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PLAINT OF THE BELL.

Review of the Corn Trade.

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OUR LETTER BOX.

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OUR LETTER BOX. TRRVETHIN CHURCH RATES. II Yet by your gracious patience, I will • round unvarnished tale deliver.— SHAKXSFKARS. To the Editor of the Monmouththirt Merlin. Sir x stated in my last letter that I should make a few re- marks on the conduct of the Dissenters in this neighbourhood towards the Establishment previous to the present contest. In the course of a judgment delivered in the Queen's Bench, (by Lord Denman, I believe,) it was laid down that a parish was, by common law, bound to keep the fabric of the paiish church in repair. A few years ago, the roof of the parish church of Trevethin was in bad repair. Upon examination, by compe- tent persons, it was found that it would be far better, and less expensive in the end, to new roof the church than to repair the old one. The estimate was somethng over £ 200.. which would have required nearly a two-penny rate—the valuation of the pa- rish being then about £30,000. As there had not been a church- rate tor several years, and as the Dissenters had received liberal aid from the Church party towards the buliding of their chapels, &c., the churchwardens, in the simplicity of their souls, thought they conld easily collect the money by subscription. They ap. plied to some of the most influential persons amongst the Dissen- ters, for subscriptions, stating that they wished to avoid applying for a rate, that the peace of the parish might not be difrtirbed. The persons applied to refused to subscribe one pennf, and dared churchwardens to apply for a church rate. A meeting was ajteowsrds called to grant a rate for the purpose of new roofing the church, and building a fence wall to enclose a large piece of land, most generously offered by C. H. Leigh, Esq., the Lord- Lieutenant of the County, out of one of his fields adjoining the churchyard, for the purpose of an additional burial ground, the present churchyard being very much confined.* (Let it be borne in mind that the rate was not required for any of the expenses incurred in the celebration of Divioe worship.) At which meet. ing, some of those persons who bad previously refused to sub- scribe. blamed the Church party for not raising the amount re- quired by subscription. A squabble ensued, each party consi. dering they bad gained the day. Through some informality, it was not thought prudent to enforce the rate; and, to this day, the church has not been repaired, and the benevolent intentions of the Lord-Lieutenant have been frustrated. I must atatethat one Dissenter at the above meeting, mHMd that a rate be granted for the amount required for the buriaPgrwrod, en the argument that it was absolutely required by the parish but hia proposition was hooted down ere the words were well out of his mouth. Shortly after the above occurrence, one of the Dissenting mi. nisters, for a course of seven Snndays, instead of preaching the salvation of sinners through Christ Jesus (bis bounden Sabbath duty), delivered a course of lectures upon the distinguishing errors of the Church of England and to hia own satiafactiou, proved (as he thought incontrovertibly) that her doctrines were damnable heresies, her followers damnable heretics, and that she destroyed more souls than she saved; and that none were sound in the faith except his own sectthereby forgetting the beautiful and charitable language of the Apostle, We preach not our- selves, but Christ Jesus our Lord. If any man trust to himself that he is Christ's, let him of himself think this again, that as he is Christ's even so are we Christ's." I have no doubt, Mr. Editor, that you, and many of your readers, will be ready to accuse'me of exaggeration, and will not believe that any Protes- tant minister would exhibit such bigotry. I assure yon, that if is nothing but the plain literal fact. When I first heard of it, I contradicted it, and told my informant that he must have mis- understood the language used, as I could not conceive it possible that any minister would rise up in the pulpit to give vent to such expressions but when I heard them repeated by members of his own congregation, and referred to him as their authority for so using them, I was compelled against my inclination to believe that he had used them as stated. These lectures, instead of tend- ing to soften down the asperities that had arisen, rendered them tenfold more harsh and grating. Many persona of his own sect could not refrain from expressing their disgust and abhorrence of snch conduct and behaviour; but with many of the lower classes it was extravagantly, 81 anything that tends to depreciate an opposite party, is always received with better favour by the mul- titude than any discourse that impresses upon them the duty of self examination. Of the extent to which the above sentiments have been spread among that party of Dissenters, I could give you numberless instances .but let the two followiag suffice, that happened pre- vious to the late seizures. A member of the Tabernacle (Welsh Baptists), who was in discourse with a Dissenter belonging to another sect, at the conclusion of their conference, said, Well, you may depend upon it, there is no chance of your being saved unldss you become a Baptist;" and respectable persons belong- ing to the congregation of the minister above alluded to, have been heard to state that they would sooner contribute towards the spiead of Mahometanism than the doctrines of the Church of England, as they were nearer to the truth of God." These are specimens of the language of some of those "faithful" ones, who, as stated by No Churchman," being clothed with the wedding garment," have not bowed tbe knee to Baal." If not Baal, ttfey have bowed