The Sun.
London, England, 1837-04-10 00:00:00

CHURCH-RATES.

The high Church Tories of Beccles have met with a. -signal
defeat. They published an address calling on the frie int of
the venerable Church to meet at the Vestry on Gooet Friday
last, to declare and petition against the Ministerial n Leasure.
Such, however, were their appriensions of failure...or defeat

that hefore the time came they were fain to send •-rotmithe

town crier with a notice that the Meeting would r4ot be held;
and it was not held accordingly.
Hereupon the Dissenters and liberal Churchmen, who had
previously satisfied themselves with petitioning, got up a re-
quisition to the Mayor, W. Henchman Crowfoot, Esq., for a
Meeting of the Town, to consider the Government plan of
abolition. The requisition was most respectably and numer-
ously signed, and the Meeting was held on the sth inst.. in tiro
Town-hall. The Mayor presided, and resolutions in favour 43if
the proposed Act were supported, not only by the DisF.enterst,
but by a Clergyman of the Establishment, the Rev. Charlis
Clark, who is also a Magistrate of the division, and John
Garden, Esq., late High Sheriff of the county, and a county'
Magistrate. The resolutions were carried, and the petitiorz
was adopted with only five dissentients, one of whom opposed;
the measure on the ground that it was necessary to compel thee
Churchmen to support their Church.
We subjoin a brief report of the proceedings

BECCIES, SUFFOLK.
The Mayor., on taking the Chair, remarked that tLe measure;

in question was hailed try Dissenters, as proposing to rid them,
of a grievance of which they had ong complained ; on the
other hand, some friends of the Establishment deprecated
as severing the' last link of the connection between Chumh
and State.

JOHN GARDEN, Esq., moved the first resolution—" Tina
the meeting, convinced of the injustice of compulsory Church-
rates, regard the measure now before Parliament as deserving
the approbation of every friend to religious freedom, since it
proposes to repeal a law injurious to the interests of the Esta-
blished Church, and oppressive to Dissenters." He had muck
pleasure in proposing such a resolution. The town of Beccles
had been remarkable-for cordiality between Christians of all

denominations ; but Church-rates gad been, in this, as well as
in many other parishes, the apple of discord. As a frier .d to
social peace, he advocated the Ministerial measure for the
abolition of Church. rates. After giving a brief but clear ex-
position of the measure in all its parts, Mr. Garden rt:ferred
to the alleged discrepancy between the calculations c,f Mr.
Finlayson and Mr. Morgan. It was not for him to say which
was the more correct estimate. Nor, was this of impotrtance,
since both agreed that a considerable sum would ace me an-
nually from a better management of the Church lands-- wiciieh
sum, economically expended, would, he had no doubt, be all-
sufficient. lle thought it was pretty well understood that there
was no foreign power to compel a parish to make a raw, and
consequently no adequate security for keeping up the edifices
of the Church. This measure, then, while it was favotr•able
to Dissenters, ought to be most gladly welcomed by members
of the Established Church.

J. C. WEissrmt, Esq., seconded the Resolution on itt, be-
ing put from the Chair.
The meeting was found to be almost unanimous in its fa-
vour, only five hands being held up against it.
The Rev. CHARLES CLARKE moved the next reratation,
namAy :—" That the present Liberal Administration is en- .
titled to the gratitude and confidence of the country for the
introduction of this wise and healing measure." The Rev.
Gentleman ably showed how, by a digerent mode of letting
Church-lands, such property woulit be so improved as to
produce the result upon which W.nisters reckoned. There
could be no doubt that Church-rates were very unfavourable
to Christian peace. The state of feeling produced by the law
as it now stood in very many 'parishes, was such as every true
friend to Christiar,ity•must deplore. Church-rates were r,ot
part and parcel of Christianity. . Disunion among Chr',stians
was opposed to the spirit of our Divine blaster ; and riburch-
rates timoducca such disunion. He thought the Admi'aistration,
in t'ae words of the resolution, entitled to the gratitude and
sr.pport of the country for introducing this wise and healing
measure.
The Rev. JOHN FLOWER seconded the resolution. He was
opposed to the existing law respecting CI-surch-rates as unjust
in principle and objectionable in its oper.ation. He held it to
be unjust for one denomination of C)'..ristians to tax another
for its support.
.The Church-rate, •was a Popish impost, and
agreed very well with the notion, 'of infallibility held by the
Romish Church ; but the Church of England, in protesting
against such. a dogma, and clr:iming the right of private judg-
ment in matters of religion, had debarred itself from the power
of consistently taxing thr,se who dissent from its communion.
for the support of its ..,corship. The old law was worn ortt,
and Ministers (4z:served. the thanks of the country for intro-
ducing a measure to supersede it.
The resolution was then put from the Chair, when
Mr. TF4lo.l'lll' Bum( rose and said, that as a ChurvAiman
lie could not approve of this measure, since he consi ciered it
a privilege to contribute to his Church, and thought al' i Church-
men ought to be compelled to support their owii wo ;ship.
No amendment being moved, the resolution a /as put and
carried, there being four or five dissentients.
It was then moved by Mr. JAMES CRISP,. and agreed,
" That a petition to both Houses of Parliament' ibe presented
from this town, embodying the preceding resetbiat ins."
A vote of thanks to the Chairman for his impartiality wnl
moved, supported by Willi;e,.m LW,
gtously,
EST e 7 na carried simin_