Appointment of Church Estates Commissioners.

That it shall be lawful for ' Her Majesty, by Warrant under Her Royal Sign Manual, to appoint Two Lay Members of the United Church of England and Ireland to be Commissioners for the Purposes of this Act, by the Title of First and Second Church Estates Commissioners ; and it shall be lawful for Her Majesty upon every Vacancy in the Office of First or Second Church Estates Commissioner to appoint in like Manner some other Lay Member of the said Church to such Office ; and it shall be lawful for the Archbishop of Canterbury for the Time being to appoint, under his Hand and Archiepiscopal Seal, One Member of the said Church to be a Commissioner for the Purposes of this Act, by the Title of a Church Estates Commissioner, and upon every Vacancy in the Office of a Church Estates Commissioner so appointed to appoint in like Manner some other Member of the said Church to such Office ; and every Church Estates Commissioner appointed by Her Majesty shall hold his Office during Her Majesty's Pleasure ; and every such Commissioner appointed by the said Archbishop shall hold his Office during the Pleasure of the said Archbishop for the Time being ; and every Church Estates Commissioner shall, by virtue of such Appointment, and so long as he shall hold his Office of Church Estates Commissioner, be an Ecclesiastical Commissioner, and a Member of the Body Corporate of " The Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England," in addition to the other Members for the Time being of such Body Corporate : Provided always, that any of the Lay Ecclesiastical Commissioners for the Time being appointed by Name, and not by virtue of any Office, shall be capable of being appointed as aforesaid to the Office of Church Estates Commissioner, but any such Ecclesiastical Commissioner may after his Removal from or Resignation of the Office of Church Estates Commissioner continue to hold his Appointment as Ecclesiastical Commissioner so long as he shall well demean himself as such Ecclesiastical Commissioner (unless he expressly resign such last-mentioned Appointment).

IISalaries to First Church Estates Commissioner and Commissioner appointed by Archbishop.

And be it enacted, That there shall be paid to the First Church Estates Commissioner a Salary not exceeding the yearly Sum of One thousand two hundred Pounds, and to the Church Estates Commissioner appointed by the said Archbishop a Salary not exceeding the yearly Sum of One thousand Pounds, to be determined by the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury; and such Salaries shall be paid out of the Monies from Time to Time in the Hands of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England.

IIIFirst Church Estates Commissioner may sit in the House of Commons.

And be it enacted, That the First Church Estates Commissioner for the Time being shall be capable of being elected and of sitting and voting as a Member of the House of Commons.

IVChurch Estates Commissioners to sign Declaration.

And be it enacted, That every Church Estates Commissioner so appointed as aforesaid, before he proceed to do any Act by virtue of his Appointment, shall (unless at the Time of such Appointment he be an Ecclesiastical Commissioner, and have subscribed the Declaration herein-after mentioned,) subscribe the like Declaration as by the recited Acts is required to be subscribed by the other Lay Members of the said Corporation.

VTreasurer and Secretary not to be the same Person. First Church Estates Commissioner and Commissioner appointed by Archbishop to be joint Treasurers.

And be it enacted, That so much of the secondly-recited Act as relates to the Offices of Treasurer and Secretary to the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners shall be repealed; and the First Church Estates Commissioner and the Church Estates Commissioner appointed by the said Archbishop shall be joint Treasurers of the said Corporation, but shall not as such Treasurers be entitled to any Salary other than their respective Salaries as Church Estates Commissioners under this Act; and the Secretary of the said Corporation shall be appointed and liable to be removed as is provided by the first-recited Act; and all Provisions in any Act of Parliament, Assurance, or Instrument whatever concerning the Payment of Money to the Treasurer and Secretary for the Time being of the said Corporation, or for making the Receipts of such Treasurer and Secretary Discharges for Money, shall be applicable to the joint Treasurers for the Time being of the said Corporation, as if such joint Treasurers had been mentioned therein instead of such Treasurer and Secretary.

