Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Thursday 20 March 1862, page 3


A WELSH CHARON.

(From the Examiner.)

ABOUT two hundred years ago, when the Welsh Bap-

tists were denied interment in the parish church, j yards, in Pembrokeshire, one Griffith Howell prepared a place at Trevangor, near the town of Narberth, for the Baptists of Ffynnon Meeting-house to bury in. The Trevangor estate lies on the road from Haverford west to Carmarthen, and in a corner of the Trevangor estate lies the little enclosure thus consecrated to the use of the Baptists. The land always seems to have been sold with reservation of the Baptist rights to the graveyard. A map of the estate, made in 1072, defines its boundaries, marks it with letter A, and adds a note that it is " a burying-place belonging to the Baptists, and belongs to Ftynnongwell-na-bwich Meeting-house." There is distinct record of this profession in the minutes of the Meet-ing house itself, dated as far back as 1720. In 1838 the Trevangor estate was bought from a Miss Napier by a Mr. Arthur Williams, whose widow testifies to the distinct explanation by Miss Napier to her husband and herself that the burial-ground was not sold with the property. Mr. Williams sold the estate afterwards, with a like reservation, to a Mr. Roblin, who sold it again to a Mr. J. L. P. G. Lewis, of Henan, and declares that he not only never possessed, claimed, or sold the cemetery, but then when selling the land he lent Mr. Lewis's solicitor the map before referred to" that the fields sold and the burial ground excepted from sale might be properly delineated on the purchase deed.

That being the case, the body of a somewhat distinguished Baptist minister and a Pembrokeshire man -the Rev. David Griffiths, late of Accrington-who had died expressing as almost his last wish " that he should be buried in the old yard at Trevangor," was brought some days since, out of Lancashire into

Pembrokeshire for burial. But his funeral procession was arrested at the Narberth Road Station by the intelligence that Mr. J. L. P. G. Lewis had caused the grave to be filled up, and locked the graveyard gate, claiming the ground as his own, and demanding recognition of his right by a halfpenny toll for the passage of the dead. Uncertain what should be done, the mourners dropped the body into a temporary grave at Narberth. A Mr. Rees, as representative of the Baptists, then under-took to show the facts to Mr. Lewis, and bring him to reason. When the actual and forcible burial took place, Mr. Rees explained how he had sped.

He used every argument with Mr. Lewis that he

could think of. He showed him how valueless to him the property really was-that he could do nothing with it-that he had greviously outraged the feelings not only of all the religious denominations in Pembrokeshire, but of the entire public, and that it would be an act of grace and propriety were' he to give a piece of land to enlarge the present burial place that he would thus retire with some dignity from the contest he had provoked, and would convince the public that he had ened only through a mistaken impression. Mr. Lewis, however, said he was resolved to persist in this course, that he would not allow the burial to take place, unless there was a small payment-a halfpenny-made to him. To this, he (Mr. Rees) replied that he certainly should not advise the denomination to follow any such course the mere payment of the halfpenny was in-significant in itself, but it would be an acknowledg-ment of Mr. Lewis' right, which he for one would never admit. That the Baptists claimed the burialground as their own, and should maintain their light, if he, Mr. Lewis, was so ill-advised as to persist in his present course. Some further conversation ensued, and Mr. Rees then said to Mr. Lewis, that on meeting with his friends in Narberth that afternoon, he should strongly urge them to take possession of the yard. Mr. Lewis then said, "You can bring your action against me, if you like ;" to which Mr. Rees replied, "No, I shall not advise that course, but I shall urge my friends to take possession of the burial-ground, and you can bring your action if you like." Mr. Lewis said, " If you attempt this, I shall oppose you." To which Mr. Rees answered, " We shall certainly attempt it, and if you interfere by force, you will then be breaking the peace, which he did not think was a very seemly thing for a magistrate to do. Mr. Lewis then said, " But you perceive that there is a lock on the gate, to which Mr. Rees replied, " But that can be removed." Mr. Lewis then enquired, " Do you really mean to say, that you will break this locks" Mr. Rees said, " Certainly, we shall do it. The property is ours. You have no right to the burial ground, and are only a trespasser." Mr. Lewis then said, " will you break the lock, and remove the obstructions, that I may have a proper person against whom to bring my action reader. Rees replied " Certainly, I will give you that opportunity ; I will break it myself." Mr. Lewis then said, "You will pledge your word to this ?" to which Mr. Rees answered, " I will." They then parted. Mr. Rees returned to Narberth, and saw the friends there, to whom he related the conversation, and strongly urged them to take possession of the burial ground, which they resolved to do.

