The Sun.
London, England, 1856-05-21 00:00:00

THE SLIGO ELECTION.

Mr. G. BUTT brought up the report of the com-
mittee appointed to inquire into the Sligo election, re-
porting that Mr. Wynn was duly returned to serve in
Parliament, and that the petition of Mr. Somers was
frivolous and veiatious. The committee further stated
that they believed ten of the witnesses bad been guilty
of wilful and corrupt perjury. . .
Mr. J. PHILLIMORE brought" in his bill for vest•_
jug in the Lord Chancellor the power of s-ppointing the
-
Ju:l,gei of the Ecclesiaetical Courts. The bid was read a
first time.

Mr. LOVE presented a petition from the coal dealers
of London iu favour of the continuance of the Coal-
% flippers Act.

Some petitions veers preceeted against the So(itch
and Irish Pauper Removal Bill.
Several hon members presented petitions against the
abolition of church rates without an equivalent:
Sir J. DUKE presented a petition from the joiners
complaining against the City of London Corporation
Reform Pill.
1 Mr. CHILDE moved the second reading of the Ad-
VOW'Sons bill.
Mr. KENDAL second the motion, and the bill, was
accordingly read a second time.
CHURCH RATES BILL.
Mr. PACK moved the eccond reading of this bill.
He did not for one moment wish to compel a man to
worship his God contrary to his conscience, but iu his
opinion a man had no more right to refuse paying to-
wards the Established Church than he hal to decline to
pay towards the country in which he was born. The
house must be well aware that members of the Esta-
blished Church hal to pay towards dissenting places of
worship, and yet there was no complaint upon their
part. With respect to one of the clauses, he
would say he believed there were very few
rural districts in the kingdom in which the poor
could not afford to pay Church rates, and in his '
opinion the government by their measure would not
provide for !the exigencies of the poor. Again, it
would be the height of it:justice to pass an Act of
Parliament which would have an effect upon those pri-,
vete places of worship which were supported by
the pew rents. With regard to the question of rent
charge it was involved in endiess litigation. The rent
charges might fall into the bands of executors. One
might say that be was a conscientious Dissenter, and
he could object to the rate with quite as much justice
as any of those whom the Government proposed to
relieve. The great principle of this bill was to absolve
every Nonconformist from paying towards the ser
vices of the Church, but with every feeling of tole-
rance towards those who did not agree with
the Established Church, he could not see that
Church crumble into dust. There were churches con-
tinually falling into dilapidation, and whenever such
was the case, the par sh who was too poor it-
self wrote to the bishop for his assistance. How
could the bishops with the limited income to
which they had been reduced meet such demands ?
He had been anxious in every way to meet the con
scientious scruples of Dissenters, and he still
thought that they were entitled to be redeemed
Iron paying towarls any service to which they
ehjected—(hear, bear)—but he could not believe that
any right-minded Di-center, when he looked at the,
venerable structures throughout the land, would allow
them to fall into ruin because of the very small pay-
ment of Church rates being abolished. (Hear, hear.) He,
trusted that the house would give his bill a favourable
consideration.
Sir WM. CLAY moved an amendment that the. bill
be read a Second time that day six months, and said
he did not wish to enter upon the diauses of the hill,
as it was so directly at variance with that measure,
which had been adopted by a very large majority of the
house.

Mr. HADFIELD said he could not conceive that
the richest church in the world was reduced to the ex-
tremity of forcing a rats upon a poor Dissenter. The
present bill WA3 a caricature.
[LEFT SPEAKING.]