Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/405

 Ch. 11. money or corrupt practices (which eems to be the true, though not the common notion of imony) the peron giving uch orders forfeits 40𝑙. and the peron receiving 10𝑙. and is incapable of any eccleiatical preferment for even years afterwards.

clerk may be preented to a paronage or vicarage; that is, the patron, to whom the advowon of the church belongs, may offer his clerk to the bihop of the diocee to be intituted. Of advowons, or the right of preentation, being a pecies of private property, we hall find a more convenient place to treat in the econd part of thee commentaries. But when a clerk is preented, the bihop may refue him upon many accounts. As, 1. If the patron is excommunicated, and remains in contempt forty days. Or, 2. If the clerk be unfit : which unfitnes is of everal kinds. Firt, with regard to his peron; as if he be a batard, an outlaw, an excommunicate, an alien, under age, or the like. Next, with regard to his faith or morals; as for any particular herey, or vice that is malum in e: but if the bihop alleges only in generals, as that he is chimaticus inveteratus, or objects a fault that is malum prohibitum merely, as haunting taverns, playing at unlawful games, or the like; it is not good caue of refual. Or, latly, the clerk may be unfit to dicharge the patoral office for want of learning. In any of which caes the bihop may refue the clerk. In cae the refual is for herey, chim, inability of learning, or other matter of eccleiatical cognizance, there the bihop mut give notice to the patron of uch his caue of refual, who, being uually a layman, is not uppoed to have knowlege of it; ele he cannot preent by lape: but if the caue be temporal, there he is not bound to give notice. Rh