twinnes in this yet as the state of things now standeth the case in hand is lesse doubtfull in these Canons then in the Successors of the Monkes and the Bishops power in this kind is if not greater yet more apparant ouer them then ouer the other Because there is no Act of Parlament pretended to defend them from his Iurisdiction no Surrender no Title of the King no imaginary alteration of their qualitie and nature but they continue the same they were from the beginning The law then requireth that euery such Dignitarie should haue a perpetuall Vicar instituted by the Bishop to serue in the Church vnited or annexed to his dignitie For so saith the Decretall of Innocent the third In ipsâ Ecclesiâ parochiali idoneum perpetuum habâ—at vicarium canonicè institutum qui congruentem habeat de prouentibus ipsius Ecclesiae portionem And hitherto the Case of these men is all one with the Case of the Monkes but there followeth a Clause which maketh the Case harder with them then with the Monkes Alioquin illa se sciat authoritate huius Decreti priuatum liberè alij conferenda By occasion of which wordes the Canonists fall into a fell contention among themselues Whether in default of presenting a Vicar for Institution the Prebendarie be ipso iure depriued and the Parsonage ipso facto made void Or whether the Parsonage onely bee voidable and he to be depriued by the sentence of his Superiour And the more common receiued opinion is That it is ipso facto voide but one of the two is certaine and which soeuer it be the case of the Prebendarie is harder then of the Monke for out of the Monkes Benefice the Bishop can onely take a sufficient maintenance for the Vicar and must leaue the rest to the Monke but to the Canon or Prebendarie he leaueth nothing at all If there bee any thing left aboue the Vicars maintenance the Bishop bestoweth it in other vses and that not onely pro illa vice but also so often as the Parsonage shall fal voide during the Prebendaries life to the ende hee may neuer reape profit thereof after neglect once committed in this kinde Againe other Patrons haue sixe moneths leisure to present but if the Prebendarie or Canon shal not present so soone as with opportunitie he may the Ordinarie taketh his aduantage and presenteth as in case of lapse If afterwards the Canon shall come and alledge an impediment the proofe shall also lie vpon himselfe wherein if he faile he shall neuer be relieued Poena enim eo ipso committitur quod facultatem habuit Vicarium instituendi non instituit which yet is to be vnderstood if the neglect be apparant and notorious Otherwise it is fit hee should be summoned to shew cause why not and if hee appeare not the Bishop may informe himselfe summarily and so proceede For it beseemeth not a reuerend ouerseer of the Church to do any thing but with good aduice deliberation but aboue all things he must take heede that hee seeme not to lie at catch for an aduantage against his inferiour fellow Minister The reasons giuen of the rigour of the Law in this point are First because hee deserueth no fauour which may be discharged by another and yet is negligent in that also And secondly because Diuine worship is herein tendred for Immunitas Clericis concessa propter diuinuÌ„ cultum eo ipso definit quod cultui diuino non incendunt But the question may be made What if the Prebend should present a Vicar in due time but yet shall not make him such allowance as the Law requireth Whether in this case the Bishop may proceede to priuation as in the former or onely proceede by Ecclesiasticall censure as in the case of the Monkes For mine owne part I would not at all be an Author nor willingly a follower of rigorous opinions in the Law But the wordes are these Idoneum perpetuum habeat Vicarium canonicè institutum qui vt praedictum est congruentem habeat de prouentibus Ecclesiae portionem alioquin illa se sciat auctoritate huius Decreti priuatum which clause as Panormitan affirmeth is referred ad omne id quod est supradictum therefore must of necessity touch that which stands next vnto it Peraduenture some man may thinke that a Vicar is not necessarie vpon a Benefice annexed to a dignitie if the Dignitarie himselfe will reside vpon it But wee must remember that from the beginning they were not ordeined but for the cause aboue mentioned namely to reside alwayes in the greater Cities for the better instruction of the people and daily assistance of the Bishops in the gouernment of the Church and therefore in law and reason ought to reside vpon the Prebend in the Citie and not vpon the Benefice in the countrey And this is the resolution of Panormitan vpon this Question My studie is not at this time to put all the Cases and to dispute all the Questions which are made and mooued by the Expositors of the Canon Law anent this matter onely I would shew That the Bishop hath as great a right and as absolute a power ouer the Cathedrall Churches as he hath ouer the successors of the