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Elements of Distribution Theory

This detailed introduction to distribution theory uses no measure theory,

making it suitable for students in statistics and econometrics as well as for
researchers who use statistical methods. Good backgrounds in calculus
and linear algebra are important and a course in elementary mathematical
analysis is useful, but not required. An appendix gives a detailed summary
of the mathematical definitions and results that are used in the book.
Topics covered range from the basic distribution and density functions,
expectation, conditioning, characteristic functions, cumulants, conver-
gence in distribution, and the central limit theorem to more advanced
concepts such as exchangeability, models with a group structure, asymp-
totic approximations to integrals, orthogonal polynomials, and saddle-
point approximations. The emphasis is on topics useful in understand-
ing statistical methodology; thus, parametric statistical models and the
distribution theory associated with the normal distribution are covered
comprehensively.

Thomas A. Severini received his Ph.D. in Statistics from the University of

Chicago. He is now a Professor of Statistics at Northwestern University.
He has also written Likelihood Methods in Statistics. He has published
extensively in statistical journals such as Biometrika, Journal of the
American Statistical Association, and Journal of the Royal Statistical
Society. He is a member of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics and
the American Statistical Association.

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CAMBRIDGE SERIES IN STATISTICAL AND PROBABILISTIC MATHEMATICS

Editorial Board:

R. Gill, Department of Mathematics, Utrecht University

B.D. Ripley, Department of Statistics, University of Oxford
S. Ross, Epstein Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering, University of
Southern California
B.W. Silverman, St. Peter’s College, Oxford
M. Stein, Department of Statistics, University of Chicago

This series of high-quality upper-division textbooks and expository monographs covers

all aspects of stochastic applicable mathematics. The topics range from pure and applied
statistics to probability theory, operations research, optimization, and mathematical pro-
gramming. The books contain clear presentations of new developments in the field and
also of the state of the art in classical methods. While emphasizing rigorous treatment of
theoretical methods, and books also contain applications and discussions of new techniques
made possible by advances in computational practice.

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Elements of Distribution Theory

THOMAS A. SEVERINI

iii
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo

Cambridge University Press

The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521844727

© Cambridge University Press 2005

This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of

relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place
without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2005

ISBN-13 978-0-511-34519-7 eBook (NetLibrary)

ISBN-10 0-511-34519-4 eBook (NetLibrary)

ISBN-13 978-0-521-84472-7 hardback

ISBN-10 0-521-84472-X hardback

Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls
for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not
guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
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To My Parents

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vi
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Contents

Preface page xi

1. Properties of Probability Distributions 1

1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Basic Framework 1
1.3 Random Variables 5
1.4 Distribution Functions 8
1.5 Quantile Functions 15
1.6 Density and Frequency Functions 20
1.7 Integration with Respect to a Distribution Function 26
1.8 Expectation 28
1.9 Exercises 34
1.10 Suggestions for Further Reading 38
2. Conditional Distributions and Expectation 39
2.1 Introduction 39
2.2 Marginal Distributions and Independence 39
2.3 Conditional Distributions 46
2.4 Conditional Expectation 53
2.5 Exchangeability 59
2.6 Martingales 62
2.7 Exercises 64
2.8 Suggestions for Further Reading 67
3. Characteristic Functions 69
3.1 Introduction 69
3.2 Basic Properties 72
3.3 Further Properties of Characteristic Functions 82
3.4 Exercises 90
3.5 Suggestions for Further Reading 93
4. Moments and Cumulants 94
4.1 Introduction 94
4.2 Moments and Central Moments 94
4.3 Laplace Transforms and Moment-Generating Functions 99
4.4 Cumulants 110

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viii Contents

4.5 Moments and Cumulants of the Sample Mean 120

4.6 Conditional Moments and Cumulants 124
4.7 Exercises 127
4.8 Suggestions for Further Reading 130
5. Parametric Families of Distributions 132
5.1 Introduction 132
5.2 Parameters and Identifiability 132
5.3 Exponential Family Models 137
5.4 Hierarchical Models 147
5.5 Regression Models 150
5.6 Models with a Group Structure 152
5.7 Exercises 164
5.8 Suggestions for Further Reading 169
6. Stochastic Processes 170
6.1 Introduction 170
6.2 Discrete-Time Stationary Processes 171
6.3 Moving Average Processes 174
6.4 Markov Processes 182
6.5 Counting Processes 187
6.6 Wiener Processes 192
6.7 Exercises 195
6.8 Suggestions for Further Reading 198
7. Distribution Theory for Functions of Random Variables 199
7.1 Introduction 199
7.2 Functions of a Real-Valued Random Variable 199
7.3 Functions of a Random Vector 202
7.4 Sums of Random Variables 212
7.5 Order Statistics 216
7.6 Ranks 224
7.7 Monte Carlo Methods 228
7.8 Exercises 231
7.9 Suggestions for Further Reading 234
8. Normal Distribution Theory 235
8.1 Introduction 235
8.2 Multivariate Normal Distribution 235
8.3 Conditional Distributions 240
8.4 Quadratic Forms 244
8.5 Sampling Distributions 250
8.6 Exercises 253
8.7 Suggestions for Further Reading 256
9. Approximation of Integrals 257
9.1 Introduction 257
9.2 Some Useful Functions 257
9.3 Asymptotic Expansions 264
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Contents ix

9.4 Watson’s Lemma 268

9.5 Laplace’s Method 276
9.6 Uniform Asymptotic Approximations 281
9.7 Approximation of Sums 288
9.8 Exercises 295
9.9 Suggestions for Further Reading 297
10. Orthogonal Polynomials 299
10.1 Introduction 299
10.2 General Systems of Orthogonal Polynomials 299
10.3 Classical Orthogonal Polynomials 312
10.4 Gaussian Quadrature 317
10.5 Exercises 319
10.6 Suggestions for Further Reading 321
11. Approximation of Probability Distributions 322
11.1 Introduction 322
11.2 Basic Properties of Convergence in Distribution 325
11.3 Convergence in Probability 338
11.4 Convergence in Distribution of Functions
of Random Vectors 346
11.5 Convergence of Expected Values 349
11.6 Op and op Notation 354
11.7 Exercises 359
11.8 Suggestions for Further Reading 364
12. Central Limit Theorems 365
12.1 Introduction 365
12.2 Independent, Identically Distributed Random Variables 365
12.3 Triangular Arrays 367
12.4 Random Vectors 376
12.5 Random Variables with a Parametric Distribution 378
12.6 Dependent Random Variables 386
12.7 Exercises 395
12.8 Suggestions for Further Reading 399
13. Approximations to the Distributions of More
General Statistics 400
13.1 Introduction 400
13.2 Nonlinear Functions of Sample Means 400
13.3 Order Statistics 404
13.4 U -Statistics 415
13.5 Rank Statistics 422
13.6 Exercises 432
13.7 Suggestions for Further Reading 434
14. Higher-Order Asymptotic Approximations 435
14.1 Introduction 435
14.2 Edgeworth Series Approximations 435
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x Contents

14.3 Saddlepoint Approximations 447

14.4 Stochastic Asymptotic Expansions 454
14.5 Approximation of Moments 460
14.6 Exercises 466
14.7 Suggestions for Further Reading 469

Appendix 1. Integration with Respect to a Distribution Function 471

Appendix 2. Basic Properties of Complex Numbers 479
Appendix 3. Some Useful Mathematical Facts 483

References 503
Name Index 507
Subject Index 509
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Preface

Distribution theory lies at the interface of probability and statistics. It is closely related
to probability theory; however, it differs in its focus on the calculation and approxima-
tion of probability distributions and associated quantities such as moments and cumulants.
Although distribution theory plays a central role in the development of statistical method-
ology, distribution theory itself does not deal with issues of statistical inference.
Many standard texts on mathematical statistics and statistical inference contain either a
few chapters or an appendix on basic distribution theory. I have found that such treatments
are generally too brief, often ignoring such important concepts as characteristic functions
or cumulants. On the other hand, the discussion in books on probability theory is often too
abstract for readers whose primary interest is in statistical methodology.
The purpose of this book is to provide a detailed introduction to the central results of
distribution theory, in particular, those results needed to understand statistical methodology,
without requiring an extensive background in mathematics. Chapters 1 to 4 cover basic topics
such as random variables, distribution and density functions, expectation, conditioning,
characteristic functions, moments, and cumulants. Chapter 5 covers parametric families of
distributions, including exponential families, hierarchical models, and models with a group
structure. Chapter 6 contains an introduction to stochastic processes.
Chapter 7 covers distribution theory for functions of random variables and Chapter 8 cov-
ers distribution theory associated with the normal distribution. Chapters 9 and 10 are more
specialized, covering asymptotic approximations to integrals and orthogonal polynomials,
respectively. Although these are classical topics in mathematics, they are often overlooked
in statistics texts, despite the fact that the results are often used in statistics. For instance,
Watson’s lemma and Laplace’s method are general, useful tools for approximating the
integrals that arise in statistics, and orthogonal polynomials are used in areas ranging from
nonparametric function estimation to experimental design.
Chapters 11 to 14 cover large-sample approximations to probability distributions. Chap-
ter 11 covers the basic ideas of convergence in distribution and Chapter 12 contains several
versions of the central limit theorem. Chapter 13 considers the problem of approximating
the distribution of statistics that are more general than sample means, such as nonlin-
ear functions of sample means and U-statistics. Higher-order asymptotic approximations
such as Edgeworth series approximations and saddlepoint approximations are presented in
Chapter 14.
I have attempted to keep each chapter as self-contained as possible, but some dependen-
cies are inevitable. Chapter 1 and Sections 2.1–2.4, 3.1–3.2, and 4.1-4.4 contain core topics
that are used throughout the book; the material covered in these sections will most likely be

