§ 18. Mr. HALL-CAINEasked the Minister of Agriculture the number of cases of tithe hardship which have been settled by the Governors of the Queen Anne's Bounty in the last year; how many such cases are now before the Governors awaiting settlement; and what is the aggregate sum of money involved in each case?
§ Dr. BURGINMy right hon. Friend has no jurisdiction with regard to the collection of annual tithe rentcharge, but the following information has been obtained from the Governors of Queen Anne's Bounty. During the year ending 31st March, 1934, a sum of £37,426 was remitted by the Bounty to 3,142 individual tithe payers, the total tithe rentcharge involved in those cases being £185,849. The number of similar cases which are now being considered by the Governors is 1,365, the amount of the tithe rentcharge involved being approximately £80,000. In the great majority of these cases the Governors have already offered a concession.