The Sun.
London, England, 1831-01-11 00:00:00

handicraft. Can it be a matter of surprise that the
Cambrian newspaper of New-year's-day thus re-
ports a public meeting in this tax and tithe-ridden

Ull d red. %

" COWBRIUGE, DLc. 24, MO.—At a meeting of the
landowners, farmers, and tithe-payers of the hundred of
Cowbridge, convened by public advertisement, held at the
Masons' Arms, this day, Mr. William Spencer in the
Chair, the following petition and resolutions were una-
nimously agreed to :

"TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE LORDS SPI-
RITUAL AND TEMPORAL, IN PARLIAMENT
ASSEMBLED.
"THE HUMBLE PETITION OF THE LANDOWN-
ERS, FARMERS, AND TITHE-PAYERS, OF THE
HUNDRED OF COWBRIDGE, IN THE COUNTY
OF GLAMORGAN ;
" SirowEnr,—That your petitioners view, with deep
concern, the unhappy and alarming state of the country,
and lament that, after the continuance of peace for fifteen
years, instead of teat prosperity which should accompany
it, every interest in the community is suffering great dis-

tress ;—that your petitioners consider the enormous and
unequal proportion of the wealth of the country engrossed
by the Church Establishment to be the chief cause of such
distress ; and that while this burden oppresses most
grievously the agriculturist, it aho seriously affects the ma-
nufacturing interest ;—that your petitioners conscien-
tiously believe that the tithe system is as prejudicial to
the best interest of the Church of England, as a Christian

Church, ds to the temporal well• being of the community,
. .

as it tends to produce dissent, and promote uncharitable
and unchristian feelings between the Ministers of Religio❑

and the souls committed to their esre.

" That your petitioners are utterly at a loss to compre-
hend why this burden should fall almost exclusively on
them, when the many more wealthy interests of the country
cotnparatively pay nothing towards the support of a Ministry
for religious instruction, and from which they derive equal

advant age.
" That your petitioners are prepared to prove b your
Honourable House that, in consequence of the vast increase
of capital and land engaged in tillage within the last forty
years, the value of tithe property has increased in a fourfold
degree, while the employment of capital in agricultural
pursuits was never more precarious and unproductive to
the farmer than at the present time.
" That your petitioners humbly submit to your Honour-
able House, that they believe the only effectual way of re-
moving this unequal and oppressive burden on the capital,
the exertions, and the industry of the agriculturist, and the
doing away with the ►eany other evils effects of the titho
laws, would be to impose, instead of the present grinding,
afflicting, and distressing mode, a rate, or tithe tax of two
shillings in the pound, on the rent paid by the farmers;
which your petitioners humbly presume to suggest would
be found not only a competent, but a respectable pro►ision,
for the support of the Ministers, thereby, as they firmly be-
lieve, furnishing the best way, in their opinion the only
means, by which the present frightfully alarming state of
society can be allayed, and the terrific consequences (not
to be contemplated without horror) averted.
" Your petitioners, therefore, humbly pray that your
Honourable House will adopt this, or such other means as
your Honourable House may approve of, for the relief of
the country ; and your petitioners will ever pray, &c.
" First resolution. Proposed and carried unanimously,
" That the petition sow read be presented to both
houses of Parliament.

" Second resolution. Proposed and carried,
That the Chairman be requested to forward the petition

to the House of Lords, to Lord King.

" Third resolution. Proposed and carried unanimously,
" That a deputation do wait on the Member for the
County, to request he will pi esent and support the prayer
of the petition; in the House of Commons, composed of
the following persons :—Mr. John Spencer, Mr. Chris-
topher Wilkin., Mr. Samuel Howells, Mr. W. Spencer,
Mr. David Richards, and Mr. Richard Richards.
" Fourth resolution,
" That a person he appointed to take the petition to the
several parishes in the hundred, for signatures.

" Fifth resolution,
" That the proceedings of this meeting be advertised in
he Cambrian newspaper.
" WM. SPENCER, St. Mary Church."