VIEstates held in trust for the Ecclesiastical Commissioners to be vested in the First Church Estates Commissioner for the Time being.

And be it enacted, That upon the Appointment of a First Church Estates Commissioner under this Act all Lands and Hereditaments of any Tenure which are now vested in Charles Knight Murfay Esquire, the late Secretary and Treasurer of the said Corporation, for any Estate or Interest whatever, in trust for the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners, and all Powers which are now vested in the said Charles Knight Murray under any Mortgage or other Security in trust for the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners, shall be vested in such First Church Estates Commissioner, by virtue of his Appointment, for the like Estate and Interest and in like Manner as the same are now vested in the said Charles Knight Murray ; and all Lands, Hereditaments, and Powers which from Time to Time by virtue of this Act, or under any Assurance or Security hereafter made, shall be vested in any First Church Estates Commissioner, in trust for the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners, and shall continue vested in such First Church Estates Commissioner at the Time of his ceasing to be such Commissioner, shall, immediately upon the Appointment of a First Church Estates Commissioner in his Place, be vested in such Commissioner, by virtue of his Appointment, for the like Estate and Interest and in like Manner as the same were vested in the immediately preceding First Church Estates Commissioner at the Time of his ceasing to be such Commissioner; provided, that where any Copyhold or Customaryhold Land, becomes vested in any First Church Estates Commissioner by virtue of this Act, such First Church Estates Commissioner shall in each such Case be admitted thereto in trust as aforesaid, and the like Fees, Fines, or Sums of Money shall be paid in respect of such Admittance as would have been payable in respect of the Admittance of an Heir.

VIIAs to Appointment of Estates Committee.

And be it enacted, That the Church Estates Commissioners for the Time being shall be a Committee of the said Corporation, to be styled " The Estates Committee," but the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners may within Six Weeks after the passing of this Act, and again in the Month of February in every Year, by an Instrument under their Common Seal, appoint Two Members of the said Corporation (of whom One at least shall be a Layman who shall have been appointed an Ecclesiastical Commissioner by Name, and not in right of any Office,) to be Members of such Estates Committee, in addition to the Church Estates Commissioners; and the Two Members so appointed from Time to Time shall cease to be Members of such Committee at the End of the Month of February next after their Appointment, or upon the Appointment of others in their Stead, which shall first happen, but every such Member of such Committee shall be capable of being re-appointed; and on any Vacancy occurring among such Two Members the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners may appoint to supply such Vacancy, until the next annual Appointment, any Commissioner who might have been originally appointed, but the said Estates Committee may act notwithstanding any Vacancy among or Non-appointment of such Two Members as aforesaid.

VIIIThe Estates Committee to manage all Property of the Commissioners.

And be it enacted, That it shall be the Duty of such Estates Committee, or any Three of them, of whom Two or more shall be Church Estates Commissioners, to consider all Matters in any way relating or incident to the Sale, Purchase, Exchange, Letting, or Management, by or on behalf of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England, of any Lands, Tithes, or Hereditaments, and to devise such Measures touching the same as shall appear to such Committee to be most expedient, and such Estates Committee, or any Three of them, of whom Two or more shall be Church Estates Commissioners, shall have full Power and Authority, subject to such General Rules as are herein-after mentioned, and as shall have been made by the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners, to do and execute any Act, including the affixing of the Common Seal to any Scheme or other Instrument, within the Power of the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners, in respect of the Sale, Purchase, Exchange, Letting, or Management of any Lands, Tithes, or Hereditaments:

Provided always, that no such Act shall be done or executed by the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners otherwise than by the said Estates Committee, nor by such Committee unless with the Concurrence of Two at least of the Church Estates Commissioners.

IXChairman of Estates Committee.

