The Sun.
London, England, 1824-09-30 00:00:00

MR. FIiI;TCII,FR.

Yesterday a public'tfleeting of the IVrembers of
tht Albion Chapel, in London Well, took place for the par-
pose of .censidering the case of the; Rev.. A LEXANDER FLEW.
CHER, to which we adverted in THE Sulcof Monday, and of
adopting such measures as-should appear to be necessary.- At
six o'clock the doors of the Chapel were opened, and the build-,
ing was immediately filled almost to suflbcation.
On the motion of 111 r. JoN ea, Mr. FLETcnEa was unani-
mously chosen to fill the chair. .
Mr. JONES after deprecating the attempt which he said the
Synod at Edinburgh had made to .foist.upon the congregation
of Album Chapel a minister respecting-whose talents and cha.
racier they-had no knowledge whatever., readthe following re.
solution t—" That the Rev., Alexander „Fletcher, whom we
have choiten to be our minister for the last thirteen years, bd
still considered by us as such, notwithstanding the unfounded
iihdinvidious attack made by his enemies. against his moral
diameter, and the unparalleled and unchristian sentence passed
by/the United Associate. Synod at Edinburgh, on the 15th inst.;
suspending him from preaching to us form; months to come;
being fully: convinced that his persecution. in this instance ori-
ginated.in malice, .was carried on by env.y,'and the decision sc•
complished by the force of fahe eeidene,..
The resolution Was . seconded and proposed by Mr. Jones
(Mr. Fletcher declining to put it, as it related so immediately to
himself), and .carried unanimously, with the exception of one
hand.whieh was held up against it.
Sonic person suggested, that the gentleman who had raised
his hand against the Resolution ,had not understood the
qUestion. • .
Thi Gentleman rose and said, I understood it perfectly well.
(Setae disapprobation.),
Mr. FLETCHER said, that the gentleman in question was
the first person who had showed hospitality to him in London.
On his comin. to themetropolis,, it was, at that gentleman's
table that he
first -slept. • He believed him' to be an excellent' man' and a
Christian, but lie also believed .hint to -be deceived: He for-
gave hint, and called upon the assembly to discover no more
signs of disapprobation. - ,
r. J. Do et; Lae moved ,a resqlution declaring the deter-
mination of the members.of the chapel-to; support the minister
whomahey loved,- and not to suffer themselves to be robbed of
the place of worship, which -by-their voluntary- dbntributions
they had erected, for the purpose of his preaching to theur-the
everlasting Gospel.. •
The motion was seconded, put, and carried unanimously.
Mr. FLETCHER* observed, that err the presence of him who-
was the searcher of all hearts, the impression of that moment
would never be erased from his bosom. He would say, in the
words of Ruth to Naom—” With you I will live, with you I
will . • ,
Two declarauons were here read, which, it was announced,
would lie for the signatures ,of theadult And the youthful at.
tenders of the ;chapel. ; They severally expressed approbation
of Mr. Fletcher's ondact, and, a determination to support him.
On themetion of Mr.. iloxy.s, it was ordered that the ma-
nagers of the Chapel he instructed to draw up and publish a
statement in answer to the falsehoods which had been circulated
by Mr. Kirciddy.tuld, spurt other members of. the Synod, re-
specting certain proceedings which had taken place in the chapel.
Mr. FLE.ectura then ascended the pulpit and addressed the
audience. It might be expected that he would enter into a
very full detail of the particulars connected with his unworthy
history, but he intended to. advert to only a few -particulars,
leaving the whole subject to be more fully explained in.
a printed statement, which, by a painful necessity, be felt him.
