The Sun.
London, England, 1868-03-19 00:00:00

FUNERAL OF THE REV. MR. PLOW.

On Tuesday the bodies of the late vicar of Todmorden
and his infant daughter, two of the victims of the convict
Miles Weatherill, were interred in the consecrated ground
attached to Christ Church, Todmorden. The inhabitants
of the parish took the opportunity of shewing, in a very
unanimous manner, the respect which the late vicar's
earnest labours had won for his private character. The
mills were closed, and every shop, public-house, and
beerhouse in the town was closed from ten o'clock until
noon, when the ceremony was completed. The morning
was cold and wet, with occasional hail and rain storms of
extreme violence; but the weather did not seem to have
any effect in lessening the numbers of the crowd, who took
possession of the avenues to the church, and almost every
point from which a near view of the proceedings could be
obtained. A considerable number of policemen were on
duty, but the crowd was so orderly and well-behaved that
their position Was almost a sinecure. Shortly after ten
o'clock a procession was formed at the door of the vicarage,
and proceeded up the short pathway to the church. The
procession was headed by clergymen in their surplices.
The choir of the church immediately preceded the two
coffins, which were covered with rich palls and wreaths of
flwers. The chief mourners were the Rev. H. A. Plow,
rector of BraOley, Hants, father of the late vicar ; his
brother, Mr. E. Plow; Miss Plow; Miss Bridges, sister-
in-law to the deceased clergyman ; and the Rev. Dr.
Molesworth, vicar of Rochdale, the stepfather of Mrs.
Plow. Miss Bridges is a member of a religious sisterhood
at Coatham, Redcar, and she wore the gray serge dress
peculiar to her order. The members of the family were
followed by a large number of Sunday-school teachers and
scholars, in whose welfare Mr. Plow had always mani-
fested the warmest interest.

The large crowd in the church was visibly affected when
the coffins were carried in, and many seemed quite over-
come with emotion. The coffins were placed in front of
the communion table, a hymn being sung meanwhile ; and
Dr. Molesworth read a portion of the service for the burial
of the dead. The Rev. R. L. Page, incumbent of Coat-
ham, lledcar, assisted by the Rev. Mr. Plow, celebrated
Holy Communion. The rite was 'preceded by the
singing of the hymn commencing " Brother, rest ; thy
toils are over." The chief mourners, together with the
members of the late vicar's household and a few of the
the parishioners, partook of the Communion. 'Whilst the
bodies were being removed from the church the organist
played the Dead March in " Saul." The interment
was accomplished amidst a furious storm of hail and rain,
which compelled the crowd to disperse rapidly.
As soon as Mrs. Plow, who is now believed to be out of
danger, can be removed, it is intended to take her to the
south of England in order to complete her recovery. The
vicarage, which has been the scene of one of the saddest
tragedies of modern times, will then be ready for the
reception of another incumbent.

THE IRISH QUESTION AND THE REFORM LEAGUE.
At a recent meeting of the council of the Reform League,
Mr. Beales in the chair, the chairman called attention to
the speech of Mr. Gladstone with reference to the state of
Ireland. He said no doubt a crisis had arrived with
respect to the Irish question, and not only that, but with
respect to the Liberal party itself. The speech of the
right hon. gentleman had placed that question and that
party in an admirable position, and it should be the duty
of the council of the League to back him up by all means in
their power. If Mr. Gladstone took his stand, as no doubt
he would, as the leader of the Liberal party, that entire
party wou'.d co-operate ss ith him, not alone in carrying out
his declared Irish policy, but also in giving effect to the
enlightened views upon most general subjects which he
was known to entertain. The chairman expressed his
gratification that The O'Donoghue had again resumed his
position as president of the Irish Reform League. Mr.
Whitford moved, and Mr. Bubb seconded, a resolution
to the effect that a series of meetings to discuss the Irish
question should be held in Trafalgar-square. Mr. Cremer
urged upon the council the de: it bkness of being cau•
bore in their action, less. they might, by a st
cedure, place the Liberal party in a dilemma. Meis,,
0 lg _r and Cooper approved of the resolution, which
carp iO,