And be it enacted, That at all Meetings of the Estates Committee the First Church Estates Commissioner shall preside, or if he shall be absent the other Church Estates Commissioner appointed by Her Majesty, or the Church Estates Commissioner appointed by the Archbishop, shall be Chairman at alternate Meetings; and in case of an Equality of Votes the Chairman shall have a second or casting Vote.

XTwo Church Estates Commissioners to be present at Meetings of Ecclesiastical Commissioners.

And be it enacted, That no Act, Matter, or Thing shall be done or performed at any Meeting of the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners unless Two or more of the Church Estates Commissioners be present.

XIEcclesiatical Commissioners may make special References to Estates Committee or Commissioners.

And be it enacted, That the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners at any Time and from Time to Time may refer to the Consideration of the said Estates Committee any Matters in addition to the Matters which are to be considered by such Estates Committee under the Provision herein-before contained, for the Report of such Estates Committee thereon, or by an Instrument under their Common Seal may authorize the said Committee or the said Church Estates Commissioners, or any Two of such Commissioners, to do and complete any Act within the Powers of the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners, in addition to the Acts which the said Estates Committee are hereinbefore authorized to do and execute, except affixing the said Common Seal to any Scheme to which the said Estates Committee are not herein-before authorized to affix such Seal without reporting to or requiring further Instructions from the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners.

XIIEcclesiastical Commissioners may make General Rules for the Direction of the Estates Committee.

And be it enacted, That it shall be lawful for the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners from Time to Time to make General Rules for the Direction of the Estates Committee relative to the Matters and Acts to be considered, done, and executed by such Estates Committee, in which Rules the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners may not only establish General Regulations for the Transaction of the Business of such Committee, but may declare the general Principles which shall guide the Decision of such Committee, and the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners may from Time to Time revise and by other General Rules vary the same as the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners shall think fit; and all such General Rules shall be laid before both Houses of Parliament within Fourteen Days after the making thereof, if Parliament be sitting, and if Parliament be not sitting, then within Fourteen Days after the next Meeting of Parliament.

XIIISo much of 6 & 7 W.4 c.77 as provides who shall be Chairman repealed, and other Regulations made.

And be it enacted, That so much of the said first-recited Act as directs who shall preside at each Meeting of the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners as Chairman shall be repealed, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, if present at the Commencement of any Meeting, shall be Chairman, but if he be not present a Chairman shall be appointed at each Meeting of the said Commissioners; and if any Difference arise upon the Choice of a Chairman at any Meeting such Chairman shall be chosen by the Majority of Votes of the Commissioners present thereat, and in case there be an equal Number of Votes upon such Choice then the Commissioner proposed first in Rank and Precedence, and in case of the Equality in Rank and Precedence of the Commissioners proposed, then the senior in Order of Appointment of the Commissioners proposed shall preside as Chairman; and the Commissioner who takes the Chair at the Commencement of any Meeting may continue to preside during such Meeting.

XIVAs to the Audit of Accounts.

And be it enacted, That the Accounts of the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners shall be audited from Time to Time in such Manner and at such Times as shall be directed by the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury; and the said Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury may from Time to Time appoint any Person to be an Auditor of such Accounts, and may remove any such Auditor.

XVEpiscopal Fund to be transferred to the Common Fund.

