been for a very long time, a calamity which bowed him down with sorrow in his old age, and from which undoubtedly he never recovered, still as long as strength and health remained he continued to lend aid to the discharge of the duties of your Lordships' House. My Lords, I feel how inadequate are the words I have used to express all the value of such a man to the country to which he belonged, to the House of which he was an ornament, to the Profession in which he laboured and in which he rose, and I will say to the Christian society, to the Church of which he was one of the most faithful members, though he always found it consistent with his attachment to the Church of England and to its principles to be foremost in the application of the great principles of civil and religious liberty upon every occasion on which they could possibly come in question. My Lords, I will only add that I hope your Lordships will pardon the inadequacy of the expression I have endeavoured to give to the feelings which I am sure you share, and believe me that what I have said comes thoroughly from the heart. EARL CAIRNS: My Lords, all that my noble and learned Friend has said, all that he could say, in praise and admiration of him who has been taken away from us, will, I am sure, in this House find a response from every one of your Lordships. It has been my lot to have had a long acquaintance with Lord Hatherley. I well recollect the kindness which, as a young man, I received from him, and I can bear witness from personal observation to the excellent manner in which for many years as one of the primary Judges of the Court of Chancery he discharged the duties of that important office. His subsequent life has been in the eyes of every one of your Lordships; and it is not too much to say, now that he is gone, that as a Judge, as a Christian, as a gentleman, and as a man, this country has not seen, and probably will not see, anyone who is his superior. EARL GRANVILLE: My Lords, it is certainly not necessary for me to add anything to the eulogies which have been passed by the two noble and learned Lords upon one who was so great an honour to this House and to the country; but perhaps your Lordships will excuse me if I add one single word of testimony to the worth of one with whom I had the honour of acting for many years. I can conceive no one who in the position of Lord Chancellor could have greater qualities to entitle him to the respect and attachment of his Col leagues. While the most consistent politician on the lines which he had laid down for himself, he was one of those lawyers-and I am happy to say that they exist in both political Parties of the State-who, when they attain to the highest honours of their Profession, can' look back upon a career absolutely un UNION OF BENEFICES (CITY OF MOTION FOR AN ADDRESS. THE EARL OF ONSLOW, in rising to call attention to a statement recently published in the "St. James's Gazette" purporting to be a census of the City of London churches alleged to have been taken on the morning of Sunday, 1st May, 1881, by which it appears that at 57 churches, all situate within one square mile, with, according to the Ordnance Map, 31,055 sittings, and, according to the Clergy Directory, an annual income of £40,266, the total present were 6,731, of which number 571 were officials and their families, 706 choristers mostly paid, 227 paupers for alms, and 1,374 school children, leaving as general ordinary congregations 3,853-namely,1,227 men, 1,796 women, and 830 children; also to the present population of the City of London (for which, in addition to the churches, St. Paul's Cathedral and the Temple Church are also available) compared with the population in 1801-81; and to move stained either in public or in private life. | Giles, Cripplegate; and St. Botolph, One of his most important characteristics Aldgate, drew their congregations prinwas that he not only pointed out diffi- cipally from without the City. Taking, culties which might occur in politics, but then, those within the City walls, it he was singularly fertile in suggesting would be seen that of 48 churches the means for remedying them. I feel sure congregations in 13 did not exceed 20; that, whether remembered as Page Wood in 28 churches it did not exceed 50; and or as Lord Hatherley, his name will re- in only 4 did it exceed 100. The capamain an honour to his Profession and to city of the 48 churches was 10 times that both Houses of Parliament, of which he required for the congregation (exclusive was in turn so distinguished an orna- of officials). The officials, choristers, ment. recipients of charity, and school children constituted three-fourths of the whole congregation; a chorister was supplied for every fourth person, and an official for every six. The total actual congregations did not exceed more than 2,300, or an average of 48 to each church; the stipendiary portion, exclusive of incumbents and curates, consisted of 21 lecturers, 513 choristers, 374 officials, with their families, and the emoluments amounted to an average of upwards of £1,000 to each church. These statistics were taken under the superintendence of one of the most efficient clerks and accountants in the City, who employed for the purpose some 80 clerks, a body far more reliable than that of necessity employed in taking the Imperial Census. Their Lordships were fully aware of the increasing depletion of the City at night, which had been going on for many years; but it was not until the latest Čensus was laid on the Table of the House that the extent of this could be fully appreciated. And it should be borne in mind, in considering the figures which he was about to lay before the House, that a large number of those who were compelled to sleep in the City rarely lost an opportunity of absenting themselves from it during the day on Sunday, especially in summer. In the year 1801, the population of the City was 156,859; in 1811, it fell to 120,909; and did not vary greatly until 1861, when the population was 112,063. The fall in the next decade was rapid. In 1871, there were only 74,897; and the recent Census showed that that had fallen still further to 50,526, of whom only 18,712 resided within the City walls. During the same period the population around London had been increasing at a marvellous pace. He would not enter into the statistics of the East End, knowing that the spiritual wants of that population might be safely left in the hands of the right rev. Prelate (the "That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty praying that Her Majesty will be graciously pleased to issue a Commission to inquire into the working of the Union of Benefices Act, 1860, and the state of the several