The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1849-05-01 00:00:00

UNIVERSITY AND CLERICAL NEWS.

The University of Cambridge has petitioned against the
bill for legalising marriage with a deceased wife's sister.
At a meeting of the Heads of Houses, at Oxford, the
Rev. E. M. Goulburn, M.A., Vicar of Holywell, Oxford,
Chaplain to the Bishop of Oxford, and late Fellow of
Merton College, was elected preacher of the Bampton
Lectures for 1850.
Mr. Hawker has preached about fifteen years at Ply-
mouth, apart from the Bishop of Exeter's jurisdiction,
without molestation.—Patriot.
Mr. Shore has published a letter, in which he states
that he would prefer remaining in prison to gaining his
liberty through the altered clause (iv.) of Mr. Bouverie's
bill. He instructs dissenters to oppose the bill.
The Bishop of Capetown, the Rev. Dr. Gray, proceeded
in February, in her Majesty's steam-sloop Geyser, Com-
mander Brown, to the Island of St. Helena, his lordship's
first visitation to that part of his diocese.
After a stirring contest of two days, the Rev. J. Sisson,
the late curate, has been elected by the freeholders vicar
of Orton, near Kendal, by a majority of four over his com-
petitor, the Rev. G. Atkinson, curate of Arnold Notts.
the numbers at the close of the poll being Sisson,
146; Atkinson, 142. Twenty-four of Mr. Sisson's votes
are, however, disputed, as delivered by proxy. The elec-
tors were entertained at the public-houses at the expense
of the candidates.

METROPOLIS' CHURCHES FUND.—It appears from a
report put forth by the committee that 22 churches have
been built, and one provided for, wholly from the fund ;
and 33 built and five building which have been assisted by
it. These 61 churches accommodate 65,000 persons. The
amount expended from the fund has been £227,000, in ad-
dition to which £203,378 has been expended from other
sources, making the total cost of the 61 churches including
small endowments in some of the poorer districts £410,977.
This does not include churches built by the munificence
of individuals or public bodies, but, only such as have been
built or aided by the " Metropolis Churches Fund." The
tenth of the Bethnal Green' churches has been com-
menced. The church, site, parsonage, and schools, are a
free gift. All that now remains for completing the ori-
ginal plan are five parsonages and four school buildings for
2,000 children. Towards this a donation of £5OO has
been received from Messrs. Truman, Hanbury, Buxton,
and Co.

REV. J. SHORE.—This individual's supporters seem
determined not to bate one inch in their efforts to exalt
him to the honours of " martyrdom." The recent docu-
mentary demolition of his whole case is regarded by the
political dissenters as a nonentity ; and we hardly take up
a liberal paper without seeing something about him—a
list of subscriptions, a pathetic correspondence, an an-
nouncement of a meeting. In Devonshire, Earl Fortescue
and Lord Ebrington have both swollen Mr. Shore's exche-
quer ; " martyrdom " appears to be the most profitable
trade going. In Cheltenham, the dissenting pulpits have
lately, it is stated, rung with " the persecution," and a
Shore meeting is to be held there next week. Under
cover of this pretence, the political dissenters vainly hope
to injure the church, but they will damage themselves
most seriously, if they persevere in a system of agitation
which is absolutely fraudulent.

CHURCH REFORM.—The parish of Wolverhampton
contains 120,000 inhabitants,—a population larger than
that of many English counties. Virtually, the spiritual
interests of this large number of people were, as far as
the church was concerned, consigned to the keeping of
two curates. The Collegiate body consisted of a Dean,
seven Prebendaries, and a Sacrist. But the Dean and
the Prebendaries did not reside at Wolverhampton, and
kept up no farther connection with it than by receiving
the revenues, and occasionally acting as landlords of the
church property which they held in virtue of their office.
The Sacrist was the incumbent; but he, too, was content
with the duties of a non-resident, leaving the labours of
active service to the two curates before mentioned, who
received, for undertaking the cure of 60,000 souls each—
the surplice fees. In ordinary circumstances, it is consi-
dered that a population of 4.000 souls is quite as large a
cure as ought to be entrusted to one clergyman ; and,
according to the general calculations as to church accom-
modation, provision ought to be made for one-third of
the inhabitants of the parish,—a system which, if it were
followed in Wolverhampton, would provide accommoda-
tion for 40,000 persons. Perhaps, therefore, it will not
be far from the truth to say, that, in these two most im-
portant items of pastoral superintendence and church
accommodation, the efficient machinery in the parish of
Wolverhampton was about a twentieth part of what it
ought to have been, when computed at a low average. In
respect of other advantages which the church undertakes
to provide, such as schools in connection with the esta-
blishment, we may fairly estimate the manner in which
they were afforded, at the same ratio. Meanwhile, the
large revenues of the Collegiate Church were being spent
at Windsor, where the dean (who happened also to be
the Dean of Windsor) preferred residing. There has,
however, been an end put to all this ; and the manner
and completeness of its being effected, will, it is to be
hoped, throw a guiding light on many a similar process
before the old system is forgotten. Some of the benevo-
lent and earnest among the parishioners, tired of waiting
for reform in the church, began to do the work them-
selves. Two ladies gave each £lO,OOO for the erection
and endowment of churches in different districts, and
soon found others to imitate their example. The eccle-
siastical commissioners adopted other expedients for sup-
plying the urgent wants of the parish, while waiting for
the slow operation of the act which was passed in 1840,
and the object of which was to make a more equitable
distribution rnd efficient application of such misused re-
venues as these of Wolverhampton. Under the opera-
tion of that act, the deanery was to be abolished, and the
whole sinecure collegiate endowments vested, as vacan-
cies occurred, in the commissioners, for alteration and
re-distribution. But here, as in many other instances, it
was found that the course of operations was far too slow
for the urgent necessity of the case, it being requisite to
wait for the death of each functionary, before his income
reverted to the commissioners. In fact, the circumstances
proved very strongly the want of such a commission as
that which has been recently granted to Lord Ashley. At
length, a separate act for the improvement of the church
in Wolverhampton was procured last year, in pursuance
of which a scheme was drawn up by the commissioners,
and ratified by an order of council. The result is briefly
this :—By the alteration and reform of this single parish,
a rectory and fifteen distinct vicarages are created, and,
with the other two districts above named, are endowed to
an amount capable of supporting a clergyman in respecta-
bility and comfort, whilst no less a sum than £12,500 is
appropriated for residences, sites, and contributions to
churches.