Interests of the Church of England, 
cf difference on speculative points. 
The entreaty is founded ou the convic¬ 
tion that they are capable of adorning 
by their conduct the doctrines of the 
Church. We seldont wish to associate 
with those, whom we think incapable of 
fiietidJy intercourse, or unfit for the 
communication of the charities of life. 
11.—The system of tithes is another 
ostensible cause of disaffection to the 
church. It would be easy to prove that 
titfies are equal in right and antiquity 
to the property of the land. Calculated 
at a tenth, they scarcely, in tlie hands of 
the clergy, amount to a twentieth of the 
produce. They are not, in fact, paid by 
the tenants, who are the loudest in cen- 
jsure ; they are deducted from the rent. 
It is always observable that tithe*free 
estates are the dearest to the occupier. 
But notliing should be cufiered to e- 
clipse the mutual reflection of love and 
kindness bebyeen the .pastors and their 
flocks. In times like the present, when 
the prices of every article of necessity 
are rapidl.y increasing, it becomes rea¬ 
sonable that a proportionate augmenta¬ 
tion should take place in the composi¬ 
tions, which are generally, and properly, 
made for tithes. This demand, how¬ 
ever reasonable, occasions discontent ; 
and the mind of the hearer, discontented 
with the preacher, becomes indisposed to 
receive instruction with docility and 
benefit. Appeals are frequently made 
to courts of law for decisions in tithe 
causes: and, although the verdict is 
generally m favor of the clergy, such is 
the perversity of human nature, that 
.those, who liave provoked the conten¬ 
tion by their refusal to comply with an 
equitable proposal, are the most dispos¬ 
ed to harbour resentment. VrO'prium est 
titimani generis udisse qutm taseris. A 
clergyman, in too many cases, finds 
himself obliged either to sacrifice a 
considerable portion of a moderate 
claim, or to incur the hatrasing ani- 
nio:?!ry, and tlierefore fail in coovincing 
the understanding, in moving the Iieaits, 
and directing the conduct of liis parishio¬ 
ners. 
Influenced by a wish to remove these 
obstructions, some writers on public eco¬ 
nomy have exercised their sagacity in 
suggesting plans for a commutation of 
tithes. But they have been more atten¬ 
tive to the exoneration of the land than 
to the permanent interests of the clergy. 
A late minister had devised a scheme for 
the redemption of tithes, which vvould 
indeed havo agCvleraLcd the exliuctiou 
of the national debt, but would liave 
destroyed tlie just independence of the 
church, and importance of the clerical 
character. Had not his authority been 
counteracted by the remonstraiices of 
some emineiU friends of the Establish¬ 
ment, the clergy of England vvould pro¬ 
bably have been sunk into that state of 
degradation, to which French ecclesias¬ 
tics are reduced. 
The commutation, the most beneficial 
to all parties, seems to he that of the 
tithe into land. It is more free from 
objection than any other mode, that 
has been proposed; and its difficulties 
may he m.ore easily removed than those 
ot any other expedient. With proper 
security for the publicity of ihe condi¬ 
tions, and for the duration, of the lease 
of a clerical estate, an efiTctual provision 
would be' made for the interest of the 
Church. This principle has been ac¬ 
knowledged in practice. It has placed 
in the hands of the clergy a certain 
quantity of glebe-land, which in son^e 
cases nearly amounts to a sufficient pro¬ 
vision, and which never fails to increase 
the value of a living in a proportion 
greater than the extent of titheahie 
land. In the case of inclosures, the 
clergy almost invariably take their pro¬ 
portion in land rather chan in tithe. And 
the augmentation of small livings by 
Queen Anne’s bounty cannot fully take 
place, unless a piece of land can be 
purchased to the amount of the sum 
allowed.—These are practical arguments 
in lavor of this species of clerical pro¬ 
perty, which, it is presumed, aie not 
undeserving of serious attention. 
HI.—-A lanventable deficiency exists 
in the salary of many parishes in the 
established church. ]\jany perpetual 
curacies, charged with the care of an 
extensive population, the lands of which 
are in the po.ssession cf laymen, yield 
an income of less than 801. a year. By 
the official returns of the small livings 
in England and Wales in 1810, it ap¬ 
pears that 3,998 are under the valn^ ot’ 
loOl. a year. Of these, 
12 do not exceed 10!. a year. 
72.. 
... 20. 
191.. 
...30 
353 
...40 
433...... 
... 50, 
In the islands of Jersey and Guernsey, 
the parishes of which average more than 
2000 inhabitants, all of the Church of 
England, the clergy are constant in their 
residence, conscientious in the discharge 
of their office, and exemplary in their 
conduct, 
