§ MR. PICTON (Leicester)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in completing the Return on the revenues of the Church of England, the first part of which was issued in September last, it will be possible, in respect to Sections 1 and 2, to re-issue the Return with an additional column setting forth the present total income from all sources of the archiepiscopal and episcopal sees and the cathedral bodies; in respect to Section 3, whether the "gross annual income" there given includes the payments by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners out of their Common Fund; and, if not, can he explain why; whether the revenues of each parish can be given separately, as in the case of the Report for 1835 of the Church Inquiry Commission; and, if not, can he explain why; and whether the totals will be 231 given for each county, and the gross total for all the counties together, and the totals under each source of income?
THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT (Mr. STUART WORTLET, Sheffield, Hallam)In answer to the hon. Member, I have to say—first, that it would be misleading to show the total of the income from all sources of the archiepiscopal and episcopal sees, and the cathedral bodies under Part 1. and II., as it would involve the inclusion of the incomes derived by certain sees and chapters from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, whereas that portion of their income is included in the sum of £950,000 referred to in the note at the foot of page 14 as the charge upon the gross revenues of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, which are fully set out in Part IV. The same objection applies to inclusion in Part III. of the sums paid by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners to benefices by way of grants out of the Common Fund, as these also form a part of the£950,000 above referred to. Secondly, that the publication of the particulars of each individual benefice would involve an expenditure of time and labour and the incurring of cost out of all proportion to the end which would be gained. The Return ordered was limited to the giving of the particulars "in counties as far as practicable," and this has been done. Thirdly, that when the remainder of the Return is presented, if thought desirable it can be printed as a whole, and a summary given.