self compelled to lay before the religious British public. He
felt
.geat , pleasure in' knowing that .he was a Briton—an
in-
habitant of the land whence theprinciples of liberty had ema-
nated, and been carried to the utmost limits of the earth. lie
,rejoiced that he lived in a Capital where a persecuting spirit
Could never . prevail, and where a determination to effect. the
ruin of an individual who was anxious to advance the hiterests
of religion never could avail. He felt convinced that the
adorable providence
,of God had surrounded him in the con-
flicts which lie had prayed through, anti that it would guard
in the conflicts which might be to come—for he might
,he again assailed. There was a)cind of unmortallty about
malevolence. After what had taken place, he feared that
'the malevolent feelings which existed in some quarters against
him would survive that eveain but he- put his trust in
recd, and would go forward-without. the fear of man. Se-
viral of the particular; to which 'it would be, necessary for
him to advert,
lude, even in the most private retirement of life. Some persons
it would give pain to any individual to al.
looked upon the situation of a minister as enviable; but it was
his lot, if any real, fault was connected with his. character, to
have it instantly pointed put, (and properly so); and if any
imaginary blemish • were supposed to attach to it, to have it in-
stantly magnified by exaggerated descriptions until it gathered
into a torrent of misrepresentation. In the month of April last
an action was raised against the humble individual who was ad-
dressing them in the Court of King's Bench. The question
that evening was 'not whether that proceeding was merited ; the,
question which pressed upon attention at that stage of the busi-
ness was, whether that action could have 'been avoided. lie
.
would allow it to be. supposed that he had formed the plan—
the cruel, deliberate,
despicable plan.--,of, violating- the most
sacred engagements. But it wouid -be necessary to see whe.'
Cheer there did not exist strong reasons why the
-case should
not have come before the
public... Who were the parties
One was. a • professor of- divinity at 'Glasgow, and he; the
Other was a preacher of the Gospel: The character of
die former was sufficiently public; but his was more• so on
II .
account of his locality. Was It not then desirable for the-
interests of religion, that the case
should have-been kept out
of Court ? • lie believed that there was not a Christian in ling:
land in the possession of his faculties who. would .answer
" No."---(Hear I)--The interests of religion-were involved in
the case, and he felt that. Ile received a letter stating that if
lie did not marry a certain individual in- September, an action
would be raised against him. At the time when 'he received
the letter, end.indeed for a few ;weeks previously to that period,
ho was in a state of, great-affliction. He had a soul to be saved,
and it would not avail him to'tell them that which was not true;
Ha declared, as a man and At Christimminister, thavfon several
weeks before that, letter reached him he had been in a state of
extreme agony of mind. Great was his affliction, when a be-
loved sister died, who was the darling uf his heart; ami'whoni
he nursed- in early age; great- wan -his aftlictionowlienhe lost
arnother distinguished for her great eruilitiou,. her historical
lore,- and her theological knowledge ; great, agalh was the I
affliction which. wheWhis, father texpired, and left
his, ypunger sisters, to hint • as wdiarge which Ite-eagerly cut.
braced ; he could not state the circumstance which had •
produced an' effect upon his mind never to be destroyed.
laboured under a.degree of agony, and indescribable suffering or
mind, such as he. had never experienced before, und,such as' hoe
'trusted he should never experience again. Ile was in that state
when he received the letter to which he had alluded. lie knew
that. dui writer, of that, letter was of- an ;irraseible. disposition,
awl:that, perhaps, might apologize fur its style. Perhaps that
individual did not believe that his (Mr. Fletcher's) situation was
such eche had described it to him. He had stated to hint that
his attachment to the;ltuly was,as strong•as ever; but that there
existed a barrier to their union which Providence alone could re.
.move. The circumstances of the case were stated amongst the
managers of the chapel; and he 1,4:4 told by one of -those gentle-
men , that he would be mined if.he,did not marry the girl. 'At
this conduct be felt a degree of indignation which he could not
repress. Ile, however, took means to prevent the case coming
before a Courtof Justice, and for that purpose he wrote to Aire-
•Dick,irequeating, that .the-• matters ought bo submitted-to the
arbitration of
.four. Ministers in England ; two to be chosen by
each party; and Of four laymen in Scotland, two to be chosen
by each. party in like manners anti to' • abide by their decision.
