MISCELLANEA.

EXTRACT FROM THE BISHOP OF BANGOR'S CHARGE.

'Ir will probably be expected that I should offer some remarks on the attack that has been made on the state of the church, in this and the adjoining diocese, in certain petitions that have been presented to parliament, and seem to contain the substance of a pamphlet which about two years ago was circulated with some industry in the principality. I need not, however, dwell long on this subject, because the complaints contained in this petition, so far as they are peculiar to these dioceses, have been sufficiently replied to by both my right reverend friend the bishop of the neighbouring diocese, and myself, in our places in parliament. Much indeed of the charge brought against us applies in general to the case of impropriations; an arrangement over which we have had no control, and which cannot be disturbed without manifest injustice. Care, indeed, has been taken not to animadvert on lay impropriators, though in point of fact lay and ecclesiastical impropriations stand on the same footing, and the complaints alleged against the one apply with equal force to the other. I will say nothing of the remarks which have been made on the endowment of my own see; nor on the very erroneous statements given in the publication to which I have alluded, of the stipends assigned by me and my predecessor to the officiating ministers of the parishes annexed to it.* To me it must be matter of regret that the revenues of the see should arise principally from tithes. But there are several English sees similarly circumstanced, and few in which some part of the bishop's income is not derived from this

source.

But loud complaints are made that the tithes of certain parishes in this diocese should have been appropriated to English bishoprics, to the repair of the fabric and maintenance of the choir of the cathedral church of Bangor, and to colleges in our universities.

When Henry VIII. founded the bishopric of Chester, he gave the rectorial tithes of Llanbeblig to that see; and the tithes of Towyn belong to the see of

In the publication adverted to, the income of the curate of Llangristiolus, the rectory of which is annexed to the see of Bangor, is stated to be 1201., principally derived from fees paid by the people ;—and in another page of the same work the stipend paid by the bishop is said to be 307.

Soon after my appointment to the see of Bangor, the income of the curate was returned to me as amounting to 1251.

Of this sum, 251. arose from a bequest of Dr. Lewis to the minister of the parish 251. from certain small tithes, customarily paid to the curate, fees, and offerings; and the remaining 751. was the stipend paid to him by my predecessor.

The rectory of Llanddyfnan, which is likewise annexed to the see, is served by two curates. Their incomes are stated in the same publication to amount to 100%. each, derived principally from fees paid by the people.

The income of each of the curates of these parishes was returned to me at the same time as amounting to 1001. per annum.

Of this sum, 201, was stated to arise from small tithes, fees, and offerings; the remaining 801. was the stipend assigned to them by my predecessor.

I have since added 501. to the stipend of the curate of Llangristiolus, and 401. to that of each of the curates of Llanddyfnan.

The gross value of Llangristiolus has amounted on an average to about 4407.; the parochial taxes to about 1007.

The gross value of Llanddyfnan to about 6307; the parochial taxes to about 1701. It will be readily seen that after deducting the stipends of curates, the parochial assessments, and the expences of agency, the net income of these rectories will amount to no very large sum.

Lichfield, having been forced upon it in the reign of Edward VI. (as was a common practice in those days) in exchange for lands, which had probably attracted the cupidity of some neighbouring coastier. No portion, however, of these tithes, had they not been thus disposed of, would ever have belonged to the parochial ministers, but would without doubt have swelled the amount of purely lay impropriations.

The two comportions of the rectory of Llandinam, which were formerly sinecures in the gift of the bishop, were about 150 years ago converted by act of parliament into impropriations, and vested in the dean and chapter, in trust for the sustentation of the cathedral church, and the maintenance of the members of the choir. The net income, which amounts to little more than one half of the sum mentioned in the publication adverted to after setting apart 601. a year for the repairs of the fabric, and expences incident to divine service, is divided between the members of the choir according to a scale laid down by the court of chancery. But the members of the chapter never had any personal interest in these funds, and at present they have no voice whatever in their management and distribution. The accounts are annually audited by them; but in other respects they resemble the trustees of estates granted for terms of years, in whom the legal title is vested, though they have no power whatever over the property.

But the act which settled these tithes on the church of Bangor, secured onethird of them to the vicars of the parishes, in addition to their former endowments, so that no injury was done to them when these revenues were diverted from one to another, and that unquestionably a more useful object.

The tithes of certain parishes in this diocese belong to Jesus college, Oxford. But they were bestowed on that college long after the Reformation, by the lay impropriators in whom they were vested; and instead of complaining of this tenure as a grievance, we ought to rejoice that this portion of the ancient ecclesiastical revenues should have been diverted from purely secular purposes to the advancement of learning and religion; and should form part of the resources of a foundation from which the natives of the principality derive great and notorious advantages.-The fact, however, is, that there are few dioceses in which so large a part of the tithes belongs to the parochial ministers as in our own, as I could easily shew you, had I time to repeat the details on this subject which I made in my place in parliament.

