The Sun.
London, England, 1840-06-06 00:00:00

lis bo

(Copy.)

May g, 1840.
My dear Sir,—l received your favour of the 4th
instant in course, and have not found time, since
my arrival from Lancashire, to do more than peruse it ;
and must now reply very briefly. The first day I can
getinto the City, I will call upon you, to have some
conversation on Mr.Thorogood'Y3 business. lam afraid,
however, from the tenor ef your letter, that my sincere
wish to be of service to him, and to show my sympathy
in his principl'a and his sufferings, is likely to prove
fruitless, My first request to Mr. Thorogood, to be
put into communication with his solicitor, rather than
Wlth himself direct, arose from a desire that he should
have to make no personal compromise with his oppo-
nents, nor, under any circumstances, have to offer the
slightest violence to his consc;entious scruples.
I am sorry you have sent him my letter, for two
reasons :—First, bectuse it makes him personallyin-
volved, the very thing I desired to avoid ; and secondly,
because I should not have made use of expressions
which he would naturally consider flippant and unfeel-
ing, and certainly would be so had they been addressed
to himself.

From what I understand from a high legal autho-
rity, I am afraid your present hopes of getting Mr.
Thorogood out of prison, by proving the invalidity of
his commitment or imprisonment, are likely to be dis-
appointed, and also that Dr. Lushington'e statement
to the House of Commons was not far from the truth ;
as also, that if rate and expenses be paid and appear-
ance entered, that nothing more would be requisite to
secure his discharge.
Notwithstanding, therefore, your somewhat severe
criticism upon my propositions, I am inclined to think
them reasonable.

When I spoke of the Court being in the right, and
Mr. Thorogood having acted wrong, I of course used
the terms as being legally, not morally so.
By refusing to pay the rate, I repeat my former
assertion, that Mr. Thorogood commenced the battle ;
and he did wrong in adopting an erroneous course,
legal and politic. That if he could be got out of
it by his solicitor or friends, he might, if he chose,
renew the contest, and carry it on with less cost and
more success.

As to waiting until "a persecuting party confesses
what is wrong and does what is right,' the notion is
really romantic. Such confession will never be made
until human nature, has changed its constitution. The
simple fact of persecution implies the absence of that
candour and sense of the rights of others which alone
is consistent with confession of error, and adoption of
justice and charity in conduct.
I almost despair of doing &ny service to Mr. Thoro-
good in the way of releasing him from his cruel and
atrocious imprisonment, for such I view it, let the
blame rest with lawyers or churchmen or legislators, or
be divided amongst them in equal or unequal portions,
and I shall therefore send him 20/. to make him com-
fortable as tar as may be at present, and will take the
first moment I can:find to see you on the subject.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
Mr. H. Ashurst. * * 41t

JOHN THOROGOOD, TO * 4
Chelmsford Gaol, May 18, 1840.
regret that you disapprove of Mr. Ashurst's
having forwarded to me your letter, because it appears
to me that without an authority from me, and in
ignoronce of my sentiments upon the many impo total
observations and suggestions it contains, it would rtant
been inconsistent and improper in him tohave have
ed it.

I am also sorry that his answer, containing my real
sentiments, has failed to produce any alteration in your
opinions,

I assure you, Sir, that I refused to pay the Church-
rate from a thorough conviction, not hastily arrived at,
that it was a most unjust and unchristian impost.
I had not the vanity to suppose that any humble
efforts of mine would cause a repeal of the law,
or reach the hearts of those who appear to glory in
their shame. I did hope from a declaration of the
Ministers, that another Session would have signed the
doom of this iniquitous instrument of unchristian mis-
rule. I had refused to pay the rate for three years,
previous to the entertainment of this hope, and I only
followed up my purpose by remaining consistent. I
beg most respectfully, therefore, to repeat to you a part
of my instructions to Mr. Ashurst, because my lan-
guage does net appear to me to have made that im-
pression which I intended and hoped it would. " I love
truth better than expediency." " I never meant to pay
the rate." " I had made up my mind to suffer the
penalty of my refusal, to be robbed or slowly murdered
at the option of my Christian persecutors." " I acted
upon principle ; and will endeavour to do so, let the
consequences of my imprisonment be what they may.
Let my persecutors look to that. I will never pay the
rate or costs." And I must here add, that I never will
compromise my principles directly or indirectly, by
sanctioning in another that which I would not do myself.
I made no mistake. I did not seek the Ecclesiasti-
cal Courts. 1 was cited there by the Churchwardens,
or rather by the acting one, T. M. Gepp, who is an
attorney. I did not appear, and lam in prison. This
is I suppose both technical and legal, but it appears to
me to be a paltry pettifogging quibble. If I had not
been proceeded against by the Churchwardens for the
ss. 6d. Church-rate, pray, Sir, how should have
got here

