The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-12-20 00:00:00

" PARISH DOINGS AT SEFTON.

"To the Editorof the Liverpoollow-nal. -
" SlR,—Your last two papers have contained each a mos;
excellent article on the Established Church; but we country
folks wonder why you go so far from home for examples which
your own neighbourhood would supply. We have, for instance,
here, in our own parish of Sefton, a rector whose conduct is
equally worthy of being recorded. We are told that this
worthy rector, a very rich man, without a family, and receiving
eomethousands a-year for tithes, has actually summoned one
of his parishioners to the Ecclesiastical Court, at Chester, for
the enormous sum of six pennies! All future proceedings on
this subject, we promise you, shall be duly-.noticed and coin-
muuicated to you, for the instruction of the public. We are,
however, glad to state, that he is now receiving the benefit he
ought for such praiseworthy conduct. At a public meeting
held at the parish cht.reh on Monday, the 25th instant, (the.
same rector in the chair,) held for the purpose of laying a rate
to corer expenses already incurred, he and his churchwardens
were left in a minority, which really excited pity, every attempt
to lay a rate being frustrated, and the meetiug was finally ad-
journed for six months ! This is truly -the old English plan of
revenge against unpopular rulers,—refuse the suppVes. Why
does not every parish in Englan,l do the Came? They,' have
the power in their own hands. Why wait to see . what the mi-
nisters will do for them ? Nobody deserves that another should
do for him what he can do for himself and wilily not do.—Youts,
Sce., A AaISIIIONER."
You must know, Mr. Editor, that I did not like to send this
letter to our paper, the Liverpool Journal,. being satisfied it
would never appear therein, knowing the bias it takes with the
people. And as comnion truth and common justice, impar-
tially to all parties, is my only object in addressing you, I hope
you will not withhold the publicity of this in your next paper.
In the first place, I find that the rector of"Seftou is certainly
a gentleman in easy circumstances, by his private property, in-
dependent of the living of the parish of Sefton; that it is not
true that the living of the parish amounts to some thousands
a-year; that it is true that the rector did sue a person for " six
pennies !" But why was this done ? I answer, that the person
he sued was one M. our violent people, who likes to stir up the
rest of us in the way before described, and who told the rector's
collector he would never pay any such tithes, Pray, sir, let
use ask, then, in justice, if, under such cirialoe,tan- - —l4 not
any man, or any one of us, try to est,
menaced thus ?—which right he did acco'
costs. And, as to the public meeting or: embei
that statement is like the rest: there wer,..-about, as near as 1
can guess, sixty of our people, who were none et' them rate-
payers, who totally refuse to pay the rates of the (-4.l‘,,ireli at all,
and who, as you may be assured, voted as stated initl,!, -leurnat;
but, sir, there were about twenty present who were -ae.Val ride-
payers, and who do not for a moment refuse to pay their.church-
rates, and haVe paid them; they voted the reverse way; I pre-
sume, therefore, our people had nothing to do with the meeting
at all, until they had paid up their rates, so that the meetint,
could not be " frustrated;" besides, why should our people
think in their violence that they are levelling at the rector, as
to-these rates? The church-rates have nothing to do with him,in a pecuniary point of view; that is the business of the people
'of the parish, and has nothing to do with the -tithes or with the
rector, directly or indirectly' (save his .wish, to see it collected
and raised amicably and peaceably ;)• his tithes are his income
only. The " Parishioner," states, that to do what was done at
the vestry meeting was the'" old English plan- of revenge
against unpopular rulers—refuse the-supplies." .. Really , Mr.
Editor, I am truly sorry to see such factieus.bitternesa of soul
our parishioners, or our people, against -the foundation of the
Established.Cnurch. There must be an iStifhliShment to a good
state, such as Ours in England, (for an eStablisitient is our tole-
rator and protector,) and, as a conscientious man and attached
to my King and country, I am perfectly content, and pity the
dissatisfied- race of some of our people, working, as they con-
ceive, behind the curtain, and slyly avoiding -to be seen, and
also to do things fairly and above-cioard'in truth and charity,
to their fellow men, because they happen to be attached to the
Established Church, and, consequently n-ot'-01=our community.
And, Sir, I was very sorry to see with what unprovoked violence
and rudeness some-of our people, at the vestry meeting in ques-
tion, conducted themselves towards the chairman, who, I must
say, conducted himself most respectfully to all,. notwithstand-
ing.
I remember our late much-to-be lamented Catholic friend,
Dr. l‘PCartney, viewed things as I do, and always, when called
to the chair, when we met in Copperas-hill Ch-apel, begged of
our people (before business commenced) to. be moderate, and
avoid any thing like violence, ou any subject; and, let out
people's views be what they may, I should therefore hope, for
the sacred love and respeetabifity of our church itself, that, on
future meetings or occasions of time kind, they will not them-
selves, nor allow others to treat respectable aaracters with
similar rude, uncultivated, and coarse behaviour,' which must
redound upon themselves and to the disparagement of our pro-
fession ; besides, I feel convinced whoever knows the rector,
must say that, although he (as most bachelors may perhaps be)
is a little eccentric, (and who is not so, snore or less ?) a better
disposed person does not exist, nor any one more conciliating,
or has more the welfare, prosperity, and happiuess of his pa-
rishioners at heart, (Sr more willing to oblige.
A CONSCIENTIOUS CATROLIC AND
Sefton, Dec. 18, 1833. APA RIS NER.