The Sun.
London, England, 1840-12-11 00:00:00

ECCLESIASTICAL OPPRESSION.

Mr. EDITOR.--I beg, through the columns of your
paper, to call the attention of the public to the follow-
ing case of clerical oppression, as I am certain that, on
a perusal of the facts it contains, nothing will he wanting
to place the conduct of its author, a professed minister
of the Christian religion, in its proper light ; and I
trust it will be the means of arousing the public to re-
newed efforts to rid our beloved country of those anti-
Christian sinks of injustice and iniquity, the Ecclesias-
tical Courts. There is at present in our county gaol a
poor widow, aged 60, named Sarah Young, from
Whitebrook, in the parish of Landogo, in this
county, where she has been confined nearly seven
months for alleged contempt of the Ecclesiastical
Court of Llandaff, whither she was illegally cited
at the slit of the Rev. Dr. Lyle, of that place, for the
sum of 31. 10s., said to be due to him for tithes. I say
illegally, as there is an Act of Parliament expressly to
prevent any one being cited to that Court for any sum
under 101. It appears her husband, who was a wood-
cutter, died about seven years since, leaving her with
seven children. He was possessed of a small cottage
and three small pieces of land, containing three acres,
which were encumbered with a mortgage of 701. Three
years and a half since she sold two of the pieces for 751.
for the purpose, as she states, of having the rest clear.
The whole of the land was originally charged with 7s.
per annum tithe, which has since been raised to 15s. ;
but although she had sold the two pieces, the whole
amount has been charged to her, and is included in
the 31. 10s.
Her two eldest boys resided with her, and worked as
woodcutters ; and herself, assisted by two other chil-
dren, worked in a paper-mill, and, as she says, with
difficulty was thus enabled to get bread for them. A
demand for the tithe was made from her in the usual
way by a printed circular, signed " Michael Davis,
Usk," calling on her to pay it at the Sloop, at Lan-
dogo. She said it was not in her power then to pay
it. Soon after she was served with a citation from the
Bishop's Court at Llandaff, calling on her to appear
there on a certain day. She says she was ill at the
time from an accident, and it was more than forty
miles, and being destitute of money it was impossible
for her to attend. In a short time she received another,
when she told the man she would pay it if they would
give her a little time ; but the result was that she was
pronounced in contempt. A writ was issued against
her, she was dragged from her home and children in
bad health, and put into prison, where she still re-
mains. She says she was so ill for three days after be-
ing brought there, that she was unable to take her
clothes off ; and had it not been for the kindness of
the family of Mr. Ford, the gaoler—to their ho-
nour be it spoken—who supplied her with little
comforts, she thinks death ere this would have re-
lieved her from the grasp of her merciless persecutors.
A proctor at Llandaff, named Stephens, has recently
sent to say that if Mrs. Young, her two sons, and a
brother of hers, named Martin, residing at Red-
brook (who is the father of fourteen children), will
join in a promissory note for 181., which he has sent
for execution to Messrs. Fowles and Tyler, of this
town, for expenses incurred in that abominable Court,
he will forward her discharge ; but they have not the
means of paying this enormous demand, and I trust if
they had they would not gratify this thirst for plunder
by paying expenses illegally incurred. I am certain
that, when the case is known, a feeling will be raised
before which such un-Christian oppression must bide its
odious head, and the woman be again restored to her
liberty and family, of which she has been so unlaw-
fully deprived. The Act of Parliament to which I
have referred is the 53d Geerge 111., c. 127, s. 4,
wherein it states as follows :—" And whereas it has
become expedient to extend the Act of William 111. to
all tithes of limited amount, be it enacted, that from
and after the passing of this Act the Justices shall he
authorized and are required to hear and determine ail
complaints touching tithes, &c., when the same shall not
exceed 101. from any one person." Therefore it is clear
that the reverend tithe-owner could have had no pre-
tence for taking her there at all ; but I am informed
it is the practice in that neighbourhood to cite the poor
cottagers, and thus frighten them, instead of using the
lawlul means of summoning before the Magistrates for
its recovery. How any man, much more a minister of
the Gospel, could rest on his bed, knowing he had been
the means of shutting up a poor widow in prison from
her fatherless children, lamat a loss to imagine. But
there is one echo has said, " I will be the father of the
fatherless, and the judge of the widow," and a day will
come when he must account for it. lam informed the
writ on widTh ehe was takon is informal on two points.
Therefore I hope when this meets his eye he will im-
mediately forward her discharge, free of expense, as
her sufferings have paid a hundred fold for his paltry
a?. 10s.—I remain, Sir, your's, &e.,
Monmouth, Dec. 9, 1840. E. RICHARDS.