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Leader (1850-1860), 11th October 1851, Edition Town of 2, Page 960, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      divulge it ; but he felt assured that Lord John Russell would not make a pledge which he would not fulfiMo the very letter , and whether or not it would meet with general acceptance , he was convinced it would be a substantial measure of enlargement of the franchise . ( Loud cheers . )" Sir Page Wood has nothing more to offer as a guarantee for a substantial measure than trust in Lord John Russell !

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      THE FAMINE DEBTS . "What is called " repudiation" in Ireland has caused some stir and a little sharp correspondence between the alleged defaulters and the Premier . Lord Lucan heads the non-payment part .

      THE FAMINE DEBTS . —MEETING AT BAI / LINASLOE . A public meeting was held on Tuesday in the Court House , Ballinasloe , which was attended by Lords Lucan , Crofton , and Clancarty ; Sir Thomas Burke , Baronet , C . George , Esq ., M . P ., John Reynolds , Esq ., M . P ., Anthony O'Flaherty , Esq ., M . P ., the Reverend Mr . Daly , P . P ., &c , to consider generally the justice of the demand of the Government for the repayment of advances under the Relief Act , by striking rates , until an account of the expenditure be furnished . Lord Clancarty in the chair ; when the following resolutions were proposed : —

      Lord Lucan proposed the first resolution— " That whilst we are ready to acknowledge our liability to the repayment of the Government advance , when it ; can be shown that value in public works has been received , and to the repayment of such portion of the moneys expended in relief as can fairly be charged against us , we cannot , in the absence of all particulars of the Government demands , consent , by striking rates , to make ourselves parties to the imposition of a tax so onerous to our fellow-countrymen , and one which will continue during so long a period of time . " Seconded by Sir Thomas Burke , Baronet .

      Lord Crofton proposed the second resolution— That we consider a careful investigation should be entered upon before committees of the two Houses of Parliament , to ascertain to what amount repayment can , with justice , be demanded and be insisted on , with due regard to the interests and circumstances of the country . " Seconded by Anthony O ' Flaherty , Esq ., M . P . Colonel Knox Gore proposed the third resolution : — " That the guardians here assembled must object to being made agents for the collection of a tax which does not strictly come within the limits of their duties ; they consider that such a course would not only seriously interfere with the due working of the poor law , but introduce the novel and most dangerous precedent of boards of guardians being converted into collectors of the public revenue . "

      Christopher St . George , Esq ., M . P ., seconded the resolution . W . H . Gregory , Esq ., M . P ., proposed the fourth resolution : — " That a memorial , founded on those resolutions , be forwarded to the Lords of the Treasury . " Seconded by Thomas Jones , Esq . Similar meetings , as we mentioned last week , have been held elsewhere . As the above resolutions contain the " case " of the so-called repudiators , so does the following letter from Lord John Russell to Lord Lucan set forth the claims of the Government : — " Tan-y-Bwlch , Sept . 27 , 1851 .

      " My Lord , —I have had the honour to receive your letter of the ' 23 rd instant , conveying the observations of the boards of guardians of the county of Mayo . These observations do not appear to me to take away the force of the remarks made in my previous letter . " Whether the moneys advanced under the act you mention , were squandered in a reckless manner or notwhether the persons to whom the relief was extended were those entitled to relief or not—it is clear that it cannot be incumbent on any persons charged with the execution of the law to sit the example of resistance

      to the law . But further , the guardians must recollect that the sums borrowed were borrowed by local bodies and charged upon the ratepayers . It was impossible for a Government to distinguish the proper objects of relief from the improper—all they could do was to appoint local bodies , apparently the most deserving of confidence , for the purpose of selection . " No one will deny that there was much waste in the expenditure of the kuius advanced . But no one will deny either , that of the hundreds of thousands who received wages in money or relief in food , the greater part were victims of the great calamity which at that time afflicted Ireland .