Monkes and that therefore hee may and must see that their Churches be furnished with Perpetuall Vicars and the Vicars competently and sufficiently prouided for by these as well as by the other A point of law not to be neglected in this Kingdom of Ireland where there are many Prebendaries which haue no perpetuall Vicars at all vpon their annexed Benefices and more which make their Curats so small allowance as the Monkes were they liuing could not in conscience make them lesse I can answere for some of them that they cannot make them much better reserue any thing for themselues But in this case the Law is cleere Quod primo subueniendum est seruitio Ecclesiae secundò indulgendum necessitatibus Canonicorum Tolerabilius enim est saith Bowichius vt Canonicus egeat qui habet Curam annexam quà m Vicarius qui illam exercet To conclude therfore if the question be made à quo haec congrua portio peti possit wee may answere as Petrus Rebuffus doth i. Tam à Patrono exempto quam non exempto Ecclesiastico vel religioso vel seculari siue sint Monachi siue Canonici sic etiam à Capitulo generaliter ab ijs qui Ecclesiae prouentus recipiunt For all haue robbed and all must make restitution The Vicar or daily Minister of the Church must haue sufficient allowance out of the Tithes of his owne Parish or els God our Father is dishonoured and our mother the Church wronged As for those allowances which are now made as good none at al as they For the mischiefe which cometh of these small Vicarages and Curateships is still the same namely the vnlearnednesse of the Ministerie for as Panormitane well obserueth Ad tenuitatem
him which Fincheden there granteth to be true in case the Vicars estate become weake and feeble And we desire no more And in this case although the Parson or Proprietarie be saide to be interessed yet is all the power and right of assigning the Endowment in the Bishops hand For as Belknapp there saith The Ordinarie shall endow and the Parson shall doe nothing but consent because the thing it selfe is meerely spirituall In which case if the Parson will not consent yet the Bishop goeth on without him And if perchance he shall exceede in his taxe the Proprietarie is left to his Appeale ab excessiua taxatione by the course of the Canon Law as Rebuffus saith But other remedie he hath none no not at the Common Law as Belknapp there affirmeth And it is further to bee remembred that this power of assigning the Vicars portion euen out of the lands and principall possessions of the Abbat as Parson of the place was euer helde so proper to the Bishop that he might doe it sans Congé sans licence du Roy i. without the leaue or licence of the King as is there affirmed And therefore shall not now need a new Acte of Parliament for his warrant but onely the hand of iustice for his assistance in the execution of his right It should seeme that about the times of Edw. the 3. Rich. the 2. and Hen. the 4. which was an age of horrible confusion by reason of those bloudie warres wherein the Crowne of England was then entangled both at home and abroad the greater fish of the Clergie went about to eat vp the lesser My reason is because in those dayes there were so many solemne lawes made to maintaine the one in his right and to represse the iniury of the other For ill customes commonly giue occasion to make good lawes In the time of Edward the 3. as hath been formerly said there was a Statute made to enable the Vicar to bring his Action against the Abbat who detained the Glebe or other duties from him In the time of Richard the 2. anno 15. a Statute was Stat. â—â—n 15. Richar. 2. made That in euery Licence from thenceforth to be made out of Chancerie of the Appropriations of any Parish Church it should expressely be contained and comprised That the Diocesan of the place vpon the Appropriation of such Churches should ordaine according to the valuation of such Churches a conuenient summe of money to be payd and distributed yeerely out of the Fruits and profits of the same Churches by those which haue them in proper vse and by their successors to the poore Parochians of the said Churches in aide of their sustenance and liuing for euer And also that the Vicar should be well and sufficiently endowed cap. 6. Also by a Statute of 4. Hen. 4. 