WELSH CHURCH BILL.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1646, 13 January 1913, Page 5

WELSH CHURCH BILL.

GOVERNMENT HARRIED. NARROWLY ESCAPES DEFEAT. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright , (Eeo. January 12, 5.5 p.m.) . London, January 11. 1 On Clause 14 of the Welsh Churoh Bill, safeguarding the incumbents of lifo ins terests, Mr. Gladstone (Liberal member a for Kilmarnook) moved to include tho 1' right 1 of commutation, in order to imf mediately sever Church from State. Mr. Eeginald M'Kenna said that aci- oeptance of the clause would mean mate■t rial finanoial alterations; The reason the - Gjovernment had not included commutai- tion was that incumbents should retain * life interests wherever living. He agreed 0 that the commutation principle was a 1 wise one, and therefore he. proposed to ' mibmit a new clause at the report stage. 1 ' The amendment was, negatived, Welsh '• members being'strongly opposed to Mr. 1 M'Kenna's acceptance of the principle. ? Mr. B. A. Qoulding (Unionist member y for. Worcester) moved an amendment to | allow consideration of tho claims of 561 j. assistant curates to compensation. ' j. Mr. M'Kenna strenuously opposed the j. amendment, which was negatived by 230 t votes to 190. . ; 1 • ®u' for Nationalists the Government j Would have been in.a minority of thirty. 3 Many of the Hadicals abstained from vot- , ing. : i 1 Messrs. Barnes, Walsh,' and 1 Keir Harj die, three colleagues, voted with the Coni servatives. ■ l'' ■ .