Why should I have volunteered to come into col
lision and warfare with one of the most inquisitoria
Courts in Christendom

Although it will be impossible for use at present to
derive any benefit from the information, yet I shall feel
very grateful for any instruction you can give me, for
the benefit of others, as to the way in which a warfare
against Church-rates may be urged upon a more judi-
cious system. if I accept the terais:you propose I gain
my liberty, at the expense of every moral and religious
feeling, to recommence the same course of refusal, and
to submit anew to the same course of persecution.
How could that benefit the cause I have at heart ?
How could I expect sympathy for having be-
come a renegade ? I believe with you, Sir, that
the Church has the power to liberate me to-morrow.
In that case what becomes of my contempt of Court?
You must pardon me for differing with you, but the
general belief of all straightforward, unsophistocated
and unbiassed men appears to be that I have been im-
prisoned sixteen months for the non-payment of ss. (id.
Church-rate. Any other opinion, however high its
legal source may be, is too refined to be received by
honest-hearted Englishmen as truth. I beg to acknow-
ledge the receipt of twenty pounds, I accept it as
freely as it was offered ; it would have been churlish
to have done otherwise, and I shall appropriate it to
procure my legal discharge. and although I cannot act
upon your suggestion and differ in opinion, lam truly
grateful for your sympathy.
I have the honour to remain, your's respectfully,
J. THOROGOOJ.

AGRICULTURAL REPORT FOR
MAY.

--....----
From the commencement until quite the middle of
this month, the weather, in all parts of England, was,
even the time of year considered, unusually fine, conse-
quently very propitious to the growing crops, but more
particularly those of wheat, barley, and oats, the whole
of which exhibited, during that period, a very marked,
and almost unprecedented improvement, especially on
strong soils; still, however, the plants were observed to
throw out a large number of strong layers, and to make
a steady progression towards maturity. Subsequently
to the period last abovernentioned, the wind, which
had been previously blowing from the southward and
westward, veered round to the north and north-east, from
which points of the compass several strong and cold gales
were experienced, the influence of which considerably
retarded the progress of the young corn, as well indead
as of vegetation in general. The fine showers of rain
which have fallen in most quarters since about the 2.2 d,
aided by a more genial atmosphere, have had a most
gratifying effect upon the productions of the soil, 'cost
of which are quite as forward as at the corresponding
period of many preceding seasons ; whilst there is every
prospect of the forthcoming produce of grain being
good, and, should no serious atmospheric interruptions
be experienced, of :superior quality. Both beans and
peas appear, by the numerous accounts which have come
to hand , to have gone on favourably, whilst they are
well represented by our provincial correspondents.
The great scarcity of pasture herbage, caused by the
absence of sufficient moisture in the months early past,
has proved of serious import to our graziers and others
who have fatted stock for the principal markets in the
kingdom, most of which have been compelled to resort
to their available stocks of dry pabulum ; hence an ad-
vance of nearly 1/. per ton has taken place in the value
of hay in the midland and northern districts, but we are
happy to state that no further enhancement in the cur-
rencies is expected for the present, as also that the so
long complained of epidemic amongst beasts and sheep
appears to be rapidly subsiding, owing in a great mea-
sure to the many effectual remedies resorted to in
order to check its virulence, which a short time since
was wholly unparalleled in the memory of the oldest
person living, the losses sustained having created the
greatest anxiety in the minds both of the buyers and
sellers, many of the latter having declared that their
out-goings have greatly exceeded their incomes during
the last three months.
Throughout Ireland and Scotland copious showers of
rain have fallen of late, which have greatly benefited
the various productions. Wheat and oats are well re-
presented ; but barley is looking somewhat sickly.
Good wheat and barley, though in fair supply, have
commanded a steady sale, and the prices have been well
maintained, hut in other grain a limited amount of busi-
ness has been passing.—Farmers Magazine.

SULPHUR.—Mr. English, the Editor of the
Mining Journal, has submitted a petition to the House of
Commons, in which he states that it has been lately ascertained
that the mundic, and some of the inferior ores, produced by the
English and Irish mines, are available for the manufacture of
sulphur ; and that if a duty—we suppose he means a prohibitory
duty—were imposed on foreign sulphur, an annual demand
would arise for more than 120,000 tons of such inferior ores
which now remain unwerked or are thrown away as useless.