§ Commons Amendments considered (according to order).
The LORD CHANCELLORsaid, the first Amendment of any importance was that which provided that the trustees appointed under the Act should be members of the Church of England, which was calculated to throw some difficulties in the way of Dissenters. The second was, the exemption of Roman Catholic charities for two years, in order that some measure might be introduced to settle the whole question of superstitious uses. To these Amendments he did not propose to disagree. But an Amendment had been in- 1710 troduced into the 19th clause which was contrary to the spirit of the Bill—into that clause words had been introduced, subjecting proceedings in the case of small charities to the control of the Attorney General. Such a course of proceeding would create so much expense as to render the operation of the Bill nugatory, and he therefore proposed that their Lordships should disagree to that Amendment, and communicate their reasons to the House of Commons.
§ Motion agreed to; and a Committee appointed to prepare reasons to be offered to the Commons for the Lords disagreeing to certain of the said Amendments; the Committee to meet immediately; the Committee reported a Reason prepared by them; the same was read and agreed to; and a Message was Ordered to be sent to the Commons to return the said Bill, with the Amendments and Reason.