DOCUMENTS.

THE MEMORIAL OF THE DEAN AND CHAPTER OF ELY

TO THE HONOURABLE THE BOARD OF "ECCLESIASTICAL COMMISSIONERS FOR ENGLAND,"

SHEWETH, That, in the month of June last, your memorialists presented to your Honourable Board a brief memorial, containing remarks on certain parts of your Second Report, and praying for a particular consideration of the case of the cathedral church of Ely.

Your memorialists, having now before them the Fourth as well as the Second Report, and having had full time to consider, in all its bearings, the proposed plan for the remodelling of the cathedral establishments, beg most respectfully to present this their second memorial, and to enter somewhat more fully into the important questions considered in those Reports.

More than eighteen months have now elapsed since your memorialists observed the following announcement at the close of the First Report of your Honourable Board :-"We are proceeding with all diligence in our inquiry respecting the other important subjects to which your Majesty has been pleased to direct our attention; and shall forthwith take into our consideration the present state of the several cathedral and collegiate churches in England and Wales, with the view of submitting to your Majesty some measures, by which those foundations may be made more conducive than they now are to the efficiency of the established church.

From this, and other passages of the First Report, your memorialists were led to expect a distinct and full consideration of the several cathedral and collegiate churches, and the peculiar circumstances connected with each of them.

But your memorialists deeply regret to find, by the subsequent Reports, that this subject has, in the deliberations of your Honourable Board, been entirely blended with another, highly important in itself, but forming a distinct branch of inquiry in his Majesty's commission-viz., "the best mode of providing for the cure of souls, with special reference to the residence of the clergy on their respective benefices."

From the Second Report, your memorialists perceive, that the attention of your Honourable Board was directed, first, to the condition of the parochial benefices (p. 5); and secondly, to the state of the cathedral and collegiate churches (p. 8). And your memorialists beg most respectfully to submit, that the principles and impressions (as stated in the Report) with which the Commissioners entered upon the inquiry relating to the cathedral establishments; lead unavoidably to the conviction, that your Honourable Board has looked to those ancient foundations, not so much with a view to the suggestion of measures by which they may be rendered more conducive than they now are to the efficiency of the established church, as with the object of ascertaining what surplus fund may be obtained from their revenues and made available to the general purpose of increasing the provision for the cure of souls.

In the Appendix to that Report, your memorialists observe, that the tables (2 and 3) exhibit the deficiency of parochial provision; while by the tables which follow (4-9), a surplus fund is estimated from the property of the cathedral and collegiate churches amounting to a sum not much less than onehalf of their net annual revenues. And this surplus, to be obtained by a reduction of the existing chapters, it is proposed to alienate for the purpose of supplying the deficiency of parochial endowments.

Your memorialists feel compelled to observe, that this mode of considering the two subjects differs essentially from the course which they were led to expect, as well by the terms of his Majesty's commission, and the announcement above quoted from the First Report, as by the proposition therein made

with respect to the vacant stall at Westminster, and the mention of deferred nomination to the vacant stalls at Canterbury and York.

Your memorialists most readily admit and lament the great deficiency of parochial provision which is felt in the established church. In proof of this their feeling, they beg to state that, soon after the passing of the Act for the augmentation of Benefices by Ecclesiastical Corporations, (1 and 2 W. IV., c. 45,) they made prospective arrangements for augmenting some of the smaller livings with which the Dean and Chapter of Ely are specially connected. They beg moreover to state, that they would most cheerfully bear a fair and equitable share of the burden of any general measure calculated to raise the incomes of the poorer benefices throughout the kingdom; but they deem it unjust, that large sacrifices should be required from the cathedral establishments in particular, in order to meet a general deficiency; and that upon their revenues, exclusively, should be laid the burden of providing for the spiritual wants of a population whose increase is mainly attributable to the growth of commerce and manufactures, to the increasing wealth and prosperity of the country at large.

