c. 13. Eng.

32 Hen. 8. c. 7.

s. 6. & 7. Ir.

from tithes, by the 2 & 3 Edw. 6. c. 13. Eng. which 2 & 3 Edw. 6. amends the 27 Hen. 8. c. 20. Eng. and 32 Hen. 8. c. 7. Eng. 27 Hen. 8. c.20. all such barren heath, or waste ground, other than such Eng as be discharged from the payment of tithes by act of Eug. parliament, which before this time have lain barren and paid no tithe by reason of such barrenness, and now be or hereafter shall be improved and converted into arable ground or meadow, shall after seven years next after such improvement fully ended, pay tithe for the corn and hay growing upon the same: provided, that if such ground hath before this time been charged with the payment of any tithes, and the same be improved, &c. the owner thereof shall, during the said 7 years, pay such kind of tithe as was paid for the same before said improvement. And with the same view of promoting agriculture and the improvement of barren land, the 5 Geo. 2. c. 9. s. 6. & 7. Ir. 5 Geo. 2. c. 9. provides that all barren heath, and moory ground, mountain, bog, moss, and land taken in and enclosed from the sea, or any lough or river, which by means of drains, banks, walls, or dykes, shall be improved and converted into arable or meadow land, shall be exempted from the payment of tithes for any hemp, flax, or rape growing thereon, during 7 years next after the improving and taking in thereof: provided such land did not at any time before such improving, &c. pay tithes for any corn, hay, hemp, flax, rape, or potatoes. And by s. 8. no land shall by this act be discharged from paying for tithe, such sum as said land paid for any one of the preceding 7 33Geo. 3.c. 25. years. And by the 33 Geo. 3. c. 25. s. 1. Ir. all such barren heath, and waste ground which hitherto hath lain waste, and paid no tithe by reason of such barrenness, and which shall be improved, and converted into arable ground or meadow, shall until the end of 7 years after improving the same, be exempted from the payment of all tithes whatsoever, any law or custom to the contrary notwithstanding. But by s. 3. no person shall be entitled to such exemption, who shall not have given notice in writing to the parson, rector, vicar, or curate, or impropriator, or his known proctor or agent, in the parish or union in which such land lies, of the time from which he means to claim such exemption, at least 6 calendar months before

2 F 2

s. 1. ir.

$. 3.

5.4.

before the commencement of such period, specifying in such notice the quantity and quality of such land, and its situation, together with a map or survey of such land, verified by the oaths of 2 surveyors, (which any magistrate of the county may administer), (one of which surveyors shall be named by the proprietor or occupier, and the other by the parson, &c.) to be, to the best of their judgment and belief, a true survey; which notice and survey shall be registered by such parson, &c. in the registry of the diocess; and such notice and survey, or a copy thereof attested by the register, shall be conclusive evidence of the quantity and situation of the land, and of the time from whence the exemption from tithe commenced, if the same land shall be entitled to such exemption under this act. And by s. 4. in case the person claiming any exemption from tithes under this act, shall by notice duly served for that purpose, require any parson, &c. to appoint a surveyor to assist in making such map, &c. and that such parson shall for 1 month after the service of such notice, refuse or neglect to appoint such surveyor, such map, &c. verified by the one surveyor appointed by the person claiming such exemption, shall be as effectual as if verified by the oaths of the two. And towards preventing the pernicious practice of burning land, by which no permanent improvement is made," this statute provides (s. 5.) that where the soil or surface shall be burned, no part of such land shall be deemed to have been improved 'within the meaning of this act, nor shall such land be discharged from tithe by virtue of this act, unless the consent of the proprietor of such land in writing, under his hand and seal, be obtained before any part thereof be burned. With respect to abbey-lands also, by the 31 Hen 8. c.13. 31 Hen. 8. c. 13. s. 21. Eng. as well the king as all other persons, their heirs and assigns, who shall have any of the monasteries, or other ecclesiastical houses or places, or any manors, messuages, parsonages appropriate, tithes, pensions, portions or other hereditaments which belonged to any religious house, (whose surrender was confirmed by this act,) shall hold the same discharged of the payment of tithes, in as ample a manner as the late abbots, priors,

s. 21. Eng.

Albey-lands exempt.

and

and other ecclesiastical governors held and enjoyed the

same.

33 Hen. 8. st.2.

And the 33 Hen. 8. st. 2. c. 5. Ir. contains a si- c. 5. s. 25. Ir. milar provision.

E. & I.

As to what things are titheable: By the 45 Edw. 3. c.3. No tithes for E. & I. at the complaint of the great men and commons, wood. shewing by their petition, that whereas they sell their 5 Edw. 3. c.3. great wood of the age of 20 years, or of greater age, to merchants to their own profit, or in aid of the king in his wars, parsons and vicars of holy church do implead and draw the said merchants in the spiritual court, for the tithes of said wood, in the name of sylva cædua, whereby they cannot sell their woods to the very value, to the great damage of them and of the realm; it is ordained and established, that a prohibition in this case shall be granted, and upon the same an attachment, as it hath been used before this time. And by the 11 & 12 W. 3. c. 16. Eng. 11 & 12 W. 3. every person who shall sow any hemp or flax, shall pay to c. 16. Eng. the parson, vicar, or impropriator, yearly, 5s. for each acre Tithe of hemp of hemp and flax, before the same be carried off the ground, and flax. and so proportionably for more or less; for the recovery of which the parson, &c. shall have the usual remedy. But by s. 2. this act shall not charge any lands discharged by any modus. decimandi, ancient composition, or otherwise. The tithe of hemp is in like manner ascertained

