The Sun.
London, England, 1827-01-16 00:00:00

DISSENTERS' MARRIAGES.

On Sunday attended to be married at the church of St. George
the Martyr, Queen-square, Mr. Lionel Trotter, of Finsbury, to
Miss Agnes Campbell, late of Pittsburgh, in the United States of
America, when the following extraordinary circumstances took

place:—
Upon the officiating Minister, Mr. Simpson, appearing at the
altar, the bridegroom being a member of the church commonly
called Free-thinking Christians, presented their usual protest.—
Upon perusing it, the Minister said, " I refuse to marry the
parties."
After the sermon, and previously to the administration of the
" Sacrament," two of the official authorities of the parish came
from the vestry, to which the Minister had retired, and stating,
that the legal hour for celebrating marriage had now passed, in-
vited the attendance of the parties in the vestry-room.
Mr. Lionel Trotter, the party claiming to he married, address-
ing the Minister, then said, " that the law had been violated in
his refusing to perform the ceremony :" and another of the party
said, ". Acting, Sir, as the father of the bride, I now repeat that
declaration, you have acted, Sir, unlawfully, in denying a civil
right to these parties ; and I request to know whether you are
willing to perform your duty at 10 o'clock on the morrow."
Much having passed, and the Minister being finally called upon
for his determination, said that he was in the presence of gentle-
men of the bench, and referred the parties to Mr. Marryatt for
his answer. Mr. Marryatt (th. Barrister) said, " the Minister
will be here to-morrow morning at ten o'clock to perform the ce-
remony, if the parties are prepared to go through it,—to say
all that other parties say, and not to say any thing which other
parties do not say, and not to offer any obstruction." Without
expressing compliance with these conditions, the parties re-assert-
ed that no obstruction had been offered, and declared their inten-
tion of attending at the time named (ten o'clock Monday), await-
ing the Minister's performance of his duty. In conformity, Mr.
Lionel Trotter and Miss Agnes Campbell attended as above, ac-
companied by the elder deacons and others members, male and
female, of the church of which they are - members, to claim the
celebration of. their marriage, which, in consequence of their
having delivered a protest, had been refused to them on the
previous day.
The parties now proceeded towards " the altar ;" a considerable
number of persons being assembled in the body of the church to
witness so extraordinary a scene. The bridegroom presented a
copy of the protest, which he had delivered the previous day,
saying—" Thir, sir, is a declaration of the grounds on which we
submit to the law." The ceremony then proceeded in the usual
way, till the bridegroom was told by the 'Minister to repeat after '
him--" In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the_
Holy Ghost." The bridegroom paused, and asked, "Am I com-
pelled to say that, when I don't believe in the Trinity ?" The
Minister insisted that he should do so, when the Elder said, " As
elder of the Church of God to which they belong, I protest against
their using these words, but if you insist upon it, they will com-
ply." The bridegroom then said, "In the name of the Father,
and (but protesting against it) of the Son, and (but protesting
against it) of the Holy Ghost." The Minister paused, but after
having conferred with Mr. Marryatt, proceeded.
When the Minister had declared the parties to be man and wife,
they turned from the altar, but were afterwards, during the con-
cluding prayers, required to kneel, against which they had before
protested, and which they declared as being here unnecessary,
whereupon the Minister refusing to proceed, sat down. After
some time, the Elder protested as before, whereupon the parties
submitted, and the Minister, after another consu?tation with Mr.
Marryatt, proceeded to the completion of the ceremony.

On Thursday next, Lord Robert Seymour will'
submit to the Magistrates, at the county meeting, his motion for
taking into consideration the expediency of providing an Asylum
for the Pauper Lunatics of Middlesex. There being at present no
Asylum, the consequence is, that these distressed objects are farmed
out to the proprietors of the licensed mad-houses in the neighbour-
hood of the metropolis, whose establishments, from their situation
and arrangements, are necessarily in the nature of prisons, partak-
ing very little of the character of hospitals. We cannot anticipate
any objection to this humane measure, with the knowledge of the
advantages which the Magistrates 110 W possess of relief to patients
and economy to parishes, rendered to other counties by the adop-
tion of public Asylums.