* THE BISHOP OF LONDON, in moving the Second Reading of this Bill, said it was a Measure to extend the time during which incumbents of benefices could repay money they had borrowed from Queen Anne's Bounty. The money held by the Governors of Queen Anne's Bounty wag not their own out of which they could make grants, but it was trust money which they held for various parishes. Suppose a benefactor offered them £200 for the benefit of some particular parish, and they granted out of the income they had from firstfruits and tenths another £200 to meet it. The two sums were held by the governors, and a yearly payment was made to the parish. The money was invested, and in that way the property held had grown up to a very considerable amount. It was not possible for Queen Anne's Bounty to remit the payment altogether, and when they lent money they lent it as an investment and not as a charity. They invested money partly in these mortgages, and those who borrowed had to pay the interest every year and an instalment of the original loan. In a great many cases the benefices to which money had been lent during the last 20 years had greatly 1116 depreciated, and they were yearly being more and more depreciated. What the governors could do in all such cases was, if Parliament would let them, to extend the time which was allowed for the repayment of loans. The Bill was limited in its operation to this year and next, and enabled the governors to extend the time of repayment for a period not exceeding 20 years. He thought their Lordships would see this was nothing more than a measure of relief, which was really very much wanted in the present circumstances of the Church.
§ Read 2a (according to Order), and committed to a Committee of the Whole House on Friday next.