The Sun.
London, England, 1841-04-16 00:00:00

CHURCH-RATES.

(FROM A CORRESPONDENT.)
WEYMOUTH, APRIL 13.—This town has been kept in a
considerable state of excitement for these last twelve months,
in consequence of the all prevailing subject of Church-rates.
The parish church, comparatively speaking a new church, was
built under an Act of Parliament about twenty-four years ago,
and upon which 2,000/. was borrowed by the authority of this
Act, and which said sum of 2,0001. is not yet paid off, though
what are called Trustee Church-rates have been continually
made and paid for that purpose during this period, and it
somewhat astonishes plain-dealing folks that a Trustee-rate
amounting to upwards of 4001., should be so often called
for, and that still this church is in debt 1,0001., the trustees
paying interest of 5 per cent. upon that amount, and keep-
ing a clerk to attend to the business. In addition to this,
the churchwardens likewise call for a rate of fourpence in the
pound, making also upwards of 4001. per year, to keep a new
church in repair. To the Dissenters of the town this is doubly
grievous, inasmuch as they feel that not only are they called
upon to pay to the support of an edifice in which a creed, and
form, and ceremonies are used and taught contrary to what
they consider conscientiously to be the truth, but also that they
have to pay towards the extravagances of that church. Be-
lieving this rate to be illegal, several of the inhabitants refused
ts pay it, whereupon they were some some months back
summoned before the magistrates ; they pleaded the
illegality of the rate, and entered into the required
engagements to defend themselves in the Ecclesiastical
Court against any suit that might be entered by the
churchwardens. This, of course, closed the jurisdiction of
the magistrates. After waiting till March the Churchwardens
selected seven individuals as fit and proper persons to be per-
secuted by citation to the Ecclesiastical Court, namely, Sir.
Charles Pope, Mr. Thomas Dodson, Mr. Stephen Farwell,
Mr. George Groves, Mr. Joseph Farwell, Mr. James Clare,
Mr. Alfred Galpin. The parties appeared to the citation at
Blandford, 24 miles from Weymouth, when they were admo-
nished to appear again in a fortnight, to receive the libel that
would be then exhibited by the Churchwardens. At the ap-
pointed time they made their second appearance, when the
Churchwardens' proctor prayed the Court for further time, as,
he said, they were not prepared with their case, they had no
papers ready, and, as they would have to be presented to Dr.
Addams before they could exhibit their libels, he should ask
four four weeks more, at which time the parties cited should
again appear. Mr. Pope complained of this annoyance to the
parties, in addition to the expense of coming twenty-four miles
to nn purpose, and asked, as a reasonable thing, that the
essurt should order the expenses sof the day; but the answer
was, fi‘ This court never allows expenses." Application was
then made ti; name any other day than Saturday, as it was a
most inconvenient day for the parties to leave their homes,
they being all tradesmen. This was also refused, and the whole
of the parties ordered to .?
ttend that day four weeks, Satur-
day, 24th April. At the first .
appearance of the parties to the
citation, it was proposed by them, that as they wished to try
the validity of the rate, and all had c same objection, the
churchwardens should take one case, Mr. r °Pe's, and all the
others would enter into an engagement to pa;' if the church-
I wardens succeeded in their suit against him. I,lseir proctor
said he would make the communication to them, any let Mr.
Pope know the result. He did make that communicatioo, and
the result was the positive refusal of the churchwardens to ac-
cede to this most reasonable proposition, and their determina-
tion to proceed with the whole of the cases. And thus the mat-
ter stands with respect to the seven inhabitants cited for re-
fusing to pay what they conceive to be an illegal rate, all hav-
ing the same objection to it.
The churchwardens, however, have not yet done. To-day
they have summoned twenty-two inhabitants, two of whom,
frightened at the expense and annoyance, paid the rate and
costs, but the others nave declined to pay till the suits now
pending in the Ecclesiastical Court be decided, pledging them-
selves to pay if the churchwardens succeed. The Magistrates,
however, have issued orders for the payment of the rate and
costs, and say they shall issue distress warrants on their goods if
it is not paid, one of them observing that it might be four or five
years before the suits now pending would be settled. On Tues-
day next an immense number more arc to be summoned, and
if the Magistrates should be so insane a 4 to grant distress war-
rants against all who have and will refuse this rate, Wey-
mouth will be turned into an entire Auction Mart, to suit the
tender mercies of the Church of England as by law esta-
blished. How much longer are the Dissenters of this country
to be taxed against their consciences—be taxed to support a
system that the freedom of conscience God has given revolts
from ? To the Dissenters is owing the liberation of this
country from bigotry and oppression. To the Dissenters does
our beloved Queen owe the crown she now wears; and long
may she live to wear it ; but as they have once overthrown
oppression, it will be no hard task to do it again, when
once they are united, as they are fast becorrisng on
• this all-absorbing question. It has been truly said there. are
but three ways to obtain redress of grievances ; tiiP
first by petition, the second by remonstrance, and the
third by—but God forbid they should ever be driven to do as
the Covenanters of Scotland did, gird on the broad sword of
freedom to their thighs, and in return to a citation present its
sharpened point; yet who does not apirove of their glorious
struggle for the freedom of that conscience which God has
given, free and unshackled to all men ; and will those who
approve of this conduct, carried to extremes as it certainly
was, condemn the Dissenters of their own day, who tread in
their footsteps? No, and the surprise will be, next, they had
not done so before. Cases like the one before vs are enough
to drive men to the utmost extremity. Would not one case
have been sufficient to decide the question of the lega.jty of
this grievous, burdensome, iniquitous rate ? But no, they
ill
have " justice, and their bond ;" they wll have their " poutdl
of flesh ;", but a day of reckoning is coming—we " bide the
time."

