The Sun.
London, England, 1838-12-15 00:00:00

TO THE CHAIRMAN OF THE COAT-
MITTEE OF THE CHURCH-RATE ABOLITION
SOCIETY.

DEAR SlR,—Will you be pleased to communicate to
the Committee this evening my resolution no longer to
be considered one of its members. I will briefly state my
reasons for this determination.
1. Since the resuscitation of the Committee I have
found my opinions as to the course the Committee ought
to pursue generally so much at variance with the majority
of its members as to be personally unpleasant. Our dif-
ferences were radical ; I felt strongly the necessity of our
assuming a different tone from that latterly assumed by
the Co:nrnittee. I was impressed with the fact, that we
bed lost our influence—that the temporising policy we had
pursued had injured the. cause, and that the time was come
for more energetic measures. In this view I stood alone.
The Committee decided upon publishing a string of resolu-
tions, a mere echo of former resolutions (and to my mind
not at ail adapted to the present state of the Church-rate
question). I felt that to have to object to every thing
was a false position, and that my presence must retard,
rather than facilitate the business of the Committee.

2. On the last occasion of my meeting the Committee
I was in the same position ; I felt bound most pertina-
ciously to object to the unmeaning compliments of the
resolutions then agreed to, and I think I have since been
justified in that objection, by seeing that many of our
best friends construed these compliments into an avowal
that the Committee meant to persevere in the do-nothing
policy of the last two years. _ _

3. I am anxious to cease to be a member of your Corn
mittce before the." Plain Instructions" are published. I

cannot, as a Chriitian man, con!:ent to advise my fellow
men deliberately to go to a poll against a Church-rate,
and if they are beaten at the poll to avail themselves of
any legal technicalities to quash the rate. If Dissenters,
in the exercise of their common rights, go to a vestry, and
demand to have the question of Rate or no Rate decided
by a poll of the whole parish, and the parish decide against
them, they cannot, according to my notions of right, avail
themselves of either of the tour objections stated at the
.top of page 7 of the Instructions—it is descending from
that high ground which men advocating a great public
question ought to take, and I will not be a party so to
advise. I remain, dear Sir,
With great personal respect to yourself as well as
every other member of the Committee,
Yours, sincerely and truly,
ROBERT BESLEY.
15, Northampton-square, Nov. 23.

RAMSGATE, TUESDAY.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE ,SUN.

Sir,—lt is with extreme reluctance that I bring myself
before the public, but I feel constrained to notice a para-
graph which has been going the round of the newspapers
relative to an assault committed on me by a Mr. Hawkins.
That this person did assault me in the dark, is perfectly
true ; and I rejoice that I had sufficient command of
myself to hand him over to the police, instead of doing
what for a moment I naturally felt disposed to do.

I shall only further add, that as Mr. Hawkins will soon
have an opportunity of giving, and hearing, his true history
in a Court of law, it would not be becoming on my part to
say more at present, than that ample justice will then be
done to myself, to Mr. Hawkins, and to other parties who
have taken part in the transaction.
I have the honour to be, Sir,
Your most obedient servant,
CHARLES SHAW.

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)_

PORTSMOUTH, DEC. 14. —ln Harbour.—The Britannia, 120,
flag ship ; Victory, 104, ordinary guard ship ; Excellent,
gunnery ship; Royal George yacht; Messenger, steam tran-
port ; Rattlesnake, 28; and tenders Fanny and Emerald.
In Dock.—Not anything in commissiou.

In Basin.—The Ganges-, 84 ; Daphne, 18; Cambrian, 10.
At Spithead.—The Grecian, 16.
ARRIVALS, SAILINGS, &c., DURING THE WEEK.
On Saturday, the Bth, the Gipsy tender returned to Sheer-
ness, and the Meteor steam-vessel sailed to the eastward.
On Sunday, the 9th, the Racer, 16, sailed for the West
Indies, with despatches and supernumeraries for Vice-Admi-
ral Paget.
On Tuesday, the 11th, the Gossamer tender sailed for the
eastward, with invalids on board.
On Thursday the Grecian, 16, arrived from Plymouth, to
be fitted with a shell room, prior to her sailing for the Medi-
terranean, and the Tweed, 20, was paid off into ordinary.

To-day a Court-martial, assembled to try Mr. William
Meldrum, gunner of the Rattlesnake, for a breach of the 2d
Article of War, inasmuch as he had acted indecently towards
three boys of that ship. The Court consisted of Rear-Ad-
miral Bouverie, president ; Captains Searle, of the Victory ;
Reynolds, of the Ganges; Dalling, of the Daphne : Hast-
ings, of the Excellent ; and Trotter, of the Britannia—and,
after having sat till four P. M. adjourned until to-morrow.
On Tuesday last the following gentlemen passed their
examination at the Royal Naval College, to serve as Lieute-
nants in her Majesty's Navy :—Messrs. Charles Hawkey,
Edmund L. Strangways, and George F. Day.
The Revenge will be undocked next week, and be imme-
diately commissioned.
The Ganges will go out of basin in a day or two.
The Royal Frederick will be launched about April next;
great exertions are being used to get her ready.
The dock-yard has not yet commenced the breaking up of
the Prince George hulk, but she is in dock all ready.