Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/301

 Ch. 8. the Lord, and give it to Aaron the high priet." But this claim of the pope met with vigorous reitance from the Englih parliament; and a variety of acts were paed to prevent and retrain it, particularly the tatute 6 Hen. IV. c. 1. which calls it a horrible michief and damnable cutom. But the popih clergy, blindly devoted to the will of a foreign matter, till kept it on foot; ometimes more ecretly, ometimes more openly and avowedly: o that, in the reign of Henry VIII, it was computed, that, in the compas of fifty years 800000 ducats had been ent to Rome for firt-fruits only. And, as the clergy expreed this willingnes to contribute o much of their income to the head of the church, it was thought proper (when in the ame reign the papal power was abolihed, and the king was declared the head of the church of England) to annex this revenue to the crown; which was done by tatute 26 Hen. VIII. c. 3. (confirmed by tatute 1 Eliz. c. 4.) and a new valor beneficiorum was then made, by which the clergy are at preent rated.

thee latmentioned tatutes all vicarages under ten pounds, a year, and all rectories under ten marks, are dicharged from the payment of firt-fruits: and if, in uch livings as continue chargeable with this payment, the incumbent lives but half a year, he hall pay only one quarter of his firt-fruits; if but one whole year, then half of them; if a year and half, three quarters; and if two years, then the whole; and not otherwie. Likewie by the tatute 27 Hen. VIII. c. 8. no tenths are to be paid for the firt year, for then the firt-fruits are due: and by, other tatutes of queen Anne, in the fifth and ixth years of her reign, if a benefice be under fifty pounds per annum clear yearly value, it hall be dicharged of the payment of firt-fruits and tenths.

the richer clergy, being, by the criminal bigotry of their popih predeceors, ubjected at firt to a foreign exaction, were afterwards, when that yoke was haken of, liable to a like miapplication of their revenues, through the rapacious dipoition of the then reigning monarch: till at length the piety of queen Rh