xi
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xii Preface

familiar to readers who have taken a course in basic probability theory. Chapter 12 requires
Chapter 11 and Chapters 13 and 14 require Chapter 12; in addition, Sections 13.3 and 13.5
use material from Sections 7.5 and 7.6.
The mathematical prerequisites for this book are modest. Good backgrounds in calculus
and linear algebra are important and a course in elementary mathematical analysis at the
level of Rudin (1976) is useful, but not required. Appendix 3 gives a detailed summary of
the mathematical definitions and results that are used in the book.
Although many results from elementary probability theory are presented in Chapters 1
to 4, it is assumed that readers have had some previous exposure to basic probability
theory. Measure theory, however, is not needed and is not used in the book. Thus, although
measurability is briefly discussed in Chapter 1, throughout the book all subsets of a given
sample space are implictly assumed to be measurable. The main drawback of this is that it
is not possible to rigorously define an integral with respect to a distribution function and
to establish commonly used properties of this integral. Although, ideally, readers will have
had previous exposure to integration theory, it is possible to use these results without fully
understanding their proofs; to help in this regard, Appendix 1 contains a brief summary of
the integration theory needed, along with important properties of the integral.
Proofs are given for nearly every result stated. The main exceptions are results requiring
measure theory, although there are surprisingly few results of this type. In these cases,
I have tried to outline the basic ideas of the proof and to give an indication of why more
sophisticated mathematical results are needed. The other exceptions are a few cases in which
a proof is given for the case of real-valued random variables and the extension to random
vectors is omitted and a number of cases in which the proof is left as an exercise. I have
not attempted to state results under the weakest possible conditions; on the contrary, I have
often imposed relatively strong conditions if that allows a simpler and more transparent
proof.

Evanston, IL, January, 2005

Thomas A. Severini
severini@northwestern.edu
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1
Properties of Probability Distributions

1.1 Introduction
Distribution theory is concerned with probability distributions of random variables, with
the emphasis on the types of random variables frequently used in the theory and application
of statistical methods. For instance, in a statistical estimation problem we may need to
determine the probability distribution of a proposed estimator or to calculate probabilities
in order to construct a confidence interval.
Clearly, there is a close relationship between distribution theory and probability theory; in
some sense, distribution theory consists of those aspects of probability theory that are often
used in the development of statistical theory and methodology. In particular, the problem
of deriving properties of probability distributions of statistics, such as the sample mean
or sample standard deviation, based on assumptions on the distributions of the underlying
random variables, receives much emphasis in distribution theory.
In this chapter, we consider the basic properties of probability distributions. Although
these concepts most likely are familiar to anyone who has studied elementary probability
theory, they play such a central role in the subsequent chapters that they are presented here
for completeness.

1.2 Basic Framework

The starting point for probability theory and, hence, distribution theory is the concept of
an experiment. The term experiment may actually refer to a physical experiment in the
usual sense, but more generally we will refer to something as an experiment when it has
the following properties: there is a well-defined set of possible outcomes of the experiment,
each time the experiment is performed exactly one of the possible outcomes occurs, and
the outcome that occurs is governed by some chance mechanism.
Let
denote the sample space of the experiment, the set of possible outcomes of the
experiment; a subset A of
is called an event. Associated with each event A is a probability
P(A). Hence, P is a function defined on subsets of
and taking values in the interval [0, 1].
The function P is required to have certain properties:

(P1) P(
) = 1
(P2) If A and B are disjoint subsets of
, then P(A ∪ B) = P(A) + P(B).

1
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2 Properties of Probability Distributions

(P3) If A1 , A2 , . . . , are disjoint subsets of
, then



∞ ∞
P An = P(An ).
n=1 n=1

Note that (P3) implies (P2); however, (P3), which is concerned with an infinite sequence
of events, is of a different nature than (P2) and it is useful to consider them separately.
There are a number of straightforward consequences of (P1)–(P3). For instance, P(∅) = 0,
if Ac denotes the complement of A, then P(Ac ) = 1 − P(A), and, for A1 , A2 not necessarily
disjoint,
P(A1 ∪ A2 ) = P(A1 ) + P(A2 ) − P(A1 ∩ A2 ).

Example 1.1 (Sampling from a finite population). Suppose that
is a finite set and that,
for each ω ∈
,
P({ω}) = c
for some constant c. Clearly, c = 1/|
| where |
| denotes the cardinality of
.
Let A denote a subset of
. Then
|A|
P(A) = .
|
|
Thus, the problem of determining P(A) is essentially the problem of counting the number
of elements in A and
.

Example 1.2 (Bernoulli trials). Let

= {x ∈ Rn: x = (x1 , . . . , xn ), x j = 0 or 1, j = 1, . . . , n}
so that an element of
is a vector of ones and zeros. For ω = (x1 , . . . , xn ) ∈
, take

n
P(ω) = θ x j (1 − θ )1−x j
j=1

where 0 < θ < 1 is a given constant.

Example 1.3 (Uniform distribution). Suppose that
= (0, 1) and suppose that the prob-
ability of any interval in
is the length of the interval. More generally, we may take the
probability of a subset A of
to be

P(A) = d x.

A

Ideally, P is defined on the set of all subsets of
. Unfortunately, it is not generally

possible to do so and still have properties (P1)–(P3) be satisfied. Instead P is defined only
on a set F of subsets of
; if A ⊂
is not in F, then P(A) is not defined. The sets in F
are said to be measurable. The triple (
, F, P) is called a probability space; for example,
we might refer to a random variable X defined on some probability space.
Clearly for such an approach to probability theory to be useful for applications, the set
F must contain all subsets of
of practical interest. For instance, when
is a countable
set, F may be taken to be the set of all subsets of
. When
may be taken to be a
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1.2 Basic Framework 3

Euclidean space Rd , F may be taken to be the set of all subsets of Rd formed by starting
with a countable set of rectangles in Rd and then performing a countable number of set
operations such as intersections and unions. The same approach works when
is a subset
of a Euclidean space.
The study of theses issues forms the branch of mathematics known as measure theory.
In this book, we avoid such issues and implicitly assume that any event of interest is
measurable.
Note that condition (P3), which deals with an infinite number of events, is of a different
nature than conditions (P1) and (P2). This condition is often referred to as countable additiv-
ity of a probability function. However, it is best understood as a type of continuity condition
on P. It is easier to see the connection between (P3) and continuity if it is expressed in terms
of one of two equivalent conditions. Consider the following:
(P4) If A1 , A2 , . . . , are subsets of
satisfying A1 ⊂ A2 ⊂ · · · , then



∞
P An = lim P(An )
n→∞
n=1

(P5) If A1 , A2 , . . . , are subsets of
satisfying A1 ⊃ A2 ⊃ · · · , then



∞
P An = lim P(An ).
n→∞
n=1

Suppose that, as in (P4), A1 , A2 , . . . is a sequence of increasing subsets of
. Then we

may take the limit of this sequence to be the union of the An ; that is,

∞
lim An = An .
n→∞
n=1

Condition (P4) may then be written as


P lim An = lim P(An ).
n→∞ n→∞

A similar interpretation applies to (P5). Thus, (P4) and (P5) may be viewed as continuity
conditions on P.
The equivalence of (P3), (P4), and (P5) is established in the following theorem.

Theorem 1.1. Consider an experiment with sample space
. Let P denote a function defined
on subsets of
such that conditions (P1) and (P2) are satisfied. Then conditions (P3), (P4),
and (P5) are equivalent in the sense that if any one of these conditions holds, the other two
hold as well.

