The BISHOP of EXETER, in pursuance of the notice which he had given, begged leave to call the attention of their Lordships to the petition which he held in his hand, which showed a case of singular destitution and singular hardship, and he would add singular fraud, but not fraud that in the slightest degree he connected with Her Majesty's Government. It was fraud that had arisen, perhaps, not from the fault of any Government in particular, but from the unhappy system which was very prevalent in the administration of affairs in this country. Things were permitted to flow on in the course in which they happened to be until the evils resulting from them were absolutely intolerable. The present case related to the spiritual destitution of three ecclesiastical districts recently established in the town of Devonport, and was the petition of the Ministers 964 of the three newly constituted ecclesiastical districts, and the Mayor and Magistrates of the borough of Devonport. It showed that within the fortifications of Devonport were contained 27,000 persons, 26,000 of whom, so dense was the population, were crowded within a space of less than one-fifth part of a square mile. There was no town in England that approached to this in density of population. In London the population was 50,000 to every square mile; in Liverpool, 100,000. But in Devonport the population was in proportion of 130,000 to the square mile. The petitioners stated that within the limits inhabited by this population, there were no parochial church or chapels, there being only two proprietary chapels, having no free seats except the pews which might be found in the passages and corridors of the building. The districts of which the petitioners were the ministers contained not fewer than 18,000 souls, wholly un-provided with any church or chapel whatever. These were assigned as districts, under the 6th and 7th Viet., commonly called Sir R. Peel's Act; one condition of the establishment of such districts was that there should not be a consecrated church or chapel within them. Their Lordships would see that these three districts contained, on an aver-ago, each 6,000 souls, without any church or chapel whatsoever. The only free schools accessible to the population were a ragged school and a free day-school for the sons of seamen, and of pensioned and retired soldiers, fishermen, and watermen; but it was, of course, impossible that the three clergymen of the Church of England who had the spiritual care of so enormous a population could devote any attention to the administration of religious instruction in those schools. But this was not all. The want of the ministration of the Church had been in no way supplied by the labour of other classes of Christian teachers. In the several Dissenting meeting-houses within the town, the accommodation for those who were unable to pay was very small. He would not wound the feelings of their Lordships by telling them of facts which had fallen within his own knowledge—these facts became more disastrous—they had a more imperative claim upon the attention of Parliament and of the Government, because they were connected with the sufferings of those men upon whom our greatest temporal interests depended, for these 18,000 sailors chiefly had retired pensions after having long been in the ser- 965 vice of the country. This state of things attached to a population which had been created altogether by the demands of our naval and military service, and had the strongest claim on the Government of the country; and it seemed as if they were absolutely cut off from the sympathies of men. He had endeavoured, two years ago, to obtain a subscription to provide some relief for this fearful destitution; but his applications had frequently been met by the observation that, under the circumstances, it was the duty of the Government to come forward and afford the means of religious instruction. It was certainly impossible, from the general poverty of the people, that they could contribute anything like the sum requisite for the erection of three churches, which would not be less than 15,000l. The petitioners, in conclusion, prayed the House to give them its powerful support, urging their case on the attention of the Government.
§ The MARQUESS of LANSDOWNEobserved that it was quite unnecessary for him to say that the subject was worthy the consideration of Government. No doubt the right rev. Prelate had made a correct statement of facts; but the only means of remedy was that of a special grant; and the question would be, would the House of Commons be satisfied that there was sufficient evidence to make such a grant? He could not say how far this case was to be distinguished from others; but that it would receive every attention no one could doubt.
§ House adjourned.