*THE LORD ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURYMy Lords, the request which I make is that His Majesty's Government will grant a Return of the correspondence which followed upon the presentation to this House and the circulation in the country of a Memorandum upon the finances of the Church in Wales. That Memorandum was prepared under the direction of his Majesty's Government with a view, as we were told, to making the position quite clear. It seemed to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners that it was desirable to send a letter in reply to the document that was published, inasmuch as the information therein contained claimed to be mainly based upon facts which were furnished by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. It seemed to the Commissioners on reading the Memorandum that the facts had either been inaccurately understood or had had strange conclusions drawn from them. The Ecclesiastical Commissioners, therefore, wrote to the Minister responsible for the Established Church (Wales) Bill, and we are anxious that this explanatory letter of the Commissioner should be before the public together with the reply which we received from the Home Secretary. I hope that His Majesty's Government will see no difficulty in allowing these letters to receive the same publication as the document to which I have referred.
§ Moved, That an humble Address be presented to His Majesty for a Return of the correspondence between the Ecclesiastical Commissioners and the Home Secretary with reference to the "Memorandum of Property of the Church of England in Wales and Monmouthshire" presented to this House before the Motion for the Second Reading of the Established Church (Wales) Bill in the last Session of Parliament.—(The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury.)
§ THE FIRST COMMISSIONER OF WORKS (EARL BEAUCHAMP)My Lords, His Majesty's Government have no opposition to offer to the granting of this Return, and will be glad to give the correspondence for which the most rev. Primate has asked.
§ On Question, Motion agreed to, and ordered accordingly.