Proof. First note that if A1 , A2 , . . . is an increasing sequence of subsets of
, then

Ac1 , Ac2 , . . . is a decreasing sequence of subsets and, since, for each k = 1, 2, . . . ,

c
k k
An = Acn ,
n=1 n=1

 c 
∞
lim An = Acn = lim Acn .
n→∞ n→∞
n=1
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4 Properties of Probability Distributions

Suppose (P5) holds. Then


P lim Acn = lim P Acn
n→∞ n→∞

so that
  c
P lim An = 1 − P lim An = 1 − lim P Acn = lim P(An ),
n→∞ n→∞ n→∞ n→∞

proving (P4). A similar argument may be used to show that (P4) implies (P5). Hence, it
suffices to show that (P3) and (P4) are equivalent.
Suppose A1 , A2 , . . . is an increasing sequence of events. For n = 2, 3, . . . , define
Ān = An ∩ Acn−1 .
Then, for 1 < n < k,
Ān ∩ Āk = (An ∩ Ak ) ∩ Acn−1 ∩ Ack−1 .
Note that, since the sequence A1 , A2 , . . . is increasing, and n < k,
An ∩ Ak = An
and
Acn−1 ∩ Ack−1 = Ack−1 .
Hence, since An ⊂ Ak−1 ,
Ān ∩ Āk = An ∩ Ack−1 = ∅.
Suppose ω ∈ Ak . Then either ω ∈ Ak−1 or ω ∈ Ack−1 ∩ Ak = Āk ; similarly, if ω ∈ Ak−1
then either ω ∈ Ak−2 or ω ∈ Ac1 ∩ Ak−1 ∩ Ack−2 = Āk−1 . Hence, ω must be an element of
either one of Āk , Āk−1 , . . . , Ā2 or of A1 . That is,
Ak = A1 ∪ Ā2 ∪ Ā3 ∪ · · · ∪ Āk ;
hence, taking Ā1 = A1 ,

k
Ak = Ān
n=1

and

∞
lim Ak = Ān .
k→∞
n=1

Now suppose that (P3) holds. Then


∞ ∞ 
k
P( lim Ak ) = P Ān = P( Ān ) = lim P( Ān ) = lim P(Ak ),
k→∞ k→∞ k→∞
n=1 n=1 n=1

proving (P4).
Now suppose that (P4) holds. Let A1 , A2 , . . . denote an arbitrary sequence of disjoint
subsets of
and let
∞
A0 = An .
n=1
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1.3 Random Variables 5

Define

k
Ãk = Aj, k = 1, 2, . . . ;
n=1

note that Ã1 , Ã2 , . . . is an increasing sequence and that

A0 = lim Ãk .
k→∞

Hence, by (P4),

k 
∞
P(A0 ) = lim P( Ãk ) = lim P(An ) = P(An ),
k→∞ k→∞
n=1 n=1

proving (P3). It follows that (P3) and (P4) are equivalent, proving the theorem.

1.3 Random Variables

Let ω denote the outcome of an experiment; that is, let ω denote an element of
. In many
applications we are concerned primarily with certain numerical characteristics of ω, rather
than with ω itself. Let X :
→ X , where X is a subset of Rd for some d = 1, 2, . . . , denote
a random variable; the set X is called the range of X or, sometimes, the sample space of
X . For a given outcome ω ∈
, the corresponding value of X is x = X (ω). Probabilities
regarding X may be obtained from the probability function P for the original experiment.
Let P X denote a function such that for any set A ⊂ X , P X (A) denotes the probability that
X ∈ A. Then P X is a probability function defined on subsets of X and
P X (A) = P({ω ∈
: X (ω) ∈ A}).
We will generally use a less formal notation in which Pr(X ∈ A) denotes P X (A). For instance,
the probability that X ≤ 1 may be written as either Pr(X ≤ 1) or P X {(−∞, 1]}. In this book,
we will generally focus on probabilities associated with random variables, without explicit
reference to the underlying experiments and associated probability functions.
Note that since P X defines a probability function on the subsets of X , it must satisfy
conditions (P1)–(P3). Also, the issues regarding measurability discussed in the previous
section apply here as well.
When the range X of a random variable X is a subset of Rd for some d = 1, 2, . . . , it is
often convenient to proceed as if probability function P X is defined on the entire space Rd .
Then the probability of any subset of X c is 0 and, for any set A ⊂ Rd ,
P X (A) ≡ Pr(X ∈ A) = Pr(X ∈ A ∩ X ).
It is worth noting that some authors distinguish between random variables and random
vectors, the latter term referring to random variables X for which X is a subset of Rd for
d > 1. Here we will not make this distinction. The term random variable will refer to either
a scalar or vector; in those cases in which it is important to distinguish between real-valued
and vector random variables, the terms real-valued random variable and scalar random
variable will be used to denote a random variable with X ⊂ R and the term vector random
variable and random vector will be used to denote a random variable with X ⊂ Rd , d > 1.
Random vectors will always be taken to be column vectors so that a d-dimensional random
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6 Properties of Probability Distributions

vector X is of the form

X 
1
 X2 
X = 
 ... 
Xd
where X 1 , X 2 , . . . , X d are real-valued random variables.
For convenience, when writing a d-dimensional random vector in the text, we will write
X = (X 1 , . . . , X d ) rather than X = (X 1 , . . . , X d )T . Also, if X and Y are both random
vectors, the random vector formed by combining X and Y will be written as (X, Y ), rather
than the more correct, but more cumbersome, (X T , Y T )T . We will often consider random
vectors of the form (X, Y ) with range X × Y; a statement of this form should be taken to
mean that X takes values in X and Y takes values in Y.

Example 1.4 (Binomial distribution). Consider the experiment considered in Example 1.2.
Recall that an element ω of
is of the form (x1 , . . . , xn ) where each x j is either 0 or 1. For
an element ω ∈
, define

n
X (ω) = xj.
j=1

Then
Pr(X = 0) = P((0, 0, . . . , 0)) = (1 − θ)n ,
Pr(X = 1) = P((1, 0, . . . , 0)) + P((0, 1, 0, . . . , 0)) + · · · + P((0, 0, . . . , 0, 1))
= nθ (1 − θ )n−1 .
It is straightforward to show that
 
n x
Pr(X = x) = θ (1 − θ)n−x , x = 0, 1, . . . , n;
x
X is said to have a binomial distribution with parameters n and θ .

Example 1.5 (Uniform distribution on the unit cube). Let X denote a three-dimensional
random vector with range X = (0, 1)3 . For any subset of A ∈ X , let
  
Pr(X ∈ A) = dt1 dt2 dt3 .
A

Here the properties of the random vector X are defined without reference to any underlying
experiment.
As discussed above, we may take the range of X to be R3 . Then, for any subset A ∈ R3 ,
  
Pr(X ∈ A) = dt1 dt2 dt3 .

A∩(0,1)3

Let X denote random variable on Rd with a given probability distribution. A support of

the distribution, or, more simply, a support of X , is defined to be any set X0 ⊂ Rd such that
Pr(X ∈ X0 ) = 1.
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1.3 Random Variables 7

The minimal support of the distribution is the smallest closed set X0 ⊂ Rd such that
Pr(X ∈ X0 ) = 1.
That is, the minimal support of X is a closed set X0 that is a support of X , and if X1 is
another closed set that is a support of X , then X0 ⊂ X1 .
The distribution of a real-valued random variable X is said to be degenerate if there
exists a constant c such that
Pr(X = c) = 1.
For a random vector X , with dimension greater than 1, the distribution of X is said to be
degenerate if there exists a vector a = 0, with the same dimension as X , such that a T X
is equal to a constant with probability 1. For example, a two-dimensional random vector
X = (X 1 , X 2 ) has a degenerate distribution if, as in the case of a real-valued random variable,
it is equal to a constant with probability 1. However, it also has a degenerate distribution if
Pr(a1 X 1 + a2 X 2 = c) = 1
for some constants a1 , a2 , c. In this case, one of the components of X is redundant, in the
sense that it can be expressed in terms of the other component (with probability 1).

Example 1.6 (Polytomous random variable). Let X denote a random variable with range
X = {x1 , . . . , xm }
where x1 , . . . , xn are distinct elements of R. Assume that Pr(X = x j ) > 0 for each j =
1, . . . , m. Any set containing X is a support of X ; since X is closed in R, it follows that the
minimal support of X is simply X . If m = 1 the distribution of X is degenerate; otherwise
it is nondegenerate.

Example 1.7 (Uniform distribution on the unit cube). Let X denote the random variable
defined in Example 1.5. Recall that for any A ⊂ R3 ,
  
Pr(X ∈ A) = dt1 dt2 dt3 .
A∩(0,1)3

The minimal support of X is [0, 1]3 .

Example 1.8 (Degenerate random vector). Consider the experiment considered in Exam-
ple 1.2 and used in Example 1.4 to define the binomial distribution. Recall that an element
ω of
is of the form (x1 , . . . , xn ) where each x j is either 0 or 1. Define Y to be the
two-dimensional random vector given by


n 
n
Y (ω) = xj, 2 xj .
2

j=1 j=1

Then
Pr((2, −1)T Y = 0) = 1.
Hence, Y has a degenerate distribution.

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8 Properties of Probability Distributions

1.4 Distribution Functions

Consider a real-valued random variable X . The properties of X are described by its proba-
bility function P X , which gives the probability that X ∈ A for any set A ⊂ R. However, it is
also possible to specify the distribution of a random variable by considering Pr(X ∈ A) for a
limited class of sets A; this approach has the advantage that the function giving such proba-
bilities may be easier to use in computations. For instance, consider sets of the form (−∞, x],
for x ∈ R, so that P X {(−∞, x]} gives Pr(X ≤ x). The distribution function of the distribu-
tion of X or, simply, the distribution function of X , is the function F ≡ FX : R → [0, 1]
given by

F(x) = Pr(X ≤ x), − ∞ < x < ∞.

Example 1.9 (Uniform distribution). Suppose that X is a real-valued random variable

such that

Pr(X ∈ A) = d x, A ⊂ R;
A∩(0,1)

X is said to have a uniform distribution on (0, 1).