4. Hen. 4. It was ordained that the Statute of 15. Rich. 2 should be kept and put in execution And that Appropriations made since that Statute contrary thereunto should be reformed by a certaine time or else be void And that from thenceforth in euery Church so appropriaâ—ed a Secular person should be ordained a Vicar perpetuall canonically instâ—tuted and inducted in the same and conuenably endowed by the discretion of the Ordinarie to doe diuine Seruice and to informe the people and to keep hospitalitie there with other conditions and limitations there expressed Here we see first That although the Parliament was carefull to haue the Vicar prouided for yet it left the disposition of these things vnto the Bishop of the Diocesse Secondly in case the Bishop was defectiue in his first Assignation of the Vicars portion hee was enioyned to reforme it and make it better by a time prefixed otherwise his acte of Appropriation to be void That the measure of the Endowment was to be conuenably sufficiently and well endowed That there was no other Rule of this measure but the discretion of the Bishop for the vses mentioned in the Law That this Vicar must be secular perpetuall canonically instituted and inducted all suitable to that which hath beene formerly declared out of the Canon Law The fruit of all which Statutes is That throughout the Church of England a man shall scarce finde an Impropriation without a Vicarage or a Vicar without a reasonable good allowance And lastly we finde That besides this reasonable and sufficient allowance due vnto the Vicar the Statute most wisely and charitably prouideth that the Ordinarie shall ordaine a conuenient proportion of money to be distributed yeerely among the poore of the Parish meaning as it seemeth that euery bird taking his owne feather and euery man his due the Abbat should be reduced to that small pension which was onely due vnto him at the beginning by the law of Impropriations THus haue I as plainly as I could and as briefly as the matter would permit shewed That out of euery Benefice appropriate there was euer a competent portion certaine or vncertaine by the Canon law due and by the practise of all times and places especially of England and Ireland reserued to the Vicar for his daily seruice in the Church Also that the Bishop in his owne Diocesse hath authoritie to require the Proprietarie to make this allowance before hee admit of his Presentee or vpon his refusall or delay to present in his owne right as in other cases of Lapse and Deuolution and out of the whole profits to make a competent and sufficient allowance for the Vicar and to compell the Proprietary to performance thereof by excommunication And lastly that both the right of the Vicar and the power of the Bishop in these cases haue euer been warranted by the Lawes and Statutes of the Kingdome If then this was law heretofore it is law still vnlesse it be either expressely reuoked or tacitely disanulled since the time of the dissolution And this is the point which commeth next to be discussed And truely for mine owne part I must confesse that I could neuer yet learne of any Statute made since the dissolution in either Kingdome which either tacitely or expressely doth wholly abrogate or in part derogate from the Canon lawes and the laudable Customes and ancient Statutes of these Kingdomes in this point And pitie were it That the Lawes of the Kingdome hauing left vnto the Church especially to this of Ireland this onely boord whereby to saue it selfe from the miserable wrecke which it suffered by the ouerflowing Deluge and Inundation of Vnions and Impropriations in time of Poperie the Parliament should be thought guiltie of so great a sinne as to robbe her of this poore meanes to saue her selfe withall Rather it might be hoped that being put in mind thereof and if neede should so require they would more plainely expound their meaning and in such sort as might best stand with the glory of GOD the good of the holy Church the honour of so high a Court and with the wisedome of euery particular member thereof But
clause were expressed in fauour of him yet the Law of a Commendam will giue the Commendatarie no more then the remainder of the fruits after the Vicars allowance made and other necessary charges borne and duties paied whereof he maketh bold to put the Bishops and Cardinals in mind and ioyning these Commendataries with Proprietaries saith that neither of them both Potest immutare statum Ecclesiae vnde debent facere deseruire per Clericos seu numerum Clericorum consuetum hospitalitatem ibi more solito seruare Againe the Bishop or other Visitor is so rooted in Law for the receiuing of his procurations due for visitation that no custome no Grant of Predecessor nor ought else but a priuiledge from the Pope which was a Transcendent aboue all right and reason could take it from him yet in case that by any occasion the profits of the Benefice come to bee diminished the Bishop must either in part or in whole forgoe them and take as the Church is able to spare them Et pro modo facultatum Ecclesiae as Ludouicus Ludouic Româ—… Consil 369. Romanus saith And Hostiensis affirmeth that in this case the visitor must beare his owne charges Est enim saith he de mente verbis iuris quod Ecclesia vltra posse non grauetur as Panormitan alleadgeth him And albeit they both spake in case where more Visitors fall vpon the Diocesse in the same yeere and all looke for Procurations yet Petrus Anchoranus saith that it is the same Si vel vnus procurandus fuerit Ideò enim saith the same Author bona dignitatis suae Episcopo sunt attributa Moreouer a Patron which