It is also especially observable, that these country
agriculturists, far distant from the seat of Govern-
ment, nevertheless exhibit a shrewd discrimination
of the political character of Members of Parliament.
They nominate Mr. Hume from his terrier-like qua-
lities against the barn vermin, and Lord King, as a
good Mar-prelate with the Bishops, to prevent
their petitions to the Legislature. Verily, they are
wiser in their generation than their fore-fathers, who
could not separate religion from priestianity, or the
tithing of priests from the service of God. These
remarkable State Papers are proofs of the revolt of
the laity; twenty years ago every inhabitant of
these parishes, if asked to sign such protests, would
have been seized with fits of horror. Blasphemy
was the text word of the clerical discourses shen
the divine right of tithes was questioned. Now
every steward's rent dinner, every tithe dinner,
when the Parson has turned his back, betrays the
popular feeling against the Levitical imposition.
The health of the incumbent is always heartily
drunk a second time at the tithe dinner when
lie has left the room, the most aged and hoary-
headed farmer justifying the compliment by the
acute observation—" I never knew a new one who
‘vas'ilt a worser than the dead one." We were in-
formed a few days since by a Magistrate of one of
the midland counties, that a parish meeting was re-
cet.tly called to, swear in special constables. It was
fully attended, but no special constables volunteered :
the conversation was long and significant on the
state of the country ; the farmers terminated the
meeting, declaring, that they wanted no additional
civil force but " rents lowered and down with the
tithe !" We have heard that at a large dinner
party of country gentlemen, 150 miles from the me-
tropolis, the table-talk lately discussed the pro-
bable future value of English and Irish tithes.
The company differed, and it was agreed to take
the sense of the guests, by " a mock auction," the
bookseller's mode of ascertaining the value of joint
stock, by biddings among themselves. Three
months' purchase was bid for Irish tithe, seven
months for English tithe, and no advance ! The
Archbishop of Canterbury may in vain compose
" Forms of Prayer, on account of the troubled
state of certain districts ;" they will not compose

the troubled spirits of the afflicted and resilres
agricultural patients. We know that these evang-
heal prescriptions, for agricultural distress originat-
ing in political causes, expose religion to derision
and contempt; the agriculturists treat them, we are
well informed, as the old impious farmer observed to
the parish parson, who read the prayer for rain in
the great drought, " I'll be cursed if the dry prayer
is of any use till the wind's shifted." The land-
owner, and the tenantry, and the labourers, will go
on to hustle the vicar and the rector; to pay them
off in kind—to let them gather the parsley and sage,
and take the tenth calf which the cow-herd has slily
held by the tail while sucking, lest it should grow
too fat for the parson. The thinking and reading
farmers, of whom there are now increasing numbers
drinking at the fountain of the " Diffusion of Know-
ledge," will reflect on the causes of this deplorable
state of things, and will vary the prayer (after that
including all conditions of men), " Lord ! open the
eyes of the boroughniongers, and incline their hearts
to emancipate the nation wohoot further trouble or
convulsion."—Morning Chronicle.
The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, following the
example of his calumniated predecessor, is perform-
ing his duty most manfully. Nothing but the un-
daunted attitude he has so commendably assumed
can save Ireland, discomfit her real enemies, or re-
aio:e. her ;o that state of tranquillity, of which by
the infamous a'lles of rdction she haa been so long
and so lamentably deprived. The restles'i agitator,
the ceaseless brooder of mischief, having projected
a new scheme, whereby he foolishly imagined he
should be able to evade the law—namely, the
formation of a new Association, the Marquis of
Anglesea, with a promptitude that does him the
highest honour, issued a fresh Proclamation on'
the day fciloi,;viig that cp which the meeting
was heW, prohibiting tiermePtikt c.!.' c." suchs,
Association---a measure not only of the utmost
propriety,
inr,hoeieps te,
purportedgnt yse:w but
ooAtr
Association
ci
eiftaoltiriepo mostrit,ohtee
o,tfpi
or aenebvoes, oa:lntpui
doit
re:'
toieioixe.
fice necessity.—
This
exercise
yr‘uci.
oui
artfully
the Tight of petitioning, and for the redress
of grievances ; but the veil was too slight and flimsy
to disguise the real design. They have indeed them-