BISHOPRIC OF SODOR AND MAN. (Hansard, 28 November 1837)

§ Sir Harry Verney
rose to move for leave to bring in a Bill to relieve the Ecclesiastical Commission of England and Wales from the duty of laying before her Majesty in Council a scheme for uniting the sees of Carlisle and Sodor and Man. The see of Man being an island in itself, the greatest inconvenience would arise from adding to that see any portion of the main land. From time immemorial the Bishop of Sodor and Man had been of the greatest use to that island. Bishop Wilson was the first person who had translated the Bible into the Manx language, and he had also collected the ecclesiastical constitutions until he had so perfected them that, if the ancient discipline of the Church were lost to the rest of the world, it might be found in all its purity in the Isle of Man. The same rev. Bishop had also founded parochial schools and parochial libraries, and had likewise founded that system of education which it had been the object of the House to extend to all parts of the empire. It was of great importance to have a resident Bishop in the island, and the present Bishop had trodden in the steps of Bishop Wilson, having succeeded in building and repairing no less than twelve places of public worship, and having founded a college, containing two hundred students, not for the purpose of adding to the emoluments of the Church, but for the purpose of extending a liberal education to the subjects of her Majesty generally. Dissenters of every persuasion were admitted, there was no sort of religious bigotry, and for the trifling sum of 8/. a perfect school education might be obtained, under professors from Cambridge. No test was required to be 356 signed upon admission; and, in fact, the benefit of the see was felt in the amelioration of the condition of the inhabitants of the island. Some individuals might think that the ecclesiastical establishments might as well be superintended by the Archdeacon and resident clergy, but no Archdeacons could ever have collected such sums as the Bishop had been able to collect for the purposes he had stated. Under these circumstances, he hoped that all parties would concur in the measure he was about to propose. It was proposed in the Ecclesiastical Commissioners' Report to unite the island with the bishopric of Carlisle. This, he undertook to say, was a most inconvenient arrangement. The Bishop of Carlisle had to spend half the year at least in London, attending his Parliamentary duties; a great portion of the rest of the year in Carlisle; and if he could spare any it must be a very small portion in the Isle of Man. It was, indeed, far better to have a Bishop resident among them in the island, acting as the patron of all their interests. He was anxious to enlist the attention of hon. Members on both sides. He appealed to those hon. Members who thought that no Bishops should be in the Upper House, as their time could be better spent at home in the discharge of their episcopal duties. Those hon. Members would not approve of the proposed change, which would deprive those who had now the benefit of a Bishop's residence of the advantage they enjoyed in this respect. He would ask, if a Bishop occupied with his spiritual and other duties elsewhere, could attend to those committed to his care in the Isle of Man? He therefore appealed for support to those hon. Members, who thought that no Bishops ought to be returned in the other House; but he appealed more strongly to hon. Members opposite, who considered themselves peculiarly the friends of the Church. He called on them to retain one Bishop more on the ecclesiastical establishment of the country. No Bishop had been more practically beneficial to those over whom he had charge than the Bishop of Sodor and Man was at all times. The present Bishop exercised the functions belonging to his charge with the most animated feeling of beneficence for those over whose spiritual interests he presided. Although affected by age and infirmity, he still took a deep and lively interest in the welfare, 357 spiritual and temporal, of all those with whom he had been so long connected. The hon. Member concluded with submitting the motion to the House, amidst cheers.

§ Lord John Russell
would have supported a proposition for transferring the income of the bishopric, after existing interests were satisfied, to the Archdeacon and clergy of the Isle of Man, but he could not agree to the present motion, which he thought quite unreasonable.

§ Sir Robert Inglis
would decidedly urge the Bill on the House, though upon very different grounds from those advanced by the hon. Baronet. The ground on which he proceeded he believed to be a far higher one than that of the hon. Baronet. The question at issue was not whether a new bishopric should be created; if it were, he (Sir R. Inglis) would be very ready to support such a measure, as he thought there was a necessity for more bishoprics, in order to meet the increasing wants of the community; but whether they should wantonly destroy the oldest bishopric in her Majesty's dominions, one which had furnished many saints (in the strongest sense of the word), and one in respect of which a prime minister of France had, a century since, given orders to the privateers of his country to spare the island which it comprised. This, too, they were about to do, in defiance of all the wishes of the people, as expressed in their petitions against the plan. As the motion had been made and leave given to bring in the Bill, he could not but hope, either that the noble Lord would withdraw his opposition, or that, the House would overrule it.

§ Sir Edward Codrington
supported the motion. He had always expressed his opposition to the bishops having seals in the House of Lords, because he considered it injurious to the country. The bishop who was not in the House, but who devoted his time to the spiritual wants of his country, ought to be held up as an example worthy of imitation.

§ Mr. Shaw
said, he should give his best support to the motion of the hon. Baronet opposite.

§ Sir Robert Peel
said, a commission had been appointed to inquire into ecclesiastical revenues and duties, with the view to suggest such changes as might be useful. They had encountered considerable opposition from those who thought that no 358 change should be made. They, however, acting according to the best of their conviction, had suggested certain reforms, and recommended their adoption; and the hon. Gentleman opposite, two years after a Bill had passed, carrying into effect the reforms suggested by them, now came forward to propose their abolition. If the House of Commons took that course in one instance, it would very soon be called upon to take it in others.

