The Sun.
London, England, 1836-01-14 00:00:00

,er
disappointed in the expectktion the Committee had formed of
One pf the Members of Parliament, who was a member of their
Assdciation, they:couldonly cast theinSelites on the generosity
of the citizens of, London assembled in the room, -and allow
them to choose a Chairman for themselves.
On the motion of a Gentleman, the Rev. Mr. Jones was
then: proposed as. Chairman, and the motion was carried amidst
deafening acclamation.
The Rev. CHAIRMAN then rose; and said that until another
mor4 efficient Chairman was elibsen, lie must exercise his epis-
copal functions, being a Clergyman of the Chureli of Eng-
landi in the best way he c0u1d....--( Hear, hear.) He appeared
before them— • • •
Here the Chairman was interrupted by a Gentleman in the
body of the room, who stated his name to be the Rev. Mr.
Thorbury.
Rev. Mr. THORBURY—I am a clergyman of the Church of
England, and deny your right to preside at this meeting.--
(Loud cries of " Order," and " Platform.")
The Rev. Gentleman then mounted the platform, and asked
whether he was to be heard?

CllAlßMAN—Certainly not, at present. Everyone will be
,heard in due order. .;And this Rev. Gentleman will be heard
afterwards.

Rev. Mr. Tnortauay—l maintain—( Here the Rev. Gen-
tleman's voice was drowned amidst the uproar which took
place. He afterwards descended from the platform.)
The CHAIRMAN then proceeded to stale, at some length,
that he was one of a number of clergymen of the Church of
England who had in all parts of the country formed them-
selves into an association for the purpose of effecting a sepa-
ration of the unscriptural union of Church and State. He
had been appointed by this association, being himself a member
of it, to visit different parts of the country to awaken the public
mind on this most important subject.—( Loud cheers.) After
reading a number of letters from various clergymen of the
Church, enforcing the desirableness of a separation between
Church and State, he proceeded to state the great principles
on which the association was founded, and to establish which
was the great object they had iu view. These principles were
the following :
" 1. That the Lord Jesus Christ is the sole rightful Head
of all the Churches in England, and the King, or more ac-
cessarily, the future Queen of England, must resign that title
and authority.
" 2. That it is the right of the Christian people, under their
divine head, freely to choose their own Ministers, to the tho-
rough abolition of political patronage, and the removal of the
Bishops from the House of Peers.
" 3. That the ordinance of the Lord, respecting the provi-
sion for the clergy, requires the abolition of all compulsion in
every form, whether of tithes, church-rates, marriage fees,
payments for baptismal registration, or burial dues; that
Church property consequently (that obtained by private
bequest excepted, and due regard being had to the present
legal rights of individuals) must be transferred to his Ma-
jesty's Exchequer, to be employed to relieve the national
burdens, and then all parties left to support the ministers of
their own choice, according to God's word."

The readier, of these principles were followed by deafening
cheers, mingled with a few faint hisses. The Rev. Chair-
man then proceeded to prove, at great length, that the King
was not the head of the Church. He showed that such a
doctrine was unknown until broached by Henry VIII., for the
purpose of usurping power over the Church. The celebrated
Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, and Sir Thomas More, both sub-
mitted to die on the scaffold, rather than acknowledge the
King as the head of the Church. Cranmer also protested
against the doctrine, except under certain limitations. The
Chairman, after remarking that all the Reformers disclaimed
the doctrine of the King's headship of the Church, went on to
show, both from reason and scripture, the absurdity of this
doctrine of Kingly headship of the dhurch. He next pro-
ceeded to establish the second point—namely, that the people
Ought to have the power of choosing their own ministers. On
this, as on the other principle, the Rev. Chairman expatiated
at great length and amidst deafening applause. He instanced
a number of most flagrant abuses of ecclesiastical power, in
forcing upon the people of England most improper persons as
their clergymen. No fewer than 5,250 of the beneficed cler-
gymen of the Church of England were at this moment non-
resident. Political patronage in the Church has now,become
a matter of sale and barter.--(Loud cheers.) He next came
to the kind principle, on which he also remarked at consider-
able length. It was a dictate of reason no less than of Scrip-
sure, that those only who preach the Gospel should live by the
Gospel. The labourer only was worthy of his hire. He
maintained the clergy had no right, even spiritually, to exact
tithes from Dissenters. Under the Old Testament dispensa-
tion, the heathen or gentiles were never called upon to pay
tithes.—(Tremendous cheering.) Even the Jews were not
compelled by law to pay tithes. They were only called to
pay them on religious considerations. The Scotch people
had most satisfactorily and scripturally settled the question of
Church property. They carried the whole of it into the
national treasury, for the purpose of relieving the public bur-
dens, and then told the people to go and support any clergy-
man and any religion they pleased.—(Deafening cheers.)
He then showed that the property of the Church was, under
the existing system, completely misappropriated. The work-
ing clergy of the Church were about 10,000 ; but among this
10,000 there were only about 1,109,000/. divided, out of
7,000,0001. or 8,000,0001. belonging to the Church. The
rest was enjoyed by the 5..850 non-resident, non-working
clergy. If the people of England would only bestir them-
selves in this matter, he would answer for it, from his own ex-
perience, that the working clergy would cordially co-operate
with them.—( Immense cheering. 5 The Rev. Chairman, after
various other observations, concluded by adverting to the
constitution of the Society, and by moving a resolution to the
effect that the inhabitants of the City of London, in meeting
assembled, become members of the Association for effecting a
Separation between Church and State.
A GENTLEMAN seconded the motion, and then moved, that,
as it would be illegal for the Chairman to sit in the chair on a
motion of his own making, Dr. Epps should be called to the
chair.

