The Express.
London, England, 1848-02-03 00:00:00

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N0.447.] LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, FEB. 3, lB4B. [3d.

THE VACANT GARTER.—Her Majesty has bestowed
the blue riband vacant by the death of the Earl of Yowls,
upon the Duke of Norfolk.
EAST LONDON AUXILIARY TO THE BRITISH AND
FOREIGN SAILORS' SOCIETY, —An annual meeting war
held on Tumday, at the Eastern Institution, Commercial-
rod, when there was a very numerous attendance. Mr.
George Thompson, M.P.' occupied the chair. The report
of that:owning* stated that, since the formation of the insti-
tution, eleven sears ago, many thousand tracts, not only in
the English, but also in the German, French, Swedish, and
Dutch languages, had been distributid, and libraries, con-
taining many hundred suitable books, had been sent to sea
on loan. Bethel services had been held, at which not less
Nan 3,000 sailors had been addressed ; in addition to which
many bad been induced to attend places of worship on shore.
Daring the past year, about 6,000 tricts had bean dis-
tributed ; seven libraries, each containing 30 volumes, had
been lent on hoard vessels sailing to the following ports—
namely, two to Quebec, one to Havana, one to -Bombay,
one to Hobart Town, and two to Jamaica. Five libraries
had been returned—two from Quebec, one from H
one from Jamaica, and one from Hobart Town, and in nearly
ever case a contribution had been given to the funds of the
auxiliary by the captain or crew in returning their box of
books. Forty-four Bethel services had been held, the
average attendance having been twelve, and a large number
had even been seen in some of the sanctuaries in the imme-

