The Sun.
London, England, 1859-12-21 00:00:00

ST. GEORGE'S-IN-THE-EAST.

Last night a public meeting of inhabitants of the
parish of St. George's-in-the-East was held in the
schoolroom of St. Mary, with a view to memorialise
the Queen, and to petition Parliament in reference
to the recent unhappy disturbances in the parish
church and the differences between the rector and
the parishioners. Mr. Churchwarden Thompson
acted as chairman. Some 200 people were present,
a small proportion of the inhabitants of the parish,
but the extreme inclemency of the weather may
have partly accounted forthe paucity in the attend-
ance. Mr. Smith, a parishioner, moved a resolu-
tion, prefaced by a speech, stating that " the con-
duct of the Rev. Bryan King, the rector, in his
many innovations in the forms and practices of per-
forming Divine service in the parish church, and
the unseemly decorations of the Communion table,
so as to resemble a Roman Catholic altar, contrary
to the faith aid feelings of the Protestant parish-
ioners, and calculated to lead to Romanism in its
most idolatrous form, together with litigation, and
also the introducing police into the parish church,
rendered him unworthy of their esteem or respect ;
and that the meeting pledged themselves to use
every legal means in their power to abolish those
innovations and decorations, and not to cease their
endeavours until a law be obtained to prevent any
repetition of such innovations and practices in
future." The resolution was seconded by Mr. Her-
bert and carried with only a single dissentient. On
the motion of Mr. Neale, seconded by Mr. Hopkin-
son, it was also rosolved, " That the recent attempt
to enforce an obsolete penal Act against certain
persons who were summoned by the police for pre-
ferring to say the public prayers of the Church, in-
stead of singing them, was most unbecoming and
cruel, especially when it was considered that the
said Act was passed in the reign of the Popish Queen
Mary to aid her design of burning out and
throttling English Protestantism; and that the
resorting to a law of such a nature, whioh mani-
festly retained its place in the statute-book
by an oversight, was evidence as to the antl-
national spirit of the 'Tractarian party." A memo-
rial to her Majesty, as the supreme head of the
United Protestant Church of England and Ireland,
was also adopted on the motion of Mr. Toon. The
Imemorialists stated that they had heard with deep
concern and knew from 17 years' sad experience in
their parish church that men had received holy or-
ders in the Church who taught doctrines at vari-
ance with the Thirty-nine Articles, contrary to the
Word of God ;(the source of England's greatness),
hostile to the stability and supremacy of the Throne
and the integrity of the empire, and who also used
ceremonies unsanctioned by law anu hymnals con-
tainiag many Romish errors. They prayed that
her Majesty might be graciously pleased to issue a
Royal commission, with all needful authority, com-
prising honourable and loyal persons, free from
Tractarian principles and practices, to examine
any clergyman holding office or preferment in the
Established Church charged with promulgating
erroneous doctrines ; and should he be found guilty
of teaching any anti-Christian, or anti-Protestant,
or unscriptural doctrine, or using any Popish deco-
ration, vestments, or genuflexions, to deprive him
of his office or preferment, and to appoint another
clerk of honest Protestant Evangelical report, full
of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, to fill such vacant
office or preferment. They likewise prayed her
Majesty to command the publication of a Protestant
catechism and hymn book—sound, comprehensive,
and purely Christian in doctrine, to be read and
learnt by heart by all the children taught in the
schools of the Established Church in the kingdom,
and to make it a breach of Church discipline, sub-
jecting to a like privation any clergyman who
should introduce any other catechism or hymnal, or
neglect to have the authorised catechism and hymns
thoroughly taught to all the children in the sehools
under his care and management. " Believing,"
they added, " that a commission such as they sup-
plicated her Majesty to issue would in due time
restore order, peace, and prosperity to the Estab-
lished Church, faithful worship to God, and loyalty
and devotedness to her Majesty, they humbly sub-
mitted their petition to the Throne, praying that
her Majesty, blessed with health, might long enjoy
a happy reign in righteousness andhholin beloved aaned,
by the grace of God, continue to be t e .
heartsd
popular monarch living and reigning the
d
of her faithful subjects, and a nursing mother t
the true Protestant Church." A petition Par-
liament
read
efa and
dduoeptticedg,
sette rth,
winhigchreawtasdeataftielrwthaerds
mode
Divine service in the church during the last seven-
teen years, the period of the present rector's incum-
bency, adding that in 1843, when he entered on
the living, .the parish was, to use his own words,
" distinguished for its loyalty to the Sovereign and
dutiful attachment to the Church," but that in
consequence of his obstinate and overbearing con-
duct many of the parishioners had been alienated
from the Church of England, while the once nume-
rous congregation at the parish church had been
reduced to a few scores, and that in a parish of
48,000 people. The speakers dilated chiefly upon
the circumstances which had given the parish its
great notoriety of late, and expressed what they
believed to be the general wish of the petitioners to
return to a simple form of Protestant worship.
They completely carried the audience along with
them, and the resolutions and memorials were
adopted with acclamation.

COLLIERS' STRIKE IN SCOTLAND.—The greater
portion of the colliers employed at the Duke of Buccleuch's
pits at Canonbie have struck work, owing to some misun-
derstanding with the superintendent. It is said that the
men intend making a personal application to the noble pro-
prietor, requesting his interference ; and this course is re-
commended by several influential gentlemen in the dis-
trict. It is very desirable that some arrangement should
be made without delay, as the pits afford tho only supply
of coal to a wide district of country,—Scotsman.