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Mr. Justices Park and Richardson, and a very respectable number of other Members of the Society. Many of the Secretaries and Treasurers of the District Committees of the Society were present.

The total Number of Bibles, &c. distributed on the Terms of the Society, and gratuitously, is,

Bibles.....

Other Bound Books

rage attendance of boys, at the Central School, amounted to 493, and girls, 232.

In the course of last year various Schools had been supplied with masters and mistresses, and their system has been conveyed to various missionaries in foreign parts, teachers in classical schools, and in the higher circles of society. Eighty32,085 two new Schools have been formed New Testaments and Psalters.. 54,270 Common Prayers 90,855 in the past year, but thirteen 81,943 have ceased in consequence of the 822,374 peculiar state of the times. The total number of Schools in union is 140,855 1790, and the children under a system of education amount to nearly 250,000. At New Brunswick and Bombay the number of scholars, Christian and natives, amount to 1023. It also appeared that 79 grants have been made to erect new Schools, and 3,4257. have been expended.

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Small Tracts, half-bound, &c. Books and Papers, issued gratuitously

Total 1,222,382

The receipts of the Society during the past year amounted to £56,021. 58. 3d. and the expenditure to £53,703. 10s. 1d.

National School Society.

THE Annual General Meeting of this Society, took place at the Central School, Baldwin's Gardens, on Wednesday, June 5, where a numerous and highly respectable attendance took place.

Among the company were the following persons of distinction: The Archbishops of Canterbury and York; Bishops, of London, Exeter, Llandaff, Chester, Worcester, Salisbury, and Bangor; Lords, Kenyon and Calthorp; Archdeacons, Goddard, Pott, Prosser, Cambridge, Watson, and Cotton; Deans, of Chester and Chichester; Messrs. Wilberforce, M. P. Butterworth, M.P. Round, M.P. &c.; Sir J. Langham, Sir R. Abercrombie, Sir F. Ommaney, M.P.; Drs. D'Oyley, Yates, Sutton, Moore, Sheppard, and Walmsley; J. Watson. Esq. &c. &c.

The Archbishop of Canterbury in the chair.

From the Report it appeared, that during the last year, the ave

A fifth Edition of the Society's Family Bible is now publishing in Parts.

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man of the Quarter Sessions, and Representative of the county in Parliament. The report of the committee of the House of Lords has not yet been printed, but it is understood to recommend in preference to a general annual collection, accompanied by a statement of the benefits produced by the collections of the preceding year, which is advocated by high authorities, that

briefs shall in future be confined to dioceses. The advantages of this plan are, that it will reduce the expence of the distribution of briefs, and consequently of collections, and that it will excite an increased interest in favour of churches situate in the diocese in which the collection is to be made. It is further intended to give a compensation to the patentee, who is interested as a clerk of the briefs, by means of surplus contributions which have been received for some old fire briefs, and some small outstanding balances which are due on some old Church briefs, for which no claimants can be found, and which are now invested in Exchequer bills, by the direction of the Lord Chancellor: and it is hoped that the bishops will be able to make arrangements in their respective dioceses, by which the expenses of receiving the collections may be considerably reduced.

The examination of Mr. Littleton before the committee of the House of Lords will remove many popular misapprehensions on the subject of briefs, and will explain the measure of last year.

Extracts from the Evidence given before a Committee of the House of Lords, upon Church Briefs. 29th March, 1822.

Lord Kenyon in the Chair.

Edward John Lyttleton Esq. a Member of the House of Commons, attending, is called in, and examined

as follows:

"Have the Goodness to state what Course you consider the most expedient to

adopt in framing a Bill so as to make the Collection of Briefs most productive ?

"If I am asked, what Course in my Opinion would make a Collection by Briefs most productive, I presume that I must confine my Attention, in some Degree, to the present System; but I would premise, that to secure a general Subscription throughout England and Wales, for the Purpose of promoting the Repair, the Enlargement, and perhaps the BuildChurches, it would be far more advisable ing, in populous Districts, of additional

to abolish the present System altogether, and to substitute in lieu of it an annual Collection. I last Year introduced into

