§ Order of the Day for the House to go into Committee read.
§ LORD LYTTELTON, in moving that the House go into Committee on this Bill, said, that he had received a suggestion from a correspondent, which tended to modify the objections formerly made to one of its objects. He originally proposed that existing incumbents should not he debarred from issuing leases; to which it was objected that this exemption might tend to prejudice their successors. The proposition was that without taking away the right to lease from existing incumbents, it should be restrained and modified.
THE BISHOP OF LONDONsaid, he thought their Lordships ought to have a great deal more information before they allowed this measure to become law. In London and other cities and towns the livings depended to a great extent on the power of granting building leases. In the 1365 case of bishops and chapters there were restrictions as to renewal of leases, but the interests of the bishops and chapters were protected by Act of Parliament. He thought it would be a hard thing if in any parish it turned out that no proper provision could be made for the minister during a period of perhaps forty years. It would be desirable before legislating on this subject to have more information than they now possessed of the number of cases and the amount of property which would be affected by the Bill. He hoped that, at all events, the noble Lord would take care to make the change gradual, so as to inflict as little injury as possible on existing incumbents.
THE BISHOP OF OXFORDsaid, they ought to have more information, for at present he thought they were legislating in the dark. Even with the Amendment which the noble Lord intended to make, there would not he adequate provision made for incumbents. He thought they would not be justified at present in passing the Bill with their eyes open.
§ Amendments made; the Report thereof to be received on Monday, the 10th inst.