[Petitions. the maintenance and repair of the edifices of the Church, without providing an adequate compensation. That your petitioners are fully convinced that a proceeding so subversive of the principles of justice and the acknowledged rights of the Church will meet with the unanimous disapproval of your sacred Synod. Your petitioners, therefore, humbly pray that your sacred Synod will adopt such constitutional means as may be in your power to prevent this direct spoliation of the revenues of the Church.

And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray.

As the right hon. gentleman the Secretary for the Home Department has given notice of the intention of the Government to introduce a bill on this subject on the 18th of the present month, probably your lordships may not think it desirable, under these circumstances, to proceed in the matter. I beg to add, that I have more than once heard the Lord Chief Justice declare, in the House of Lords, that he will never consent to any measure which does not give compensation to the Church with respect to this property. I hope his lordship still entertains the same opinion, because it shows the strong conviction which he entertains of the right possessed by the Church; and my belief is that there is no right which is more ancient, or which is more legally established. I entirely concur in the prayer of the petitioners.

The BISHOP OF OXFORD-I have some important matters which I am anxious to bring under your lordships' consideration; but his Grace the Archbishop having been summoned to attend the Queen in person, I wish to defer the discussion of those matters until we can have the great benefit of his Grace's presence and advice. As we have reason to believe that his Grace will be with us on Friday, I think it desirable to postpone the consideration of the subjects to which I have alluded until that day. The rarity of the meeting of the Lower House, and the greater number of its members, renders it more important for them to have a longer time for consultation than the members of this house, who, happily, are continually meeting together to consider the affairs of the Church, although not in sacred Synod; and who, therefore, are able to discuss the business which comes before them in Convocation in a comparatively shorter time. The probability is that we shall have abundant time on Friday, so far as this house is concerned, to transact the business before us, and as we shall then have the advantage of the presence of his Grace, I would suggest its postponement until that time-a suggestion which, I believe, has the concurrence of your lordships. I have thought it desirable to make these remarks in order that the public may understand, through the ordinary channels of intelligence, that we have adjourned in order that we may have the advice of the President, whom we all so dearly love.

MR. DYKE (Registrar General) then read the schedule of prorogation, by which the house stood prorogued until the next day.

Session, Thursday, Feb. 10, 1859.

The BISHOP OF LONDON attended this morning, and formally prorogued the house until the following day.

Session, Friday, Feb. 11, 1859.

PRESENT.

HIS GRACE THE ARCHBISHOP-PRESIDENT.

THE BISHOP OF ST. ASAPH.

THE BISHOP OF LONDON.

The BISHOP OF SALISBURY-I have been asked to present a petition from the Chairman (Lord John Manners) and certain other members of the Tithe Redemption Trust for the Church in England and Wales, agreed to at a meeting held on the 9th instant. The petitioners state that the maintenance of the Christian ministry in every parish of the land is a sacred duty of paramount importance that tithes were dedicated to Almighty God for that purpose-that there are no less than 4,000 parishes in England and Wales where tithes are applied to other purposes than to the maintenance of the Christian ministry in these parishes-that the amount of tithes applied to these other purposes exceeds a million and a half of pounds sterling annually-that in the far greater number of those parishes there is no adequate provision made for the maintenance of the Christian ministry-and that, consequently, the moral and religious condition of those parishes is deeply to be deplored. The petitioners therefore pray your lordships to devote your earnest attention to this important subject, and to exert your best endeavours in order that an adequate provision may be made in such parishes from the tithes accruing therefrom for the maintenance of the Christian ministry and for the spiritual welfare of the people.

LAY CO-OPERATION.

The BISHOP OF OXFORD-I have to present to your lordships the following petition from Henry Hoare, Esq.:

To the Most Reverend the Archbishops, the Right Reverend the Bishops, the Very Reverend the Deans, the Venerable the Archdeacons, and the Reverend the Rural Deans and other Clergy, of the Church and Realm of England.

The humble memorial of the undersigned.

Through Divine favour, and in a spirit and temper which have elicited very general approval, the Convocation of the province of Canterbury has of late years exercised the right, not to say the duty, essentially appertaining to it, of deliberating upon matters touching the welfare of the Church established in this realm.

