THE PRINCIPLE OF COMMUTATION 345 



oats. It was then asked how many bushels of wheat could be 

 bought at cost price by one of these equal portions, how many of 

 barley by the second, how many of oats by the third. Each 100 

 of tithe was divided into three equal sums of 33 6s. 8d. ; the 

 septennial averages for the three grains were respectively 7s. OJd. 

 for a bushel of wheat ; 3s. lljd. for a bushel of barley ; 2s. 9d. for 

 a bushel of oats. In 1836 at those prices 33 6s. 8d. bought 94' 96 

 bushels of wheat, or 168*42 bushels of barley, or 242' 42 bushels of 

 oats. These have been the fixed multipliers in use ever since. 

 Each year the average prices for the last seven years are multiplied 

 by these fixed quantities, and the result is the tithe rent charge for 

 the coming year. It will be noticed that the charge is affected 

 most by variations in the price of oats, and least by those of wheat. 

 One other point requires to be mentioned. Lord Althorp in 1833, 

 Sir Robert Peel in 1835, Lord John Russell in 1836 were agreed that 

 the payment should be transferred from occupiers to owners of land. 

 Section 80 of the Act of 1836 empowered tenants to deduct the rent- 

 charge from the rent payable to the landlord. But the section was 

 permissive only. For mutual convenience tenants paid the rent 

 charge direct to the tithe-owner, and their other rent to the landlord 

 was calculated on this basis. By the Tithe Rent Charge Recovery 

 Act of 1891 the tenant was no longer permitted to be the conduit- 

 pipe for the payment. The liability to pay the tithe rent charge 

 was transferred to the landowner ; the tithe-owner's remedy of 

 distress was altered into a process through the county court ; and, 

 instead of the corn averages absolutely determining the amount 

 of tithe rent charges, provision was made in certain cases for a 

 reduced payment when the charge exceeded a certain proportion of 

 the annual value of the land. 



