§ Lord HUNTINGFIELDasked the Minister of Agriculture if he will state the amount received annually by lay tithe owners; and, if lay tithe owners could have tithe extinguished under the same conditions as set forth in the Tithe Bill, what would be the cost to the Exchequer?
Mr. WOODThe estimated amount of tithe rent-charge owned by lay tithe owners is approximately one million pounds, of which the greater part is owned by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, the Welsh Church Commissioners, colleges and charities. The conditions under which incumbents' tithe rent-charge is to be extinguished under the Tithe Bill are inappropriate to the extinguishment of lay tithe rent-charge on account of the material difference in the rateability of1112W the two rent-charges. They could only be applied to lay tithe rent-charge with considerable modification, and the cost to the Exchequer could only be estimated when such modifications had been decided.