Another meeting took plac...
The Times, 1824-09-03T00:00:00

Ainothl. r meeting took place yesterday for the discussion of a subject whicih has already disturbed, on more than one occasion, the harmony of certain parishes it, the metropolis. The meeting of yesterday was held by the parishioners of St. BDtolph, Aldgate, and the business of the day was to take into consideration ihe claim of Mr. KYuASTON, the lay impropriator of the parish, to 2s. 9de in the pound for ithe. 2Lt wa3 gtaVed that this gentleman had, 9;nee 1804, inersaed his lemand fiem 6d., through the inter? meaiate stages of gd., is., .1s 6fi., 2s., to the very serious sum of 2s. 9d.' in the poimd, or about onie-seventh of -the whole estimated rental of t,ae parish, which, calculating the rental, as one gentlemnandid, at S7,0001. per annum, would give more than s,0001 per annum for tithe only. iVithout a wish to touch Jpon those minute causes which would appear to have aggrv;ted considerably the sorencss between'Mr. KYNASToN and the parish, we shall just ob- serve, that this is not a dispute between a clergyman and his parlshioners,-concerning the just and fit amount of remuneration for the discharge of his duties-and as friends of the Cnurch of England, we are pleased that such is not the quarrel-but the layhitpropriator is the exacting party in this instance. We know nothing of the parish of St. Botolph individualJy: in generel,however, these lay impropriators are men, who enjoy to the present late periodl that piunder of the ancienit Church of England, whiih was seized, and then squandered, by the greatest tyrant that -ver reigned on earth, but who do not fulfil any one of th se obligations which were for the most part held sacred by the former proprietors-namely, the services of religion, and universal charityto the poor. The first of these duties has devolved upon the clergy; and we are not inclined to reproach them, asa body of men, with neglect, rehlctance, or incompetence in their offices ; but the groat and noble work of charity to the destitute (nor any other duty) is not perforrned bv the lay impropriators, as it was by the Popish ecclesiasties, but is left to be provided for by an oppressive tax upon every order of men in the State. Under these circumstances, Un - favourable, as we think, in point of modeaty, and morality, and reputation, tile lay tithe landlords appear with a claim to increased contributions from the people. Even so, we cannotgainsay the proposition, if they haVe clearly the law upon their side: btst this is flatly contradicted, for the act of Parliament, or rather legal instrument, in virtue of which they make the demand, it is said, on grave authority, has never been enrolled ; and in the absesnce of any provable custom, s4ch defect seems fatal to the esta- blishment of any case which looks to its founda- tion in a statute. If the balance of legal opinion be in favour of the claim now brought forward, we trust that some composition may be amade-as in St. An- drew's, Holborn, and St. Dunstan's-less oppressive than the whole amount required by Mr. KYNASTONh seeing that, in the very most lenient view of seh an i:icrease in the paroclhial contributions, it would be a sriious transfer of revenue from many landlords to one. At yesterday's Meet- ing, the resolutions were adopted unanimously, and a sub- scription immediately opened.