ecclesiastical parishes in the City of London with reference to their population, and to the value of the benefices attached to them, with a view to the suggestion of such further union of benefices, disposal of the sites of churches, and application of the funds arising therefrom, as may, with due regard to the architectural and historical features of the existing edifices, be more conducive to the efficiency of the Church in the Metropolis and its vicinity," said, that, for his purpose, it would be advisable to take only those churches which were situate within the City walls, as those on the edge of the City, such as St. Botolph, Aldersgate; St. Andrew, Holborn; St. Bride, Fleet Street; St. Earl Granville Bishop of London), further than to say | mated by the Secretary to the Bishop of that, with the exception of Hackney, Rochester's Fund that at least four the districts in the East, such as Shore- churches should be built immediately, ditch, Whitechapel, and St. George's in and an endowment of £10,000 a-year the East, showed a slight decrease of secured to give church accommodation from 2 to 9 per cent. If they turned to and spiritual ministration to the poputhe South and West of London, and to lation of South London in that diocese. the county of Surrey, in which he (the It was impossible that the inhabitants of Earl of Onslow) resided, and of whose these houses, hardly able as they were spiritual necessities he might, therefore, to pay their rent, could find the funds claim to have some knowledge, they necessary for the purpose of erecting would find that the increase had been and endowing additional churches; what stupendous. In the districts of Fulham, more natural, therefore, than that the Hampstead, Wandsworth, and Kensing-endowments of the empty City churches ton the increase had been 198, 137, 186, and 85 per cent respectively; and, in the registration district of Fulham, the increase had been 50,000; while in that of Battersea it had increased by 54,000, nearly exactly doubling the population of 1871, and the increase being greater in that one district alone, within 10 years, than in the whole population of the entire City of London. South London, hitherto the centre of the market gardening industry, was now becoming covered with a mushroom-like growth of small bow-windowed houses, inhabited by that class, almost exclusively, whose daily avocations lay in the City. He knew of one contractor, and that only one of many, who had contracted to build 1,000 of these houses, turning them out at the rate of four a-week, which were filled before they were dry, often with two families. It should be observed that while the area of the Metropolis North of the Thames covered 50 square miles, the area South of the river covered 68; and that while the increase of the population in the 20 years from 1851-71 for the entire Metropolis was at the rate of 34 per cent, the increase in the Southern part of it had been at the rate of 57. It should also be known that while the increase in the rateable value in the Metropolis might be calculated to be three times greater than the increase of population, in the South of London it was at the rate of 127 per cent, against 104 per cent for the entire Metropolis, while the increase from 1871 to 1881 had been in still greater proportion. The Metropolitan counties showed no exception to that growth, that of Surrey being no less than 1,344,000 in the decade. It could scarcely be supposed that spiritual provision could have kept pace with that gigantic increase. It was esti should follow those for whose good they were intended to their new homes? He did not wish it to be supposed that no efforts had been made in this direction; on the contrary, the most rev. Prelate and the right rev. Prelate, during their Presidencies over the See of London, had both done their utmost to lessen these anomalies. The right rev. Prelate had succeeded in diverting a sum of £5,500 a-year for church purposes without the City; nor had the right rev. Bench been less active in Parliament. In the year 1860 a Bill was brought in by the most rev. Prelate for the union of benefices, the opponents to which, however, succeeded, ere it passed into law, in introducing clauses with, he (the Earl of Onslow) believed, the avowed design of impeding the objects which were sought to be obtained. The process under this Act might thus be described-The Bishop of London issued a Commission to certain Commissioners; they made a return to him as to the terms of the proposed union. Those proposals were then completed, and submitted to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for consideration. When these proposals came before the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, they had had the general assent of the Vestries, and of the patrons, and of the Bishop of the Diocese. The Ecclesiastical Commissioners then considered the proposals which were put before them; and if they thought they were consistent with the provisions of the Act, and could properly be carried out, they expressed their approval of them, either with or without modifications, and then copies of that scheme were sent to the Vestries and to the patrons of the cures affected. They were allowed two months under the Act to consider any alterations or modifica tions which the Ecclesiastical Commis Crown Dean and Chapter of Westminster Corpus Christi College, Cam- Magdalen College, Cambridge Simeon's Trustees £ 1,215 1,136 1,108 1,034 340 550 890 584 . 876 496 340 Welsh 300 sioners might have inserted; and when their replies were received, the scheme was again brought up before them, and when the necessary assents were given, or the objections overruled, the scheme was, by direction of the Board, laid before Parliament, and after the expiration of a period of two months from that time, the sealed copy was sent to the Privy Council Office with a view to ratification by Her Majesty. When the scheme had been ratified and published in The London Gazette, the subsequent proceedings in carrying out the terms of the union commenced. The consents contemplated by the 17th section of the Act being obtained, the first process generally was the removal of the fittings of the church which was to be pulled down, taking care of the sacramental plate, the font, Communion table, and all things which were not to be sold, and then the arrangement for the removal and re-in-He believed that if some power were terment of the human remains which were under the church. That was usually a very long process, and when everything of that kind was complete, then the sale of the site took place. Their Lordships would observe that it was necessary to conciliate two bodies whose veto was