HL Deb 19 July 1861 vol 164 cc1146-7
VISCOUNT DUNGANNON

rose— To call Attention to the Cases of Endowed Chapelries to which Cure of Souls have been annexed from portions of different adjoining Parishes, under the 8th and 9th Vict., c. 70, s, 9, and the 14th and 15th Vict., c. 97, s. 19 and 20, where there at present exist no Means of raising any Rate for the Maintenance of the Fabric or the Services of the Church; and to inquire whether the Government contemplate introducing any short Bill for the Remedy of the same or to refer it to the Consideration of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners? As an instance of the necessity for some legislation upon this subject he would state that there was in the county of Salop, in the diocese of St. Asaph, a chapel called Morton Chapel, which was erected about 130 years ago, and was endowed with lands in Warwickshire. Those lands were found to contain large quantities of minerals, and were sold for a considerable sum under an Act of Parliament, the interest of which formed the endowment of the chapel. Up to the death of the last incumbent Morton Chapel had no cure of souls annexed to it, but attached simply a burial ground. Since then a portion of the parishes of Oswestry and Llanyclwdvel had been annexed to it as a cure of souls; it had thus assumed the character of a parish church, and marriages were solemnized in it. There was, however, no provision for the maintenance of the services or the repair of the fabric. Legal opinions had been taken on the subject, and were to the effect that the parishes of Oswestry and Llanyclwdvel were responsible for those expenses. Those parishes, however, demurred, and refused to contribute. There were, no doubt, many similar cases throughout the country, and the present state of things was a source of great misunderstanding and ill-feeling. The law in such circumstances ought to be clearly and uniformly laid down in a comprehensive measure. He begged to ask the noble Lord, the President of Council, Whether the Government contemplated the introduction of any Bill on the subject, or whether they would refer the matter to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners?

EARL GRANVILLE

said, that it was not the present intention of the Government to introduce any Bill for the removal of the grievances complained of by the noble Viscount. Before any steps were taken in a matter of this kind it was expedient that the Government should consult the right rev. Bench as to the best course to pursue.