, 1872-10-05
To the Editor of the "St. CrOix Avis"
| am etc.
Dear Sir

In common with the vast majority of
your readers | regret exceedingly to see
the disposition manifested by one or two
OF your correspondents to avail themselves
OF the discussion in your columns on school
matters to throw out such malicious charges
and i~nsinuations against the Clergy of the
Island as that contained in the letter of
your correspondent @, in your issue of the
21st Instant, wherein he wanders entirely
away from his subject apparently only for
the qualification of indulging his spleen in
such a sentence as the following: "And
at the same time displayed a correct know
ledge Of the Parsons now-a-days-No mo-
ney, no gospel &c
Now | am confident that l will be fully
sustained by the opinion of the intelligent
and respectable part of the community
when I say, that in very few places perhaps
can there be produced a body of men more
thoroughly OverWorked; more ~irregularly
and inadequately paid, Excepting always
the Clergymen of the Established church,
and yet more faithful and unremitting in
the performance Of their duties, than the
very men SO ma)ign,d; and the conclusion
cannot therefore but force itself upon the
public mind that such charges, being SO
utterly without foundation in fact, can on
ly emanate either from total ignorance of
the subject, or from some private pique
or spite, engendered perhaps by the faithful,
but unwelcome, speaking or acting on the
part of some one of the accused.
Let me support my opinion by an appeal
to certain we'll known facts bearing on the
case, the publication of which, though per-
haps disagreeagbIe to the parties concerned,
will, | trust, do no harm. I an myself a
member of perhaps the largest, but certain
ly the wealthiest congregation in the Is
land, in which the Clergyman has pastoral
charge Of about 5000 people scattered
over half the entire area of the land. His
calls to minister privately to these, average,
the year round, about 8 or, 9 per diem,
many of them taking him away from his
meals by day, and from his bed at night;
and to respond to which he must always,
at great expense, keep two horses, and
very often hire a third He baptizes annu-
ally about $50 Children-marriCs about 40
couples-and buries over 200 people, in
the majority of cases driving long distan-
ces, and in all kinds of weather, for this
purpose. He breaches three times q week,
anu, dG GlCulu SCdSOlos 'OuI liIIC -SupCI-
intends three sunday schools containing an
aggregate Of 1000 scholars and rs Teach
ers, and, in addition to this enormous ply
steal and mental labor, does an amount of
what may be called Police work.. e. sett-
ling q|uarrels &C., which is incredible, his
study being converted, at certain hours dali
ly, and especially on Saturday from 9 o'clock
A. M. to 2 or 3 O'Clock P. NJ into a Ma
gistrate's office. And yet for all this labor,
continually pressing upon his mind and bo-
dy, his salary does not exceed that of a sub
ordinate Clerk in our public Offices, or in
one of our Banks, whose education may be
confined to the first four rules Of Arlthme-
tic, and whose time is but inditferently oc-
cupied from 10 O'Clock, to 3 or 4 o'clock
P. M. On this limited income he must
support and educate his family, and though
it is an amount which might easily be paid
by two or three members of the Congrega-
ton without the slightest inconvenience,
it is often, as I nave reason to believe 1t IS
at this very moment, quite n half in ar
rears. And yet, should this Gentleman APP
peal to the many defaulters in his congre-
cation for the payment Of his just claims,
to extricate himself from debt, necessarily
contracted under these circumstances, he
would be assailed with the cry of "Merce-