The Sun.
London, England, 1854-01-11 00:00:00

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Populations between 10,000 and
20,000
Populations between 20,000 and
50,000
Populations between 59,000 and
100,000
Populations between 100,000 and
upwards ...

-

service, and there are many more in which there is sufG
cient room for all who could be expected to attend; while,
in the latter, the ratio of the number of sittings to the in-
habitants is often exceedingly small—falling, in the case
of Shoreditch, as low as 17•9 per cent, and in fifty districts,
almost all of which are metropolitan, not exceeding 40 per
cent. On the average, there is room for 66per cent. of the
whole population in rural, and for only 46 in urban
parishes. The latter, moreover, differ widely among them-
selves, and a stronger contrast can hardly be presented
than that afforded by the metropolitan district just men-
tioned and the City, so closely adjacent to it. The efforts
which have been made by our own Church, and by the
members of other communions, to supply the long•existing
deficiency, have almost restored the proportion of which
we are speaking—taking the average of the whole country
—to the point at which it stood at the beginning of the
century. Until 1831, a decided decline was observable,
and at successive decennial periods the ratio fell from 58.1.
to 54.4, to 50.8, and to 50.4 ; but in 1841 it was found that
it had risen to 53.8, and on the most recent occasion it had
further advanced to 57.0.

In the proceeding remarks, we have avoided all reference
to thok peculiarities which separate the various religious
bodies existing in this country ; but it is unnecessary to
say that the members of our own Church cannot relaz their
exertions because others are supplying the accommodation
which has hitherto been so defective. The relative amount
of the provision made by different denominations for the
spiritual necessities of the people is a point on which much
very valuable and necessary information may be found in
the present report ; and we hope to be able, on a future
occasion, to call attention to some of the most interesting
details which it furnishes with regard to this part of the
subject.

In a former article on the " Religious Worship" statis-
tics of the census of 1851, we stated that, in the buildings
open for public worship on the day of enumeration, there
was accommodation for 57 per cent. of the total population
of England and Walet ; and we now
_proceed to show the
proportions contributed to this aggregate by the most im-
portant communities. Passing over those which do not
separately supply a single integer, the arrangement will be
as follows
Church of England 29'7
Wesleyan Methodists (Original Connexion) B.l
Independents
Particular Baptists . . .
Primitive Methodists
Welsh Calvinistic Methodists l•2
Roman Catholics
This leaves, it will be seen, 5'4 out of 57—or less than
one-tenth of the total number of sittings—to be divided
among about ninety minor sects and " isolated congrega-
tions." If we next distinguish between "large town dis-
tricts"—that is to say, those which comprise towns having
more than 10,000 inhabitants—and " rural districts," we
shall find, from Table-F F, that-accommodation was pro-
vided for 44'7 of the PoPuLatfon in the forme; and 70 per
cent. in the latter. Employing, as before, for the sake of
oonvenience, the church and chapel as distinctive appella-
tions, we may distribute the numbers last mentioned as
.follows Church. Chapel. Total.
Town districts
Rural districts
The former class may be again sub-divided, and will give
the following results, which we cannot but look upon as
important, and in some degree encouraging to church-
men:—

Church.

Chapel.

Total.

