MASTER NEGA TIVE .92-^1106-16 MICROFILMED 1993 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES/NEW YORK as part of the "Foundations of Western Civilization Preservation Project" Funded by the NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES Reproductions may not be made without permission from Columbia University Library COPYRIGHT STATEMENT The copyright law of the United States - Title 17, United States Code - concerns the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Urde c ' n qhh . j I in the law, libraries and archives are auihonzea lo furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research/' If a user makes a request for. or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair " 4 use," tnai 5? •■" :ft,-3» 4,a ^ may be liable ror copyright fngement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copy order if, in its judgement, fulfillment g? ^'^^ order would fnvo^ve v'niatfon -* '.^:--- Qpyriqht law. AUTHO [HESELTINE, W. TITLE: A TENANT'S STATEMENT PL A CE: LONDON D ■-r>^. Restrictions on Use: COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES PRESERVATION DEPARTMENT t BIB LIOGRAPHIC MTrRn pORM TARHft f QjigiaglMate riaLas Filmed - Existing Bihli ngr.j^M.;^Z;;^ 2i f Q ' "^r^,^->- ^ — ana.n -duel recent ,H fi ursued towards him bu tile. ,4 ;dean alid thapiUr oP CanUrburn.on t^ia oc i Londov-i 14^5504 •-...». '^'^^- Q 0. 3+ 2.6 p. 9S^-4-_£j LiLt£naril!.a_sLaLsrD ^ I duel racaTitlLj pursued towards him b itesdlin-i. nWilliam., 'V^ buj ik dean. ofCanUrburu •} tha occasion oP his renewing I j v,^ ' ■ ^?:..4j Jfjt}'^''' ^fpuniphlets. Master Negative # REDUCTION RATIQ:_ /))< FILM SIZE:_^25^^___ IMAGE PLACEMENT: lA fllA) IB IIB DATE FILMED: ^ -W^<>3 INITIAL; -TA _XE Association for Information and Image IManagement 1100 Wayne Avenue, Suite 1100 Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 301/587-8202 Centimeter iJii 1 iiiilii 2 lllllll III! 3 iiiiliiii 4 5 6 7 ii|iliiii liii III! mil III iiiliiii 8 iiiliiii III 9 10 liii III liii 11 12 llillllll Nil 1 II 1 13 14 nil II llillllll 15 mil T1 rtT pM|iyi|l fm 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 III ( W 1 1 1 1 W 1 1 1 T "I'T'fT'f ^ Inches 1.0 I.I 1.25 m 2.8 III 3.2 14.0 tui 1.4 2.5 2.2 2.0 1.8 1.6 MfiNUFnCTURED TO flllM STRNDflRDS BY APPLIED IMAGE, INC. Mo. 4-. \ '■/ TENANT'S STATEMENT OP THE rt^ CONDUCT » : RFXENTLY PURSUED TOWARDS HIM BY THE DEAN AND CHAPTER OF CANTERBURY, ON THE OCCASION OF HIS RENEWING HIS LEASE. Thus to persist In doing wrong, extenuates not wrong, But makes it iruc'i more heavy. SHAKSPKA-nE. LONDON : PUBLISHED BY SMITH AND ELDER, CORNHILL 1838. PREFACE. LOVDOV : Blaurtce and Co., Fenchurch- street. The reader is requested to bear in mind, in perusing the following pages, that he is perusing a Statement reluctantly wrung from a Conser- vative and a Churchman ; from one who has always been forward, when occasion offered, to render what service he could to the Monarchical Institutions, and the Established Religion of his country. This declaration is made, because he does not wish to be confounded with those adver- saries of the Church, whose enmity, he fears, lies at the foundation of all their pretended zeal for her welfare. For himself, he can truly say, that his sorrow lies at the foundation of this which he has done : but injustice is a two-edged-sword, it seldom smites its victim without also wounding the hand that deals the blow. March 1, 1838. / / / A STATE M E N T, SfC. i ■ti In the year 1821 I purchased, by public auc- tion, a leasehold house at South Lambeth, for the sum of £740. It was held under the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury, on lease for twenty-one years, renewable every seven years. The lease of this property has been renewed to me septen- nially, from the year 1821 down to the present time, on payment of a fine of a year and a half s rent, upon the estimated value of the premises. On every successive renewal, I paid the Dean and Chapter a fine of £80, being a computation accord- in^>* to the principle stated. This mode of renewal is perfectly familiar to all who are acquainted with the holding of land or houses, under lease from the crown, or colleges, or ecclesiastical bodies; and although it does not amount to an actual ''legal right,'' yet it is so established in prac- tice, that it has acquired a titular denomination even among lawyers, by whom it is called the B •1 I 'tenant-right of renewal;"* and it is so universally recognised as a matter of established usage, that, although there be no means of enforcing the re- newal, yet it is uniformly taken into consideration in all transactions relating to such property,— has a direct influence upon the price, and is often a prevailing inducement to accept of it in mortgages and in marriage settlements. In June last, a letter from Mr. Starr, the soli- citor of the Dean and Chapter, informed me that the fine was assessed at £224. 18s., and that the expenses were £10. 10s. 8d., amounting together to £235. 