The Sun.
London, England, 1829-06-17 00:00:00

GUILDHALL

SELECT VESTRlES.—Yeaterday Mr. Bell, one
of the trustees of St. Bartholomew the Great, ap-
peared before Sir PETER LAURIE, on a summons,
to answer the complaint of Mr. Wyse, one of the
parishioners, for refusing to allow an inspection of the
accounts, and the making such extracts as he may
deem necessary.
Mr. Wyse based his claim to inspect the accounts,
and take copies, on the 119th section of the metropo-
litan act, which provides that any person who pays
a certain rate is entitled to call for the production of
the expenditure of such rate at all seasonable and
convenient times. A rate has been established in
the parish for the purpose of paving and lighting.
This rate, which produces about 1,100/. per annum,
Mr. Wyse pays, and, therefore, he considers he has
a right to keep an eye upon its disbursement. He
served a written notice, under the Act of Parlia-
ment, upon the Vestry Clerk, by which he was en-
titled to a copy of the accounts within twenty days
after the service of such notice. The Vestry
Clerk promised the accounts should be forthcoming;
but after the expiration of the term allowed for their
production Mr. Wyse was informed the books were
not in his possession.
Sir PETER LAURlE—Calling for the production
of accounts of expenditure seems suite the fashion
now-a-days ; they are calling for them in another
quarter likewise. But what is your object, Mr.
Wyse, in wishing to see the accounts; do you con.
sider the rate has been misapplied ?—Mr. Wyse—l
consider the monies collected have been applied to
other purposes than those contemplated by the Act
of Parliament.
Sir PETER LAURIE—WiII you state what impro.
per purposeayou consider they have been applied to?
Mr. Wyse—ln the first place a share of them is
expended in dinners on St. Thomas's day and
Plough Monday ; and likewise an evening lecturer is
paid out of them. Now, the act never says a word
about making provision for feeding the trustees nor
supporting the lecturer.
Sir P. LAURIE—NOW, Mr. Bell, you hear the
charges; what do you wish to say in reply ? Mr.
Bell—l can't imagine why lam summoned at all
on such an occasion; he charges me with refusing to
show him the accounts. I never refused him.

Mr. Wyse—l summoned Mr. Bell as one of the

trustees, not individually. If I summoned the whole
body I would be under the necessity of taking out
about six and thirty summonses.
Mr. Ellidge, one of the select body—There is
seven pounds allowed out of it for dining thirty-four
trustees on St. Thomas's day, and surely that is no-
thing extravagant. The custom did not emanate
from the present body : it has been established from
time immemorial. We only took it as we found it,
and would not deem it becoming to interfere with
established customs. On Plough Monday the
Swearing in of the constables takes place, and we
could not think of keeping men out all day without
some refreshment. Mr. Wyse was not refused the
inspection of the books; on the contrary, he has
seen them.

Mr. Wyse—Yes, I had a glimpse at them; but
you would not give me a pen and ink to make a
single extract.

Mr. Ellidge—No, certainly ; nor will I supply
you with pen and ink.
Mr. Wyse—l shall take care to bring one the
next time.

Sir P. LAURIE—Seven pounds is not very extra-
vagant, certainly; but in my parish, Marylebone,
there is not sevenpence expended in cookery through
the whole year. Mr. Rell—Our parish is as econo-
mical in its expenditure as any parish in London.
Mr. Wyse—So says St. Paul's, Covent-garden ;
but 1,1001. is a handsome sum for a parish which
has only eight watchmen, a few gas lamps, a little
paving, no police, not even a street-keeper.
Sir P. LAURlE—Perhaps Mr. Wyse has an eye to
a trusteeship himself. Mr. Ellidge—Olt, he has
already petitioned Parliament to throw the vestry
open.

- Mr. Wyse—That's " the head amd front of my
offending.

Sir P. LAURIE—We have now disposed of
dinners. What say ye to the evening lecturer—how
is he paid ? Mr. Bell—We cannot be called on to
answer that.

Mr. Ellidge—We have no wish for concealment ;
we are ready to expose our accounts before the
world. I will tell you, Sir Peter, how he is paid.—
We had a gentleman to attend the church in the
evening. We had no Act of Parliament to autho-
rise us in levying a rate for his support; but a
voluntary one was laid on. This gentleman went
about from house to house with a book, in which he
kept an account of the sums received, and got at one
house perhaps fourpence, at another sixpence, and
oftentimes at the third place he happened to call he
was snarled at. This we deemed degrading to a
clergyman, and it was agreed to pay him 50/. per
annum out of the sums collected in fines from
persons refusing to serve as constables and church-
wardens.

Sir P. LAURIE—Pray, what was done with these
fines before they were applied this way ? Mr.
Ellidge—They went to the consolidated rate ; and at
present, if there be any surplus after paying the lec-
turer, it is applied to the same purpose.
Sir P. LAURIE—In case the fines do not amount
to fifty pounds how is the deficiency made up ?
Mr. Ellidge—An instance has not occurred since the
rule was made of the fines being below it.
Mr. Bell—Mr. Wyse shall see the accounts at
the next meeting of the trustees.
Mr. Wyse—The Apt empowers me to call for
them at all seasonable and convenient times. The
term commences next Friday, and if I wait for the
meeting of the trustees, and they refuse me, I shall
lose the opportunity of applying to the King's
Bench fors mandamus before another year's rate is
audited.

Sir P. LAURIE-4 would advise you by all means
to keep out of the King's Bench, for all the law
expences will fall upon the parishioners; but if they
now promise to produce the accounts at the next
meeting, I think, as honourable men, they will not
violate their engagement.
" Certainly not," replied the select vestrymen,
with ene accord.
Mr. Wyse expressed himself satisfied, and both
parties then withdrew.
Joseph Pratt and his wife, who were remanded on
Saturday last, were brought up for re-examination.
This man was porter for eight months past in the
service of Messrs. Ward, Brettle, and Ward, hosiers,
Wood-street, and was charged with robbing them.
The circumstances which led to a discovery of
the prisoner's malpractices have been already de-
tailed in The Sun of Monday last, and Pratt was
remanded in order that Mr. Brettle might inspect
the articles found at his lodgings, consisting prin-
cipally of stockings.
Mr. Brettle stated, that, although there was no
doubt but that the articles were his, yet there was
no mark about the stockings which would enable
him to identify them, the prisoner having taken the
precaution of destroying the papers in which they
had been wrapped, and which contained their private
mark; but, fortunately for the ends of justice, the
goods were enclosed in several bags, all of which Mr.
Brettle's clerk swore positively to. One of the
paper wrappers alluded to was also found in the
prisoner's lodgings, but not with the property.
Sir P. LAURIE considered the evidence quite suf-
ficient, and called Mr. Brettle's attention to the
number of robberies recently committed by servants,
which required employers to be particularly cautious.
Mr. Brettle replied, that they considered they took
every possible precaution against being pilfered.
while y
the porters were cleaning the warehouse nine
pr ten young men were with them, who kept their
eyes constantly on them, to prevent any thing being
taken; but the only possible conjecture as to the
manner in which the prisoner effected this robbery
wag, that it i
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awarehouse
prisoner'stl eyvedruety t
o obligedre
to keee e
put -
inoy the ashes, and they considered that he must
hv
the stockings in the box, covering them
have
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