The Sun.
London, England, 1844-07-25 00:00:00

the church of the poor, but it then ceased to be so. A
poet of another day had told them of
" Ears too delicate to hear of hell,"

and by a horrible parody these words might now be ap-
plied to the Church. They deprived the poor of rights
to which they had as good a title as they themselves had
to their estates ; and if they persisted in this, they
would not be performing the part of Christians and
statesmen, but of tyrants and robbers. What case, he
asked, had be n made out for depriving their poor of
such rights ? What right bad they, in their power and
wealth, to make their morsel of bread in this world con-
tingent on their willingness to surrender all tidings of
another ? There were 135 workhouses without chapels,
and 20,000 paupers without religious instruction ; and he
asked what right had they to deprive the poor of the
holy offices of the Church ? Let them show their own
consistency—let them show their charity and their re-
spect for the poor, by their jealousy lest any misfortune
should separate them from the holy membership of the
Church. For the last ten years the poor had been deli-
vered over to practical atheism, which was worse than
atheism ; but he hoped there would that night be a tri-
umph over sordid parsimony and a cowardly compro-
mise of principle. He heard with great pain the decla-
ration of the Right Hon. Gentleman, that he felt himself
bound to oppose the introduction of this clause. He felt
that neither now nor hereafter would he regret it, if the
opinion of the House was declared to be at variance with
his own. He would now conclude. He had spoken
strongly, because he had had to describe a bad and a
dangerous state of things—a state of things unworthy of
any men who called themselves Christians ; but he hoped
he had said nothing personally offensive. He warned the
House not to refuse to assent to a clause so extremely
important as that which he had brought under their
serious attention.

Sir J. GRAHAM said the Hon. Gentleman had ex-
pressed a hope that he had not used violent language on
that occasion. He gave the Hon. Gentleman full credit
for the purity of his motives, and the warmth of his feel-
ings ; but he thought the expressions which had fallen
from him were hardly justified.—(Hear, hear.) He did
not yield to the Hon. Gentleman in a desire to promote
the interests of the Church ; but he very much doubted
whether it would be promoted by an attempt to force
the particular form of worship which the Hon. Gentle-
man and himself were attached to in every workhouse
by the payment of a chaplain.—(Hear, hear.) The
Hon. Gentleman should bear in mind that this was not
a novelty proposed for the first time in 1834. The Gil-
bert Unions had been formed long antecedent to that
period ; and when those unions were formed there had
been no provision made for the appointment of chap-
lains. There were none appointed in those unions now.

Captain PECHELL—Iii some of them.
Sir .TAMES GRAHAM admitted that the Gallant
Officer was a high authority on the subject of Gilbert
Unions ; but he would admit that there was no provi-
sion made in them for the appointment of, chaplains.—
C" Hear, hear," froth Captain Pechell.) The Hon. Gen-
tleman had described Divine worship, when celebrated
in workhouses by clergymen, an illegal act.
Mr. STAFFORD O'BRIEN—When the clergyman
is not licensed.

Sir JAMES GRAHAM—SureIy it could not be
contended that the clergyman of the parish would not be
discharging his duty if he neglected to visit the poor in-
mates of the workhouse who were assembled together in
his parish.—(Cheers.) He considered it was the bounden
duty of the clergymen of the parish thus to attend to
them. If a chaplain were appointed, he must be licensed
by the Bishop, and, therefore, he could not be said to be
celebrating Divine service illegally ; and if he were not
licensed, then he would be, most probably, the clergy-
man of the parish, and he would not be acting illegally.
In England and Wales there were 537 unions. There
were no workhouses in twenty-one of these unions,
in three the workhouses were very small, and of the
remaining 513 there were chaplains appointed in 411
under the d4cretionary power vested in the Poor-law
Commissioners; with salaries averaging nearly 50L a year
each, and yet the Hon. Gentleman alleged that they
were establishing Atheism by Act of Parliament.—
(Rear, hear.) While the rule remained in force for-
bidding the inmates of workhouses to leave its precincts
even on a Sunday, he agreed with the Hon. Gentleman
that, they, were incurring a fearful responsibility if they
failed to provide for their spiritual consolation ; but,
since he had come into office, the Poor-law Commis-
sioners, acting in conjunction with himself, had issued
an order, empowering boards of guardians to permit the
inmates of the workhouse who were members
of the Established Church to leave the work-
house on every Sunday, Christmas Day, and
Good Friday, for the purpose, of attending
Divine worship at their parish church, and
also to permit mothers to be accompanied by their chil-
dren.—(Hear, hear.) The board of guardians were also
empowered to permit such inmates of the workhouse as
were Dissenters to leave the workhouse on Sunday for
the purpose of attending Divine service in their respec-
tive places of worship, and in that instance, also, mo-
thers were permitted to be accompanied by their chil-
dren. He thought the motion of his Hon. Friend was
not sustained by facts. If they were to render the
appointment of a chaplain in every union compulsory,
they would be lighting up the flame, not of true religioin,,
but of religious discord.—(Cheers.) He repeated it, he
considered it was the duty of the clergyman of the reli-
gion favoured by the Stater to attend to the spiritual
wants of the inmates of the workhouse situated in his
parish. The Hon. Gentleman might call it a cowardly
compromise if he liked, but he certainly should shrink
from the responsibility of attempting to carry the propo-
sition of the Hon. Gentleman, although he bore as sin-
cere an-attachment to the Church as the Hon. Gentleman.

