A utilitarian age requires the fatness
of the ecclesiastical land, in order that it may be divided out into
small portions of provender, on which necessary working clergymen may
live,--into portions so infinitesimally small that working clergymen
can hardly live. And the full-blown rectors and vicars, with
full-blown tithes--with tithes when too full-blown for strict
utilitarian principles--will necessarily follow. Stanhope and
Doddington must bow their heads, with such compensation for temporal
rights as may be extracted,--but probably without such compensation
as may be desired. In other trades, professions, and lines of life,
men are paid according to their work. Let it be so in the Church.
Such will sooner or later be the edict of a utilitarian, reforming,
matter-of-fact House of Parliament.
I have a scheme of my own on the subject, which I will not introduce
here, seeing that neither men nor women would read it. And with
reference to this matter, I will only here further explain that all
these words have been brought about by the fact, necessary to be here
stated, that Mi. Crawley only received one hundred and thirty pounds
a year for performing the whole parochial duty of the parish of
Hogglestock. And Hogglestock is a large parish.
Pages:
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264