The Sun.
London, England, 1829-12-02 00:00:00

ST. NICHOLAS DROITWICH.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
n St R --Having observed in the Chronicle ofFri-
°aY the 20th ult. an allusion again made to the
parish of St. Nicholas Droitwich, the degraded
condition of which was noticed by us a few
weeks ago, we have been induced to make some
further inquiries on the subject, of which the
following is the result:—
The church was formerly a benefice belonging
to the
Earl of Flanders, and by him given to the
priory
Of Westwood. At the dissolution of
monasteries it was valued as a rectory, and re-
mains to this day a living in charge, viz.—First
fruits 41. 9s. 7d. ; tenths Bs. 112 d., and is in the
patronage of the Crown. A great portion of
the tithes, together with the whole lands of the
Parish were granted to the Packington family ;
and by their descendants the former have been
received until the year 1816. It is supposed,
the parish being small, and the salary of the in-
cumbent trifling, the patronage of the living was
'tacitly permitted to be exercised by the owners
of the lands and tithes, and until the church be-
came dilapidated, a clergyman was paid by such
possessors for the performance of sacred functions
and Sunday duty.
Since the civil wars, however, no minister has
'en appointed, although the reputed tithe
owners still continued to receive their claim for
all tithes until the year before mentioned, when
One of the parishioners refused to pay the lay
rector the small tithes, alleging t, that if such
tithes were payable, the rector would be bound to
Pair the chancel and provide some ecclesiastical
person to
perform the duties within the parish,
now
, totally deprived of all spiritual food, and
the inhabitants left to wander as sheep without a
shbePherd; that the parsonage house had till
°ut ten years ago been standing and was, in-
habited ;
that burials had been solemnized in the
church. and within the last thirty years, and
therefore without such parish church was repaired
and duly served, and the parsonage house re-
edified, he would not, unless a legal title was
thewn, pay any future composition to the lay
unpropriator." The result of such refusal was, a
trial in the
w Court of Exchequer, when judgment
faB given for plaintiff, which not being satis-
actelY to defendant's counsel, an appeal was
made in 1821 to the House of Lords, on the
ground;le,that no real title or grant of tithes was
cree was
n °Y the reputed impropriator, and the de-
reversed. From that period to the
osPresez2t, no tithe, either small or great, has been
Id
by any of the parishioners, and the church
tion Parish remain in the same neglected condi-
s •as before, without a clergyman to supply
pirttnai
food for the salvation of their souls, or
illtnY Place of worship in which the inhabitants
-aye the privilege of assembling for the worship
O. their Creator and Redeemer—or even a
church- and in which they can bury their dead !!
For that spot which had been set apart by the
11°1Y services of religion for this solemn and
te_eery purpose, and which is hallowed in the
Pasta of the older people by the tenderest en-
aruNntt of affection and- friendship, is literally
! desecrated and defiled for common
'Ars", and unfenced in from the public road !
obse answer of the gentleman who (in prudent
& \rvance of the proverb, ," It is a wise son,"
I:v called himself the intimate friend of the
cal: Rector of St. Andrew's, that this latter
bothretil i.B large enough for the population of
sh°
had rarishea, is so really absurd, without he
yrn that the inhabitants of one parish
et a •
anti right of pews in the church of another,
Ali a. gratuitous claim to the spiritual aid of its
erin,tBter, that we wonder how he could have
Natured it into the columns of a newspaper ;
we would put it to those who have the cog-
to
tar,'" of these matters, whether it is creditable
wh." Church Establishment, or to the country
aritt,ell claims to be the strong hold of Protest-
Imo) to permit such flagrant inattention to
v_e_ Spiritual wants of its people to exist in the
ti'liry centre of its provinces, uninvestigated and
ay.re.l4ressed, when the remedy appears so clearly
41able, and so loudly called for? _

VVe are, &c.

