before one of the most able advocates in Doctors' Commons. The result, as might have been expected, has been, to declare that all this fabric of ancient custom was bad in law, and that the new claims should be satisfied as far as possible; proper care being taken to inconvenience those who rightfully occupied pews as little as possible. The matter has since been laid before the Bishop, and he has acted on the legal opinion. It cannot be expected that every one will submit, aquo animo, to be deprived of rights that he had purchased, and thought to be valid; but we believe the changes have been accepted in Yeovil in a way creditable to the good feeling of the town.

Now that the matter has been settled, and a striking example given that, notwithstanding all the imperfections of our ecclesiastical law, there is a great strength in it to resist abuses and bad customs, it may not be amiss to lay before our readers the more important parts of the case; not only as showing what the law is, with a view to a like remedy, if, as is likely, similar ancient abuses exist elsewhere, but as a very curious example of parochial history. The case tells its own story remarkably well, and traces down the transfer and sale of pews, the building and repair of galleries, and re-pewing the church, and the sales of pews by auction to defray the consequent expenses, even down to the pew-disputes of old women, and the sales of pews that were bankrupts' property. The case is, of course, far too long for entire insertion here. We give instead the following abstract of it.

"It has been the custom in the parish of Yeovil, for the last four hundred years, to sell the pews in the church, for the registration of which a fine was paid to the churchwardens. A species of fine was also paid on any change of ownership, either by sale or death; and in default of any specific devise, the heir at law has been considered the owner of the deceased's pew.

"There are entries on parchment as long ago as 1457, showing items of receipts for customs on pews; and the churchwardens' books, commencing in 1693, and extending to the present time, also show that the sale and exchange of the pews was frequent, and that on such occasions a fine or sum was always paid. In 1705, galleries were erected, and the pews therein were sold by the churchwardens. In 1753, these galleries were taken down, and others substituted; the vestry stating it as their desire, that such persons as had then any right to seats in either of the galleries to be taken down, might have the like number of seats, and of equal goodness, in one of the galleries to be erected.' The seats in the new galleries were duly allotted, in pursuance of this order, and they have been dealt with by sale and exchange similarly to the rest of the seats in the church.

"When a pew was left without an owner, it was sold by the churchwardens; and on a possessor leaving the parish, in several instances his pew was purchased by the authorities, and resold by them. The right in the pews exercised has indeed been so absolute, that in many instances they have been sold as part of bankrupts' estates, by their assignees.

"In 1818, two further galleries were erected, and the seats were re

gularly sold by auction, under the direction of the vestry; the sum thereby realised amounting to nearly £778, which not only defrayed the expense of erecting these galleries, but also of two others containing free seats.

"In 1837, the church was re-pewed, and some extra sittings thereby gained. These were also sold by auction, and realised the sum of £675; and new pews were allotted to all the holders of the old ones.

The pews, though generally purchased for occupation, have in some instances, by deaths or removal, become the property of persons not residing in the parish, and in others of Dissenters. In some cases,

however, the reputed owners possess houses within the parish.

"In 1846, a new district called Hendford, comprising about half the parish of Yeovil, was formed, and a church was erected, and endowed with a parliamentary grant of £150 per annum. The pews in the new church are let to the inhabitants of Yeovil and Hendford, (who are both assessed towards the repair of the old church,) without reference to their residence; and in some instances persons hold a pew in both churches.

"A notice has lately been served on the churchwardens by a householder in the old district, requiring them to assign him a pew for the use of his family, without cost. Some pews are now vacant, but the reputed owners will not permit them to be permanently occupied without rent being paid; and many others are used by persons residing in the Hendford district, who have no pew there.

The customs, or fees, payable on the transfers of the pews, and the amount accruing to the parish by reason of the sales of the additional seats, have produced so large a sum, as entirely to cover the expenses usually met by a church rate.'

