Adjourned Visitation Of T...
The Times, 1824-07-27T00:00:00

(From t&te Freerzai's J urysal of Satwday Uat. - - - Yesterday, bWs Grace the Archbishop of Dublin, aittesdei by his Vic:i.-Genm-al, P-egister, Chaplains, &r-, after the "-fosae divine servive mn St. Patrick's Cathe-Aral, keld an g = zznsdsst~ tion, in- pursuance ofsa Mandainna 1fen bhe Court of Xia' BDese to inquire into the etnriplaint of Ailr. Saiy'h,ne ofthteaupmdiwies5 of Chrbit's Chisreh, agint the Lord Bishop of YIdates Dewo of that Cathedrtl. * hi. Snivth presented a petition in thefobUowing Wmsn to hisOrace thle Archbishop: "Showeth,~-.-hat your petitioner was, by the Deats and(Tate of die Cathiedral or the holy and undivided Trinity, coam.o5i cafl Christ'a Church, Dublin elected Atipeadi,sq of the choir Of said church to hold same for llalife, or duirig hisgrood behayiour ?trhl!. in. 'Rlat your pe'tioter has, stince his We ntre and taill~1 the titme here,nnfter rmentioned, discharged the datier, aod eedy.. ed idhe emnolumenta, of staid ofce. That your petiiion~, as such stipendiary, became a member cof said church, not rFetoy.. able, gave for cause to be assiigned, and by a regu!ar poedn C.. cording to the course- of the ecclesiastical laws of thiNTralOW,hh petitioner, some time sinci, coinposed a s-election oif sacred -zusic, the wordst of which were taken from the Revelations and 'which De. titioner was deasroas to haTe pexformed in St. Pattick's Catisedrid;- that the profits thereof were to be applied, after payment of the e?.% penees, to the relief' of the distregsed anidmataiog Voo ofthseDean o St. Patrick'sULberty. That petitionermtentoioted hiswish tothe Hoti. and Rev. the: Dean of St. Patric);t~, xud rqaqested permisalot to have the usic orme in is curch andwhich the very Rev. the Deip, immditel gantd.Thaafer e adadvertised thedayofthew: forasaeofsai muic,he as oldby heLord Bishop of Kildaxie sa Dea ofChrst' Chrc, tat f b peelaedin hatma his cmonrt., he oul cll chptr, ad av ettioerdui.srn Ptt4 replied, that he had no intendon of peffii3tnlg a concert, but merely a selection of sacred music fnr a charitable purpose, and that he the Dean, need not be displeased at any thing thlt was so u,Q, That the very Rev. the Dean replied, " Sir, I have spokag' upon which petitioser retired. That- s3ine das after the Perw formance wsLi over, petitie-er was stimmorned to attend tle Dean and Chapter of Christ's Church, and frequently iier, g very unrea-ocable hours, and at very considrabl leu -it- in. coneenience, being prevented freon attetiding his professionsI dufles. That en the 9th of November he was reuuired to make a public apology for hig alleged cotninascy, and alleged breach of the by-laws of the church; and a writen form of apology being handed to petitioner for that purpose, to be made publicly, by your petitioner, before all the tnembers of the church, that your pCti_ tioner, being consous that he had not acted cotumaciauly, er broken the said bv-laws. declint d to make such expaesed spo'Lgr. That therefore, on the Zcth instant, he received a letter liOmo the Register of the Dean and Chapter, intornming bim that he wet -- charged from the church-to a copy thereof. together with a c the said prop&sed apology, your petitioner bege to refer. 'he e:t r petitioner feels himself greatly grieved and injured by said :?eem!, and unjust proceedings." The petiton concludedwith the usual prayer fo- holdira a tion, to have said complaint inqi'ired into, and for the reswoiza.-; rights an to justice may appertain. Tte following in the apoloey alluded to in the petitian: 1, John Smyth, stipendiary of this church, convicted ci Dean anr Chapter, of being guilty of a breach ofthe by-L',o sf tals Cathedral, do, in this public nanner, Folemnly acknowle4t, c:y contrition and sorrow for the same, anti beg leave to express may pra titude to the Dean and Chapter, for the merciful manner in which I have been treated by that Reverend Body." Blr. Smnyth being asked ia what way he meat to substantiate the <harges in his petitior., Mlr. Syth prayed his Grace to hear him by counsel larned in tic law. h'iS G-RACE, bhving consulted f&r a few minutes with the Vicar. General. then addreused hlr. Snay' h, and said, that he wu desirous of adopting such mode of proceedong as would be mest conducive to the ends of justicend that he wished to affhrd Mr. Smyth every fair means of bringing his complaint before the Court h but that Court was not exactly the kind of one in which counsel could be heaud. 