Lords Sitting of 6 May 1819

CLERGY DISPENSATION BILL.
The Archbishop of Canterburypresented a bill for securing spiritual persons in their benefices in certain cases. His grace stated, that he introduced the bill in consequence of a supposed doubt that had arisen respecting the power of granting dispensations. Supposing a spiritual person to be in possession of a benefice A, and to have subsequently obtained another benefice B, to hold which with A, he had received a dispensation from the archbishop, and supposing such spiritual person to have acquired another piece of preferment, C, which he wished to hold with B, vacating A, and to have obtained a second dispensation for that purpose from the archbishop, the doubt had arisen whether the second dispensation was not a nullity. The object of the bill therefore was, to remove this doubt, to secure spiritual persons so circumstanced in their benefices, and to prevent a lapse of patronage to the bishop, the archbishop, or ultimately to the Crown, arising from the benefices in question not having been legally rested in the incumbents.
The bill was read a first time.