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.