A. B.

shire, EtiwARD MOSTYN, of Talacre, Flint-
ti ' intends to offer himself for a share in the representa-
a.."
ef the city of Worcester, whenever as opportunity
rs.
, Sir EDWARD is a Roman Catholic, and formerly
hided near Worcester.—Macclesfield Courier.
graltifl:74DEß OF Mn. GOING.—It is peculiarly
btne Y.lng to have to state, that there is strong reason for
mill bvTgbrthat the savage murderers of the_Rev. Mr. Got NG
flick °tight to condign punishment. Limerick Chro-
ILA CAPTAIN IN HIS ALTITUDES.—On the
djZi "1 of Saturday last the inhabitants of the westernf
cona:a" Of Cumberland-street were thrown in a state o
he ealinble alarm by a military gentleman taking what
affr,,,-7 his s, own way of being avenged" for a supposed
the he had received. Captain inhabits one of
loot"PPer half flats" or floors of a tenement on the
isa,"ide of the street, and being much addicted to the
brag"—"lP or the jolly god, and 'having taken violent urn-
th t a certain individual for not supplying him with
raetana of continuing his potations, lie took the follow-
Ksrtatner unique mode of giving vent to his displeasure.
thriing bolted and otherwise secured his door inside, e
P.teivif uP one of the front windows, and commenced
tlait Ing out in rapid succession into the street mahogany
elected'cloth chairs to the number of seven, after which hed
thi, sundry small articles of furniture, and conclude
twililiin...e:houagrtesfeat by tossing over his carron-grate, all of
were entirely demolished by the fall. For-
are;e_lY, however, no person was hurt, although the sunk
The Possessed by several families with young children.
laridiallnu created by this insane freak brought the.
val I 4 to the spot, who demanded admission, but in
„ the
Captain was deaf to all that could be
Ode: •,,:" the way 'either of threats or persuasion ; and
pthiee4,6viu.roigngtvurbahticshb'xiauld be done, some little time was
Meanwhile
mac, ant
Resident Commissioner, Mr. A. M. ANDERSON,
'sith "6 appearance, and at once proceeded to the door.
Ay t: Peliceutan. It was still bolted, and the Captain
tempter illetenjog death to the first person who should at•
Preiaiptce an entrance. Mr. ANDERSON, however,
*.ttdol u-Na a carpenter to enter the house by a closet
icading from the landing place at the top of the
bolradlt rit° ,the Passage; which being done the door was
zed
341h0 Waft* Mr. ANDERSON rushed in and s!i!ed
3he 41110,,,Ptain, who was preparing to throw the remaining
wit.'!Y chair after the others. Assistance being at hand
°f inch 1:""tlY secured. The Captain, who was in state
thrtitter'etY. and labouring under highly excited feelings,
hint l'ed to shoot any one who should attempt to remove
that
17",► his house, swearing that he would set it in flames
ceirner!"; but at length, through persuasion, he became
.
ti)
the
char
was induced to walk off in custody, to andsmue;
plaintar of committing a breach of the peace,
, of a nrw t 'd 1 for threatening his life.
a e rouivr_ua.
"'un iliereury.

ANNUALS.

FORGET-ME-NOT.

Of the embellishments of this Annual—the
worthiest of the tribe, so far as primojeniture is
concerned—we may say, as we have said of its
younger brethren, that they are tasty in execu-
tion, and well-selected. The " Land-storm" is
especially interesting, both for the spirited style
in which it has been finished, and the pictu-
resque nature of its subject. Next to this, we
feel inclined to place the " Death of the Dove"—
an engraving full of grace and expression. "Place
de Jeanne d'Arc, Rouen," is characteristic, and
replete with that architectural elegance and free-
dom, of which—though no imitator of Martin—
Mr. Prout knows so well how to avail himself in
his numerous elaborate continental landscapes.
Among the contributions, which are unusually
numerous and varied in the subject, combining
prose and poetry of all sorts and qualities, from
the pens of many of the most popular authors
of the day, our favourite is decidedly the " Red
Man." This, though too much an echo of his
former self, is worthy the graphic powers of its
author, the Modern Pythagorean,and may fairly
rank beside his admirably written bit of Dia-
blerie "The Barber of Gottingen,"—a tale which
appeared a year or two since in Blackwood.
The " Tempting Moment" is another smartly
penned story, and so is the " Greenwich Hos-
pital by an Old Sailor ;" notwithstanding that
its language is not such as would be used by its
narrator, an old weather-beaten tar, laid up for
life in dock at Greenwich. Many of the poetic
contributions are excellent, and one or two of a
very superior order. Altogether the " Forget-Me-
Not," speaks highly for the enterprize and intel-
ligence of its worthy proprietor, Mr. Ackermanu.