THE TITHE REVOLT

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 1, 2 January 1932, Page 18

THE TITHE REVOLT

Revolt against the tithe, that tenth part of an English farmer's crop that he must.pay by law into the coffers of the Church of England, is gaining ground, says the "San Francisco Chronicle."

Farmers, particularly tenant farmers who are hardest hit by tho old tithe laws, are organising to make enforced collections ineffective, and their movement has widespread support. The usual method is for farmers of a neighbourhood to gather at an auction of property sold to satisfy delinquent tithes, and bid ridiculously low prices. The delinquent then buys back at the price paid.

A typical instance occurred recently at Diss, East Anglia, where Philip Bailey, who had farmed Bed House Farm, on the estate of the Duke of Norfolk, for thirteen years, had a distraint order issued against him by the County Court for tithes amounting to more than £50.

To meet the warrant thirteen cattlo and a lot of thirty-two ewes were brought forward. Tho cattle, worth normally £.9 each, were knocked down to the farmers at two shillings each, or

£1 6s for the lot. The thirty-two ewes brought 3s, the entire sale thus realising about &1 9s.

Farmers gathered from all over the county to participate in the bidding. There was pandemonium until Mr. Bailey himself mounted the auctioneer's wagon, when he was greeted with rousing cheers.

He asked fair play for the auctioneer, adding:—

"If we behave like hooligans we shall not have public opinion on our side and get justice. In twelve years I have paid nearly £700 in tithes, and about £250 manorial rent to the Duke of Norfolk. But I am making the stand chiefly for farmers worse off than myself."

The tithe as a means of support for parishes in the Church of England has grown up through the centuries, although recently subject to annulment and modification in many cases. Fishermen must, also pay a tithe, although with the ruling several years ago that the tithe may be a payment iv kind—

that is, fish—it has been less acceptable than formerly. Parish rectors, curates, and clerks derive incomes from the tithe.