The Express.
London, England, 1851-10-29 00:00:00

MAC:TARTAN DISLOYALTY AND

OBSTINACY.

Whilst the bells of every other church in Lan-
cashire, in the parishes through which the Queen passed in
her recent progress, rung merrily on thejoyful occasion,t hose
of Leigh were silent. The churchwardens, desirous of not
beiotr considered the cause of this exception to general pa-
rochial rejoicing. have published the following address to
the inhabitants, and added their correspondence with the
vicar on the subject :

"TO TIM INIIAIIITANTA OF 711 F. PARISH OF LF.IOII.
" You arc an arc that the Queen has passed through our
parish, while no sound of welcome has been heard from
our bells. This requires explanation, and therefore we
present you with a correspondence that took place
on the subject between ourselves and the vicar, from
which you will perceive that he is the cause of all. True
it is that he tells us in his last note that Mrs. Irvine
was so ill as to prevent ringing under any circumstances;
but even this very sudden illness dues not iu the least alter
the case, because in the same note he says that his nand
is made up,' chewing that if she had been well the result
would base been the same—there would have been nu ring-
ing of balls to honour the Queen. You will observe that in
his last note the vicar seems to feel sore because we ex-
pressed a hope that to do honour to his sovereign he would
act for once in harmony with his parishioners. Now we
really do think the request was a very mutest oce ; we
knew that he stuck pertinaciously to whatever had
been said or done by himself; but us the visit of a sovereign
to this place, was an occurrence so much out of the usual
order of events, wo thought we might, and we did beg that
he would, for once, mark you, only for once, to do honour
to his Queen, curb his sell' will so far as to act in harmony
with his people. Surely this was a small miter to ask
' him, but you 600 this little request of ours was refused,
and he was even angry because we made it. You now see
that the spirit of self•will which sets the feelings of the
parishioners at nought, will not be curbed even to give a
welcome to our beloved Queen.—We are, your faithful
servants, Tun Cltelall'lVAßDFNS' "
'•

"Leigh, Oct. 7.
"The churchwardens of Leigh would not again have
troubled the vicar on bell-ringing, as his last letter showed
that further correspondence on that subject was useless, but
they cannot allow the bells to remain mute on the approach-
ing visit of her Majesty, without at least making un effort
to have them rung. Silence on such an occasion would ill
accord with the loyalty of the inhabitants of Leigh, and the
churchwardens, in acconlance with the feelings of the
parishioners, wish to te,tify the high respect and attach-
ment felt for her Majesty, by having the bells rung on
Thursday and Friday next, one day, or both. They, there-
fore, beg to ask whether the vicar will consent to this testi-
monial of loyalty. They trust they may count on his ac-
quiescence, and that un the approach of a monarch so uni-
versally and so justly beloved all will unite in doing her
honour.

" To the vicar of Leigh."
" Vicarage, Leigh, Oct. 7.
" The vicar of Leigh will be roost happy to concur in the
request conveyed to him by the churchwardens, in reference
to ringing the bells. But of course he stipulates that this
shall be done by the persons appointed ringers in 1816, with
the conjoint approval of the vicar and the then churchwar-
dens, and by no others.
" The churchwardens of Leigh."
" Leigh, Oct. 8.
" The churchwardens of Leigh, in reply to the vicar's
note respecting the bells, beg to say that the ringers he
points out, were, as he very well knows, turned off by an
unanimous vote of the parishioners on account of their un-
fitness to ring ; they cannot therefore employ these men.
Indeed, they would be deservedly di raced, were they to
employ men who had been declared by the parishioners so
unfit tar ringing on ordinary occasions, to ring the bells in
honour of the Queen. The churchwardens, therefore, trust
that the vicar will consent to allow men to ring the bells
who are able to do it, and that with the view of doing ho-
nour to his Sovereign, he will exercise so much self-denial,
as to act for once in harmony with hie parishioners.
" The vicar of Leigh."
" Vicarage, Leigh, Oct. 9.
The vicar is sorry to say that Mrs. Irvine is so much
worse this morning as to render it extremely dangerous fur
her to he disturbed by the noise of the bells in such close
proximity ; as this circumstance unfortunately prevents any
ringing of the bells at all, it is unnecessary for the vicar to
discuss the question who should ring them. lie only begs
to may that the stipulation in his former note was made for
the sake of pea e, and to prevent any further debate con-
cerning a principle en which his mind is made up. The
arrangement proposed seemed to him the only one by which
any ringing of tho bells could at present lawfully take
place. Ile would also call the attention of the wardens to
the concluding portion of their last note, which is of such
character as to render it necessary for him to decline all
further correspondence with them on this subject.
" The churchwardens of Leigh."

IT IS SAID that the prompt and decided tone of the
Archbishop of Canterbury's monitions served on a large
number of the Pu-elite clergymen in his grace's diocese
has had the desired efkct, and that the whole of the gentle.
men alluded to have signified to his grace their intention of
discontinuing the practices objected to.
PAUPEP.ISNI IN ST. PANCHAS.—The number of
poor relieved in the parish of St. Pancras last week was
0,739, and the sum expended 1911. 113. The number re-
lieved in the corresponding period last year was 6,230, and
the amount expended' 071. 19s. 10d.