Report from the Select Committee ...: Together with the Proceedings of the Committee, Minutes of Evidence, and Index. Session 2, 1859

This volume constitutes the formal record of the 1859 Parliamentary Select Committee tasked with investigating the assessment and levy of Church Rates in England and Wales. During the mid-19th century, the mandatory taxation of all parishioners to fund the maintenance of the Church of England became a focal point of intense political and social friction. This document served as a critical legislative instrument, capturing the testimonies and debates that sought to balance the established authority of the church with the growing push for religious equality and fiscal reform.

The report was compiled under the directive of the House of Lords, adhering to the rigorous documentation standards of the Westminster parliamentary process. It was printed by Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, a body dedicated to maintaining official public records. The design follows the austere, standardized aesthetic of Victorian-era government blue books, intended primarily for reference by members of Parliament, legal practitioners, and scholars interested in the intersection of ecclesiastical law and the socio-political shifts of the late 1850s.