ment or nomination to fill up any vacancy occasioned by death or removal as aforesaid, and in such case the person so appointed or nominated shall hold the said office until the next annual election.

VI. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, that such churchwardens so to be elected and appointed as aforesaid, shall, during their term of office, be as a corporation to represent the interest of such church, and of the members thereof, and shall and may sue and be sued, answer and be answered unto, in all manner of suits and actions whatsoever, and may prosecute indictments, presentments, and other criminal proceedings, for and in respect of such churches and churchyards, and all matters and things appertaining thereto, and shall and may, in conjunction with the rector or incumbent, make and execute faculties or conveyances, or other proper assurances in the law, to all pew-holders holding their pews by purchase, or leases to those holding the same by lease, and shall and may grant certificates to those who shall have rented sittings; such conveyances, leases, and certificates, to be given within a reasonable time after demand made, and at the charge of the person applying for the same; and further, it shall be the duty of such churchwardens from time to time to sell, lease, and rent pews and sittings, upon such terms as may be settled and appointed at vestry meetings to be holden for that purpose, as hereinafter provided: provided always, that any such sale, lease, or renting, shall be subject to such rent-charge or other rent as may from time to time be rated and assessed in respect thereof, at such vestry meetings.

VII. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, that in case of the absolute purchase of any pew in any such church as aforesaid, the same shall be construed as a freehold of inheritance not subject to forfeiture by change of residence, or by discontinuing to frequent the same, and the same may be bargained, sold, and assigned to any purchaser thereof, being a member of the church of England, and such purchaser, provided the same be duly assigned and conveyed to him, shall hold the same with the same rights, and subject to the same duties and charges, as the original purchaser thereof.

VIII. And be it enacted, by the authority aforesaid, that any pew-holder, whether by purchase or lease, and any person renting a pew or sitting, shall and may, during their rightful possession of such pew or sitting, have a right of action against any person injuring the same, or disturbing him or his family in the possession thereof.

IX. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that such churchwardens so to be appointed as aforesaid, shall yearly and every year, within fourteen days after other churchwardens shall be nominated and appointed to succeed them, deliver into such succeeding churchwardens a just, true, and perfect account in writing (fairly entered in a book or books to be kept for that purpose, and signed by the said churchwardens) of all sums of money by them received, and of all sums rated or assessed, or otherwise due and not received, and also of all goods, chattels, and other property of such church or parish in their hands, as such churchwardens, and of all moneys paid by such churchwardens as accounting, and of all other things concerning their said office, and shall also pay and deliver over all sums of money, goods, chattels, and other things, which shall be in their hands, unto such succeeding churchwardens; which said account shall be verified by oath before one or more of her Majesty's justices of the peace, who are hereby authorized to administer the same; and the said book or books shall be carefully preserved by such churchwardens, and they shall and are hereby required to permit any member of such vestry as aforesaid to inspect the same at all reasonable times, paying one shilling for such inspection, and in case such churchwardens shall make default in yielding such account as aforesaid, or in delivering over such money, goods, or other things as aforesaid, it shall be in the power of the succeeding churchwardens to proceed against them at law for such default, or to file a bill in equity for discovery and relief; and in case of the re-appointment of

the same churchwardens, then such account as aforesaid, shall in like manner as is aforesaid, be made and rendered before an adjourned meeting of such vestry, fourteen days after such re-appointment.

X. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, that it shall be in the power of the incumbent of any such parsonage, rectory, or parish as aforesaid, or of the churchwardens thereof, to call a vestry meeting whenever he or they shall think proper so to do, and it shall be his and their duty so to do, upon application being made for that purpose in writing by six, at least, of the members of such vestry as aforesaid; and in case upon such written application being made as aforesaid, such incumbent and churchwardens shall refuse to call such meeting, then one week after such demand made, it shall be in the power of any six of such members of the vestry, to call the same by notice to be affixed on the outer church door (or church doors where more than one), at least one week previous to such intended meeting.

