The first duty of the incumbent is to perform public worship in the parish church every Sunday, according to the form prescribed by the Book of Common Prayer, which is part of the statute-law of England. He must adhere strictly to the forms and ceremonies, and even to the dress prescribed by the Book of Common Prayer and Canons. The incumbent is also bound to baptize the children of all the parishioners, and to administer the rite of the Lord's Supper to the parishioners not less than three times each year. The incumbent is also bound to allow the parishioners to be buried in the church-yard of the parish, if there is accommodation, and to read the burial-service at each interment. He is also bound to marry the parishioners on their tender- ing themselves, and com|ilyiiig with the marriage acts, within the parish church and during canonical hours, and it is said he is liable to an action of damages if he refuse. In respect to burials and marriages, certain fees are frequently payable by custom ; but unless such a custom exists, no fee is exigible for performance of these duties. In many cases, where one church had become insufficient for the increased population, the old parish has been subdivided under the Church Building Acts, the first of which was passed in 1818, into two or more ecclesiastical districts or parishes, for each of which a new church was built, and an incumbent appointed. The incumbents in these ecclesiastical parishes have generally been provided for by the incumbent of the mother-parish or by voluntary benefactors, and by the aid of pew-rents. But these ecclesiastical parishes, so far as the poor and other secular purposes are concerned, make no change in the old law. Another incident of the parish church is that there must be churchwardens appointed annually, who are accordingly leading paro- chial officers, and whose duty is partly ecclesiastical and partly civil. Their civil duties consist chiefly in this, that thej' must join the overseers in many of the duties arising out of the management of the poor, and inciden- tal duties imposed by statute. But their primarv duty is to attend to the repair and good order of the fabric of the church. The common law requires that there should be two churchwardens, one of whom is appointed by the incumbent, and the other is chosen by the parish- ioners in vestry assembled, but sometimes this rule is varied by a local custom. Tlie appointment and elec- tion take place in Easter-week of each year. In elect- ing the people's churchwarden there is often much local excitement, and it is common to poll the parish, all those who pay poor-rates being entitled to vote, the number of votes varj'ing according to the rent, but no person having more than six votes. See Churchwardens. The next most important business connected with the parish is that which concerns the poor, the leading principle being that each parish is bound to pay the expense of relieving its own poor. Another important feature of the parish is that all the highways within the parish must be kept in repair by the parish, i. e. by the inhabitants who are rated to the poor. The above duties in reference to the parish church, the poor, and the highways are the leading duties attaching to the parish as a parish ; but over and above these, many miscellaneous duties have been imposed on the parish officers, particularly on the overseers and churchwar- dens. In nearly all cases where the parish, as a parish, is required to act, the mode in which it does so is by the machinery of a vestry. A vestry is a meeting of all the inhabitant householders rated to the poor. I; is called by the churchwardens, and all questions arc put to the vote. Any rate-payer Avho thinks the ma- jority of those present do not represent the majority of tlie whole parishioners is entitled to demand a poll. At these meetings great excitement often prevails, es- pecially in meetings respecting church-rates. AVher- ever a parisli improvement is found to be desirable, the vestry may meet and decide whether it is to be pro- ceeded with, in which case they have powers of rating themselves for the expense. Such is the case as to the
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establishment of baths and wash-houses, watchhig and lighting. Returns are made of all parish and local rates to Parliament every year. The parisli property, except the goods of the parish church, which are vested in the churchwardens, is vested in the overseers, who hold and manage the same, requiring the consent of the Poor-law Board in order to sell it. Of late a statute has au- thorized benefactors to dedicate greens or playgrounds to the inhabitants of parishes through the intervention of triistees." — Chambers.
In Scotland the division into parishes has existed from the most ancient times, and is recognised for cer- tain civil purposes relative to taxation and otherwise, as well as for purposes purely ecclesiastical. The Court of Session, acting as the commission of teinds, may unite two or more parishes into one; or may divide a parish, or disjoin part of it, with consent of the heritors (or landholders) of a major part of the valuation ; or apart from their consent, if it be shown that there is within the disjoined part a sufficient place of worship, and if the titulars of teinds, or others who have to pay no less than three fourths of the additional stipend, do not ob- ject. By act 7 and 8 Vict. c. 44, any district where there is an endowed church may be erected into a par- ish quoad sacra, for such purposes as are purely eccle- siastical. Endowed Gaelic congregations in the large towns of the Lowlands may similarly be erected into parishes quoad sacra. The principal application of the parochial division for civil purposes relates to the admin- istration of the poor-law. Under the old system the ad- ministrators of the poor-law were the kirk-session in coun- ty parishes, and the magistrates, or certain managers se- lected by them, in burghal parishes. The act 8 and 9 Vict, c. 83, which remodelled the poor-law of Scotland, retain- ed the old administrative body so long as there was no assessment ; but, on a parish being assessed, substituted for it a new one, consisting in rural parishes of the own- ers of heritable property of £20 yearh'- value, of the magistrates of any royal burgh within the bounds, of the kirk-session, a certain number of members chosen by the persons assessed ; and in burghal parishes of members, not exceeding tliirty, chosen by the persons assessed, four members named by the magistrates, and not above four by the kirk-session or sessions. The Board of Supervision may unite two or more parishes into a combination i'or poor-law purposes. There is not the same extensive macliinery for ])arochial self-gov- ernment that exists in England. The burden of sup- porting the fabric of the church falls on the heritors, and there are no churchwardens. Higliwaj's are not repairable by the parish, and there are no elections of surveyors or way-wardens. The meeting of the inhab- itants in vestry, which so often takes place in England, is unknown in Scotland, and hence the rate-payers do not interest themselves so much in local aftairs. Many of the duties which in England are discharged by pa- rochial officers, are in Scotland discharged by the sher- iff-clerk, a country officer. In Scotland there is a school in every parish, while in England the parochial school is unknown. See Parish-School.