Ir.

by the 28 Geo. 3. c. 29. Ir. but no statute bas defined 28 Geo. 3.c.29. the tithe payable for flax sown in Ireland. But with respect to agistment,* which is a species of mixed

tithe,

The following resolutions were passed by the house of commons of Ireland on the 11th March, 1735: That the allotments, glebes, and known tithes, with other ecclesiastical emoluments, are an honourable and plentiful provision for the clergy of this kingdom.-That the demand of tithe agistment for dry and barren cattle is new, grievous, and burdensome to the landlords and tenants of this kingdom, who could have no notice thereof previous to their purchases and leases, nor the least apprehensions that such unforeseen demands could have been claimed: That the commencing suits upon these new demands must impair the protestant interest, by driving many useful hands out of this kingdom; must disable those that remain, to support his majesty's establishment; and occasion popery and infidelity to gain ground, by the contest that must necessarily arise between the laity and clergy. Com. Journ, vol. 6. p. 658. 672.

40 Geo.3. c.23. lr.

Edw. 2. st. 1.

Personal tithes.

2 & 3 Edw. 6.

tithe, payable in England for the pasturage of stock not otherwise beneficial to the parson, as for dry or barren cattle, &c. the 40 Geo. 3. c. 23. Ir. recites, that tithe agistment for dry and barren cattle has not been deAgistment tithe, manded for more than 60 years then last past, and enacts, that no claim shall be allowed for tithe agistment for dry and barren cattle, nor shall any suit be entertained in any court of civil or ecclesiastical jurisdiction for the recovery of the same but nothing herein shall exempt from the payment of tithe any kind of cattle in any parish, or part of this kingdom, in which tithe now is or has been usually paid within the last 10 years. With respect to personal tithes: the tithe payable in respect to corn mills is of this description, the right of which is confirmed by the 9 Edw. 2. st. 1. c. 5. E. & I. which proc. 5. E. & l. vides, that if any do erect in his ground a mill of new, and afterwards the parson demandeth tithe for the same, the king's prohibition shall not lie. And by the 2 & 3 Edw. 6. c. 13. s. 7 & 8. Eng. every person exercising c. 13. s. 7.& 8. merchandize, bargaining and selling, clothing, handicraft, Eng. or other art or faculty, being such persons, and in such places, as heretofore within 40 years have accustomably used to pay such personal tithes, or of right ought to pay, (other than such as be common day labourers) shall yearly, at or before the feast of Easter, pay for his personal tithes the 10th part of his clear gains, deducting his charges and expenses, according to his estate, condition, or degree provided that in all cases where handicraftsmen have used to pay their tithes within these 40 years, the same custom shall be observed and continue. But by s.11. this act shall not extend to any parishes which stand upon and towards the sea coasts, the commodities and occupying whereof cousist chiefly in fishing, and have by reason thereof used to satisfy their tithes by fish; but all such parishes shall pay their tithes as heretofore of ancient time within these 40 years accustomed. And this act is declared (s.12.)not to extend to the cities of London and Canterbury, and the suburbs of the same, nor to any other town or place that used to pay their tithes by their

s.11.

s. 12.

houses,

houses. There is no such statute, relative to the payment of personal tithes, in Ireland.

§ 3.

20 Hen. 3. c. 4.

E. & J.

III. As to common. The right of the lords of manors to enclose and convert to the uses of husbandry any Common of paswaste grounds, woods, or pastures, in which their tenants tre, have common appendant to their estates, provided they leave sufficient common to their tenants, is thus declared by the statute of Merton 20 Hen. 3. c. 4. E. &. I.: Whensoever feoffees bring an assise of novel disseisin for their common of pasture, and it is recognized before the justices, that they have as much pasture as is sufficient for their hold, and that they have free egress and regress from their hold unto the pasture, then let them be contented therewith; and they on whom they have complained shall go quit, for that they have made their profits of their lands, waste, woods, and pastures. And if they allege that they have not sufficient pasture, or not sufficient egress and regress, as appertaineth to their hold, then let the truth be inquired by the assise. And if it be found by the assise, that the same deforceors have disturbed them of their egress or regress, or that they have not sufficient pasture, then shall they recover their seisin by view of the inquest, so that by their discretion and oath the plaintiffs shall have sufficient pasture, and egress and regress, and the disseisors shall be amerced and yield damages. And if it be found by the assise, that the plaintiff's have sufficient pasture, and sufficient egress and regress, let the other make their commodity of the residue, and go quit. And the lords of manors may by the statute of Westm. 2. 13 Edw. 1. 13 Edw. 1. st.1. st. 1. c. 46. E. & I. in like manuer exercise this right of c. 46. E. approving against all others that have common appurtenant, or in gross, as well as against the tenants who have their common appendant: this statute having enacted that what the statute of Merton provided between the

lord

* Provision was made for the ministers of London by the 27 Ien. 8. c. 21. Eng. 37 Hen. 3. c. 12. Eng, and 22 & 23 Car. 2. c. 15. Eng. The mode of payment established by these acts, which was grounded on ancient custom, was a poundage upon the rent of houses, &c. similar to minister's money in Ireland. Vide page 353.

1.