Your memorialists observe further, that besides the proposed reduction of the chapters, and alienation of their revenues, it is recommended, that, in certain cases, the right of patronage now vested in the deans and chapters should pass to the respective bishops, for the purpose of " adding to the means which they already possess, of placing laborious and deserving clergymen in situations of usefulness and independence." Your memorialists, admitting fully the importance of the object contemplated by this recommendation, are yet at a loss to discover any principle which justifies the depriving the capitular bodies of their lawful right for the attainment of this object, while the rights of all other patrons, public and private, remain inviolate.

The attention of his Majesty's Commissioners is here earnestly requested to the very important consideration, that the recommendations above mentioned cannot be adopted without a great and dangerous invasion of long-established rights and privileges. Your memorialists beg to refer your Honourable Board to the opening of the Fourth Report, where this consideration is touched upon, and respectfully to remind the Commissioners, that the propositions, which that Report describes as affecting "a variety of interests, rights, and customs," amount to nothing less than the abrogation of ancient charters of incorporation and endowment, and the violation of the statutes by which the cathedral churches have for centuries been governed.

Your memorialists beg leave respectfully to state to your Honourable Board that the Dean and Chapter of Ely are a body corporate, constituted and endowed by King Henry VIII. From the charter of incorporation, granted by that king, the following passages are extracted :

"Ad gloriam et honorem sanctæ.et individuæ trinitatis quandam ecclesiam cathedralem de uno decano presbitero et octo presbiteris prebendariis, ibidem omnipotenti Deo omnino et in perpetuum servituram, creari, erigi, fundari, et stabiliri decrevimus: et eandem ecclesiam cathedralem de uno decano presbitero et octo prebendariis presbiteris cum aliis ministris ad divinum cultum necessariis tenore præsentium realiter et ad plenum creamus, erigimus fundamus, stabilimus, et stabiliri ac in perpetuum inviolabiliter observari jubemus per præsentes: . . . Ipsosque decanum et prebendarios unum corpos corporatum in re et nomine facimus, creamus, et stabilimus, ac eos pro uno corpore facimus, declaramus, ordinamus, et acceptamus, habeantque successionem perpetuam."

The statutes by which the church of Ely is governed, were granted originally by King Henry VIII., and revised and confirmed by Queen Elizabeth and King Charles II.

The following are extracts from them:

Chap. 1. "Statuimus et ordinamus ut sint perpetuo in dictâ ecclesiâ unus decanus, octo canonici, quinque minores canonici.'

Chap. 18. "Alienationem vel impignerationem alicujus manerii, terræ, reditus, tenementorum, aut alicujus rei immobilis omnino prohibemus, pinguescere enim optamus ecclesiam nostram, non macrescere."

In Chap. 35, which appoints the Lord Bishop of Ely visitor of the church, his lordship's duty as visitor is thus set forth :

"Pro Christianâ fide et ardenti pietatis zelo, vigilet ac gnaviter curet ut hæc statuta et ordinationes ecclesiæ nostræ a nobis editæ inviolabiliter observentur, possessiones et bona tam spiritualia quam temporalia prospero statu floreant, jura, libertates, compositiones, jurisdictiones ecclesiastica et privilegia conserventur et defendantur."

This statute, and all others which concern him, the Lord Bishop elect, or his proxy, before his admission to the cathedral church, makes oath that he will faithfully observe.

In Chapters 3 and 9 an oath is prescribed to be taken by the dean and canons on their admission, to the following effect :

Juro quod pro virili meâ terras, tenementa, reditus, possessiones, jura que et libertates, atque privilegia, cæterasque res universas hujus ecclesiæ servabo et servari procurabo."

Seeing, then, that by the will and ordinance of their founder, the rights, liberties, privileges, and revenues of the church of Ely, the integrity of the capitular body, and the permanence of the establishment, are guaranteed by the strongest securities and most enduring sanctions, your memorialists, bound as they are by the solemn personal oath, which, as members of the body, they have all taken on their admission, conceive that they would be guilty of a dereliction of duty, did they not, respectfully but firmly, express their deliberate sense of the injustice of the measure now proposed by your Honourable Board:

The Dean and Chapter of Ely, therefore, adjure his Majesty's Commissioners to reconsider the scheme detailed in their Second and Fourth Reports, for the remodelling of the cathedral churches, the principles on which it is founded, the consequences to which it leads, and to pause before they finally recommend to his Majesty and the legislature a measure so subversive of ancient rights a measure which could scarely fail to operate as the introduction to still further and more violent innovations-to be, in fact, the first step in a course of changes which, beginning with the rights and revenues of the cathedrals, might ere long proceed to the invasion of all collegiate and corporate institutions, and eventually shake the foundations of right and property throughout the realm.

