472 TO THE EDITOR OF THE EXAMINER. 



sermons, and catechizings, and patting little boys and girls on the head, 

 &c. &c., the best way to enlighten and christianize a parish. Depend upon 

 it, the clergy do, in the main, make themselves what is by others, as 

 well as themselves deemed very useful in a religious point of view in 

 their parishes. Be assured then, unless you are a very immaculate 

 person indeed yourself, you are not, I will not say religiously, but 

 philosophically justified in rating the parochial parsons 011 the score of 

 neglected duties. Again, as regards the poor, take my veracious 

 testimoney to the fact, that the clergy are the largest alms givers of any 

 class of men of the same incomes; and, as for taking an interest in the 

 concerns of the poor, there is hardly a country parish, in which the 

 parson is not the advocate of the poor, at the expence of ill will to 

 himself from the overseers. Item, with respect to tithe-payers I have 

 taken no slight pains to inquire, how far the clergy, stand acquitted of 

 rapacity in collecting their dues. A radical friend of mine, an old 

 country doctor, assured me, the other day, that he never knew a parson, 

 who was not grossly cheated out of his dues ; while he laughed outright 

 at the notion, of a parson ever in a single instance getting more, than the 

 law sets apart for church property. This accords entirely with my own 

 observation ; and, if you are willing to be informed, as I hope and trust 

 for your own sake, you are, as well as for the sake of public peace and 

 charity, you will be glad to be edified by an instance which has lately 

 occurred between parties of my acquaintance. 



A neighbouring rector has a very good living. The proceeds of tithe 

 are much above what you and I should deem adequate remuneration for 

 his services. But this is foreign to the question ; for a relation bought 

 the presentation for him, and he of course has as good a right to the 

 tithes, as you have to the watch in your pocket : it would be treating 

 you like a child to argue with you upon this fact. Well, this rector has, 

 for one of his tithe-payers a man of fortune, who of late years has taken 

 to farming on his own account. This gentleman though a tory, as soon 

 as he commenced farming, found it inconvenient to pay the rector his 

 tithe-demands. The rector knew he had not set his tithe at so much as 

 half of it3 real value, and therefore recalcitrated, or according to you, 

 struggled for his pig, recommending the gentleman farmer, who 'till 

 then had been his intimate friend, to get his rent lowered, to the amount 

 of the required relief (for he did not farm his own land) the parson 

 used some such expostulation as this " I have a wife and children to 

 support, and besides, had I not, the poor should have all I could give 

 away : you are a rich man ; how absurd for me to make you a present 

 of so much money ! if you have made an unfavourable bargain with your 

 landlord, beg him to be equitable, and reconsider the lease." Gross, 

 anti-apostolical selfishness this, Sir, according to your present notions ; 

 but which I hope and trust you will not persist in entertaining much 

 longer. The gentleman farmer holding the same opinion as yourself 

 perhaps, respecting the obligation of parsons to put up with cheating, 

 from this moment foreswore friendly acquaintance with the parson, and 

 proceeded to harass him by the most petty and illiberal stratagems in 

 the collection of his tithe. The parson, thongh not being quite such an 

 angel as you would have a parson be, set himself to counteract the 

 machinations of his quandam friend, and has hitherto succeeded in 

 getting all he required of him, i. e. not quite half what was due. You 

 will admit it to be rather an aggravation of the rough treatment this 

 parson experienced, that this friend of his had, some years before he 