8s. 8d. ! I immediately requested my solicitor to write to Mr. Starr, inquiring whether the basis on which the fines were fixed, remained the same as heretofore ? or whether any new mode had been adopted? To which he replied in the following words : — " I have communicated your letter to the Dean and Chapter, and they desire me to state, that the fine is correctly set, upon a year and a half of the annual value of the property, calculated upon the opinion of their surveyor." I learned, afterwards, and the reader will see, anon, in what manner this *' opinion of the sur- veyor" had been formed, and how worthy it was of becoming the unchangeable law of his employers. Meanwhile, 1 wrote to Mr. Starr, and explained to him the real and actual value of the property, £50. per annum being the utmost rent I could * See Woodfairs Landlord and Tenant, p. 288. obtain for it ; and requested he would communi- cate this circumstance to the Dean and Chapter. The answer to this letter laconically informed me, that *' they saw no reason to alter their deter- mination." I ought not, perhaps, to have been surprised at this answer, for Deans and Chapters are composed but of men; and all my experience of men has taught me, that *' reason" has labo- rious work of it, when employed to convince those who call themselves her disciples, that they ought to relinquish what they think they can retain. On communicating with the tenants of adjacent pro- perty, held under the same title, (and all of whom complained bitterly of the conduct of the Dean and Chapter to themselves,) I learned that the Rev. Dr. Spry, the rector of St. Marylebone, had been appointed by the Dean and Chapter to hear the complaints of any of the tenants on the subject of their fines, in order to investigate them. There was something business-like in this ; something that implied, at least, the expectation of a **host of complaints." So they began by nominating oie of themselves to hear the complaints, in order to ensure iuW justice to all parties. Dr. Spry, re- presenting in his own person the collective '' rea- son" and *' equity" of the Dean and Chapter, and having, of course, no personal inteixst in either affirming or annulling any of its acts which might tend to increase the revenues of the several pre- bendal stalls, was the person, of all others, most 4 Jit to hear and determine controversies between those who had to pay the money, and those to whom it was to be paid ! I accordingly sought, and obtained, an interview with him ; when I stated, that I considered the fine demanded of me was excessively disproportionate to the real value of the premises,— a fact which I moreover offered to prove by the concurrent testimony of some of the principal surveyors in London. This propo- sition was instantly rejected, for Dr. Spry in- formed me that the ** Dean and Chapter always declined to allow any evidence to be given against the calculation of their own surveyor; they always abided by uis valuation,'' " If that be right, which Warwick says is right, There is no wrong, but every thing is right." SlIAKSPEARE. I now clearly comprehended all the advantage of being permitted to lay my complaints before Dr. Spry. Nothing disheartened, however, I inquired whether I might be allowed to show that their **ovvn surveyor" was altogether in error, and that he could not have possibly seen the premises which he professed to have valued? My request was granted ; the gentleman's name was given to me, — Mr. Austin, of Canterbury. To him I accordingly wrote, explaining every particular of the property, even to a statement of the rent I had received, (viz. £65), while letting it by the year instead of on lease. What did Mr. Austin \ # i I- do ? Why, he very politely referred me back again to Dr. Spry! I have since learned, that the survey of the estates of the Dean and Chapter had been this year, for thej^V^^ time, entrusted to Mr. Austin ; but I have not been able to dis- cover why the office was thus transferred from the respectable London house, by whom it had previously been executed. Causes, however, may sometimes be inferred, and with tolerable accuracy, from effects; and a shrewd guess can be made as to objects, when we see the thing that is done. Mr. Austin certainly signalized his first year of office as a surveyor, by discoveries that had escaped his predecessors; and the Bill of Lord John Russell respecting Church Lands may, perhaps, help to throw a little light upon the preference which the Dean and Chapter might be disposed to give to a surveyor, who would assist them to make their hay while the sun was shining. It has been frequently observed, that we seldom know the value of a thing till we have either lost, or fear to lose it: and to some such recently awakened, but practical and sensible estimate as this, we may probably ascribe the solicitude of the Dean and Chapter to convince the world, that they are at last become aware of the value of their stalls ! We are all of us prone (and, in some cases, a very amiable feeling it is,) to make the most of what we have, when