Mr. STAFFORD O'BRIEN eiplained. He had not
meant- to say that the Right Hon. Gentleman was not
aetnated by any feelings of attachment and respect
towards the Established 'Church.
, Mr.. LIDDELL said workhouse relief to' the poor in
the northern counties was of very trifling extent, and
the aged and infirm were generally relieved in their own
houses. lie had never heard of the want of spiritual
'assistance in workhouses, of which the. Hon. Member
.complained so bitterly, and did not believe any such
want existed, at least in the county of Durham.
•Mr. M‘GEACHY deplored the tone in which the Right
Hon. Baronet had treated the Established Church. He
thought it was the duty of a State' to provide spiritual
instruction for its Members. He earnestly hoped that
the House would assent .to the proposition of his Hon.
Friend.
Mr. C. BULLER thought the Right Hon. Baronet
had shown himself a friend to the Church in taking the
"course lie had adopted With respect to this motion.
Mr. S FUART WORTLEY objected to the forcing on
unions the appointment of chaplains.
Mr. HENLEY thought the time bad come when the
Legislature ought to interfere for the purpose of, secur-
ing to the inhabitants of unions, proper religious in-
struction. " -

Sir J. GRAHAM explained, and the House divided;
thg numbers were,

For the clause l9

Against it
-
. Majority against the clause
The CHAIRMAN then , reported progress, and the
House resumed, the report was ordered to be brought
up this day at twelve o'clock.
The other orders of the day were then disposed of, and
the House adjourned at ane o'clock.

HAIR-BREADTH ESCAPE.--A pat:ty of the officers of
the 44th Regiment visited the Milehouse races in a car-
riage and four, having hired a stage coach for the pur-
pose from. Weakley's Hotel, Captain Polliston acting
as coachman, and one of the other officers filling the
subaltern post of guard. On leaving the ground in the
evening, the inside of the coach was devoted to the
sergeants ; the back part to as many of the soldiers as
could posssibly find a resting place, or a bar to hang on
at ; while the officers occupied the . front -part of the
carriage. Captain Pulliston taking the reins. From
the way in which the vehicle was loaded, there
not being many less than forty persons inside
and out, it_ was with some- difficulty the car-
nage was started from . the • field, but once
.moved, off, they went_ over the hill, to Swilly at a
dashing pace—the Captain keeping , the, -road very
cleverly, ',All prudence, however, was evidently ex-
pected tc be- in the possession of whatever other party
was on, the road. As might' have been' anticipated such
a freak as this could hardly be expected to end without
aciale accident—the patty passed through the village of
Stoke anct:the more difficult part Of their homeward
course in satiety, but in turning rather, too sharply the
.corner of the road to come into.town tiy the xlrawbridge,
at the northeastern barrier,. the coach lurched, and the
weight of the load being thrown on one . side, down it
went. The horses run offwith the pole, and the driver and
his friends were strewed about the road in a most fearful
plight, and a long list of killed and wounded• was anti-
cipated by -the witnesses of the accident, but miracu-
lously all escaped with some severe :bruises, except
ea 'unfortntiate fellow named Smith, a • horsekeeeer
in the employ of the owner of the horses, who fell
under the vehicle and -received some severe contusions.
The poor feliow was -taken .toi„the infirmary of the
workhouse, and still lies ,in a ,dangerous state. - The
horses proceeded towards the town, but -in passing
over, the drawbridge one' of them fell, and his legs
became entangled with the chains so firmly.that it re-
quired a-great number ofpersons and powerful levers to
extricate them. This accident brought the other ;horses
to a halt, or further and serious damage might have
resulteld in their passing through 'the streets. The horse
that fell ran the pole into,his, breast, ind is not expected
-to live, while the damage to the carriage is- estimated at
hetless Than 501,—Devonport Tekgrqpife
PIKE FISHING.--On Saturday last an. immense
pike was caught in Bassenthwaite-lake by' a young man
named John Stanley, who certainly secured his Unwieldy
prize La a manner somewhat novel in the art of:angling.
Whilst fishing for perch by the side and near the head of
the-lake, and baiting with the minnow, the bail was pre-
sently- swallowed by an enormous pike, and the moment the
fiN4 found himself hooked he rapidly took off, and made his
way further into the lake. When the "tyrant of thestream"
had hehrly'stripped the young. man's line off his wheel,
it suildenly.stopped, otherwiiw lt.would have snapped his
frail taphitog in an instant, and thus helm regained its
liberty The alller, however, commenced working
the fish, with 4. view of exhausting him, by first. draw-
ing him towards the shore, .444 then letting him off
again into the lake. In this Way ici wrought on for
upwards of two hours, the
pike, frequently wren& his
-
whole line off within a yard or two: At length, the
young man observed a piece or wood or railing lying
on the ground, about three yards long, with a nail in
the eta of it, which he .contrive 4 !!) get bold of, The
pike by this time was getting weaker, but was f`0111131,1611
too strong for his frail tackles 'he determined, however,
trving his chance of car-tire with -his new 'weapon,
and Arawing the immense fish as near him as he c,*uld
with one hand, whilst with-the other he struck at it, and
succeeded in driving the nail into the pike's head, up to
the very wood. Stanley then leiekly landed his prip
on terra firm, when it proved to be a full-grows} 144,C,
44 inches in length, 22 iuclleLin firth, atxd weighwg
leas ay% 2811).