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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Untitled Article
GARDENERS' BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION . Mr . Paxton presided on Monday over the animal festival of tne G-aTdeners' Benevolent Institution , held at the London Coffee-house . The literary men carried away ail the oratorical honours . Douglas Jerrold propo sed the health of the Duke of Devonshire , the president of the institution ; and the Chairman proposed " Success to the Gardeners' Benevolent institution , and long may it prosper . " He
said" Up to the close of the seventeenth century , indeed from the time of Trajan to that of George the Second , there had been little or no alteration in gardening . That which was called in this country Dutch and French gardening , was in fact nothing but that which , existed in Pliny ' s Etruscan villa . He had been through Greece and Italy , and in no way could he find any traces of ancient gardening , except at that villa—and there he saw clearly that there had been no improvement in gardening from that time to that of George the Second . When , however , this country began to extend her colonial possessions , and her commerce advanced , so did her gardening — as her merchants and her nurserymen brought at a large expense new plants to this country from every portion of the world . "
The distress of the gardening fraternity led him to another theme—the institution and its objects : — " A number of nurserymen and gardeners met together in 1838 , and formed the association , by which gardeners and their widows might be relieved should they fall into distress . The subscription was £ 1 Is . per annum , or £ 10 10 s . for life , and he cordially recommended all young gardeners before they took upon themselves any heavy responsibilities—{ laughter )—to pay the first £ 10 10 s . they could spare to this institution . When this society was established , in 1838 , its income only amounted to £ 50 . This gradually increased , until 1842 , when their annual income amounted to £ 100 , and they had funded property
of £ 200 , and they paid £ 60 to four aged gardeners . In 1843 their annual subscriptions amounted to £ 271 ; in 1844 : to £ 34 : 2 ; in 1845 to £ 414 ; in 1846 to £ 445 ; in 1847 to £ 502 ; in 1849 to £ 552 ; and in 1850 to £ 542 ; While their funded property had amounted to £ 2500 , and they now had thirty-five pensioners on their funds . ( Cheers . ) When their society was first formed , the members were confined almost wholly to gardeners and nurserymen in the neighbourhood of London , but now he was happy they were extended all over the country , even to Ireland and Scotland—and he trusted ere long that there would not be a gardener in the kingdom who did not belong to it . { Cheers . )"
Mr Charles Dickens proposed the health of the Chairman . He could assure them that when he entered that room he had no idea of addressing them , but a member of the committee had asked him to propose this toast in a manner which evinced that he thought he required no forcing—{ laughter )—and that he only required to he planted in that soil to flower immediately . { Laughter . ) In all ages , gardening had formed the great delight of human beings—and if there were a few persons , and there were such who took no delight in the products of
gardening , except it was London Pride—{ laughter )—and a certain degenerate species of stocks which grew about the neighbourhood of that house—{ laughter)— -he could only regard them as frozen out gardeners , whom no thaw would ever benefit . { Laughter . ) He had now to propose to them the health of a gentleman who was both a great gardener and a great man—{ cheers )—who by his Saxon determination , energy , and talent had raised a monument in the Crystal JPalace to his name , which Would exist and be admired when all then present were rotting in the dust . { Cheers )
Mr . Paxton duly returned thanks . A paper was read by Dr . Hanmill of St . Petersburgh , showing that John Tradescant , who flourished in the time of Charles I ., and who had generally been regarded as a Dutchman , was a native of this country ; that he was really the founder of the first museum of natural history—the Ashmolcan at Oxford—the materials for that Museum having been left by Tradescant to ARhmole , who removed them from Lambeth to Oxford .
