their power so to do; and I would facilitate the exchange of all church lands as much as possible; only, that nothing should be done without the consent of the Bishop of the diocese, who should appoint a commissioner to value, and to whom it should be proved that no injury would be done to the church property thereby.

This exchange of tithes for land should only be made compulsatory on the tithe-owners, and patrons and incumbents of livings; who should at all times be compellable to make the exchange, whenever called on so to do by the proprietors of the land, or a certain portion of them, who shall conform to the Act of Parliament, and tender them land of equal value with the tithes to be exchanged, when valued according to the directions of that Act; and which land shall be within a given distance of the church, to be fixed by the Act. By these means the commutation would go on slowly and regularly, and would not have the effect of suddenly raising the price of land. As some persons who had no waste land to cultivate, some who had no money, and others who may not immediately perceive the advantages which would arise from the commutation, would not instantly exert themselves to commute their tithes; but they would gradually, and almost imperceptibly, be commuted, and cease to exist as a grievance. The benefits which would result from the measure would be gradually felt, thereby producing less sensation, and greater benefit to the country, than I think could be attained by any other mode.

No incumbent of a living should be compellable to exchange any part of his tithes for land, unless an offer should be made to him for the whole: and the land so offered to him should be situated all together, unless any part of it should be in his own parish, which might be added to his home glebe.

Whenever a majority of the land-owners, possessing twothirds of the property in any parish, should wish to commute the tithes, and the remaining third should refuse to give their consent; the two-thirds wishing to commute should be at liberty to purchase land, and commute the whole tithe of the parish, whereby they might become possessed of the tithes of the other third of the land-owners so refusing to commute, and might either keep or sell them to the public as they might think proper. But the proprietors of those tithes should at all times be compellable to sell them to the land-owners, when called on so to do; and the price should be offered for them according to the mode of valuation directed by the Act of Parliament.

The mode of valuation I wish to point out is, that in the case of lay tithe, one valuer should be appointed by the owner of the tithe, another by the owners of the land; these two should elect a third, as is usual in most other valuations. For church tithe, one valuer should be appointed by the incumbent of the living, and be approved of by the patron of the living, and the bishop of the diocese; the other by the land-owners. These two should elect a third. They should be directed to value all tithes at their present annual value, including moduses, and all other money payments to the incumbent of the living; but they should not interfere with any law-suit, which may be pending concerning any modus or other matter; and they should value the estate to be exchanged according to the same mode. My object is, that the valuers should not value the probability of improvements on either side, which might be made on the lands, particularly on those to be exonerated from tithe: for if those lands were not to be so exonerated, such improvements would not be made and it is unfair to make money titheable, when vested in the

cultivation of waste land, which was not titheable when in the public funds, or on mortgage; and, in fact, could not be made titheable by any other means.

Some of the great and good effects which I imagine would arise from a commutation of tithe for land are,

1st. That the cultivation of the waste land which would in consequence take place, would produce so much work for the laboring poor, and would create such a competition for their labor, that their wages would be raised by natural means to such a pitch as would once more enable them to live without parochial assistance; which might again restore that independence of mind and character which has so long been absent from them, and which alone can produce emulation and exertion. And I most sincerely hope, that if ever that independence should again be restored, it may be preserved and fostered by education and encouragement.

2dly. That the additional farm produce which would be obtained by the new and improved cultivation of our land, would give support even to an increased population; and with the due attention of the Legislature of our country to its agricultural interests, this might once more become an exporting instead of an importing nation: whereby the alarms of scarcity would not again be heard of; and the immense sums in cash which have been annually sent out of the country for corn, thereby encouraging the cultivation of foreign soils, would be kept at home, and go into the pockets of our own laborers and mechanics. Added to which, foreign cash would be brought home by our exportations, and expended on our own land.

3dly. And the last good effect of the commutation which I shall here name, and which is not the least in my estimation; it would remove that interference in property, which

has caused more law-suits, more ill-will amongst men, and more defection from the Church to which it is attached, than any other human institution could possibly have effected.

It will be seen that the foregoing ideas have been hastily written down; but the writer hopes that they may be thought worthy of the inspection and attention of the Society to which they are addressed: and has the honor to remain their most obedient servant,

October 29, 1814.

JOHN BENETT.

Α

Ꮮ Ꭼ Ꭲ Ꭲ Ꭼ Ꭱ

TO THE

REV. HERBERT MARSH, D.D. F.R.S.

MARGARET PROFESSOR OF DIVINITY IN THE

UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE,

IN CONFUTATION OF HIS OPINION,

That the DISSENTERS are aiming at the Subversion of the RELIGIOUS ESTABLISHMENT of this Country, in order to possess its Honours and Emoluments, and to establish their own Forms of Worship.

BY A PROTESTANT DISSENTER

And a Layman.

THE TESTIMONY OF OUR CONSCIENCE."

2 Cor. 1. 12