Tithe Commutation. 



[JULY, 



and approved by the Board has been 63, or more than twice 

 as many in ten years as under the Act of 1876 in 30 years. 

 The simplicity of the proceedings under this Act compares 

 favourably with the complexity of those under the Act of 1876, 

 and the possibility of some simplification of the methods laid 

 down in the Act of 1876 is referred to in connection with a 

 recommendation by the Select Committee on Commons which 

 sat last Session, to the effect that the whole procedure under 

 the Commons Inclosure Acts should be referred to a Select 

 Committee of the House of Commons to consider what legis- 

 lation (if any) is needed for improving the same. 



The Report gives an account of the action in regard to 

 the various applications received during the year under these 

 Acts and also under certain other Acts administered by the 

 Board. 



The Board of Agriculture and Fisheries are charged with 

 the administration of the Tithe Acts as successors of the 



Tithe Commissioners appointed in 

 Tithe 1836. The total amount of tithe rent- 



Commutation, charge on the land of England and 



Wales was by the original commutation 

 ,£4,054,405, but this has been subject to continuous reduction 

 since that date. In the Tithe Act, 1836, provision was made 

 whereby the owner of land who was also the owner of the 

 tithes arising out of such land could merge and extinguish 

 the tithe by deed or declaration. This power was extended 

 by subsequent enactments, and the result has been that an 

 amount of ,£137,643 (of which ,£46,559 was unapportioned 

 and ^91,084 apportioned rentcharge) has been merged and 

 extinguished. Provision for the redemption of tithe rent- 

 charge was first made in the Tithe Act, 1846, and further 

 reductions to the total amount of ^58,229, of which ,£668 

 was unapportioned, have been made by this process. By the 

 operation of the Extraordinary Tithe Acts, some further sums 

 have been removed from the category of tithe rentcharge, but, 

 on the other hand, rentcharges have been substituted for corn 

 rents and money payments awarded in lieu of tithes under the 

 provisions of certain local Inclosure Acts. The net result 

 of these various transactions has been to reduce the total 



