in objections, when he has rights to defend, or ever dreads going to the fame court again, because it has decided against him be. fore. But why should lodging this power in the bench of bishops be more arbitrary, than placing the like power in the hands of the judges for another purpofe; are not they in every re fpect as proper depofitaries for the execution of the act, as the judges are to arrange the fees of office and the costs of fuits? they are both elevated to the ranks of the peerage, a way honourable to themselves, which bears the highest tefti. mony to their integrity and virtue: and the degree of elevation bifhops hold in the church, puts them far above the ordinary temptations of meannefs and partiality. They have been raised through all the ranks of the priesthood, and muft be inti mately acquainted with the relations and interefts of every order they have paffed through; they exactly know in all cafes how to proportion the rate of falary to the value of the living, and the duty to be performed under the limitations of the act: they are well acquainted, Sir, with the affluence of rectors and the poverty of curates, the comfort of the former ftate and the mifery of the latter. No order of persons are fo proper to bear this judicial power as the bench of bithops, they cannot be influenced by private emoluments; there is nothing to tempt them to cupidity or oppreffion, their duty and intereft are intimately concerned to promote the good of the church. But the Rector would take the power out of the hands of bifhops and veft it in thofe of the beneficed clergy, and leave its operation to the general and moral feelings of his order: I fear the confequence of fuch a refort; here the degrading and ill effects of bargaining would be attended with much worfe confequences than what attends it at prefent; which is a ftate of independence compared to what the Rector would reduce our order. The hands into which our legiflators have placed it at prefent, evinces the most confummate wifdom, in them the public have a fecurity for the due execution of it, and we at leaft are fatisfied with the truft being lodged where it is. They have confided the appellant jurifdiction then to the most proper perfons, for both law and reafon determine that no man ought to be a judge in his own caufe: it therefore takes the power out of the hands of the parties concerned, and places it in the hands of those who have no favour or af fection to either, but as it tends to promote the caufe of humanity and juftice, and the religion they profefs: in this point of view it refembles the correcting power of a machine, which interferes with none of the fubordinate powers, but to regulate, accelerate, and to harmonize their movement, which takes off the friction, prevents difgraceful fquabbles, and injurious contracts amongst us. The degrading point of view into which our order is fallen, in the estimation of the Rector, is perceptible in the illuftration he has used to fupport his theory. They are fuch as to verify the adage, Comparifons are odious. At one time our order is compared to beggars, and at another to common foldiers and failors: why hot, Sir, to parish clerks and fextons? this would not have been in point, for they are fixed for life; have ftated falaries and fees, which are improved as the exigencies of the times require, though not regulated by act of parliament. Why could you not, Sir, have put us on a level with the fubalterns of the army and navy? they have their pay regulated from time to time, and when that was done, as in a late instance, the nation admired and applauded. We prefume not, Sir, to put ourselves on a footing with your order, though our ftudies and purfuits have been the fame, we have trodden the fame academic groves and taken the fame degrees with yourfelf; we have not crept into the fold by ftealth; we have come openly and fairly into the vineyard, invited jointly by the church and ftate, who are under a folemn pledge to take care of us. We are recognized by them as the servants of the public, they contemplate in our order, the rank of fubalterns in Chrift's Church militant here on earth, and as fuch entitled to their attention. They fee, Sir, among our order, men of the most brilliant talents often diftinguished only by their poverty; but for whom, though they have neglected to provide in a fuitable manner, they will not give them up to oppreffion: pity and parfimony fo alternately operating in their bofoms, that though they acknowledge our claims, they have not yet relieved our wants, and though they have not mitigated our fufferings, they do not deny us their compaffion; a ready fubftitute often for generofity. They know, Sir, we are zealous fervants of the public, the only parts of the priesthood that bear any refemblance to our great Master and his Apostles: they fee that we fupport the column on which the church ftands, though we have none of the gilt and ornaments that adorn the frieze and capital. You would, Sir, however, fupersede the falutary provi fions of the Curates' Act altogether, and leave the regulations of our ftipends to the exercise of the private benevolence of BB Vol. XIII. Churchm. Mag. for Sep. 1807. the beneficed clergy, to be governed by no other reftraint but what is impofed, by a fenfe of thofe duties which are of imperfect obligation; by which the curate fhould have no other title to fupport, than the poor who comes to your door afking an alms. "Some Rectors," he obferves, "might, if at liberty, give lefs to the poor than they would, if actuated by true Chriftian charity, but is that thought a reason why some superior should have authority to compel, and that arbitrarily, though within limits" I will anfwer, yes, and because the poor themselves are entitled to fupport by a pofsitive statute as well as ourselves; why in our rights fhould we be degraded beneath them, if paupers engage the attention of government, why fhould not we? Their relief depends not folely on private benevolence, nor on the parfimony of parish officers.