The Bishop of Bath and Wellssaid, seeing a noble Baron (Lord King) in his place, he begged to introduce very briefly to his notice, the subject which, on a former night, had been brought forward by that noble Lord, in which he had accused a reverend gentleman (the reverend Mr. 333 Clarke), holding a benefice in a parish in his (the Bishop of Bath and Wells's) diocese, of attempting to take tithe of fish caught on the coast. Now, he had since that made inquiries into the charge, and had received most satisfactory answers, completely exculpating that reverend gentleman. Among the letters which he had received from various individuals, all of whom spoke in the highest terms of praise of him, was one from Sir Thomas Acland. That reverend gentleman's conduct was represented as being most exemplary, and ever since his residence in the parish had done all that lay in his power to promote the advantage of his parishioners. He had never proceeded to act in the mannerstated; and he (the Bishop of Bath and Wells) hoped the noble Lord would do justice to the feelings of an individual whom he had calumniated, and express his sorrow for it. As the Bishop of the diocese, he thought himself bound to make these circumstances known, and he had communicated the contents of the letters to the noble Lord.
Lord Kingacknowledged the courtesy of the right reverend Prelate in showing him the correspondence alluded to; nevertheless, he (Lord King) was at a loss to discover what part of the statement that he had made had been contradicted by it. He had said, that the tithe-proctor had been burnt in effigy; and was not that the fact? One of the letters, as he recollected, from a neighbouring gentleman, stated, "that the talk about the tithe of fish, had arisen from a casual conversation between the reverend Mr. Clarke and another clergyman, in which Mr. Clarke said, that he was entitled to it." He had recently had an application for some ground in the parish of which that gentleman was rector, for the purpose of building a large dissenting chapel; and he was informed that half of Mr. Clarke's congregation would leave him if there was a large chapel, the present dissenting chapel being a small one. It had also been stated, that, since the reverend gentleman had acted as he had, the choir had refused to sing in the Church.
The Bishop of Bath and Wellssaid, he was satisfied with what had fallen from the noble Baron, as it fully exhibited the grounds upon which this respectable clergyman had been attacked. He put it to their Lordships, whether they did not all go away with the impression, after hearing the noble Lord and his petition, that the 334 tithe upon fish had been formally claimed of the whole body of parishioners? He was very well satisfied to leave the noble Lord and the cases in the situation in which both now stood.
§ Lord Wynfordsaid, he did understand that the noble Lord had stated that the reverend Gentleman had demanded tithes on fish. If there was a custom for the tithe, why then, as the noble and learned Lord had stated the other night, the clergyman was entitled to it; but it turned out that no such tithe had been demanded. The noble Lord opposite was therefore inaccurate in what he had stated.
Lord Kingobserved, that what he did say was, that the tithe-proctor had been burnt in effigy, and that it was the petitioners who complained of the tithe. He had certainly described the parish as being in a state of great alarm upon the subject, and he was warranted, from the petition, in so describing it.