diate locality. The committee had received a c:mmunica-
tion from the parent eociety, requesting them to carry out
• suggestion made by the missionaries who had returned
from the South Sea Islands, to procure aad seed est la the
John Williams an iron chapel, to be essrail la die Issabrar
of Apia, Upedu, one of the South Boa Ishads, hit the we of
the British and American seamen visiting the port. This
had accordingly been done at an expthse to the somety el
18.51., of which sum 401. was still due from the society. The
committee hoped that the deficiency would be supplied by
the meeting. The receipts during the year had amounted
to 841., of which 691. had been contributed by the Ladies'
Association in aid of their objects. Out of the total rum
781. Gs. 4d. had been paid to the parent society, the re-
minder having been expended in necessary disbursements.
—The Rev. J. Kennedy moved, and the Rev. T. C. Smith
seconded, the adoption of the report, and the meeting was
subsequently addressed by the Rev. Dr. Burnett and other
reverend gentlemen, in support of resolutions pledging
the meeting to support the society, and awarding a vote of
thanks to the Chairman.—A subscription was made during
the evening among the assembly, but it did not appear to
realise any considerable amount.
THE ELECTION OF HEAD-MASTER OF ICING I
EDWARD'S GRAMMAR (know., BIRMINGHAM, took place
yesterday. There were in all 17 candidates, hut of these
three only were submitted to the ballot, viz.: the Rev. C.
I H. Gifford, M.A., second master of the grammar school at
Shrewsbury; the Rev. S. J. Rigaud, M.A.' senior assistant
master of Westminster School; and the Rev. G. E. L
Cotton, M.A., one of the masters of the school at Rugby.
The election was declared to have fallen upon Mr. Gifford.
DREADED INVASION OF FRANCE BY TILE
—The national defences question has, according to the Libre
Echange, raised a counter panic in France. "While the
ridiculous panic," says' that paper, " is being manifested in
England, a counter feeling is beginning to be felt on this side
of the channel. Here oae is persuaded that, under this pre-
text of defence, England in reality is preparing the means of
invasion ; and surely our conjectures arc at least as well
founded as those of our neighbours. The press already be-
gins to demand precautionary measures ; for, of all clams,
the journalists are certainly the most warlike. They have
the good fortune never to leave in the field of battle either
a leg or an arm:" it is the peasant who is food for powder;
and they contribute to the expenses of the war only a bottle
of ink and a quirt of paper. It is so agreeable to encourage
armies, to put them through their manoeuvres, to criticise
the generale, to evince the most ardent patriotism, the most
heroic bravery, in a well-carpeted room, by the side of a
comfortable tire. But the newspapers make opinion : and
we must else arm. Our ministers will allow themselves to
b.: coaxed into increasing our armaments; they will assume
the air of ceding to irresistible exigencies, and then they
will my, ' You see very well that neither the salt duties nor
the post-office can be touched ; on the contrary, we mast
invent new taxes—a difficult problem, certainly—but we
have among us Nome able financiers.' It seems to us that
there are some men who ought to laugh in their sleeves at
all this : first, those who, in the two countries, live by the
development of brute force—those to whom international
misunderstandings, diplomatic intrigues, and the prejudices
of nations open a career of place, of promotion, of crosser,
of advancement, of fortune, of power, and of glory. The
monopolists, too, have a much greater chance of pre-
serving their privileges in nations which, apprehensive of
war, dare not trust to another for their supplies What a fine
theme for the Morning Post and the Monieeur Industriel,
should free trade terminate for the present in this mystifica-
tion, and plunge nations into war. Finally, the governments,
if there be any, which seek to make a profit of the people, to
multiply the number of their creatures, will in no degree be
angry at this excellent opportunity of making more places,
expending more money, and raising more troops. Demand
reforms after that, and we shall find an answer."
GRACE-YARDS IN TowNs.—During the sitting of
the magistrates at the Guildhall, Plymouth, on Thursday,
Mr. Trego brought under the attention of the bench some
circumstances relating to the interment of bodies in the
churchyard attached to Charles Church. He stated that in
consequence of the number of burials many of the bodies
were not put two feet below the surface. In one case a grave
was opened, and the coffin already there was found on
measurement to be within 22 inches of the surface, yet
another coffin was put on the top of that. The sexton laid
he could not find a vacant place, although he had bored for
that purpose. The churchwardens said that the case had
not been overstated, but there was no remedy until the new
cemetery was got ready, when it was hoped the interments
in the town would be much abated.
PER'S IN PARISH CUURCIIES.—Dr. Phillimore has
addressed to the churchwardens of Cheltenham the following
general propositions with respect to the distribution and ar-
rangement of pews in a parish church " First, I apprehend
it to be a clear rule of law, recognised by a series el adjudged
cases,That pews in a parish church cannot be either bought or
sold unless under the sanction of a special act of parliament,
which would, pro tango, form an exception to the general
laws. It has not been stated to me that any act of parliament
exists which would sanction the sale of pews in Cheltenham
church ; it follows, therefore, that any such sales which may
have taken place are nullities in law, and to be dealt with as
such by the churchwardens. Secondly, Pews may be appro-
priated by prescription, and a prescriptive title cannot be
altered by any authority ; it is to be observed, however, that
prescriptive titles are rare—that they must be clearly proved,
and not left equivocal. Thirdly, Pews may be appropriated
by faculties duly granted by a competent ecclesiastical court.
The churchwardens cannot itreriere with the occupiers of
seats in virtue of faculties, unless there should be something
videos (not an unusual occurrence) in the form or substance
of the faculty, or unless the holder of the faculty should
cease entirely to be an inhabitant of the parish and to fro
quent the parish church ; in such an instance I apprehend
the churchwardens might, pro rennin, place actual inhabit-
ants, who might come for the purpose of attending divine
service, in the vacant and deserted sea s. Fourthly, Cuatom
may so far entitle persons to their occupation of particular
seats that they may not be removable from them by the
churchwardens unlm under the sanction of the ordinary,
Fifthly. Pews way be holden by a possessory right on the
allotment of the churchwardens, and a possessory title cannot
be altered by the churchwardens, though it may be ley the
ordinary, but good ground must be shown before the court
would exercise such an authority. Sixthly, Immediately
that the holder of a pew teams to be a parishioner, his right
to the occupation of the pew cease, and is determined. ,
Seventhly, Tho person or rector impropriate is entitled to the '
chief seats in the church ; but the impropriator cannot erect
Sew seats in the chancel without the consent of the ordinary.
Subject to the preceding observations the ordinary commits
the superintendence and regulation of seats and pews in the
parish church to the churchwardens. It fa their especial
function to distribute the pews or seats (as the case may be)
amongst the parishioners, reference being had, in each in-
stance, to their rank and station in the parish, and to the
size of their families. The theory of the law is, " that every
person who settles as a householder has a right to call on the
parish for a convenient seat." In populous parishes full
effect cannot be given to this maxim,but it is the duty of the
churchwardens to approach as nearly as they can to the full
execution of it ; and in every ease where they experience
Improper resistance and contumacy on the part of any pa-
rishionsr, it is open to them to submit the case to the judg-
ment of the ordinary, i.e., to the consistory court of the
diocese, where judgment will be given, based on the prin-
ciples above expounded."
DESSE-CASSEL, JAN. 22.—The .Swabian Mercury,
under the above head, says that one of the magnates of the
electoral house, and the presumptive heir of the present
elector—Lendiraf William, Governor of Copenhagen, and
general in the Danish service—had not recognised the con-
stitution given to this country by the late elector, nor been
present, either penonallv or by proxy, in the aaeemblies of
the states. The Lendgraf William has, since the death of
the late elector, notifiedto the states of Hesse-Camel his re-
cognition of the constitution given to the country by that
sovereign. Frederic, the son of the landgraf, hasdone the same.