there is a prospect of not having it long. ^ M^™ ^ , ai« LA * 6 *' The grk'f that on my quiet preys. That rends my heart, that checks my tongue, I feel will last me all my daysj But /ear it will not last me long.'' Not choosing to play shuttlecock between these two battledores, (Dr. Spry and Mr. Austin,) I next requested an interview with the Dean and Chapter, which I obtained ; and on the 2nd of December last I waited on them at Canterbury, when I stated my case before the Audit Board, consisting of, I believe, ten of the Prebends, the Bishop of Oxford (the Dean) being in the chair. I referred them to the letter of their solicitor, in which the rent for one year and a half was stated as the basis on which the fine they required had been calculated; and then contrasted the amount of a fine so computed, according to the actual rent of the premises, with the sum claimed. I offered to prove, by documentary evidence, and even by affidavits if required, that the sum as- sessed was equal to six years' rack rent of the premises. I also referred to their conduct with respect to other tenants — pointing out that those holding land only, were raised 50 per cent, on their usual fine, whilst I was raised 200 per cent, upon a house, which was subject to charges for repairs, decorations, &c. The only reply made to my statements, was by Dr. Spry, who seemed to be the Magnus Apollo of the assembly. He said ** that perhaps \ Y f my house had been formerly undervalued, and my neighbour's land had been valued at its worth; therefore, that which appeared exorbitant in my case, was not really so, nor was his land other- wise than justly rated ; and that if I produced fifty certificates from surveyors, and aflSidavits from tenants, the Dean and Chapter would not receive them: they always relied on their sur- veyor, and would not have his valuation questioned.'' I answered, that this was not an ordinary error in judgment, but a valuation of at the rate of six years' rent, instead of one and a half; but I an- swered in vain; they persisted in refusing all proof. I knew I should not be allowed to '' chop logic " with Dr. Spry, otherwise I should have ventured to point out the singularly unfortunate admission involved in his hypothesis, that per- haps my house had been hitherto undervalued. Suppose that to have been the fact, it would fol- low, that the exorbitant fine against which I was protesting, had been, not, as Mr. Starr, their own solicitor, stated, correctly set upon one and a half years value of the property , nor as their own sur- veyor led them to imagine, because he had sur- veyed the property, and found it to be of a yearly value which rendered a fine of £235. 8s. 8d., instead of £80, a just and equitable fine; but because the Dean and Chapter wanted to levy a retrospective fine of arrearages in 1837, to indemnify them for a presumed laxity during the 8 preceding sixteen years ! Thus it is that men proceed from bad to worse, when they begin with that which is bad. So long as they adhere to principles, they avoid inconsistencies : at length, sensible of the absurdity which incon- sistency involves, they accommodate their prin- ciples to their practices. But, even if the very adroit insinuation of Dr. Spry had been correct, (which it was not, for I had always been fully rated,) such a mode of posterior indemnification, if that were the object of the increased assessment, would, in my judgment have been illeg^vl: for every fine which had been theretofore paid, and every lease which had been previously granted thereupon, constitutes a final act. The Dean and Chapter were not at liberty to be unjust now, because they hady?>r- mtrly been careless. Moreover, what became of the boasted infallibility of their surveyor? Is he infallible only when he values high, and subject to have his infallibility corrected when he values low? I am afraid if any thing so incredible as an under-valuing were to take place, and a remarkably conscientious tenant were to insist that his fine ought to be raised, the Dean and Chapter would not contend quite so stiffly for the accuracy and infallibility of their surveyor. I shall, however, proceed with my narrative. I was requested to withdraw, and was subse- quently re-admittcd in order to meet the surveyor .^ 9 who had been sent for in the interval. On asking him, whether he had really seen the house upon which he had fixed such an erroneous value ? he stated where it was situate, but would not say he had been over it for the purpose of survey ; he added, that ''knowing nothing himself of the neighbourhood or of its localities, he had called in to his assistance a person who had a local knowledge of the property; and that his mode of survey (in company with his friend,) was to call on the various persons in the neighbourhood, and to inquire, what they paid for their houses?" He admitted, that he believed *' some of them conjectured, from his mode of application, that he came to purchase their premises for a rail-road in that neighbourhood, (the Southampton,) and