The Sun.
London, England, 1861-11-23 00:00:00

CHURCH RATES.

A SHORT REPLY TO 'I HE AUTHOR OF "A
FEW PLAIN WORDS ON THE CHURCH RATE
QUESTION."
Sra,—You close your address to the clergy on the sub-
ject of church rates by placing before them the following
argument—" The Church of England either needs church
rates, or it does not. If it does need them, it is not
divinely founded, nor is it heaven protected," &c. Allow
me to ask—Why not ? What is there to prove that, be-
cause money is required to keep our churches in repair, and
to provide for their services, therefore the Son of Gol was
not the founder of our religion ?
You bring forward the case of the Jews, and say that
they, with a religion which all the nation accepted, and
amongst whom, therefore, were found no Dissenters, had
no compulsory exaction of any kind for religious purposes.
Now (without acknowledging for a moment the analogy
between the state of the Jewish Church and that of our
own), a very good reason for their having no compulsory
tax for the support of their religion at once suggests itself.
Because they did not want it. If all accepted the religion!
and none were Dissenters, or opposed to it, there was no
need for any compulsory tax; and we may say this, that if
all accepted our religion (i.e., the religion of the Church of
England, which you separate from that of Dissenters) in
the same way as all the Jews accepted theirs, we should
want no compulsory tax either.
But as you know very well, all do not accept it. There
are very many Dissenters who would be glad to see the
Church of England stripped of the revenues which the
piety of our forefathers has secured to it, deprived of her
powers of raising money to support her services, and brought
into their own position.
And what sort of a position is that ? Is it, or is it not,
desirable that the poor who cannot pay for themselves should
have the means of worshipping God provided for them by
their richer brethren ? If it is, let the Church stand as it
now does, Let us still have the power of levying a rate
(granted, remember, by a majority) for the support of our
Church and its services—let no poor man have it in his
power to say that he would have worshipped God in his
house, but could not because he had no opportunity of do-
ing so. If it is not, then let the Church fall—let us be in
the same position as the Dissenters, who neither can nor do
supply the religious wants of the very poor.
Remember, if the Church lost the power of raising rates
for its own support, the Dissenters would be no richer.
And as it is, how many p.ilolies aro there where they have
no chapel or place of worship of any kind, how many where
they once had them but have been obliged to close them
because they could not support them. In such places the
Church still stands that all may hear of God, and serve
him if they will. Take that away (or, which is the same
thing, take away the only sure means of securing its being
open for worship), and as far as the poor are concerned our
country might as well lie in heathen darkness. 1 say " the
only sure means," because in by far the greater number of
places where the voluntary system has been tried, that sys-
tem sooner or later has entirely broken down—witness the
number of places before alluded to, where Dissenting
chapels once opened have been closed again for want of
support.

You say, "if the Church of England needs church rates,
it is not divinely founded." We believe that the same
God who founded our Church, put it into tho hearts of men
who loved and served Him, to devise some certain means
for supporting it.
And farther, it is because we believe our Church to be
Heaven-protected that we trust the day is far distant when
church rates shall be utterly and unconditionally abolished.
We believe that the same God who first instituted our
Church will, in accordance with His promise, "be with it"
and protect it " to the end ;" that, in answer to our
prayers, He will be pleased to direct and prosper all the
consultations of our rulers to the advancement of His glory
and the good of His church—that all things may be so
ordered and settled by their endeavours, that not only peace
and happiness, truth and justice, but also religion and
piety may be established among us for all generations.
I am, Sir, yours faithfully,
C. K.

Nov. 20, 1861.

At. FOULD'S FINANCIAL PLANS.

A letter from Paris dated Nov. 22, says,—The
imagination of the public is still in full fling on
M. Fould's financial plans, Every one has his own
version. The great Doctor Veron first said some-
thing about a tax on lucifer matches, and,l believe,
pianos ; and this, although he has set people laugh-
ing, which perhaps was all he wanted, may not be
so unfounded after all. I cannot make even a guess
as to what the lucifers would produce, but an
alarmed courtier said yesterday that it would
hardly pay the expense of the present festivities
at Compiegne, still less the demolitions and repairs
going on in the Palace of the Tuileries, which will
I cost, it is said, about 50 millions of francs. This,
however, is too absurdly extravagant to be correct.
A tax on cigars is again spoken of, which may end
in smoke, as well as on carriages, horses (chevaux
de luxe), and male servants. Dogs are already " im-
posed" as much as they can well bear. Another
plan, attributed to M. Fould, is the conversion of
the Four-and-a-Half into Three per Cents., and to
do this the Four-and-a-Halfs will be driven up to
par, and the Threes to 75. The Threes were, I be-
lieve, over 75 before the declaration of war with
Austria. I am sorry to find the belief gaining
ground that there will be no disarmament by land
or sea ; and that all that will be done is to allow
some 50,000 or 60,000 men to go home on leave.
The uncertainty of public affairs in Europe, and
the necessity of France being prepared for all emer-
gencies, are of course the causes alleged. It is some
consolation, however, that MM. Fould, Persigny,
and Rouher are said to be now the best friends in
the world ; that, in fact, they-are, as a member of
the Legislative Corps says," comme trois tetes dans
is meme bonnet."

