The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-02-21 00:00:00

Orange party."

Unluckily, as Mr. O'CoNNELt. increased in popularity,
his vision became inverted ; the gale of his favour suddenly
veers round, the praise he had bestowed so fluently on
Lord IVst.t.s5LEV, he transferred exclusively to the labours
of the Catholic Tribunal ; he flings his obloquy where he
had before strewed his panegyric. True it is, that the
condition of Iresud is greatly improved, but the praise is
now found to be due to the Catholics themselves. True it
is, that peace and good order prevail, without the aid of the
Insurrection Act, but the tranquillity, it seems, is the work
of the CATHOLIC CHIETTAINS ; it is alone to Messrs.
O'CosNs Li. and COMPANY that we are to ascribe the
glory and the praise.

" It would not be honest," says 311 r. O'ComwELL, in a speech
of the 10th instant, " It would riot be honest if I did not proclaim
aloud my conviction, that the Marquis WiLLESLEY and !qr.
PLUNKETT are not friends to the Catholic cause. I ask not their
friendship_l care not for it. As a Cofhale, I invite their open
hostility. —(Wide the Register Of the 10th February.)
IS'e have not space at present to make extracts from the
various other speeches that are before us, in which Mr.
O'CoNscra., Mr. SIIEIL, and other distinguished Leaders,
contradict their own deliberate sentiments, and fly directly
in the face of their own recorded opinions. One thing,
however, is clear, that the Catholic Association was wholly
uncalled for; that it was not required as an antidote to
evil, or as a counteractive of oppression ; that, on the con-
trary, it had not, nor could have, any other effect than to
embarrass the administration of the Government, and this
at the very time when that Government was pursuing a
mild, enlightened, and liberal course towards the Ca-
tholics; and that its obvious tendency was to supersede
the lawful authority of the Scats, that they might-the more
decisively contest with the Protestants their alleged claims
to dominion.

We have taken occasion to draw the attention of the
public to the extraordinary course adopted by these poli-
tical Chiefs, this evening being appointed for the second
reading of the CATHOLIC ASSOCIATION IVhen we
perceive the leaders thus degenerating into mutineers,
it becomes high time to guard against the infuriated zeal
of their followers.

The judgment given by SirJofiN NtcHOLI., on Thursday,
in the Arches Court, respecting the right of holding pews, is
of considerable interest at this time, when, we understand.
many suits of a similar character are pending. The view

taken of the question was clear, and the reasoning con-
clusive. The cause stow on the application of a gentle-
' mcri claiming, in right of his wife, a faculty to entitle
him to 0:2 exclusive possession of a certain pew in the pa-
rish church. It appeared, from the undisputed facts of the
case, that this pew was originally granted in 1709 to the
family from which the lady was descended, but, in 1820,
her father sold his estate, and soon afterwards ceased
altog:ther to reside in the parish. The purchaser of the
estate also claimed the pew, v. kich, he contended, was at-
tached to the landed property. The pretensions of both
theca claimants were resisted successfully. No exclu-
sive right could belong to the first, beams, the order of
vestry granted the pew to the family, only while they con-
tinued to dwell in the parish ; and the lady, on marrying,
had, of course, become domiciled with her husband, who
resided in London. The other claimant equally failed to
make good his title, because the pew was not annexed by
prescription to the estate in question. On the sale of the
property, and subsequent retirement of the last of the fa-
mily from the parish, the pew reverted to the vestry. The
opposers rested their case also on another ground, of gene-
ral importance; and it is to this we are particularly de-
sirous of drawing public attention, as it gave to Sir Jonw
Nieit °Lt. occasion to expound the law affecting the gene-
ral question of pew-holding. This principal argument
against the application was, that, on account of the increase
of the population of the parish, it was inexpedient to grant
a faculty fur continuing to a single family, consisting of
only five persons, the exclusive use of a pew, capable of
accommodating from ten to fourteen. In adverting to this
ground of apposition, Sir Jon a* Nis 'Lou. made the follow-
lag observations :

• The law respecting pews was but little understood in many
parts of the country, and very errontoris opinions were formed,
which frequently lot to great inconvenience. Ily the general law,
and of common right, all pews are for the use of the inhabitants of
the parish, who are to be accommodated as conveniently as possible.
The authority of seating and arranging the parishioners is com-
mitted to the Churchwardens, as officers of the Ordinary, and sub-
ject to his control; neither the Minister nor the Vestry has a right
to interfere in this arrangement, unless by giving their advice to the
Churchwardens in the exercise of their-discretion. The Church-
-1 wardens are to arrange the parishioners so as to plate them accord.'
ing to their rank and station in the parish. but not to place the
I higher classes beyond their real wants, to the exclusion of the loner
orders, who are also entitled to suitable accommodation. Faculties
were early obtained, not merely for the temporary seating of the in.
habitants, but fur the granting the permanent use of certain pews ; '
some to a certain family so long as they inhabited o'certain home
in the parish : this probably formed the origin of present-dye rights
in common law, but the more modern form was that now prayed,
viz. "to a erson and family so long as they continue to reside in
the parish." In some places, pews are exclusively held without
that prescription, which was illegal, for persona not actually resid-
ing in a parish cannot by right hold a pew. It is generally sup-
posed that a person may sell or transfer a pew as he may other
ru-
petty ; but, in point of law, if a person leave the parish, his right
to the pew ceases. If the pew be annexed by prescription to a par-
ticular house, the owner of the house for the time being is the pes-
sessor of the pew, which cannot be severed from the house."