      " I must repeat that the object of the acts of Parliament you mention was , not to make useful public works , but to give food , or the means of procuring food , to the destitute . " Hut whatever abuses might exist , either from local mismanagement or the inuhiliiy of the Hoard of Works to control ho vast u system of relief , the sum of four millions granted by the Imperial Parliament must have uurpaHsrd the amount of sums ho thrown away . " I must again ask your lordship , yourself a member of the Legislature , to withdraw your plea of netting ymir-Holf above the law , and to substitute for it those conuidcrutioiiH to which the Treasury cun properly listen . " I have the honour Ac ., " The Earl of Luemi . ' Uvhhki . i .. "

      Lord liiicim ' H reply to the above in datod llallinaslor , October fi . lie HiiyH , that " The guardians did not consider that they advanced any plea ol setting themselves against the law , or that they < et uny example of refuHtunco to the law , in not onoentmg to bo mado agents lor the collection

      of a tax so unfair in its object , so unjust in the mode of its assessment , and so seriously oppressive to all classes of their fallen country , and in declining to take upon themselves duties foreign and obstructive to their ordinary functions . He asserts that " it could without difficulty be shown , that in the county of Mayo not one half mile of road was executed by the relief works- ; and that " the whole amount of relief was still quite disproportionate to the frightful sum of six millions now brought in charge against the country . He asks for " particulars of the demands ; for an investigation of the charges against the unions , electoral divisions , and townlands , to ascertain how far the claims can be justly demanded . In short , he amplifies the resolutions above given .

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      ADULTERATION OF FRENCH FLOUR . The article in the Leader of September 6 , referring to this subject , has been commented upon in several provincial newspapers . The Doncaster Chronicle , Cambridge Chronicle , Eddowes Shrewsbury Journal , Waterford Mail , and Car low Sentinel , have reprinted the article , and in some instances with piquant remarks . The Waterford Mail , of the 24 th ultimo , writes as follows : — " The subjoined article is written by a hand perfectly familiar with the subject . The journal from which it is taken , although addressed to a very general class of readers , and of extremely progressive faculties , devotes much attention to the condition of the agricultural interests under the pressure of Free-trade . "

      The Carloio Sentinel , of the 27 th ultimo , has these remarks : — " We learn from a London journal , the Leader , that French flour is fast falling into disrepute . It has been ascertained that vast quantities of this flour , which superseded to a great extent the use of the home-made , manufactured , wholesome article , was adulterated—ya fact , mixed with marl ! In consequence of discoveries lately made , families , in London especially , have withdrawn their custom from those bakers who manufactured

      it , and deal only with those who use the home-manufactured flour . We foresaw that those who opened marts for the sale of this foreign drugged article by auction could not dispose of it at the current prices then reported , upon fair commercial principles . It appears now that it is an article unsuited to the digestive powers of Mr . Cobden himself ; and should the mania for the purchase and manufacture of this flour soon cease , we fervently hope that the victims sacrificed at the shrine of Free-trade will be few . "

      The editor of Edowes Journal is under a mis-apprehension when he states that the Leader is falling off from Free-trade to Protection principles . First , the Free-trade we have at present is a sadly one-sided affair ; it is in fact not Free-trade , hwt free imports of grain and flour that is all ; next , the millers do not ask for Protection , their agitation has been much misrepresented and misunderstood , they ask that flour should not be allowed to be imported any longer on more favourable terms than wheat . Mr . Jackson , of Leeds , one of the largest millers in the kingdom , an

      Ultra-liberal , and a real Free-trader ( who was returned to the town council of Leeds by the Chartist interest ) , states in his second famous letter to Mr . Cobden " xoheat and flour arc the only substances where the manufactured article is admitted on more favourable terms than the raxo material" and he shows that in freight alone there is a saving of near 100 per cent , on importing flour rather than wheat ; in no way can it be considered that it is a departure from any political principle when we advocate a genuine nrticle in preference to an adulterated one ; it ia a moral principle that in involved in this question .

      The Doncaster Chronicle by way of preface to the article states : —¦ " The Leader , a journal which professes extremely progressive politics , baa taken up the subject of French flour and its ruinous effects on the milling interest of the country . " Again we beg not to be mistaken , the millers themselves have showed how far their trade ia injured : we merely endeavour to illustrate that the consumers , the bread eaters , and especially the poor , arc being injured in health and pocket by having an aduterated and deleterious article sold to them for food .

      Untitled Article

      MOVEMENT FOR DIOCESAN SYNODS . The Derby gathering of the clergy who advocate the restoration of Diocesan Synods wus held on Wednesday . Many notabilities of the Church wore present , and several laymen . The resolutions pnHfled contain the amount of practical work done ; but they give no ideu of the tone of tho meeting , which was earneHt-and solemn in u befitting degfee . There was a conHciseneHH in most of the speeches which iriado them ull the more tellinir . The Reverend Thomas

      CollinB occupied the chair . The report rend by the . Reverend W . Pound spoke cueeringly of tho efforts of the committee hitherto ; of their satisfactory correspondence with the authorities of the Church , of their endeavours to collect the necessary information ; and the projected meetings ut London , Gloucester , Miincluistor , and Derby in tho coming your . Captuin Moorsom moved that the report be received und adopted , which was carried . Mr . F . U Dickinson moved : —

