Star.
London, England, 1830-01-07 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE STAR.

SI u,—The King in Council having determined that
the Parliament should meet for dispatch of business in the
ensuing month of February, I have thought it both just
4nd necessary to lay before the public a statement of part'
of the grievances which oppress the parish of St. Pancras,
through the conduct of self-elected and irresponsible
Church Trustees.

In the year 1816 the Select Vestry obtained an Act for
-• Building a new Parish Church and Parochial Chapel."
The applicants nominated the Trustees, many if not most
of whom were members of their own body. The Trustees
vtere empowered to expend only 42,0001. for building
both a new Church and Parochial Chapel. In perfect
contempt of Parliamentary authority, they contracted td
expend 45,0001. solely for the building of a new Parish
Church. The contractor proceeded—at the time the
Church presented merely the body, without the portico,
the steeple, or the side wings, the Trustees had ex-
pended 66,0001.
Instead of calling upon the contractor and his sureties
to finish the Church, the Trustees themselves break
through the contract, by ordering a stone staircase, in-
stead of oak ; and they further agree to pay for all work
done according to measure and value. Thus in the be-
ginning was the parish damnified by the folly, or by
the forbearance of self-elected and irresponsible Trustees.
W hat was the next step ? In the year 1821, the same
parties procured another Act to alter and enlarge the
former one, and power was then given them to expend
the parish church rates without limit, for the building a
new Parish Church and Camden Chapel, while the first
Act restricted the expenditure to 42,0001. At last, the
splendid monuments of art and folly are completed ; and
the trustees in their own printed statements acknowledge
the cost of

Building and furnishing the new Pariah Church
Ditto for Camden Chapel

Making together 5e102,257

When a job is in progress, why should not the lawyer
have a share ? Accordingly the Church Trustees give
their Clerk (who is their Attorney, and also Vestry
Clerk) 3001. a year salary, which, for thirteen years,
amounts to 3,9001. The Accounts also exhibit
Charges for law espences since the year 1816 . . 41.671
Charge for procuring the first Act
Ditto for second ditto 1 661

Z 4,780

So that the Law Officer has received of the Church
Trustees 8,6801. which makes no small addition to the
cost of this most wise and prudent bargain. NVell then
might be said, that our mutilated copy of a Greek artist
is a Temple dedicated to Law as well as to Gospel.
In the Church accounts are some curious items, such
as cost for ground to build the Church upon, 6,6951.
for Clock and Bells, 9731. for an organ, 1,0871. for
Communion Plate, 6981. for Furniture and Upholstery,
1,6111. in which sum is included a charge of 1601. for
two Communion Chairs, and upwards of 1,0001. for
Printing and Stationery. Yet these are minor evils.
The Trustees, instead of waiting until they had got a
fund of 20,0001. or 30,0001. began to build without
funds, supporting the expenditure by loans; so that
by the year 1828, they had received upwards of 210,0001.
which was raised by rents, rates, fees and loans, as is
shewn by the subjoined abstract of their own printed ac-
counts, which moneys have been all expended, and still
the parish have upwards of 50,0001. to pay for outstand-
ing Bonds ! The interest paid upon moneys borrowed to
March last is upwards of 31,0001. and before the debt is
liquidated, the interest alone will far exceed the amount
first sought for to complete the whole ! Here then we
have 260,0001. exacted from the pockets of a compa-
ratively poor parish, for the building of a new Church
and a Parochial Chapel, when the Church Trustees,
by the original Act of Parliament, were only per-
mitted by the Government to lay out 42,0001. How
useful is the moral to be drawn from the facts now stated !
The parish of St. Pancras, denominated a village, ranks
in population second only to Dublin and Edinburgh—
the inhabitants exceed in number 100,000. They are go-
verned by a Parochial Parliament, self-elected for life,
who tax their fellow parishioners at their pleasure, and
spend the taxes so raised without any public controul.
self-named body, the Church Trustees, is part and
parCel of the Select Vestry, and shares all the vices of an
Institution which claims Legislative and Executive Power
without Representation. A Government which adopts
these principles, in my mind, ceases to he a Government.
Instead of the many governing the few, it ii the few who
govern the many ; whilst, under the pretence of promo-
ting order and peace, is sanctioned every pet of etEitice•
extravagance, and injustice. Against Such prettice, and

against such principles, the voice of my fellow-pa-
rishioners has been liaised by a Petition to the House of
Commons for relief, signed by 5,500 householders.
Backed by so numerous a body, we shall not apply in
vain. But even when numbers fail, there is another voice,
10101,e power is without limit, before whom corruption
must ever quail—the voice of Reason.

“ By her approe'd, my mum I'll .till paralle—
l( Reason's for mo, Goss la for me too.”

VINDEX.

N.B. The new Church at Chelsea ea5t.....t..11117,000.

And Mr. Irvleleskottla Mirth under 10,000.
The effset of sound contracts and no jobblig.
SAINT PANCRAS PARISH.
INCOME OF THE CHURCH TRUSTEES SINCE 3116.
Teen. f Rents. I Rates. I Fees. Int. I Loans. I Total.

Tears. Rents. I Rates. Fees. Int. I Loans. Total.
1816 2,177 ..... 1,200 5.577
1817 973 1,689 1,955
1818 347 2,023 2.370
1819 481 5,693 ..... 18,000 21.104
1820 536 4.590 143 ..... 15,000 20,069
1821 616 7,808 546 SU 48,800 58.558
1822 1,061 6,524 • 630 644 •11,059
1823 2,058 10,024 882 111 5,000 18,057
1824 2,25.5 10,298 804 lid
1825 2,067 10,570 490
1826 2,595 10,403 765 13,763
1827 2.858 11,958 854 15,649
1898 4,541 12,812 618 1110
17-1,66 d 197-,907 17-.012 1,690 185,006--210,30-4