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11 ELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN NORWICH , WHITEHAVEN , AND LINCOLN . The feeling of Christian fellowship which prompted the Bishop of London to offer the use of non-parochial churches to foreign Protestant ministers was restricted by the Act of Conformity ; a similar feeling , which prompted Mr . Bland to preach in the Octagon Independent Chapel at Norwich , lias produced a controversy and a turmoil , and lias finally resulted in his resignation . Among the many letters which have appeared on tho subject in one from Mr . J . 'Croinpton , the minister of the Octagon Chapel : — " The chapel is one of the old ' Englinh Presbyterian ' foundation ^ rebuilt and opened by the celebrated Dr . Taylor , on the principles of unfettered freedom in Christian worship , which have long characterized that body . " In the opening Bcrmon lie uk «; h tlieHc emphatic w » rdR : — ' Idpiscopalians , Presbyterians , Independent ^ baptists , CalvintHts , ArminiuiiH , Arians , TrinitariiuiH , and othern , are uaineu of Tc'ligious distinctions . Hut , however , we may be commonly ranked under any of them' divisions , we reject them all . We disown all connection , excepting that of Icrvo and goodwill , with any ¦ sect or party whatsoever . We are Christians , and only ChribtiatiH . From the Church of Knglandwe do , indeed , dissent , but not hh emmiics Hockiuff lior destruction , but mi real friends winning her most perfect establishment and prosperity . '
" Standing upon the same ground , and holding the same catholic principles , I welcomed into my pulpit a clergyman whom I found 'willing to show his Christian charity to his fellow-Christians of another communion . I did so , not because I thought him a heretic or unfaithful to his Chorea , but because I believed him * sound Churchman and orthodox in sentiments , but charitable therewith , and of wide sympathies . Had he been a heretic , or betrayed himself a dissenter in heart while living in the Church , I should not have shared in an act which would in euch case have been equally dishonest in both of us . But recognising in him one of a large and increasing class , both in and ont of the -Church , , thoug-h attached to their principles , are charitable in faith , and do not confound ' unity' with ' uniformity , ' I invited him , and he accepted it without compromise to his own sentiments as a Churchman , while with gre at obedience to the law oi" ' unity of spirit in the ' bond of
peace / " I can fully agree with Canon Sedgwick ' s picture of the alarm of certain stanch Churchmen and stanch Unitarians of the dogmatic schools of those parties , at the ' audacity' of the act . But ' audacity' in charity is a new heresy , and not one that has much troubled th * Church since the time Paul preached to the Gentiles ; nor , I fear , is it likely to trouble any Church for some time to come . " There has been room found in the Church of England for semi-Popery—for Popery nearly complete—for bigotry of the so-called ' evangelical order' ; there may be foxhunting , stupidity , laziness , and dulness among the clergy : is there no room for charity and bold defiance of
the schismatic spirit of the age ? Canon Sedgwick says that' high legal authorities ' do not know how to deal with the case . Every Christian spirit will rejoice that a penalty cannot easily be found against charity , and long may it be before the ' M . A . ' s ' of the church move the Parliament for a bill against ' ecclesiastical charity assumption' to repel the invasion of goodwill unauthorised by the customs of the clergy of this age . Mr . Bland is , however , not quite alone . A bishop now on the bench did , some few years ago , perform the ceremony of confirmation to the youth of Geneva , in the cathedral where Calvin once thundered , at the request of the head of the College of Geneva , an avowed Unitarian ! Mr . Bland has only done at home what a bishop would only do where English theologies and ecclesiastical fetters did not stand in the way of his Christian spirit . Canon Sedgwick says
there isno word of Unitarianism in Mr . Bland ' s sermon , nor is there any ism , ' but much Christianity , and still more in the spirit that prompted the act ; and this was what I desired and expected . Belonging to no party or sect whatever , I preach in the Octagon , because I am there free to preach the whole Gospel ; and whenever the Canon or any of his brethren will preach Christianity on the same broad basis of the Apostle ' s Creed on which we all stand , and with which Mr . Bland ' s sermon is in full accord , my pulpit is open to him , as I believe will be all the pulpits of those ancient chapels . I regTet Mr . Eland ' s resignation , though appreciating his motives , as I never desired he should be compromised in his relations to the Church , to which his attachment is singularly strong . He has gone out of his way to seek peace with men , like ' M . A ., ' as insignificant as they are ignorant , and ae contemptible as abusive .
