From William Spence   23 April 1858

My dear Sir,

I have not yet received your Parish accounts, but any arrangement you make as to my Reservation Subscription will have my entire approval.

Both in your kindness to your parishoners & in your letter you have all the advantage in the argument. There can be no doubt that they who have brought a [illeg.] to the Church rate are in [illeg.] bound to pay it & even D [illeg.] to reflect at all ought to consider it as a [illeg.] trifling recognition to the only really tolerating Church in the world (witness Sweden & Norway) for this perfect liberty to worship God in their own way.

I regret that you should have among your parishoners any so insensible of their due obligations to you for your zealous & unvaried efforts for their improvement & that of their children, but unhappily it is too true that(?) a large proportion of our small favours, from their defective education & previous habits think of nothing but seeing every possible wrong.

Trusting that your kind & conciliating [illeg.] will in the end lessen this ungrateful treatment.

I am | my dear Sir | yours very truly | W. Spence