Dean how appointed. Deanry a sinecure. Deanry a dignity. Deans of the old foundation come in by election of the chapter upon the king's congé d'élire, with the royal assent, and confirmation of the bishop, much in the same way as the bishops themselves do: but (generally) the deans of the new foundation come in by the king's letters patents; upon which, they are instituted by their respective bishops; and then installed upon a mandate, pursuant to such institution, and directed to the chapters (z). Which distinction between the old and new foundations came in after the dissolution of monasteries, when King Henry VIII., having ejected the monks out of the cathedrals, placed secular canons instead of them: those whom he thus regulated, are called the deans and chapters of the new foundation; such are Canterbury, Winchester, Worcester, Ely, Carlisle, Durham, Rochester, and Norwich. And besides these, he erected five cathedrals de novo, and endowed them out of the estates of dissolved monasteries, viz. Chester, Peterborough, Oxford, Gloucester, and Bristol which were by him made episcopal sees, as also Westminster, but the bishopric of this last place was altered again, and the monastery turned into a collegiate church by Queen Elizabeth (a). Deanries are sinecures, that is, they have not the cure of souls (b). And as such they were exempted from the operation of the statute 21 Hen. 8, c. 13, against pluralities, by the proviso in sect. 31. Therefore persons admitted to deanries needed not, by 13 Eliz. c. 12, to subscribe the Thirty-nine Articles before the ordinary; nor to read and declare their assent to the same, as persons admitted to benefices with cure were required to do by the said statute (c). But otherwise, the same oaths, subscriptions, and declarations are required to be taken and made by them, as by other persons qualifying for ecclesiastical offices. The title of dean is a title of dignity; which belongs to this station as having ecclesiastical administration with jurisdiction or power annexed, as the civilians defined a dignity in the case of Broughton and Gousley (d), and more especially as coming within all the three qualifications of a dignity as laid down by Lindwood.-" A dignity," he says, "is known, 1. From the administration of ecclesiastical affairs with jurisdiction; 2. From the name and preference which he hath in the choir and chapter; (*) Gibs. 173. (a) Johns. 54. (b) God. 200; Wats. c. 2. (c) Gibs. 808, 817. (d) Cro. El. 633; Broughton V. Gousley. 3. From the custom of the place." By which rule, no stations in the cathedral church, under the degree of a bishop, are dignities strictly speaking, besides those of the dean and archdeacon; unless where jurisdiction is annexed to any of the rest, as in some cases it is to prebends and others (e). This title of dignity, as annexed to deanries, may perhaps be one reason of what the law books affirm, that if lands be given by licence to a dean and chapter of such a place, or a lease be made by them, or a writ be brought against the dean; such grant, lease, and writ, shall be good, though the dean is mentioned only by his title of dignity, and not by his proper name (ƒ). But in pleading he must show his proper name (g). successors. If a dean take an obligation to him and his successors, it Bond given to goes to his executors; which holds true also as to a bishop, a dean and his parson, vicar, and the like (h). A bond is a chattel, and regularly no chattel can go in succession in a case of a sole corporation (i), but may by custom, as in the case of the chamberlain of London (k). According to the old law, the bishop, dean, and chapter Possessions of (that is, prebendaries or canons), and all other persons deanries. belonging unto, or having any thing to do in any cathedral churches, at the first, and in ancient times, held their possessions together in gross; but afterwards for the avoiding of confusion and for better order, and for some other special causes known to the king and state of this realm, the same were by them severed and divided; and part of the lands and possessions belonging to the same church were assigned to the bishop and his successors to hold by themselves, and other parts thereof were assigned unto the dean and chapter to hold by themselves, of which lands they have ever since continued severally seised in their several capacities. Concerning the possessions of deans and others of the new foundation, it is enacted by 34 & 35 Hen. 8, c. 21, that "the king's grant to the new foundation should be good; notwithstanding any misrecital of name, place, or date." And by 35 Eliz. c. 3, "Forasmuch as divers doubts have arisen touching the surrenders of religious houses, and the validity of the erections of deans and chapters (e) Gibs. 173; 4 Price's Reports, 71. (f) Gibs. 173; Co. Litt. 3 a. (h) God. 55. Possessions of deanries. Dean to visit the chapter. made by King Henry VIII., notwithstanding the aforesaid statute; it is enacted, that all estates of religious houses surrendered to King Henry VIII. shall be adjudged to have been lawfully in the possession of the said king, notwithstanding any defect in the surrender; and all letters patents made by the said king, for the erection, foundation, incorporation, or endowment of any dean and chapter, shall be reputed, taken, and adjudged, to have been good, perfect, and effectual in the law, for all things therein contained, according to the true intent and meaning of the same, any thing, matter, or cause, to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding." Many years before this, in the eighth year of the queen, we find a bill in the House of Lords (for the confirmation of late erected deanries and prebends) read a second time and committed; but it proceeded no further. Whereupon great disturbance having been given to the deans and chapters of the new foundation, under pretence that the possessions thereof were passed by letters patents of concealment, they did this year unanimously apply themselves to the lord treasurer, Burleigh, for a confirmation of them by parliament: as appears from a letter sent by them from the convocation house, bearing date March 16, 1592, in which they beseech