s of the
old beadle system have been defeated in their stronghold, and the
advocates of the great new beadle principles have achieved a proud
victory.

Our parish, which, like all other parishes, is a little world of its own,
has long been divided into two parties, whose contentions, slumbering for
a while, have never failed to burst forth with unabated vigour, on any
occasion on which they could by possibility be renewed. Watching-rates,
lighting-rates, paving-rates, sewer's-rates, church-rates,
poor's-rates--all sorts of rates, have been in their turns the subjects
of a grand struggle; and as to questions of patronage, the asperity and
determination with which they have been contested is scarcely credible.

The leader of the official party--the steady advocate of the
churchwardens, and the unflinching supporter of the overseers--is an old
gentleman who lives in our row. He owns some half a dozen houses in it,
and always walks on the opposite side of the way, so that he may be able
to take in a view of the whole of his property at once. He is a tall,
thin, bony man, with an interrogative nose, and little restless perking
eyes, which appear to have been given him for the sole purpose of peeping
into other people's affairs with. He is deeply impressed with the
importance of our parish business, and prides himself, not a little, on
his style of addressing the parishioners in vestry assembled. His views
are rather confined than extensive; his principles more narrow than
liberal. He has been heard to declaim very loudly in favour of the
liberty of the press, and advocates the repeal of the stamp duty on
newspapers, because the daily journals who now have a monopoly of the
public, never give _verbatim_ reports of vestry meetings. He would not
appear egotistical for the world, but at the same time he must say, that
there are _speeches_--that celebrated speech of his own, on the
emoluments of the sexton, and the duties of the office, for
instance--which might be communicated to the public, greatly to their
improvement and advantage.

His great opponent in public life is Captain Purday, the old naval
officer on half-pay, to whom we have already introduced our readers. The
captain being a determined opponent of the constituted authorities,
whoever they may chance to be, and our other friend being their steady
supporter, with an equal disregard of their individual merits, it will
readily be supposed, that occasions for