§ MR. INDERWICKasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Whether he will consent to the appointment of a Select Committee to inquire and report to the House as to the expediency of abolishing extraordinary tithe rent charges, and providing a scheme for their redemption upon equitable terms; also to inquire into the present mode of assessing ordinary tithe, and to report whether any and what improvements may be made in such assessment; and, also to inquire into and report upon the expediency of providing greater facilities for the redemption of ordinary tithes upon equitable terms?
§ SIR WILLIAM HARCOURTSir, in answer to my hon. and learned Friend, I have to say that the Government are not unfavourable to the appointment of a Committee to inquire 1228 into the subject of extraordinary tithe rent charges, and the assessment and redemption of ordinary tithe. Without pledging myself to the exact terms of the reference of the Committee, as suggested in the Question, I should like to consult my hon. and learned Friend before those terms are settled.