The Press. — London, England, 1856-09-20 00:00:00

SErr. 20, 1856. Government to be Conservative in its mea sures, and force upon it the treatment of those great questions to which we have referred as constituting the present business of the Legis lature. Nor will the sincere members of the Radical section be idle—for in supporting Lord PALMERSTON, they will be proclaiming Liberalism in the face of the nation to be an antiquated myth, and an abandoned delusion. " CLERICAL DISTRESS." IT is totally impossible, within the limits of a single article, to notice a tithe of the com plaints and recriminations which have been recently addressed to the public journals on this subject. A general impression seems to prevail among a certain class of corre spondents that curates are very badly paid on 1001. a year, and that their stipends should be increased by deductions from the incomes of the superior clergy; while, on the other hand, certain rectors and vicars, apparently taking alarm at this way of viewing the subject, have written, in their turn, to show—not, indeed, that curates get enough, but that they them selves are by no means the affluent class which many persons imagine, and that, con sequently, any systematic reductions in the value of livings would be merely remedying one kind of injustice by another quite as great. _ _ - This is pretty much how the case stands at present, and, in our opinion, the incumbents, as far as they have yet gone, have reason on their side. A living of the actual value of 6001. a year by no means represents an income of equal amount at the free disposal of the incumbent, any more than the 2001. or 3001. a year of a Civil servant, subject, as it is, to superannuation deductions and various other burdens, repre sents the resources on which he can depend for his livelihood. Yet certainly 6001. a year is considered one of the prizes in the Church. There are comparatively few livings up to that amount ; and, taken with such limitations as we have described, it cannot be reckoned a very exorbitant income for a man of education, ability, and industry to obtain from his profes sion by the time he is forty years of age. What surgeon, barrister, or solicitor would not consider himself a failure if he were not reap ing a better harvest than that after a similar period of probation ? As to the foolish observation which was permitted to creep into the Times to the effect that the clergyman was generally the idlest man in his parish, it is so manifestly founded in ignorance of a clergyman's life and duties, as to require little or no exposure. Most of the Times readers are likely to be better in formed than the writer of that article, and to know that visiting his parishioners is one of the most responsible and laborious of clerical functions, and one, in fact, on which very often the whole efficacy of his ministration will depend. To recur to the case of the eurates, it is obviously true enough that 1001. a year is but small pay for the work required to be done. But the question is, whether the proposed remedy be the right one. Nobody thinks that Mr. Briefless is badly treated because he gi.ti nothing, while a judge gets 5,0001. a year ; or proposes to dock the salary of Lord CAMPIIILLL to enable the above-mentioned gentleman to indulge in luxuries with which his own exertions are unable to supply him. Ninety pounds a year is n considered too small a salary to maintain a young gentleman in the army. And no one his ever suggested that a sum should be an nually deducted from the colonel's pay to be d , tributed among the ensigns. Is it not pos e ble that the right remedy for the evil com p wined of may be found in bringing the work lag of the clerical profession more into accord ance with that of the army or the bar, in which THE PRESS. these inequalities excite no discontent, rather than in seeking to lessen them by a change which would operate very much like a premium on inability, and a discouragement to talent and energy? If our — ecclesiastical revenues were so dis tributed to-morrow as to insure every man 2001. a year the moment ho was in orders, would the Church be a gainer by the measure ? We cannot think the answer doubtful; for we believe that to make any profession of any real value to the public, it must contain chances of failure as well as chances of success. When we speak of making the clerical pro fession more lii'e the army or the bar, we only mean that a clergyman should have an equally clear understanding with a soldier or barrister about the means and prospects of promotion. It is not that 1001. a year is so little, hut that he has to put up with that little for so long a time, which is the gist of the clergy man's complaint A soldier• knows he can only rise by purchase, a barrister that he can only rise high in his profession by merit of some sort. But the clergyman doesn't exactly know which he has to look t The law against simony forbids the open recognition of the system of purchase, while the practical working of the profession is not favorable to the discovery of merit. If it were a distinctly understood thing that no man could get on in the Church without money, poor men would not enter it, or would, at all events, have no one to blame but themselves for their want of success. If, on the other hand, merit and efficiency alone were regarded, every man would take his chance with perfect fairness, and none would complain because the able men got the prizes. We say, therefore, the true remedy for this " clerical-destitution " grievance is to demand increased vigilance and care in the patrons of Church preferment, and increased facilities for experienced and able men who are without interest to make known their claims to ad vancement. It has been urged, and with some