206 



the cultivator has to the oilier nine 

 parts, the clergy have not, nor have 

 ever had, any butter title totitius than 

 the power of enforcing the payment of 

 them by existing laws. It may not 

 be needful to enter into the pretended 

 title to tithes by Divine Right ; under 

 the Mosaic law, from the expressions 

 of our Saviour and the Apostles, or 

 from the practice of the primitive 

 church ; as I am apprehensive tlie most 

 hardy advocate for tithes (or a forced 

 maintenance, which 1 alwiiys connect 

 with the word titiies,) will not at this 

 day attempt to derive a claim from any 

 of these. But, not to leave my position 

 quite so naked and defenceless as the 

 Doctor has left his, 1 may observe that 

 I conceive the great bulk of the clergy 

 have so far opened their eyes, as to see 

 theyhad not the shadowof a right, until 

 papal darkness had generally obscured 

 the clearness of the primitive day ; 

 then, indeed, abuses of various kinds 

 crept in, and, inter alia, this great one 

 of tithes, which ought to have been 

 shaken olf with that part of the defded 

 garment which was cast away at the 

 Reformation. Kut let us now briefly 

 examine what kind of property they 

 then acquired: they either acquired 

 part of the land, or part of the produce 

 of the land, or, simply, a capacity to 

 help themselves to a tenth of the pro- 

 duce. That they did not acquire part 

 of the land is too evidentto need much 

 comment ; if they had had a share in 

 the land, they eonld not have been 

 dispossessed of their properly at the 

 Avill of another; but would at all times 

 liave had within their reach some en- 

 joyment thereof. That they have not 

 this, is clear from one instance, viz. 

 that land sulijeet to corn-litlies may 

 be laid down to pasture, or converted 

 into v^oodland, or vice versa; from 

 ■which loss the clergyman cannot deli- 

 ver himself. Again, that the land- 

 owner is liable to no claim for tithes 

 unless he cultivate the land himself. 



I am of the opinion, that there are 

 not many who attach tithes to the 

 laud ; but the last hold, the strong 

 fortress, is a rii;ht derived from ancient 

 grants to a tenth part of the produce 

 distinct from the land. How came 

 they in possession of such a right? 

 jooted in the dark ages of Popish 

 ignorance. To see this, let us exa- 

 mine what the produce is composed 

 of: we shall lind it is composed (under 

 the Divine blessing,) of the labour, 

 skill, and e;ij>iial, of the husbandman ; 



Mr. Cotterell on Tithes. [April I, 



and which of my ancestors could con- 



vey to another the sweat of my brow ? 

 — a thing they could not be possessed 

 of, and therefore in no condition to 

 give it away ; and yet the clergy have 

 the confidence to tell the farmer of 

 this day, that they have possessed a 

 freehold in it for many hundred years ! 

 Some, perhaps, may say, it is a pre- 

 scriptive right. What! a prescriptive 

 right to the toil of the husbandman of 

 the present hour ! 



The next remark I was indeed sur- 

 prised to find from the pen of one in 

 whom the " esprit de corps," to use his 

 own expression, might fairly have 

 been expected tf> have outweighed the 

 expression of a sentiment so candidly 

 admitting all that the opponents of a 

 forced maintenance could wish. He 

 says, in reference to the system of 

 tithes generally, "Hence there must 

 be something radically wrong in a 

 system which excites prejudice iu the 

 most liberal and enlightened minds, 

 and which equally militates against 

 the interests of religion and the inte- 

 rests of agriculture." It would not be 

 treating this large concession with the 

 moderation so much candour merits, 

 to make use of it to the extent which 

 might be done ; but I cannot help ask- 

 ing, was the Doctor aware of its ine- 

 vitable consequences? We cannot 

 gather that he was, from the subse- 

 quent parts of the section. It is true 

 the medicine is injurious, but 1 lind 

 more fault with the apothecary who 

 administers it than wiih the potion he 

 gives me ; nor is my opinion of him 

 greatly imjiroved when he tells me, he 

 l)repared it from a recipe which has 

 been in his family many <!enturies, as 

 1 lind, on investigation, that it has 

 always been found to possess the same 

 di leterious qualities. V\ ould that the 

 clergy had the real interests of religion 

 so much at heart, as to be willing to 

 make a personal sacrifice for its sake, 

 and be content with a maintenance 

 far more honourable ; such as they 

 might obtain (if need be,) by the ho- 

 nest labour of their hands, and the 

 voluntary assistance of their hearers: 

 in so doing, great, I believe, would be 

 their reward. 



The last observation of Dr. Mavor's 

 I think it needful to notice is as fol- 

 lows : — " I shall only further beg leave 

 to remark, that sectaries of all deno- 

 minations voluntarily contribute, at 

 their own expense, to sujjport their 

 niinifitcrS; w hetlier qualified or not for 



the 



