The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-06-13 00:00:00

CASE OF THE VICAR OF HAREWOOD.

ECCLESIASTICAL COURT, YORK, JUNE 1, 1848,
(Before Chancellor Vernon.)
BURDER V. HALE.

In this case, John Burder, Esq., secretary to the Bishop
of Ripon, was the plaintiff; and the Rev. Richard Hale,
vicar of Harewood, the defendant.
Mr. Travis appeared for the plaintiff, and said the
charge against the defendant was for improper language
and conduct in his pulpit ; and his duty that day was to
object to the admission of certain parts of a responsive
allegation of defendant to articles exhibited against him,
imputing to him that he had, for the last two years, been
in the habit, in Harewood church, of making offensive
personal remarks in a chiding, quarrelling, and brawling
manner, on the Earl and Countess of Harewood, and
others of his parishioners. One of the articles stated that
in 1845 the Countess introduced the Rev. Dr. Hook, of
Leeds, and other clergymen, into the village ; that they
examined the school children without defendant's per-
mission ; taught them a catechism not authorised by the
church ; circulated tracts tending to Puseyism, tending
to lead to disputes, &c. He also objected to an article
relative to tithes, and to several others, which he thought
ought to be struck out. He also objected to the word
" vexatious " being applied to this suit, in one of the
articles.

Mr. Blanchard, for the defendant, replied to these ob-
jections. Mr. Hale had been vicar of Harewood for-half
a century, and being opposed to Puseyite or Tractarian
doctrines, he had, no doubt, been more zealous than he
otherwise might have been for the welfare of those who
were confided to his care. He might have been vehement
—he might have been rather personal, but he had good
cause fur it. He had seen bowing and other things to
which he had not been accustomed, and he regarded them
as indications of the quarter whence the wind was blow-
ing. The second ground which the defendant assigned
for this suit having been brought against him, was in
reference to the award of the Tithe Commissioners, al-
luded to in the fifth article. The decision in that case
was given against the Earl of Harewood, and upon the
defendant communicating the fact to his lordship, these
proceedings were almost immediately commenced against
him. He went through all the articles objected to, de-
fending them throughout, and concluded by quoting cases
which showed that the law allowed great latitude to an
accused party, and therefore that these articles ought to
be admitted.

Mr. Travis replied ; after which,
The Chancellor proceeded to deliver judgment :—He
expressed concurrence in the principle laid down by the
learned advocate for the defendant that the Court ought
not to be extreme in adopting any nicety of objection to
the relevancy of articles pleaded by the defendant in a
case of this kind. Ile went over the articles objected to,
remarking upon each. In one article, the defendant set
up a pretension that no other clergyman but himself was
to interfere with or make any exertions in any school in
his (defendant's) parish. He denounced such pretension,
and as the article was irrelevant, he rejected it, as well as
the next article, the fifth. The next article of importance
was the eleventh, and he could not say that he thought
that irrelevant, although there was some incorrectness in
the pleading of it. He thought it bore much on the mo-
tives and state of mind in which the clergyman was placed
in reference to the parties whom he afterwards saw in the
church. If a member of the congregation on a former oc-
casion had done that which was unjust and injurious to
the defendant, ( he did not speak of the fitness of the lan-
guage imputed to Mr. Hale) lie did say that language ex-
pressive of opinions, on the part of the clergyman, of such
misconduct—assuming that such misconduct had occur-
red—was not improper or unseasonable ; because such
conduct being persevered in by a member of the congre-
gation would be unfit, and be very properly denounced,
in language of course similar. With the alteration of a
few words, he thought this article might stand, and also
the thirteenth.

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.

F•

ASCOT RACES.-TUESDAY.

Sweepstakes of 50 sous each, for two-year-olds ; won
by half a length by Mr. Herbert's c by Venison, out of
Odessa, beating Mr. Drewitt's c by Venison, out of Folly,
and Lord Exeter's Turban.

The Gold Vase, given by her Majesty, was won byLord
Exeter's Sister to Hydrangea, 3 yrs, 6st 81b.
The First Year of the Ascot Triennial Foal Stakes of
10 sovs each, with 100 added, for foals of 1846 ; colts, Bst
71b ; fillies, Bst 41b. Sixty-seven subs. The winner was
Lord Eglintoun's Elthiron, beating Lord Albemarle's
Borneo and a large field.

The Welcome Stakes were won by Mr. Bowes's Springy
Jack.

The Ascot Stakes were won by Duke of Richmond's
Vamuvre_

WEDNESDAY.

Coronation Stakes of 100 sous each, for three-year-old
fillies, were won easily by Lord Chesterfield's Distaffina,
beating Tisiphone, &c.

Windsor Stakes were won by Mr. Bowes's Springy Jack.
Royal Hunt Cup was won by half a length by Sir R.
Piget's Conyngham, beating Dulcet, Cosachia, and seve-
ral others.