foundeth and endoweth a Church may reserue vnto himselfe a yeerely Pension C. â— extra de â—ensibus to bee payd out of the same Endowment Notwithstanding if by any accident the other reuenues of the Rebuff de paâ—â—â— â—â—ssess nu â—28 Church fall out to be so short that they cannot conueniently and competently maintaine the Incumbent the Patron must in this case forbeare his right not as if it were now taken from him but as if it had bin tacita conditio and so to be vnderstood from the beginning And therefore Panormitan saith That that power of reseruing a pension vpon the Endowment of a Benefice must be vnderstood Quando fructus sunt abundantes sufficientes Clerico The like is to bee said If a Bishop should reserue a pension out of a fatte Vid. Rebuff Tracta de pacif possesso nu 134. nu 141 wealthie Benefice to the vse of a Student or other Clerke a custome much vsed heretofore in England but taken away afterwards by Act of Parliament For if either by errour at the first the pension was so great or afterwards the remainder grew to be so little that the Incumbent was not able to maintaine himselfe of that which did remaine the Ludouic Roâ—â—â— consil 369. pension was either to bee abated or taken cleane away to the end the Incumbent might be still prouided for And lastly to instance in a case or two concerning these very Monkes of whom wee speake The Pope was wont heretofore to grant large Priuiledges to Monkes and Monasteries concerning non-paiment of Tithes so long as they benefited themselues without enormous hurt vnto the Churches it was tolerated But if they either begged or bought the whole or greatest part of the Parish and so their priuiledge De non decimando grew ouer hurtfull to the Parson the Monkes were forced to growe of themselues to a new composition with the Incumbent and to disclaime the rigour of their Priuiledge Reuocatur enim priuilegium fi ex Extra de priuileg post facto incipit enormiter esse nociuum saith the Law Neither were the Popes lesse prodigall in granting them priuiledges De percipiendis Decimis whereby they were authorised to receiue the Tithes of Parishes vnto themselues without any appropriation or vnion of the Churches yet in this case also Alexander the fourth published a Decree of all such priuiledges in this manner Vbi autem per huiusmodi C. Statuto de decimâ—… in sexto Concessiones decimarum parochiales Ecclesias adeò grauari contingit quod earum Rectores de ipsarum Reditibus congruè sustentari commode iura Episcopalia exhibere non possint prouideatur per Locorum Ordinarios ordinetur taliter quod ijsdem Rectoribus tantum de illarum relinquatur prouentibus quod exinde competentem sustentationem habeant Episcopalia iur a soluere valeant aliaque onera debitè supportare If then the Law be so carefull of the Curate and actuall Incumbent or dayly Minister of the Church as to reuoke Priuiledges to take away Pensions to debarre the Patron of his right and to lessen the profits of Commendataries rather then hee shall want much more then may it be thought that it will not suffer the Monke who was neuer compared to better then a Drone by vertue of an Appropriation to eat vp the sweet of the Bee that is the necessary maintenance of the labouring Priest and Minister of the Gospell And if the reuerend Bishops which are de iure diuino suffer their owne hands to bee tied in receiuing their dueties from the Curate where it cannot well be spared much more ought the Monke who was neuer a man of Gods making but a meere creature of the Pope who also may vnmake them all againe at his pleasure as Felinus saith bee forced to make him a more liberall allowance out of that which of right wholy beloÌ„geth to him for his dayly seruice in the Church For in this and all other cases of this sort where the profits of the Curate are impaired and diuerted anothâ—r way the Rule prescribed in the 9. Councill of Toledo is to bee obserued namely Vt Conâ—il Tolet 9. c. 5. 2. q 2 c. Bona Reâ— consultum haec temperamenti aequitas obseruetur quod cui tribuit competens subsidium conferat cui toâ—…ic grauia damna non infligat Neither shall it bee amisse by the way to let the world know what this Councill in those dayes thought to bee Competens subsidium i. a competent reliefe vnto the poore Monkes and what to be graue damnum vnto the Churches The words of the Councel are these Quisquis Episcoporum in parochiâ suâ Monasterium D. C. 5. Concil tolet construere forte voluerit hoc ex rebus Ecclesiae cui praefidet ditare decreuerit non amplius quam quinquage simam partem dare debebit vt haec temperamenti c. vt supra In those daies a pension of the fiftieth part vnto the Monkes was thought a burthen heauy enough to bee laid vpon the Churches whereas now adaies and since those appropriations came vp scantly is the fifteenth part left for the Ministers of the Churches so farre are wee gone from the temper by them prescribed which temper had it beene obserued heretofore in this Realme