sufficiently to the idol of self-righ- teousness, forgetting the caution, they measuiing themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves with themselves, are not wise." The conduct of the Dissanters, as above related, it may easily be thought, was not without effect upon the other party ;—it re- mained rankling in their minds, and tended to cause that ebulli- tion of feeling which took place at the meeting which was held for the purpose of granting the present Church-rate, as related in the MERLIN of that time, and which, no doubt, was inexpli- cable to many of its readers, who knew not of the previous eon- duct of the parties. The violent and unchristianlike conduct I have referred to, WM, to the honour of the general body of the Dissenters, shared in bat by a small minority but ia proportion to the smallness-of their number, they endeavoured to make up for it by the loud- ness and violence of their clamour. A great number of the Dis- sentera paid the rate at the time they usually paid their-other rates, after tbe notice* we<« served, and many ethers would not have objected to the payment of a rate (knowing the actual iaw- cessity for the burial ground and the repairs of the chuicb), but objected to it as not being legally panted. During tbe time the present church-rate has bona ia agitation, a congregation of Baptists have had occasion to apply to one of the churchwardens for the grant of a piece of land for the erec- tion of a chapel, which he has acceded to. This fact plainly shows that all the Dissenteis do not believe all the tales of the "buffetiDg," kicking," cuffing," persecuting," and treading under foot like simple harmless worms," so pathetically related by No Churchman." Since the rate was granted a proposal has been entertained for rebuilding and enlarging the parish church, tbe expenses of which is calculated to be between £1,800. and £ 1,900.; it would, therefore, require about £1,500. exclusive of the rate and I am happy to state that I have been informed that near £1,400, bad .Iready been subscribed. It is no IUI remarkahle than true, (as indicative of the good feeling borne towards the Church pnty by many Dissenters,) that the first money that haa been received for the above purpose was the unsolicited subscrip- tion of a Dissenter. I have thus endeavoured to state tbe real facts of the esse ia plain language I shallrefrain from commenting upon them, not that I consider them not a proper subject for comment, but be- cause I believe a plain statement of the matter aa it leally stands, divested of all ambiguity, will enable your readers to come to a right conclusion. I remain, yours, most respectfully, Pontypool, Jan. 2. 1846. FAIR PLAY. • The necessity for additional burial ground will be apparent when we consider that previous to 1820, when the population was under 3,000, there was only the parish church-yard, (not by any means a large one,) two small ones adjoining the Welsh Baptist chapels at Trosnant and Penygarn, and one at Ebenezer chapel (Welsh Independent). Now the population is increased tenfold, the increase in burial-ground has not heen more than twofold, viz., one at Talywain Church one at the Eng- lish Baptist chapel, Abersychan; one at the Welsh Baptist chapel, Taly- wain; three at the Welsh independent chapels, the Kwn, Talywain, and Garnddifeth,—the last Ave are very small ones The burial-grounds ia general that are attached to the Dissenting chapels are not properly large enough for the purposes of the members in society at each chapel, leaving out tbe hearers-consequently many penons have preferred burying their friends out of the parish at some of the neighbouring conntry churches and chapels. Since writing the aboye, I find that we have been favoured with a let- ter from an Inhabitant of Abersychan, which contains the same sort of misrepresentation that I complained of in No Churchman's" letter, It does not contain a direct falsehood, but the faets are placed in ruch a manner that any person who knows nothing of the parties would be led to believe a falsehood. Would any indifferent person think, from his letter, that the two persons whose names he mentions were members of the English Baptist society in Abersychan t One of them, certainly, has refrained from attending communion for some time, but for what reason f Not because he haa deserted the good cause," or changed his princi- ples. but from the treatment he experienced from some persons in the society. "Icouldataleunfoid," that would make the ears tingle of some of the parties connected with some of the societies about Abersychan. I wil! only ask one short question. What conduct was attributed to the Minister and Deacons, which has led to the disruption of a large society in that neighbourhood ? But to return to our subject. Your correspondent does not dare to assert taat the person be alludes to is a Primitive Methodist. Oh, no I he only attends there I did not say he was a member. Mark the cun- ning of the wiiter. The creature's at its dirty work again." He states that a person, whom he must know lo be a Baptist (if he knows anything at all about the person), as being an attendant upon another sect. He then alludes to a second person, whom be must know also to be a Bap- tist he states nothIng of Ids profession, leaving it to be inferred that he was an attendant of the same sect he had previously mentioned; and then he triumphantly declares It can now no longer be said that he had brought furward two examples of another sect having been dis- trained upon, thus fulfilling what I have above said, I dare not tell a lie, bul I will make the readers of the MEHLIM believe one." With these few romarks I shaH leave your Abersychan Correspondent to the gratulations or his own conscience, which will DO doubt bear a weight 01 twenty pounds, without flinching.

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