§ THE EARL OF DERBYsaid, that, although the Bill of his noble Friend the Earl of Shaftesbury had been carried at the last stage which it had yet reached by the smallest possible majority, and the only stage at which any discussion had taken place upon it, either in their Lordships' House or in the other House of Parliament, he had no desire to ask the 1939 noble Earl to abandon the measure. Still he really thought they were proceeding without due consideration in regard to a measure of the greatest importance, and he must submit to his noble Friend whether it would not be proper to refer the consideration of the question to a Select Committee, that they might inquire into the practical operation of the existing law, and into the expediency of relaxing or repealing the restrictions at present in operation.
§ THE EARL OF SHAFTESBURYsaid, he could not concur in the suggestion of the noble Earl. The Bill involved a very simple proposition, and having regard to the public feeling, and the notions now prevalent on the subject of religious liberty, he did not think it possible to retain on the statute book any law which, if enforced, would impose an intolerable limitation on the free action, not only of members of the Church of England, but of the whole body of Nonconformists. The existing law had been obsolete for a number of years, and had only been revived sufficiently often to show that there existed a power of revival. It had almost been a dead letter, and from that fact nothing but good had resulted; and he could not see the necessity of instituting an inquiry whether the law should be swept from the statute book or brought into daily operation. The only argument urged the other night against the Bill was, that it might interfere with the parochial system, and give one clergyman the power of intruding himself into the parish of another, so as to disturb the ecclesiastical order of things. Now, though neither the existing law nor his Bill had any bearing on that point, yet, to remove all possibility of doubt, he should be prepared to introduce a clause to the effect that nothing in the Bill contained should, in the slightest degree, affect the ecclesiastical submission due by clergymen to their diocesan, or abridge in any way the authority of the diocesan over the clergy; so that, after the Bill passed, the authority of the bishop would remain the same as at present.
§ THE EARL OF DERBYsaid, that the proposal of the noble Earl did not meet his objections; and he, therefore, gave notice that on the next stage of the Bill he should move an Amendment to refer the existing state of the law, and the expediency of relaxing or repealing the statutes bearing on the question to the consideration of a Select Committee.