The following is an extract from a letter, of yes•
terday's date, from an English gentleman residen.
for the last few years at Tours :

" The Minister of the Interior has been pleased to com-
pare the Charitable Society of St. Vincent de Paul with the
Society of Freemasons, which is known by the whole world
to be a secret society, while ho must know in his heart that
that of St. Vincent de Paul is open to all, and that its mem-
bers devote themselves to works of charity, without distinc-
tion of party, sect, or creed. They visit the garret and the
cellar twice a-week to administer to the wants of the desti-
tute by tickets on the baker, butcher, and wood merchant,
according to the number of the family. They do not give
money, lest it may not be judiciously laid out. In the City
of Tours alone more than 500 families are kept alive in this
way. I have myself been an honorary member of the
society for some years, and I can vouch that not one
farthing of the funds has been applied to any other pur-
pose ; and as for politics, whatever may be the private
opinions of its members, they are strictly prohibited. The
funds come from private subscriptions, from charity ser-
mons, and from the proceeds of a bazaar held annually, and
to which the Emperor has contributes with regularity,
sending:either handsome timepieces or a silver cup or chalice,
and generally a service of plate, &c., the cases of each bear-
ing the Imperial arms.
" This charitable society has been dissolved within a few
days ; Count Gallambert, its president, could not conform
to the arbitrary demand of the Minister. The consequence
is that 500 destitute families are left to perish. The society
here was composed of men of all shades of :opinion, many
of them holding situations under Government. There is
not the slightest doubt that M. Persigny has greatly
damaged the Government throughout France by his perse-
cution of this noble association."

If ever the correspondence of Napoleon 111. be
published, as that of Napoleon I. now is, we may
find curious disclosures of the way annexations are
represented as emanating from the popular will.
The island of Elba was, as every one knows, lost to
Naples by the treaty of Lunoville, in 1801. Napo-
leon annexed it to the Kingdom of Etruria, to the
Principality of Piombino, and finaly to France. In
the Bth volume of Napoleon's correspondence, just
published, I find the following " note to the Minis-
ter of War," dated Paris, 11 Fructidor An X (29th
of August, 1802), which reminds one of the
audience which the Savoyard Deputies had 'of
Napoleon 111. when they proposed to him to take
possession of their territory. It is as follows :
" The Deputies (from the island of Elba) will be pre-
sented to the Minister of War, who is to give them their
dinner, and present them to all the Ministers through one
of his officers. They are then to be presented to the Gene-
rals of the Gnard, the Governor of the Palace, the Prefects
of the Palace, and the inspectors of the different arms.
They will be presented to me on the 15th. The Minister
of War will give them 3,000 f. (£120) a piece. He will in-
form them that on their presentation on the 15th they may
make a little speech, in which they are to speak of the plea-
sure which the inhabitants of the island of Elba feel on
being united to France, and on form:ng part of this great
nation.

" BONAPARTE."
The following has some resemblance to the pre-
sent state of affairs in Paris :

" To Citizen Chaptal, Minister of the Interior.
" St. Cloud, 19 Fructidor, An XI (Sept. 6, 1803).
" The winter will be very severe, Citizen Minister, and
food very dear. Works must be carried on in Paris.
" 1. The works of the Canal of the Ourcq must be con •

tinned.
" 2. Works must be carried on on the Quays Desaix and
d' Orsay.
"3. All the houses to be demolished must be thrown
down. Prepare a statement of them.
" 4. Work away at the bridge of the Jardin des Plantes.
" 5. The new streets must be paved:
"6, Furnish other works to the people. The works of

Pontiny do not get on. The works ordered during my
I journey are not begun.
" I beg of you to transmit to me in your report of Friday,
the 29th of Fructidor, a statement of all that has been done
this year, and a demand for funds for the public works of
the year XII. " BONAPARTE."
That the invasion of Spain was contemplated
years before it took place will be seen from the
following :
" To Citizen Tallyrand, Minister of Foreign Relations.
" Malmaison, 25 Fructidor, An XI. (Sept. 12, 1803).
"I send you Citizen Minister, the Madrid mail of the
13th. lam surprised that we have no other news. Make
out a statement of the whole of our complaints against
Spain, that we may have these materials ready in order to
make use of them according to circumstances.
" BONAPARTE,"