§ Order of the Day for the Second Reading, read.
§ EARL BEAUCHAMP, in moving that the Bill be now read the second time, said, that its object was to provide for the election of churchwardens in the case of small parishes, where there were not many occupiers of land. As the law now stood, no ratepayer was eligible for election unless he was also resident in the parish, and the consequence of this restriction, especially since the recent alterations in the law, was that it was frequently difficult to find a person who was both suitable for, and willing to accept, the office. The object of the Bill was to enable non-resident ratepayers of a parish to be appointed churchwardens.
§ Moved, "That the Bill be now read 2a."—(The Earl Beauchamp.)
THE EARL OF MORLEYsaid, it had always been deemed desirable that churchwardens should be resident in the parish, and the noble Earl had adduced no instances of inconvenience.
§ EARL BEAUCHAMPsaid, that churchwardens were legally responsible for visitation fees and other charges, while the new law on church rates left it uncertain whether they would be reimbursed by the parish. Hence there was sometimes an unwillingness to accept the office, and this inconvenience would be mitigated if persons who occupied land in the parish, but whose residence happened to be in an adjoining one, were made eligible. In many cases such persons attended the church of the parish where they did not reside.
THE EARL OF KIMBERLEYsaid, he saw no necessity for an alteration; but he would not object to the Bill if the condition of being a ratepayer were retained.
§ EARL BEAUCHAMPsaid, this was so.
§ Motion agreed to; Bill read 2a accordingly, and committed to a Committee of the Whole House on Monday next.