1-owever, as Ar. Styth might be unable to conduct his case by hbimself, and relying upon the discretion of counsd that they sould confine themselves strictly to the facts and statements of the petition, and as siom.e legal difculty micht arise in the course o? thepreed,hewould permt the petitioer to be heardb cou,nsel learnued in thelaw; but he desired thaFt his doing. so, in thi Instance, should, not be considered as a preCedent in future case, but stritctly as a rnat:er of coulrtesy: and he again repea,ted his injuacuion that Counsel should confine themselves to the tattera tD the peunton. HSis GRACE asked if the Dean and Chw,ter of Christ' Church wvere present and prepared to reply to the allegations iD the pelitio. The Dean and C-hapter of Christ's Cisurch were then severally cited to apiTear, each member being cited by name three times; but there was no appearance. Sir HENRY M?EREDYTH, afterexprgsilng hisseneofhis Grace's indulgenee in permitting the petitioner to be heard by counsel, and his acquiescenee in his Grace's injunction to confine bhi address to, the faets of the petition, then proceeded to recapitulate the statementz of ihe petition. The only material question, he hur,hly submitted, was whlether the pettitlner. a stlpendi3ry of the Cathedra of Chrites Church, w_es legally rerso-el frorn tht oface according to regular church disciplineF It appeared that the petitioner had been dis. missed i7rom hi5 situa.tion because he refused to sign amost degmad ing apology to the Dean andl Chapter of Cbrist's Churdc, and thank the reverend body for their niercy towardshim, although no offence had been proved, andt without having been clled on to accnmt for any offence, or anrswer te any compluint_a proceeding:. not assimilated to any known principle of civil or eccesdi- tical law of these realms. The petitioner was placed under the cm- barrassdng difficulty of having to conten:d against a sentence for an alleged offence not charged in sutch a -way that he could meet it, al- though the Dean and ltapter were cited, according to the regular fermi, to a visitation of his Grace in the month of onune, but which they disreszarded. In supposing what was the measure of thepeti- tionerw's of&ence, they co, only Fprceed upon imaginary grounds. The petitioner eonthiud from the year 1815 to the time of his dis_ misal, a zealous ofiver as st=pesidiary chorister of the ca:bedral of Unrtst-s Church, without any chrTge being preferred against ahim, or complaint as to his clharcter or condlet. In the month of Septem.- ber, it occurred to him to select portions ef the gacdl Sieftures for the trpuse of arra'.ging them for an Oratorio; but in that selection he did not confide or tnrut to his own judgment, but submitted the selections to the highest dignitaries of the charch, wbose sanction hie obtained; and among them was the Verv Reverend the Dean of Christ's Church. The pe'itioncr obtinild the permission of the Very Reverend the Dean of St. Patrick, to have the performanmc of the oratorio in his catbedral, the profits of which were to go to the rdief of the wretcbed poor of the Dean's liberty. The peTformaitce was advertised in the public paper, and receivea the natonage of the highest personages. The Dear of Christ's Church, however, was yleased to bignify sonie disaporobation at the intended concert being eld in a cathedral, and it bWcame the petitioner's duty to disabuse the Dean's mind of the nature and character of the performance, which he took infinite pains to do by referring hicm to the selectisns wbich had obtained the sanction of so mnany distinguished dignitaries and reverend versenages, and had been especially approved of by the Dean of St. Patrick's, when granting the permission fbr its pertbrm- aDce. The Dean contirued hostile to the project, but the petitioner waS committed with the public and with the chari-t for whose be- nefit the performance was intended. His characterwas materially concerned, and under all the circumnstances of the case, it was tn. possible to put off the performance. Having failed to satisfy the Dean and C,hapter of Christ's Clhurch, he was3 summoned to attend. the Chapter on the very day (and one not usual for public servwe) an d hour appointed for the perfonrance in Sr. Pa3 rric2k a. The petitioner had it at his option, as a stipendary choir- tnan, to absent himself from a mectingof the chapter, subjecttocer- tain penaltles-for the first absence, one shilling; for the deco,d9 a little more; and for the third, he was