The Sun.
London, England, 1838-10-18 00:00:00

PORTSMOUTH.

An elegant silver tea service was, on Saturday last, as
the inscription states, " Presented to the Rev. John Poulett
M'Ghie, A.M., by the congregation of St. Thomas's
Church, as a parting token of their grateful sense of the
ability, zeal, and faithfulness, with which he, as Curate of
the Parish of Portsmouth, discharged the all-important
duties of a Christian minister."
The presentation was accompanied by a note from Dr.
Stewart, the Chairman of the Committee of Subscribers,
to whom the Reverend Gentleman has addressed the fol-
lowing reply :
~ my Dear Sir,—Accept my sincere thanks for your
friendly communication of Saturday afternoon. The elegant
testimonial which it accompanied, you and the other subscri-
bers may rest assured, is, and ever will be, regarded by me
with feelings of deep and most affectionate interest. Presen-
ted under circumstances in which the mind is naturally ha-
rassed and depressed, it serves to solace and to cheer; and
wherever hereafter my lot may be cast, I trust it will stimulate
me in my endeavours through grace to acquire a juster title
than lam conscious of now possessing to the character with
which the band of Christian friendship has inscribed it. I
hope, too, that I am not presumptuous in considering that the
value of your offering is still further enhanced from its adding
to many other recent proofs that throughout our country there is
an increasing mutual attachment between church ministers and
church people. A cause this for holy joy and thankfulness to
all true Christians. For no church, we may be confident,
should be regarded as in a hopeful state, of which, on the one
hand, its ministers do not act as in love to the souls of their
people, and of which, on the other, a large proportion of its
people love s
people does not esteem its ministers very highly in for
their works' sake.
‘‘ I feel, however, that as your time is valuable, I must not
your
mind Bear with me only, therefore, in recalling to
mind that one of my many kind friends, a poor aged widow in
r be
of, upon mine
begging that her mite (as she in scriptural allusion termed it)
might be received, most affectingly called down upon me from
above, a thousand blessings. From her venerable lips, then,
you have heard what I would in return implore, not only for
; the bless-
those whose hearts have been moved to present me with so
costly a token of their regard, but for all, likewise, within the
precincts
thisif su
world,esuch
the
and
e glory in
enemies. God grant them a thousand blessings
ing s of Providence
thisparish,
and
0 fy yea, even,a
cein
the world to come, where if we meet,
we meet in eternal peace
and happiness, we meet never again
to part.—Believe me, my
dear Sir, yours ever most faithfully.
" JOHN POULETT IVPG HIE.
" St. Thomas-street, October 1.,,
We feel assured that our readers cannot but concur in the
delight we felt in the perusal of this letter. The spirit
which it breathes cannot fail to excite the admiration of all
right-minded
persons, while it possesses also a charm of
universalinfluence in the allusion to the " increasing mu-
tual attachmentt between church ministers and church
A
people." the same time we cannot avoid again ex-
pressing a regret that circumstances should have arisen
to render a separation
necessary, for Mr. M'Ghie has
been the instrument of Providence in effecting much good
in this populous neighbourhood, and had secured that con-
fidence and respectwhichonly be obtained by the
can
zealous exertions of a faithful minister. The Reverend
Gentleman • will not as
, we previouslyit may place
stated, preach his
on Sunday next ; when
farewell sermon take
we cannot say—we , Y—we would fain hope not at all. We would
gladly indulge a hope that arrangements may yet be made
to prevent a equally pain
separation • ful to the minister and
the people.—ii
ampshire Advertiser.
T

e Hertford Times states that last Friday the
Black Mountains were covered with snow.
The Essex Herald, reporting the proceedings of
the Witham Agricultural Meeting, states that amongst the
prizes distributed on the occasion was a gammon of bacon. It
was awarded to Thomas Clark, who has a wife and eleven
children. The qualification of candidates is the being a mar-
ried couple, labourer in husbandry and his wife, who brought
up the greatest number of children, and placed them in re-
spectable service, without any parochial relief.
A female named Eliza Chapman was admitted into
Bartholomew's Hospital on Sunday night, having been found
with several of her ribs broken, and in a state of insensibility,
lying in the high road near Stamford-hill. On recovering,
she complained of having been grossly ill-used by some men,
strangers to her, with whom she had imprudently entered into
company
in the course of the afternoon. The fellows had a
light chaise cart with them, but have not yet been traced out.