The following were the questions submitted for the opinion of Dr. Addams :

"1. Can the pews in the old church be held and let by the present owners, as at present, under the circumstances stated?

"2. If not, as all the best pews in the church are occupied by persons residing in some part of the parish, have the churchwardens any power to displace any of such persons who may reside in the district of Hendford, in order to give any householder who resides in the parish a pew?

"3. Are the churchwardens bound to provide the inhabitants of the old parish with pews, before the inhabitants of the Hendford district? 4. The persons in the old parish being seated, and there being vacant pews, can any householder residing in the Hendford district demand a pew for the use of himself and his family?"

Dr. Addams' Opinion was as follows:

་་

Ir is, I think, proveable that a custom has existed in Yeovil, from time immemorial, of selling the pews in the parish church. But whether such a custom, proved or admitted to exist, would or would not, on argument, be held a good custom, is more than I can say; I think that a somewhat doubtful matter. It is commonly said, that

nothing short of an Act of Parliament can legalise the sale, &c., of pews in parish churches; and of the evil and inconvenience arising from the custom, the present state of things in this respect in the parish of Yeovil seems to be a proof. And subject to these general observations it is that I proceed to answer, as well as I can, the particular queries at the foot of this case; only regretting that, from the anomalous nature of the case, it is out of my power to answer them more certainly and specifically. And further premising (in the way of general observations) that the churchwardens would do well, in my opinion, to discountenance, and by degrees, if possible, to get rid altogether of this custom of trafficking in pews, actually subsisting in

Yeovil.

“1 and 2. I think that the churchwardens should not interfere with parishioners, the present owners of pews, or so reputed to be, themselves holding or occupying such pews,-perhaps not, even if such persons may now reside within the new district of Hendford. But I think that the churchwardens should resolutely oppose the owners, or reputed owners, of pews letting their pews to other persons, and receiving a rent for them; and that when owners, or the reputed owners, of pews cease to occupy them, especially as ceasing to be parishioners altogether, the churchwardens should insist on the pews again becoming the common property of the parish. The churchwardens would almost of course be opposed in this by such owners, or supposed owners of pews; but I think that the ordinary whose officers they are, would, or should, if appealed to, uphold them in acting as so recommended.

"If any persons now resident in the district of Hendford occupy pews in the old church, not as owners, or reputed owners, of such pews, but merely as seated in such pews by the churchwardens; I think that the church wardens may unseat such occupiers of pews, in order to give the pews, or seats in the pews, to parishioners resident in the old parish, if this should be necessary, in order to accommodate parishioners resident in the old parish with proper sittings in the parish church.

3. I think that the churchwardens are clearly bound to provide the inhabitants of the old parish with pews, before the inhabitants of the Hendford district. Indeed, I think that they are under no obligation to furnish the inhabitants of the Hendford district with pews at all; on the contrary, that they ought rather to decline to furnish them with pews, and certainly, if there are not pews enough in the church to accommodate all the parishioners resident in the old parish.

“4. I think that any inhabitant of the old parish can demand a pew, if vacant, for the accommodation of himself and family; and I advise the churchwardens to accede to the demand, and to seat the parishioner in the pew, if there is no other obstacle to this than that the vacant pew (really or supposedly) belongs to some one who, though not occupying it himself, insists upon letting it to others; for such trafficking in pews is what I think no practice or custom can legalise.

"(Signed) J. ADDAMS.

20

COLONIAL CHURCH ARCHITECTURE.

CHAPTER XVII.-CEYLON.

THE following extract from a letter, received by the Secretary of the Ecclesiological Society, from the Rev. Dr. Garstin, of Galle, explains very fully the necessities of a Ceylon climate.