The distribution function of this distribution is given by
 
0 if x ≤ 0
F(x) = Pr{X ∈ (−∞, x]} = dx = x if 0 < x ≤ 1 .
(−∞,x]∩(0,1)
1 if x > 1
Figure 1.1 gives a plot of F.

F (x)

− −
x
Figure 1.1. Distribution function in Example 1.9.
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1.4 Distribution Functions 9

F (x)

− −
x
Figure 1.2. Distribution function in Example 1.10.

Note that when giving the form of a distribution function, it is convenient to only give
the value of the function in the range of x for which F(x) varies between 0 and 1. For
instance, in the previous example, we might say that F(x) = x, 0 < x < 1; in this case it
is understood that F(x) = 0 for x ≤ 0 and F(x) = 1 for x ≥ 1.

Example 1.10 (Binomial distribution). Let X denote a random variable with a binomial
distribution with parameters n and θ , as described in Example 1.4. Then
 
n x
Pr(X = x) = θ (1 − θ)n−x , x = 0, 1, . . . , n
x
and, hence, the distribution function of X is
  
n j
F(x) = θ (1 − θ)n− j .
j=0,1,...; j≤x
j

Thus, F is a step function, with jumps at 0, 1, 2, . . . , n; Figure 1.2 gives a plot of F for the
case n = 2, θ = 1/4.

Clearly, there are some basic properties which any distribution function F must possess.
For instance, as noted above, F must take values in [0, 1]; also, F must be nondecreasing.
The properties of a distribution function are summarized in the following theorem.

Theorem 1.2. A distribution function F of a distribution on R has the following properties:

(DF1) limx→∞ F(x) = 1; limx→−∞ F(x) = 0
(DF2) If x1 < x2 then F(x1 ) ≤ F(x2 )
(DF3) limh→0+ F(x + h) = F(x)
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10 Properties of Probability Distributions

(DF4) limh→0+ F(x − h) ≡ F(x−) = F(x) − Pr(X = x) = Pr(X < x).

Proof. Let an , n = 1, 2, . . . denote any increasing sequence diverging to ∞ and let An

denote the event that X ≤ an . Then P X (An ) = F(an ) and A1 ⊂ A2 ⊂ · · · with ∪∞
n=1 An equal
to the event that X < ∞. It follows from (P4) that

lim F(an ) = Pr(X < ∞) = 1,

n→∞

establishing the first part of (DF1); the second part follows in a similar manner.
To show (DF2), let A1 denote the event that X ≤ x1 and A2 denote the event that x1 <
X ≤ x2 . Then A1 and A2 are disjoint with F(x1 ) = P X (A1 ) and F(x2 ) = P X (A1 ∪ A2 ) =
P X (A1 ) + P X (A2 ), which establishes (DF2).
For (DF3) and (DF4), let an , n = 1, 2, . . . , denote any decreasing sequence converging
to 0, let An denote the event that X ≤ x + an , let Bn denote the event that X ≤ x − an , and
let Cn denote the event that x − an < X ≤ x. Then A1 ⊃ A2 ⊃ · · · and ∩∞ n=1 An is the event
that X ≤ x. Hence, by (P5),

Pr(X ≤ x) ≡ F(x) = lim F(x + an ),

n→∞

which establishes (DF3).

Finally, note that F(x) = P X (Bn ) + P X (Cn ) and that C1 ⊃ C2 ⊃ · · · with ∩∞
n=1 C n equal
to the event that X = x. Hence,

F(x) = lim F(x − an ) + lim P X (Cn ) = F(x−) + Pr(X = x),

n→∞ n→∞

yielding (DF4).

Thus, according to (DF2), a distribution function is nondecreasing and according to

(DF3), a distribution is right-continuous.
A distribution function F gives the probability of sets of the form (−∞, x]. The following
result gives expressions for the probability of other types of intervals in terms of F; the
proof is left as an exercise. As in Theorem 1.2, here we use the notation

F(x−) = lim+ F(x − h).

h→0

Corollary 1.1. Let X denote a real-valued random variable with distribution function F.
Then, for x1 < x2 ,
(i) Pr(x1 < X ≤ x2 ) = F(x2 ) − F(x1 )
(ii) Pr(x1 ≤ X ≤ x2 ) = F(x2 ) − F(x1 −)
(iii) Pr(x1 ≤ X < x2 ) = F(x2 −) − F(x1 −)
(iv) Pr(x1 < X < x2 ) = F(x2 −) − F(x1 )

Any distribution function possesses properties (DF1)–(DF4). Furthermore, properties

(DF1)–(DF3) characterize a distribution function in the sense that a function having those
properties must be a distribution function of some random variable.

Theorem 1.3. If a function F : R → [0, 1] has properties (DF1)–(DF3), then F is the

distribution function of some random variable.
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1.4 Distribution Functions 11

Proof. Consider the experiment with
= (0, 1) and, suppose that, for any set A ∈
,
P(A) given by

P(A) = d x.
A

Given a function F satisfying (DF1)–(DF3), define a random variable X by

X (ω) = inf{x ∈ R: F(x) ≥ ω}.

Then

Pr(X ≤ x) = P({ω ∈
: X (ω) ≤ x}) = P({ω ∈
: ω ≤ F(x)}) = F(x).

Hence, F is the distribution function of X .

The distribution function is a useful way to describe the probability distribution of a

random variable. The following theorem states that the distribution function of a random
variable X completely characterizes the probability distribution of X.

Theorem 1.4. If two random variables X 1 , X 2 each have distribution function F, then X 1
and X 2 have the same probability distribution.

A detailed proof of this result is beyond the scope of this book; see, for example, Ash
(1972, Section 1.4) or Port (1994, Section 10.3).
It is not difficult, however, to give an informal explanation of why we expect such a
result to hold. The goal is to show that, if X 1 and X 2 have the same distribution function,
then, for ‘any’ set A ⊂ R,

Pr(X 1 ∈ A) = Pr(X 2 ∈ A).

First suppose that A is an interval of the form (a0 , a1 ]. Then

Pr(X j ∈ A) = F(a1 ) − F(a0 ), j = 1, 2

so that Pr(X 1 ∈ A) = Pr(X 2 ∈ A). The same is true for Ac . Now consider a second interval
B = (b0 , b1 ]. Then
∅ if b0 > a1 or a0 > b1



B if a0 ≤ b0 < b1 ≤ a1
A∩B = A if b0 ≤ a0 < a1 ≤ b1 .



 (a0 , b1 ] if b1 ≤ a1 and b0 ≤ a0
(b0 , a1 ] if a1 ≤ b1 and a0 ≤ b0
In each case, A ∩ B is an interval and, hence, Pr(X j ∈ A ∩ B) and Pr(X j ∈ A ∪ B) do not
depend on j = 1, 2. The same approach can be used for any finite collection of intervals.
Hence, if a set is generated from a finite collection of intervals using set operations such as
union, intersection, and complementation, then Pr(X 1 ∈ A) = Pr(X 2 ∈ A).
However, we require that this equality holds for ‘any’ set A. Of course, we know that
probability distibutions cannot, in general, be defined for all subsets of R. Hence, to pro-
ceed, we must pay close attention to the class of sets A for which Pr(X 1 ∈ A) is defined.
Essentially, the result stated above for a finite collection of intervals must be extended to
 Another Random Document on
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LEGAL

POSITION OF THE CLERGY ***
 Handbooks for the Clergy

EDITED BY

ARTHUR W. ROBINSON, B.D.

VICAR OF ALLHALLOWS BARKING
BY THE TOWER

THE LEGAL POSITION OF

THE CLERGY
THE LEGAL POSITION OF
THE CLERGY

BY

P. V. SMITH, LL.D.

CHANCELLOR OF THE DIOCESE OF MANCHESTER

AUTHOR OF "THE LAW OF CHURCHWARDENS AND SIDESMEN

IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY," ETC.

LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.

