society，carefulofitspleasuresandcomforts，livingwiththemoralideas
andasfaraspossibleinthemanneroftherich。TherivalryoftheMethodist
movementhadgivenacertainstimulustozeal，andtheVicarofCorsleyin
Wilts，(17*)forexample，addedasecondservicetothedutiesoftheSunday，
thoughguardinghimselfexpresslyagainsttheadmissionofanyobligation
tomakeitpermanent。Butitwasfoundimpossibletoeradicatefromthesystem
certainofthevicesthatbelongtoasocietywhichisprimarilyaclass。
Someofthebishopssetthemselvestoreducethepracticeofnon-residence。
Porteus，BishopofLondon，devotedagreatpartofhischargetohisclergy
in1790tothissubject，andthoughhepleadedpassionatelyforreformhe
cannotbesaidtohaveshuthiseyestothedifficultiesoftheclergy。’There
are，indeed，twoimpedimentstoconstantresidencewhichcannoteasilybe
surmounted；thefirstis(whatfortunatelyprevailsinsomepartsofthis
diocese)unwholesomenessofsituation；theotheristhepossessionofasecond
benefice。Yeteventhesewillnotjustifyatotalandperpetualabsencefrom
yourcures。Theunhealthinessofmanyplacesisoflateyearsbyvarious
improvementsgreatlyabated，andtherearenowfewsocircumstancedasnot
toadmitofresidencethereinsomepartoftheyearwithoutanydangerto
theconstitution。’ThusevenBishopPorteus，whointhisverychargereminded
theclergythattheywerecalledbythetitlesofstewards，watchmen，shepherds，
andlabourers，neverwentthelengthofthinkingthattheChurchwastobe
expectedtoministertothepoorinallweathersandinallclimates。
Theexertionsofthereformingbishopsdidnotachieveaconspicuoussuccess，
forthesecondofthedifficultiestouchedonbyPorteuswasinsurmountable。
InhisLegacytoParsons，Cobbett，quotingfromtheClericalGuide，showed
that332parsonssharedtherevenuesof1496parishes，and500moreshared
thoseof1524。AmongthepluralistswereLordWalsingham，whobesidesenjoying
apensionof£；700ayear，wasArchdeaconofSurrey，PrebendaryofWinchester，
RectorofCalbourne，RectorofFawley，perpetualCurateofExbury，andRector
ofMerton；theEarlofGuildford，RectorofOldAlresford，RectorofNew
Alresford，perpetualCurateofMedsted，RectorofSt。Mary，Southampton，
includingthegreatparishofSouthStoneham，MasterofSt。CrossHospital，
withtherevenueoftheparishofSt。Faithalongwithit。Therewerethree
Pretymansdividingfifteenbenefices，andWellington’sbrotherwasPrebendary
ofDurham，RectorofBishopwearmouth，RectorofChelsea，andRectorofTherfield。
Thismethodoftreatingtheparson’sprofessionasacomfortablecareerwas
socloselyentangledinthesystemofaristocracy，thatnoGovernmentwhich
representedthoseinterestswouldeverdreamoftouchingit。Parliamentintervened
indeed，butintervenedtoprotectthosewholivedontheseabuses。Forbefore
1801therewereActsofParliamentontheStatuteBook(21HenryVIII。c。
13，and13Elizabethc。20)，whichprovidedcertainpenaltiesfornon-residence。
In1799acertainMr。Williamslaidinformationsagainsthundredsofthe
clergyforoffencesagainsttheseActs。Parliamentrepliedbypassingaseries
ofActstostayproceedings，andfinallyin1803SirWilliamScott，member
fortheUniversityofOxford，passedanActwhichallowedthebishopsto
authoriseparsonstoresideoutoftheirparishes。Itisnotsurprisingto
findthatin1812，outoftenthousandincumbents，nearlysixthousandwere
non-resident。
Intheparisheswheretheincumbentwasnon-resident，iftherewasaclergyman
atallintheplace，itwasgenerallyacurateonamiserablepittance。Bishop
Porteus，inthechargealreadymentioned，givessomeinterestinginformation
aboutthesalariesofcurates：’Itisalsohighlytothehonourofthisdiocese
thatingeneralthestipendsallowedtothecuratesaremoreliberalthan
inmanyotherpartsofthekingdom。InseveralinstancesIfindthatthe
