The Express.
London, England, 1849-11-20 00:00:00

Now, it is very evident, from the rise and progress
of the town of Southampton, end from documentary
evidence, that Bt. Mary was the mother church, and
that the other four churches now existing were at
one time chapels of ease, which were built as the
town increased in size. It is highly ptobable also
that when the church of St. Mary was endowed, the
parish of St. Mary was the town of Southampton,
and that the church property was Riven to the town,
and not to the parish. But the parish has for centu-
ries only contained one-half the population of the
town; nevertheless, the rector of St. Mary has
always monopolised the whole of the endowment, to
the exclusion of the other churches. How the vast
income derived from that endowment has been disposed
of the readers of the Daily News have been often in-
formed. Alter two or three 116. f-starved curates
have been paid out of it, the rest has been pocketed
by the right honourable non-resident pluralist the
Earl of Guilford.
Taking thew facts into consideration, the prawn!
incumbents of St. Michael's and St. Lawrence have
very recently submitted to the ecclesiastical commis-
sioners that, when the Earl of Guilford. resigns the
church property, which he has enjoyed as rector of
St. Mary, should be appropriated to the owe for
which it was origioslly intended, viz., fur the bruefit
of the town of Southampton, and not eciely for the
parish of St. Mary, and that the churches of All
Saints, St. Michael, and St. Lawrence, should 'burs
same portion of it. But the Bishop of Winchester is
unwilling to give up any portion of property to
churches of which he has not the patronage, and the
Lord Chancollw will not give up his patronage to the
Bishop of Winchester. Thus clerical and lay patron.
age, that bane of the established church, is likely to
mar the beneficial effects which the inhabitants at
Southampton anticipator' from the resignation of the
earl ; and property which, in the hands of the dissenters,
would evangelise half the county, will, perhaps, only
be appropriated to the support of two monster livings
in the parish of St. Mary.
In cooc'n ion, I beg to say that the inhabitants of
Southampton will look up to the Daily News, the
eloquent denouncer of every public abuse, and faithful
defender of the people's rights, to see that justice it
does them when the rectory of St. Mary's is vacant,
and that the extensive and most valuable church pro-
nerty, left to them by their pions ancestors, is put to
the most profitable use in a pecuniary sense, and that
the proceeds are appropriated moat judiciously to the
rip:ritual and moral education of the people.
Itchen Ferry, Nov. 17. J. H. T.

DOG-FIGHTING ON THE YORKSHIRE MOORS.—
At the fithfileld town-hall last week (says the SA•jfield
Timm), John Linley, Joseph Green Henry Hobson, and
John Hall, of that town, stood charged on • warrant with
dog-fighting. John Capper, agent to the S moiety kr pre.
venting Cruelty to Mims's, stated that en Sands, night,
the 20th des, he got information that a dog fight wee to take
place hart morning at Salter's Broth, near Fiddler's Green.
13a Monday morning he kept a lookout, and saw a party of
=fighters leave itheffield by the half past eight o'clock
He feller/ea them by the next train, and on alight-
ing at Danford Bridge ho was told that the fight was
to take place about two miles and a half further, on
the moors. He went forwards, and on reaching the
piece ha saw • great number of men assembled, and
it stated that the dogs belonged to Jack Lialey
nod Joe Omen. Two dogs were fighting, and seemed
to have been gorged about ten minutes or a quarter of an
hour. Witness stayed amongst the crowd about twenty
minutes, and wimemed the Grist, which was the most brutal
sight he ever saw. The society bee endeavoured by every
means to cheek the system, but nevertheless it mired to lie
on the increase rather than the decrmse. The defendants
Omen and Utley almost live by the practice of deg fighting,
aud is do many more besides. There was hardly • week
pawed in which they did not make up a match; and Gress
acted es referee for another dog-fight no later than yesterday,
after he had got this summons.—Hobsos denied that be was
present at the fight —Mr. Capper added that he hat been told
that it was anal for dog lighten to rub their dogs' skins over
with poison, so that the animals may imbibe the pleat
when they biro, and then they have to be killed.—Lisity
declared that both the dogs were living lie denied that
be ;got AG living by dog-fizlning, and said that be ceu/d
prove by his books that be worked hard for his living, by
means of which he had brought up his children creditably,
and they had turned out as good lade as any in Shet&lld.
—Mr. Raptor: But whether you get your living by it or
not you fight dage.—Linley : Certainly I have fought
doge.—Oran said he should not have gone to the fight
except that he was told that the spot was nineteen miles
from Mu Meld, and that they woull have no trouble or
bother. —Mr. Jeffenek : Why, de you suppose that the
distaace or the locality makes the teed any bsteer ? —Mr.
Raynor observed that the plea in question was chosen be-
cause it was en the edge of the county. He added that he
bad heard of a person who bad won SW. by that fight, and
that on the Monday following there wee a fight betiretve
two dogs belonging restock's', to a Eittellield publican and
• publican from Stockport, in which one dog nearly killed
the other, and it was held with its head la a shallow sough
unit diet —Toe beach fined the defeatist% 40e. and mere,
end in deceit of payment to be committed for two menthe.
THE APPEARANCE OP • IeftEMAID IN DvvuM.
At the Bishop Atekland Pollee Cowry reessmiy, Jtha Davie,
stating himitelf to have been .beet • short penad attached to
Batty's Equestrian Company, •
now out of employment,
was charged by PC. Civil, with imposing epos her
Majary's liege subjects, at Williegtoe, on the previous day,
reigibition a figure farmed a " Mermaid" for the " smal
ll
of one penny." On examiaation the head consisted
of • turnip, apparently fresh pulled, and the body stuffed
with cotton togs, and the whole severed with a skim. with a ,
most hideous looking Imo. The tomb proposed that the
" eariceity" should he Imeet, to whisk Jobe very molly
emeested, is are dry eon maraud as direction that it
really was not a mermaid l The bash erdend him to be
arLaired to the bora elassalra ka 14 flap.