39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON
NEW YORK AND BOMBAY
1905
All rights reserved
 PREFACE
In the following pages an endeavour has been made to give a
succinct sketch of the legal position of the parish clergy of the
Church of England in respect both of spiritualities and of
temporalities. The book, being intended for their use, does not touch
upon the subject of ordination by which they acquired the status of
deacons or priests. Nor does it deal with the episcopate or the non-
parochial clergy, except so far as these subjects are connected with
the parochial system.
Like all other human arrangements, our English Church law is, of
course, far from being ideally perfect. It may be safely affirmed that
there has never been either a Church or a State in which the law has
actually been what it ideally ought to have been. It is important to
recognise the difference between the two positions; for there has
sometimes been a disposition on the part of individuals to confuse
them, and to treat what they consider to be the ideal law, as if it
were the actual law, and as if, as such, it demanded their loyal
obedience. Such an attitude, whether in ecclesiastical or civil
matters, is anarchical in its tendency; for it sets up private judgment
instead of the constituted authority as the criterion of what ought or
ought not to be done. It can only be justified where the actual law is
absolutely inconsistent with the fundamental principles of morality or
of Christian truth. The object of the present treatise is to state
succinctly what the law is,—not what it ought to be; and no opinion
is expressed or suggestion offered as to points in which amendment
would be proper or expedient.
Within the limited compass of the book it is obviously impossible to
enter into details; and the reader who desires information as to
these will find them in the authorities to which reference is made. It
must also be borne in mind that the general law on the subject of
buildings, property, and pecuniary rights is, in various places,
modified by special local enactments or customs. These can only be
ascertained on the spot, or by consulting the Acts of Parliament in
which they are embodied or recorded.
One other word of caution is desirable. In explaining the legal
position of the parochial clergy, it is, of course, necessary to indicate
the exact limits of their rights. If they venture beyond these limits,
they are manifestly in the wrong. But no community, either
ecclesiastical or civil, could maintain its well-being, or even its
coherence, if every individual were on all occasions to take
advantage of the full tether of his legal rights. It will frequently be
wise and proper for the clergy, in their relations with their
ecclesiastical superiors or with the lay officials and other laity of the
parish, not to adopt the most uncompromising attitude which the
letter of the law permits to them. The dictates of love and of
Christian forbearance, and of consideration for the claims of others,
as well as of expediency, will not warrant the infringement by an
individual of the ordinances of either the Church or the State. But
they will more than justify him in refraining from taking up a position
of defiance which these ordinances may strictly entitle him to
assume.
Easter, 1905. P. V. SMITH.
 CONTENTS
List of Abbreviations pages xxi-xiv

CHAPTER I
General Legal Position

1.Spiritual, ecclesiastical, and civil status of the clergy. 2. Sources of

Church law. 3. Written and unwritten law—Foreign Canon law—Pre-
Reformation Canons—Acts of Parliament—Canons of 1603—Canons
of 1640—Other canons. 4. Decisions of Church courts—Distinction
between judicial and legislative action. 5. Legal status of the ancient
Parish—Rector or Parson—Patronage or Advowson—Vicar—Perpetual
curate. 6. Dissolution of the Monasteries—Impropriate rectories—
New churches and ecclesiastical parishes—Assistant parochial clergy
—Titular vicars—Incumbent—Curate. 7. Minister in charge—Lecturer.
8. Status of clergy ordained elsewhere than in England or Ireland, or
ordained for service in the colonies or foreign countries—Scottish
clergy. 9. Benefices—Beneficed and unbeneficed clergy. 10. Bishops,
their relation to the clergy—Suffragan bishops—Chancellors. 11.
Archdeacons. 12. Rural Deans. 13. Judicial procedure—Church
Discipline Act, 1840—Public Worship Regulation Act, 1874—Clergy
Discipline Act, 1892. 14. Abstinence of Clergy from secular pursuits.
15. Civil exemptions—Municipal and Parliamentary qualifications and
disqualifications. 16. Restrictions as to labour, business, and trade—
Lawful exceptions—Penalties for unlawful trading. 17. Protection in
performance of religious rites—Act against brawling. 18. Indelibility
of Orders—Relinquishment of clerical status pages 1-24
 CHAPTER II
Beneficed Clergy
1. Admission by bishop on presentation of patron—Lapse to bishop,
archbishop, or Crown. 2. Transfers of advowsons or rights of
presentation—Next presentations—Power of patron to present
himself—Restrictions under Benefices Act, 1898. 3. Qualification for
admission—Grounds for refusal by bishop—Testimony as to fitness.
4. Procedure in case of refusal by bishop. 5. Publication of notice of
intended admission. 6. Mode of admission—Institution—Licence—
Collation—Declarations of assent and against simony—Oaths of
allegiance and canonical obedience—Reading of Thirty-nine Articles.
7. Effect of admission—Induction. 8. Fees on admission. 9. Cure of
Souls—Duties laid down in Ordination Service—Residence—Divine
service—Marriages—Burials—Private ministrations. 10. Exclusive
right of administration—Superior right of bishop—Modern comity as
between town parishes. 11. Private ministrations—Service in
unconsecrated buildings—Meetings for worship. 12. Private chapels
—Chapels of institutions—Unconsecrated proprietary chapels. 13.
Formation of new parishes—Approval or otherwise of incumbent. 14.
Holding of two benefices. 15. Neglect of duty—Commission of
inquiry—Procedure on adverse report of Commission. 16. Residence
on benefice—Forfeitures for non-residence—Bishop's licence of non-
residence—Grounds for licence. 17. Monition, sequestration, and
avoidance of benefice for non-residence. 18. Performance of duties
where incumbent is non-resident. 19. Restrictions on interfering with
duties during period of non-residence. 20. Reckoning of time as to
residence. 21. Vacation of benefice by death, resignation, admission
to other preferment, or deprivation. 22. Resignation; unconditional
except upon an exchange—Engagement to resign illegal except
under Clergy Resignation Bonds Act, 1828—Corrupt resignations and
exchanges—Pensions under Incumbents Resignation Acts. 23.
Vacation of benefice on admission to other preferment. 24.
Deprivation ipso facto—Declaration of vacancy by bishop on
conviction of incumbent in certain cases—Sentences of deprivation
under Acts of 1840 and 1892 pages 25-54

CHAPTER III
Unbeneficed Clergy
1. Classes of unbeneficed clergy—Bishop's licence—Declaration of
assent—Examination and admission by bishop—Discretion of bishop
—Revocation of licence. 2. Curates or ministers in charge—(a) On
vacancy of benefice—(b) On sequestration of benefice for
incumbent's bankruptcy or debt—(c) On incumbent's non-residence
—(d) On incumbent's neglect of duties—(e) On formation of Peel
district. 3. Assistant curates—Stipend—Notice to quit or relinquish
curacy—Discretion of incumbent as to employment—Appointment
where duties are inadequately performed; or where circumstances of
parish require it. 4. Performance of duty by other clergy—Discretion
of incumbent—Licence of bishop—Production of licence and entry of
names of preachers in a book. 5. Lecturers and preachers—
Performance of other ministerial duties pages 55-64

CHAPTER IV
Laity of the Parish
1. Relations between incumbent and lay officials. 2. The vestry—
Constitution, meetings, and voting in ancient parishes, and in new
parishes—Vestries Act, 1818—Present functions—Select vestries. 3.
Churchwardens—Election in ancient and new parishes—Admission.
4. Parson's or vicar's and people's wardens—Duties: (a) Care of
fabric and ornaments of the church and of the churchyard—(b)
Seating of parishioners—(c) Provision of requisites for service—(d)
Maintenance of order in church and churchyard—(e) Collection and
concurrence in disposal of offertory money—(f) Charge of church
and benefice during vacancy, if appointed sequestrators—
Restrictions on powers. 5. Sidesmen. 6. Church trustees. 7. Parish
clerk—Appointment and removal. 8. Sexton. 9. Beadle. 10. Organist
and choristers. 11. Officiating of lay readers and other laymen. 12.
Other lay work—Visiting of poor and sick—Sunday schools—Church
elementary schools. 13. Parochial church councils pages 65-79

CHAPTER V
Divine Service
1. Duty of clergy as to uniformity of service—Divergence by lawful
authority—Liberty under Act of 1872. 2. Morning and Evening Prayer
—Litany—Bishop 0.5em;">may order two full services, and a third
service, with sermon. 3. Notices during Divine service—Notices on
church door—Banns. 4. Offertory—Other collections in a church or
chapel—Duty of incumbent as to money entrusted to him. 5.
Questions as to the legality of various church ornaments, vestments,
and ceremonies—Legal decisions as to (A) Stone Holy Table—Crucifix
—Cross—Candlesticks—Flower-vases—Pictures—Sculptures—
Credence table—Second Holy Table—Chancel gates—Baldacchino—
Voice of parishioners in vestry—(B) Attire of clergy at Holy
Communion—Surplice—Hood—Albe—Vestment or chasuble—Tunicle
—Stole—Chaplain's scarf—Biretta—Black gown—(C) Incense—
Processions with lighted candles—Lighted candles at Holy
Communion—Mixed chalice—Wafers—Agnus Dei and other hymns—
Position of minister—Genuflexions—Elevation—Sign of the Cross—
Ablutions—Reservation. 6. Baptism not to be refused—Time for the
ceremony—Private baptism in urgent cases—Godparents—Reception
in church after private baptism—Conditional baptism—Immersion or
affusion—Notice to bishop in cases of adult baptism—Deacon may
baptize—Lay baptism. 7. Times for and notice of Holy Communion—
Communion not to be unlawfully refused—Who are to be repelled
from it—Procedure in such cases—Jenkins v. Cook—Persons coming
from other parishes—Persons attending dissenting places of worship
—Persons baptized in another communion and not confirmed. 8.
Sermons and homilies—Provisions of rubrics, Canons, and Acts of
Parliament. 9. Catechising. 10. Churching of women pages 80-99