the House of Commons a Bill, the Object of which was to remove those Misconceptions under which the present System labours, and to introduce such Provisions as would ensure a more regular Distribution of Briefs, reading of the same in Churches, and Collection upon them. I thought that this Object could not be better secured than, in the first Place, by ascertaining whether it were practicable to do away the Fees now paid, not as generally supposed to the Lord Chancellor himself, but to his Secretary, to the Holder of the Patent Office, and to the Registrar who stamps the Briefs. I experienced, on the Part of the Lord Chancellor himself, every Attention which I could have expected; his Lordship expressed his perfect Willingbe thought advantageous in this Respect, ness to concur in any Measure that might I afterwards saw Mr. Humphrys, who is the Clerk, and Mr. Nares, his Lordship's Secretary of Briefs; but I do not think that I saw the Registrar. I proposed, with respect to Mr. Humphrys, an Arrangement which your Lordships Committee will find in an amended Bill, of which I beg Leave to offer you a Copy; your Lordships will there find a Clause enabling Mr. Salt to apply for the Benefit of the Clerk of Briefs, a Surplus which had accrued on some few former Briefs, and which had long remained in his Hands unappropriated, in consequence of the Act of Queen any Surplus which might accrue, and Anne containing no Provision regarding which Surplus had been laid out by Mr. Salt, under the Lord Chancellor's Directions, till Parliament should make some Provision respecting it. Mr. Salt and myself had conceived that it would be right to calculate, on the Average of Years phrys' Place, and it was ascertained, on reference to Mr. Humphrys' Age, that the Place might be considered to be of the value of 2,0331. 68. 8d. I should here

what had been the Value of Mr. Hum

state, that Mr. Humphrys' Son having been put in the Reversion of his Patent, it was necessary to ascertain the Value of his Life also. With respect to the Secretary of Briefs, we thought it just and right to propose that no greater Fee should be allowed or paid to him for the Lord Chancellor's Fiat than 1s. 6d. for each County where it was read, instead of a Fee of 3s. 4d, which had been before allowed. I was extremely sorry to propose this Arrangement in respect of Mr. Nares, because I did not see the Means of providing for him that Compensation to which I conceived him entitled; but the kind Manner in which the Lord Chancellor had been pleased to speak respecting Mr. Nares, and respecting his equitable Right to expect some Remuneration for the Deduction made in his Fee, induced me to hope that his Lordship might seize some Opportunity of recompensing him for the Loss of it. With respect to the Registrar, who stamps the Briefs, it did not occur to me that he had the same Claim for Remuneration. I cannot now accurately remember all the Circumstances relative to the Value of the Proceeds of this Office; but I remember perfectly well, that it did not occur either to Mr. Salt or myself, or to any other Parties who had examined the Matter, that the Registrar's Claim was of the same Nature with that of the other Parties, I accordingly proposed to leave out of the Bill I had introduced, altogether, the Obligation to have Briefs stamped, merely substituting, in lien thereof, a Mark which your Lordships will find mentioned in the Bill; these were the principal Arrangements proposed for the Purpose of meeting the principal Objections so universally, and, as I thought, so justly, made to the present System of Briefs, with respect to the Charges upon them. The next Subject which called for my Attention was, the Charge made by the Collector on the Distribution of Briefs, or the Dispersion of them throughout the Kingdom; and I must here do myself and Mr. Salt the Justice of saying, that I think his Conduct by no means deserves the Strictures which I have frequently heard applied to it, no doubt under a very false Impression respecting the Circumstances of the Case; for instance, Mr. Salt has no Office whatever, he is merely Collector to those Briefs which the Parties entitled to the Briefs shall choose to put into his Hands; be is allowed by Law on such Briefs a Recompence of Five-pence on each Brief returned; but at no Time has Mr. Salt ever taken the whole Amount of the Recompence so allowed him; I believe he has

