PROVISORS, STATUTE OF. The name of sev eral statutes of England, which were intended to prevent the Pope from presenting to benefiees in England, o•, as it was technically known, from using the rights of provision and reservation. Since the time of Innocent HI. (1198-1216) the Pope had frequently appointed foreigners to bishoprics and the like. Often these never lived in England, and merely sought to derive as much revenue as possible, leaving the ecclesiastical duties to others. Edward I. in the Statute of Carlisle (1307) sought to prevent the heads of the great monastic Orders from burdening the English Dl onsteries with taxes, and by implica tion included the Pope in this prohibition. It was not, however, until 1351 that the first Statute of Provisors of Benefices was passed, which seriously aimed to cheek the various abuses. Heavy penalties were to he imposed for the violation of the law. Nevertheless the statute was not enforced, and it was reenacted in 1362 and again in 1390, the last time with additional safeguards. For diplomatic reasons, however,
the kings of England were compelled frequently to give way to the Papal demands, and conse quently the statute was in practice always sus pended. Moreover. the King himself found it often convenient to override the rights of the cathedral chapters and obtain the appointment of a favorite to some benefice or other by employ ing the aid of the Papal machinery. It was not until the breach with Rome took place in the reign of Henry VIII. that the abuses which the Statute of Provisors sought to cheek ceased. The text of the statutes will be found in Adams and Stephens, Select Documents of English Constits tionul History (New York, 1901). Consult also: Stubbs, Constitutional History of England, vols. ii. and iii. (Oxford, 1895-96) ; Lingard, History of England, vol. iii. (London, 1883).