CHAPTER VI
Marriage
1. Duty of minister to solemnise marriage between persons legally
competent—Unlawful solemnisation, when a felony—Marriage, when
void. 2. Original places for banns and marriages—Churches of new
parishes—Licences for banns and marriages in chapels—Parishes
having no regular services in parish church—Where parish church is
being rebuilt or repaired—No reconsecration necessary where church
is rebuilt or enlarged and position of Holy Table altered. 3. Persons
legally competent to intermarry—Religion or absence of religion of
the parties no ground for refusal to solemnise marriage. 4. Minimum
age—Consent of parents or guardians in case of unions—Marriage
without consent, in absence of notice—Marriage below lawful age. 5.
Marriage of lunatic or non compos, void. 6. Absence, unheard of, for
seven years—Relief from punishment for bigamy—Invalidity of
remarriage. 7 Divorce abroad—Divorce in England under Act of 1857
—Remarriage of divorced persons. 8. Marriage of foreigners—
Requirements of laws of foreign States—Precautions to be observed.
9. Prohibited degrees of kindred and affinity. 10. Publication of
banns—Time and form—Seven days' notice—Publication and
marriage without notice and due inquiry—Publication where parties
dwell in different parishes or districts—Where one dwells in Scotland,
or in Ireland—What constitutes dwelling—Correct names to be
published—Status need not be published—Publication to be from
book and signed—Forbidding of banns. 11. Marriage, with consent of
minister, on registrar's certificate—Not permitted on registrar's
licence. 12. Marriage on licence of bishop or Archbishop of
Canterbury—Grant of bishop's licence—Previous affidavit before
surrogate—Duty of minister on production of licence—Names in
licence—Grant of licence a favour and not a right. 13. Marriage,
where and when to be solemnised—Priest or deacon may marry—
Penalty for solemnising marriage at improper place or time. 14.
Reading of service after marriage at a registry office—Second
solemnisation of marriage. 15. Fees for banns, certificate of banns,
and marriage. 16. Marriage register books—Certificate of marriage.
17. Presumption of marriage of persons coming to Holy Communion
—Proof of no marriage—Validity of marriage governed by law of
place of solemnisation—Capacity to contract marriage governed by
law of domicile—-Marriage between British subjects in a foreign
country or on board ship pages 100-120

CHAPTER VII
Burial
1. Right of burial by clergyman of the parish where death occurs—
Bells to be rung—Burial in case of death in another parish—Relief in
case interment is refused—No right to particular hour or spot of
burial—Incumbent or churchwardens cannot sell or grant grave-
spaces in perpetuity or brick graves—Reservation of exclusive right
of burial on grant of addition to churchyard—Faculty for exclusive
grave space in other cases—Burial of non-parishioners not dying
within the parish. 2. Burial of bodies cast up by the sea or tidal or
navigable water. 3. Burial of person dying unbaptized or
excommunicate and of felo de se—Burial of child of dissenter or
person who has received lay baptism—Interment cannot be required
without convenient warning. 4. Bringing of corpse into church and
burial under church. 5. Fees—Prepayment not enforceable—
Customary amount—On burial of non-parishioners—Tables of fees—
Special fees for brick graves, iron coffins, and other extras—Fees and
rights of burial where new ecclesiastical parish has its own burial
ground. 6. Use of Burial Service in unconsecrated ground—Use of
special form—Permission of burial without Church rites and with or
without some other service on notice under Act of 1880—Day and
time for burial—Fee. 7. Delivery of registrar's certificate of death or
order of coroner at funeral. 8. Fees on interments in cemeteries
under Cemeteries Clauses Act, 1847. 9. Burial Acts—Consecrated
and unconsecrated parts of burial grounds—Chapels—Fees of
incumbents, clerks, and sextons—Sale of rights to vaults and
monuments—Burial Act, 1900—Tables of fees—Restrictions on future
fees to incumbents, churchwardens, and sextons—Commutation of
fees. 10. Cremation—Burial of cremated remains. 11. Faculty for
removal of body from one unconsecrated place of interment to
another—Licence of Home Secretary for removal in other cases
pages 121-134

CHAPTER VIII
Private Ministrations
1. Visitation and Communion of the Sick—-Canon 67—Order for the
Visitation—Confession and absolution of the sick—Regulations as to
Communion. 2. Preparation for Confirmation. 3. Spiritual advice and
comfort—Confession—Absolution. 4. Ordinary visitation and
intercourse pages 135-140

CHAPTER IX
Temporalities
1. Possessions and revenues of benefices of ancient parishes and
new ecclesiastical parishes. 2. Incumbent a corporation sole—
Restrictions on his acquisition and holding of landed property—
Licence in mortmain—Mortmain and Charitable Uses Acts—School
Sites Acts—Inability to hold as a corporation land upon trusts. 3.
Freehold of church and churchyard of ancient parish in rector—
Chancel repairable by rector—Enforcement of repairs—Possession
and custody of church in incumbent and churchwardens—Right of
incumbent to keys and control of organ and bells—Canon 88—Right
of rector to profits of soil of churchyard—Felling of trees in
churchyard—Freehold of church and churchyard of new parish in
incumbent—Exemption from rates and contributions to making new
streets—Removal of part of church as a dangerous structure. 4.
Rights of bishop and parishioners in church and churchyard—Power
of incumbent as to ordinary tombstones and inscriptions in
churchyard—Glass shades for wreaths—Appeal to consistory and
higher courts—Faculties for monuments in church and other
alterations and additions in church and churchyard—Application by
incumbent and churchwardens after resolution of vestry—Consent of
rector to alteration in chancel—Faculty for vault or space for
exclusive burial—Removal of earth or bones from churchyard, or
other desecration—Faculty for diversion of ancient footpath through
churchyard, and for throwing part of churchyard into highway—
Restoration of wall wilfully thrown down—Easement of light and air
over churchyard—Laying out of closed churchyard as a garden and
removal of gravestones—Restrictions as to building on closed or
disused burial-grounds. 5. Glebe, rectorial and vicarial—Exemption
from tithe—Waste—Cultivation of glebe—Cutting down of trees—
Opening and working of mines and quarries and gravel pits. 6.
Statutory facilities for parsonage houses and other buildings and
repair of chancels—Gilbert Acts—Loans by, and mortgages to Queen
Anne's Bounty—Purchase of land—Building and improving of farm
buildings and labourers' dwellings—Gifts and bequests of parsonage
houses and glebe—Sale and exchange of parsonage houses and
glebe. 7. Letting of parsonage house where incumbent has licence to
reside elsewhere. 8. Farming or letting of glebe—Agricultural,
building, and mining leases. 9. Repair of parsonage house and glebe
buildings—Ecclesiastical Dilapidations Act, 1871. 10. Diocesan
surveyors—Proceedings (a) on vacancies in benefices and (b) in
other cases—Exemption from liability for five years after certificate of
surveyor. 11. (a) Inspection and report by surveyor on a vacancy—
Objections to report—Order of bishop—Debt from late incumbent, or
his estate, to new incumbent—Payment of amount recovered to
Queen Anne's Bounty—Loan of amount not recovered—Balance to
be paid by new incumbent—Dilapidation Account—Liability where a
vacancy occurs between inspection of buildings and certificate of
completion of works. 12. (b) Inspection of buildings on complaint of
archdeacon, rural dean, or patron, or on request of incumbent—
Inspection after and during sequestration of benefice—Report—
Objections—Decision of bishop—Loans—Dilapidation Account—
Execution of repairs—-Charge of cost on income in case of benefice
under sequestration—Vacancy before execution of works—Liability of
sequestrator spending excessive amount on repairs. 13. Payment of
money out of dilapidation account on certificate of surveyor—Liability
and duty of incumbent—Rebuilding or remodelling instead of
repairing. 14. Insurance of parsonage house, glebe buildings, and
chancel against fire—Production of receipts for premiums at
visitations—Payment and application of insurance money and
reinstatement of buildings in the event of fire—Sequestration of
benefice to raise any requisite balance. 15. Exemption from Act of
1871 of buildings let on lease under which tenant is liable—
Inspection by surveyor. 16. Faculty or consent of bishop and patron
to alterations in buildings—Liability of incumbent for alterations not
so sanctioned—Power of bishop to authorise removal of unnecessary
buildings—Movable sheds or garden frames. 17. Vacation of benefice
—Cesser of rights of former incumbent—Right of widow to two
months' residence in parsonage house—Inspection of premises
pending settlement of dilapidations—Emblements—Apportionment of
rents, tithe rentcharge, and other income. 18. Tithe commutation
rentcharge under Act of 1836 and amending Acts—Assessment in
lieu of great or rectorial tithes and small or vicarial tithes—
Extraordinary tithe rentcharge in respect of hop and other gardens
and orchards—Act of 1886—Assessment of tithe rentcharge with
regard to prices of wheat, barley, and oats—Variation according to
septennial average prices. 19. Payment of tithe rentcharge and
recovery by distress on appointment of receiver—Recovery from
railway company. 20. Dues (i.) ordinary and (ii.) special—Variety by
law and custom—Payments on the customary four offering days—
Easter offerings—Rights of vicar of new ecclesiastical parish. 21.
Mortuaries. 22. Dues for special services or concessions. 23. Pew
rents under special or general Acts of Parliament—Under Church
Building and New Parishes Acts—Recovery of pew rents. 24. First
fruits and tenths—Exemption of small benefices—Number of
benefices remaining liable. 25. Income or property tax—On
parsonage house, glebe lands, and tithe rentcharge—On landed
property in occupation of incumbent—On other stipend, fees,
perquisites, and profits—Legal deductions—Test as to whether
receipts are or are not liable to tax—Voluntary contributions to
minister in respect of his office—Grants from Curates' Augmentation
Fund—Grants from Queen Victoria Clergy Fund pages 141-168