stipendforonechurchonlyis£；50ayear；fortwo£；60andthe
useofaparsonage；andintheunwholesomepartsofthediocese£；70
andeven£；80(thatis£；40foreachchurch)，withthesameindulgence
ofahousetoresidein。’Manyoftheparishesdidnotseemuchofthecurate
assignedtothem。’Amanmusthavetravelledverylittleinthekingdom，’
saidArthurYoungin1798，’whodoesnotknowthatcountrytownsaboundwith
curateswhoneverseetheparishestheyserve，butwhentheyareabsolutely
forcedtoitbyduty。’(18*)Buttheill-paidcurate，evenwhenhewasresident
andconscientious，asheoftenwas，movedlikethepluralistrectorinthe
orbitoftherich。Hewasinthatworldthoughnotofit。Allhishopeshung
onthesquire。Tohavetakenthesideofthepooragainsthimwouldhave
meantruin，andtheEnglishChurchwasnotanurseryofthiskindofheroism。
Itissignificantthatalmosteveryeighteenth-centurynovelistputsatleast
onesycophanticparsoninhisorhergalleryofportraits。(19*)
Inadditiontothesocialtiesthatdrewtheclergytothearistocracy，
therewasapowerfuleconomichindrancetotheirfriendshipwiththepoor。
DeTocquevillethoughtthatthetithesystembroughttheFrenchpriestinto
interestingandtouchingrelationswiththepeasant：aviewthathasseemed
fancifultolaterhistorians，whoaremoreimpressedbythequarrelsthat
resulted。ButdeTocquevillehimselfcouldscarcelyarguethatthetithe
systemhelpedtowarmtheheartofthelabourertotheChurchofEngland
incasessuchasthoserecordedintheParliamentaryPaperissuedin1833，
inwhichparsonmagistratessentworkingmentoprisonforrefusingtopay
tithestotheirrector。Daylabouringmenhadoriginallybeenexemptedfrom
liabilitytopaytithes，butjustastheFrenchChurchbroughtmoreandmore
ofthepropertyandindustryoftheStatewithinherconfiscatinggrasp，
sotheEnglishParliament，fromthereignofWilliamIII，hadbeendrawing
theparson’snetmorecloselyroundthelabourer。Moreover，asweshallsee
inalaterchapter，thequestionoftitheswasintheverycentreofthe
socialagitationsthatendedintherisingof1830anditsterriblepunishment。
Inthisparticularquarrelthefarmersandlabourerswereonthesameside，
andtheparsonsasabodystoodoutfortheirownpropertywithasmuchdetermination
asthelandlords。
InonerespecttheChurchtookanactivepartinoppressingthevillage
poor，forWilberforceandhisfriendsstarted，justbeforetheFrenchRevolution，
aSocietyfortheReformationofManners，whichaimedatenforcingtheobservance
ofSunday，forbiddinganykindofsocialdissipation，andrepressingfreedom
ofspeechandofthoughtwhenevertheyrefusedtoconformtothesuperstitions
ofthemorosereligionthatwastheninfashion。Thiscampaignwasdirected
againstthelicenseofthepooralone。TherewerenostocksfortheSabbath-breakers
ofBrooks’s：aGibbonmighttakewhatlibertieshepleasedwithreligion：
thewildestMethodistnevertriedtoshackletheloosetonguesortheloose
livesofthegayrich。TheattitudeoftheChurchtotheexcessesofthis
classiswelldepictedinFielding’saccountofParsonSupple，whonever
remonstratedwithSquireWesternforswearing，butpreachedsovigorously
inthepulpitagainstthehabitthattheauthoritiesputthelawsveryseverely
inexecutionagainstothers，’andthemagistratewastheonlypersoninthe
parishwhocouldswearwithimpunity。’Thisdescriptionmightseemtoborder
onburlesque，butthereisanentryinWilberforce’sdiarythatrevealsa
stateofmindwhichevenFieldingwouldhavefounditimpossibletocaricature。
WilberforcewasstayingatBrighton，andthisishisdescriptionofanevening
hespentatthePavilionwiththefirstgentlemanofEurope：’ThePrince
andDukeofClarencetooverycivil。PrinceshowedhehadreadCobbett。Spoke
stronglyoftheblasphemyofhislatepapersandmostjustly。’(20*)Wecan
onlyhopethatSheridanwastheretoenjoythescene，andthatthePrince
wasableforoncetodojusticetohisstrongfeelingsinlanguagethatwould
