The Sun.
London, England, 1839-03-11 00:00:00

EVENING EDITION

CHURCH-RATE ABOLITION ,

SOCIETY.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
Sin,—The Committee of the Church-rate Abolition
Society have at length put forth an answer to my latter of
the 14th of February last, in which, after some strong as-
ertiens, they inform their readers that they do not mean to
take any further notice of any reply that I may snake,A.
this is a very convenient mode of getting out of a difficulty,
but few will think, after the language these gentlemen
have used, it is either a creditable or a satisfactory one.
I should ,have instantly replied to this production, but
I had some doubts of its authenticity until I saw its state-
ments reechoed and reasoned upon by the twin Secre-
rary, the Editor of the Patriot Newspaper-
-Ist. The Committee affirm, in contradiction to my state-
ment, " that the audit of October last was the first audit
the accounts had ever been subject to ;" that there was a
previous audit in April, 1837. If this was the case, it is
-nether proof of the duplicity and mismanagement to
which the accounts of the Society were subject. Wh) was
that audit not produced? why was it not regularly entered
in the Treasurer's book ? The audit of October last,
irc:uded the whole of the monies paid and received from
the commencement of the Society, and the 39 signatures,
which are boasted of, are so many attestations that I bad
cast up the pages to which they are attached—there was
no break in the account--there was no balance stated as
due or owing from this audit of April, 1837—but the
whole n.ade one total of : surely I was justified in describing
this as the first audit, seeing that no other examinatif n of
recounts was considered formal enough to be notic.A.
2. My statement is said to be untrue, that the amou,it of
t au.t it had been received, and expended on the personal
r, t:.o,sibility of the Secretary ; and we are told, de' the
i'ateiy told, that the money was received by the Colic, tor,
And p iid direct to the Treasurer, and by him reimbursed,
by oiders signed by Members of the Committee. I dare
'hero to the proof of this. Let them turn to the ledger of
the Patriot—let any two indifferent persons turn to that
.eerunt, and if they do not contradict the Committee's
statement, then, and not till then, will I consent to be
uranded as a propagator of untruth.
3. The objectionable charges are said to have been in-
curred by order of the Committee. This I most indignantly
deny, dtirt so palpably false is the assertion, that the journey
hien some of these charges was incurred was undertaken
wit,tout either the knowledge or consent of the Committee,
and produced so strong a feeling of disgust in the minds of
some of our most active members, that the Commitee
:.ever afterwards rallied.
4. ram charged with misrepresentation in alleging cer-
tain words' to have been used by my co-auditor in October.
1-15,,,e the Committee forgotten the meaning of words when
they use such language? The words in question were
applied to an account against the Society in the ledger
of the Patriot, of monies received and disbursements
made ; the whole was such a jumble of erasures and inter-
ineettiis, that the words distinctly applied to the state of
the accounts—there could be no misrepresentation, the
manner was so illegible that the matter could not be ascer-

tained.
When I first read this statement of
.the Committee,

do confess that I was astounded, and had began to question
tip> evidence of my own senses; and in order to satisfy my
mind that I had not misled myself by any false impressions,
I ventured to call upon a gentleman who was, during the
time of the greatest activity of the Committee, one of its
most energetic members, and who took a lively interest in
all the proceedings, and I have that gentleman's authority
to say, nay, I use his own words, " That he had
read the Patriot Editor's Introduction to the Com-
mitte,e's Statement with deep disgust—that he had read
the statement itself with amazement—that in going over it
paragraph by paragraph, he could (except in one instance) of
his own knowledge demonstrate its falsehood in every point
—that he bad repeatedly, both by letter and otherwise,
urged the necessity of the Secretary summoning the Corn.
mittee, when many of its members thought it desirable the
Committee should be alive and acting, but without effect—
that the words of my former letter were literally true, that
the Secretary used the Committee as the veriest utensil."
The main points of misapplication remain untouched; if
the particular cases that I have mentioned had been shaken,
it would be no answer to the general charge. This can only
be answered by the publication of the accounts in detail,
and until that is done, not all the abuse that vulgar minds
can invent will wipe away the impression that there is that
-n the accounts which will not bear publication.
ROBERT BESLEY.
P. S.--I have treated this matter as an emanation from a
Committee. It is very desirable that the public should
know who are the real authors. I have directed the at-
tention of several of the old members of the Committee to

the Statement, and they all disclaim and• participation in it.
Can it be that the Committee is reduced to one or two
individuals ?