The Sun.
London, England, 1840-04-14 00:00:00

CHURCH RATES

EXCESSIVE DISTRESS FOR ' A CHURCH-
RATE IN BETHNAL GREEN.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
SIR,—I have recently suffered a " visitation" for a
Church-rate ; I have reason to suppose that the same ex-
cess of charge, when distresses for Church-rates are levied,
is made generally which has recently been inflicted upon
me, by the sect who possess the privilege to put the burthen
of their worship on the shoulders of others. There are,
doubtless, some of your readers of similar opinions to my-
self, who, whilst they conscientiously pay tribute to whom
tribute is due, refuse to offer allegiance, or pay taxes, to
any civil Government in matter of religion. It is for the
information of such that I send the following statement :
In December last the Churchwardens of St. Matthew's,
Bethnal-green, accompanied by a broker and their rate-
collector, came into my house and distrained, and took
away three silver teaspoons for 4s. 21, a Church-rate
claimed from me, and ss. 6d. claimed as expenses for
doing sa.
At the same time they left with me the following no-
tices :
" To Mr. William Kincaid, or whom it may concern :"
" Take notice that on behalf of Messrs. George
Morris and John Tilly, Churchwardens for the time being
of the parish of St. Matthew's, Bethnal-green, in the
county of Middlesex, I have this day distrained upon your
several goods and chattels, as expressed in tEe inventory
hereunder written, for and towards the payment of the
sum of four shillings and two-pence, being so much in
arrears fur a Church-rate made and duly allowed, on the
25th day of January last, and now due and owing and or-
dered to be paid according to law, for }our dwelling-house,
messuage, or tenement, situate and being No. 13, Mape-
street, in the parish of St. Matthew, Bethnal-green, in
the county of Middlesex. And further, take notice, that
unless the above-named sum of four shillings and two-
pence, together with all expenses attending this distress, be
paid, or the said goods and chattels replevied within five
days from the date hereof, the same will be appraised and
sold according to law.—Dated this 20th day of De•
cember, 1839. ( Witness)
" GEORGE MORRISq
Churchwardens.
"JOHN TYLLY,
Rate.. 4s. 2d.
Inventory Expenses ss. 6d.
" Three silver tea-spoons.

" E. B. WEARING,
" Broker, Ward's-row, Bethnal-green-road.
" Dated this 20th December, 1839."
" Mr. Kincaid--Take notice that the three spoons
named on this inventory are removed and impounded at
Mr. Thomas Bliss, the collector of this rate above named,
No. 123, Church-street, Bethnal Green-road, until the
rate and expences are paid or the time is out to sell the
same according to law.

" E. B. WEARING, Broker.
" Witness, THOS. BLISS, Collector."
I heard no more of my spoons until the 24th February
following, when I received the following account flora the
broker:—.

" An account of the property distrained on belonging to
Mr. Kincaid, of No. 13, Mape-street, Betbrial Green-
road, for the sum of four shillings and twopence being for
a Church-rate made and duly allowed on the 25th day of
January, 1839, at the parish of St. Matthew's, Bethnal-
green :

Rate due and distrained for
Expenses levy on goods..,
Man

£0 4 2
0 3 0
0 2 6

Stamp inventory
Two appraisers valuing

0 2 6
0 0 4

Rate and broker's expences Of,. • •
Three tea spoons sold for . ..

£0 12 6
0 15 0

Balance due to Mr. Kincaid on this ac-
count

£0 2 6

" Dated this 24th day of February, 1840,
" E. B. WEARING,

Licensed Broker, Ward's-row, Bcthnal Green-road,

You will thus see that I was charged 2s. 6d. for a man
said to have been brought to aid these four gentleman to
carry away three tea-spoons.
This appeared to me to be so monstrous, and it being
important to prevent those less able to afford it, from
having expenses thus unnecessarily and oppressively in.
creased, I determined to learn if the Law Church
was entitled thus to put an extra leech upon every
sufferer; and I found that the Statue 97 Geo. 3, c. 93,
regulating the costs upon small distresses for rent was ex-
tended by the 7th and Bth Geo. 4, c. 17, to Church-rates,
and that the 57th Geo. 3, enacts, that if any broker
charges for any act not really done, he is liable to treble
the value and expenses.

As the letter of my solicitors to the broker states the
whole case; I send a copy of it :
" Mr. E. B. Wearing. Friday, 28th Feb. 1840.
" Sta—On or about the 20th of December last, you,
with the two Churchwadens, and Mr. Bliss the collector,
entered the premises of Mr Kincaid, and took therefrom
as a distress for 4s. 2d. for Church-rates, and ss. 6d. ex-
penses, three silver tea-spoons, which you have since re-
turned as sold for 15s.