that they therefore named high prices ; but he inquired of others, and receiving various replies, had formed his estimate of the whole from the general infor- mation thus obtained:' This was what he deno- minated his survey! I requested the name of the person who accompanied him, and was an- swered, that he could not give up the name, as persons in their profession who valued high, if known, lost much of their business, &c. The re- levancy of this argument in a case, the very gist of which was the imputation oi concessive valuation, was utterly beyond my comprehension. I there- fore continued to press for the name, when one or two of the Prebends exclaimed, **he should conceal the name— it should not be stated:' 10 Let us pause here for one moment, just to admire the originality and excellence of Mr. Austin's mode of surveying property ; because I presume that the implicit confidence of the Dean and Chapter, in all his decisions, has been reposed in him, in proportion, and in precise relation to, that excellence and originality. Being ignorant of the neighbourhood and its lo- calities, and therefore not particularly competent, as it seems to me, to perform the office he had undertaken, the best thing he could have done would have been to apprize his employers of his insufficiency in this respect; failing that, the next best certainly was, to perform his office by proxy, and obtain the requisite information from some one who was not as uninformed as himself. Does he do this ? Mr. Austin says ** yes ;'' but the only proof we have, in my case, of the discretion of his selection, or of the knowledge and competence of his representative, is his assessing a fine equal to sLv years' rack 7^ent of the premises, while the solicitor of the Dean and Chapter, Mr. Starr, declares that the said fine had been ** correctly set upon a year and a half of the annual value of the property." This fact, this palpable incongruity, does not, at any rate, supply us with evidence either of the ju- diciousness of his deputation, or of his substitute's competency; and as the whole case hinged upon the correct valuation of the property, it was clear that the Dean and Chapter's position would be fortified, and mine proportionably weakened, by i 11 showing that the valuation was correct: in other words, by showing that the person who actually valued it, since their own surveyor did not, was a person of known and admitted competence, and whose judgment in such matters could not possibly be called in question. Instead of this, they place a screen between me and this myste- rious gentleman, — this tert'mm quid ; they pro- hibit Mr. Austin from removing it, and require me to be satisfied with his oracular decision ; although the very nature of that decision demon- strated, as I have shown, that it must have arisen from utter ignorance of the neighbourhood and of its localities, an ignorance quite as conspicuous as that of Mr. Austin himself. I have no hesi- tation, indeed, in stating it as my firm belief, that neither Mr. Austin nor his substitute, who- ever he was, ever entered the house at all. They may have looked at it from the road, and I am a little incredulous even upon that fact; but, beyond such a view of the premises, I feel per- fectly assured no other was made, and that nothing which can fairly be called a survey was ever attempted. After it was determined that the name of the assistant surveyor should not be given up. Dr. Spry emphatically observed, ** You have paid the money V" to which I replied, ** Yes, but under pro- test." I was not a little puzzled as to the object of this interrogatory. It looked as if the money 12 was the only thing they cared about ; as if they did not intend to trouble themselves about the equity of the payment, or whether one of their tenants had just grounds of complaint; but simply to take care that the money had duly found its way into their coffers ; as if, in short, possession of the money superseded the necessity of inquiring into the right of possession. ''Quserenda, pecunia primum, Virtus post nummos." Hor. I then requested that the surveyor should retire with me, in order that I might explain to him the nature of my proofs ; but this was objected to by the Prebends, who said their surveyor ought not to go out to be questioned, or to have his judg- ment impugned, &c. Mr. Austin, however, having intimated that he had no objection to retire and confer with me, I instantly claimed the benefit of this concession, and urged that if he did not object, no third person was competent to do so. We accordingly retired to another room, where I inquired what could have led him into such an error, the house in question being let for only £50 per annum ? I had the affidavit of the tenant to prove that fact, and I also stated (in order to show the adequacy of the rent re- ceived) that no premium had been paid for the lease. He replied, that he had endeavoured, when in London, to see me, and to get some information; but failing to do so, he had valued the premises