§ THE DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH, in moving the second reading of the Bill, said, there were two Acts of Parliament under which Peel parishes were formed, under both of which powers were taken to form separate and distinct parishes. The object of this Bill was to enable incumbents of district churches to exchange any portion of their existing endowments, whether in land or sums of money, for any tithes that might exist within the limits of those parishes. Such a provision would complete the work, and give to these new parishes a full and distinctive parochial character. The Bill gave power to rectors or vicars to agree with the incumbents of district churches for the annexation by the latter of the tithes arising in respect of property situate within the district. Such agreements, however, were not to be valid unless they were assented to, on the part of the rector or vicar, by the Archbishop or Bishop of the diocese, and, on the part of the incumbent, by the patron of the district church and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. He also proposed that, in any case in which the tithes arising within the limits of parishes and district churches became part of the endowment of that 1075 church, the incumbent should receive the designation of rector or vicar, according as the tithes were either rectorial or vicarial. That proposal in the Bill was only prospective; but he was informed that there were a great many churches in which this exchange of tithes had taken place, and he proposed at a future stage to make this clause retrospective, so that where any tithes had been already assigned the incumbent should be designated a rector or vicar accordingly.
§ Bill read 2a, and committed to a Committee of the Whole House on Tuesday next.