"I must first remind you, that this has become a very prominent and important station within a few years; none more so, perhaps, in all the east. It is here that all the steamers between Suez and India, China, the Straits of Malacca, and Australia, draw up for loading, landing, and receiving passengers to and from many stations both near and remote. We have at this moment three huge steamers at anchor, and which will start off this evening or to-morrow, crowded with passengers for England, Bombay, and China. But our fixed resident European population is very limited, and hence the notion of setting about building a church, is only just beginning to be entertained. Ever since the place was ceded by its former masters, the Dutch, to our government, we have been using a Dutch Presbyterian building as a church, alternately with its own congregation. The Dutch have thus a church of their own. The Portuguese descendants have a Roman Catholic chapel. The Wesleyans and Baptists have chapels. We are the only religionists who have not a place of worship. For this we are indebted to our connexion with government. People have got into the habit of looking to government to build churches for them, instead of doing it for themselves, as they would assuredly have done long ago, had government not permitted them to use the Dutch place of worship, instead of plainly desiring them to build a church, if they thought it desirable to have one. However, be that as it may, I have resolved to undertake the work, even though I can get nothing more at first from government than the free grant of a site in a commanding position. I shall set apart £200 to begin with, spend that with great judgment and economy, and then beg my way onwards to its completion. I have no doubt help will be afforded to me, not only by the few residents and the societies, but also by many well disposed persons in transitu between Europe and the eastern world. What I wish more immediately from you, is a good sketch or two, if possible, of a building strictly ecclesiastical. We have numbers of persons here who are able to work out the idea perfectly, if presented to them, but are quite incapable of conceiving it, for want of having seen any models, there not being one strictly ecclesiastical building in the whole extent of the country. First, then, as to the question of accommodation; say 500 persons, equal, on account of our heat, to 750 in England. No galleries. Without having been in these climates, it is almost impossible for you to understand to what an extent the necessity for admitting air, and yet excluding the sun's direct rays, exists. In

our homes we manage it by very deep verandahs; but a verandah destroys the effect of a church. The problem then to be solved, is to find such a plan as will give abundance of air through doors and windows, and yet, by the help of judicious provisions, and perhaps well managed planting, afford shelter from the tropical glare and tropical rains. I think I could build here for one-half what it would cost on an average in England. If you can put the pencils of a few amateur friends in requisition for sketches, either of English or foreign churches; it might be of more use than consulting a professional artist. There ought to be good models in some parts of Italy, because, in addition to their architectural genius, they have had to build them with reference to a considerably higher temperature than that of England."

"We have abundance of granite on the contemplated site,-an eminence, commanding a noble prospect of the harbour on one side, and a wide range of wooded country on the other.”

In a second letter, Dr. Garstin gives the following additional particulars of the scheme :

"It is some time since I had the pleasure of receiving your letter, and I should have taken an early opportunity of thanking you for interesting yourself in the matter of our church plan, had I any thing definitive to say upon that subject. When I first wrote, I had fixed upon a most beautiful and commanding site, which I had the best reason to believe government would give me a free grant of. However, after the whole correspondence on the subject had been referred to the military engineers, I was officially informed that the ground in question was found to be in too close proximity to the works of the fort, and that therefore my application for it to build a church upon could not be acceded to.

"This has proved a heavy blow and great discouragement, for it is nothing less than impossible to fix upon an equally desirable spot; and it is not without extreme difficulty I can hope to find any good site at all, every spot, both inside the garrison and at a desirable distance outside being occupied by buildings, public or private. I am at a loss what to say under such circumstances, with relation to the plan you had prepared. On the one hand there is uncertainty, and on the other, there can be no doubt, that the having a design suited to our circumstances, might be one of the most effectual means of producing a general feeling in favour of the undertaking, and thus meeting and overcoming the difficulty about a site, which is at present our chief obstruction."

"Our position here as churchmen is most anomalous and humiliating; compelled to use a Dutch Presbyterian church, and the people thus systematically brought up and trained in indifference and latitudinarianism, and to the habit of connecting their religious worship with governmental authority, instead of thinking and acting for themselves in the matter, which is of deepest importance."

Meantime Mr. Carpenter had very kindly prepared a design for