as 13 well as he could. I asked whether, if he had seen me, and had learned the several particulars of which I then informed him, his valuation would have been different? He candidly said, ** Cer- tainly ; had I seen you and obtained the infor- mation I now possess, my valuation would not have been what it is." *'Well, then," I rejoined, *' the information which would at that time have guided you, I now proffer on oath; will not that suffice ?" The gentleman's answer staggered me. ** No," said he, ** I cannot retract; I cannot say I am wrong! though you perhaps are right!! No, 1 adhere to my valuation ! ! ! " This latter phrase was repeated several times during our interview ; as if it constituted the strength of his position. There was something quite Pontifical, I thought, in this sturdy assertion of his valuation — this determination not to acknowledge he was, or could be, wrong. There is a well-known anecdote of the cele- brated Lord Mansfield, which seems to be rather apposite to the present occasion. A young bar- rister had been appointed to a judicial situation in one of the colonies, and being somewhat distrust- ful of his official qualifications, he inquired of that great legal functionary how he could best protect himself against the chance of his judgments being reversed ? '' Never give a reason for your judg- ments, " was the significant reply. The Dean and 14 Chapter, and their surveyor, seem to have been equally impressed with the importance of such prudential silence. They had no vindication to offer for the demand made, but the evasive one ''we rely on our surveyor,'' a reliance, be it always remembered, avowed in the same breath with their refusal to receive documentary and sworn evidence to disprove the accuracy of his cal- culation. Their surveyor, with equal caution, would not venture any justification of his valu- ation; but, even after the facts adduced had extorted the reluctant acknowledgment, that if he had known all the circumstances when he made his valuation it would have been different, he quits the contemplation of facts, and contents himself with saying, ** I adhere to my valuation:' '' Sic volo, sic jubeo, stet pro ratione voluntas." On returning with this gentleman to the audit room, I stated that he '' adhered to his valuation" without attempting to vindicate it, and after having, in fact, virtually acknowledged its incor- rectness. I requested, therefore, once more to know, whether my evidence of his mistake (always using the gentlest term) would be received ? This renewed tender of proof seemed however to excite a general feeling of uneasiness, and it was intimated, to me, in no equivocal terms, that the matter was at an end, and could not be fur- 15 ther discussed. I then informed Dr. Spry, that as it was evident I could not obtain that justice which I should have received from any lay-land- lord, nothing now remained but that I should avail myself of the only remedy to which the oppressed could resort, viz. the privilege of com- plaint; and that I should most assuredly bring the affair before the public. To this Dr. Spry replied, '' It would be well for me not to con- clude in the language of menace." I explained the sense in which I had used the term,*' bringing it before the public," and then retired. On the evening of that day, (Saturday, 2nd of December,) I resolved to make another effort to induce these reverend gentlemen to reconsider the case, and addressed the following letter to them: — TO THE REV, THE DEAN AND CHAPTER OF CANTERBURY. Rose Inn, Canterbury, Saturday Evening, Dec. 2, 1837. I feel it to be due equally to you and to myself, that 1 should not leave Canterbury without forwarding the present commu- nication j and 1 do so the more anxiously, because it might happen, that what I said of my intention to bring my case before the public, may be considered merely as a hasty de- claration, made under a momentary excitation of feeling. I beg leave most respectfully, but firmly, to state that nothing short of the reparation to which 1 consider myself justly entitled, will induce me to abandon that intention j and that in being driven to execute it, 1 shall act under the painful I I 16 necessity of raising a public discussion upon matters, which no friend to the Established Church could wish to see agitated in these times. I claim to be considered as one of those friends ; but I cannot submit to an act of injustice, even though it be inflicted by the church I love. That I should seek redress in respectful language is due to you ; that I should persevere in my endeavour to obtain it, is due to myself. On the termination of our interview, I was admonished by Dr. Spry, ''not to conclude in the language of menace." I beg leave to observe, that self-justification is not menace^ The world indeed is naturally prone to doubt even the existence of wrong, when those who allege they are sufferers speak of it themselves with apathy. In proportion to the real sense of an injury, will always be the tone in which remonstrance against