-Why should ours reft folely on the precarious benevolence of our immediate fuperiors? the Curates' A&t is founded on an intimate knowledge of human nature; that it is never safe to truft power in the hands of any man, who has an intereft in oppreffing the perfon who is placed within his reach the vital fpirit of British jurifprudence is protection, not oppeffion. It is not poffible or likely, that our government, even as a matter of policy, fhould deprive us of that privilege our legislators confer on all its other fervants without exception; they are continually regulating their pay according to the price of provifions and the circumftances of the times, and adapting comforts to their fituation, to ftimulate their exertions in their duties to the public: it is not likely I think, viewing their general conduct in this particular, that they fhould throw us on the mercy of our immediate fuperiors. What would a lieute nant of the army or navy fay, (and by the bye, their service is no more compulfive than ours, which is an argument the Rector lays great ftrefs on, when he speaks of our motives for entering the church, but it is never reduced to a question why he thought proper to ferve his majefty, having once entered into it, however he is confidered as having a juft title to fupport). I afk what a lieutenant of the navy or army would fay then; if his fervice was reduced to that humiliated condition to depend upon his captain for his pay, to be rated according to his merits, or the voluntary benevolence of his immediate fuperior; would this infure that ready submiffion and obedience the fervice requires on one hand, or command respect and condescension mingled with authority on the other? would it give vigour to our fleets or armies? would would it not rather diforganize both by creating perpétual difputes, variance and difcontent amongst captains and their fubalterns. It is not unfair now and then to put the argument ad hominem; and to try people by the rule they would forge for others. Suppofing, at any future time, the ftate fhould think proper to refume church livings and to provide for the clergy in another way, than what they do at prefent; (and this I apprehend has created alarm more than once lately; but, I deprecate the hour when fuch a measure fhall be reforted to, as it would be pregnant with ruin to religion and learning :) and they should place the clergy on voluntary contributions for a maintenance, as it was formerly; when out of the fourfold divifion made of thefe contributions the clergy shared one, (which was equally divided amongst them,) another was given to the bishops, the other two being appropriated to the relief of the poor and the reparation of churches: or which is ftill more in point, fuppofing a sweeping act should pass the houses of parliament to deprive the beneficed clergy of the freehold tenure of their livings, and leave the compofition and collection of tithes to the breast of bishops, and not allow the beneficed clergy to intermeddle about the tithes, and only to receive fuch portions as their merits fhould entitle them to: would rectors and vicars be content with what depended on the will of their immediate fuperiors, with no other tie on them for a provifion, than what a sense of duties of imperfect obligation would fecure? I think not; Sir, we are made of the fame flesh and blood with yourself, allow us what you would with in the same situation and let our condition be fpiced only with a little of that independence yours is, and we fhall not complain. If we were reduced to the deplorable fituation the Rector pleads for, it would tend, I conceive, to the extinction of our order: who would fend his fon to the university, with no other profpect for him than a curacy? would any man with the feelings of a gentleman lay out in his education £800 in order to make him the bare itipendiary of a rector; to be fubject to wait his nod, or stand be hind his chair? we feel often, under the present act, every oppreffion, and accumulated would be the ill we should have to labour under, if the Curates' Act should be repealed. Even now the whole force of injurious competition is allowed to find its way into every bargain made between the rector and curate: it is not one time in a hundred that the bishop fettles the falary: no rector will grant a title to those Вва who who would leave it to the diocefan to determine the amount of the ftipend. When a rector wants an affiftant, from whatever caufe, he opens his bargain warily, chaffers, rings all the changes of chapmanfhip to beat down the falary, and proportionably extols the profits of pig, goofe, and honey, and furplice fees, to make amends for deficiency on the other point and frequently when he has a man of principle to deal with, he leaves the business in its half matured flate, and recurs to fome venal hireling, who ferves two or three churches befides at £20 or £30 per annum each; of whom nothing more remarkable perhaps is known, than the fpeed of his horfe, excepting it be the rapidity with which he gallops over the service of the day, and his discourse, which may be deemed truly admirable indeed!!! In point of emolument our order is much beneath any clafs of preachers whatever : none among the baptifts, independents, or arminian methodists have lefs, in one way and another, than £100 for their falaries, and when incapable through age or infirmities of discharging the minifterial functions, they have a fuperannuated annuity granted them, and their wives and children provided for after their decease. When we look at the Curates' Act, and examine the extent that our ftipends may be raised to, we find it £75, an extent alarming truly, unconftitutional and arbitrary beyond any thing endurable! But, Sir, there are only a happy few who enjoy it to this enviable extent; the golden thower falls on only chofen few. One folitary inftance is the only one I know of, where it has been granted, and that on a living worth £700 per annum. If a curate, in the ordinary way gets £50 a year and the furplice fees, he is in a ftate of affluence, and an object of human felicity not very. common among us: when old and incapable of doing duty he is reduced to the most forlorn fituation; deftitute of all fupport from any fuperannuated fund, he fees the partner of his cares pining in diftrefs, and his children not crowding his table like green and flourishing olive branches, but wan, and famishing with hunger, with not à foul to take care of them. This is no ideal picture, dreffed up to win the fympathy of the pitying few, but exifts in more cafes than one to my certain knowledge: and is a reality for the British fenate to confider and extend their protection to when in their wisdom and goodness they shall reconfider our cafe. Little or nothing as yet has been done for us; nothing at least has been done, but what underhand and injurious contracts, with an over bearing |