Te that letter he received.an answer of. haughty disdaio. lie
then called on Dr. Waugh, with whom he found 111r.11itxulfoot,
and he told the Doctor re endeavour to dissuade Mr.4Dick from
bringing .the. ease into Court. -1 Dr. Waugh my dear
Samly, was thinking of,the same thing -last .might.t• in bed."
'
Dr. Waugh mid Mr. Broadtbot both wrote to Mr. pick to ad-
wiife flint not to agitatethesubject in a court of la*, anti point-
ing out. the door which, such a proceeding iwould .open trothe
slicers of infidelity.. ',('hose• letters..wero webdisregarded. A ftere li at,
he was anxious to make any apology that he could, consistently
with truth ; but. it w4s m omied,that he should put his -name
to a paper Tflikh Dr. biek,shOuld hare his power to till
up with what he pleased. Then lie raid, that he • would
rather die than consent to such Uproposal.--;-(A'pplause.)..At
length the matter went into Court,. and.:Mr.Seatiett; atter saute
6"mtignB,, Proposed a compromise .which was accepted......
After that compromise had taken .place, he supposed that
mating more would have hem-said on. the subject, and he sent.'
putouslyavoided saying any. thin mistiming a himself ; w heti '
then, would be thought of •Dr. Dick'vfautily, when it was
known they bent the Whole of the papers which had been pre-
pared for the trial to the Presbytery of liondbiti. to furnish mat-
ter of aceasagen against itim.i,e(ShamiN)-alliere Mr. Fletcher
read Mr. Scarlett's speech in the Court of Kiag's Bench:l-51r.
arougnam, the Counsel for time opposite party, accepted the offer
of compromise; and his speech contained the followingreniark:
able passage ; ,!t"rhe lady does• not come here to !persecute the
defendant; she does not ask for ileinagen by tray of enliven",
dolt for an injury, which no damagea can repay, but tbr the tin..
dication- of her character!' ; Whaeseas.requlred was given-1 the
repatatioombith was sought was made;. the compromitewasac...
cepted t maid theLordChiefJusticedeclared hiniseifsatistied with
the condiiet of both parties. Re; bail supposed that the cotta:
promise would.* have satisfied 4the Presbytery otliontion, bur
BFAegoettanil some other anembers of thot body were net
isatiafled with it. Ile was at that time ignorant, thafat the
very moment the compromise was agreed to, another plot was
s being brewed against bins, lie had since learned that some of

the parties on leaving the Court were heard to ntlltter—A it is
not over with him yet ; we have done with him in a Court of
Law, but we will have him in the Ecclesiastical court." There
were only taio,•,waya "in which:the PrealiyierY ,of London
could have received the documents. They must either have
been offered, and that would have been a most dishonour-
able act, or. they must have' been solicited. In the latter
case it would, have been the duty ,of, the parties " . the
North to hive said that they could not give, them up, he-
caute they,bad entered into ty comprOmiae 'with the party' tO
whom they referred. lie was extremely anxious to koow
how the Presbytery beCame possessed 'of the doctiments, and
he cross-examined Mr.,Broadfopt pretty, plosely ort.the subject.
Mr:!Broadfoothesltated,but at length said 'that be hid told
him. , He solidi" -That maybe.. Mr. Broadfoot,ltt
declare, Upon my honour, that I hive forgotten it." Mr. Broad-
foot then, changed Colour, and 'said,- " Well, I will tell you."
He then informed him, that a few days after the trial he saw'
Dr. Dick, and 'told hint that'the Presbytery intended to take
cognizance of the affair ; to which Dr. Dick replied, that he
had-'got all the papers ready, and that they nit& haVe theth.