Index pages 169-174

 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
Law Reports (House of Lords and Privy Council)
A. C.
1891 onwards.
A. & E. Adolphus & Ellis's Reports (King's Bench)1834-41.
Add. Addam's Reports (Ecclesiastical) 1822-6.
Ambl. Ambler's Reports (Chancery) 1737-83.
Law Reports (House of Lords and Privy Council)
App. Ca.
1875-90.
Atk. Atkyn's Reports (Chancery) 1735-54.
Ayl. Par. Ayliffe's Parergon Juris Canonici Anglicani, 1726.
Barnewall & Cresswell's Reports (King's Bench)
B. & C.
1822-30.
Barnewall & Adolphus' Reports (King's Bench) 1830-
B. & Ad.
34.
Barnewall & Alderson's Reports (King's Bench)
B. & Ald.
1818-22.
B. & Sm. Best & Smith's Reports (Queen's Bench) 1861-70.
Beav. Beavan's Reports (Chancery) 1838-66.
Bl. Comm. Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England.
Burn. Burn's Ecclesiastical Law, 4 vols.
One of the Constitutions and Canons Ecclesiastical
Canon. agreed upon in the Canterbury convocation begun
in 1603.
C. B. Common Bench Reports, 1845-56.
C. B. N. S. Common Bench Reports, New Series, 1856-65.
Carrington & Kirwan's Reports (Nisi Prius) 1843-
C. & K.
1853.
C. P. D. Law Reports (Common Pleas Division) 1875-80.
Ch. Law Reports, Chancery Division, 1891 onwards.
Ch. D. Law Reports, Chancery Division, 1875-90.
Cl. & F. Clark & Finnelly's Reports (House of Lords) 1831-46.
Francis Clarke's Proxis in Curiis Ecclesiasticis, 1666,
Clarke, Proxis
1684.
Coke's Institutes of the Laws of England, Second
Co. Inst.
Part.
Coke upon Littleton (with notes by Hargrave and
Co. Litt.
Butler).
Co. Rep. Coke's Reports, 1598-1616.
Com. Dig. Comyn's Digest.
Cowp. Cowper's Reports (King's Bench) 1774-78.
Cripps's Law relating to the Church and Clergy, 6th
Cripps.
ed., 1886.
Cro. Jac. Croke's Reports (temp. James I.) 1603-1625.
Curt. Curteis's Ecclesiastical Reports, 1834-44.
Degge. Sir Simon Degge's Parson's Counsellor.
Dr. & Sm. Drewry & Smale's Reports (Chancery) 1859-65.
E. & B. Ellis & Blackburn's Reports (Queen's Bench) 1854-8.
Eccl. & Adm. Ecclesiastical & Admiralty Reports (Spinks) 1853-5.
El. & El. Ellis & Ellis' Reports (Queen's Bench) 1858-61.
Ex. Exchequer Reports, 1847-56.
Ex. D. Law Reports (Exchequer Division) 1875-1880.
Geary's Law of Marriage and Family Relations (A. &
Geary
C. Black, 1892).
Gibs. Cod. Gibson's Codex Juris Ecclesiastici Anglicani.
Hag. Cons. Haggard's Consistory Reports, 1729-1821.
Hag. Eccl. Haggard's Ecclesiastical Reports, 1827-1832.
Hurlstone & Coltman's Reports (Exchequer) 1862-
H. & C.
66.
H. L. C. House of Lords Cases, 1847-66.
Hob. Hobart's Reports, 1611-20.
Ir. Ch. Rep.
Irish Chancery Reports (Appendix).
App.
J. & H. Johnson & Hemming's Reports (Chancery) 1859-62.
J. P. Justice of the Peace, 1837 onwards.
John Johnson's Clergyman's Vade Mecum, 6th ed.,
Johns.
1731.
Jur. Jurist (Reports) 1837-54.
Jur. N. S. Jurist, New Series (Reports) 1855-66.
K. B. Law Reports (King's Bench) 1901 onwards.
Law Journal 1823-31; New Series 1832 onwards
L. J. (Ch., C.P.,
(Chancery, Common Pleas, Exchequer, Queen's
Ex. Q.B.)
Bench).
L. J. Eccl. Ditto (Ecclesiastical Cases).
L. J. M. C. Ditto (Magistrates' Cases).
L. J. P. M. & A. Ditto (Probate, Matrimonial, and Admiralty Cases).
L. R. A. & E. Law Reports, 1865-75 (Admiralty and Ecclesiastical).
L. R. C. P. Ex.
Ditto (Common Law).
Q. B.
L. R. Ch. Ditto (Chancery Appeals).
L. R. Eq. Ditto (Equity).
L. R. H. L. Ditto (House of Lords).
L. R. H. L. Sc. Ditto (Scotch and Divorce Appeals).
L. R. P. C. Ditto (Privy Council).
L. T. N. S. Law Times (New Series) Reports, 1859 onwards.
M. & S. Maule & Selwyn's Reports (King's Bench) 1813-17.
M. & W. Meeson & Welsby's Reports (Exchequer) 1836-47.
Marsh. Marshall's Reports (Common Pleas) 1813-1816.
Mer. Merivale's Reports (Chancery) 1815-17.
Moo. P. C. Moore's Privy Council Reports, 1836-62.
Moo. P. C. N.
Ditto, New Series, 1862-73.
S.
N. R. New Reports (Equity and Common Law) 1862-65.
Notes of Cases (Ecclesiastical and Maritime) 1841-
Not. of Ca.
50.
P. Law Reports, Probate Division, 1891 onwards.
P. D. Law Reports, Probate Division, 1875-90.
Phill. Phillimore's Reports (Ecclesiastical) 1809-1821.
Phillimore's Ecclesiastical Law of the Church of
Phill. Eccl. Law
England, 2 vols., 2nd ed., 1895.
P. Wms. Peere Williams' Reports (Chancery) 1695-1735.
Q. B. Queen's Bench Reports (Adolphus & Ellis) 1841-52.
Q. B. Law Reports (Queen's Bench) 1891-1900.
Q. B. D. Law Reports (Queen's Bench Division) 1875-1890.
Rob. Eccl. Robertson's Reports (Ecclesiastical) 1844-1853.
Sc. L. R. Scottish Law Reporter, 1865 onwards.
Smith's Law of Churchwardens and Sidesmen in the
Sm. Churchw.
Twentieth Century (Wells, Gardner, & Co., 2s.).
Str. Strange's Reports, 1715-47.
Strype's John Strype's Annals of the Reformation (ed. 1824)
Annals 4 vols.
Swabey & Tristram's Reports (Probate and Divorce)
Sw. & Tr.
1858-65.
Taun. Taunton's Reports (Common Pleas) 1807-1819.
Times Law
Times Law Reports, 1884 onwards.
Rep.
Durnford & East's Term Reports (King's Bench)
T. R.
1785-1800.
Trist. Cons.
Tristram's Consistory Judgments, 1872-90.
Judgm.
Ventr. Ventris' Reports (King's Bench) 1668-91.
Ves. Vesey Junior's Reports (Chancery) 1789-1816.
Wats. Watson's Clergyman's Law, 4th ed., 1747.
Willes Willes Reports (Common Pleas) 1737-58.
Wils. Wilson's Reports (Common Law) 1743-74.
W. R. Weekly Reporter, 1853 onwards.
Yo. & Jer. Younge & Jervis's Reports (Exchequer) 1826-30.
 CHAPTER I
GENERAL LEGAL POSITION
1. In every country where a Christian Church is permitted to exist,
the power and authority of her clergy to exercise their functions will
rest upon a triple basis and be subject to twofold restrictions and
limitations. In the first place, (i.) they derive their spiritual authority
from their ordination, and this authority is independent of the
particular Church to which they belong. But, in the next place, they
are bound on the one hand (ii.) to obey the regulations of the
Church of which they are the ministers, and must also, on the other
hand, (iii.) conform to the laws of the country in which they labour.
For they can only actively exercise their functions by the licence or
permission of the ruling power of that country, and subject to any
conditions which it may choose to impose. These principles apply
equally whether the Church is what we call established or not. The
only difference is that if the Church is established, her own
regulations are part of the law of the land; whereas, if she is not
established, the law of the land sanctions or suffers the existence of
these regulations as a private contract or arrangement between the
ministers and other members of the Church. But even in the case of
an established Church, her ministers will obviously be restricted in
the exercise of their functions by civil regulations which do not form
part of the ecclesiastical law. Thus there may be nothing in the law
of his Church to prevent a clergyman from holding a religious service
or preaching in a crowded thoroughfare. But in England and other
civilised countries any attempt to do so would be checked by the
existing laws against the obstruction of highways. In the following
pages no attempt will be made to point out the non-ecclesiastical
laws and limitations to which a parish priest is subject. For though
they necessarily affect himself and his spiritual work, they do so only
indirectly. They touch him not as a minister or even as a Christian,
but as a citizen; and they touch his spiritual work only in so far as
that work has a material and civil element.
2. Confining then our attention to the ecclesiastical law under which
the parish priest holds his position and acts in this country, we note
in the first place, that the Church being here established, this
ecclesiastical law is equally the law of the Church and the law of the
State. This is true whatever be its origin, and however it came into
force; and it has always had this double aspect, since (with the
exception of the brief interval of the Commonwealth—a period which
is not recognised in our jurisprudence as having had any legal
existence) there never has been a time in our history when the
Church of England has not been the Established Church of the
nation. Portions of our Church system and Church law have had an
exclusively ecclesiastical origin, by canon or otherwise, and have
been adopted or acquiesced in by the State. Further portions have
been created by the joint or concurrent action of the Church and the
State. Other portions again have been due to the sole action of the
civil legislature, which has received the tacit assent of the Church
but has never been confirmed by any formal ecclesiastical
ratification. From whichever of these three sources any particular
point of our Church law may have been derived, its validity and
obligation is the same. It binds the Church and her ministers and
members irrespectively of its origin, and is at present in force unless
it has either been formally repealed or become obsolete and fallen
into desuetude.
3. Again, like our civil law, our ecclesiastical law is in part written
and in part unwritten or customary. Foreign canon or conciliar law or
papal law is only binding in England so far as it has been received by
immemorial custom, and has thus become part of our unwritten law,
or has been incorporated into our written law by the ratification of
an Act of Parliament, or a canon or constitution of our own Church;
and the binding force of the English Pre-Reformation canons,
ordinances, and provincial constitutions stands on the same footing.