The motion was seconded and carried.
The Rev. Mr. TRORBURY, the gentleman who formerly
endeavoured to address the meeting, then rose, amidst great
uproar. The confusion having subsided, he proceeded to say,
no man would be more ready than he to do the Rev. Gentle-
man who addressed the meeting all homage ; but he wished he
had had a better cause to support.—( Laughter, and cries of

•
" Oh, oh !") In the first place he asserted that the first prin..
ciple, stating that the King was head of the Church, had no
right to be put down as a principle of dissent. He maintained
that the Church of England did not consider the King as head
of the Church. The Rev. Gentleman then proceeded, amidst
repeated manifestations of dissatisfaction, to argue in support
of this position. Dissenters themselves received the Regium
.Donum.—(Loud cries of " Oh, oh !" and great interruption.)
Dr. EPPS, the chairman, said the Rev. Gentleman was quite
in order. It was a disgrace to Dissenters to receive the Re-
gium Donum.—( Great, uproar.)
The Rev. GENTLEMAN resumed. He would admit the se-
cond principle was one of dissent. He maintained the people
had no right to choose their pastors—( Oh, oh ! and much up-
roar.) Let any one show him a text of Scripture to prove
they had such a right. He was no bigot—he was not blind to
the faults of his own Church—he saw her blots ; but let those
blots not be removed by the hands of an enemy.—( Partial
cheering.) The Rev. Gentleman, after observing that, he re-
ceived no emoluments from the Church, abruptly sat down, and
shortly after left the room.
Mr. J. F. LAW then addressed the meeting. The Regium
Donum was not, as alleged, given to the Dissenters ; it was
not given to the voluntaries. It was enly to the licentiate
Presbyterians of the Church of Scotland •in Ireland that that
money was given.—(Loud cheering.) The voluntaries did
not wish to interfere with the opinions of the Church—they
only sought to interfere with her in so far as she interfered with
the political movements of the country.—( Loud cheers.)
They did not wish to interfere at all with the Church on the
other side of the Tweed, because she had nothing to do with
the money of the people. Episcopacy has not succeeded in
Ireland, even though armed with the strong arm of British
soldiers...._( Loud cheers.) The b°Teat philosophical truth was
there proved to demonstration, that
" A man convinced against his will,
Is of the same opinion still."
Mr. Law, after some further observations, concluded amidst
loud cheering.
Various other speeches were made, after which the motion
was carried, and the meeting adjourned to another day, to
di-cuss certain details connected with the working of the Asso-
ciation.

PERT fr.---The fishings belonging to the commu-
nity of Perth were let by public roup last Thursday. There
is a great falling off in the rent from that under the former
lease, which must tell heavily on the annual revenue of
the city. The rent during the former lease was 1,9961.
per annum. The highest sum offered on the present oc-
casion was only 8241., and at that sum the fishings were
let.---Perth Courier.

Il3nire,y,syt,ienrday an inquest was held at the Oxford Arms,
Deptford, before Mr. Carttar, on view of the body of
lowing melancholy circumstances
circumstances:who came ,by ILisltdaepaptlelaruenddienretrfi:le-,
that the deceased had been in a state of intoxication since
Christmas-dap, and was-taken ill on Friday last, and died.
on the following day, from violent inflannnation, produced.
by his hard drinking.—Verdict accordingly. At the same
time, two other inquests were held before the same coro-
ner, on the bodies of Betsy Easton and Daniel Healy,
aged three and five years, who were both so dreadfully
burnt, as to cause their deaths. Verclic.t,l Accidental
death," in both cases.