show of reason, against the system of appoint ments by merit in the army, that the Com mander-in-Chief can only choose from those he knows, and that, except in lime of war, it is very difficult for a man to make his merits known. But the Church is in a state of per petual warfare against sin and ignorance, and in all parts of this country are to be found numbers of hard-working and talented men in the position of curates making themselves thoroughly acquainted with the modes of thought, the wants and tastes of the poorer classes, acquiring their confidence, and exer cising great influence over them, who never theless are but too often destined to remain in that position during the whole or greater part of their lives, and to have no opportunity of serving the Church and confirming her autho rity in any more extended sphere. Now, with men of this stamp it is not a question of one hundred a year or two. We do nut object to their receiving small pay at first, but we say that some machinery should exist by which the capabilities of such men could be brought under the notice of the Church, and that it should become a recog nised part of the duties of a bishop to note whatever clergy of this kind are to be found in his diocese, and to give them the precedence in the distribution of patronage. This at all events would be a step in the right direction ; and we are perfectly confident that no robbing of Peter to pay Paul, which seems to find favour with some Church reformers, would ever be half so beneficial to the Church or half so welcome to the clergy. AMERICAN DEVELOPMENTS. IF the horizon of English politics presents nothing interesting at present, it is impos sible to view the aspects of American affairs without much curiosity. The feeling in the States is every day becoming more excited on the exasperating subject of slavery, and cer tain developments are being manifested in American life which are extremely remark able. Foremost amongst these latter is the singular aptitude for the manufacture of war- 891 weapons shown in the States. An old taste for " soldiering" was visible in the Americans from an early stage of their history. Travellers were facetious about their love for calling each other " General" or " Colonel." But some thing more deliberately warlike is shown in the rare ingenuity so continuously applied iu the direction of firearms. Whether we listen to accounts of tourists returned from America, or take up the journals and reviews of the States, our ears or eyes are sure to be rivetted by accounts of some " newly-modelled rifle-musket," or of the " sword-bayonet fur the navy," with particulars of " SHARPE'S Rifle Manufacturing Company," or of the " Ames Company at Chicopee, Massa chusetts," not forgetting the latest improve ments from Colonel COLT. The subject of fire arms is one which seems to possess special attraction for the American invention. For weapons of all kinds there is, doubtless, a con siderable demand in America. The settlers in the " Far West " take some. The large militia force demand others—more for show than use. The mercantile navy, also, call for others, and in the Slave States the masters and overseers keep up an active home market, besides the requisition of sportsmen. The fact, however, that there is such intense application of American ingenuity in the manufacture of fire arms proves, we think, that there is a strong tendency to military ambition in the American mind. It is in this particular point that we can recognise most distinction between English and American society. Mr. MILL, when re viewing the first volumes of DE TOCQUEVILLE . B profound work, remarked that " Tho United "States might be considered as a sort of pro " vincial England." Such may be the case in all that refers to social life, and its petty (though not unimportant) observances. But while distinctions can be seen between "provincial England " and our Transatlantic Anglo-Saxons, along with calculating propen sities, there are developed amongst the Americans a singular impulsiveness and excitability. In a few generations their " race " has become a new type. The physical nerve, and consequent restlessness, of the American is extraordinary; and that fact must tell in the long run on the politics of the States. Climate alone is not the cause of the excitability of the American character. Its domestic politics are confessedly the most exciting, and the most personal in the world. Its elections, its journals, its duels, its debates in Congress, all show that result ; and the question arises, how long will all that excita bility remain without bursting forth into military enterprizes. We shall, therefore, be anxious to see how - • Mrs. STOWE'S new work will be received in the States. Such a question as slavery never could remain unsettled, or an " open " one, with a people of such ardour as the Americans. Looked on from any side, the subject is most perplexing and profound, and it is one upon which vast results will depend in the intellectual prowess and personal spirit of the leaders at either side We fear that the " niggendifficulty can never be solved by the controversy of the tongue and pen. Passions, self-interest, the arrogance of superior re.ce, and the interest of the States generally, as opposed to separate portions of their confederacy, are all at work to complicate this mighty question. We can imagine with what bewildered perplexity PEEL in America would have looked upon such a ques tion as slavery; and there appears to be a class of politicians in the States who are waiting " the logic of events " to give a solution to the question. On either side of it, as it rests now, a g; eat man of action would produce vast results, but as yet we see no signs of such a personage making his appearance.