The Sun.
London, England, 1857-10-12 00:00:00

CEIURCE RATES REFUSED.

( From The Monthly Christian Spectater.)
It may be within the recollection of most
of our readers, that in the month of July
last a deputation of noblemen and gentlemen
headed by Lord Shaftesbury, waited upon the
Premier for the purpose of laying before him
certain statements purporting to be based upon the
return of " Church Rates Refused," moved for by
Lord Cecil, and presented to the House of Com-
mons in the early part of the present session.
Amongst other statements made by the deputation
was one to the effect, that only 408 ont of 8,672
parishes in England and Wales, or about " five per
cent." of the whole number, were proved to have
refused Church rates. This assertion, when first
made, considerably surprised all classes of politi-
cians. It is believed so to have influenced the Pre-
mier as to have caused him to reconsider his en-
gagement to bring in a bill for the settlement of
this question during the current session. Dr. Fos-
ter, on behalf of the Religious Liberation Society,
endeavoured to counteract its effect by exposing
the imperfection and inadequacy of the returns.
The Church party had a perfect " glorification"
over it—Tho Record especially treating its readers
to a series of articles, written in a ludicrously
jubilistic strain on the weakness of Dissent, and the
stanch attachmeat of Englishmen to Mother Church.
As to the deputation, they appear to have retired
into private life, evidently believing that they had
settled the question for ever, and that no one would
again dare to lay hands on this great buttress of
the Estalishment.

Now, we are sorry to, spoil a triumph of any kind,
but in this instance tru:.-.th and justice demand it.
Since reading the report of the interview of the
committee of laymen w;th Lord Palmerston, we
have taken the trouble to go through the whole of
" 8,072" returns, and we have found them to tell
a very different tale to that t which Lord Palmer-
ston listened. The assertions made by the com-
mittee of laymen are false in every particular. They
have neither given the number of parishes correctly,
nor have they stated their case in any way so as to
make a truthful impression. Reading the address
of the committee, one would imagine that ninety-
five per cent. of the parishes of England Wales
were in favour of church-rates, and that these
imposts were still upheld by the opinion of the
great body of the people. We find the truth to be
in the one case exactly the reverse of this, and in
the other so glaringly at variance with the state-
ment of the committee, as to excite the greatest sur-
prise that any respectable body of Inert should com-
mit themselves to such an assertion. How the case
really stood at the date of the Church-rate returns
will be found from the following summary, in which
the parishes are grouped in counties, and the popu-
lations of both classes of returns giver.).
SUMMARY OF RETURNS OF " CHIIRCII RATES REFUSED." &C..
No. FOR. No. AGAINST.
Parishes. Popula. Parishes. Popula-
tion. tion.
57,932 15 39,605
98,752 12 21,873
83,486 18 22,100
67,225 26 37,014
175,347 28 151,994
215,264 36 80,174
113,113 4 4,471
115,615 18 53,079
239,185 31 133,336
79,034 19 29,693
279,350 7 57,105
204,597 30 83,764
208,035 40 121,959
176,641 19 141,216
61,859 6 10,382
95,512 9 17,622
28,426 12 7,996
364,249 22 116,987
175,336 89 1,259,024
102,159 13 70,608
226,144 42 57,738
482,162 40 828,382
91,690 10 74,287
233,120 68 65,461
92,950 32 67,498
133,472 11 123,367
100,612 21 113,028
103,755 15 14,228
15,734 1 530
162,259 3 32,100
266,813 22 59,291
197,094 45 332,602
192,759 45 32,549
231 695 12 84,471
151,145 16 76,969
99,935 28 258,994
30,267 3 19,595
141,416 10 22,479
131,408 16 29,830
631,749 103 1,117,020

COUNTY.

Bedford
Berks
Bucks
Cambridge
Chester
Cornwall
Cumberland 9l
Derby
Devon
Dorset
Durham
Essex
Gloucester
Hants
Hereford
Hertford
Huntingdon 55
Kent 284
Lancaster lll
Leicester
Lincoln
Middlesex 67
Monmouth
Norfolk 316
Northampton
Northumberland 64
Notts
Oxford 163
Rutland
Sdop lB9
Somerset
Salford
Suffolk 3Ol
Surrey
Sussex
Warwick
Westmorland
Wilts l9l
Worcester l3O
York