XI. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, that in all vestry meetings, the rector or incumbent of the church shall preside as chairman when present, and in his absence such person as the majority present at such meeting shall name; and the vestry clerk, when there is one and present, or in case there be no vestry clerk or he be absent, then such person as the chairman shall name, shall be secretary of such vestry meeting, and the proceedings of such vestry meeting shall be entered in a book to be kept for that purpose, and preserved in the custody of the churchwardens.

XII. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, that the rentcharge to be paid upon pews holden in freehold, and the rent to be paid for pews and sittings in pews leased or rented, shall be regulated from time to time at such vestry meetings as aforesaid: provided, nevertheless, that no alterations shall be made therein, except at vestry meetings called for such special purpose, and so expressed in the notice calling the same; and further, that the charges to be made in respect of such conveyances, leases, and certificates, shall in like manner be regulated at such vestry meetings as aforesaid. XIII. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, that the clerk of the church, the organist, the vestry clerk, the sexton, and other subordinate servants of the church shall be nominated and appointed by the church wardens for the time being, and that their salary and wages shall be brought into the general account, to be rendered as aforesaid by such churchwardens.

XIV. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, that the fees on marriages, baptisms, and other services of the church of the like nature, and the charges payable on breaking the ground in the cemeteries or churchyards, and in the said churches for burying the dead, shall be regulated by the ordinary, or in case of there being no ordinary, by the bishop of the diocese.

XV. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, that it shall be in the power of the members of such vestries, at such vestry meetings as aforesaid, to make by-laws for the regulation of their proceedings, and the management of the temporalities of the church or parish to which they belong, so as the same be not repugnant to this act, nor contrary to the canons of the said united church of England and Ireland.

XVI. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, that any deed or conveyance of land, or of personality, that may be made to any bishop of the said church, in the said province, and to his successors, for the endowment of his see, or for the general uses of the said church as such bishop may appoint, or otherwise, or for the use of any particular church then erected, or thereafter to be erected, or for the endowment of a parsonage, rectory, or living, or for other uses of purposes appurtenant to such church in general, or to any particular church or parish, to be named in such deed, and any such deed or conveyance, to any parson, or rector, or other incumbent, and his successors, for the endowment of such parsonage, rectory, or living, or for other uses or purposes appurtenant thereto, shall be valid and effectual to the uses and purposes in such deed or conveyance to be mentioned and set forth in the acts

of parliament commonly called the Statutes of Mortmain, or other acts, laws, or usages to the contrary thereof notwithstanding; provided always, that in order to the validity of such deeds and conveyances, the same shall be made and executed six months at the least before the death of the person conveying the same, and shall be registered not later than six months after his decease. XVII. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, that in the event of any person or persons, bodies politic or corporate, desiring to erect and found a church or churches, and to endow the same with a sufficiency for the maintenance of such church and of divine service therein, according to the rites of the said church of England and Ireland, it shall and may be lawful for him or them to do so, upon procuring the licence of the bishop under his hand and seal for that purpose, and thereupon, after the erection of a suitable church, and the appropriation by the founder thereof of such church so erected, and of lands and hereditaments, or other property adequate to the maintenance thereof, and of an incumbent, and adequate to the usual and ordinary charges attendant upon such church, such provision being made to the satisfaction of the bishop, such founder his heirs and assigns being members of the said church of England, or such body politic or corporate, as the case may be, shall have the right of presentation to such church, as an advowson in fee presentative, according the rules and canons of the said united church of England and Ireland.

XVIII. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, that nothing in this act contained shall extend, or be construed to extend, in any manner to confer any spiritual jurisdiction or ecclesiastical rights whatsoever upon any bishop or bishops, or other ecclesiastical person of the said church, in the said province of Upper Canada.