List of the AYES.
Acland, T.	Holmes, hon. W.
Adare, Viscount	Hughes, W. B.
Alsager, Captain	Ingham, R.
Baring, H. B.	Jackson, Sergeant
Bell, M.	Jones, W.
Blackstone, W. S.	Knightley, Sir C.
Borthwick, P.	Mackenzie, T.
Bramston, W.	Mackenzie, W. F.
Buller, Sir J.	Maidstone, Viscount
Burr, H.	Maunsell, T. P.
Christopher, R.	Mordaunt, Sir J.
Codrington, Admiral	Palmer, R.
Courtenay, P.	Patten, J. W.
Darby, G.	Perceval, hon. G.
Dick, Q.	Pinney, W.
D'Israeli, B.	Pringle, A.
Dugdale, W. S.	Pryme, G.
Duncombe, W.	Ramsay, Lord
East, J. B.	Richards, R.
Estcourt, T.	Round, J.
Forbes, W.	Shaw, rt. hon. F.
Gibson, T.	Stanley, E.
Gladstone, W. E.	Vere, Sir C. B.
Glynne, Sir S. R.	Williams, R.
Gore, O. J. R.	Williams, W. A.
Heathcote, Sir W.	TELLERS.
Hinde, J. H.	Sir H. Verney
Hodgson, R.	Inglis, Sir R. H.

List of the NOES.
A'Court, Captain	Bruce, Lord E.
Aglionby, H. A.	Bruges, W. H. L.
Ainsworth, P.	Bulwer, E. L.
Archbold, R.	Busfeild, W.
Bailey, J.	Butler, hon. Colonel
Baines, E.	Canning, Sir S.
Barnard, E. G.	Carnac, Sir J. R.
Barneby, J.	Cavendish, G. H.
Barrington, Viscount	Cayley, E. S.
Berkeley, hon. C.	Chalmers, P.
Bernal, R.	Chichester, J. P. B.
Bethell, R.	Clay, W.
Blair, J.	Clive, E. B.
Blake, W. J.	Clive, hon. R. H.
Blewitt, R. J.	Crawford, W.
Blunt, Sir C.	Currie, R.
Broadley, H.	Dalmeny, Lord
Broadwood, H.	Dalrymple, Sir A.
Brodie, W. B.	Davies, Colonel
Brotherton, J.	Denison, W. J.

Dennistoun, J.	Master, T. W. C.
De Horsey, S. E.	Maule, W. H.
Divett, E.	Molesworth, Sir W.
Duke, Sir J.	Monypenny, T. G.
Dunlop, J.	Morpeth, Viscount
Eastnor, Viscount	Muskett, G. A.
Eaton, R. J.	Neeld, J.
Eliot, hon. J. C.	O'Brien, W. S.
Euston, Earl of	O'Callaghan, C.
Evans, Colonel	O'Ferrall, R. M.
Evans, W.	Pakington, J. S.
Fazakerley, J. N.	Palmerston, Viscount
Feilden, W.	Parker, R. T.
Ferguson, R.	Parnell, Sir H.
Fergusson, R. C.	Pechell, Captain
Fitzroy, Lord C.	Peel, rt. hon. Sir R.
Fitzroy, hon. H.	Philips, M.
Fitzsimon, N.	Philpotts, J.
Follett, Sir W.	Planta, rt. hon. J.
Fort, J.	Potter, R.
Fremantle, Sir T.	Poulter, J. S.
French, F.	Protheroe, E.
Gaskell, Jas. Milnes	Redington, T. N.
Gillon, W. D.	Rice, E. R.
Gordon, Captain	Rolleston, L.
Goring, H. D.	Round, C. G.
Grey, Sir G.	Rumbold, C. E.
Grimsditch, T.	Rundle, J.
Halse, J.	Rushbrooke, Colonel
Harland, W. C.	Russell, Lord J.
Hastie, A.	Salwey, Colonel
Hawes, B.	Scarlett, hon. J. Y.
Hayter, W. G.	Sheppard, T.
Hodgson, F.	Shirley, E. J.
Holmes, W.	Standish, C.
Hope, hon. J.	Stanley, Lord
Horsman, E.	Steuart, R.
Houldsworth, T.	Stewart, J.
Houstoun, G.	Stewart, John
Hume, J.	Stuart, V.
Hurst, R. H.	Strickland, Sir G.
Jolliffe, Sir W.	Style, Sir C.
Kinnaird, hon. A. F.	Sugden, Sir E.
Labouchere, H.	Talbot, C. R. M.
Leader, J. T.	Thomson, C. P.
Lefevre, C. S.	Tracy, H. H.
Lennox, Lord G.	Turner, W.
Lennox, Lord A.	Vigors, N. A.
Lister, E. C.	Wakley, T.
Litton, E.	Wall, C. B.
Lockhart, A. M.	Warburton, H.
Logan, H.	Whalley, Sir S.
Lucas, E.	Wilmot, Sir J. E.
Lushington, C.	Wilshere, W.
Lygon, hon. General	Winnington, T.
Mackinnon, W. A.	Winnington, H.
Maclean, D.	Yates, J. A.
Macnamara, Major	Young, J.
Manners, Lord C.	TELLERS.
Marsland, H.	Baring, F.
Marton, G.	Seymour, Lord