notshockWilberforce’sears。
MenlikeWilberforceandthemagistrateswhomheinspireddidnotpunish
therichfortheirdissolutebehaviour；theyonlyfoundinthatbehaviour
anotherargumentforcoercingthepoor。Astheywatchedthedishevelledlives
ofmenlikeGeorgeSelwyntheironeideaofactionwastopunishavillage
labourer，forneglectingchurchonSundaymorning。Wehaveseenhowthecottagers
paidinEnclosureBillsfortheirlords’adventuresatplay。Theypaidalso
fortheirlords’dissipationsinthelossofinnocentpleasuresthatmight
havebroughtsomecolourintotheirgreylives。Themoreboisterousthefun
atAlmack’s，thedeeperthegloomthrownoverthevillage。TheSelectCommittee
onAllotmentsthatreportedin1843foundoneofthechiefcausesofcrime
inthelackofrecreations。SheridanatonetimeandCobbettatanothertried
torevivevillagesports，butsocialcircumstancesweretoostrongforthem。
InthisrespecttheFrenchpeasanthadtheadvantage。Babeau’spictureof
hisgayandsociableSundaymaybeoverdrawn，butacomparisonofCrabbe’s
descriptionoftheEnglishSundaywithcontemporarydescriptionsofSunday
asitwasspentinaFrenchvillage，showsthatthespiritofcommongaiety，
killedinEnglandbyPuritanismandbythedestructionofthenaturaland
easy-goingrelationsofthevillagecommunity，survivedinFrancethrough
allthetribulationsofpovertyandfamine。Theeighteenth-centuryFrench
villagestillborearesemblanceinfacttothemedievalEnglishvillage，
andGoldsmithhasrecordedinTheTravellerhisimpressionsof’mirth
andsocialease。’Babeaugivesanaccountofagreatvarietyofvillagegames，
fromtheviolentcontestsinBrittanyforthe’choule，’inoneofwhichfourteen
playersweredrowned，tothegentlerdancesandthechildren’srompsthat
weregeneralinotherpartsofFrance，andArthurYoungwasverymuchstruck
bytheagilityandthegracethattheheavypeasantsdisplayedindancing
onthevillagegreen。Windham，speakinginabadcause，thedefenceofbull-baiting
in1800，laidstressonthecontrast：’InthesouthofFianceandinSpain，
attheendoftheday’slabour，andinthecooloftheevening’sshade，the
poordanceinmirthfulfestivityonthegreen，tothesoundoftheguitar。
Butinthiscountrynosuchsourceofamusementpresentsitself。Ifthey
dance，itmustbeofteninamarsh，orintherain，forthepleasureofcatching
cold。Butthereisasubstituteinthiscountrywellknownbythenameof
Hops。Weallknowthealarmwhichtheverywordinspires，andthesoundof
thefiddlecallsforththemagistratetodissolvethemeeting。Menbredin
ignoranceoftheworld，andhavingnoopportunityofmixinginitsscenes
orobservingitsmanners，maybemuchworseemployedthaninlearningsomething
ofitscustomsfromtheatricalrepresentations；butifacompanyofstrolling
playersmaketheirappearanceinavillage，theyarehuntedimmediatelyfrom
itasanuisance，except，perhaps，therebeafewpeopleofgreaterwealth
intheneighbourhood，whosewivesanddaughterspatronizethem。’(21*)Thus
alltheinfluencesofthetimeconspiredtoisolatethepoor，andthechanges，
destructiveoftheirfreedomandhappiness，thatweretakingplaceintheir
socialandeconomicsurroundings，wereaggravatedbyarevivalofPuritanism
whichhelpedtorobvillagelifeofallitsnaturalmelodyandcolour。
Cf。caseofapprentice，AnnualRegister，1819，p。195。
PoorLawReport，1817；insomecasestherewereamicablearrangements
tokeepdownlegalexpenses；e。g。，atHalifax(Eden)，theoverseerformed
asocietyoftheofficersofadjoiningparishes。Caseswerereferredtothem，
andthedecisionofthemajoritywasaccepted。
WealthofNations，vol。iii，p。234。
LifeinanEnglishVillage，byMaudeF。Davies，p。58。InquiryintotheStateofthePublicMindamongtheLowerClasses，
TheparsonsunderSquireAllworthy’sroof，theparsontowhomPamela
appealedinvain，and，moststrikingofall，MrCollinsinPrideandPrejudice。
