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PRIMROSE L1 AGUE SOCIAL MEETING…

A DISGRACE TO NEWTOWN.

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A DISGRACE TO NEWTOWN. I IT is now some years since the Newtown and Llanllvchaiarn Local Board provided Cemetervat a cost of about X6,000, which amount was raised by loan. Principally for sanitary reasons the local authority took ,e1)s for provision of a burial ground, but although so long a time has elapsed, the Cemetery is not used by a large section of the people. This means loss of revenue to the Board, consequently an extra burden is thrown tlpon the rates. Every generation should provide for itself, but if the present State of affairs continues much longer, the present generation will have paid not only for accommodation for themselves in death, but also for their children. It is now time the question was settled, and why does the Stibieet remain in abeyance ? The Church party will not agree to the rite of dedication, zn but insist on the performance of the cere- mouv of consecration. The Nonconform- ists of Newtown greatly outnumber their -Church brethren, and on the ground of fair- ness, their claim for religious equality, and conscientious scruples, they stoutly oppose the celebration of a rite which gives the in- cumbent of the parish a vested interest in them on death. If consecration takes place, a financial burden follows. Lord Chief Justice COLERIDGE has laid down the law that the consecrated Cemetery is an exten- sion of the churchyard within the district to be served by the Cemetery, and over wmeh the clergyman would have almost the &snw rights and privileges as of yore. The Cemetery was provided at the public cost, fbttd by consecration the ratepayers would virtually present a churchyard to the clergy- witti, This important topic has been re- ferred to in our columns over and over inr and until the question is buried we shall continue to do so. The upholders of religious equality are bound to fight against this iniquitous claim, which means the en- dowment of one religious sect which in the iown is decidedly in a minority. Bad ,a.s this state of affairs is, the diffi- culty is not .insurmountable; if the Church- men of the town will act as sensible men, willing to recognise the bonds of a common citizenship, which unites them to their fel lows, and to forget the unreal and valueless distinctions which some people are so des- perately anxious to perpetuate. A Church- man is taught to believe that if a bishop performs a religious ceremony over a certain piece of ground, he inoculates it with a Virions sort of sanctity, and makes it de- eidedif superior to that in which the Dis- senter is laid to rest. He has a perfect right to maintain his opinion and fight for hi-g beliefs with equal ardour as the Noncon- formist for religious equality. But all he ean morally fight for is dedication, which as a re!ij?kms ceremony we have never objected to. Dedication is precisely the same reli- giously as consecration. The only secular 41iff.t,i,r,eiiee is that consecration confers cer- tain leiral powers upon the clergyman, while dedication does not. Dedication will not cause the sacrifice of any religious principle or the abandonment of any sacred trust eomtmtted to the Church, because the FATHER of men never intended that one of his ministers should receive payment for services which his brother has performed. The late BISHOP of ST. ALBANS said, after he had dedicated a Cemetery in that fsithedral town, that he regarded the cere- mony of dedication as a peaceful solution of that which was disturbing many minds. The adoption of this ceremony in lieu of consecration is becoming more prevalent, ard numerous instances can be cited where it hss been performed, and satisfactorily ended all disputes. Other towns have been placed in the same difficult situation as Newtown, but by tj I Churchmen sensibly agreeing to dedication, jt has been the means of healing the wounds and ending the disputes in which the Established and Free Churches had been engaged. Churchmen get what they want without imposing unnecessary burdens npón Nonconformists. We do not agree with the principle of consecrating half of ,the Cemetery When a line of demarcation is drawn through the ground it is symboli- .e;\1 of the House of Lords. Yet there re- rnamii a great and profound authority, given I bv Mr GLASCODINE, an itinerant Church ifefence orator, erstwhile barrister, that .even .in heaven there is not religious equality, because we are told there are seven celestial cities. The majority of the common folk .■agree that there is one heaven and one door of entrance. Surely if that is so, and it is ,.ibe fundamental teaching of the Church of England, is it decent to maintain religious differences at the tomb, after which all stand on the same footing ? If a Dissenter a buried by his own minister in consecrated ground, his relatives have to hand over to the clergyman sundry fees, as well as pav- ing the demands of the Burial Board. But ihe Cemetery being dedicated all differences ,sink, the Churchmen gaining their points while the Dissenter cares not a jot where his body is stowed away after he has ifhuffted off- this mortal coii. The Church- men of Newtown complain of politics being introduced into local elections, but their Dbeenting brethren are bound to maintain a. majority on the Local Board to prevent I Any attempt at consecration being carried "out, The Churchmen have it within their jkTBrct' to end this continued striie. At pre- seui they are the aggressors and the guilty parties, but it they consent to apply to the "Biahop of ST. ASAPH, there is hardly any fioubt but that he would dedicate the ground. This is the only satisfactory solu- lion to the present difficulty of Newtown tCemetBry, and we trust this longstanding disgrace will be speedily removed by the ■<jKriVve and prompt measures taken by .Churchmen.

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