And whereas the Fund accruing to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England under the said first-recited Act, and other Property and Revenues accruing to the said Commissioners from like Sources, have been carried to a separate Fund or Account designated as the "Episcopal Fund," and have been held applicable only to the Purposes of the said first-recited Act and other Episcopal Purposes; and it is expedient that the said Episcopal Fund and the Common Fund vested in the said Commissioners should form One Fund applicable to all the Purposes conducive to the Efficiency of the Established Church now separately provided for by the said Episcopal Fund and Common Fund respectively: Be it enacted, That from and after the passing of this Act the Fund accrued and accruing to the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners under the first-recited Act, and all other the Monies, Revenues, and Property carried to or deemed Part of the said Episcopal Fund, or which if this Act had not been passed might have been carried to or deemed Part of the said Episcopal Fund, or have been applicable to the Purposes thereof, shall be carried to and form Part of the Common Fund mentioned in the said secondly-recited Act, and be applicable to the Purposes of such Common Fund; and that all the several Payments and Provisions now payable out of or charged upon the said Episcopal Fund and Common Fund respectively, or out of or upon the Property applicable to the Purposes of the said respective Funds, or which if this Act had not been passed might have been payable out of or charged upon such Funds and Property respectively, shall and may be payable out of and charged upon the said Common Fund and the Property applicable, and under this Act and otherwise to become applicable, to the Purposes thereof: Provided always, that it shall be lawful for the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, if they shall think fit, at the Request of the Bishop, to provide for the spiritual Necessities of any Parish where the Tithes form Part of the Episcopal Revenue, in the same Manner as if those Tithes arose from a sinecure Rectory in the Possession of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners.

XVICertain Provisions of 5 & 6 Vict, c.26 as to Deficiency of Incomes of Bishops repealed.

And whereas by an Act passed in the Fifth Year of Her Majesty, intituled An Act to alter and amend the Law relating to Ecclesiastical Houses of Residence, it was enacted, that in case such a Deficiency should have been or would be created in the average annual Income of any Bishop appointed after the passing of the said first-recited Act, by the effecting of any Mortgage or other Arrangement under either of the Acts therein mentioned, or that Act, (being Mortgages and Arrangements for providing the Bishop with a Residence, or more convenient or suitable Residence,) as to reduce it below the average annual Income of such Bishop named in the said first-recited Act, or in any Order of Her Majesty in Council issued under the Provisions thereof, it should be lawful, by the Authority in the Act now in recital mentioned, out of any Monies from Time to Time standing to the Credit and Account of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England, being Part of Payments from the larger Sees respectively towards the Augmentation of the Incomes of the Bishops of the smaller Sees, if it should be deemed fit, and if such Monies, after duly considering all the Claims thereon, should appear to be sufficient for such Purpose, to make any Arrangement for supplying or preventing such Deficiency or any Part thereof which by the like Authority should be deemed expedient: Be it enacted, That the lastly herein-before recited Enactment shall be repealed, saving and without Prejudice to any Arrangement made or Matter done under such Enactment before the passing of this Act.

XVIIFixed Incomes maybe secured to Archbishops and Bishops appointed after 1st January 1848.

And whereas Her Majesty has issued a Commission to certain Persons therein named to inquire, amongst other things, whether any and what Improvement can be made in the existing Law and Practice relating to the Incomes of Archbishops and Bishops, so as to secure to them respectively fixed instead of fluctuating annual Incomes ; and it is expedient that until the said Commissioners shall have made their Report, and Parliament shall have determined upon some permanent Mode of effecting the Object last aforesaid, temporary Arrangements should be made for that Purpose : Be it enacted, That, notwithstanding the Provisions of the said first-recited Act, and any Order or Orders of Her Majesty in Council founded thereon, relating to or providing for the Payment to or by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England of fixed annual Sums, it shall be lawful, by the Authority and in the Manner by and in which the Arrangements for carrying into effect the Recommendations in the said Act recited may now be made, so to regulate from Time to Time the Amounts, Times, Modes, and Conditions of Payments to be made to or by the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners, as the Case may be, by or to any Archbishop or Bishop who shall have succeeded to a See upon any Avoidance thereof happening after the First Day of January One thousand eight hundred and forty-eight, or any other Archbishop or Bishop who may signify his Willingness to accept such annual Income as herein-after mentioned in lieu of his present Income, as to secure to every such Archbishop and Bishop the annual Income named for the Archbishop or Bishop of his See in the same or any other Act now in force, or in any Order of Her Majesty in Council duly made and published, and no more, and any Arrangements which may be made for effecting the Purpose last aforesaid shall remain in force until Parliament shall otherwise direct.

