TABLE OF CONTENTS. PART I. Miscellaneous Remarks on Lord Henley's Pamphlet. Prayer of Lord Henley Personal Interest of the Author in the Plan proposed by Lord Henley for Abolishing Deans and Chapters www. Object and Principle of the Plan of Church Reform proposed by the Author 37-39 Cause of the Continuance of that Poverty-neglect of their Duty Reasons for rejecting the Plans of Mr. Miller and Dr. Burton, as well as that of Lord Henley must not require Aid from the Government, but from the parties interested, which are the Patrons and Incumbents... 60 The Four Principles on which the Plan is founded are sanctioned by four Acts of Parliament-the Queen Anne's Bounty Act 61 The Bishop to return to the Governors of Queen Anne's Bounty the Amount of the Poor Livings. The Lords of the Treasury, on good security, to be enabled to PAGE The Incumbent to pay £100. per annum, to be funded and left at compound interest, to repay the Principal. The Incumbent to pay 1 per cent of the Interest until the Prin- The Lay Patron to pay 1 per cent. of the Interest, on account of the increased value of the Advowson The Patron, if unwilling to do so, to be empowered to sell the next Presentation to any person who will pay the 1 per cent. Crown Livings, being valuable, to be exempted. Chancellor to be empowered to grant the next Presentation of his Poor Livings to any person who would pay the 1 per cent. 66 The remaining 2 per cent., or 1 per cent., to be raised by assess- The Bishops to ascertain the Amount of the principal sums re- The Lay Church Property to be assessed for the Improvement of Livings in the gift of Ecclesiastics, ought not to be taxed to im- Principle of the Reform Bill applicable to the Lay Impropriations 76 Appeal to Lord John Russell, and other Lay holders of Church PLAN FOR ABOLISHING, &c. &c. IN A LETTER TO LORD HENLEY. 66 "May the last works of the Church of England, "like those of the Church of Thyatira, be more abundant, and more excellent than her first—that so, "under the blessing of God, she may, if possible, be presented unto Him, through Jesus Christ, a glo"rious Church, without blemish and without spot. Such are the words with which your Lordship concludes your well-intentioned Pamphlet, and such are the words, and wishes, with which I would begin To this affectionate and fervent prayer, I my own. answer, and every faithful member of that branch of the Holy Catholic Church of Christ, which is established in these realms, will answer, Amen, and Amen. In the same Christian spirit, with which your Lordship has submitted your Plan of Church Reform to his Majesty, to the public, and to the Church, I also would approach to the consideration of the question, concerning the best mode of rendering more efficient the ecclesiastical institutions of the country. Yet a few short years, and we must all render up our account to God, for the privileges we have enjoyed; B and for the right use we may have made, both of them, and of the talents committed to our trust: and few reflections will be more gratifying to us, at that time, than the consciousness, that we have endeavored to benefit the Church; and have been thereby instrumental, in promoting the present, and the future welfare of mankind. As I have the honor to belong to one of those ecclesiastical corporations, which your Lordship would propose to abolish, I am conscious that I shall be considered by many, as not entitled to attention, when I venture to express my opinions on the subject of Church Reform. I must submit, it will be said, to the well known rule, that no man can be permitted to be a judge in his own cause. I am not anxious to disarm this feeling, by any pretensions to extraordinary disinterestedness; but, in one sense, I cannot be said to be more personally interested than another: for I am convinced, if the government of the country were to pass an immediate resolution, that all the members of the English Chapters should cease to be regarded any longer as Canons, or Prebendaries, ample compensation would be made, for the loss of their existing revenues. I have no other object but that the truth should be elicited; and I am interested only in the question as an Englishman, and a Christian, alike desirous of the happiness of his country, and of the peace, and welfare of the Church of Christ. In reviewing the pamphlet which has attracted so much attention, the first argument I would urge against your Lordship's Plan of Church Reform, is derived from some circumstances in the early history of the humble individual who addresses you; and who is compelled, therefore, however reluctantly, to introduce himself to your notice. Twenty years have now elapsed since the writer of this Letter was ordained to a Curacy of sixty pounds a year, in the Fens of Ely. He was at that time without hope, or prospect, or influential friend. No one of the unbeneficed working Clergy could have had less reason to anticipate the higher preferments of the Church, than the Curate in the Fens. But the study of theology was that which he deemed to be alone exclusively worthy of attention; and he devoted himself to that study with a perseverance which enabled him eventually to accomplish a work, which from its unpretending usefulness, was received with favor by Churchmen, Methodists, and Dissenters. God had made it to prosper. Shute Barrington, the late Bishop of Durham, a name never to be pronounced without honor, by all who value piety, benevolence, and every quality which can adorn a Christian Bishop, rewarded the Author, by appointing him to that station which he now holds in the Church. The poor Curate, without interest, or patronage, or corrupt influence of any kind, is elevated, from obscurity to distinction, from small resources to more ample revenue, solely on account of his persevering and unwearied labors in the cause of his Divine Mas * The Arrangement of the Old, and New Testament, in Chronological and Historical Order, &c. &c. &c. |