32'0

601

46.7

17.9

16!cs

33.9

. .
It thus appears that, in our largest cities,.where the de-
ficiency is. greatest, the Church numbers a majority of sitt-
ings ; while, in the smaller ones, where, on the average,
there is room, for more than 58 per cent. of the popula-
tion—the maximum number whose attendance can
be expected—dissent predominates, as .it also does
the third class. It is, however, worthy .of notice,
that the strength of
,the Baptist devoirlination appears- to.
ba almost wholly_ in the Smaller to wus„--"stlisszit coati%
.liutes 174 sittings out of every-1;030s but when we reach•
the next grade, the proportion falls to 85, and afterwards
to 71, which is precisely what it is in the ruial districts.
We can diacever no. means of accounting for this variation,
except by supposing that the cominunity' in questicin:
one which reaps whore others have sown, '-and that it- gains
additions to its numbers rather by aggressions on other
denominations than by direct efforts- to Christianise Our
roost densely-peopled districts. The Wesleyans—who, in
the country, supply 213 sittings out'of every I,ooo—pro-
vide, in the first class of towns,l33, in the- second 237;
and in the third 2011 out of the same number ; but in the
last and highest class, only 165. The corresponding num-
bers for-the Independents are, in the rural districts, 100,
in the smaller towns 148, in the next class 93, in the third
• 109, and in the fourth 127. We give these details—which,
although not contained in the report, may easily be de-
ducted from the table to which we have referred—because
it is obviously to our largest towns that the attention of
earnest men must be principally directed. It will be re-
membered that nearly four millions (two-ninths of the
whole population are contained within the limits 'of the
metropolis and of the eight largest provincial cities or bo-
roughs—that several of the latter have increased threefold,
and one even sevenfold, during the present century—that,
in them the church possesses only to a small extent those
resources which, in rural districts, give her so great an
advantage over uneudowed communities—and lastly, that
political bias has favoured the progress of dissent. It is,
therefore, gratifying to know that, at the present time, the
provision made by our own communion for the spiritual
wants of our most densely populated localities exceeds that
supplied by all denominations of dissidents ; and. the re-
collection of the superiority thus actually existing cannot
faillo stimulate our efforts to increase it.
From Table G we gain a curious insight into the " Com-
parative position of the Church of England and the Dis-
senting Churches in different parts of the country." Wales,
as might have been expected, shows a strong preponde-
rance of the latter. For every hundred of the population
in North Wales, the church affords 28 sittings, and the
chapel 61; and, for the same numbers in South Wales,
the figures are 2t and 59—the Wesleyan and Calvanistic
Methodists being by far the most flourishing communities.
In none of the English counties.is anything like the same
disparity observable ; and, indeed, there are only twelve—
the Ridings of Yorkshire being counted separately—in
which the Church does not provide more than a moiety of
the existing accommodation. The species of dissent most
popular appears to vary with the locality ; and from a pa-
ragraph in the report we may conclude that the peculiari-
ties of different sects are to some extent antagonistic to
each other, since no district, except South Wales, is men-
tioned as a stronghold of more than one of the three prin-
cipal denominations.
We have hitherto considered only the amount of accom-
modation contained within the walls of .edifices dedicated
to religious purposes. In order, however, to determine how
far the accommodation is practically available, we must
extend our inquiry, and ascertain the number of services
actually performed. Out of 14,077 churches 4,740 were open
once only on the Sunday, 7,585 twice, and only 752 three
times. In the "town portion," however—which includes
all towns, without regard to size—there were only 338
out of 2,213 which 'had not at least two services ; and it
must be admitted that in small contiguous parishes, whe-
ther urban or rural, exceedingly little Inconvenience may
be occasioned by alternation. With every prepossession
in favour of the parochial system, we must not attach too
much importance to boundaries which are purely arbitrary,
and which would, in many cases,- if rigidly observed, ac-
tually exclude church-goers from the most accessible place
of worship. It appears from the report that, "on the
whole, the Dissenters make rather more of their accommo-
dation than does the Established Church ;" but the periods
of the day at which their services are held ought to be
particularly noticed, for a reason which we shall state.
The Wesleyans, out of more than two millions of seats
which their chapels possess, rendered only about one-half
available in the morning, a somewhat larger number
in the afternoon, and almost the whole in the even-
' ing. As stated in table 19, their per centages were,
at the three periods, 62, 53, and 88 respectively ;
but tho first of these numbers appears to be a mis-
print for 52. A large proportion, therefore, of the Wes-
leyan chapels were open only when the churches were
'shut ; and this will appear more. clearly if we turn to
Table L, which shows that, out of 5,497 such buildings
belonging to the original connection in the rural districts,
2,327 only had a morning service. We have no desire to
strain an inference from these facts, but it is obvious that
a large proportion of those who were enumerated at their
exit from these places of worship are not to be considered
as Dissenters in principle ; and we believe many of them
to be churchmen who avail themselves of a Wesleyan ser-
vice only at a time when nine out of every ten churches
in country localities are closed. With other denomina-
tions the case is exceedingly 'different, although, even as
regards them, there is a preponderance of afternoon and
evening services.
of the. metropolis, where, as v.e
We must conclude by briefly_hre,f3e,erri,ivatgoiteOothweersytamtli,sttiluces
amount of accommodation provided- is
is proportionally orti oan lessloypn ia
than in any other district of En,
tiou exceeding 2,300,000, only 460,168 persons attended in
the morning, 100,855 in the afternoon, and 313,3141 in
the evening ; while the churches and chapels open would
have contained, at the throe periods of the days' respec-
tively. 682,697, 320,031, and 585,399. The evening eon-
groptions worb pretty evenly divided, but the Church
.11..hreogle
claimed a considerable majority in the
hetfourthsweenetfh thee
fi immures and three-
aibuotvhee afternoon. From comparison
given, it would clearly appear
that the real difficulty arises from- the fact that "-the area
which a, minister can cover in the course of pastoral over-
sight is far from co-extensive with the sphere which he can
influence. by his ministrations in the- Church • he can
preach to 1,500 people, but he cannot visit and effectually
supervise the third of such a number. If thiS be correct,
we seem to be driven, in such Cases, to the appointment of
additional agents rather than the erection of additional
churches." We are here quoting froth the able compiler
of the report, and althatlgh 'there may be a difference of
opinion as to the precise limit of efficient pastoral superin-
-tendene,e, there are probably many districts in which the
general conclusion at which he has arrived may be found
more or less applicable.

ROYAI, ARTILLERY.—WOOLWICH, Jan. 10.—Captain
Lefroy's company, 4th battalion, marched from the
garrison at 8 o'clock a.m. to-day, headed by the drums
and flutes of the regiment, to the Arsenal station of the
North Kent Railway, en route to Eastbourne, where the
company is to be stationed, and there will now be two
companies ou that part of the coast instead of one com-
pany. Two years ago there was not a single artillery-
man stationed at Eastbourne nor within a considerable
distance. Captain Romer's company, 7th battalion, has
returned in the Simoom iron screw steam-ship, from the
Cape of Good Hope to Portsmouth, and the men are
expected to arrive at head-quarters in the garrison here
this evening. The companies from Jamaica, Barba-
does, and Bermuda aro also daily expected to arrive at
head-quarters here.
'FLOODS ARISING FROM THE THAW.—The weight of
roseoa w
water brought from the uplands sloping to the Medway
has been so great; that the river gradually
Sun-
day and Sunday night to an alarming height, overflowing
r onl
its banks and flooding the neighbouring fields and
meadows to a fly greater extent than during the floods
which occurred on the 20th and 21st of October last, and
which occasioned the loss of a number of lives at Radio,.
At Maidstone the paths
and wharvewsa°triere,aacnhcl in passingside of the
river were placed completely under
under the bridge assumed the wild strength. of'a torrent.
---South-Eastern Gazette.
OLD AGE.—There died at MOSCOW, on the 11th of
October, a certain Peter Sosnowsky, aged 122 years, 1
~month, and 25 days.—Journa/ de St, Pettilbozirg.