Petitions have been prepared for presentation in both provinces. In the province of Canterbury they have been received and duly considered, and various questions have been raised, among which none, perhaps, exceeds in importance that of providing the clergy and the laity of the Church of England with some better opportunities than at present exist for joint counsel and co-operation. That subject has been considered,

Co-operation.

not only in both Houses of the Convocation of Canterbury, but also by several of the Bishops and other clergy of the province of York, although in meetings of a less strictly Synodical character than is to be desired, and has long been hoped for.

That the general result is, a deep conviction that the time is come for definite action; and your memorialist solicits permission respectfully to state that an important body of the lay members of the Church appear at length to be agreed upon the following conclusions, which may be taken as expressive of wishes and opinions very generally entertained by those laymen who have considered the subject: in addition to which there is reason to believe that experiments in the direction indicated would be viewed with favour by Convocation.

I. That the clergy of this realm should be permitted to meet in their respective Convocations, as by law established.

II. That the judicial character of Episcopal and other Visitations, as by law established, should be maintained.

III. That where meetings of the clergy in rural deaneries are now held, they should continue to be held; and that where they are not now held, they should be set on foot, subject to the approval of the Ordinary; uniformity of practice, in every respect, being desirable in all the dioceses of England and Wales.

IV. That in the same divisions of dioceses, or in such others as may be more convenient to the Archdeacons and Rural Deans, the clergy of the locality should occasionally form themselves into consulting committees, at whose meetings certain of the laity from neighbouring parishes should be requested to give their attendance, for the purpose of common advice and mutual consultation on matters which, from time to time, the clergy may deem of sufficient importance to require the joint cognisance and consideration of the whole Church.

V. That associations should be formed, as far as may be practicable and convenient, in the several parishes, for the promotion of objects calculated to create an extended interest and sympathy in behalf of the Church; such associations being invariably under the superintendence or control of the parochial clergy, and the subjects selected for consideration being sanctioned by them.

Your memorialist therefore desires humbly to submit the above statements to your serious consideration, in the hope that arrangements may without delay be entered upon for carrying them out into action in the several archdeaconries of both provinces. By order and in the name of the Society for the Revival of Convocation.

HENRY HOARE, Chairman. In asking your Grace's permission to move that this petition be received and laid upon the table, I am anxious to say a few words as to the effect which has followed, in my own diocese and under my own eye, the adoption of the plans to which the petitioner prays us to give our sanction and encouragement. I have only this day received communications from the Archdeacons of the counties of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, with respect to the results of carrying out these plans, which have been carried out, to a considerable extent, in their archdeaconries. They report most strongly as to the good effect which to their own knowledge has resulted from the adoption of these plans; and especially the interest which the laity, who have been invited to join the clergy in the rural deaneries, have taken in the subjects brought under discussion. This has been very great. The laity who have taken part in these proceedings include persons in the highest positions in society, as well as the more humble members of the Church. They have joined with the clergy in worship and prayer as well as in consultation; they have taken an active part in these deliberations, have advanced their own opinions, and have discussed them along with the clergy with great freedom, and have given and received most valuable information on various matters which have been considered. With regard to church-rates, for instance, the con

Co-operation. S

sultations which have taken place have been the means of diffusing in these districts a great amount of information which, perhaps, could not have reached them in any other way. The opinion of the Archdeacons is that this is a most valuable movement; that it is entirely free from the danger which any election of laymen to serve in Church councils must necessarily involve; and indeed from evils of every kind. The laymen having merely been invited to attend at consultative meetings, the evils of elections have been avoided, and the good has been very great, and, as far as anything human can be, nearly unmixed. In presenting this petition, I feel bound to give it my warmest support, and beg to move that it be received and laid on the table. I am not aware that Convocation can take any direct steps to forward the matter, but one indirect step of great importance would be for your Grace and any of my right rev. brethren who have witnessed the working of the plan to express their opinions concerning it, so that such expression may go forth to the Church at large through the ordinary channels, and thus assist those good men who are anxious to bring about that greatest of all blessings to an earthly Church, after the direct spiritual blessing of its Great Head-the uniting together in feeling and in harmonious action the great body of her clergy and her laity.