of Ireland neither should there haue beene so many Abbeis here erected with the ruine of the Churches nor should the Monks haue spent that in luxurie which should haue serued for the necessity of the Preacher But euery Church should haue beene prouided if not of a rich yet of a conuenient maintenance and consequently if not of an excellent yet of a reasonably learned Minister And to go forward with the course of the Ecclesiasticall Law in this point as it was in force at the time of the dissolution and to shew how carefull the Popes and Prelates of those daies were to mend a fault which themselues had made and to daube vp that gaping and irreparable breach which they had made vpon the Church in appropriating her liuing and reuenues to the Monkes by prouiding a perpetuall competencie for the Vicar It is further to be noted that if this allowance were once made and yet afterwards came to bee impaired and lesse then enough it was still made good againe vnto him out of the Appropriation As for example If the Vicars part consisted in a certaine kind as in haie and the owner should afterwards conuert the ground to tillage If it were to arise out of certaine mens lands and they should afterwards plead and prooue a priuiledge de non decimando If by warre or any other occasion it came to bee extinct For in all these cases the Vicar is to sue to the Ordinarie for a new allowance and he is to make it out of the remainder of the fruits in the Abbats hand so saith Felinus Bonis deperditis De offic Vicar Vicario assignatis Index ei de aliis prouidere debet And Rebuffus Si portio fuit destructa extincta bello vel alio casu De congr port adhuc fructus sufficientes remanent apud Rectorem vel Patronum eo casu adhuc iterum perenda est congrua portio instar illius qui legitimam consumpsit vt de filio prodigo est in Euangâ—lio Whence it is also that Panormitan Felinus and other Canonists deliuer this for a ruled case in law That if any shall implead the Vicar for any part of his portion the Proprietary or Rector may also come in for his interest by way of assistance vnto the Vicar Ratione Felinus ad C. G. Viâ—arius extra de fide Instrument praeiudicij quod sibi ex contrario euentu litis possit irrogari cum perditis bonis Vicarii oporteret prouideri de aliis bonis Ecclesiae And I shewed before that our Bishops in England and Ireland were wont to reserue vnto themselues a power of encreasing or altering the Vicars portion at their owne discretion Neither was it materiall whether this competencie beeing prouided for the Vicar there were ought or nought remaining to the Proprietary or Monke for if the whole tithes would serue but for the Vicar the Monke was to goe without for from the beginning the tithes belonged to the Church whose immediate Pastor the Vicar is neither were they giuen but for the daylie office in the Church which office the Vicar doth and if nothing bee left vnto the Proprietary yet are his wages answerable to his paines And as one saith Vicarius agit de damno vitando Monasterium verò de lucro captando ideò praefertur Ecclesia vicarij monasterio And reason good for the Vicaris the labouring oxe which treadeth out the corne whose mouth must not be musled as saith the law of God And for the further cleering of this whole point it is to be obserued that whatsoeuer hath hitherto beene spoken concerning the Vicar it is to be vnderstood not of a TeÌ„porarie but of a perpetuall Vicar which is a person founded in law without a new Act of Parliament and is in the Canon Law and by the Canonists called Parochialis Presbyter Parochialis Ecclesiae Sacerdos Rector Ecclesiae Perpetuus Ecclesiae Presbyter vel vicarius not to be appointed by the Abbat and licenced by the Bishop to say seruice but to be presented by the Patron what euer he be and to receiue Canonicall Institution at the hands of the Ordinarie of the place And as the Bishop is not onely authorised but also commanded and sub obtestatione diuini Iudicij by the Law required not to admit of a Presentee vnlesse the Presentor shall first assigne and lay foorth a legall portion of the profits for his maintenance and may ex officio proceed so often as the cause shall so require So also hath the Vicar his action to implead the Parson if either it was not assigned from the beginning or if it fall out afterwards to be insufficient and the Patron refuse to supplie and to make it good againe vnto him And therefore Hostienfis the question being put Quod ius habeat Vicarius in Ecclesia among Hostien in summa de â—ffic Vicar many others putteth this for one Item habet ius petendi congruam portionem de reditibus Ecclesiae cui seruit si minus idoneam habeat The Action which he is to bring is called Actio secundum Canonem and answereth to that which we call an Action vpon the Statute and is then brought when a man is priuately interessed in the breach of a Canon and yet hath no speciall Action giuen him thereby And this Action