Star.
London, England, 1830-10-26 00:00:00

SELECT VESTKY, ST. PANCRAS.

Yesterday a public Meeting of the inhabitant householders in ar
above parish was held at the Riding House Orgy's Inn-road. fur th
purpose of adopting proceeding. to effect parochial reform ; about 2,01)
per" Ons were prtivat
Hamar REvel.r.. Esq. in the Chair.
The Guaranis elided that the int meeting, held about a year and
a half ago. aratpliiiited that 121 mat haii.the sole control of the politi
funds, and poeseased a gieiter degree of parer than any political lolly
in the State, namely, that of imposing taxesappaann the parishemen !lt
being accountable so the inhabitants s hegatdtoldera signed the S•..
Pasieras poeticise se the Bosse of Cowes, complaiaing of t..
&Mies which were carried on with impaoity by the Sete,.:
Vestry, such was the strong feeling. shorn. Three of 11,1
ParishCepunittee wcreeppointed to linkup= Mr. Peel, and did rent:-
seat to the Right Holnostrable Gentleman the privations that the pl.
parishioners expetieticed through the tyrannical and oppressive cond..
of .the Select Vestry. He (the Chaisson) was a witness before a C. 41.-
saute of the Hones of Commons, and it was admitted by the It--
port of that Committee. that a ease was made out of gross and ex -
travagant expeaditurt. Uppoone which Report, Mr. Habitant brou4t:t
a Bill into the house of Coarmena to remedy the evils. The Chair-
man then entered minutely kite the previsions of Mr. Hobhouse.'i
Bill, which was subseqoattly so materially changed through the on.
lamer of the *nista:soy, that the wsniai Bill, printed on the
of July, boo no resesablases to the ariglnal. He concluded by stating
that the Committee appointed by the parkileaers to watch and p:otec!
their interests, had papered a podgiest. disapproval of the Ileetia,;,
to be prossated to the Home of Cameo against the amended Sill.
The Keret of the Committee was read by Mr. Wallis, which sta!el
that the Committee had devoted a great deal of their time to the inves-
dgathill of disk grievances, and weir=to say that they had ef-
fated motothan any ether parish in a similar cone. They
bed Sub.Comatittees adonis signatures to the petition, aid
pdeas to amble them to defray the expenses attending their la.
bags. That is fear weeks they had obtained nearly six thessand signa-
tures. That they bad applied to Messrs. Tian and Sodding, the Se-
lect Vestry Clerks, to be allowed to mamba the poet:Mal books, which
they refused, upon the ground that the C4llolllitice had 'aright to make
each a request. That upon the motion of Mr. Hume, in the House of
Commons, an order was made. compelling the Select Vestry to product
a omy of their accounts Sun 1819 to lffie, by which it appeared drat
dudng that period the perish was aseemed for pore rates to the amount
of 340,111111. out of which 246,9091. was paid to the poor; the county
rate. 32,9161. ; cost of management. WOW. ; and law expenses,
12,5261.

[During the reading of these items, the meeting evinced the sttoriw.t
feeling of indignation, particularly at the two last items.]
The Report was adopted, and ordered to be printed.
Mr. WITHERS said, that if the parishioners were united, and rc!..
armed in the line of conduct they had shown in the determinatiol to
resist the assumed power of the self-elected Vestry, the householder
would be soon relieved from the tyrannical and vexatious conduct of t"-
persons who unjustly assumed a power to dictate to, and appropri.....e
their means without condescending to assign even a reason for so doie.g.
He commented upon last year's accounts, and alluded in very strut,,;
terms to expense attending the management of the tunds, and the 5td.....
ales given to various persons. The expenditure in salaries and law ea.
pluses amounted to 2,6701. He moved the following resolutions :
" That the Meeting considered the Select Vestry Act as not founded
in equity nor the principles of the constitution, inasmuch as the paro.
ehial Parliament demanded the rates from the parishioners tol:hout
representation. That it appears in the Select Vestry accounts for 1829
there was received of the inhabitants 49,997 L over the expen.litire
which the parishioners have no control. That the cost of management
is no less unjust than extravagant, being full 20 per rent ; and the ac.
counts for the last 11 yeses proving that economy and good manage-
ment have been wholly wanting in the pariah of St. Par.cras, and cute.
sequently the Governors ef the poor are unworthy the confidence of
their fellowprishioners,and that the said act ought therefore no longer
to centime.

Mr. BLACKMAN said that the mods io which the parish fund. Were
lavished away redected the greatest discredit upon the person who cunt.
posed the Select Vestry.
Mr. WALLS, said that the Report of the Howe of Commons sup.
ported every allegation contained in the report, that the abuses were net
even attempted to be denied by the Select 'Vestry ; and it was the boun-
den duty of the parish to see that their affairs should be speedily brought
under a better gore' nment, and moved—
" That the Church Trustees of this parish had violated the trust re-
posed in them, having exceeded the sum tbey were empowered to lay
out by 00,830 L in building a Church and Chapel , and that these Trw-
tees merited the highest censure of their fellow parishioners ;" which was
carried unanimously.
Mr. Hoax said that one of the Commissioners for examining he pa.
rish accounts had complained on a former occasion to the Select V,-stt%
of the sum which they paid for the watchmenecoats, namely. bl. each.
which for 144 watchmen, amounted to 7101. and obsessed he was sure
they might be furnished for a considerably less SOM.
Mr. Seosertiou rowed that the petition prepared to to presented to
the House of Commons should be read, which was seconded.
The petition was read, which expressed the desire of the inhabitarug
of the parish, that the Act passed is 1819 for *het:ambito/tins the Se.
lest Vestry, may be repealed; that the bill pending in the House or
Commons for the betterregulation of Parish Vestries, and for the more
economical expenditure, may pass into a law with certain modifitatisos,
and that the parish of St. Pancras maybe included therein.
Mr. HAMILTON SeCOOdird the petition, and Mr. Martin expressed a
wish that it should be presented so the Meg, instead Om Parlianient.
Upon this propesitioa a very noisy and confused discussion took
place, which terminated by the unanimous vote of the meeting that it
should be peseented to the House of Ormsaarm
kenoladoos were then posed returning thanks so Mr. Hobbouse
and Mr. Hume; and a Cateunitiee was appointed to wait upon those
vulgates, to express to them the thanks of** meeting, and so request
them to present the petition.
Thanks were they voted to the Chairman, and the Meeting sepa-
rated.

THE EVENING STAR.