XVIIIAs to Endowments of Deans of Salisbury and Wells.

And whereas it was by the secondly-recited Act enacted, that so much and such Parts of the Lands, Tithes, and other Hereditaments annexed or belonging to or usually held and enjoyed with the respective Deanries of York, Chichester, Exeter, Hereford, Lichfield, Salisbury, and Wells respectively should, by the Authority therein provided, be, upon the Vacancies of the said respective Deanries, applied to make such Provision for the said Deans respectively as by the like Authority should be deemed just and proper, and by the thirdly-recited Act Power was given to carry such Purposes into effect byany other Mode of Payment, Contribution, Augmentation, or Endowment which might be deemed fit: And whereas the late Dean of Salisbury and the present Dean of Wells accepted their respective Deanries on the Faith of Arrangements proposed by the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners for making up the annual Income of each such Deanry to One thousand five hundred Pounds; but Doubts have arisen whether such Arrangements can be lawfully made: Be it enacted, That it shall be lawful, by the Authority and by any of the Modes in the said Acts provided, to provide for the present Dean of Wells as from his Acceptance of such Deanry, and so long as he shall continue to hold the same, an average yearly Income not exceeding One thousand five hundred Pounds, and to pay to the personal Representatives of the late Dean of Salisbury such Sum as with the Income received in respect of his Deanry may make up an annual Income of One thousand five hundred Pounds for the Period during which he held the same.

XIXDeans appointed after 10th of April 1850 not to hold any Benefice not situated within the City or Town, &c.

And be it enacted, That no Spiritual Person appointed to the Deanry of any Cathedral or Collegiate Church after the Tenth Day of April One thousand eight hundred and fifty shall accept, to take and hold therewith, any Benefice not situate within the City or Town of the Cathedral or Collegiate Church in which he shall hold such Deanry, and where any Spiritual Person so appointed after the said Tenth Day of April holds at the Time of his Admission to such Deanry any Benefice not situate within such City or Town, such Benefice, unless sooner avoided, shall become void on the Expiration of Six Calendar Months from the Time of his Admission to such Deanry: Provided always, that the Income of any Benefice which may be holden with any such Deanry shall in no Case exceed the Amount or Sum of Five hundred Pounds per Annum.

XXCommissioners may, by Authority of 3 & 4 Vict. c.113 and 4 & 5 Vict. c.39, commute for any Prebend annexed to a Dignity or Office.

And whereas the secondly and thirdly recited Acts contain Provisions under which all Lands, Tithes, Tenements, and other Hereditaments and Endowments (except any Right of Patronage) belonging to any Prebend not residentiary in any Cathedral or Collegiate Church in England become from Time to Time, as Vacancies occur in such Prebends, vested in the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England for the Purposes in the same Acts specified, and the same Acts contain Provisions for enabling the said Commissioners, with the Sanction of Her Majesty in Council, in manner by the same Acts specified, to make any Arrangements, with the Consent in Writing of the Holder of any such Prebend, for substituting in any Case any Money Payment for any such Lands, Tithes, Tenements, or Hereditaments, but every Prebend which is permanently annexed to any Bishoprick, Archdeaconry, Professorship, or Scholarship, or to any School or to the Mastership thereof, are exempted from the Operation of all the said Provisions : And whereas it is expedient that the last-mentioned of the said Provisions relating to the Substitution of a Money Payment for any Lands, Tithes, Tenements, or Hereditaments should be extended to the Prebends so exempted as aforesaid, with a view to enabling the said Commissioners to make the Tithes or other Property belonging thereto more conducive to the Spiritual Welfare of the several Parishes or Places dependent thereon or connected therewith: Be it therefore enacted, That it shall be lawful, by the Authority in the secondly and thirdly recited Acts provided, with the Consent in Writing of the Patron of the Dignity or Office to which the same is annexed, to make any Arrangement for vesting in the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England all or any of the Lands, Tithes, Tenements, and Hereditaments or other Endowments of the same Prebend, and to substitute for the same any just and reasonable Money Payment to such Holder, and all future perpetual annual Payments to his Successors in the same Dignity or Office as shall be deemed by the like Authority to be fit and proper,

