The Statesman.
London, England, 1823-03-29 00:00:00

61111 c

POLICE.

Outt.nesta..—Several respectable inhabitants of the
united parishes. of St. Mary Magdalen, Old Fislestrett,
and St. Gregory by St. Paul. attended before Sir C.
FIAWZR, the Sitting Alderman, on/Ph/relay, upon mien-
sponges obtained against them by Mr. Holland, the Se-
questtator of the living, to show cause why they refused
to pay the rate assessed upon them under the statut-
commonly called " The Fire Act," for the support
awl maintenance of their Rector, the Reverend Richard
Webb.
No' objection, it appeared, was made by the inhabit.
oats either to the form or amount of the rate; their re-
sistance to the payment resting solely on the ground that
the clerical duties of the parishes were not performed,
, and Mr. Godwin, of Paul's Cbain, whose ease wee first
called on, stated at some Meth the details of their com-
plaints against the conduct of their Rector. For the last
five years. with the exception of about three months, the
church, he said, had been almost constantly closed on
Sunday afternoons.—The inhabitants in Vestry bad
twice itithin.tbat period elected an afternoon Lecturer;
who was to be paid by their voluntary contributions;
but although in each instance the Reverend Gentleman
elected nos a highly respectable clergyman of the
'Church of England, and eminently qualified for the de.
ties of the awed office, the Rector had, without deigning
're assign the slightest region for objecting to either of
them, refused the use of his pnlpit, and forbid their per.
forming any kind of duty in his chuecb; and is be did
not attend himself, nor semi any one to officiate fur him,
the parishioners were thus deprived of &religious insteps:.
don and consolation on Stindny afternoon. Nor were"
'r spiritual concerns much better attended to is the
forenoon. At one time, the fjertoe, upon his own authe‘
city, and to suit his own engagements, alter the bout
for. commencing Divine Serviee front a quarter before If
O'clock to a (porter before 12,, to.the great inconvenience
of the poorer classes of the inhabitants ; and at another
time they were left wholly to the care of strangers, the
Rev. Gentleman having transferred' bitateoif to.the
liench,to take, the benefit of the Insolvent Act; thong's,
in addition to his income derived from their parishes, limp
was in the receipt of profita from several other situations,
being one of the Minor Dations of lia•Ptiul's, a Minor
Canon of Westminster, one of the Priests in Ordinary to
the Chapels Royal, at St.laures'a and Windsor; Evening
Reader at the Found'iiig Hospital, and holding also a
living in Hertfordshire. ~ As to visiting the sick, and
other important duties not connected with the perform-
ance of Divine worship, they were ahuost wholly neglect-
' ed. Mr. Godwin was proceeding to aniuraolvoit upon
the private life and conduct of the Rector, but was inter-
.rirpted by
•The A Outman, who observed, be could take no cog-
Alsace whatever of the conduct of the Reverend Gentle-
sun. If be neglected his clerical duties, the inhabit-
ants had their remedy against him elsewhere, and could
net urge such negligence as a legal plea for non-payment
of the rate authorised by the Statute.
ot.
Mr. Hollant.--I am not.bere to defend the character
'of Mr. Webb; his living is sequestered, and I am under
hood to the Bishop of London to collect the rite assigned
for his support, 891. per ammo of which I have to pay
ever to him, and the remainder 1 mast account for to the
-Ottlin'ary of the diocese.
Mr. Godwin.—We have no unwillingness to- support
one Clergyman,_ if be perform& his duty, but we do üb-
}ect to pay rates that Mr. Webb may spend them in
The blagistnito here again' interfered to. prevent ,per-
ifrinal iceusations4ith which he had not4ing to do, and
intimated to the defOtidants that they must psT !be • Lax
demanded. '
Sorer objecdost.sitn! arose to the' p=torettl''''

rl,llll, ID* Ni spswas. . ......, -..,..---_-, _
amount went to the City. Chamher, they suttnitted very
willingly, several voices exclaiming •twe'don't care
where ti goes, so that Mr. Webb don t get it." ' •
One of the defendants, Mrs. Hobden, a milkwoman,
took objection to the payment upon a different ground.
She was summoned there, she said, for the non-pay-
latent of 171. 6d. a rate for the support of the Rector,
and at the time he took the benefit of the Insolvent Act,
He owed ber upwards of SI. for milk, furnished for the
nourishment and support of his children. She was a
widow with three children of her own to support, and
thought she had contributed ber full share for the main-
teuance of the Rector and his family, and ought •not to
becompelled to contribute further by the payment of
this demand.
Mr. HOLLAND said, as the sequestrator, be bad no
authority to allow the debts of Mr. Webb as a set-off
elk-o.lllst the payment of the rate; it was, hoivever, ob-
served, that Mr. Webb himself was, •in fact, the coin-
plainaot, and, against his personal demand, this debt
was, in equity at least, a fair set-off. The circum-
stances of this case, the Magistrate observed, were pe
culiarly hard, and lie therefore recommended the parties
to take it into their consideration, and with that view be
' declined making any order thereon. . .
EXTENSIVE SiviNotisio.—A respectable man, who
gave his name. Geartre Palmer, was' brought to this
office on Thursday,chaeged with having obtained goods
of various descriptions from several tradesmen, to a con-
siderable extent, under fraudulent pretences.
The only case gone into was that of Mr. Harland, a
broker, in Red Cross-street, who stated that the prison-
er came there, between ten and eleven o'clock on Wed-
nesday morning, and, taking a piece of white tape out '
of his pocket, said he came to measure a table that his
macer,,Captain Turner, had looked at a day or too
before, and pointed out a ship table, which stood in the
shop. as the one he meant. Having measured and ascer-
tained, as he pretended, that it would just- do, he said
his master also seated a ship liquor-case. One was.a.:-'
cordiagly shown, which he thought would answer very
well. Having thus fixed as to the article, he (Mr. Har-
land) he said, was to o back with him to his master, at
the Dock-house, St. Helen's-place, Bishopsgate, and set-
tle for the purchase; sod also to look at a table there,
which Captain Turner wanted to bave repaired. Hu
very readily accompanied the prisoner, and on their way,
be Inquired of him if Wood-street was not somewhere
thereabouts; and on being told where it was, said he
had to leave a, message at No. 5, in that street; but if
he (lit. Harland) went on, he would soon be up with
him, or if it was not before he got to St. Helen's-place,
any body would tell him which was the Dock-house, and
he wouid find Captain Turner there. He accordingly
proceeded to the Dock•honse, where he learned that
there was a Captain Turner, a director, but he lfnew no-
thing of the prisoner, and had not employed him in any
such transactions ; that there bad been several inquiries
after Captain Turner under precisely similar circum-
stances, and That the parties had, under such representa-
tions, been robbed of their property. Upon this infor-
mation he hastened home, and found that in the interim
the prisoner had returned there and obtained from his
wife two writing-desks, saying that her husband had
sent him back fur them, for his master, Captain Terrier,
to look At. One of these writing-d7sks was foutail in the
prisoner's pos+estion, when he was met accidentally on
Thursday morning in the street by a tradesman he had
defrauded in a similar manner, given in custody of an
officer, and brought to this Justice-room.
There were fifty charges of this sort, it was said,
could he brought forward against hint, and some of the
sufferers were in attendance ; but as, from the shortness
of the notice, they were not prepared with the necessary
evidence; tiro prisoner, who offered no defence, was re-
manded tot farther examination so Thursday neat