ENGLISH CLERGYMEN LIVING IN POVERTY

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 189, 31 October 1927, Page 1

ENGLISH CLERGYMEN LIVING IN POVERTY

MANY RECEIVE LESS THAN £2OO A YEARSCHEME FOR RELIEF By Cable. —Press Association. — Copyright. LONDON, Saturday. The position of the povertystricken clergy in Britain may be gauged from a report to the special Clergy Commission. It says the clergy are growing poorer. The income of over 200 incumbents does not reach £2OO a year. All additional relief is neutralised by the depreciated values, and the higher cost of commodities. Incomes as a whole are 16.2 per cent, less than in 1910, and are frequently lower still. The commission suggests standardising the sizes of vicarages in proportion to the income and benefices. They are at present too large. The ill-de-signed and ill-equipped houses, which are surrounded by large grounds, are a fruitful source of embarrassment. The commission advocates the establishment of a Maintenance Committee to co-operate in an effort to secure a fixed income and to safeguard the interest of the clergy, and to give attention to the length of service and the difficulties of married men with children.—Sun.