Could any thing be .more invidious than such a proceeding on
the part of a family who said, through the mouth of their
I most notment and patriotic' !Counsel, that thetaime not
into Court to persecute him? If they did not wish to per-
secute him ! there, it seemed that 'they' were deternhined. to
persecute him somewhere else, however.--4Applause.)—.He
had now led his hearers Op this banks of the-stream of 'calumny
with which it had been sought to overwhelm him, andpointed
, out to them the muddy source of malignity 'whence it issued.-
1 He hadtbeen obliged to look at parts of diocese only,.reserxMg
a full detail for a printed statement. He would not detain
1, them by a long account of the proceedings in the Presbytery.
—That body had exercised the greatest severity, towards hitn
under the sanction 'of- the Very ministeevittii'came last Stitt-
, day .to take possession of the
_pulpit. Somalignant.was their
conduct, -that a brave man' whewould4tave lihed his bioixl
in the service of his country retired from them, "PO de-
clared that he would never again return. He would state
the' /*erecter which the- London delegate., Messrs. Reid
and Kirkaldy, had given of his congregation. One of these
Gentle Men, Was a delegate from -the. Presbytery Of -Londoh;
and the other from a congregation to which he fopnerly
preached !at Miles's-line, 'and which, 'he thoUght, Ought
, rather to have sent a delegate for, than against him. The evi-
dence of the delegates was the foundation on which his sentence
rested. One of the delegates said that he had not deigned to at-
tend several meetings of the Presbytery,
had
summoned to
do so., The reason was, that'wheohebad attended he received
the most malignant abuse, and he protested against the assem-
bly to the'Synodi Again, it•wa4 said that'on one' ccasion his
conduct was so extravagant, that the members of the Presbytery
looked aghast-at him: What I' and did h'e lino& Mr. Broadfoot
down with, the documents—(a laugh)—did he say, what was not
true ? No ; all thathe Said was too true for them, and therefore it
was considered extravagant. He was represented as acting extra-
vagantly and like a fanatic in the pulpit every Lord's day. An
old lady who had lately arrived in !Louden Said' to the friend' hi
whose house she resided, "So poor Fletcher Is raving, I find. He
is quite a mad man, and has put every body out of his chapel."
—( A laugh.)—"'Allrell," Wit her friend, " next Sunday you
shall go to see the empty 'chapel and bear the extravagant
preacher." She went, and lifting up her hands said, " Oh,
what falsehoods they tell of him ; I never saw the like before."
--(latughter.)--Those who lived in Lonthit knee; what was
the real state. of the case; but - the good people of the. north
believed all that was said of him. It was said, that, the most
respectable part of the' !congregation' 'kit oPt.ositiori to
him.. lie was certain that two pews at the utmost would con-
tain all that reitieetable part of the congregation.--(Hear I.)—
The delegates,' likewise; indulged in some abuse of the con.
gregation of Il'ells4trett chapel. That was the 'oldest Congre-
gatiom of their Persuasioh London; 'lt might be called their
mothernay, their grandmother; for it was the mother of the
Miles's-lane congregation, and 'that was the mother of, the On,C
he was addressing.' • Thlsi then, 'their venerable l I grantil I ()Liter,
was to have her reputation blasted hiller old age.,-414noghter.)
After contradicting some othei statement Of-thp London chic,
gates, the reverend gentleman concluded by readingtheatn-
tenee of the Synod of EdinbCfgh; and the protest' Which helied
presented againit it.—( Muth 'applatise.)' " "
The Reverend Anast Said A few' words in approval of
Fletcher. • - •

Mr. Ft.rr cunt again, addressed the mectipg., He was
quite unable' to .eipress the gratittideof his heart; ilf was now
[35 years of .age, and had been 'a Minister' since'he,was' but
he never; during his pastlire,' had met with seals' Public cottn,
tenartecand support as he had 'that 'night eiPenerieett. He
would not say that he Nati proud on that tecOunt,'
him front pride; but he'wourd be rendered' more to
promote the interests of the' great Capital 'in -which he Was
placed ; and he intended; God Willing, la be in that pulpit
next Sabbath morning and ,evening, `surrounded by Ns- Way.
