have no power to grant a lease or present to benefices. And it was provided, that such treasurer should keep an account of all receipts, and allow all costs, expenses, and outgoings which would have fallen on the deceased incumbent." These commissioners, by their report, recommended that First report of commissioners should be appointed by parliament for the the commispurpose of preparing and laying before the king in council sioners. such schemes as should appear to them to be best adapted for carrying into effect a number of recommendations which were mentioned in a very general manner in their report, and that the king in council should be empowered to make orders ratifying such schemes and having the full force of law. commission. In consequence of this recommendation, it was enacted, Original memthat the following persons, namely, the Archbishop of bers of the Canterbury for the time being; the Archbishop of York, and the Bishop of London for the time being; the Bishop of Lincoln; the Bishop of Gloucester; the Lord Chancellor; the Lord President of the Council; the Lord High Treasurer, or the First Lord of the Treasury; and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for the time being respectively, and such one of his Majesty's principal Secretaries of State as shall be for that purpose nominated by his Majesty under his royal sign manual (such Lord Chancellor, Lord President, Lord High Treasurer, or First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Secretary of State, being respectively members of the United Church of Great Britain and Ireland), the Earl of Harrowby, the Right Honourable Henry Hobhouse, and the Right Honourable Sir Herbert Jenner, should, for the purposes of the act, be one body politic and corporate, by the Constituted a name of "The Écclesiastical Commissioners for England." corporation. And that by that name they should be a corporation, having perpetual succession and a common seal, and sue and be sued, and have power and authority to take, purchase, and hold lands and hereditaments, to them and their successors, for the purposes of the act, notwithstanding the Statutes of Mortmain.c As to the successors of the commissioners thus named, Their successors. it was provided that when any vacancy should occur, by death, resignation or otherwise, among the two last-named bishops, and the three last-named lay commissioners, or among such of the future commissioners as should not have become such commissioners by virtue of any dignity or office, according to the provisions of the act, it should 5 & 6 Will. 4, c. 30. b 6 & 7 Will. 4, c. 77. c Sect. 1. Additional commissioners. Their successors. be lawful for his majesty to fill up such vacancy by appointing under his royal sign manual, instead of any such commissioner, being a bishop, some other bishop of England or Wales, and instead of any such commissioner being a layman, some other layman, being a member of the said church, to be a commissioner; and that every such bishop or person so to be appointed should accordingly become to all intents and purposes one of the commissioners for the purposes of the act." But in addition to the persons who were thus at first constituted commissioners, the following persons have been since appointed, and are now members of the commission, namely, all the bishops of England and Wales for the time being respectively, the Lord Chief Justice of England, the Master of the Rolls, the Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, the Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer, the Judge of the Prerogative Court, the Judge of the High Court of Admiralty, for the time being respectively (such Chief Justices, Master of the Rolls, Chief Baron, and Judges being respectively members of the United Church of England and Ireland), the Deans of the cathedral churches. of Canterbury and St. Paul, in London, and of the collegiate church of St. Peter, Westminster, for the time being respectively; and also four such lay persons (being members of the said United Church) as shall be duly appointed by her majesty, under her royal sign manual, and such other two lay persons (being members of the said United Church) as shall be duly appointed by the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury for the time being under his hand and archiepiscopal seal. As to the successors of these commissioners, it is provided that when any vacancy shall occur among such six last-mentioned commissioners, by death, resignation or otherwise, it shall be lawful for her majesty, or for the said archbishop, as the case may be, to fill up such vacancy by the appointment of some other lay person (being a member of the said United Church) to be a commissioner; and the person so appointed shall thereupon become and be an ecclesiastical commissioner.f All these commissioners have now equal power; but it should be remarked, that those last named were not added to the commission until after the overthrow of the cathedral and collegiate establishments, the annihilation of two bishoprics, and a variety of other extensive and important alterations, had been recommended, and so far acted on, d Sect. 2. 3 & 4 Vict. c. 113, s. 78. f Sect. 79. as to render it impossible for the commission to retrace its steps. All these commissioners, not being bishops or arch- Subscribing debishops, before acting under the commission, are, at the claration. first meeting they attend, to subscribe in the book of the minutes of the proceedings of the commissioners, the following declaration : "I do hereby solemnly, and in the presence of God, testify and declare, that I am a member of the United Church of England and Ireland as by law established. Witness my hand, this day of "g The commissioners hold their appointments as long as The quorum. they well demean themselves in the execution of their duties, and five of them constitute a quorum, provided commissioners. that due notice of the meeting has been given to all. But Superior powers no proceeding which requires the common seal of the of the episcopal corporation is to be finally concluded, nor is the seal to be affixed to any deed or instrument, unless two at least of the episcopal commissioners are personally present; and if any two episcopal commissioners, being the only episcopal commissioners present, object to the ratification of such proceeding, or to the affixing of the common seal, such ratification