lieth Whether the Patron or other Receiuer of the Tithes be exempt or not exempt Religious or Secular Monke or Canon Clerke or Laike For in this case there is no exceptioÌ„ but whosoeuer receiueth the profits is liable to the Action And therefore I will say as a learned Canonist hath said before me Cum in hoc casu neminem Inueniam priuilegiatum illi dare priuilegium non est mihi liberum Et ideò omnes tenentur ad hanc Portionem qui decimas Beneficij fructus recipiunt And this Action is to be brought before the Bishop or Ordinarie of the place as one which standeth principally charged with this dutie Notwithstanding in France their high Sedentarie Courts of Parliament though temporall yet vse to lend a helping hand vnto the Vicar in this case and are often sued vnto The reason is because the Bishops stand asmuch in feare in those places of offending those mighty Societies as ours doe of Prohibition and Praemunire And therefore Iohannes Andraeas saith merily Iohan. Andraeaâ— ad câ—fin extra de Rebus Ecclesiae non aâ—â—enand of them That Cum sint cornuti non audent cornibus vti Meaning that they dare not vse that power which the Law giueth them in this case yet the Ecclesiasticall Iudges vse to repine at this vsurpation of the Parliaments And the Popes as well to supplie the negligence of the Bishops as to giue the Parliament no occasion to trespasse vpon their Iurisdiction vse to giue in charge to those which are called Conseruatores Apostolici in speciall to take knowledge of the Vicars portion To these their Vicars if either their allowance be in
now hee hath no Action against the King or any otherman The Statute answereth That what title soeuer the Vicar as a Body politique had to any part or parcell of the Parsonage the same is preserued and saued to him still aswell against the King as against his grantee in as ample maner as it was heretofore belonging to him against the Abbat That whereas hee claimeth allowance out of the Rectorie vnder the name of Portion bee it certaine or vncertaine Let him but looke the booke and hee shall find that the Parlament was carefull to reserue all Portions in expresse termes to any Body politique or person which could claime them in such manner and forme as hee might haue claimed it if this Satute had neuer been made For it is manifest that the meaning of the Parlament was not to hurt or hinder any man but onely to suppresse the Monkes in that it was tender and carefull to reserue to euery man his right by what name or title soeuer he could claime it Rents-Charges Annuities Fees Pensions Portions and to the Bishops or others claiming Episcopall Iurisdiction all Synodies Proxies and other profits So that as the wit of man could not deuise more generall termes to comprehend all mens rights so the grauitie of a Parlament could not descend to more particular wordes to expresse euery mans right which it laboured to preserue And as for the point of Iurisdiction the Parlament was so farre from deuesting the Bishops of any part thereof That it submitted all exempt places of Monasteries or other priuiledged houses to their Iurisdiction Much lesse was it their meaning to depriue the Vicar of that small meanes which the Law affoorded him by quarrelling the Bishop vpon this point of Iurisdiction rather then vpon any other Neither can I thinke but that if any of thaâ— high Court whereunto nothing vseth to bee called nothing is admitted but the flower of wit nobilitie and wisedome should now bee raised from the dead and asked whether their meaning was when they had saued vnto euery other man his right onely to wrong the Bishop or when they had preserued vnto euery other man his Claime to any part or parcell of those Abbey-lands and Parsonages onely to wring the Vicar or to debarre him not of that liberall allowance which the law of God giueth him but of that small Remainder which the law of man hath left vnto him for his maintenance in regard of his dayly seruice at the Altar He would answere it was not their meaning That the wordes of the Statute can beare no such construction That no Lawyer can wrest the Statute to any such sense vnlesse hee first straine his owne wit beyond sense and reason Neither can it be said That because there is not in those clauses of reseruation any expresse mention made either of the Bishops iurisdiction in this point or of the Vicars portion in particular therefore it ought not now to be allowed For the Statute maketh no mention at all of reparation of Chancels yet because the Abbats receiuing the tithes were out of them to keepe the Chancels in reparation therefore the King also taking them into his hands chargeth himselfe and his Grantee with the same burden for the leases of old times were wont to runne in this manner Reddendo soluendo annuatim omnes singulas Procurationes c. Ac etiam reparando Cancellos earundem Ecclesiarum Although in leases of latter times this clause is as I take it commonly left out