AN ACT FOR BETTER ENABLING INCUMBENTS OF ECCLESIASTICAL
BENEFICES TO DEMISE THE LANDS BELONGING TO THEIR BENE-
FICES ON FARMING LEASES.

ANNO QUINTO VICTORLE REGINE. SESS. 2.-CAP. XXVII.
[18th June, 1842.]

Incumbents of Benefices empowered, with Consent of Bishop and Patron, to lease Lands belonging to their Benefices for Fourteen Years, under certain Restrictions.-Saving for Covenants respecting Cultivation, Improvements, &c.-In certain Cases Leases may be granted for Twenty Years.

WHEREAS it would be advantageous to ecclesiastical benefices if the incumbents thereof were empowered, with such consent and under such restrictions as are hereinafter expressed, to demise the lands of or belonging to the same for a term of years certain, for farming purposes: May it therefore please Your Majesty that it may be enacted; and be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, That it shall be lawful for the incumbent for the time being of any benefice, from time to time after the passing of this Act, by deed under his hand and seal, with the consent of the patron of such benefice, and of the bishop of the diocese wherein the same is locally situated, and where the lands proposed or intended to be leased are of copyhold or customary tenure with the consent also of the lord for the time being of the manor of which the same are holden, in any case where the lease proposed to be granted could not according to the custom of the manor be effectually made without the licence of the lord, such respective consents to be testified by the

persons whose consents are hereby required respectively being parties to and signing and sealing such deeds before the execution thereof by such incumbent, to lease any part of the glebe lands or other lands of or belonging to such benefice, either with or without any farmhouses, cottages, barns, or other agricultural buildings or conveniences, parcel of or belonging to such benefice, to any person whomsoever, for any term of years not exceeding fourteen years, to take effect in possession, and not in reversion or by way of future interest, so that there be reserved on every such lease, payable to the incumbent for the time being of such benefice quarterly in every year, during the continuance of the term thereby granted, the best and most improved yearly rent that can be reasonably gotten for the same, without taking any fine, foregift, premium, or other consideration for granting such lease, and so that no such lessee be made dispunishable for waste by any clause or words to be contained in such lease, and so that the lessee do thereby covenant with the incumbent granting such lease, and his successors, for due payment of the rent thereby to be reserved, and of all taxes, charges, rates, assessments, and impositions whatsoever which shall be payable in respect of the premises thereby leased, and do further covenant with such incumbent and his successors, that he will not assign or underlet the hereditaments comprised in such lease, or any part thereof, for all or any part of the term thereby granted, without the consent of the bishop of the diocese for the time being and the patron and incumbent for the time being of the said benefice, to be testified by their respectively being parties to and sealing and delivering the deed or instrument by which any assignment or underlease of the same premises, or any part thereof, may be effected; and that he will in all respects cultivate and manage the lands and hereditaments thereby leased according to the most improved system of husbandry in that part of the country where such lands and hereditaments are locally situated, so far as such system may not be inconsistent with any express stipulation to be contained in such lease; and that he will keep, and at the end of the term leave, all the lands comprised in such lease, together with the gates, drains, and fences of every description, and other fixtures and things thereupon or belonging thereto, in good and substantial repair and condition; and that he will at all times during the continuance of the term keep the buildings comprised in such lease, or to be erected during the term upon the lands thereby demised, or on any part thereof, insured against damage by fire, in the joint names of the lessee, his executors or administrators, and of the incumbent of the benefice for the time being, in three-fourths at the least of the value thereof; and that he will lay out the money to be received by virtue of any such insurance, and all such other sums of money as shall be necessary, in substantially rebuilding, repairing, and reinstating, under the direction of a surveyor to be for that purpose appointed by the incumbent of such benefice for the time being and such lessee, by some writing under their respective hands, such messuages or buildings as shall be destroyed or damaged by fire; and so that there be inserted in every such lease a reservation for the use of such incumbent and his successors of all timber trees and trees likely to become timber, and of all saplings and underwoods, and of all mines and minerals, except as is hereinafter provided; and also a power of re-entry, in case the rent thereby to be reserved shall be unpaid for the space of twenty-one days next after the same shall become due, or in case the lessee shall be convicted of felony, or shall become a bankrupt, or shall take the benefit of any act or acts of Parliament now in force or hereafter to be passed for the relief of insolvent debtors, or shall compound his debts, or assign over his estate and effects for payment thereof, or in case any execution shall issue against him or his effects, or in case such lessee shall not from time to time duly observe and perform all the covenants and agreements on his part in such lease to be contained; and so that the lessee in each such lease do execute the same or a counterpart thereof: Provided always, that any stipulation, covenant, condition, or agreeVOL. XXII.-July, 1842.