Torus 6,677 6,657,341 997 5,860,301

Wales

423,908 133

265,850

England and Wales 7,090 7,081,249 1,130 6,126,151

This, as will be perceived; gives a widely diffe-
rent result to that published by the committee of
laymen. Instead of only 408 parishes being re-
turned as having refused church rates, we find no
fewer than 1,130 where they were not levied.
These places contained a total population, accord-
ding to the "Blue Book," of 6,126,151; the parishes
levying rates containing only 7,081,249. But this
is not all the truth. The "Blue Book" on which
this summary has been based is deficient in returns
from 3000 or 4000 parishes, containing a gross po-
pulation of 4,720,209. We know for a fact that in
many of these parishes Church-rates hare for years
ceased to be levied. The returns do sot include
Leicester ; they omit a great part of Reading, the
greater portions of Southampton, Bristol, and
many other large towns, where public opinion is
known to be against the continuation of this ini-
quitous system. Indeed, as far as we have been
able to ascertain, the omissions are nearly altoge-
ther on the bide of Church rates refused, so that we
at e justified in saying that Church rates are levied
with the consent of only a small minority of the in-
habitants of parishes. The utmost number
that the " Blue Book" accounts for is 7,081,249,
the population of England and Wales being
17,927,609. This, we take it, is a little less than
nin,ty-five per cant !
The table we have given will be sufficient to in-
dicate the character as well as the number of the
parishes ranged on the two side 3 of this contro-
versy. It will be noticed that the average popula-
tion cf parishes approving Church rates is not quite
1,000 ; while the average population of those re-
fining is rather more than 5,00 g. The intelligence
of to .vms being generally pretty fairly proportioned
to their population, it will b 3 seen at a glance on
which side of the question the more advanced por-
tion of the community is ranged. As a further
illustration of this mode of argument, we subjoin
an alphabetical list of the principal towns in the
kingdom where Church rates are now abolished.
We take them from the Parliamentary Return,
where they are arranged according to their coun-
ties :
Aberdare Halifax Newcastle
Amersham Hartlepool Nottingham
Alberstoke Hitchin Newport, I.W.
Alniondbury Hanley Oldham
Ashton-under-Lyne Huddersfield Plymouth
Aston Illingwortit Poole
Blackburn Jarrow Pcrtsca
Bolton Kendall Rochdale
Bury Keighley Reading
Birkenhead Kirkheaton Southampton
Bowden Kildwick Stoke
Bristol Kirkburton Stroud
Buford Leeds ' Stockport (partial)
Brighton Leicester Sainford
Bradford Liverpool Sheffield
Birmingham Leominster Swansea
Chelmsford Lancaster Tynemouth
Cardigan Luton Trowbridge
Carmarthen Manchester Wisbeach
Chatham Maidstone Wareham
Devonport Middlesborough Whalley
Dowlais Melbourne Wigan
PP:imeuth Merthyr West Bromwich
t'rome Norwich Walsall
Gateshead Northampton Worcester
And the following amongst metropolitan parishes :
Chelsea St. Pancras
C!erkenwell Christ Church, Spitalfields
St. George's-in-the-East Mile-end Old Town
St. Mary, Islington St. Philip's, Stepney
It. Paul's, Knightsbridge St. Sepulchre
St. Anne, Limehouso St. George's, Southwark
St. Margaret's, Westminster
These places will be acknowledged to be without
question, the most important in the kingdom. They
ineAnde almost every county town and large borough,
mid they represent the greater portion of the reli-
gious, the moral, and the intellectual activity of
this country. And their politcal power, as we
judge Lord Palmerston will be made to feel, is
quite equal to their
donbt, will be found amply
sufficient eniand, we have no
tito carry a bill
for the total and unconditionalcabo on of church-
rates as soon as Parliament shalt
Meantime, we think it will be adeisallaii:l meet.
6feorder
t i counteract the effect of the statement in
mittee of the laymen, and to strengthen the hands
of the advocates of abolition, bath within and with!.
cYtit the w .11s of Parliament, to give as wide a cir-
c a lation as possible to the actual facts regarding the
rates now refused.

ME HERO OF THE REDAN.—General Windham bad
just changed his clothes before going to the colonel's to
dine. His servant showed them to me ; they were
covered with blood and dust. I followed him to Colonel
W",re hut, and found General Windham walking
quickly to and fro in the but, apparently much pre-
fi",.culted and excited. His eyes emitted flashes of
°P•II,, countenance had assumed its usual majestic
dignity, hie lips were parched, his proud
""
brow betokened much restlessness, and though his fore-
head was ectvered with glory, you could perceive through
the wreath of laurel which had only a few hours before
been deposited there by Mars, a deep shadow of
thoughtfulness and care.
Ilia physiognomy told a tale.
Victory of him made a great hero,
without having had
time to put her final seal to his martial and petulant
•dour. Another battle was Yet to be fought.—aire:
Culinary Campaign.