Likewise the Statute maketh no mention at all of any Curates wages to bee reserued yet doth the King in all grants of Parsonages where there is no Vicar endowed charge the Grantee with finding of a Curate And the old leases were wont to runne in this manner Soluendo annuatim omnes procurationes c. inueniendo Curatorem But leases of later times runne somewhat more sparingly in this guise yeelding paying and bearing all Proxies Synodals and stipends of Curats In both these Cases the King chargeth himselfe with this burden although there bee no reseruation thereof mentioned expressely in the Statute But because euery mans right was reserued in the Statute and the people of euery Parish had a right to haue Diuine Seruice said vnto them in consideration of the tenth part of their yeerely profits which they giue in lieue of that and of none other thing therefore the King chargeth himselfe with the finding of one that shall performe this duty to them And because such a one must haue a mainetenance therefore hee chargeth himselfe or his Grantee with paying a stipend also This he doth non ex gratia sed ex debito And because the Abbats from whom he had those Parsonages were before the dissolution charged with the same Whence it followeth that notwithstanding there be no expresse mention made in the Statute of the iurisdiction of the Bishop in this point and of the Vicars portion in particular yet are they vnderstood to be reserued because they are also comprised in the generall as all others are Moreouer the Statutes of either kingdome which concerne this matter beare this colour in the face That the Priors Abbats and other religious Gouernours with the assent and consent of their seuerall Couents and in writing vnder their Common Seale gaue vp all their lands houses Parsonages appropriate and Vicarages into the Kings hands Vpon which Surrender of theirs the King was enabled to haue enioy and possesse the same in such manner and forme c. Now it is manifest that by vertue of their Surrender nothing could come vnto the kings hand but that which was theirs And it is as manifest that the right of the Bishop and the claime of the Vicar were not in the Abbat or Prior and therefore cannot be intended to passe vnto the King by any Act of theirs For Quod meum est sine facto meo à me tranferri non potest that which is mine cannot passe from mee but by some Act of mine Lastly some men are of opinion that this course cannot be taken for the benefit of the Vicar and â—hat his right and action if any he had before is now extinct and lost because the Impropriation comming to the Kings hand the nature of the thing it selfe is altered and made a Lay Fee But they may bee pleased to be informed that the nature of those things continueth still the same and is not changed For in the Statute of 1. Edw. 6. It is expresly saied That the King shall hold those lands of Chantries Colledges and free Chappels in as large and ample manner and forme as the Priests hell them c. and in their natures and qualities So then though the King now holdeth them to a different end and vse yet hee holdeth them in the same nature which they had before And what I pray you can the nature of these and such like things which consist in Iure be but the manner forme state
that doeth Nam si Virgilio puer tolerabile deesset Iâ—â—enalis HospitiuÌ„ caderent omnes à crinib Hydrae Surda nihil caneret graue buccina sayth the Satyrist His meaning is that Virgil himselfe could neuer haue described the slaughter of Turnus the combats of Aeneas the fury of Amata and other such like Arguments with that high conceit and straine of wit and with such loftinesse of stile as hee hath done had his mind beene troubled and distracted with want of necessaries for food raiment house-rent and attendance at home Neither may we hope for better of a Preacher if the like weight of want and pouertie lie vpon him and therefore it is requisite that a sufficient maintenance be prouided for him for so the law requireth But then there remaineth a great and difficult question What is sufficient for this Vicars maintenance For mine owne part I may not presume to prescribe what is enough or sufficient in this case because the Law leaueth it to the discretion of the Bishop who must enforme himselfe of many particulars and frame his censure according to the priuate motions of his owne well disposed mind nay I may well say as a learned Canonist hath said already De re ista non potest certa tradi doctrina Onely we must beware that whilest we reckon all too little for our selues we thinke not euery thing enough for the Minister of the Church Zabarella vpon this question saith Quod sola sustentatio non sufficiet potest namque esse talis quod non periret fame tamen non esset congrua sicut esse debet in victu vestitu alijs congruentibus And as another Writer saieth Vicarijs de hac portione congrue prouidebitur nec cogentur vesci fabis alijs vilibus cibarijs sicut Rustici