" If it is found , hereafter , that there are laws against such acts as Mr . Bland ' s , it will only be one more proof that English theology and English churches are preventing the progress of English religion , and be one more item in the growing evidence of the necessity for a thorough reform of the ecclesiastical system of the Church by the repeal of that cause of Bchiem and bitterness , the Act of Uniformity . " The Magistrates of Whitehaven have had a case before them , in which Mr . Charles Flinn was charged
with assaulting Mr . Ilugan ( by religious profession , a Unitarian ) , while delivering a lecture at the end of the Bulwark , a place usually devoted to open-air preaching . Two witnesses proved the serious assault on Mr . Hugan ; but the magistrates dismissed the case , on the ground that the address of the lecturer , which was on Progression , was inciting a breach of the peace . Some expressions relative to the divinity of Christ formed the offence which the worthy magistrates pronounced " highly culpable conduct . " The Whitehaven Herald informs us that the Rev . F .
W . Wicks was upon the bench when this disreputable decision * waH given . Thus it appears that Mr . Flinn has these magistrates' approbation to play the ruilian whenever a Unitarian shall displease him touching the divinity of Christ . Mr . John Norton of Lincoln refused to pay a church rate and costs , amounting to £ 2 11 s . 6 , 3 d ., and , in consequence , a warrant of distress was issued against his goods . The constable employed to perpetrate the distraint seized goods to the amount of £ 6 18 h . at the least , and an action was brought by Mr . Norton , in the County Court , to recover £ 8 an damages and compensation for the excessive ueizure . Mr . Toynbeo , solicitor , of Lincoln , appeared for Mr . Norton , and made 1111 udmiriiblc statement of thin cane of oppression :-
—" It might possibly suggest itself to the minds of tho jury that the readiest way to get rid of the difficulty would have been t «> have puid the rate , rather than Jmvo incurred the expenses of rousting the domunri ; but Mr . Norton , holding different religious tenem to those of the church , and considering that a vicioim principle ought to be opposed in itm Hinull application hh well as more largely , and that each form of religion should lie tmpportcd voluntarily by thonewho espoused that particular form , resisted the rate : he contended that money whould not bo wrung forcibly from those who dissented from the Church of Uughiud , which . wiiB riohly endowod , und hud large
territorial possessions : he therefore refused to pay . Ihe magistrates bad jurisdiction in the matter , and they made an order for tbe pajuaaeci of the nuke . Mr . Norton , not disputing the legality of the rate , did not appear before the magistrates , and an order was made that the rate was to be paid within sevea days , or Mr . Norton ' s goods would be distrained upon ; and supposingthe goods were nor sufficient to satisfy the demand , Mr . Norton would be sent to Falkingham House of Correction for five days . ( Laughter . ) Fortunately for Mr . Norton , he had goods enough to satisfy the demand , and the rectory of Washingtoro ' , which was endowed to the extent of £ 2000 * -year , took not only the Is . 4 £ d . and costs said to be due , but the overplus which the plaintiff
now claimed . The rate and costs were , tip to the titne of the seizure , 15 s . 4 $ d ., and that Bum Mr . Norton admitted to be due according to law . The duty of the constable ( Parkinson ) was simply to seize goods sufficient to pay the rate and reasonable expenses ; but theeKpense of the seizure was £ 1 15 s . lid ., making the total £ 2 Us . 3 £ d . The constable went to the backdoor , and told Mrs . Norton that be had come to distrain , not for 15 s . 4 id ., but for £ 5 ! Mrs . Norton immediately said , Do your duty , ' and the constable looked round the kitchen , and , not content with the good eight-day clock , kitchen furniture , and clothes hanging before the fire , viewed them with an air of contempt , as unsuited to meet the huge demandand walked into the dining-roam : there