subject to a pena?ty, leading toa motion, if 1' absent without good grace;" but sapposing him to have incurred the highest penaalty, the petitioner had a lawful ex- cuse for his absence on that day, as he was summoned by the Dean of St. Patrick's. The learned Doctor said he would not, in that Court, refer to law, bat it was right reason and good law, that as the same person had to attnd both Cathedrals, if he is performing ser- vice in one, it il a pd rmson that he cannot at the same time in the other. After this occurrence, the petitioner having bemn consi- derably harassed by various attendances on the Dean and Chapter, was at length required to sign the very peculiar apology which he had just read, and which he very naturaly refused to do, not wish- ing to submit to his own umnented degra%dton. Be refused the Dean to saga the apology. liere.his Grace the ARcHcIsHoP asked Mr. Smyth if. in refus- ing to sign the apology, he had mrade use of any disrms Aul expree. sions that might have been a ground ,br compaint by the Dean ? Mr. Ssyriie replied that he certainly had not; he but simply re- ftased to signte aploy. Sir H. h1':it:DYTt resuraed.-Although, he said, the reftisal of' .Mr. Sunyth to sign the apology had been followed by degradaoo themmoes humiiatiang in manner ardefFect; ycttbae produced no irrita- tion on the pwt of the petitioner, who irn two days afterwards received a letter from the Register, acquainting hinm of his disitaL, in terms more like the discharge of a commen servant than a lettcr to member of the same body from which the letter proceeded. Sir Henry concluded bv expressing his client's cofidence in the ustice of his Grace to affotd him such redres ashe was entitled to. in con- sequence of the hardship and cruelty with whici he waas unjustly treated. The CoUerT then proceeded to receive proofs of the petitiorer having been elected a 6tipendiary of Christ's Church and evideneer of the Regster's hand.writing in the letter of diamia;. Hlis GgsrcE inquiired if there vagevidenoe to prove the first alle-, gation in the petiton.nanmely, that the petitioner lad been c`er a stipendiary for 1' life," or duringgoodbehaviour? Dr. STra5P'Es (for the petitioner) submitted, that the e given for the support of the stipendiaries were enjoyed by them a- freeholds 'which strar.ted a le>,al presumption that the office was one for liDe, and that the stipendiaries, in common with the rest of' the Cihauter, vr,ted equally for the election of an agent, or recriver, to their estates. Al r. Jager, the present receiver, being sworn, proved the la5t pO- eitron. rce His GRACE said that it was most nateriia, before they reed further in the complaint of thke pe-itioner haviag been unjutly re. mnoved from a situation which he alleged he held for fe, o-daving geod behaviour, to prove the natureoof his appointme nt. There was evidence to prove that the estates wae given for the support of the capter collectively, but there was no evidencc to prove the individta interest. It was then proved that the Register had refused the petitioner liberty to refer to the books of the chapter, or to make extracts ftrOr themj and it was Wiggested that his (irace, as head of the cbhptcr, migfh: order the production of the books by the Dean and Chapter. " he AncrYtssuop-The Dean and (thapter have ecaped from the facc of the world, and are no where to be found. After e.e further disaion upon this pOitt, said a eoeantttort with the Vicar-General, His Gxc said, thait in order to aiead the fullest inv rc' and tor the purpose of the soundest adjudication, he pro rogue the visitation to Thutrsday next, to beheld in the same Pae that the pedtieoserrnightbe ebledto pro-e, by l denc, the cesm for which lie eld his appoietmelt The Dean snd Chapter of PPChrist Chord, wtere a6aia setierall- cited to appear, and they not baring done so, thc visitation was pt. ropteA to Tiiurudaly next. A Psuis paper sayzs- On the 7th of this miouth, LafiUe Psecuit, aged 72, was found ua.usifAted in her cellax, at ..Js. Slan, in the anrdissewet de Nioit,; -hl stick with which 'his | horrid murder ws conmitted, as well an wme nclothes *iined with blood, were tignd is the housti the mouster nspectul ofthe eid, has abselded, but {t is hoped that he will soun fd} iold tire d of ustire. The aMii t iN io VIII hsve, a= the apeel;u st. tirig, to try * chaorge of poisianing in ehe communte oi B ie accued rrc tfic ulI mother-ia-law,a and aisie4a.lw e(f ie wid ADJOURYBD VISITATIXo OP TIlE AReffoIsizop OP, DUBLIN.