it is conveyed. I have, at considerable personal inconvenience, waited upon you at this place in order to prove that, through the mistake of your surveyor, you have been led to the violation, both in the letter and the spirit, of a compact into which you entered with me. I proffer to you such evidence as will sustain the charge I advance, and I am then informed by Dr. Spry, " that if I bring fifty affidavits from tenants, or certificates from the first surveyors in London, you will still adhere to the opinion of your agent, — you will not allow another valuation against his j" — in other words, to prove your surveyorwrong by the evidence of those of his own profession is against your rules — and to any other mode of proof you will not listen at all ! You then allow me to confer with this infallible personage, and having reduced to writing what passed, I find his first admis- sion to be, that " he knew nothing of the localities of the neigh- bourhood — that he endeavoured to see me for the purpose of inquiry, but failed j but that had he seen me and learned those particulars (of which I subsequently informed him), his valua- tioni would not have been ivhat it was ! He thought I might be right, but still he could not retract ; the Dean and Chap- ter might abate the fine." This is only a portion of the strange w <, J 17 admissions made by Mr. Austin in the course of our interview, the whole of which I shall in due time produce. Now, Rev. sirs, I implore you to reconsider this case. Is it a dignified attitude — is it even a just position, for the guardians of the property of the Church of England to be squabbling about a trifling increase of rent with their tenants, in order to protect their surveyor from the consequence of an erroneous judgment ? Is this a time to " buy and sell, and get gain," when our beloved Establishment is in peril from the designs of the crafty, and the daring recklessness of the bold ) when our Church, the richest legacy of our forefathers, and the best inheritance of our children, is *' so assaird, That all her teropest-beaten turrets shake?" No J it cannot be. This case must be reconsidered 3 and even Dr. Spry will, I trust, see both the justice and expediency of such a course. Your audit, as I understand, terminates on the 16th inst.3 by which period, should I receive no satisfactory communication, I shall consider myself absolved from all the responsibility that may attach to the course I shall then have to pursue j whether that course be the presentation of a petition to the House of Commons by the Members for Lambeth, or an appeal to the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury through the columns of the public press. I have the honour to remain, &c. W. Heseltine. I then left Canterbury; but subsequently hear- ing nothing further from the Dean and Chapter, and being still most reluctant to abandon all hope of a fair and equitable adjustment, I addressed them again, on the 7th December, as follows : c I 18 lo iiiL kl:v. the dean and chapter of CANTERBURY. Turret House, South Lntnbeth, Thursday, Dec. 7, 1837. Having received no reply to my communication of the '2nd ult., I am in doubt whether my case is still under con- sideration, or whether your deliberations upon it have finally closed. Earnestly deprecating public discussion, and desirous, if it be possible, of effecting an amicable adjustment of the dis- pute between us, I beg to submit the following propositions. 1st. The fine imposed for the renewal of the lease has hitherto been £S0 ; the justice of the valuation is proved by the rent I am now receiving, viz. fSOperannum : one and a half year's rent would therefore be £75. As you have, however, now thought proper to depart from your accustomed mode, and to raise the fines of your tenantry, on an average, as I understand, of about 50 per cent., I am quite willing to submit, in common with them, to such advance, on the justice or equity of which I desire to make no remark. Fifty per cent, upon my accustomed fine would raise it to £l20: this I am willing to pay j or, ^ndly. In the event of the rejection of the above proposition, I am willing to leave the entire matter in dispute between us to the arbitration of two gentlemen, one to be chosen by each party. Should you decide on the rejection of both these propositions, may I request a notification to that effect ? Permit me, Rev. sirs, once more to assure you, that it is with a sincere desire to avoid the only alternative that will then remain, that I trouble you with this communication. I have the honour to be, &c. W. Heseltine. 