THE TITLE OF REVEREND.
Iu the case of the Rev. Henry Keet—a , VVesleyau minister, who was refused permission by the vicar of a parish in Lincolnshire to erect a tombstone to his daughter in the churchyard, on the ground that he -was described on it as “Reverend”—the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, reversing the judgments of the Chancellor of the diocese and the Judge of the Arches Court, have decided that the refusal was illegal. “Without a moment’s hesitation,” says ‘The Times’ of Jauuary 22, “the Lord Chancellor delivered the judgment of the committee in favor of Mr Keet. It was evident upon the least inquiry that there was no authority, either in law, antiquity, or usage, for restricting the designation ‘ reverend’ to clergymen of the Church of England. It has been used in former times in addressing persons who were not clergy at all, and even towards women; aud in the present day it is a matter of common parlance to employ it in addressing ministers of Nonconformist denominations. If it were a formal title, the authority for its use must be derived from the Crown, and no such authority has ever been given. It is a mere ‘laudatory epithet,’ accorded as a matter of social courtesy.”
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ESD18760412.2.22
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Evening Star, Issue 4096, 12 April 1876, Page 3
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209THE TITLE OF REVEREND. Evening Star, Issue 4096, 12 April 1876, Page 3
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