Tithe-rent Charge now in Possession of the Ecclesiastical Commission in Wales.
The Ecclesiastical Commissioners are in possession (1889) of—
| In Wales proper | £29,169 |
| In Monmouth | 4,505 |
| In Salop | 207 |
| Total amount commutation value in their possession in the four Welsh dioceses | £33,881 |
Of the £29,169, I shall give the gross amount of tithe-rent charge in each county, and also the amount still outstanding on beneficial leases.
| £ | s. | d. | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anglesey | 901 | 0 | 0 | in possession of E. C. | ||||||
| Brecon | 2,387 | 14 | 0 | ” | and | £603 | 6 | 8 | on lease, | St. David’s Diocese. |
| Cardigan | 1,117 | 1 | 0 | ” | 450 | 0 | 0 | ” | ” | |
| Carmarthen | 3,821 | 4 | 4 | ” | 1,123 | 6 | 0 | ” | ” | |
| Carnarvon | 777 | 11 | 8 | ” | ||||||
| Denbigh | 6,714 | 19 | 3 | ” | 581 | 6 | 8 | ” | St. Asaph’s | |
| Flint | 2,776 | 6 | 8 | ” | ||||||
| Glamorgan | 4,705 | 16 | 9 | ” | ||||||
| Merioneth | 611 | 17 | 9 | ” | ||||||
| Montgomery | 726 | 18 | 1 | ” | ||||||
| Pembroke | 2,286 | 3 | 10 | ” | 820 | 16 | 0 | ” | St. David’s | |
| Radnor | 2,342 | 12 | 3 | ” | 2,192 | 18 | 0 | ” | ” | |
| £29,169 | 5 | 8 | in poss. of E.C. | £5,772 | 13 | 4 | on lease in 1891. | |||
In this statement we get the actual amount which was outstanding on beneficial leases in 1891, viz., in St. David’s Diocese, £5,191 6s. 8d. on the prebendal tithes only; in St. Asaph’s, £581 6s. 8d.
The annual payments out of the Common Fund in 1889 to the Church in Wales were the following:—
| £ | |
|---|---|
| Bishops | 17,100 |
| Deans | 2,800 |
| Canons | 5,600 |
| Minor Canons | 1,270 |
| Domus and Fabric | 1,800 |
| Four archdeacons | 1,060 |
| St. David’s College, Lampeter | 1,500 |
| Interest on Capital Grants for Cathedral repairs | 893 |
| 32,023 | |
| To parochial incumbents | 35,611 |
| Total from the Common Fund | £67,634 |
The net annual income derived by the E. C. for 1888 from property in Wales was £28,796. Therefore £38,838 was a free grant out of the Common Fund to the Church in Wales in 1889, and the amount was much larger for 1890.
The value in 1889 of £29,169 commuted tithes in Wales, was £23,014, which was all that the Ecclesiastical Commissioners can be credited with.
By a parliamentary return, issued 30th June, 1890, the E. C. state that in 1885 they had £23,798 of depreciated value of the commuted tithes. The amount in possession of the E. C. varies from year to year on account of (1) depreciation of value; (2) the falling in of beneficial leases, and (3) annexations of all or part of this property to parishes to satisfy local claims when the leases expire.
The total gross revenues from tithes, glebes, Common Fund of E.C., Queen Anne’s Bounty, etc., of bishops, chapters and incumbents, in the four Welsh dioceses were in 1890 £325,226; curates, etc., £55,000 additional. Church population, including children, 350,000. Nonconformist population = 1,400,000.
| The Welsh parochial incumbents receive, gross, | £186,595 | tithe-rent charge. |
| The vicars choral, Domus and Fabric | 3,831 | |
| Ecclesiastical Commissioners | 43,301 | |
| Total | 233,727 | |
| Impropriators | 57,158 | |
| Colleges, schools, hospitals, etc. | 5,380 | |
| £296,265 |
So, in 1891, the net amount of the £233,727 which goes to the Church is £130,872. This net amount varies annually.
757 incumbents in the twelve Welsh counties and Monmouth receive £186,595 gross tithe-rent charges from these thirteen counties. Average for each, gross £245, and in 1891, net £150. This income is exclusively from tithes.
CHAPTER XX.
TITHE ACT, 1891.
[54 Vict. Ch. VIII.]