G

ment in any such lease to be contained, on the part of the lessee, for the adoption and use of any particular mode or system of cultivation, or for the drainage or subdividing, or embanking or warping (in those places where the system of improvement of land called warping is or may be practised), of all or any of the lands comprised in such lease, or for the erection of any new or additional farmhouses, bards, or outhouses, or other farm buildings, which the condition or local situation of the lands to be comprised in such lease may require or render expedient, or for putting in repair any houses, edifices, or buildings to be comprised in any such lease, or for making any substantial improvements on the premises, or for the reservation or payment of any additional rent or rents, or penalty on breach of any of the covenants or agreements contained in any such lease, shall not be deemed or construed to be a fine, foregift, premium, or consideration for the granting of such lease within the meaning of this act: Provided also, that nothing herein contained shall be construed to preclude the lessor in any such lease from covenanting that the lessee shall be entitled to have or take from off the demised premises brick, earth, stone, lime, or other materials for the erection or repair of any buildings, or for the construction or repair of drains, or for any other necessary improvements, and sufficient rough timber, to be assigned by the incumbent for the time being, or his agent duly authorized, for any of the purposes aforesaid, and for the making or repair of gates and fences: Provided also, that the custom of the country as to outgoing tenants shall apply to each lease to be granted under this act, except so far as the lease shall contain any express stipulation to the contrary: Provided also, that the term to be granted by any such lease as aforesaid may be twenty years in any case where the lessee shall covenant thereby to adopt and use any mode or system of cultivation more expensive than the usual course, or to drain or subdivide, or embank and warp, at his expense, any part of the demised premises, or to erect, at his own expense, on the said premises, any buildings, or to repair in a more extensive manner and at a greater expense than is usually required of lessees of farms any buildings on the demised premises, or in any other manner to improve, at his expense, the demised premises or any part thereof.

Parsonage House and Offices and Ten Acres of Glebe situate most conveniently for Occupation not to be leased, &c.-Proviso.

2. And be it enacted, That the authority given by this act shall not render valid any lease to be granted in the manner hereinbefore mentioned, unless the parsonage house or other the house of residence of or belonging to the benefice, and all offices, outbuildings, yards, gardens, orchards, and plantations to such parsonage house or other house of residence adjoining and appurtenant, and which may be necessary or convenient for actual occupation with such parsonage house or other house of residence, and also so much glebe land or other land of or belonging to the benefice, and situated the most conveniently for actual occupation by the incumbent, as, together with the site of such parsonage house or other house of residence, offices, and outbuildings, and with such yards, gardens, orchards, and plantations as aforesaid, shall amount to ten acres at least, if there shall be ten or more acres of such land situated within five miles from the parsonage or other the house of residence, or if there shall be less than ten acres so situated then the whole of such land shall be reserved out of or not be comprised in such lease, and not be comprised in any subsisting lease for the time being which shall have been previously granted under the authority of this act: Provided always, that in any case where the lands comprised in any lease granted under the authority of this act shall be situate five miles or upwards from the parsonage house or other the house of residence, or (in case there shall be no parsonage house or other house of residence) from the church or chapel of the benefice to which such lands shall belong, the provision herein contained for