and also, with the Consent in Writing under the Hand of such last-mentioned Patron, to make any Arrangement which shall be deemed fit as to the future Exercise of the Patronage of any Benefice with Cure of Souls now held by the Holder of such Prebend for the Time being as such Holder; but that no such Alterations shall take any Effect during the Time that the present Holder of such Prebend shall hold the same, except with the Consent in Writing thereto under the Hand of such present Holder.

XXICommuted Lands, &c. to be subject to similar Uses as Lands vested under former Acts.

And be it enacted, That all Lands, Tithes, Tenements, and other Hereditaments and Endowments which shall so become vested in the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners shall be by them held, possessed, and administered for the Purposes and under and according to the several Provisions of the same Acts as amended by this Act which apply to Lands, Tenements, and other Hereditaments and Endowments by and under the same Acts vested or liable to be vested in the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners.

XXIIBenefices annexed to Sees of Gloucester and Bristol, Oxford, and Peterborough to be severed from the Sees.

And whereas certain Benefices with Cure of Souls are annexed to or have long been accustomably held with the several Sees of Gloucester and Bristol, Oxford, and Peterborough; and it is expedient that such Benefices should be severed from the said Sees, and that the Endowments thereof should be applied as herein-after mentioned : Be it enacted, That so soon as conveniently may be the said several Benefices shall, by the Authority by the secondly and thirdly recited Acts provided, be detached and dissevered from the said Sees respectively, and the Tithes, Glebe, and other Endowments belonging to the said Benefices respectively shall, by the like Authority, by means of Division of United Parishes, Endowment of District Churches, or such other Arrangements as the Case may require, be distributed and appropriated in such Manner, within the Limits of the respective Parishes, as shall be deemed most conducive to the Spiritual Welfare of the Inhabitants thereof respectively; and that immediately from and after the Severance of each such Benefice the same shall, subject to such Distribution and Appropriation as aforesaid, be a Rectory or Vicarage, as the Case may be, with Cure of Souls, in the Patronage of the Bishop of the Diocese from which the same shall have been severed, and his Successors, but subject nevertheless to the Provisions of the first-recited Act relating to the Patronage of Bishops; and there shall be assigned, by such Authority as-aforesaid, to the Bishop in possession of each such Benefice at the Time of such its Severance from his See, an annual Sum, to be paid to him so long as he shall continue Bishop of the same See, out of the Funds in the Hands of the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners, not exceeding in Amount the average annual net Income theretofore accruing to such Bishop from such Benefice, after deducting all Charges thereupon and Outgoings therefrom, including for the Stipend or Stipends of any Curate or Curates employed by such Bishop the Rate of Stipend now by Law payable in the like Case to the Curate of nonresident Incumbents, or such greater Stipend or Stipends as shall have been actually paid by such Bishop: Provided always, that the Patronage of each such Benefice shall in the first instance be exercised in favour of the Curate (or of the Curate first licensed, if there be more than One Curate,) performing the Spiritual Duties of the Parish at the Time of the Severance, if he shall have performed such Duties for the Seven Years at the least last preceding such Severance.

XXIIIOwners of Impropriation Tithes may annex the same to the Parsonage or Vicarage.

And be it enacted, That the Owner or Proprietor of any Impropriation Tithes, Portion of Tithes, or Rent-charge in lieu of Tithes shall and may have Power to annex the same or any Part thereof unto the Parsonage, Vicarage, or Curacy of the Parish Church or Chapel where the same lie or arise, or to settle the same in trust, for the Benefit of such Parsonage, Vicarage, or Curacy, any Statute or Law whatsoever to the contrary thereof in anywise notwithstanding.