The issue of the quarrel was a second funeral on the fourth of this month, which crowded the road for three miles with carriages, horses, and loot passengers. Mr. Lewis not content with the locking of the church paid gate, which would have been sufficient demonstration of his light had he possessed one, went so far as to throw up a fence of thorns at the entrance of the field in which the burial ground stands, he and some of his friends standing behind the works they had thus thrown up.

Mr. Rees, accompanied by some of his friends, walked at the head of the procession, the coffin being immediately behind them, and on their reaching the outside of the thorn fence Mr. Lewis approached it on the inside. Mr. Rees then inquired whether Mr. Lewis was present, and on Mr. Lewis himself answering in the affirmative, the following conversation

ensued :

Mr. Rees : Did you put up this fence, Mr. Lewis ?

Mr. Lewis : I did.

Mr. Rees : We are come to bury our dead ; will

you remove it

Mr. Lewis: I will not.

Mr. Rees: Then I shall proceed to remove it myself.

Mr, Lewis : Pray stop a moment ; let me have my witnesses present to see what you do.

The witnesses having succeeded in forcing their way through the crowd, which by this time had filled the inside of the field about the entrance, Mr. Rees again asked the questions of Mr. Lewis, and having received similar answers he (Mr. Rees) said, " I now proceed to remove this obstruction." He then took hold of an upright stake, and having pulled it out of the ground, said, " Are there any persons here who will help me to take this obstruction down - In stantly a score of persons from inside and outside field laid forcible grasp upon the fence, and in less than a minute the whole of the obstruction was thrown beside the hedge, and the entrance to the field

was free.

The fence having been torn down, Mr. Lewis retired on his second position at the gate of the grave-

yard.

His second defence was forced, and then spades, pickaxes, and bricks being procured, the grave had to be dug and bricked while the time of waiting was employed in a religious service, in an adjacent field that was not the property of Mr. J. L. P. G.

Lewis.

A TRAFALGAR HERO John Fea, one of the few remaining Trafalgar heroes, died on Sunday evening, at the age of 96. He was born in Orkney, and was great-grandson of John Fea, of Clestran, who was an extensive landed proprietor. His great grand-uncle, also of the Orkneys, captured the notable pirate Gow, an account of whom may be seen in Peferkin's Notes. The property belonging to his great-grandfather having been lost in his father's minority, he was brought up in childhood by the Trails of Orkney. When a boy of eight years he fled from the roof of his guardians, and embarked on board a merchant-man. Having served an apprenticeship in the merchantman, he was pressed as an ablebodied seaman in the naval service during the Peninsular war. He served under Nelson at the battle of Trafalgar on board the Indefatigable, commanded by Captain Graham Moore, brother of Sir John Moore, the hero of Corunna. He was also at the taking of three Spanish galleons laden with gold and silver. One of the three having been blown up during the engagement, the remaining two were taken as prizes to England. Having been pressed against his will, and not liking the service, Fea embraced the first opportunity to desert. The consequence of this step was that he lost all participation in the prize money, which was considerable, was debarred from applying for a pension, and precluded from enjoying so much as the honour of wearing a medal, which he would otherwise have done. During all his voyages (and some of his cruises extended over a period of five years) he never had the ill-luck to receive a single mishap, save that once, during a storm, while aloft, he was struck on the foot by a yard-arm, which left a mark through life. Quittug the seafaring life, he entered the employment of the Forth and Clyde Canal Company, in whose service he continued for forty-eight years, during which time he proved himself a faithful HnuU-JMkirk Herald.