THE HARDSHIPS OF THE CLERGY [To the Editor of the
SPECTATOR.] SIR,—I was offered this living at the end of 1926 as 1378 net. In 1927 the Tithe Redemption Act came into force, and, whereas £270 was still to be collected in tithe, the Clergyman was only to receive £240 thereof. This reduction of income has reduced the income to £848 net at a time when the costs of living are 64 per cent. higher than in 1914.
Further statutory deductions for dilapidation and a small mortgage loan bring the net income down to £828, and were I not above the age for pensions there would be a further statutory deduction' of, say, £10.
I put in a plea with the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, and against all these deductions they have vouchsafed a grant of £9 per annum. How are the poorer clergy to face legislation of this type, if the Coimnissioners can do no better than this ?
[The sympathy of all lay readers of the Spectator are with many of the clergy at the present time, who are faced with a similar problem to that referred to by our correspondent : a reduced income and increased expenditure. We wish we could offer a solution.--En. Spectator.]
Previous page