For the Commission authorised by the Act for the Submission of the
Clergy of 1533 to examine the English canons and constitutions,
and, with the king's assent, declare which of them should be in force
and which should be abrogated, was never appointed, although the
time for its appointment was extended by Acts of 1535 and 1543,
and the scope of its inquiry was extended by the latter Act so as to
include foreign canons and ordinances.[1] Consequently the only
written Church law is to be found in Acts of Parliament and the
Prayer-Book,[2] and in Post-Reformation canons, which, however,
except so far as they are confirmed by Act of Parliament, or declare
the unwritten law of the Church, are only binding on the clergy.[3] Of
these the chief are those known as the Canons of 1603, which were
agreed upon at the sitting of the Canterbury Convocation begun in
that year, and were separately passed two years afterwards by the
York Convocation. Many portions of them are, however, now
obsolete; and Canon 36 and the last words of Canon 102 have been
superseded by new canons made in 1865-66 and 1888. The Canons
of 1640 were passed after the dissolution of Parliament, which,
according to the custom of the realm, put an end also to the
existence of Convocation, and they have no legal force.[4]
4. Much discussion has arisen upon a fourth source of Church law,
namely, the decisions of our ecclesiastical courts. It is important to
draw a clear distinction between legislative and judicial functions. A
court, whether ecclesiastical or civil, has nothing to do with enacting
laws. Its province is confined to interpreting them, when their
meaning is obscure or disputed. No doubt, in the course of this
interpretation, it will sometimes make law by deciding in a particular
way a point on which the legislature has left the matter in doubt,
and has not itself clearly laid down the law. Many questions affecting
the clergy and the Church have, in fact, been thus determined by
our civil as well as by our ecclesiastical tribunals. But if one of our
civil courts, in interpreting the civil law, delivers a decision which
does not commend itself to the common sense of the nation, it is
recognised that the remedy lies not in altering the constitution of the
court and endeavouring to obtain a fresh legal decision which shall
upset the other, but in obtaining an Act of Parliament expressly over-
ruling the unsatisfactory decision. If this is not done, the law may
have been technically judge-made, but it is acquiesced in and
assented to by Parliament and the nation. The same principle applies
to the decisions of ecclesiastical courts. The natural way of getting
rid of an obnoxious decision is not by fresh adjudication, but by
legislation. Until it has been reversed by one or other of these
means, the decision of a court, which de facto possesses
ecclesiastical jurisdiction, is binding upon the Church as part of her
law for the time being. We have somewhat lost sight of this
principle, owing to the extreme difficulty of obtaining any definition
or alteration of Church law by a legislative process. But the true
remedy lies in a healthy revival of the exercise of ecclesiastical
legislation, and not in an endeavour to make the ecclesiastical
judicature, whether as now existing or after a reform of the courts,
discharge legislative functions which are wholly outside its proper
province.
5. The legal position of the parochial clergy depends for its ultimate
origin upon the legal status of the ancient Parish. The word is the
English form of the Greek παροικία (habitation), and the Latin
parochia, an expression originally synonymous with diocese (Gr.
διοίκησις, i.e. administration; Lat. diœcesis, used of a district or part
of a province in the Roman Empire), and applied to the territory
assigned to the jurisdiction of a bishop, which was served by him
and a college of clergy under him. But under Archbishop Theodore
(668-690) or shortly after his time the process was begun of
encouraging the lords of manors and great landowners to build
churches for themselves and their dependants, and devote the tithes
of their manors or estates to the maintenance of divine worship in
these churches, and the performance of religious duties among the
residents on the estates. This process was gradually extended
throughout the country, and, wherever it was adopted, the tithes
were assigned either to the priest for the time being in charge of the
church, who was in that case called the rector (governor of the
church) or parson (Lat. persona)[5] or to a monastery, the members
of which were then expected to serve the church. The manor or
estate, including any detached and outlying portions, became the
parish of the church, and developed into a territorial unit not only for
ecclesiastical but also for many civil purposes. Where the church was
served by a single rector, the landowner who had endowed it and his
successors after him were given in return the right of nominating to
the bishop a clerk in Holy Orders to become rector of the church, or,
in other words, they acquired the patronage or advowson[6] of the
benefice. The frequent cases of neglect in the service of the parish,
where a monastery was rector, led, in the thirteenth century, to the
requirement that in such cases a succession of individual priests
should be appointed to discharge the duty, with a definite portion of
the endowments of the benefice as their stipend for so doing. As a
rule the great tithes, being those of corn, grain, hay, and wood,
were reserved to the monastery, and were in consequence styled
rectorial tithes, while the officiating priest, who was styled a vicar,
was endowed with the remaining or small tithes, which consequently
were called vicarial. But in a few instances the officiating priest,
instead of becoming entitled to the small tithes, only received a fixed
monetary stipend. Where this occurred, he was called a perpetual
curate. It was the rule that rectories, whether in the hands of a
monastery or a succession of individual priests, should be endowed
not only with the tithes of the parish, but also with a house and
lands, which are called glebe; and sometimes these houses and
lands, or a part of the lands, were assigned towards the stipend of
the vicar.
6. Towards the close of Henry VIII.'s reign the monasteries were
dissolved, and their rectories and the rectorial tithes of the parishes
and other endowments attached thereto, and the right of
nominating vicars or perpetual curates to the parishes passed, with
the rest of the monastic property, in some cases into the hands of
the Crown or of private individuals who received grants of them from
the Crown, while in other cases they went to the endowment of
episcopal sees or of colleges, hospitals, or other public institutions.
Whichever happened, the rectory and rectorial tithes became
thenceforth impropriate, and the vicar or perpetual curate was left
with the vicarial tithes and other endowments, or a stipend, as the
case might be, to serve the parish as the beneficed parish priest.
Later on, and particularly during the nineteenth century, the growth
of the population and the rapid increase of our urban centres, owing
to the steady migration from the villages to the towns, has rendered
the building of new churches and the creation of new ecclesiastical
areas a matter of pressing importance; and the same causes have
necessitated the employment in the larger parishes of additional
clergy, whether stipendiary or voluntary. In some cases an old parish
has been divided into distinct and separate parishes, each of which
has received a portion of the old church endowments, and has
become a rectory, vicarage, or perpetual curacy, according to the
status of the old parish;[7] or a vicarage has been converted into a
rectory upon a surrender of the rectorial tithes by the impropriator.
[8] But, as a rule, new ecclesiastical districts or parishes have been
formed and churches built without resorting to the old endowments;
and the Church Building and New Parishes Acts provided that the
ministers put in charge of these new districts or parishes and
churches should be perpetual curates, and should, like the old
rectors, vicars, and perpetual curates, be corporations, with
perpetual succession.[9] But in 1868 it was enacted that the
incumbent of every parish and new ecclesiastical parish, who was
authorised to publish banns, and solemnise marriages, churchings,
and baptisms in his church, and was not a rector, should, for the
purpose of designation only, be styled a vicar, and his benefice
should for the same purpose be styled a vicarage.[10] The modern
generic title, which includes every beneficed parish priest, is
incumbent. The proper and ancient term for rectors, vicars, and all
other parochial clergy, whether beneficed or unbeneficed, is curate,
as having the cure of souls within the parish.[11] But in modern
practice this term, when used by itself, is generally applied to the
unbeneficed or assistant curates in a parish.
7. Two other classes of parochial clergy remain to be mentioned.
Where, for any reason, the incumbent is for a prolonged period
disabled from performing the duties of his office, a substitute will be
appointed under the designation of Minister in Charge. Again, in
some parishes, lectureships have been endowed, and are held by a
lecturer, who, in respect of his duties as such, is independent of the
incumbent.
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