him, that by his honourable mediation and countenance, a remedy may at this parliament (by confirmation of the said grants) be obtained. This application produced the present act, in favour of the new foundations; notwithstanding which, five years after, divers persons, labouring a dissolution of the cathedral church of Norwich, under the old pretence of concealments, brought this matter to a solemn hearing; and it was declared, that if any imperfections were in the translation made by King Henry VIII. from prior and convent to dean and chapter, this act had made it clear and without question. To which Lord Coke subjoins, that all defects are remedied by this most excellent act of parliament, the fatal plea to all concealment as to those possessions; adding, that though the case under consideration did only concern the church of Norwich, it would serve as well for many other cathedral churches (7). The dean ought to visit his chapter (m). And of ancient time, the canons made their confessions to the dean; and Lindwood says, that the canons are under the dean as to the cure of souls (n). (7) Gibs. 184; 3 Cro. 76. (n) God. 55; Lind. 327. The dean and chapter have been upholden by the tem- Power of dean poral court in removing for misconduct a schoolmaster and chapter whom they had by their statutes the power to appoint. The case was as follows: King Henry VIII. founded by charter the cathedral church of Rochester, to consist of a dean and six prebendaries, and he made certain statutes for their government. By statute 26, a master was to be chosen by the dean and chapter, to teach certain poor boys who, by the same statute, were to be instructed in the cathedral, and the master, if found negligent or unfit, was to be removed. By statute 35, if any officer, of a description including the master, committed a slight offence, he was to be corrected at the discretion of the dean; if a weighty offence, he was to be expelled by those who gave him his admission. By statute 38, the Bishop of Rochester, for the time being, was appointed visitor, to see that the statutes and ordinances were observed, and with full power to convene and interrogate the dean, canons, minor canons, clerks and other officers, on the articles contained in the statutes, and all other things touching the welfare and honour of the cathedral church, to punish ascertained offences according to their degree, and reform them, and to do all things which might seem necessary to the extirpating of vices and which pertained to the office of visitor. W., a schoolmaster appointed under statute 26, published a pamphlet, on Cathedral Trusts, accusing the dean and chapter of having misappropriated the cathedral revenues of Rochester to their own benefit and the injury of poor persons entitled to share in them, and imputing to the then bishop, formerly dean of Worcester, that he had been guilty of similar misconduct as dean, and had, as visitor, culpably, and with knowledge of the facts, omitted to correct it in the dean and chapter of Rochester. The dean and chapter removed W. from his office for this publication and the reflections upon the dean and chapter and the bishop, therein contained, pronouncing him guilty of a grave offence, and unfit to be continued in the office of master. They, however, under counsel's advice, revoked the dismissal, but immediately afterwards cited W. to answer before them for the same offence, and they afterwards dismissed him again for the same publication. A mandamus having issued at the instance of W., the dean and chapter made a return, and W. pleaded several pleas. The facts appeared on the record as above stated. The return alleged that W. had been removed, to wit, for lawful cause, and had not appealed to the visitor. to remove cathedral schoolmaster. Power to re W. pleaded that the bishop had an interest in the cause of removal, which disqualified him from acting as visitor; and by another plea he justified the publication, and denied that he was lawfully dismissed. On demurrer to the pleas, it was held, (1.) That the bishop (if not interested) was the proper visitor in this case, for that statute 35 did not withdraw it from the general authority given to the visitor by statute 38, and the dean and chapter did not exercise a visitorial authority in dismissing the master. (2.) That the bishop had not such an interest as disqualified him from acting as visitor. (3.) That the prosecutor, therefore, should have appealed to the visitor, and not proceeded by mandamus. And that, assuming the dismissal to have been improper, this court was not authorized to interfere on the alleged ground that the dean and chapter were acting in excess of their jurisdiction (o). Upon the same principles the dean and chapter have move chorister. power to remove a chorister, subject to an appeal to the visitor. Very recently a mandamus commanding the dean and chapter of a cathedral to restore a chorister, alleged that the office was a freehold in their gift, paid by salary out of their land revenues, and conferring a right to vote on the election of members of parliament, and that the chorister had been wrongfully amoved. Return, that, by ordinances of the founder, for the government of the cathedral, it was provided that, if any of the officers of the cathedral, including choristers, commit a small fault, he may be punished by the dean, but that, "if his crime be of a blacker dye (if it be judged equitable), he may be expelled by whom he was admitted," and that the bishop of the diocese should be the visitor of the cathedral, to take special care that all its ordinances should be inviolably preserved, to punish and correct all offences committed by officers of the cathedral, and to do all things that are judged lawfully to appertain to the office of visitor. And that the chorister had not appealed to the bishop. It was held, on demurrer to the return, that mandamus did not lie, as the remedy for the wrongful amotion complained of was by application to the visitor, who had sufficient and exclusive jurisdiction, although the foundation was spiritual and not eleemosynary, and the office was a (0) The Queen v. Dean, &c. of Rochester (1851), 17 Adol. & Ell. p. 1. |