First therefore in this Assignation of his portion there must be care taken that hee may haue enough for his food and rayment in a decent conuenient maner Secondly respect is to be had vnto his family Non enim sufficiens dicitur Beneficium nisi sufficiens fit habenti personis sibi necessarijs But who are these and how many shal he be allowed to keepe No man I thinke will allow him lesse then a seruant or two to attend vpon him Non enim debet sibi coquere saith one But this is not all for the law of God permitteth and the Lawes of this kingdome haue made it free for Ministers to marry as well as others considering well That the estate it selfe is honorable in al men alike and that they consisting of flesh and blood as others doe haue likewise their desires vpon them as others haue It is reason therefore that since the law permitteth them to marry the law should also prouide them a maintenance for the easier bearing of such a burthen else is their condition more miserable then any other for worke they may not which heretofore they might and to begge they are ashamed Merchandize they cannot which yet the Ciuile Law permitteth and not to prouide for their family were a fault worse then Infidelitie and therefore vnlesse meanes be allowed for the maintenance of those as well as of themselues it had beene better for them if they had still remained as they were Thirdly regard must be had vnto hospitalitie for it hath euer bin thought fit that the Minister should be enabled to releeue the poore to feed the hungry to receiue a stranger as he trauaileth on the way a thing more considerable in this kingdome then in the other of England for our want of Innes and because the Countrey is of custome more harborous to passengers if neede requireth And lastly to omit all consideration of his person as Nobilitie degree desert age and such like which are not forgotten in other Countries when the poore Vicars portion commeth in question before the Ordinarie or other Iudge Considerabitur in ijs honestas vt bonoretur in ijs officium Sacerdotale saith a Canonist But some man will say that this question is long since answered and the doubt determined by Act of Parlament here in Ireland It is true that in the 33. yeere of Henrie the eight there passed here an Act wherein it was conteined That whereas diuers Parish Churches of the kingdome of Ireland were heretofore appropried to Monasteries and other religious houses now dissolued wherein Diuine Seruice was done maintained and kept and the Cure serued by religious persons of the said religious houses c. Therefore there should be an able man appointed for that purpose in euery Parish-Church In consideration whereof and to the intent aforesaid it should be enacted That Sir Anthonie Saintleger Lord Deputie of Ireland I. A. Chancellor of the kingdome W. B. Vicetreasurer and S. A. Chiefe Iustice with sundry others there named or any sixe of them the foure officers aboue named to be of the Quorum might and should erect and incorporate one Vicarage of one Vicar in euery of the said Parishes as they should think conuenient which should haue succession of the same for euer to be presented by the Lord Deputie bee instituted by the Ordinarie c. And that the said Sir Anthonie and the rest might and should assigne and appoint vnto euery such Vicar such conuenient portions of Tithes altarages and oblations of the possessions comming to the King by reason of the said dissolution for the maintenance of Diuine seruice and keeping of Hospitalitie c. Prouided alwaies that such Assignation did not exceed the yearely valew of 13. pounds sixe shillings and eight pence and reseruing to the King the twentieth part out of euery such Vicarage and the first fruits c. This Act indeede was made and remaineth of record in the Rolles of Ireland but it neuer tooke effect But be it that it were stil of force what proportion hath the summe limited with the ends for which it is appointed or what maintenance is ten pounds sterling at the vtmost for a Minister to liue in fashion of a Minister withall to find himselfe to maintaine his wife and children while he is aliue to prouide for them after his death to pay seruants wages and ouer and aboue all this to keepe hospitality which the Statute intendeth and commandeth to be kept It may be that in those daies it was enough but what is it at this present time Had this Statute taken his effect yet had it beene reason that at this time the Vicars should haue claimed a new taxation seeing that the rates of all things are now raised to a higher price Moreouer it is apparant that although Henrie the eight tooke away the Monasteries and suppressed the vsurped tyranny of the Pope in his Dominions yet hee reformed not Religion and therefore their oblations and alterages masse monies and such like fees which were no doubt the greatest part of the poore Vicars maintenance and yet was neuer reckoned in his portion remained all his daies