never received more than Four-pence on each Brief. The next Object was, to introduce into the Bill compulsory Regulations for a more regular Distribution of Briefs, reading the same in the Churches, and Collection upon them; perhaps it will save your Lordships' Time, if I content myself with referring your Lordships to the Provisions introduced into the Bill upon that Subject; but it appeared to me extremely desirable to introduce a Clause, to which I beg leave particularly to call your Lordships' Attention, for a more regular Collection upon them; it is in Page 3 of the Print. In very few Churches, as far as my Information goes, has this Collection ever been made in a regular Manner, or in a Manner, I presume, contemplated by the Law; very seldom has any Collection been made at all in the Church; sometimes a Plate has been held at the Door, more as a Matter of Form, in order to satisfy the Intentions of the Law, than for any other Purpose; for seldom have Subscriptions (when the Collection has been made in such a Manner) been of any Amount. The present Law requires that Subscription should also be made from House to House, but this, I believe, is also generally omitted. I therefore thought it right to introduce a Clause enacting the precise Time at which the Collection should be made, namely, either before or after the Communion Service, and directing Plates to be carried into every Pew in the Church; and that a Collection should also be made from House to House of the Members of the respective Congregations or Parishes, if the Briefs should require the same, but not otherwise. I also conceived that there could be no Impropriety in providing, that the Churchwardens should be allowed to subscribe the Sum of 28. 6d. out of the Church Rates; my Reason for doing this was, that a very general Practice had prevailed of contributing a Shilling, or some small Sum, out of the Parish Rates, a thing in itself illegal; and as I still conceived, that were the Machinery of the Law to remain the same, it would still be subject to be treated with that Neglect which had been the Ruin of the System altogether; that the most effectual Way of securing from it some Benefit would be, to give this Permission to the Churchwardens. There being 10,800 Copies distributed of each Church Brief, a Subscription of Half a Crown on each of those Briefs returned could not fail to have procured a Suin, not only adequate to the Purposes required in the Brief, but proba-bly would have also furnished a Surplus. «I have found, on Conversation with several

Parties in different Parts of the Kingdom who have interested themselves in this Matter, and from the very general Correspondence which the Circumstance of my having introduced a Bill upon the Subject drew upon me, that Part of the general Feeling of Repugnance to contribute arose from a very natural Mode of reasoning, that if each Individual were to contribute, even in the smallest Amount, there would naturally accrue a Sum larger than that required for the Brief; therefore, to meet this Objection, and to render that Feeling useful to the Object of Briefs, I also introduced a Clause directing the Collector to pay over any Surplus, either to the Governors of Queen Anne's Bounty, to be by them applied for the Purposes of that Charity, or to the Commissioners acting under the Act of the 58th of His late Majesty, intituled "An Act to promote the building of Churches." I thought that either of those Objects would be very popular; the latter, no Doubt, would have been most so, because, I think, there exists in the Country a very strong Feeling indeed respecting the Necessity of enabling our Church Establishment to cope with the increasing Population; but I introduced the Governors of Queen Anne's Bounty, also thinking that that Object might have some Influence with the Clergy, by inducing them to pay more Attention in reading the Briefs. Those were the principal Arrangements I proposed; but I am sorry to say, notwithstanding considerable Labour which I have taken to remove the Misconceptions which existed, and to put the Matter in a fair Light, my Efforts seemed by no means likely to be successful; and I very much doubt whether, as long as the present Machinery is retained, the Prejudice which has now existed so long against it can be removed. I should therefore greatly prefer, in considering the best Means of altering the System, that which should be in Form the furthest removed from the present Plan; and my own Reasoning upon the Subject has led me to take the same View which I find, from my Correspondence upon it, has been a very general one; that an annual Collection made on a Report of Commissioners constituted for that Purpose, would be infinitely more likely to succeed than any other, especially if, in addition to the present Objects of repairing and rebuilding Churches, there were added the more necessary one of building additional Churches in populous Districts.

Have the Goodness to describe to the Committee the particular Course which you think it desirable to pursue with res❤

pect to the preparing and notifying this Statement by the Board of Commission?

I have never matured, in my own Mind, any Plan for that Object; but if I may briefly state what had occurred to me, I should say, that the best Mode of effecting it would be, to allow Parishes requiring either additional Churches, or whose ancient Churches might stand in need of repair or rebuilding, to send in to the Commissioners, in the Course of One Year, their Application; and I would then recommend that, in the Course of the next Year, a Report should be drawn up referring to all those Applications, and that, on the reading of such Report in the various Parishes of the Country, a Collection should be made. I have no Doubt that the Personages of whom this Committee is composed are more competent than any others to devise the most effectual Plan for the Distribution of such a Report, and for a Collection to be made upon it.

"In any Communications you have had with Persons on the Subject of Collections by Brief, what has been the general Opinion expressed as to the most desirable Mode of Proceeding, so as to obtain the largest possible Collection?

"In the first Place, I may say that, with very few Exceptions, all Parties have concurred in condemning the existing Law; they seem divided, as to the best Substitute, into Two Parties, one being for confining the Distribution and Collection to the Dioceses, and the other being in Favour of a general annual Collection. For my own Part, I have very great Doubts respecting the Efficacy of a Diocesan Plan; great Part of the present System, I conceive, under such a Plan, must be retained; and the Object which I should most strongly recommend to be kept in view would be, an entire Abolition of the present System. There is no Doubt, however, that under a Diocesan Plan, the Clergy might be influenced to increase their Exertions much better than under the present.

