§ Order of the Day for the House to be put into Committee, read.
§ THE DUKE OF CLEVELANDsaid, that the counties of Durham, Northum- 515 berland, and Cumberland—especially in Durham, which see was not a large one —very strong objection was felt to the division of that see as contemplated by the Bill; but, at the same time, no doubt, when once it was determined that there should be an additional bishopric, the people of the new diocese would come forward, with their usual liberality, to find funds. He confessed he did not see any necessity for dividing the present diocese, and hoped that no immediate steps would be taken in that direction. He did not see why the funds of the present bishopric should be reduced by £1,000 a-year.
§ EARL BEAUCHAMPreminded the noble Duke that, on the occasion of the second reading of the Bill, the Bishop of Durham expressed his strong approval of the measure. Although the new see of Durham would not be a large one, he thought there were sufficient grounds for taking the subject into consideration; because, although the county of Durham was not large, that of Northumberland was, and he quoted the statistics showing the extent and population of Northumberland. The observations of the noble Duke struck at the Bill altogether; and it must, at the same time, be remembered that this was not a compulsory, but an enabling Bill.
§ House in Committee.
§ Amendments made.
§
On the Motion of the Earl of POWIS, the following words were added at end of Clause 2:—
("Such contributions may include any gift or bequest of real and personal property not exceeding the limits prescribed by this Act for the endowment fund of each bishopric; and the powers of donors to bestow and of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners to receive such gifts shall be the same as those enacted in the Act of second and third years of the reign of Queen Anne, chapter eleven, and of an Act of the forty-third year of the reign of King George the third, chapter one hundred and seven, enabling donors to vest gifts in the Governors of the Bounty of Queen Anne for the augmentation of the maintenance of the poor clergy for the benefit of ministers officiating in churches and chapels.")
§ THE EARL OF REDESDALE, who had given Notice of a new clause, enabling a Bishop—save the Bishops of London, Durham, or Winchester—who may be above 75 years of age, or have 516 held a bishopric 25 years or more, to resign his seat in Parliament, said, that being Chairman of the Committee, he was unable to move his Amendment at that stage; he would, therefore, reserve it for the Report.
§ Clause 10 (New style of Bishop of Rochester).
§
THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY moved to omit the clause which provides that the Bishop of Rochester shall, after the passing of this Act, be styled Bishop of Rochester and Southwark, and insert the following clause:—
("Notwithstanding anything contained in section 9, sub-section 2, of the Bishopric of Saint Albans Act, 1875, it shall be lawful for the person who at the passing of this Act is Archdeacon of Rochester and Saint Albans, if and when the Archdeaconry of Rochester shall have been severed from the Archdeaconry of Saint Albans under the provisions of the Bishopric of Saint Albans Act, 1875, to resign the archidiaconal jurisdiction conferred upon him as archdeacon of the Archdeaconry of Saint Albans by ' The London Diocese Act, 1863,' without thereby vacating the canonry in the cathedral church of Rochester annexed to the Archdeaconry of Saint Albans, and to continue to hold such canonry so long as he continues to be Archdeacon of Saint Albans.
("The Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England may pay out of their common fund any sum not exceeding two hundred pounds to the person who may upon such resignation be appointed Archdeacon of Rochester until the next avoidance of the canonry now held by the Archdeacon of Rochester and Saint Albans.
(" 'Parish' in the Bishopric of Saint Albans Act, 1875, shall he taken to have the same meaning with 'ecclesiastical parish' in this Act.")
The Report of the Amendments to be received on Tuesday next; and Bill to be printed, as amended. (No. 63.)