19 On the 0th, I received a letter from Mr. Starr, informing me, ''that the Uean and Chapter could not consent to make any abatement in the fine ; but as I stated that it was excessive, that I had paid it with reluctance, and under protest, they were willing to return the fine, o?i surrender of the leaseforseveii years just granted^ To this proposal, involving the loss of that for which I had paid £740 by public auction, I returned an answer, of which the following is a copy : Sir, Stock Exchange, Dec. 9, 1837. I have received your letter informing me that " the Dean and Chapter cannot consent to make any abatement in the fine," and proposing, as an alternative to me, submission, or the surrender of my lease. With the latter stipulation 1 am unable to comply, having entered into an engagement with my tenant for a lease of twenty-one years, as I stated most dis- tinctly at the audit board. I must therefore submit to terms, (the injustice of which I am peremptorily denied the means of proving,) because the Dean and Chapter possess the power of enforcing compliance; although I had hoped, that however the possession of such power by the laity might occasionally lead to abuse, the mere circumstance that it was entrusted to the dignitaries of the Church of England was of itself a sufficient guarantee to their tenants, not only for the most equitable, but even the most kindly and considerate exercise of it. It appears I was mistaken, and therefore my duty is the more obvious. I must state my case to the public, in order that persons who, like myself, have bought by public auction leases of Dean and Chap- ter lands,— a description of property which is the subject of marriage settlements, and which is interwoven in pecuniary arrangements of all kinds, — may know the uncertain tenure (so far as the mistakes of surveyors are concerned) by which 20 ill reiility such ecclesiastical property is held. 1 regret exceed- ingly the decision of the Dean and Chapter, of which you have apprized me in your letter of this day. I remain, sir. Your obedient servant, T. Starr, Esq. ^V. Heseltine. This communication terminated my intercourse with the Dean and Chapter and their surveyor. I have thus gone through all the circumstances of this transaction as between myself and the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury. Every reader of the statement will, I believe, agree with me that it is one of great hardship, not to say injus- tice. The facts are so few, so simple, and so strong, as to preclude the possibility of any mis- take in judgment. The appeal that was made to the reverend gentlemen in their collective capa- city, afforded them an opportunity of retracting their error, and of avoiding the consequences which publicity would entail upon them. But how true is the observation — " Quos Jupiter vult perdere, prius dementat." 1 do not believe that any person can be found (out of the audit room) who would affirm that 1 have been justly treated. I doubt, indeed, whe- ther even the exception I have made is a cor- rect one ; because I know the difference be- tween doing icrorig, and mutak'wg it for right. Our passions perpetually mislead us, our moral sense never; release a man from the perverting 21 influence of self-interest, and he instantly be- comes capable of pronouncing a just and im- partial judgment. Without this release, even though his tongue may speak injustice, or his actions perform it, he has a monitor within, which neither his tongue nor his actions can deceive; — therefore it is that I doubt the pro- priety of my exception. Defeat is always annoying and irritating, but it is peculiarly so when it is the result of a despotic power; when all the right is on one side, and nothing on the other but the absolute and pe- remptory exercise of that power, — measuring its strength by the apparent weakness of its opponent. I cannot divest my mind of the im- pression, that a position of this sort has had its influence in determining the Dean and Chapter to abide by their decision, once taken. A partial decision on the claims of so humble an individual as myself created no apprehension of danger; and I cannot help suspecting, that the imagined impunity with which the blow might be struck, was the inducement to strike it. Such occasions give rise to serious regret, that there should be the absence of first principles in places where, it w^ere to be hoped, they would most abound ; and that the persons who were recusant of the operation of such principles, should be those from whom we expected, and had a right to expect, the most abundant opera- 22 tioii of such influences. But true it is— and ** pity 'tis, 'tis true," that— ^ " habit can efface ; Interest overcome ; or policy take place." Pope, Ep. i., 1G6. The age in which we live, so jealous of every assumption of power, and so severe in scruti- nizing every abuse in old establishments, is but ill adapted for such an experiment. One would have thought, that, in the absence of all higher and better motives, the mere consideration of certain temporal circumstances would have had its weight with the Dean and Chapter ** to assume the virtue, if they had it not," of reason and moderation in their pecu- niary transactions with the public. Common policy prescribes to them such a course. Their boldness may be well reserved for some better occasion, than when their temporalities only are concerned. The land which has shaken off the lazy slumbers of a cloistered priesthood, will