"What appears to be the general Impression on the Minds of those with whom you have communicated, as to whether a Diocesan Collection, or one general annual Collection, would be preferable?

"I should say, that the average Feeling in the Minds of those with whom I have communicated upon the Subject seems to be in Favour of a Diocesan Plan, as compared with the present Plan.

"In Favour of which is the Balance of Feeling, whether a Diocesan Collection, or a general annual Collection?

“I should say decidedly in Favour of a general annual Collection.

"Are you able to state, with respect to that general Opinion, whether it prevails more with respect to the Laity or the Clergy with whom you have communicated

"I should say more with respect to the Laity. It has One very evident Advantage, that whereas on an Average now there are Eleven Briefs a Year, there would then be only One Collection made, and supposing the Scale of Expence of the present Plan to be retained, it would of course be done at One Eleventh Part of that Expence, or nearly so.

"Can you state whether any Difficulty occurs to you with respect to the Expence of Collection by Briefs, in case no Briefs should henceforth be issued on account of Fires or Inundations?

“Undoubtedly, if Briefs for Fires and Inundations should be abolished, I conceive, it would be impossible for any Collector to conduct the Distribution of Church Briefs at the present Rate of Charge; and I have learned from the Enquiries I have made, principally from Mr. Salt, in whose Veracity I have the greatest Confidence, that were it not that he is a Banker, and, consequently, is enabled to avail himself of the Services of the Clerks in his Establishment, he could not undertake the Distribution and Collection upon 10,800 Church and Fire Briefs at the present Rate of Charge; he assures me, that he conceives he should be a Loser by it.

What do you think with respect to the Propriety of continuing to collect Money by Briefs for Fires and Inundations?

I cannot have received fewer than between Three and Four hundred Letters, upon the Subject of Briefs, during the last Year; and it so happens, that most of those Letters, I should think the Majority of them, have referred to the Subject of Fire Briefs; and I do not remember any one Instance in which the Party writing did not coucur in the Propriety of abolishing them. I speak of Laymen as well as of the Clergy. It seems to be a general Opinion, that the valuable Institutions for effecting Insurances in every Part of the Kingdom have, since the Act of Queen Anne, superseded the Necessity of issu

ing Briefs for such a Purpose; and I do not remember, in the Course of any Objections which I heard made in Parliament, or by Members of Parliament out of Doors, to any Parts of the Bill I introduced last Year, that any one objected to the Circumstance of Fire Briefs having been omitted in that Bill; on the contrary, it was universally approved of.

"Will you have the Goodness to state your View as to the Manner in which the annual Collection might be conducted?

"I have an Opinion only on the Principle of such a Measure; I have not at all digested any Detail.

"Have the Goodness to state your Reasons why you observed, that a great Part of the present National System must be retained under the Diocesan Plan, but would not under the general annual Collection?

"I have before stated, that I have not digested any Plan for a general annual Subscription, and perhaps, therefore, it would have been more correct had I said, that it might not be necessary to retain any Part of the present Plan.

"If there are Twelve Collections in a Parish, do not you think there would be a larger actual Collection than if there was only one for the same Object in the Course of the Year?

"I have not the slightest Hesitation in saying, that if the Public could be satisfied that all the Charges to which they conceive the present System is unjustly subject, were done away, a single Collection would be Ten-fold larger than the aggregate of Ten Collections; that is my decided Opinion. I feel very desirous, before I withdraw, of stating, that as much has been said relative to the Conduct of Mr. Salt, the Collector, having given myself great Trouble to examine his Books, and to ascertain the Facts, I have never discovered any the slightest Inaccuracy, either in his Account or his Conduct; on the contrary, he has exhibited the greatest Anxiety to have the System improved; and, I am confident, will not retain it if it is continued on its present Footing; he is a Person of very large Property, and the Emolument of it is not an Object to him.”

ECCLESIASTICAL PREFERMENTS.

[By accident, an incorrect list of the appointments to the vacant Irish Prelacies was inserted in our last Numberthe following, however, may now be relied on.]

The right hon. lord JoHN George de LA POER BERESFORD, Lord Archbishop of Dublin, to the Archbishoprick of Armagh, and Primacy of all Ireland,

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