GftEAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 



315 



interest is transferred. This puts an end to sales 

 of next presentations. The sale by auction of a 

 benefice is forbidden, unless at least 100 acres of 

 land go with it. All agreements to exercise the 

 right of patronage in favor of a particular person, 

 or to transfer the right of patronage for payment 

 previous to a vacancy, or for resignation in favor 

 of a particular person, are declared invalid. An 

 incumbent may, however, promise to resign in favor 

 of a relative of the patron. The declaration against 

 simony is made so stringent that persons of good 

 character can no longer indulge in practices that 

 are simoniacal, being to the effect that the clergy- 

 man has not received the presentation in considera- 

 tion of any sum of money, reward, gift, profit, or 

 benefit, directly or indirectly given by him, or by 

 any one for him, to any one, and will not perform 

 any contract made in respect to the presentation 

 without his knowledge. The bishop, who formerly 

 had power to refuse institution only to presentees 

 not in priest's orders, unorthodox, illiterate, or of 

 extremely bad character, can now withhold it on 

 the possibility of a corrupt presentation if a year 

 has not elapsed since the last transfer of the right 

 of patronage, or on account of the inexperience of 

 a presentee who has not been ordained as deacon 

 longer than three years, or on grounds of his unfit- 

 ness by reason of physical or mental infirmity, 

 serious pecuniary embarrassment, grave miscon- 

 duct, neglect of duty in an ecclesiastical office, or 

 evil life. The marriage act dispenses with the 

 presence of a registrar at other places of worship 

 than churches of the Church of England, permit- 

 ting any authorized person certified as such by the 

 trustees of a place of worship to take the declara- 

 tions required to be made before the registrar hith- 

 erto, but if the parties desire the presence of the 

 registrar he is bound to attend: Similar rights 

 have long been enjoyed by the Society of Friends 

 and Jewish congregations, but not by nonconform- 

 ists in general nor by Roman Catholics. The Uni- 

 versity of London act appoints Lord Davey, the 

 Bishop of London, Sir William Roberts, Sir Owen 

 Roberts, Prof. Jebb, Dr. Michael Foster, and E. H. 

 Busk commissioners to make statutes and regula- 

 tions for the proposed university, which will recog- 

 nize as teachers of its staff duly qualified teachers 

 and lecturers giving instruction of a university 

 type in public educational institutions within a 

 radius of 80 miles, whether such institutions be 

 schools of the university or not. The Inns of Court 

 and the Law Society have power to appoint mem- 

 bers of the senate, but do not lose their rights and 

 privileges. 



The vaccination act was founded on the recom- 

 mendations of a royal commission which studied 

 the subject from 1889 to 1896, and finally in its 

 majority report dissented from the policy of com- 

 pulsory vaccination, which has been the law since 

 1853. It was found that among the class for which 

 it was established it has declined in favor, and that 

 25 per cent, of the elected guardians of the poor 

 neglect to enforce it, with the result that there are 

 hundreds of thousands of unvaccinated persons. 

 The new act does not abrogate the compulsory 

 clause, but directs that it shall not be enforced in 

 cases where the child's parents or guardians ha-ve 

 ft conscientious belief that vaccination would be 

 dangerous to the child, also that no person shall be 

 subjected more than once to the penalties for diso- 

 bedience of the act. The period within which a 

 child must be vaccinated is extended from three 

 months to six months from its birth, and the public 

 vaccinator is required, if requested, to go to the 

 chtld's home to vaccinate it, instead of the parent 

 being obliged to take the child to the public place 

 of vaccination, though in cases of serious risk of 



smallpox the local government board still has power 

 to establish public stations. In case of nonvaccina- 

 tion within four months from birth the public vac- 

 cinator is directed to visit the child's home and offer 

 to vaccinate. The local government board is re- 

 quired to issue for public vaccination only glycerin- 

 ated calf lymph, unless a still safer and more effica- 

 cious kind shall be discovered hereafter. The use 

 of calf instead of child lymph prevents the trans- 

 mission of human infectious diseases, while the 

 glycerin destroys all known germs except the vac- 

 cine germ itself. Mr. Chaplin, who had charge of 

 the bill, resisted the proposal practically to destroy 

 the principle of compulsory vaccination by allowing 

 the conscientious objections of parents to nullify 

 the law. Mr. Balfour, however, took the matter out 

 of his hands, and even receded from the proposal of 

 letting magistrates decide on the good faith of the 

 objector, admitting as sufficient a mere declaration. 

 The House of Lords, only 78 being present, struck 

 out the whole clause by a majority of 2, but the 

 Government mustered enough Conservative peers 

 subservient to the claims of party to carry the 

 clause by a majority of 10 after the Commons re- 

 inserted it. 



A resolution offered by Mr. Seton-Karr, an advo- 

 cate of national granaries, was carried on April 6, 

 1897, on being accepted in behalf of the Govern- 

 ment by Mr. Balfour, who at the same time indi- 

 cated his belief that the maintenance of a strong 

 navy offered the best guarantee for adequate pro- 

 vision of foodstuffs. The resolution only went so 

 far as to declare that the dependence of the United 

 Kingdom on foreign imports for the necessaries of 

 life and the consequences that might arise there- 

 from in the event of war demand the serious atten- 

 tion of the Government. When wheat suddenly 

 rose in price upon the outbreak of hostilities be- 

 tween Spain and the United States, the author of 

 the resolution brought up the subject again, point- 

 ing out that five sixths of the grain consumed in the 

 United Kingdom is imported, whereas France pro- 

 duces a sufficient supply for her people ; Germany, 

 Austria, and Italy grow three fourths of what their 

 people consume in time of peace, and in war lime 

 can manage to support themselves ; and Russia and 

 the United States are large grain-exporting coun- 

 tries. The Government still held the opinion that 

 so long as England held the seas her commerce 

 would provide a continuous supply of food for her 

 people. A colonial loans bill to extend the credit 

 of the Imperial Government to the colonies and 

 enable them to refund their debts and make fresh 

 ones on better terms than they can get unaided was 

 strenuously opposed by the Radicals, and by some 

 of the Government party was considered so risky a 

 financial innovation that it was withdrawn. The 

 report of the petroleum committee, recommend- 

 ing the raising of the legal flash point from 73 F. 

 by the Abel test, which is equivalent to 100 = by 

 the open test, to 100 by the Abel test, was dic- 

 tated less by real considerations of public safety 

 than by a desire to aid the depressed Scotch paraffin 

 industT-y, and help the sale of Russian oil to the exclu- 

 sion of the better and cheaper American illuminant. 



The reduction of postal rates to the colonies to 

 one penny a half ounce as the result of an im- 

 perial conference was ordered by the Postmaster- 

 General without having to apply to Parliament. 

 This imperial penny postage was established for 

 Canada, Newfoundland, Cape Colony. Natal, and 

 such of the Crown colonies as may be willing to 

 adopt it, but the Australian colonies, having for 

 revenue purposes raised their own rates to two- 

 pence, were unable to enter into the arrangement. 

 The report of a parliamentary committee which 

 investigated the usury and extortion practiced by 





