View report page

20
The opinion given by Mr. Bompas and Mr. Morley is as follows:-
"OPINION.
"We have carefully considered the Judgment of the Court of Appeal in
this Case, and we see no reason to withdraw from the Opinion which we
have already expressed, that the Rate, so far as it applies to Ecclesiastical
purposes, is illegal under the Church Rate Abolition Act, and that the
mandamus should not have been made. It appears to us that the effect of
the Judgment of the Court of Appeal is to strain the words of the Church
Hate Abolition Act in order to include the present Case, since they have
in effect to interpret the expression in the 5th Section— 'appropriated by
law to' as equivalent to 'permitted by law to be applied to,' while the
reasonable construction of that Act, and the intention of the legislature,
would have been satisfied by a Judgment in favour of the Appellants. In
addition to this, we think that the validity of the grounds of the decision,
based upon the construction of the 16th George II., c. 28, as given by Lord
Justice Cotton, is extremely doubtful—and in any case, even if the House
of Lords do not adopt the view we have expressed, we think that they
would be likely to limit the Rate other than for Non-Ecclesiastical purposes
to the few small items mentioned in the Statute, and which are
treated by Lord Justice Cotton as the consideration for the Rate.
"Under these circumstances, and considering the large sum at stake to
the Parish, amounting to many hundreds a year, and which appears liable
to almost indefinite increase without any control by the Vestry, we are of
opinion that the Appellants ought to obtain the Opinion upon the Case of
the highest Court of Appeal.
" (Signed) HENRY MASON BOMPAS.
" ARNOLD MORLEY.
" Temple, February 23rd, 1884."
On the 3rd of April, 1884, Messrs. Shepheard wrote to the Vestry
Clerk as follows:-
"We understand that the Question of Appealing to the House of Lords
will be considered at the Vestry to meet this evening. It would probably
be well for you to be able to give some definite idea as to what the total
cost of an Appeal would be, so we write to let you have the benefit of
some enquiries we have made at the House and elsewhere.
"It seems that including Counsel's fees, House fees, Solicitor's costs,
and expenses of printing, the total, on a fairly liberal estimate, would not
exceed £150 each side, making not more than £300 to be provided. But
the cost of printing, for instance, cannot be definitely settled ; it seems
however that much would not be necessary. In arriving at these figures
it was assumed that the same Counsel would be employed as in the Courts
below."
At the meeting on the 17th July, the Vestry decided to appeal to the
House of Lords, and have done so.
Ponding the appeal, Mr. Churchwarden Baugh asked the Vestry,
at its meeting on the 26th September, to make a Composition Rate,
to provide for the Rector's stipend, and other charges provided for by
the Composition Rate Act. It was moved and seconded that a rate of
one penny in the pound be granted. The motion was lost, twelve