But the same persons who have brought these complaints before parliament, or embodied them in their publications, have likewise asserted, that since these sees have been held by English bishops, the most valuable benefices in North Wales, those especially in which the population is purely Welsh, have been neld by Englishmen, entirely ignorant of the language of their parishioners. This charge has been repeated in various forms through the medium of the press; and my predecessors are accused of "having for a long period of years forgotten that a very large portion of the ancient Britons knew nothing of the English language; and that however eminent and exemplary the individuals were, whom the stream of episcopal patronage placed in the Welsh parishes, they were still as barbarians to those whose language they neither understood, nor took any pains to acquire.”* As far as my own diocese is concerned, I need scarcely tell you that this charge is altogether unfounded. At present three Englishmen hold benefices with cure of souls in this diocese. One of these is non-resident by exemption. The other two have for many years been constantly resident on their benefices; and you will bear me wit ness, that there are no clergymen in my diocese more zealous and efficient, and more exemplary in the discharge of their parochial ministries. They were not instituted to their livings till their proficiency in the Welsh tongue was ascer

Quoted from a periodical publication in Miss Lloyd's History of Mona.

tained, and they are in the constant habit of officiating and conversing in that language.

I have likewise good grounds for believing that the cases of English incumbents have been exceedingly rare, during the period which has elapsed since the see has been held by natives of England. I have looked over the subscription books, and find that the names of clergymen collated by my predecessors to benefices with cure of souls are with very few exceptions purely Welsh; and though this may be considered presumptive evidence of their being Welshmen, English names, as you all know, are often borne by natives of the principality. Of my own appointment to this see I will say nothing. I received it from my sovereign, at whose disposal it was placed by the constitutional usage and law of the land. But I will express a hope that the diocese has received no injury, either from my want of acquaintance with your native language, or from my English partialities and prejudices. When I shall be gathered to my fathers, it will be for the king and his advisers to determine in what way the vacancy shall be most advantageously supplied.

With regard to the complaints alleged in the same quarter of the number of our non-resident and inefficient clergy, I have to observe that there are at present five incumbents not resident within the diocese, four of whom hold benefices of very inconsiderable value; that, with the exception of a few who are disabled by old age or infirmities, and one master of a grammar school, the rest of the beneficed clergy are engaged in the performance of parochial duties, though several of them, from the want of glebe houses, are unable to reside within the limits of their parishes; and that the number of pluralities, excepting those which are admitted on all hands to be necessary, is comparatively small."

REV. J. W. TREVOR.-FALSEHOODS OF THE "MORNING CHRONICLE.” Ir was necessary to notice in the last Number one of the common falsehoods against the clergy which the "Morning Chronicle" is in the habit of stating. It was an attack on the Bishop of Bangor, and Mr. Trevor, of Carnarvon, and stated that the bishop had given to Mr. Trevor, because he was a Tory, a living where the people spoke only Welsh, when he knew only English, and had refused to act as chairman of the quarter sessions on that account. What follows comes from the "Merthyr Guardian :”

"We might have been content to have permitted this calumny to pass through that common sewer of political defamation, the Morning Chronicle;' to have mentioned the source of falsehood would have been its best refutation, but the FATHER OF THE LIE IS A CARNARVON LAYMAN,' and though he has not had the courage to avow his name, he is probably known to his party, and by a simple statement of facts we brand him with the name of SLANDERER. The facts are these :-Mr. Trevor, though an Englishman, has been vicar of Carnarvon, to which he was presented by the present Bishop of Bath and Wells, when Bishop of Chester, sixteen years ago-previously to his institution he was examined, and his proficiency in the Welsh language ascertained, not only by the late bishop's chaplain, but by many of the clergy of the diocese, who were most competent to decide on the question. Since this time he has been constantly in the habit of officiating, and of composing and conversing in the Welsh language; he has taken great pains to master its difficulties, and, as is universally acknowledged, with eminent success. So much for the assertion' that

I do not include three or four clergymen who have benefices without glebe houses adjoining the diocese of St. Asaph, and, though performing all their parochial duties, are at present residing in that diocese. My observation applies to those incumbents who are truly and properly non-resident.

the Rev. J. W. Trevor only understands English.' As to the assertion that Mr. Trevor declined to act as chairman of the quarter sessions because he considered himself incompetent for the office, as he did not understand the Welsh language,' the statement is a gross and wicked perversion of the truth. All who are acquainted with the proceedings of our Welsh courts must know that a gentleman may be quite competent to the duties of a parochial minister, and yet have a reasonable distrust of his fitness for the office of chairman of the quarter sessions-even for the reasons assigned by Mr. Trevor. The pleadings of the attorneys, the questions put to the witnesses, and the answers, are all delivered in Welsh, and the mistake of a word, or even less than a word, might be productive of serious injury. The OFFER of the chair to Mr. Trevor was ample evidence of his acquaintance with the Welsh language, and was honourable to his character and talents, and the declining of the offer on such grounds as he alleged was equally honourable to him as a Christian, a magistrate, and a clergyman. Mr. Trevor, for sixteen years, had the charge of a large and populous parish of Carnarvon; both his personal character and professional exertions are beyond all praise, and he carries with him the esteem and regret of the respectable inhabitants of the town, to whatever party they belong. That such a clergyman, after such long services in a vicarage from which he cleared barely 2001. a year, with a population of seven thousand persons, had a just claim on the patronage of the Bishop of Bangor, one of whose domestic chaplains he was, no reasonable man can doubt.

