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THE

CLERGYMAN'S ASSISTANT,

OR

A COLLECTION

OF

ACTS OF PARLIAMENT,

FORMS AND ORDINANCES,

RELATIVE TO CERTAIN DUTIES AND RIGHTS

OF THE

PAROCHIAL CLERGY;

TO WHICH ARE PREFIXED

THE ARTICLES OF RELIGION,

AND

THE CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS OF THE

CHURCH OF ENGLAND.

THE THIRD EDITION,

WITH AN INDEX.

OXFORD,

AT THE CLARENDON PRESS.

MDCCCVIII.

Char. Press

1. a. 102.

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PREFACE

TO

THE SECOND EDITION.

THE Collection of Acts of Parliament, Forms, and Ordinances, of which a Second Edition is now offered to the Public, was grounded on a former Work of the fame kind; the plan of which, however, was very much enlarged, as well by giving the Acts in queftion more at length, as by adding others, efpecially fome recently paffed, to which the Parochial; Clergy must often have occafion to refer. Some ufeful Forms alfo, generally received in practice, were fubjoined, taken chiefly from Ecton's Liber Valorum, and Bacon's Liber Regis, together with Rules for the direction of those who might have occafion to make application to the Governors of Queen Anne's Bounty.

Little doubt was entertained but that such a Publication would be an useful one to the Clergy, from the nature of the information contained in it, the convenient fize of the volume, and, more especially, from the circumftance, that the Laws which are obligatory upon Ecclefiaftical Perfons were brought down to the present time, as well as given in the words themfelves (fo far as might be) of the several Statutes

and

and Ordinances with which they are bound to com-

ply. But it was not foreseen, that the demand for this

Publication would be fo rapid, as within the space of a

year to exhauft the whole Impreffion, and that a very

confiderable one, which was put forth in the year 1806.

The utmost diligence has been used therefore to pre-

pare a Second Edition, fo that no one, who wifhed to

poffefs the Work, might be disappointed, on his en-

quiry for it. And upon this occafion the whole has

now been rendered more complete, by the addition of

feveral particulars not before inserted, all of which the

Reader will find diftinguished by an Afterism in the

Table of Contents. Left it be thought an over-

fight, at the same time, that no enlargement in this

way has been made of what was contained in the

First Edition respecting the Rights of the Clergy, it

must be stated, that this has been purposely avoided;

and for the fame reasons alfo with those before af-

figned for not extending this part of the Work be-

yond what might be of eafy application, and general

use—namely, that, in a matter fo complex and in-

tricate, a competent knowledge is to be acquired

only from books written exprefsly upon the subject;

and that even with the help of these (in cafes of

difficulty at leaft) the Clergy will feldom be able to

form a juft opinion without profeffional advice, and

the affiftance of those who are moft converfant with

the feveral decifions of the Courts, as well as the fe-

veral Laws which have been made respecting the

point in question.

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