The Sun.
London, England, 1822-07-04 00:00:00

THE LONDON JOURNAP.

IIATILVVI FROM TME D.ll4l'' MORNING PAPERS,

July 4, 182.

[muTISII PRESS 3
The House of Commons did not sit yesterday,
• in consequence; of the want,of attendance of the
Tequisite_ number cif- Members at four o'clock;
Mr. Western was thus deprived of the opportu-
• nity of rnovin3r, a series Of Resolutions, of -which
fin hacl given notice. They are descriptive of
the distressed state of the agricultural part of
the -country-:--the" effects Of the altered state of
the currency—the general amount of taxation—
and the -relative situation of the public creditor
and, the public, under such altered state of the
currency. These 'Resolutions are derived from
. the' Agricultural Report, and the debate upon
•
,Ahem will ber in fact, a-debate upon the state of

[NEW TIMES.]
new
writing, our yesterday's article on the
new scheme bi'Church Robbery, we have acci-
dentally met with the account of Benefices,
Churches, and Chapels of the Establishment,
which was laid before Parliament by order of his
IliajeSly (then Prince Regent), in- 1818; and as
it tends to ,exhibit in a striking light the utter
ignorance of a writer whom the Morning Chronicle
applauded as " displaying prodigious knowledge
and research," we Shall not hesitate to make
a,.few quotations from it, and to compare' them
with the statements in the paMphlet.—l. The
Panwhleteer says, " according to the last
Diocesan' Returns to Parliament, there were
Churches and Chapels of the Church
of .Englatid, and. 3338 of other persuasiOns.—
Now.the return lying before us,, dated February.
:16,1 818, contane the exact number or Churches
-and Chapels of the Establishment 'very sepa-
rate Diocese ; and' tliere are actually more in the
two Dioceses of Lincoln and Norwich than this
learned man allows fcir all England and Wales!!!
Lincoln - Churches - - 1,303
'Chapels - - 76
,;*. • Norwich - Chin-Hies. - 1,167
Chapels - 31.

2,577
---The whole number for the Twenty-six Dio-
ceses is 10,192 Churches and
.1,551 Chapels,
Making together 1,1,743.-2. In` order to make
up a round number for the basis of his calcula-
tions, the Pamphleteer says—" by computing 67
for new Churches, since the retarn, including
those already built with, the million voted by
Parliament for erecting. Churches, of the esta-
blished faith,. the nuMber of 2,600 is made out."
Now it appears from what we have already stated,
that in this liberal calculation there is only a
trifling error of Nine Thousand One Hundred
and Forty-three !—" Prodigious knowledge !"
Vast research !"—Why, this beats the
arithmetical blunders of Joseph Hume, who
mistook - Seven Millions for Seventeen.-3:
This- worthy Gentleman talks of English
Churches as he might of the Pagodas in Tibet,
from some strange book that he had read.—
" There are," says he, " 10,500 livings, com-
pressed into a small number of pluralities,
With 2,600 places of worship." 46 Any num-
ber of Clergymen may have appointments in
a Church, and even perform some little ditties
there, to save appearances !!" . And this is his
hypothesis to account for the fact, which he
collects, 'we know. not exactly whence, that
there are 17,343 "working Clergy." Now, the
real fact is, that there are 10,421 benefices,
which have 11,743 places of worship ; so
that the
,places of worship, instead of being
73900 less in number than the' benefices, are
1,322 more in number. That there are some
pluralists among-the holders of these benefices is
certain ; and it is easily. accounted. for from the
fact, that of the whole number of 10,421, there
are no less that 3,503, which do pot exceed 1501.
Per annum; and 2,274, which do not exceed
1001. But the six or seven Clergymen who
crowd round a: _:Parish Church, and " perform.
some little duties" in it " to save appearances,"
are plurakists of quite a novel order and descrip-
tion. SeriouSlY, is it not lamentable to see such
egregious blunders, such monstrous absurdities,
gravely advanced to the world as reasons for the
robbery and, impoverishment of a whole clasS of
society ? .And then, that a Journalist„ a daily
,
enlightener of the:British should take up
this nonsense, and assure his readers that it is
knowledge—" prodigious knowledge!" There
is one afinfort,hOwever; the'same person who
lauds Mr. Cam' Itobliouse's financial' ability
voucheS for the accuracy, of this outrageously
blundering patriphlet. .We at leaSt knoW what
such praise is worth.. ,

[THE TIMES.]
We have no courage to dwell upon the details
which we publish from Ireland.. The suffering'
continues: and What is Neat suffering? It is
What those to whoa' we address our supplication
hive never felt; and oh, may they never feel it !
the, agony of hunger unappeasable—but by. death.
Take. but one sketch from one' single cabin :—A
father and Mother, and nine infants, all perishing
together, for the want of food ! God of mercy !
the mother and her babes, and the dying father
and husband, an helpless convulsed witness to
the more than mortal ruin. This, too, but
one scene from:., tens of thousands ! History
his nothing like it : no heart of flail and
blood but Mist sicken under the conception of
it. Well was it said the.other night, that relief
to the remnant of that expiring race is no longer
charity=it is the' most sacred of all duties. The
guilt of refuSing bread to these our gasping fel-
I:ow-creatures is -inexpiable. It is not Selfish.:
ness.—it is not
.robbery;, it amounts almost to
murder of the most intro' an kind—a delibe-
lite consignment of an entire people to pangs,
more ten;ibie than barbarism ever invented,
9r,-. vengeance indicted on a fallen enemy.—
This is not a call upon the humane and ge-
nen:ins .for a surrender of superfluities alone :
comforts must be not sacrificed,. but .shared
with the destitute,
.whom Providence has
Stricken--27inloart,it may be, as a trial of ourgrati;
tulle for that exemption..froni present evil With
which, if weyCbie wanting, He may not favour