XXIVExtension of the Powers of 6 & 7 W.4 c.77 s.10 for abolishing peculiar or exempt Jurisdictions.

And be it declared and enacted, That the Arrangements with reference to peculiar or exempt Ecclesiastical Jurisdictions which the said Commissioners are under the Provisions of the said first-recited Act empowered and authorized to propose in any Scheme for carrying into effect any of the Recommendations therein recited, may be recommended and proposed in any Scheme or Schemes, whether relating to such Arrangements solely, or also to any other Matter and Thing contained in any or either of the said recited Acts or this Act.

XXVConstruction of 3 & 4 Vict. c.113 s.56 as to the Transfer of Estates of newly endowed Archdeaconries to Commissioners.

And be it declared and enacted, That in the Case of any Archdeaconry which shall no longer be held by the Archdeacon who was at the Time of the passing of the secondly-recited Act in possession thereof, the Provisions of the same Act which relate to the Transfer to the said Commissioners of the Estates of any Archdeaconry upon its Endowment in either of the Modes therein provided, and also to the disannexing from any such Archdeaconry of any Benefice with Cure of Souls, shall be construed and held to authorize such Transfer or such Disannexation, with the Consent of the Bishop of the Diocese, and of the Archdeacon in possession of the Archdeaconry at the Time, or if the Archdeaconry be then vacant, with the Consent of the Bishop only; and the Provisions of the same Act as amended by this Act for disannexing any Benefice from any Archdeaconry endowed as aforesaid, and concerning the Patronage of such Benefice, shall extend and be applicable for disannexing any Benefice from any Archdeaconry not so endowed, and to the Patronage of such Benefice.

XXVIAnnual Report to be made of all Proceedings of the Commission to One of Her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, and to be laid before Parliament.

And be it enacted, That the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners shall in each Year, on or before the First Day of March, make a Report, under the Corporate Seal of the said Commission, to One of Her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, of all the Proceedings of the said Commission for the Year preceding the First Day of November then last past, and shall annex to such Report Copies of the Schemes sanctioned and approved by the Queen in Council during such Year, and also an Abstract of the Accounts of the said Commission during such Year ; and within Fourteen Days after the Receipt thereof such Report shall be laid before both Houses of Parliament, if Parliament be then sitting, and if not, within Fourteen Days after the then next Meeting of Parliament.

XXVIIPowers of 7 & 8 Vict. c.94 s.9 relating to the Alteration of Boundaries of Districts, extended.

And be it declared and enacted, That the Powers and Authority relating to the Alteration of the Boundaries of Districts contained in an Act passed in the Session of Parliament held in the Seventh and Eighth Years of Her Majesty's Reign, intituled An Act to explain and amend an Act for making better Provision for the Spiritual Care of populous Parishes, may, as to any such District now existing, notwithstanding the Limitation in the same Act contained, be exercised at any Time within Five Years from the passing of this Act, and as to every such District hereafter to be constituted within Five Years from the Date of the Licence of the Minister first licensed thereto, and this notwithstanding that any such District may have become a new Parish by virtue of the Provisions of the Act under which such District was constituted.

XXVIIIPowers, &e. of former Acts extended to this Act.

And be it enacted, That all the Powers and Authorities vested in Her Majesty in Council and in the said Commissioners by the said secondly and thirdly recited Acts with reference to the Matters therein contained, and all other the Provisions of the same Acts relating to Schemes and Orders prepared, made, and issued for the Purposes thereof, shall, so far as the same are consistent with the Provisions of this Act, be continued and extended and apply to Her Majesty in Council and to the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners, and to all Schemes and Orders prepared, made, and issued by them respectively with reference to all Matters contained in this Act, as fully and effectually as if the said Powers, Authorities, and other Provisions were repeated in this Act.

XXIXAct may be amended, &c.

And be it enacted, That this Act may be amended or repealed by any Act to be passed in this Session of Parliament.