absolute. The first and most difficult to deal with was the Vestry, a body which had passed into a proverb for narrow-mindedness and incapacity for organization. The length of time also necessary for the completion of the scheme frequently allowed of a complete change in the constitution of that body, which was at all times a small one, and swayed by the minds of one or two of its more active members. With the patrons of the livings less difficulty might be experienced in the City than elsewhere, inasmuch as they were, for the most part, what he might term public bodies. The patronage was thus disposed of. given to override the caprice of the Vestries far more might be done than hitherto had been effected; for it could not be denied that self-interest was the ruling spirit amongst these bodies, which was clearly exemplified in the case of the union of St. Benet's, Gracechurch Street, with another benefice. In that instance, the scheme was assented to, gazetted, and became law; but then, under the 17th section of the Act-where four consents of Her Majesty's subjects were required, after she had signed it, to the pulling down of the church-the late Archdeacon of London exercised his veto on the church coming down, and the reason was because it was not to be sold by tender, he objecting to having it sold by auction; the consequence of his refusal was that they were obliged to have a supplementary scheme to change auction into "tender." The parishioners then woke up and said "Well, but now we will have something; we will not give our consent 10,584 to the supplementary scheme, unless 5,565 £4,000 is given to us as a reparation 4,240 fund;" and it was obliged to be given. 4,081 Then they said-"We will stand out that the Commissioners of Sewers shall have these two frontages for nothing; that was resisted; a long battle was fought as to what the money should be ; ultimately they agreed to £3,000, so that it was calculated that £12,000 2,100 1,511 must have been the loss to the church. The Earl of Onslow He believed that if a Royal Commis- | thing had been done under it which was sion was granted which could con- worthy of the name of reform. He consider the City parishes as a whole, and fessed that his experience was that which would have the public confi- unless the recommendations of Royal dence, they might recommend a large Commissions were backed up by the aid scheme for the union of benefices, select- of the Government they very often ing at once those churches which, from failed in their object. In point of fact, their historical or architectural interest, the success or failure of a Royal Comshould not be touched, forming them into mission depended very much on the mother churches for groups of parishes, encouragement given to them by the to serve a real, not a phantom, popu- Government of the day, and he inlation, and, where that might not be stanced the case of the Alkali Commisthe case, they might transfer their sion as an example. In regard to the wealthy endowments-leaving sufficient present question, he pointed out that a to repair the fabrics-to some of the ad- very large amount of evidence had jacent districts, whose spiritual destitu- already been taken on the subject. tion he had pointed out. Thus those There had been an attempt to introduce who worked in the City by day, and for a general measure by a private Member whom these endowments were intended, in the other House; but they all knew would derive the benefit from them how very little chance a private Memto which they were entitled, while a ber had of getting a Bill through unprincipal weapon would be removed less the subject had the hearty sympathy from the enemies of the Church of Eng- of the Government. He would suggest land as to the alleged great waste of her that if Her Majesty's Government saw rich possessions. He begged, in con- its way to supporting any measure on clusion, to move the Resolution of which this question, the Ecclesiastical Bench he had given Notice. were well able to deal with it. thought that a Bill dealing with the question would be a more satisfactory solution than the issue of another Royal Commission; but if the Government thought otherwise, if they wished to be fortified with another Royal Commission, then he should support it in preference to nothing being done. At all events, looking at the great importance of the question, he hoped that it would be dealt with at no distant date. Moved, that an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty praying that Her Majesty will be graciously pleased to issue a Commission to inquire into the working of the Union of Benefices Act, 1860, and the state of the several ecclesiastical parishes in the City of London with reference to their population and to the value of the benefices attached to them, with a view to the suggestion of such further union of benefices, disposal of the sites of churches, and application of the funds arising therefrom, as may, with due regard to the architectural and historical features of the existing edifices, be more conducive to the efficiency of the church in the metropolis and its vicinity.-(The Earl of Onslow.) VISCOUNT MIDLETON said, he quite concurred in the sentiment that this was a question that could only be dealt with by a Bill in Parliament. There could be no question that in the City of London there was great waste of ecclesiastical power. They had there a large number of churches with no congregations to fill them on the Sunday. For years the population of the City had been steadily diminishing, and that of the suburbs increasing. There were very few clergymen of such exceptional abilities as to tempt the people back to the City churches from their residences in the suburbs. So far as regarded the Union of Benefices Act, the machinery was of far too cumbrous a character to render it workable, and the result was that no 2 He THE BISHOP OF LONDON said, he should have preferred to have the matter left over until another Session of Parliament, when something practical might be done; but as the subject had been brought forward he could not avoid offering a few words on the question. The population of the City of London had been reduced to 52,000, which was 900 less than the increase of only one of the parishes referred to-that of Kensington, and for that population there were 60 churches. But even the sleeping population was much larger than the average Sunday population, for a large number of those who lived in the City left it on the Sunday. Mean, while the population of the suburbs had increased enormously; and whole towns had been built and inhabited by artizans and others of a class quite unable to provide themselves with churches and R 2 |