The Sun.
London, England, 1840-03-09 00:00:00

CHURCH RATES.

(From the Doncaster Gazette.)
A question of considerable importance was brought
before the Magistrates in Petty Sessions, at theyudges.
lodgings, at Lancaster, on Saturday week. Six Ma-
gistrates appeared on the Bench ; Thomas J. Knowlys.
Esq. in the chair. Thomas Eastwood, Esq., a Catholic
gentleman, who is a Magistrate for the borough anc '
county, appeared to answer a summons taken out against
him, for non-payment of Church•rates, by Mr. G. Hoyle,
Churchwarden. Mr. Hoyle having been sworn, Mr. East
wood asked—ls this statement in the summons, which
says that I have refused to pay unto you, G. Hoyle, om
shilling and one penny halfpenny, being the amount due for
Church-rates, correct ?—Yes. And you swear that I
have refused to pay unto you that sum ?—Yes. Whet
did you demand that sum of me ? Mr. Hoyle—Oh, that
has been shown already. Mr. Eastwood—Mr. Hoyle,
I have asked you a very plain question, and I expect i.
plain answer. On the question being repeated, Mr.
Hoyle acknowledged that he had never demanded the
rate himself of Mr. Eastwood, but that be had em-
ployed a man of the name of Garnett to collect for him.
—Mr. Eastwood, addressing the bench, said, Mr.
Chairman, I presume that this summons must be
dismissed ; since I have shown, from the mouth of th 4
Churchwarden himself, that the asseveration which
he has made is false. This summons states that I
have refused to pay to George Hoyle the sum of
one shilling and one penny halfpenny ; and George Hoyl,
now swears that I never did refuse him, as he never
demanded that sum of me. Mr. J. Sharp—But h,
asked you through his deputy. Mr. Eastwood—There
is no mention of it in the summons. Mr. J. Sharp—
Your appearance does away with the informality. Mr.
Eastwood—lnformality ! My argument is, that 1
have shown, on the oath of the Churchwarden him-
self, that the charge contained in the summons i•
false. Mr. J. Sharp addressed the Bench. As Mr.
Eastwood knew that Mr. Hoyle was churchwarden,
he ought, as he refused to pay the rates to the Collec-
tor, to have taken the money to Mr. Hoyle. Th.:
Bench was of a different opinion : and the Chairman
atter consulting the other Magistrates, expressed a wisi.
that the parties should retire.—Upon the parties beim.
recalled, Mr. Knowlys informed them that thelllagis-
trates would postpone their decision until the following
Saturday, as they could not then make up their mind•
whether the churchwardens could collect the rates by
a deputy cr not. Mr. Eastwood said that that was
not the point he understood left for their consi•
deration. He maintained that the summons must
be dismissed, and he prayed the decision of the Ma-
gistrates on that point.—The Chairman replied
that the question of the churchwarden's right to ap
point a deputy would settle that.—Mr. Eastwood-1
must then beg leave to take an objection to that dc.
cision, and request that Mr. Wiliam the Magistrates'
clerk, may make a note of it, as I may perhaps take the
opinion of another Court upon it.—Mr. Milan was or-
dered to take a note of the objection.—lf the bend
will allow me (said Mr. Eastwood) I think I shall b,
able to show that the churchwarden has no power t(
invest another with his authority. The bench assented.
—Mr. Eastwood then quoted the 53 Geo. 111..
c. 127, a. 7, which runs thus :—" If any one duly
rated shall refuse to pay the sum at which he is sr,
rated, it shall be lawful for any one Justice of tilt
Peace, of the town, county, &c. where the church i•
situated, on the complaint of any churchwarden, whc
ought to receive and collect the same, to convene lac
warrant the person so offending," &c. There can.
therefore, be no doubt (said Mr. Eastwood) that thr
churchwarden is the person who •6 ought to receive and
collect" the rate. No other person is named in the
Act who has that power ; there is no allusion to any de-
puty. Any person may present himself to me, and say.
“ sir, I am sent by Mr. Hoyle to collect your church-
rate." What assurance have I that be has been sent b 3
Mr. Hoyle?—Mr. J. Sharp : But Garnet had the
books with him.—Mr. Eastwood : What of that ? Ant
I bound to examine the books? Suppose I had
paid a rate to a person representing himself as
authorised to receive it, and afterwards Mr.
Hoyle called for it, would Mr. Hoyle b(
satisfied if I should tell him that I had paid it ? I
think not. The churchwarden has not attempted to
show that he has any right whatever to appoint a
deputy. I therefore submit that this information must
be quashed. The Bench, after much discussion, con
sidering that this was a question of such great im
portance, and one which, to the best of their know-
ledge, had never before been raised, fixed the following
Saturday on which they would give their decision.

(From the Lancaster Guardian.)
After a manful and spirited struggle against the im•
position of a Church-rate in Lancaster, the poll was
declared closed by the Vicar on Thursday night, when
some hundreds of votes remained unpollcd, and the fo-
lowing was declared to be the state of the poll :

For the Rate
Against it 961
Majority for the Rate ... -175
The whole proceedings, almost from the commence-
ment of the Vestry Meeting to the close of the poll,
were marked by so much blundering, informality, and
illegality, that the opponents of the rate entertain very
,
confident expectations that they will be enabled to u`-
set the rate altogether.
Meanwhile we must deem it, a subject of congratu-
lation that Lancaster, a town essentially Church of
England, compared with most of her neighbours, should
have offered no less than nine hundred votes against a
Church-rate.
We refer our readers to what took place at the
polling booth, that they may see how much heart-
burning and angry feeling the Church by law esta-
blished is exciting against herself, by the refusal of her
clergy to abolish this fruitful source of discord. The
Dissenters and the friends of Liberal principles have,
however, with the valuable assistance of Alderm;
Eastwood, Mr. W. Jackson, and one or two other
stanch Reformers, " fought a good fight," although they
have not been ailed to the full extent that mig • ht hate
been expected by Churchmen of liberal ideas in other
respects.
__

We are fully per:waded that, if the example set l
the Liberals of Lancaster were generally followed
throughout the country, Church-rates would soon be
extinct.

A petition against Church-rates, got up in the present
state of public feeling, would, we are certain, he very
generally signed and approved of, even by those who
have voted for the present rate.

Aftet all, execrable and mischievous a 3 it NV:V.,'
the Frew+ revolution has not been without its advantages
Lands in mortmain, overgrown estate and feudal rights, "re.
monstrous clogs upon public industry ; and id these France has
got rid for ever. The means were infamous ; bet the end is
salutary, and might have been attained tette as effectually
without a single crime, or a single act of injustice. The State
has an undoubted right to the property of the Chateh, after
the death of the incumbents ; feudal rights might have been
made subjects of compensation ; and as to the great estates,
they are sure to crumble away fast enough by the folly of their
Possessors, if you do but give them a right of telling.—Lera
D mdieY's Lett,rti.