Having thus stated their objections to the general character of the proposed measure, your memorialists would now advert more particularly to that proposition, which recommends the ultimate reduction of the existing cathedral chapters to the number of four canons: that number being, in the judgment of the Commissioners, sufficient to "secure and continue the most important objects" of those institutions. On examining the reasons, alleged in the Reports, which have led your Honourable Board to this conclusion, your memorialists cannot but observe, that some very important considerations, relating to cathedral institutions in general, and to the church of Ely in particular, have been practically overlooked. And here your memorialists must deeply lament, that the same plan of separate consideration, which has been adopted in the case of one English cathedral (and which the Commissioners judge necessary for the purpose of ascertaining what reductions can be effected in the expenditure of the corporate revenues, Rep. ii., p. 14,) was not pursued universally, for the important purpose of ascertaining how each cathedral establishment, in all its circumstances and local relations, might be made most conducive to the efficiency of the established church.

Your memorialists beg also most respectfully to prefer to your Honourable Board what seems to them a just and reasonable complaint; that whereas, in the new arrangement of the dioceses, the Commissioners (Rep. 1) "have used

their best endeavours to learn the opinions of the several bishops respecting the proposed arrangements, as far as they affect their respective dioceses, and have availed themselves of many suggestions which their local knowledge enabled them to supply:" in the inquiry relating to cathedral establishments, no communication (so far as your memorialists are aware) was made to any bishop, dean, or chapter, respecting the nature or the provisions of the contemplated measure; nor any endeavours used to render the local knowledge of those connected with the several cathedrals available to the purposes of his Majesty's commission. Your memorialists feel themselves the more strongly warranted in urging this complaint, inasmuch as not a single individual, whose especial duty it was to advocate the cause of the cathedral establishments, has had a seat at your Honourable Board.

With respect to the church of Ely, your memorialists avow their decided conviction, that the number of four canons is not sufficient to enable the chapter fully to carry into effect the purposes of their institution.

To speak first of the Divine services of the church.

It is enjoined by the statutes, that one of the canons shall be present either at the morning or evening service of the choir; and the practice has been for the canons in residence to attend both these services. Independently of all higher considerations, your memorialists are convinced, that this regular attendance of one or more of the superior members of the church is highly requisite to the maintenance of order and solemnity in the performance of the daily services. But the proposed number of the chapter, supposing each canon to reside three months, is barely sufficient to fill up the year, allowing nothing whatever for the casualties of sickness, infirmity, or unavoidable absence. With a chapter of four canons, the vacancy of one stall might leave the church without the presence of a single canon during a very long period.

Before quitting this topic, your memorialists beg leave to state their deliberate opinion, that it would be highly inexpedient to reduce the present statutable number of five minor canons; of whom one is almost entirely occupied by the duties of the grammar school attached to the cathedral.

The statute "de Concionibus, &c.," begins in the following manner :"Quia lucerna pedibus nostris est verbum Dei, statuimus et volumus ut decanus et canonici nostri, imo per misericordiam Dei obsecramus, ut in verbo Dei opportune et importune seminando sint seduli, cum alias, tum præcipue in ecclesiâ nostrâ cathedrali."

In compliance with this strong injunction, your memorialists are in the constant habit of preaching to a very large congregation, assembled in the body of the cathedral church. In cases of sickness and infirmity it has been the custom for one member of the chapter to take another's duty; so that there are very few Sundays in the year when the pulpit is not occupied by the lord bishop of the diocese, the dean, or some member of the chapter.

