INCOMES OF THE CLERGY.

LTO THE EDITOR Or ME SPECTATOR."]

SIR,—We have heard something lately, and shall probably hear a great deal more, about the redistribution of Church revenues. By common consent the new Parliament will have, and should not lose, the opportunity of doing something in the way of Church Reform. A more equitable apportionment of ecclesiastical income is probably the measure that first suggests itself to most people. It is as well, therefore, to know what there is to redistribute. Practically, the only income available for this purpose is the tithe rent charge. The interest of invested funds, payments from the Ecclesias- tical Commissioners and from Queen Anne's Bounty, pew- rents, and rent of glebe, are all inseparable from the parishes to which they at present belong. The nominal amount of the tithe rent charge, as settled by the Commutation in 1837, is £4,054,000. Mr. Mulhall, I see, in his "Dictionary of Statistics" (1884), says :—" In England and Wales, 11,784 clergymen collect 24,054,000, say £342 each." This more than doubles the real amount. The nominal value of the tithe "collected by clergymen" is 2,2,400,000 (in round numbers), nearly a million going to lay impropriators, and the balance to cathedrals and colleges. But the present value of the tithe, according to the last average, is £73 13s. Old., and the actual value of the whole works out at £1,767,650. The 11,784 clergymen, therefore, receive from this source not "£342 each," but almost exactly 2150. And even from this considerable reductions have to be made.

This general statement may be supplemented by some facts which, though well known to the clergy, will probably surprise not a few laymen.

I have analysed, with no inconsiderable trouble, the parti- culars given by " Crockford's Clerical Directory." The editor of this usefal volume has for some years been endeavouring to obtain from the clergy a statement of their actual, as dis- tinguished from their nominal, incomes. Such a statement has in this year's issue been given in 8,636 out of a total of 13,243 benefices. (It is possible that these numbers are not absolutely exact, but they practically represent the actual state of things.) Eighteen benefices are stated to be of no value:— Under e50

106 Between .C700 and £800 49

100

514

800 „ 900 30 Between 100 and £200 2,748

200 „ 1,000 13

SD

200 „ 300 2,864

P.

1,000 „ 1 500 17

300 „ 400 1,355

1,500 „ 2,000 5

PI

400 „ 500 553 Above

2,000 1

500 „ 600 239

8,618

600 „ 700 124

Total

These sums include all sources of income, except the value of the residence.

It would serve no purpose to give in similar detail the figures of the remaining 4,807 benefices, of which the gross income only is given, but I may state that in more than 4,000 the too-educed income is less than 2500, and in nearly 3,000 less than £300. What, it may be asked, are the charges which make the difference between the gross and net income ? Here, again, I write for the information of lay readers ; the clergy know the facts only too well. The two chief items are rates and land- tax. Let me give as an actual case the particulars of my own benefice. The nominal tithe rent charge is I:210, now worth £154 12s. Add to this 226 10s. rent for glebe let and 23 value of glebe in hand, and we get a gross value of 2184. From this must be deducted 25 8s. for land-tax (a constant charge, irrespective of diminished income, and the same now as it was seventy years ago when the uncommuted tithes with the glebe were worth 2370), and 3s. in the pound on a rateable value Of £140 10s.,—i.e., £21 is. 6d. A. small sum must be added for insurance and repair of the chancel,

and for ecclesiastical fees, say, £1. The net value comes out as £157 10s. 6d. (I have deducted nothing for collection of tithe, because I pay nothing, receiving the whole directly from the landowner ; but many clergymen are less happily situated, and have to pay from E3 to £5 per cent., according to the number of tithe-payers.) But in view of this question of redistribution of income, we have to take into account other reductions than those which the law recognises. Most clergymen find themselves com- pelled to make a considerable contribution to the funds of the school. Many are practically compelled to have the help of a curate, though they cannot legally deduct his stipend. The miscellaneous claims for help are numerous.

Compare these figures with the particulars given in Whitaker of the salaries received by Civil servants. Twenty. three, or, if we add a proportion for the benefices of which the exact figures are not given, thirty-six clergymen receive incomes of £1,000 and upwards. In the department of Law alone, putting out of the question the Judges, whether of the High or the County Courts, we find that the number of chief clerks, taxing masters, registrars, &c., receiving salaries of £1,000 and upwards, more than doubles the figure given above. I do not pretend to compare the value of their services. It is only with the actual figures that we have to deal.

It must not be forgotten that the present value of tithe rent charge will probably be diminished as time goes on. Were the value to be settled on the basis of last week's corn averages, it would be £55. And last week's averages are not so low as others that might be quoted. Bat, low as is the present value of tithe, it has been suggested by witness after witness, examined by the Commission on Agriculture, that it bears an undue proportion to the value of land.

It seems to me that there is practically nothing to redis- tribute,—as far, at least, as the beneficed clergy are concerned. The cathedral establishments have nothing to spare. Here the choice is between keeping them as they are and abolishing