ABSTRACT
Effective national legislation had to wait for a reformed parliament, but the subject of tithe was frequently raised in both Houses, particularly in the aftermath of the sudden depression of arable prices and profits after 1813. Until the very end of the 1820s, the tithe problem was virtually ignored by the legislature. A tithe award would set down for all future reference the proportion of the total sum to be borne by each proprietor. It was probably inevitable that the plan for national commutation to get as far as a parliamentary Bill should receive a rebuff from the tithe owning interest. The Tithe Commutation Act was prefaced by an attack upon the outworks, which concentrated on the problems implicit in tithe litigation. The chief executives of commutation were the tithe commissioners. In each of the parliamentary sessions of 1833, 1834, 1835 and 1836 a major tithe commutation Bill was introduced by the government of the day.
