The Sun.
London, England, 1833-04-06 00:00:00

parish where things are nearly at the worst, but
which presents but too true a picture of the
condition to which all parishes are fast hasten-
ing. The case is that of the parish of Choles-
bury, in Buckinghamshire, and this is the
evidence given by its rector, the Rev. H. P.
JESTON

" 111 y connexion with the parish commenced only in
November, 1830, previously to which I had no personal
knowledge of it, nor any acquaintance with its neigh-
bourhood. I can find no other documents, connected with
the parish, than the accounts of the different overseers
from 1820 to the present time. These accounts, down
to 1829, are most confused ; pirtly from the illiterate
character of the parish officers, and in other part from the
very advanced t,ge and infirmities of my predecessor
having prevented him from interfering with the parish
concerns.

" The amount, as specified in the parish books, appa-
rently disbursed from IS2O to 1829, appears to be greater
than is shown by the Parliamentary returns, of which
you send me extracts ; though possibly this may arise from
items being brought into the accounts of each year, be-
long-ng to the previous year. It is probable the sums
stated in the Parliamentary returns are correct, for they
were given in by persons who must have hest understood
the accounts. .

" I am informed, by the very oldest of my parishioners,
that sixty years ago there was but one person who re-
ceived parish relief; but it should seem that the parish,
for many years past, has been a❑ overburdened one ;
though within the last year the burdens have been much
increased by the land going out of cultivation, and the
whole population of the parish being thrown upon the
rates. In fact, for some years, I understand the land was
let only by means of proprietors consenting to become
guarantee to the tenant against more than a certain amount
of parochial burdens, all above that amount to be consi-
dered in lieu of rent. At the present moment some of
the proprietors, in answer to communications from me
upon parish affairs, have confessed an intention to
abandon altogether their property in the parish, rather
than give themselves further trouble about it, from their
actually leaving lost money by it, the rates having more
than swallowed up the rents."

We will pause here an instant to call at-
tention to the fearful consequences wrapped
up in the last sentence. It is clear that the
spread of this despairing spirit, if not checked
by the Legislature, must eventually pauperise
the whole country. Mr. JESTON proceeds:—

" About October last, the parish officers not being able
to collect any more funds, threw up their books, arid from
that time their duties have Men upon myself ; fur the
poor, left without any means of mliutenance, assembled
in a body at my door, whilst I was in bed, and applied
td me for advice and food.

" My income being under 1401. a year, rendered my
means of relief small ; but my duty was to keep them
from starving, and I accordingly commenced supporting
them by dai'y allowances of bread, potatoes, and soup.
In the mean time I made several, as many as eight or ten,
juurneys to the magistrates at petty and special sessions,
in company with the parish officers, and after a delay of
three weeks, succeeded in obtaining a "rate in aid," for
50/., on Drayton, an adjoining parish. These journeys,
eight, ten, and fourteen miles each, the parish officers were
compelled to go on foot, and I must have done the same
but for the loan of a friend's horse.

" Before the 501. was obtained, the great distress of the
parish and my exertions in its behalf becoming known,
donations to the amount of 641. were sent me unsolicite:i,
from the neighbouring families, for the use of the poor,
anti to indemnify myself from the expenses I had been at ;
among the latter was one of 20/. from the Countess of
Bridgewater.

" The present state of the parish is this:—The land
almost wholly abandoned (sixteen acres only, including
cottage-gardens, being now in cultivation) ; the poor
thrown only upon the rates, and set to work upon the
roads and gravel pits, and paid for this unprofitable labour
at the expense of another parish ! I have given up a
small portion of my glebe (the rest is abandoned on ac-
count of the rates assessed on it) to the parish officers,
rent free, for the use of the poor, on condition that spade-
husbandry only be made use of, and the work done by
married men with large families ; but the employment
this can afford must be of short continuance. The 501.
will be expended in less than two weeks ; and I have ap-
prized the magistrates of the hundred that I shall be corn•
Felled to apply, on Monday, the 14th instant, at the petty
sessions, for another "rate in aid."

A " rate in aid" our readers, doubtless, know
to be a rate levied upon neighbouring parishes,
for the benefit of the poor of a parish who have
absorbed the whole rental of that in which they
themselves live. It is plain that a system of this
kind has a natural tendency to spread, for the
causes which establish it afterwards operate with
increasing force. The following statement will
illustrate this fact :
" Mr. Jeston added the following statement of the situ-
ation of all tho inhabitants of the parish, and of the ex-
pense at which those who have a claim on Cholesbury are
maintained. By which it will appear that, though the
population has but slightly increased since 1801 (having
been then 122 and now only 139), and though of those
139 only 101 have a claim o❑ Cholesbury, yet the poor-
rates have in that time risen from less than 371. a year to
3671. It is obvious, indeed, that the instant the poor.
rate exceeds the net surplus produce,—that is to say, ex-
ceeds that surplus which, if there were no poor-rate,
would he paid in rent,—the existing cultivation becomes
not only unprofitable, but a source of absolute loss. And
that, as every diminution of cultivation has a double effect
in increasing the rate on the remaining cultivation,--the
number of unemployed labourers being increased at the
same instant th t the fund for payment of rates is dimi-
nished,—the abandonment of property, when it has once
begun, is likely to proceed in a constantly accelerated ratio.
Accordingiy, it appears from Mr. Jeston's statement,
that scarcely a year elapsed between the first land going
out of cultivation and the abandonment of all except six-
teen acres."

It is equally obvious that the abandonment of
property having taken place in one parish, the
tendency to abandonment in other parishes, al-
ways existing, is increased to an almost incalcu-
lable extent. This being the case, we are every
day more rapidly approaching the term of our
social union, and the commencement of a war
between the provident, moral, industrious part of
the nation, and the reckless, vicious portion of it.
This portion it has been the effect of our laws to
multiply; till at last, in many parts of the country,
the pauper population have the complete com-
mand of the whole produce of the land, and pro-
perty is held upon a tenure as frail as in the
worst districts of Ireland.

The manner in which the present system of poor
laws, if unchecked, or rather if not totally altered,
must inevitably bring us to the miserable condition
we have mentioned, we will, with the assistance
of the invaluable documents before us, endeavour,
in the course of these Easter holydays, to de-
monstrate even to those who have the least
directed their attention to subjects of this nature.
At present our object has chiefly been to rouse our
readers, particularly that portion of them living
entirely in towns, from the state of apathy in
which we fear they are plunged from not being
fully acquainted with their danger, or, being
fully acquainted with it, have suffered their un-
derstandings to sink under the contemplation of
its magnitude, and have given up in despair the
hope of averting it.

We stated on Thursday that the CHAN-
CELLOR of the EXCHEQUER-Was not favourable
to a reduction of the assessed taxes during the
present year, but wished to apply the amount of
relief, which he is in a condition to offer, to a
reduction of' some of' the duties on articles of
consumption, which are most strongly felt by
the poor. The feeling which prompts this wish
is highly creditable to Lord ALTHORP, and it is