THE POVERTY OP THE ENGLISH CLERGY.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 9604, 19 December 1896, Page 6

THE POVERTY OP THE ENGLISH CLERGY.

A great effort is now being made in England to raise a Sustentation Fund to increase the income of the poorer clergy of the Church of England. The condition of a vast number of the English clergy is one of very painful poverty. The English clergyman is expected to be a highly-educated gentleman, and he is also usually a married man, and frequently a very muchmarried man in the sense of having a large family to maintain. At present many of them have to live upon exceedingly small incomes. We are told by the Dean of Norwich that 400 beneficed clergymen receive less than £50 a-year, 8500 less than £100 a - year, 7000 less than £180 a-year. Some, no doubt, have private incomes to supplement this inadequate pay. But even if so, it is disgraceful that they should receive such miserable incomes for the discharge of their duties. Their official incomes are mainly derived from the landed endowments of the Church. It is unnecessary to say that incomes from the soil have shrunk most woefully of late years in England from economic causes, for whioh, of course, the recipients are in no way responsible. The value of glebes has fallen, just as the value of all agricultural land has fallen in England. Owing to the enormous depreciation of wheat the value of tithe is now said to be nearly 87 per cent below what it was in 1875. But the rates on the tithe have increased to make up for the diminished assessment of the land, so that the outgoings of the tithe owner have increased while his receipts have diminished. The stories of clerical poverty, which have been appearing of late in English papers, have been pitiable. It is hoped that there may ~ be some exaggeration about them. We hear not only of the inability to educate and clothe their families decently, and of their daughters seeking earnestly for situations in domestio service, but of some of them aotually dying from lack of sufficient nourish-* ment. The interest created in the subject has led to numerous remedies being suggested. Some people say that the Englisjh parson should be an unmarried priest. But though an unmarried priesthood may be cheap it will not find favour with the English people. No doubt the clergy often marry very imprudently. Then it is said that too many candidates are ordained, and that the example of the Wesleyans, who only admit every year that number of candidates for whom permanent employment, can be guaranteed, should be followed. But then the Wesleyans are not obliged to provide clergy for every, parish in the land, but only for those which are capable of maintaining a church from their own resources. No doubt.. something could be done in the direction of uniting small benefices; where it is practicable. It is better to - have one clergyman ■ for two neighbouring parishes than two, half-starved ones. The main'remedy' 1 is, however/ the creation of a large fund. In wealthy England, where'; the wealthy classes are nearly.all, at least nominally, attached to the Church of England, it surely dugbi to be possible to do away with the scandal of a half-starved priesthood. - Considering also the , magnificent incomes enjoyed by many. of the Bishops and higher olergy it is surely possible that something might be done* in the direction of a redistribution of incomes, so that the large incomes might; be cut down somewhat for the benefit \ { of the small ones. We remember j 1 Sydney Smith's amusing in favour of an inequality of clerical incomes, so that there might be enough'^,. j prizes to attract oapable men., to the Church. But in these days too vatifiiy inequality will not do. It is worthy 1 ; lof note that though the Dissenting. Churches in Great Britain are supported by the lower middle classes, *<*: I who are not too well off, we do v nM.; 1 hear the same complaints of insiiffiKv cient payment for the discharge of -' i clerical duties among the Nonconfor*'. ! mist bodies.