The BISHOP OF LICHFIELD-I quite agree with what the Bishop of Oxford has said as to the advantages likely to accrue from the joint consultation of the clergy and laity on Church matters, which Mr. Hoare is so earnestly promoting. The subject has been already considered in one of the archdeaconries of my diocese, and I hope it will soon be taken up in the other, arrangements being in progress to effect that object.

The BISHOP OF ST. ASAPH-Mr. Hoare was kind enough to visit one or two deaneries in my diocese, and, with my full sanction and assistance, the clergy have invited the laity in their neighbouring localities to attend their meetings, and have not found the slightest objection to that course of proceeding.

The BISHOP OF SALISBURY-I have not the advantage possessed by my right rev. friend the Bishop of Oxford, of being able to state to your Grace and my right rev. brethren any experience of the working of the plan of Mr. Hoare; but I have seen that gentleman on the subject, and he has so satisfied me of its utility, that I fully intend to introduce it into my diocese. My present position is this:Mr. Hoare has kindly promised to attend the meeting of the Deans and Rural Deans which is annually held at Salisbury, for the purpose of laying before them a statement of the success which has attended the working of his plan; and I trust, if it should please God to allow us to assemble in this place next year, to be able to communicate to your Grace that the plan has worked as successfully in my diocese, as it has done in that of Oxford. I entirely concur in the object which Mr. Hoare has in view, and hope that his plan will result in closely uniting together the laity and the clergy in the great work of strengthening the Church.

The BISHOP OF EXETER-I wish, in a very few words, to express

my entire concurrence in the views which have been expressed by my right rev. brethren. I fell in, at an early period, with the plans of Mr. Hoare, and expressed a wish that they might succeed. At the same time I saw some difficulties in the way, and thought it my duty to express them. One great difficulty which exists is this. That there should not be an election, is quite clear; but after the experience of what has occurred in the Diocese of Oxford, I trust the difficulty of selection will not be so great as I imagined would be the case. It appears that the Rural Deans select those laymen whom they wish to consult. I am of opinion that that is a very desirable course, but I cannot be blind, and we ought not to be blind, to the possible danger of producing a collision, which it will require great prudence on the part of the Deans to prevent. I think, upon the whole advisableness of the plan, that it is strikingly just, and I should be sorry to say a word to discourage it, but I considered it desirable to point out the difficulty. I do not offer these observations in the way of objection to the plan, but rather as a caution in the way of carrying it into effect.

The BISHOP OF LLANDAFF-During the nine years and a half which I have been connected with the Diocese of Llandaff, I have received a great deal of assistance from laymen of high rank in that diocese, and I think that the feeling of co-operation which has been evinced during that time is increasing. But it certainly has struck me very strongly that what we require is, some plan for exciting the sympathy, not so much of the higher ranks of the laity, as of the middle classes, on behalf of the Church. I believe there is a great deal of sound good feeling in the middle classes in favour of the Church, and that they only want some centre around which they can meet. I think it probable that the kind of organisation recommended by Mr. Hoare might serve that purpose, and prove particularly beneficial to the interests of the Church. I cannot speak of this particular plan in the same manner as some of my right rev. brethren, not having had the benefit of their experience in the matter; but although the plan has not been adopted in my diocese, it has not been overlooked. Our present position is this:-There are nineteen rural dignitaries in my diocese, who meet annually, at my residence, to consult respecting the general interests of the Church in that diocese and elsewhere. At the last meeting, the general subject of lay co-operation was brought forward, and I requested the several Rural Deans during the year to take the opinion of the clergy as to the best way in which lay cooperation could be stimulated in the diocese; and at our next meeting I hope we shall hear of these deliberations throughout the diocese. I mentioned the subject to Mr. Hoare the other day, and invited him to attend, in the hope that he will do so, and give us the benefit of his advice and experience on the subject, and I shall be heartily glad to find the matter set on a proper footing. There are two things which I should like to know with respect to these meetings so far as they have been carried out. In the first place, I wish to be informed by whom the invitations to the laity have been given; and in the second place, I should like to know whether different subjects have merely been discussed, or whether any vote has been taken upon them.