The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-07-11 00:00:00

UNIVERSITY AND CLERICAL NEWS.

The Rev. Mr. Gorham is prosecuting his suit in the
Ecclesiastical Court against the Bishop of Exeter, for
institution to Brampford Speke ; and we doubt not the
suit will be carried forward to a successful issue. •
THE COLLECTS IN VERSE.—Messrs. Hatchard have
just published this little work. The poetry is singularly
pure, and the adherence to the precise language of the
all but inspired" originals strikingly close and faithful.
M. Guizot has declined the offer of the Chair of
Modern Languages made to him by the Curators of the
Taylor Institution in Oxford. M. Guizot declined the
offer from personal motives, with every sense of the com-
pliment, which we still think was paid to him by the
Curators at the expense of the trust confided to them by
the University.

On Tuesday week, the new church at Hixon, within
five or six miles of Stafford, erected at the expense of
Earl Talbot, was consecrated by the Bishop of the diocese.
A collection was made, amounting to upwards of £134,
which will be added to the endowment provided by Earl
Talbot and the vicar of Coiwich (Archdeacon Hodson),
in whose parish the church is 'situated. A parsonage-
house, adjacent to the church, has also been erected at
the noble earl's expense.
OXFORD COMMEMORATION.—The Enecenia, Or CORl-
memoration of founders and benefactors, was held on
Wednesday in the Theatre, when the honorary degree of
D.C.L. was conferred on the Earl of Harrowby, Baron
Hugel, Sir G. Arthur, Bart., W. E. Gladstone, Esq.,
M.P., Sir C. Morgan, Bart., J. Masterman, Esq., M.P.,
A. J. B. Hope, Esq., M.P., H. Hallam, Esq., the histo-
rian, W. Cotton,- Esq., A. Layland, Esq. All these indi-
viduals were received with unanimous applause, except
Mr. Gladstone, who was received with mingled cheers
and hisses, the former predominating. M. Guizot, with
his son and two daughters. was present, and received a
most enthusiastic reception from all, which he appeared
to feel most sensibly. - The name of the Queen was re-
ceived in a manner *beyond all precedent, and the cheering
from every part of the theatre and the ladies standing and
waving their handkerchiefs, combined to make a scene
that never will be forgotten by those present. As soon
as the procession entered the theatre, the organ struck up
the national anthem, and the whole of the assembly rose
and sung it through, before they would allow the business
of the day to commence. A grand horticultural fete took
place in 'Worcester College Gardens, and was attended by
an immense number of persons. Mr. Green made an as-
cent in his balloon, accompanied by two members of the
University, from an adjoining close.
PEW RIGHTS.—The right of the possession and occu-
pation of particular pews in churches having caused va-
rious disputes in different parishes of the country,
we annex the following statement from a proper ecclesi-
astical authority :—" Cases have occurred of pews being'
let, and of claims being set up by an individual to the
ownership of several pews. The right as to this matter
is plainly set forth in all the common treatises of ecclesi-
astical law. Nothing can legalise the selling or letting of
pews in old parish churches, except a special act of Par-
liament, such as that which has been obtained for St.
Alkmund's Church, in this town (Shrewsbury). The
pews in a parish church belong to, and are for the free use
of the parishioners ; and it is the duty of the churchwar-
dens, as the parochial officers of the ordinary, to make all
seats available, as far as may be, for the accommodation
of the parishioners, according to their respective stations.
The ordinary may indeed, by a faculty, grant to the in-
habitants of a particular house an exclusive right to the
use of a particular pew. This privilege, however, is al-
ways annexed to the house, and not to the person; and,
therefore, it cannot be granted to a man and his heirs,
nor (inasmuch as it is a privilege conferred on inhabitancy)
can it belong to a man in respect of his owning a particu-
lar estate in a parish."—FromArchdeacon Allen's Charge,
1848.