      " That this meeting desires the earnest and renewed prayers of all members of the Church in behalf of the revival of synodical action , considering it to be essential to the completeness of the constitution , and to the efficiency of the practical working of the Church . " In the course of his speech , Mr . Dickinson broached the subject uppermost in every mind , of the connection between the Church and the State . " Before he entered that room , a person , who he supposed was aware that that meeting was to be held , put into his hand a tract issued by the Anti-State Church Association , in which there were many things with which they , of course , could not concur ; but its first statement

      struck him as containing a great truth . It was to the effect , that one reason why there should not be a connection between Churh and State was , because it wa s absurd that the interests of religion should be committed to a Government composed of men entertaining various opinions , and who , indeed , were not even required to hold any religious opinions at all . ( Hear . ) He ( Mr . Dickinson ) regarded it as a shame and a disgrace that such a state of things should be . He did not say the Government had no duty to perform in

      watching over the interests of the RChurch ; but that it should be allowed to usurp the sole control an d entire management of the Church ' s affairs he held to be a shame and a disgrace . He did not stand there to propose , as the writer of that tract would , the total severance of the Church from the State—probably no one present would advocate such a step ; but they looked for alterations and changes , not of a Radical character , but such as would adapt the great principles on which the Church was first established to the circumstances and wants of the present day . "

      The Reverend Archdeacon G . A . Denison seconded the resolution in an admirable speech , advocating very warmly and earnestly the restoration of synodical action to the Church , and uttering the grand thought that ' * in such questions as these , a Churchman ' s success was to do his duty" He said , the laymen had been " hardly used , " and he urged upon the meeting to " proceed quietly , patiently , temperately , not compromising one jot or tittle of the faith , but trying to do all in charity . " The resolution was unanimously carried . The Reverend Mr . Merry-weather moved the next resolution : —

      " That the encouragement which the committee have already received from nearly all persons in official situations with whom they have held communication , is an additional motive for their continuing to press upon the minds of Churchmen the necessity of diocesan synods , with the same respect and deference for ecclesiastical order and authority which they have hitherto exhibited . " He professed great respect for authority . But he said that , "It was one of the greatest difficulties which Churchmen had now to encounter , that in assuming occasionally , he did not say to conflict , but respectfully to differ with authorised persons , they had to remember the office which those persons filled , and they must give them credit for the conscientious views which they might feel themselves

      called upon to take . ' , The Reverend Canon Trevor seconded the resolution , and made by far the most complete exposition of the reasona why synods were needed . Hu mam argument was " the divisions of the Church , the " enormous division , " the almost universal prev alence of " disputes and differences " among brethren ; ana m it was impossible for a honest clergymen to yieio to the dictum of a single individual / ' he asked tor a synod . "He felt that , unless diocesan synods were granted , the Church of England was at its last gasp _ asi ani estaDlishment-that some disruption like that y hich . Tsome in Scotland , would pass over our Church , unless som such remedy were provided . " And what was a synod ? nff

      __ « .- « . -. * v n . tli nvi I O ~ " He answered simply , that it was the B ?"" the gether of the clergy of any diooese to co " " ^ n , business entrusted to them , and how they could bestou suit the interests of the laity committed to their charg He also thought the laity were " hardly uflC ( 1 ' having to submit one year to " high , " another " low , " Church practice and doctrine . l > ut thought also that the clergy were hardly used , < f , { to submit to tho " ipse dixit" of a bishop . beC , , government by the Church of tho Church ana i influence of public opinion was what he uifltm . y hinted at . And , he exclaimed , " in the conies * -,, impotence of particular bishops to restore unttm ,, > uin the " divisions of the Church , " I und an arg

      ment for diocesan synods . t The remaining business of this highly » m P ° V t () meeting was formal , and it was » dJ « " ^ wiii January 22 , 1852 . Then the public consultation be held in London .

      Untitled Article

      EPISCOPAL SALARIES . The scheme , prepared b y the Ecclesiastical '" ^ missioned , for regulating tho incomes ol tne » ' archbishops and bishops of England and V " ' . published in a recent number of the oniciul u < Every archbishop or bishop appointed since JttI 1 " f _ 1848 , is required to furnish a correct account , ^ Hod under his own hand , on or before the ^ March , and 20 th of September , in each year , oi

      Untitled Article

      960 flC tl * & * && **? [ Saturday ,

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 11, 1851, page 960, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1904/page/4/