§ MR. GRAY (Essex, Maldon)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether the Government will grant a Committee to inquire into tithe rent-charges, with the object of ascertaining what legislation would be an equitable settlement of the question?
§ * THE FIRST LORD OF THE TREASURY (Mr. W. H. SMITH,) Strand, WestminsterI must refer the hon. Member 855 to the answer I gave on the 18th ult. to a similar question put to me by the hon. Member for Ludlow (Mr. J. More). In that answer I stated that, without giving a definite pledge so far in advance, I thought the Government would be willing to favourably consider the appointment next Session of a Committee of both Houses to take evidence as to the best method of dealing with the tithe rent-charge question.