§ 3.49 p.m.
§ THE LORD BISHOP OF ELY rose to move to resolve, That in accordance with the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act, 1919, this House do direct that the Benefices (Suspension of Presentation) Measure 1953, be presented to Her Majesty for the Royal Assent. The right reverend Prelate said: My Lords, this Measure is not so substantial as would appear at first glance, and I do not think I need take up the time of the House with a long explanation of all its provisions. It is fully dealt with in the Comments and Explanations submitted by the Legislative Committee of the Church Assembly, which are printed as an Appendix to the Report of the Ecclesiastical Committee. Your Lordships will observe that the desire to make certain amendments, to which I will refer in a moment, has been taken as a suitable opportunity to consolidate two existing Measures—the Benefices (Suspension of Presentation) Measure, 1946, and the Benefices (Suspension of Presentation) Measure, 1949.
§ The question whether or not it is desirable that a patron's right of presentation should in certain circumstances be suspended, and a benefice thus be allowed to remain vacant for a considerable period, was decided in 1946 when the first of the two Measures was passed. At that time it was hoped that the situation with which the Measure was required to deal would be only a temporary one, 1392 and the life of that Measure was therefore limited to ten years, which will expire in 1956. At the same time, the Measure provided that a suspension could be made in the first instance for a period of five years, and could be renewable for periods not exceeding two years, but so that the total period of suspension should not exceed seven years. Thus, suspensions created in 1946 must come to an end this year. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons it has been found in most dioceses that it has not been possible to proceed as rapidly as was anticipated in 1946 with the reorganisation which unfortunately was necessary. Therefore, the principal change which this Measure makes in the existing law is to extend not only the life of the Measure until 1965 but also the total period for which a suspension can subsist. In the Measure as it now stands, a suspension can be ordered in the first place for a period not exceeding five years, as before, but it can now be renewed any number of times for periods not exceeding five years, in each case within the life of the Measure.
§ There is one other less important amendment to which perhaps I should draw your Lordships' attention. It is contained in subsection (2) of Clause 1, in which the period during which a suspension may be exercised has been extended from seven months from the occurrence of the vacancy to twelve months from the occurrence of the vacancy. The reason for this extension is simply to give the Bishop more time to set this machinery in motion, after the right of presentation has lapsed to him, than was allowed in the previous Measure. The Measure passed through all its stages in the Assembly without a division, and in fact with very little debate. It has been favourably reported upon by the Ecclesiastical Committee, and I therefore hope that your Lordships will consider it is one which ought to proceed. I beg to move.
§ Moved to resolve, That in accordance with the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act, 1919, this House do direct that the Benefices (Suspension of Presentation) Measure, 1953, be presented to Her Majesty for the Royal Assent.—(The Lord Bishop of Ely.)
§ On Question, Motion agreed to, and ordered accordingly.