UNIVERSITY LIBRARY AT CAMBRIDGE.

"We have great pleasure in directing the attention of our readers to the proceedings of the senate on Wednesday last. A grace was unanimously passed to appoint a syndicate to collect subscriptions for the purpose of erecting a New Library, and other academic buildings, on the site of the Old Court of King's college, which, it will be remembered, was purchased by the university (in furtherance of these specific objects) in the year 1829, for the sum of 12.000. We have been informed that the expences incurred in this purchase, in the additions to the press, and in building and furnishing the observatory, have so far exhausted the funds of the university, that without the individual assistance of those who are interested in its welfare, it is totally incapable of carrying into effect the important improvements contemplated in the grace. We understand that the subscriptions already put down are on the most liberal scale, and we have no doubt that the erection of buildings, which are not only to become the depositories of accumulating literary and scientific treasures, but also to afford the means of giving full effect to the whole system of academic instruction, will be considered an object of great national importance, by all interested in the promotion of literature and science, and the well-being of the venerable institutions of the country."-Cambridge Chronicle.

The attention of all Cambridge men is earnestly requested to the above paragraph. They will all, surely, after their measure of ability, feel a true delight in shewing their sense of obligation to the place which, in giving them their education, has given them, under God, all that is most precious to them. No call can be stronger than that which is thus made. Putting even other things aside, all must feel the importance, nay, the necessity, as well as the advantage and blessing of a library, and how much of the well-being and progress of studious men depend on it. Now the present library is totally unfit for the books, too small, and becoming more inadequate every day to the want and the supply of books, and the University is wholly destitute of funds to procure a new building. The call is one made, therefore, not wantonly, nor idly, but from real and crying necessity. It is a call for the exercise of gratitude, and almost for the discharge of a duty. It will not, assuredly be made in vain.

May one line be given to a subject most closely connected with this? The University Library at Cambridge is not, like the Bodleian, full of literary trea sures; but they who have used it and other libraries, know well that there is probably no other library in existence so thoroughly useful as a working

library. To whom is the credit of this great advantage due? Let it be given where it ought, to Mr. Lodge, the present most admirable librarian, who has for years devoted his abilities, time, diligence, and acquirements, to the promotion of this great object in a manner which is beyond all praise, but which entitles him to the warmest gratitude of every person who loves the University and loves literature.

EMIGRATION.

Extract from a Letter in the "Record," Jan. 19th, 1835, from Bishop Chace, late of Ohio, dated Gilead, Michigan Territory, March 23, 1834.

"I MUST here answer the questions contained in both your lordship's letters respecting my means and wishes to employ several persons known to you and your friends accustomed to hard work who might wish to come to this country. If they are attached, and firmly and from principle attached, to our primitive church, and truly pious in their character, pray send them,—yes, send them directly to me, via New York, Albany, up the canals to Buffalo, on lake Erie, thence in a steam-boat to Detroit in this territory, thence on the Chicago road, about 130 miles to Bronson's Prairie, where they will turn off to the south six miles to Gilead. There will I receive them with open arms, and if they continue to do their duty I will give them reasonable wages till they can look about them for land to suit them in the vicinity." The bishop goes on to complain that those recommended to him too often come out with hearts full of hatred to the episcopal church," and "think to recommend themselves here by abusing their own country;" of such emigrants he naturally wishes for no more.

"

I have transcribed these lines in the hope that they may meet the eye of some of those churchmen who have felt (as most, I think, must have felt, much pain in furthering the emigration of churchmen to a land where they are too often wholly destitute of the means of grace. There are not, alas ! so many of the characters described by the bishop in our own country that we should gladly see them leave our shores, yet it sometimes happens that circumstances leads some of such a character to emigrate, and who but must wish to direct them to a part of the country where their wants will be regarded. Perhaps the invitation may be welcome to some of those members of our church whom persecution is daily driving from the shores of Ireland.

I am, sir, yours &c., A COUNTRY CURATE.

SAINT MARK'S CHAPEL, HADLOW DOWN, SUSSEX.

HADLOW DOWN is a hamlet, lying partly in the parish of Mayfield, and partly in that of Buxted, in the county of Sussex. Its population of late years has increased very considerably, and appears likely to continue to do so. The central point of the hamlet is about equally distant from the parish churches of Mayfield and Buxted,-namely, not less than three miles and a half; and is at a still greater distance from any other church or chapel of the church of England. Within the distance of a little more than a mile from the same central point, the population of the two parishes (on the increase, as it has been said,) amounts, at present, to between six and seven hundred; whose attendance for public worship, at their respective parish churches, is, on account of distance and other causes, in a very great degree inconvenient and impracticable. It is considered, therefore, to be highly desirable that a small chapel, possessing a joint burial-ground, &c., should be erected, as near as may be to the centre of the district.; and that a resident clergyman should be fixed there,