Ip6 



Patronage of the Church of England. 



of fortune, which it is the object of 

 wise institutions to counteract ; and, 

 from the unequal manner in which it 

 is divided, expose a body of men to 

 the opposite evils of abject penury and 

 vicious aflluence. Our present busi- 

 ness, however, is not to make reflec- 

 tions, but to state facts. 



in. — Patronage of the Church. 



AH the patronage of the church is 

 virtually in the crown. The king's 

 direct patronage is the bishoprics, all 

 the deaneries, forty-seven prebends 

 and canonries, and upwards of a 

 thousand livings. He has indirectly 

 the remainder of church patronage. 

 No one is eligible to ecclesiastical 

 preferment unless first ordained by 

 the bishop ; when eligible, no one can 

 enjoy any benefice, unless instituted 

 Ijy a bishop. The bishops therefore, 

 by ordination and institution, have a 

 double power to exclude obnoxious 

 persons ; and, the bishops themselves 

 being appointed by the crown, the 

 latter has indirectly the patronage of 

 the whole ecclesiastical establishment, 

 having a veto on all appointments by 

 the aristocracy, the gentry, universi- 

 ties, and other bodies in whom patron- 

 age is vested. It is easy to imagine 

 the efi"ect of this on public occasions. 

 The clergy, from superior education, 

 from their wealth and sacred profes- 

 sion, possess greater influence than 

 any other order of men ; and all the 

 influence they possess is as much sub- 

 servient to government as the army or 

 aiavy, or any other branch of public 

 service. This was strikingly evinced 

 on the trial of the late Queen; when 

 the clergy became particularly conspi- 

 cuous by their zeal in getting up what 

 is called loyal addresses, in favour of 

 the prosecution of that unfortunate 

 princess. 



The greatest abuse in ecclesiastical 

 patronage is monopoly, in a few indi- 

 viduals of influence and connexion 

 sharing among them the most valuable 

 emoluments of the church. In all 

 spiritual offices and dignities there is 

 great difl'erence in the value, and the 

 patronage annexed to them ; and the 

 great object of ecclesiastical intrigue 

 is to secure not only the most valua- 

 ble, but greatest number of prefer- 

 ments. Hence arises the present 

 disposition of church property. Scarce- 

 ly any preferment is held single ; the 

 sees, dignitaries, and rectories, being 

 mostly held with other offices ; and the 

 1 



[April I, 



most valuable appropriated by those 

 who have the disposal of them, namely, 

 the crown and aristocracy. The bishops 

 are frequently rectors, vicars, and 

 curates, besides holding professorships, 

 clerkships, prebends, precentorships, 

 and other cathedral appointments. 

 Their sons, sons-in-law, brothers, and 

 nephews, are also promoted to the 

 most valuable preferments in the dio- 

 cese. For more particular details on 

 this subject I must refer to the Sup- 

 plement to the Black Book, which is 

 full of curious and valuable informa-. 

 tion relative to the church, and other 

 branches of public administration. 



In parochial patronage there is the 

 same abuse as in the higher depart- 

 ments of the church ; the most valuable 

 benefices being held by those whose 

 chief claims are their families and 

 connexions. By bringing forward tlie 

 poor livings, it is usual to make out a 

 favourable case for the parochial 

 clergy ; but, from the small number of 

 persons among whom parochial prefer- 

 ments are shared, there is no class 

 except the curates entitled to much 

 sympathy. In England and Wales 

 there are 11,593 parochial offices, — 

 rectories, vicarages, and curacies, — 

 which are shared among 6,719 indivi- 

 duals in various proportions. The 

 subject will be at once illustrated from 

 the following classification of paro- 

 chial patronage, drawn up from data 

 in the Ecclesiastical Directory. 

 Parochial Patronage, showing the Number 



of Individuals, and the Numher of Recto- 



ricM, yicarages, and Curacies, held by 



each. 



Livings held 



ly each. 

 . 34 . . 



No. of 

 Individuals. 

 1 .. 



1 



2 



4 



11 



7 



11 



27 



89 



247 



708 



1,816 



3,788 



6,719 



15 



13 



J2 



11 



10 



9 



8 



7 



6 



4 

 3 

 2 

 1 



Total No. 



of Livings. 

 34 

 25 

 20 

 30 

 39 

 12 

 23 

 40 

 99 

 56 

 77 



• 162 



• 445 



• 988 



• 8,124 



• 3,632 



• .'3,788 



11,593 



From this statement if appears, that 



out of 6,719, the number of parochial 



clergy 