guard. His body-guard did not consist.pf the 12,nobte youths,
who defended the nariliw 'lnuit; of "Ilterinopirkta or llarathun be-
hind the pulpit, but orthe whole congregation.. lie had no bl).:'
4ettion to give any man in Great Britain an opportunity to preach
in that place next Sunday, if the-Congregation thought fit to re.,
ceive hlni. He Would never impges fitinielfdpon the, congre-
gation, as another[pedati !Ad attempted to impose hidiself on,
them last Stidday. The tliiine ordinances had ',never been
more decorously • observed ',than they ' were kit Sunday,: He,
hoped- that the case would be tlk'stitne next Sabbath, aml that
they_ would worship in' pcace the' Op 4 of Oar folios, and l, sing,
Hallelujah tollte most 'High. • -
After a Short hyniti end' prayer had been gone through,, the
meeting dispersed: [ • [ •

L9NpeviTy.--Tnesday evening SAbNui,
iNBZUG, a native of Sweden, died at No. 29,
Belton-street, Long-acre, aged Ibi;"lie had kivpd
in 'four Kings' treigtis and has left a widow
aged 80.

*The family ef,f.4 ynyng.gentieman resicllng near
'Paddington, have been plunged in the deepest
distress by the follovring event.- The individual
'alluded .tohad bnt just returned front College,
.where he had been preparing for the Church.
i'Being'on'a visit. at WindsOrt'about 'three mitntlis
ago, he happened
.te,meet Ogle his ac-
:quaintatice who were taking an airing In their
carriage, and riding close to the window in
,earnest conversation,, hit( foot caught in the
hinder wheel, by ',which means .he, was dragged
'from the saddlelend pitched on the road with
41readful Violonce, big, %yaks broke{;,
beneath the carriage wheel, and his skull was so
go the
fprradccteusrcl,oftli.teititph.;!?wojansg c;omhirlt;loeude
bodily
redo:earl.;
:was very quickly established, but his mental _fa-
culties had received au irremediable shock. On
Sunday last heappeared.MOre",thati ti,Stiatly Chepr.:,
hilt conversed wig*. isaYerAl :persons in a lively
manner ; dined acid drank tea with the famiixt
and exhibited 'altogether so fo,ptirg* a state
of, mind, 'that tile, person who kept watch in his.
champer during the night was suffered to go In rest.
HOWeier, taking advantage of this Circumstance,„
the unhappy. maniac rose from his bed, delibe.
rately forced tliemails from the window, and ut..
tering a loud scream, threw himself into, tile, yard
beneath. The vi:olenCe of 'the sltr(ek„reachgAlAe.
ears of -his who occupied the adjoining
apartment, and had not gone. to bed. On en-
tering the . room the invalid's bed, was found de.
sorted ; the window OPen, and conviction (be
stioekin*,,,dtinth at once flashed nu e loan,
lady'min. arousing the, family, search
was made, and the poor fellow 'was foundiying.
in'tite yard upparputry. dead . Surgical aid wr
procured', and it was ascertained that signs tg liCe
still remained. _The' full had been checked by a
pent-house, but the-spinal bone was broken in
two parts, and' a, compound fracture, had taken
place in the fractured, head. By great Prefes-
Mortal skill, acting :in conjunction with a tons.v
tutiod naturally strong, the following day the
Patient was so far restored as :to be able to utter.
feeibfiliyslainheonwtaebvieere, however,. the
scairnicuenstesitattletcnecsesCnttehcoeudVi
io n
ent
ilo.ttot warrant "It _hope of his surviving. ,-He at
present labours under. dieadful pain from the it).
juriei that hi* back has received, and the vacancy
of his eyes does not denote any improventeut.lb
his intellectual health.