Your memorialists are convinced that it would not be possible to maintain this part of the service, upon its present footing, if the number of canons were reduced to four. The infirmities of age, and the accidents of life, affecting any member of the body, could not then be compensated by the services of other members, and the duty of preaching must devolve much more frequently than at present upon assistant ministers. Your memorialists humbly submit, that such a state of things would not be, as regards the chapter, "a state of efficiency or respectability;" far less of dignity.

Your memorialists observe, by the Ecclesiastical Revenues' Report, that in the churches of York and Chichester the duty of preaching does not fall entirely on the canons residentiary, but is shared by them with the numerous prebendaries, not members of the chapter, each of whom has one, two, or more sermons assigned to him in the course of the year. Your memorialists, therefore, must protest against any inference drawn from the present state of the chapters of York and Chichester, as to the sufficiency of four canons for the due performance of the services of the church of Ely; and they maintain,

that should the proposed reduction ever take place, it would most seriously impair the dignity, solemnity, and efficiency of those religious offices, which were ordained by their founder to be performed for ever in the cathedral church of Ely, to the glory of Almighty God, and the welfare of his people.

Your memorialists will content themselves with briefly noticing some other purposes contemplated in the institution of cathedral chapters, for the fulfilment of which their efficiency and usefulness must be much diminished by the proposed reduction of the number of canons.

Such are :-the election of bishops; assistance at their ordinations (at which solemn ceremony it is required, by the 31st of the Constitutions and Canons Ecclesiastical, that not only the archdeacon, but the dean and two prebendaries, at the least, shall be present); the furnishing, to the respective diocesans, a council of advice, an honourable support, and attendance on public occasions'; to the parochial clergy, a connecting link between them and their diocesan, and a protection against the possible undue exercise of episcopal authority. It is superfluous to dwell upon the benefits which accrue to religion, from the opportunities which cathedral patronage affords to the bishop of rewarding meritorious clergymen within his diocese; but this consideration now acquires additional weight in the case of Ely, from the proposed enlargement of the diocese by two entire counties.

Your memorialists would add to the foregoing enumeration, the maintaining an influence over the cathedral city and its neighbourhood by the example of a body of men dedicated to the service of God, the patronage of schools and charities, the exercise of hospitality, the management of the corporate property, and the fulfilment of those trusts with which the church revenues are charged for the special benefit of the city and neighbourhood.

All these purposes are contemplated in the charter and statutes of the church of Ely; and your memorialists declare most unequivocally, that it would not be in the power of their chapter, if diminished by one-half of their present number, to execute these several purposes with efficiency and respectability, still less with that dignity and authority which becomes their ancient foundation, and for which ample provision was made by the endowments of their founder.

But there is one purpose of cathedral institutions to which your memorialists are most especially anxious to call the attention of the Commissioners, and which, next to the perpetual worship of Almighty God, is perhaps of all others the most important-viz., the maintenance of a learned clergy, by whose labours in the higher departments of theological study, the true Christian faith may be continually defended against all attacks, and error excluded most effectually from the bosom of the church. Your memorialists need not remind your Honourable Board, that for studies like these the parochial clergy have in general little leisure and yet fewer facilities; nor can his Majesty's Commissioners be unaware, that a very large proportion of those works of religious learning, which are the glory of the English church, mainly owe their origin and completion to the leisure and opportunities afforded by cathedral and collegiate institutions.

Your memorialists would refer particularly to one work, the inestimable benefit of which is felt, not only to the farthest extremity of these kingdoms, but wherever the English tongue is spoken, "The Authorized Translation of the Holy Scriptures.' Your memorialists will be excused for mentioning, with feelings of honest pride, that of the number of those to whom the execution of this great task was committed, there are three whose names stand recorded among the former canons of the church of Ely.

Your memorialists deeply regret to find that so little importance appears to have been attached by your Honourable Board to considerations of this nature. For even after the contemplated reduction of the chapters, it is further recommended by your Honourable Board, that to one at least of the remaining four canonries should be united the duties of an archdeaconry; and to others, the VOL. XI.-March, 1837. 2 T