or affixing is not to take place until a subsequent meeting. But if any commissioner is out of England or Wales, or has intimated to the secretary that, for any specified time, he will be unable to attend the meetings, no notice of the meetings need be sent to him; but in such a case nothing can be done at a meeting affecting such commissioner, being a bishop or dean, or affecting his see or diocese, or cathedral or collegiate church, without his consent in writing previously obtained. The commissioners may, at any meeting duly convened, Adjournment of continue and adjourn such meeting from day to day, for meetings. any such number of days as they shall deem necessary; and their proceedings, and all acts, matters and things done and executed by them, on each and every of such days of adjournment, shall be as valid and effectual to all intents and purposes as if they had been done and executed on the first day of such meeting. But no proceeding, which requires to be ratified and confirmed by the common seal, shall be finally concluded by affixing such seal on any such day of adjournment, unless notice of the intention to propose any such proceeding for final consideration and decision shall have been sent, together with every notice issued for such first day of meeting. 6 & 7 Will. 4, c. 77, s. 3; 3 & 4 Vict. c. 113, s. 80. 6 & 7 Will. 4, c. 77, s. 5. The chairman. Treasurer and secretary. Powers of the commissioners to make inquiries. At each meeting of the commissioners, the commissioner first in rank and precedence there present shall preside as chairman; and in case of the equality in rank of all the commissioners so present, then the senior commissioner, in the order of appointment, shall so preside; and the chairman at all such meetings shall not only vote as a commissioner, but shall also, in case of the equality of votes, have the casting or decisive vote.i The commissioners were directed to appoint a secretary, treasurer, and other officers, removable at pleasure. The amount of whose salaries was to be regulated by the Lords of the Treasury, or by any three of them; the secretary to keep a book, and enter the minutes of the proceedings, and the names of the commissioners present; the entry of the proceedings to be signed by the chairman. But it has been since enacted, that the offices of treasurer and secretary shall be united, and be one office; and shall be held so long as the person occupying them shall well demean himself: and that, upon any vacancy, the commissioners shall appoint a successor by an instrument in writing under their common seal.k The commissioners, by summons under the hand of the chairman, may require the attendance of any person whom they shall think fit to examine touching any matter within their cognizance, and may make any inquiries, and call for any answers or returns, as to any such matter, and administer oaths, and examine upon oath, and cause to be produced before them upon oath, all statutes, charters, grants, rules, regulations, bye-laws, books, deeds, contracts, agreements, accounts, and writings whatsoever, or copies thereof respectively, in anywise relating to any such matter; or, in lieu of requiring such oath, the commissioners may, if they think fit, require any such person to make and subscribe a declaration of the truth of his examination.' Schemes by the The commissioners, being thus constituted, and enabled commissioners. to make due inquiry, are, from time to time, to prepare and lay before the queen in council such schemes as appear to them to be required, several of which are noticed in other parts of this work. And, in such schemes, they are to recommend and propose such further measures as may appear to them necessary for carrying out such schemes. But previously to laying any such scheme before the queen in council, notice thereof is to be given to any corporation, aggregate or sole, which may be af i Sect. 6. fected thereby; and the objections, if any, of such corpo ration, are to be laid before the queen in council, together with such scheme.m schemes have When any such scheme shall have been approved by Orders in counthe queen in council, she may make an order or orders cil confirming ratifying the same, and specifying the time or times when the force of law. such scheme, or the several parts thereof, shall take effect, and direct every such order to be registered by the registrar of each of the dioceses, whereof the bishop, or within which any cathedral or collegiate church, dignitary, chapter, member of a chapter, officer, incumbent, or any other person or body corporate, may or shall be in any respect affected thereby." And, in any such order, it is declared to be sufficient to refer to the act, under the authority of which the order is made, and it is not necessary to recite any of the provisions of such act. Every such order, as soon as may be after the making Gazetted. of it, is to be inserted in the London Gazette; and, so soon as it is so gazetted, it is in all respects, and as to all things contained in it, to have the same force and effect as an act of parliament." A copy of every order so made is to be laid before each House of Parliament in the month of January in every year, or, if parliament is not then sitting, within one week after the next meeting thereof. The registrar of every diocese, to whom any such order Order to be shall be delivered, shall forthwith register the same in the registered, &c. registry of his diocese; and if any such registrar shall refuse or neglect to register any such order, he shall for every day during which he shall so offend, forfeit 201.; and, if his offence shall continue for the space of three months, he shall forfeit his office, and it shall be lawful for the bishop of the diocese to appoint a successor thereto. For such registration the registrar shall not be entitled to receive any fee or reward, but on every search for any such order he shall be entitled to receive a fee of three shillings; and for every copy or extract of any such order certified by him, he shall be entitled to receive fourpence for every folio of ninety words; and the copy of every such entry, certified by the registrar, shall be admissible as evidence in all courts and places whatsoever.P This power given to the commissioners of proposing and regulating schemes, which, when approved by the queen in council, have the full effect of law, (the substituting |