The Sun.
London, England, 1841-04-14 00:00:00

PRIESTLY INTOLERANCE AND

RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION.

On Friday fortnight, the 26th of March, a respect-
able old lady, named White, died at Easton, near
Winchester, after a protracted illness. On the Thurs-
day following her family, who are very respectable and
well-known in this neighbourhood, proceeded to the
churchyard of Easton, in which the family vault is si-
tuated, with the corpse, notice of the intended funeral
having been given, and no refusal of the clergyman to
perform the accustomed rites notified to the relatives of
the deceased. On the arrival of the body at the
church-yard gates, attended by a considerable number
of the relations of the deceased, among whom were
her daughters, it was met by the clergyman of the
parish—the Reverend Dudley Ryder, who com-
menced reading the usual prayers. On the proces-
sion, however, taking the path to the church, he com-
manded the bearers and undertaker to stop, and bear
the body direct to the grave, as he would not allow it
to enter the church. The procession accordingly
proceeded to the grave and the service was pro-
ceeded with, leaving out that portion of it appointed to
be read in the church. The undertaker, at the request
of some of the relatives, demanded the reason why this
cruel and uncalled-for insult was offered to the dead,
and the answer of this mild and charitable Christian
teacher was—" Do not interrupt me—don't brawl in
the churchyard." Finding no explanation of this out-
rage on humanity could be bad, they then said that as
their deceased parent could not be allowed Christian
burial they would not allow the interment to take place,
and the coffin was again lifted and borne back to the
house, attended by the weeping and horror-stricken
relatives and the deep though smothered resentment
of the villagers who witnessed this most intolerant
and cruel proceeding. We have heard the scene
was indeed a most painful one. Two of the daughters
were so affected by this implied awful clerical denun-
ciation of their dead parent that they fainted at
the grave, and one of them was with much difficulty re-
stored, and borne back to the late house of her dead mo-
ther not far from the church. As sport as the body
had again been placed in the house, the undertaker and
two sons-in-law of the deceased applied to the Rev.
Dudley Ryder to know the reason of his cruel and
intolerant conduct. The proud priest received them in
the presence of another divine—the Rev. R. J. Wil-
berforce, Archdeacon of York, and the reception of
the mourners by these intolerant and unfeeling bigots
was of the most supercilious kind. The only explana-
tion afforded them for the cruel and cowardly outrage,
was the Rev. Dudley Ryder opening the prayer-
book, and pointing to the formula of the rubric
which says " The priest meeting the corpse at the en-
trance of the church-yard, and going before it either
into the church or towards the grave, shall say," &c.
saying that was his authority and he should give no
further explanation. A subsequent interview took place,
when he admitted that his reason for reusing the de-
ceased Christian burial was " because she had let a por-
tion of her house to a body of Dissenters, and
that her son-in-law was a Dissenter, and had introduced
dissent into the parish !" The Rev. Dudley Ryder—
who swore before God at his ordination as a priest,
that " he would maintain, and set forward, as much as
in him laid, quietness, peace, and love among all Chris-
tian people, and especially among them that were com-
mitted to his charge"—this intolerant persecutor—this
wolf in sheep's clothing assigned as h's reason (hear it
ye martyrs of the Reformed Church of England, who
shed your blood in defence of the principle of the right
to private judgment in matters of religion, and learn
what your religion is degraded to by one of its teachers
in the nineteenth century), he refused a Christian
and baptised woman Christian burial, " because she
had let part of her house to a body of Dissenters—
because her son-in-law, Mr. Forder, was a Dissenter,
and had introduced Dissent into the parish of Eas-
ton." Because she let her house to Dissenters, who
dare to assert the leading principle—the very
corner stone of Protestantism—the right of private
judgment—in preference to attending the communion
and accepting the religious opinion of this anti-Christian
divine, whose belief, if judged from his practice, no
pious or good man need entertain a wish to hold. It
seems the deceased had expressed a wish to be buried
with her son, who lies in a family vault in the church-
yard of Easton, and her daughters respecting the desire
of their parent, overruled the wish of some of the rela-
tives—that the body should be taken to the new ceme-
tery at Winchester ; and the mournful duty was,
consequently, again commenced on Friday morning, the
next day. On arriving at the church-yard, neither the
Christian teacher nor the clerk were present. No bell was
tolling, and the funeral procession consequently entered
the church, and deposited the body in the nave, hoping
a few hours' calm reflection, and holy meditation,
would have taught a minister of Christ to respect the
feelings of the relations and the memory of the dead,
and have induoed him to do his duty. Not so—death
and the grave, which, levelling all distinctions and can-
celling all earthly debts, disposes most men to charity
and toleration ; which, by practically showing the vanity
and brevity of human life, humbles the proud and
softens the revengeful, prompting to forgive that we
may be forgiven—neither death nor the sacredness of
the spot dedicated to the God of mercy, could soften
the heart of this intolerant persecutor. He ordered
them from the church, threatening the undertaker with
an action at law for entering Christ's Church ! and
commanded them to take the body away or to
the grave. It was, consequently, borne to the
latter and buried—the portion of the service ap-
pointed to be read in the church being omitted.
It is time for the friends of religious li-
berty to stir themselves. The conduct of the
Rev. Dudley Ryder, and his counsellor, Archdeacon
Wilberforce, coupled with the intolerant and persecut-
ing spirit displayed by another Wilberforce (Archdeacon
of Surrey) in his late charge on the subject of Church-
rates, leads to strong suspicions that the Puscyite party
in the Church are determined to pursue the " fire and
faggot" system, and attempt the extirpation of dissent
by persecution. The doctrine of these bastard Catho-
lics is the infallibility of the Church—that is of the
clergy—and hence the determination evinced of treat-
ing Dissenters as of old the Catholic priests treated
heretics. That a system of persecution is being carried
on in the parishes of Easton and Avington we well know,
and the public ought to know it also. The inhabitants of
these parishes were, for years, the object of the bounty of
the late estimable and benevolent Duchess of Buckingham.
Since the death of that truly noble lady, her wishes
have been partially carried out by her son, the present
Duke ; but the donations of food and clothing, an-
nually distributed, are carefully withheld from the Dis-
senters, not one of whom is allowed to receive the
smallest portion of the charitable donation of the Duke
of Buckingham. It is a lamentable perversicra of prin-
ciple, and degrading to human nature ; but it is so.
Perhaps some of our realers may wi's'n to know who
and what is the Reverend Dudley Cyder. He is, we
believe, the son of the late Bisho .1) of Lichfield, and a
nephew of the Earl of Harrow' „ y and his family have
been extensive sackers of Church property.—.Hanzp.
shire Independent.