not easily submit to ecclesiastical oppression by their Protestant successors. Their enemies reproach them with caring more for the endowments of the church, than for her doctrines ; with looking more eagerly after her revenues, than after her spiritual prosperity ; with insisting on the hire, whilst they neglect the service. The notion, right or wrong, (and I 23 am one of those who believe it to be wrong,) pre- vails, that our ecclesiastical establishment, from its overgrown wealth, draws to its bosom men who are influenced principally by the considera- tion of the stipends they hope sooner or later to obtain. It happens too, unfortunately, that this notion is, of all others, the best adapted to work upon the multitude. It is what every man can understand. The meanest capacity can be made to comprehend 'that a Bishop, a Dean, or a Pre- bendary, receives thousands for doing nothing, or at any rate for doing that which might be done for a tithe of the sum : but talk to such a man about the doctrine or discipline of the church, and though you may enlist him in your cause, he will never embrace it with the same hearty good will, as when he believes himself to be opposing the unjust distribution of her wealth. Hence the popular cry, now heard so loud and strong, and menacing such disastrous consequences, is directed, almost exclusively, against the supposed exorbitant wealth of the establishment, and the (equally supposed) love of that wealth, as being the sole influencing prin- ciple of its dignitaries. Such, then, being no- toriously the temper of the times, what can be said in defence of a proceeding, which exhibits a capitular body, (certainly ?'icA enough already,^ engaged in an undignified, unscriptural, and worldly-minded struggle for extracting from its 1 24 tenantry a few more hundred pounds at the ex- pense of justice, and equity, and fair dealing? Is the time wisely chosen, I again ask, for such an experiment, even were there nothing in the experiment itself, except the time, which could be complained of? What! when your enemies are loudly accusing you of rapacity, and of the love of pelf, and are turning that accusation power- fully against you as an engine for your destruc- tion, do you select such a moment, to exhi- bit yourselves voluntarily in a position likely to give colour to it? Do you invite an en- vious and misjudging but censorious world to vindicate its aspersions, by showing in one in- stance, at least, that its calumnies are become truths? Were I myself an enemy,! should rejoice at this infatuation— this act of judicial blindness ; but as one who loves the Church, and there- fore anxiously desires she should carry her mitred head not only above peril, but above reproach, or even suspicion, I grieve at it. Why then, it may be asked, being a friend, have I pursued this course? I answer, first,' because the worst office friendship can perform is' to be silent //// it is too late (for any useful pur- pose) to speak ; secondly, because I labour under the infirmity of not being so submissive as to put forth my neck, that the proud foot of oppression may trample upon it! I II / APPENDIX. " I, John Alexander Fulton, of the house called Stam- ford-place, South Lambeth, in the parish of Saint Mary, Lam- beth, in the county of Surrey, do solemnly and sincerely declare, that in or about the month of November last past, I agreed with William Heseltine, of Turret House, South Lambeth, aforesaid, Esquire, for a Lease for twenty-one years, wanting a few days, to be computed from Lady-day last past, of all that messuage or dwelling-house called Stamford Place, situate and being in South Lambeth, in the parish of Saint Mary, Lambeth, in the county of Surrey, adjoining to a house called Turret House, toge- ther with the yard, garden, and orchard, coach-house, and stable thereunto belonging and held therewith, with the appurtenances, at the yearly rent of fifty pounds, and subject to the usual covenants for payment of rent, and keeping the said premises in repair, &c. And I do further declare, that I am now in the possession of the said house and premises, so agreed to be leased for twenty-one years, wanting a few days, under such agreement, and that no pecuniary consideration has been, or is to be, paid for the granting of such lease. And I make this declaration, con- scientiously believing the same to be true, and by virtue of the provisions of an Act made and passed in the fifth and sixth years of the reign of his late Majesty, entituled "An Act to repeal an Act of the present Session of Parlia- 26 ment, entituled ' An Act for the more effectual Abolition of Oaths and Affirmations taken and made in various Depart- ments of the State, and to substitute Declarations in lieu thereof, and for the more entire suppression of voluntary and extra-judicial Oaths and Affidavits, and to make other provision for the Abolition of unnecessary Oaths.' '' J. A. FULTON. Declared before me at Guildhall, London, this 28th'' day of November, 1837. J J. Cowan, Mayor. • \% THE END.