11 



the landlord would have lost. Even if it were conclusively 

 proved that the tithe rent-charger now enjoys the best of the 

 bargain, and that the diminution in the value of his share of the 

 produce, as shown by the tables, does not equitably represent 

 the share which he ought to bear in the diminished value of the 

 total produce, it by no means follows that his share in the 

 general burden is disproportionately small. 



In the first place, titheowners are still receiving their shares, 

 hitherto unpaid, of previous prosperity ; at the time they profited 

 less by the increment than any other agricultural class ; their 

 profits are, from the nature of an income which is calculated on 

 averages, spread over several years. In the second place, 

 although war may in the interval send corn up to famine prices, 

 titheowners will continue for the next seven years to suffer 

 from the recent period of distress. So long as the existing 

 arrangements are maintained for the payment of tithes between 

 landlords and occupiers both these considerations introduce an 

 apparent element of injustice into the position of tenant farmers 

 If a farm changed hands the farmer who rents in bad times is 

 paying tithes which are abnormally high owing to profits reaped 

 by his predecessor. Even this appearance of injustice could not 

 exist if landlords had acted up to the spirit of the Commutation 

 Act of 1836. Neither the profits nor the losses of titheowners 

 are immediate ; both are spread over a considerable period of 

 years. Many other considerations must be borne in mind in 

 estimating the amount of the clerical titheowners' share in the 

 general burden. Large arrears are accumulating, the amount 

 of which is not adequately represented upon the books, because 

 large sums are now irrecoverable ; considerable abatements have 

 been made, varying from 5 to 20 per cent. ; tracts of land 

 have fallen out of cultivation, upon which tithe ceases to be 

 payable ; rates fall with increased severity upon tithes iu 

 proportion as the assessment value of farms decreases with the 

 reduced rental. Lastly, clerical incomes are subject to pecu- 

 liarly heavy deductions for the payment of curates and the 

 conduct of divine service, the repair of chancels, the support of 

 schools, the maintenance of local clubs and societies, and the 

 administration of charities. This last class of professional out- 

 goings may be almost regarded as absolute charges upon the 

 income of the clerical titheowner ; the money which they repre- 

 sent is spent in and for the benefit of the parish ; and the burden 

 falls with greater weight upon the parson in consequence of the 

 increase iu the sui'rounding poverty. 



Figures are generally misleading ; but they render abstract 

 statements more concrete and definite. The total value of tithe 

 rent-charge, as commuted and apportioned in 1836, is in round 

 numbers four millions. Of this three-fifths, or 2,400,000^., are in 