BIBLE CHARTISM.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Sni.,—Your known liberality has induced me to re-
quest the insertion of the following few remarks in The
Sun. Though we may differ in our political creeds, I
think you will agree with me as to the expediency of the
course I wish to see generally followed.
Being an ardent advocate of Chartism, from the belief
that it embraces the only means of securing good Go-
vernment, I connot but wish for its speedy enactment.
But if, Sir, this great question is to bo maid up with
matter either of a factious or sectarian tendency, the
realisation of that wish will be deferred 'for an almost
indefinite i:eriod. I regret that any editor of a leading
Chartist Journal should so coramit himself as to con-
found a purely political question with matters purely
speculative. I know of but one specks of Chartism,
calculated to benefit mankind by making the Common-
wealth subserve the interests of all ; and I cannot con-
ceive what connexion it has with, or what support it
can gain, from the Scriptures. To talk of Bibla Char-
tism is as absurd as to talk of Chartist religion. It is a
confounding of terms, which are as distinct as fire and
water.

Chartism consists of five points ; one a natur.:l right
inherent in man, and the others are matters of expe-
diency. Now what have these things to do with re-
vealed religion ? We need not a revelation to teach
them to ue, nor to confirm our title to them. If belief
in the divinity of the Bible was necessary to qualify any
person for the suffrage, there would be some plausibility
ie talking of Bible Chartism ; but as Chartism is but a
means of securing good government, by each and for rill,
it should not be confounded with the rights of con-
science, as by so confounding it we render its establish-
ment more difficult, and at the same time we create
doubts as to what are our ulterior objects. We are not
aiming, surely, to establish religious creeds ! Nor are
we going, in my opinion, to make Chartism subservilsit
to Protestantism or Catholicism. In the equality of
the suffrage, under the Charter representation, alhects
would have ample protection afforded them. No sect,
in that case, would gain support in the violation of the
rights of conscience. ligion is a thing which no Go-
vernment has a right to interfere or meddle with. And,
therefore, I solemnly protest against connecting it with
Chartism,

Bible Chartism! How absurd! I shall expect to
hear next of Quaker Chartism, Unitarian Chartism,
and other nondescript kind of Chartism. I wish people
would let the Charter rest upon its own intrinsic merits,
and would not mix it up with such foreign matter. 'De-
pend upon it they only injure the cause by so doing.
Trusting that you will perceive the importance of
these brief remarks, and will not misconceive my object
in requesting you to give them insertion in The Sun,
I remain, yours truly,
Bath, April 13. G. M. B.

THE PRESIDENT STEAM 81111'.—Her
jesty, upon leaiing Buckingham Palace fo Windsor
Castle, left strict commands that immediately upon the
news of the safety of the President resching London a
speciAl messenger should be despatched to 1 I:1door with
the intelligence, and it having been (alas ! too confidently)
stated in London, on `Tuesday evening; that some infJrma-
bOcn received tesPecting this 'vessel, whii'ih left
, heard
was in safety,
DO (
R 3 Qu( en's messenvr, arrived express at Windsor
ti"tobuabdt that it hart been ot, and ln
Jgor
• "'" o'clock that evening, and
from town, shortly alter -
her Majesty, immediately after his arrival, Lad the
encc communicated to her, through the Lord Chamber-
lain, when the Queen and Prince Albert expressed the
highest satisfaction at the gratifying communication.
All'.l-"ORSYT H.—The ex• Secretary of State, Mr.
Forsyth, has been sued in a ward court for the sum of
' eighteen dollars ! The suer must be a Locofoco, for Mr.
Forsyth would have no dealing with a rascally Whig. But
what presumption for a plain min to coerce Mr. Forsyth
to pay a debt. A man of his diainciion has no business
with dollars and cents. It is honour enough for a trades-
man to furnish his goods without looking for pay. If the
ex-Secretary has any more sm:2ll debts about town, his
creditors may send their bills, properly authenticated, to
this office ; we will settle all such matters for him, on 2C-
ccunt of the love we bear the late ii,clministra6on.-
4merican Paper.

Ma-