" We are instructed by Mr. Kincaid, to point out to
you that you proceeded irregularly in distraining for a
greater amount than you were entitled to distrain for, and
have taken and detained from him a greater sum for ex-
penses than you are by law entitled to take.
" Mr. Kincaid feels deeply the cruelty and oppression of
the law, which compels him, as a Dissenter, to build
places of worship for the Established sect; but he has
no wish to proceed at law against you, who are a mere in-
strument of working out, what he conceives to be, oppres-
sion, and he has therefore instructed us to give you notice
of the irregularity, and an opportunity of refunding the
over-charge which you have made.
" We beg to refer you to the 57 Geo. 111., c. 93 (ex-
tended by the 7 and 8 Geo. IV., c. 17, to Church-rates),
as the Act regulating the costs you are to chake, and to
point out to you, that if any person charges for any act
not really done, he 13, by the first of those statutes, made
liable to treble the value and the expenses. By distraining
in the first instance for more than you were entitled to, you
and those who accompanied you, were guilty of an exces-
sive distress.

" You have charged for a man in possession of the three
silver spoons one day.
_ .

" NOw in this case there was no man in possession, for the
Churchwardens and their party walked away with the
spoons, and, upon your attention being called to the fact,
you must be conscious that such a charge cannot be sus-
tained, ;here can be no necessity in any case for a man, in
addition to the broker, to keep possession of three silver
spoons.
" We are therefore instructed to request that diat item
of charge may be refunded on or before Wednesday next,
or our instructions are to take legal proceedings to enforce it.
" Mr. Kincaid does not go to this expense for the sake
of the 2s. 6d., nor from any feeling of personal unkind-
ness towards you, but from the determination that that
which is oppressive in itself to Dissenters, shall not be
made more so by the exaction of illegal charges from
those who can less afford it and are unable to vindicate
themselves by legal proceedings.
" We are, &c., &c.
" ASHURST and GAINSFORD."

On receipt of this letter Mr. Wearing called upon me,
and stated that he had perused the Act and found the
charge was illegal, and returned the overplus of the sale
as well as the overcharge.
I should do Mr. Wearing the justice to say that be con-
ducted himself with personal civility through the whole
matter.

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
13, Mape-street, Bethnal- WM. KINCAID.
green, April 1840.

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.

OLD COURT.

Joseph Proctor, aged 48, described as a broker, was in-
dicted for forgery and uttering a certain receipt on a gen-
tleman, with intent to defraud the Receiver-General of ber
Majesty's Customs.
Messrs. Adolphus and Chambers conducted the nro3e-
cution on behalf of the Customs, and Mr. Thomas defended
the prisoner.
It appeared from the evidence that Mr. Cabber is the
proprietor of a wine-vaults at King's-cross, and a short
time back he purchased a cask of brandy in the London-
docks, and paid the duty for fifty-four gallons, the quantity
which it was supposed to contain, but upon its being
brought home it was discovered that there were only fifty
gallons in it, and the prosecutor upon this employed the
defendant, who had before acted as agent for him, to get
back the excess of duty he had paid. The prisoner after-
wards tuld him that a difficulty had arisen about getting
the money back, but that he expected to obtain it ulti-
mately, but that it would be paid to no cue but Mr. Cab-
b,:r. himself. It subsequently appeared that the defendant
had obtained the money from the Custom-house and had
produced a person there who was represented to be Mr.
Cabber, and that he signed a receipt for the amount, 41. 10s.
The priscuer received a go )cl chsralter.
The jury found him Guilty, but recommended him to
mercy.

Jostph Davis was indicted for feloniously leaving a ce,._
taro deep hole, in a common and public highway, ins,cure
and unprotected, whereby one John Brook Daly was cast
and thrown into the said hole, and did thereby receive a
mortal fracture of the log, of which he languished and died.
Some other witnessses were summoned, when Baron
ALDERSON expressed an opinion that the evidence was
complete, and directed an acquittal.

FAILURE IN DUBLIN.—An extensive trader of
this city, who is a member of the corporation, has suspended
ayment.
THE LATE WOOLWICH MURDER.--On Fri-
day morning a large concourse of persons were attracted to the
churchyard at Woolwich, to witness the ceremony of erecting a
column to the memory of Sergeant-Major Shepherd, late of
the Royal Artillery, who was shot through the body by Willis,
a gunner and driver, while doing duty on the parade.
NAPOLEON'S TAX SYSTEM.—The finances of
a great State, in the opinion of the Emperor, ought to fur-
nish the means for meeting extraordinary circumstances, and
even the vicisstudes of the most obstinate wars, without being
obliged to have recourse to fresh taxes, the establishment of
which is always attended with difficulty. His system was to
institute a great number of taxes, which in ordinary times
might be little felt by the people, but the amount of which
might be raised or lowered, according to the pressure of the
moment, by means of what was called additional centimes,----
Opinions of Napoleon, by Prince Louis.