, he took a survey of the contents , as if he bad received special instructions from some one who was going to furnish a house , and appropriated six dining-room chairs , which had cost Mr . Norton 16 s . or 18 a . each , One would have thought these were quite enough ; but no , for after taking these , the officer required time to consider ( he was two hours in making the seizure ); he next walked up stairs , without making any inquiry as to whether any one was sick , and brought down three "blankets . He then leisurely surveyed the other rooms , and finding nothing to his mind , or probably that his instructions had occasion for , he took two snore blankets and a feather bed . He afterwards went into the cellar , but Mr . Norton being
a teetotaller—( laughter )—lie walked up stairs again , and took a counterpane : with these goods he took himself off . Mr . Murr , who was-called in by the constable to appraise the goods , estimated their value ( admitting that he put the lowest possible price upon them ) at £ 6 18 s . ; but their real value was between £ 10 and £ 12 . The law was very clear as to what constituted excessive distress . According to the constable ' s own account , after the goods were sold , there was a balance of £ 1 17 s . did . to hand over to Mr . Norton , bo that he admitted he had distrained for twice as much as was necessary . Mr . Norton was charged 3 s . for levying the distress , and 2 s . 6 d . a day for nine days for taking care of the goods . "
The facts contained m this statement were not controverted by any evidence , nor could the arguments of the opposing advocate throw any doubt upon them . The jury accordingly found a verdict for Mr . Norton , awarded to him damages £ 3 14 s ., and Parkinson was ordered by the judge to pay forthwith .
Untitled Article
SIR JOHN FKANKLIN . It seems now certain that traces of Sir John Franklin ' s expedition were seen in September , 1848 , by the Prince of Wales whaler ; the report to that effect having been confirmed by a circumstantial narrative of the discovery by one of the crew named William Millar . He states that he was on board the Prince of Wales in 1848 , when , early in September , during very thick weather , they entered ( as they believed ) Lancaster Sound , and Bteered west , advancing slowly . The fog continued very heavy for some days , when it suddenly lifted , and high land was seen on the larboard side , over the mast head . The captain , being at first doubtful if it were the loom of ioebergs
or of land , sent a boat off to ascertain the fact , and of this party William Millar formed one . On landing , the marks of shoe prints were distinctly visible in the mud , above high-water mark ; close by a small cooking place blackened by fire , and a little further on a well-built cairn about four or five feet high , of which the party pulled away a few stones , but being recalled by a signal from the ship , which was being driven in shore by the current , were compelled to return on board immediately . After sailing a little farther the master of the Prince of Wules found thut it was Jones's Sound in which be was , a passage leading directly into the sea north of the Parry Islands .
As regards the cairn , there seems no doubt that it was erected by some of Sir John Franklin ' s party , and that , in all probability , information of his route will be found beneath it . " Ah to the period of the visit , " says the Morning Chronicle , " we may assume either of two conclusions ; first , thut during the detention of the vessels off Cupc ltiley ( evidenced by the relics brought home lust autumn by the Prince Albert ) a boat party was went to explore Wellington Channel , and thus would arrive at the point in question , lying , as it would appear , at the north-east extremity of that channel , this supposition not
impugning our belief that Sir John Franklin was then cm bis way to the south-went , according to the first purt of bin instructions , bcoondly , we muy suppose that having failed in attempting to proceed in the south-wtut direction , fclir John Franklin had attempted the northwesterly , prescribed to him uh the alternative , and had gone up Wellington Channel , with the view of passing westward , leaving notice of his intention at tho point in question . The latter supposition given u more recent date to the shoe-prints , though we ore assured by Arctic druvellers that similur marks endure with disLtnotuDUB during tiuooemive natamw .
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552 & % t % Lt& 9 tX > [ Saturpa * , _ ¦ - ¦ i ¦ ¦ — » ¦ i-1 I ¦¦ . — ¦¦¦¦¦ ¦¦ — ... ¦¦ ¦¦¦¦ ¦¦¦ ¦ ¦¦! M i « MiM
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Leader (1850-1860), June 14, 1851, page 552, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1887/page/4/
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