little more particularly into the subject, I affirm, then, that comparatively few of the existing payments in lieu of Tithes are older than the time of the Commonwealth; and as a primâ facie-ground of presumption that my opinion is correct, I request that the following calculations may be resorted to in every case to which they can be fairly applied. Whenever a modus exists for all the Tithes of a parish, let the amount of such modus be compared with the Valor of Henry VIII., and also with Cromwell's survey, and it will be found not to agree with the former, but with the latter. And, again, if the modus be for one species of Tithes throughout a parish, let the whole value of the Tithes, temp. Hen. VIII.—the sum con. tained in his survey, as the value of the specific Tithe covered by the reputed modus, and the whole amount of the Tithes according to Cromwell's Survey, be taken: and then, it will generally appear, that as the whole value, temp. Hen. VIII. is to the whole value, during the Commonwealth; so will the value of the specific Tithe, temp. Hen. VIII. be, to the present reputed modus for the same Tithe; and, hence, it will follow that the origin of such reputed modus really belongs to the period of the Commonwealth, No objection against this mode of calculation can justly be founded upon a remark, usually made, that the Valor Eccles. of Hen. VIII. is far below the true value at that time ; for when the return is made distributively or specifi cally, it is fair to conclude that if one species be under its real value, the others, and consequently, the entire amount are low in the same proportion-so that the rule I have given is equally good, whether the survey

give the full values or not. My own belief is, that the Survey of Hen. VIII. is, in general cases, very correct, notwithstanding the manner in which it is usually condemned; and those who hold the contrary opinion, may consult Strype's Annals, the other Authors who write of that period, the published State Papers of the time, and especially the Monastic Records of the preceding years-In these last they will find that the actual revenues agree pretty closely with the sums given in the Valor Ecclesiasticus. There are many and sufficient reasons, however, why this mode of calculation ought not to be carried to a great extent. I use it merely, as primâ facie evidence of the case, which I wish to establish.

But how, it will be asked, is it unlikely that moduses should have arisen generally, if not before the time of Richard I., at least in the four hundred and fifty years, which elapsed between his reign and the Commonwealth, as well as since the latter period? I believe, my Lord, that some of them did originate before the Dissolution; and that many arose in the time of Elizabeth, and in the two following reigns— although the general commencement of moduses was not until a later period; and I will now endeavour to account for my opinion.

During the 370 years, which elapsed between the commencement of legal memory and the accession of Queen Elizabeth, the change in the relative value of money took place very slowly-for, at the end of that long period, it had only fallen in the ratio of 3 to 1. The increase, therefore, of the value of produce in the course of one, or two, or even three lives, was

not such as to suggest to a party the advantage of establishing a fixed payment, either for lands or Tithes; and the state of the times was peculiarly unfavorable to every arrangement of that kind-Wales, and the adjoining districts of England were unsettled, during the first portion of these 370 years-the whole kingdom was long convulsed by the struggles between the Houses of York and Lancaster-and the North of England, partly owing to the neighbourhood of Scotland, and partly from its own disorganized condition, was in a disturbed state, from the beginning of that period to the end. Nothing, therefore, could appear to an owner, or occupier less desirable, than to charge himself with the payment of a uniform sum, on account of produce or stock, in times when the entire profits of a year were exposed to frequent danger, if not to total destruction. The Monasteries, which were comparatively secure, sometimes entered into beneficial compositions with Incumbents of parishes; and, in a very few instances, Noblemen followed the same practice, with respect to their parks, and portions of their demesnes. But such cases were comparatively rare-a general inducement was wanting-and even the Nobles were liable to be called out, on so many occasions, when money and not produce was available, that a rent-charge upon their estates was the thing of all others to be avoided. Accordingly, in the Conventual Rolls of the period, which contain abundance of information respecting property of every description, nothing is more unusual than to find entries, which recognize fixed payments in lieu of Tithes.

But in the one hundred years which followed from the accession of Elizabeth to the Restoration of Charles II., matters were entirely changed-England was tranquillized, some enclosures were made, improvements in agriculture were introduced, and the relative value of money underwent further changes-so that the income arising from lands or tithes, became in 1660, three times as much as it had been at the accession of Elizabeth. We can now perceive an inducement, which proprietors had, to make such arrangements as were likely to end in fixed payments. At the close of a single Incumbency (and much more in the experience of one or two lives) an increase would appear to have taken place in the value of tithes, sufficient to render the Landowner desirous of continuing his former agreement; and a renewed bargain at the old rent, upon the payment of a certain sum in hand, was at that time common in all cases. If this last period was favorable for the commencing of future moduses, much more was that which followed likely to produce similar effects for in the next sixty years, lands and tithes again became tripled in value. Now, if an Incumbent agreed, in 1660, to take the same sums which had been paid to his predecessor during the Commonwealth (and the circumstances of the Clergy, at the Restoration, were favorable to such agreements) and if men generally agreed for their incumbencies (and we know that they did) then was there every facility which could be desired, for the establishing of a modus. We may presume the average length of . the period between the beginning of the last incum

bency of the Commonwealth and the end of the first after the Restoration to have been forty years. Tithes during that time must have doubled in value-and, therefore it became an object with the Proprietor to get the same payment received by the new Incumbent, which had been continued by his predecessor. For this purpose, it was by no means necessary that a sum in hand should be paid, equivalent to the probable loss arising from the difference between the late payment and the real value. Forty years only, it is true, had elapsed, and abundance of living witnesses might have been called-the case might have been as clear as Mr. Tyrrell intends our cases for the future to be-but how was the Incumbent to proceed? The mode generally practised at that time was by libel in the Spiritual Court-two years and a sum of money would have been spent, and the result— a disappointment. The Proprietor had a permanent interest he could have suggested a modus, and brought down a prohibition. The Incumbent was aware of these difficulties, or he must have been informed of them by his Proctor or Attorney-he balances costs and gains, contingencies and certainties— he finds that, as the tithes are only worth twice the sum, which is tendered, even success would not indemnify him for the expenses of a suit-he takes the gratuity, usual in all cases at that time, of an extra year's payment, and so things continue-twenty or thirty more years are got over; and every living man is free to swear that he never knew a different sum paid, and that he believes it to be a modus, a prescription, or a good and lawful custom.