The whole judgment is worthy of attentive perusal and
consideration. It is difficult, after reading it, to conctii e
how pretensions so extravagant and unreasonable, could
have entered into the minds of any individual, as thos.2
against which this judgment was directed. The object in
erecting new churches is to increase the accommodation,
especially for the lower classes of society ; but if the space
given by the liberality of Parliament is to be possessed ex-
clusively by a few rich families, the poor will, indeed, "be
necessarily driven to meeting-houses," and such other places
u will receive them. In the case to which we are allud-
ing, the Court refused the faculty, suggesting, as sn arrange-
ment between the parties, that the pew should be divided
into two, and that the gentleman connected with the ori-
ginal family by marriage, should have the choice. It is the
duty of the Churchwardens to provide becoming accommo-
dation for all the inhabitants, according to their rank and
station, but especially to take care that none are denied a
right, which the meanest is as sacredly entitled to enjoy as
the highest. After this decision, we cannot suppose that
there will be any further litigation with regard to this
question.

The markers, both in foreign and English securities,
were steady on Saturday.. Consols fez account and money
were done at the same prices, viz. 93j, 94. There was a
good deal of business doing in the Foreign market, and the
bargains were rather on the advance. New Greek Scrip
was better ; it reached 1 at the close of the day, and per-
sons seemed confident of its improving. Brazilian Scrip
1895, was done 41; Mexican ditto at ; and Spanish
Bonds at 9ii. They ate still a good deal inquired after,
in consequence of the continued report of a Ncw Spanish
Loan. The Mining Shares were all on the advance, and
a good deal of business was done in them.
Saturday afternoon, at two o'clock, a Cabinet Council
was held• at the Foreign Office, Downing-street, which
continued sitting till a quarter past five o'clock.
On Saturday morning. at ten o'clock, the Lords of his
Majesty's most Honcurable Privy Council licil a meeting
at the new Council Office, Whitehall-place, at which the
Earl of Harrowby presided. There were also present Earl
Bathurst, Lord Gifford, Lord Colchester, Lord Stowell,
the Lord Chief Baron, Sir John Nichol!, Mr. Beckett, and
Mr. Sturges Bourne. The Appeal which came under the
consideration of their Lordships was that of Mr. Sergeant
Rough against General Murray, which occupied the atten-
tion of their Lordships till one o'clock, when the meeting
broke up, and the case was adjourned till the 98th inst.
A Deputation of West India Merchants and Planters
waited on his Majesty's Ministers on Thursday last, re-
specting the alterations proposed in the duties on Sugar,
Coffee, and Rum ; a reduction of sixpence per pound, on the
home consumption of Coffee,was understood to be about to
be brought forward, and the question of allowing the dis-
tillers to use sugar or grain at their option was favourably
entertained by Ministers. A long conference took place,
as to the bounty on relined sugar being withdrawn or low-
ered, as to the reduction of the import duty on Musco-
vades, and as to Mauritius sugars bong used for home con-
sumption at the same duty as the West Indian sugars, but
on these points there was no decision.
A petition was presented on Friday night to the House
of Commons, for cutting a Ship Canal through Central
America, for the purpose of uniting the Atlantic with the
Pacific Ocean ; and for mining, and other purposes, in
Guatimals.

A prospectus was issued on Saturday, of a new Com-
pany, under the name of the " Royal Staunary ; or, Bri-
tish Mining Association," for working mines in Cornwall,
Devon, and other places.
A survey is now going on for the purpose of forming a
navigable tide canal, with twenty-five feet of water, for
ships of the first class, from Artmlel Bay to Deptford, a
distance of nearly fifty miles. The estimated expense is
four millions. _

The debts already proved against Messrs. Prodgers'
bank, at Ludlow, amount, it is said, to 2.'"0,000/., and the
funds to meet them only to 20,0001.
A Ministerial order ltas been communicated to M.
Cousin, informing him that he is free in Berlin, on his
parole, not to leave that city until the decision of the
Central Commission of Mayence has been received.—
Journal des Debate.

A letter from Callao, of the 2sid of September, states
that Captain Wilson, the son of Sir Robert Wilson, had
been wounded in an engagement with the Royalists, but
that be bad recovered. The reception given to this young
officer by Bolivar was very flattering.
We have received, by way of Barbadoes, some more de-
tails of the conspiracy at St. Thomas's. The chief, it is
said, was a Lieutenant Fifer' of the Colonial Militia. a
creole, who had received his education in Scotland. lie
was in custody with twenty-five others implicated in the
plot; a secret committee was sitting at the date of the let-
ters we hare received, and from the energy displayed by
the Danish Governor, all alarm respecting immediate con-
sequences had subsided. The conspiracy is said to have
extended to all the adjacent islands.—.Erraind Paper.