The Sun. — London, England, 1835-01-29 00:00:00

PIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. Six 'Robert Peel has addressed an answer to the I lte z- V. Mr. McCrea, the Dissenting Clergyman of Dub lin, who had transmitted to the Right Hon. Baress a s the resolutions passed by the congregation of the Rev. Gentleman and Mr. Stuart, expressive of confidence in the liberal policy of the Government. The only por tion of the reply which calls for observation is that wherein the Prime Minister " differs from the Rev. Gentleman as to the policy of curtailing the privileges which the Act of 1829 had conferred upon the Roman Catholics" of Ireland. That they, who live upon the spot, and have opportunities of ascertaining the man ner in which the elective franchise has been exercised by the poorer order of Papists since the temptation to abuse it has been so infinitely augmented by the Bill of 1829—that such eye-witnesses, we repeat, should be shocked by the iniquitous proceedings of those who direct and dictate the application of the fran chise, does not at all astonish us. In fact, as we have before remarked, the franchise nominally vested in the small Roman Catholic freeholder is the substantial property of the Roinish priest, who wields the power thus at his disposal for purposes not con templated by the law of the country, nor consistent with the authority of any law which shall not be sub servient to the pleasure of the Popish hierarchy. But the Rev. Dissenter, who declares his terror at the working of the political power thus vested in the hands of Catholics, is somewhat mistaken in his theory of the effectual cure. He proposes to repeal the law of 1829 which made Catholics eligible to seats in both Houses of Parliament. The evil does not lie there. We are sure that great good has been accomplished by the bill for removing Catholic disabilities, inasmuch as through its operation the noblemen and gentlemen of that faith, who before the passing of the act in question had been incorporated by a sense of griev ance with the rolicontents of both countries, have since been det:elied from their former associates, and fairly won over to the State. Now these, who would naturally corm the material of Catholic repre sentatives in Parliament, might, as it seems to us, be fitly chosen to represent either Protestants orCatholies ; nor can we Understand any possible mischief to . have accrued from their accession to the legislature,'''but much benefit from their intermixture with their Pro testaut fellow-sui.jeCts of the same rank in society. No, we repeat once more, the evil does not lie in that direc tion. It is the privileges granted by the bill of 1793 that are abused—namely, the elective franchise, which, under the hourly increasing despotism of the priests, has been employed for the furtherance of objects never deemed practicable, until within these five or six I tst years, and for the introduction of men into Parliament, whether Protestant or Catholic, equally unqualified, by character and station for such an honour, that they might help forward the one great end, the subju- , gation of Ireland to the joint rule of lay adventurers and priestly rapasety and ambition, by snapping off the connexion with England, - the sole obstacle to such a plot. It would now be a gross miscalculation to suppose that O'Connell, though to serve his purpose he may pretend to play fast and loose with "a Repeal of the Union," will ever again let go his gripe of that undertaking, in the success of which his own fancied aggrandizement, the resumption by, the Romish hierarchy of more than its pristine wealth and power, and the hoped-for fruits of wholesale confisca tion, are so deeply involved. To throw theßritish go vernment off its guard, the repeal of the union may be declaimed upon one day, and dropped the next : it may be treated one day as a fixed and vital mea sure, and the next as a mere contingency—the pis (tiler of a people who never will resort to it but when goaded by despair. We nevertheless entertain and abide by the conviction that time project was conceived much earlier than it was promulgated; and that it will be cherished long after its abandonmsnt shall be for mally proclaimed. Even should O'Connell relin quish it, the priests would cling to it with a per tinacity characteristic of the church of which they are ministers. There is too much to be gained by victory', and too little to be lost by defeat, for them to sacrifice their single chance cf superseding the Established Clergy in those possessions of which twenty centuries, instead of three, would not to the mind's-eye of a Ro mish priest suffice to consecrate the transfer. For those two evils which we have adverted to—viz., the abuse and the enormity of priestly power, and the consequent abuse of the elective franchise by those whole helpless poverty and abject superstition leave them at the mercy of the priest, it will require a dis creet and a fearless Government to see and apply the remedy. We klieve that the right of voting for Irish members of Parliament is exercised by many thou sands to whom it does not lawfully belong. It has been stated to us, that of those who claim to vote in virtue of a 101. freehold, hardly one in three pos= sesses a real qualification. The gross produce of the soil is _almost invariably taken as the measure of the elector's interest in it, instead of the pro fit rent which lie could fairly obtain for it in the market ; and thus the qualification is reduced more than half, and a class of electors allowed to vote over whom the terrors of the church can work with the most re sistless power, but one and all of whom it was the ob ject of the Reform Bill to exclude. A strict enforce ment of the letter of the law on this point would sensibly improve the independence of the constituent body, and circumscribe the jurisdiction of the priest,' With regard to the priest himself, his hatred of a rival and victorious church is, as the law stands, unmiti gated by any other consideration, but on the other hand severely aggravated by interest, acting upon passion. If the priest were paid by the Protestant state, his abhorrence of the Protestant church would be neutralized, and his interest would weigh in the op posite scale, to mere professional animosity. We hold a settlement with the Catnolic Church of Ireland to be almost on a par in political importance with a reform of the Established Church itself. We have not time to proceed with this subject, but refer to a Tralee letter for • further evidence of the machinations of those Popish clergymen, who boast of being ex clusively dedicated to the service of Heaven, and of whom it may be said without hesitation, that if they continue to retain their actual power in Ireland, no other power can be co-existent with it. --Times. The elections may he said to have terminated ; and the question now is—a question much more easy to ask than to answer—which party has succeeded ? Claims are urged, and calculations in support of those claims are appealed to on both sides, but the conclu sive test can only take place within the walls of Par liament—in other words, experience alone can tell. It is gratifying, however, to reflect on the peaceable man ner in :which, with some few exceptions, so great a movement as a general election, conducted too under circumstances peculiarly calculated to inflame party zeal, has been carried to its close in the populous dis tricts and extensive counties of the united kingdom. Even in the metropolitan boroughs, where there was neither a Tack of seal nor an overflow of discretion, we cannot but admire the quiet, the order, and, generally speaking, the good temper, by which this struggle has been distinguished. Civilization has much to boast of ; but nothing can display its influence to greater advan tage, or, at all events, to more striking effect, than those extraordinary combinations of power and tranquility which remind one of the operations of nature her self. With respect to the result of the elections, if they can be said to have decided anything, they have decided not between the two parties which of them possesses the public confidence, but between two pro positions maintained by both parties respectively, one urging the reasonableness, and the other the absurdity, of granting those Ministers a trial whom the Sovereign had been pleased to call to his councils. This was the chief point at issue during the late elections, and not whether reform should go on or stop short, as some have insidiously represented. The project of putting a stop to reform, in the present disposition of the people, and with the present means of the people to ,aive effect to their wishes, would require a Cabinet of madmen for its originators. But though madness might conceive it, madness could not execute it ; and, in fact, it never was a question with the present Ministers whether they would attempt anything so impracticable as, by treachery or cajolery, or any kind of trickery which the animals of deception could supply, to retrace the steps which the country had taken in advance, and undo, with the assistance of the people themselves, all they had been doing during a struggle of no ordinary diffi culty.tne . late elections be It- is decided, if bur view;,; correct, that the specteel - Kings choice shall "irerofative of the Crown shall be re that ihe Ministers of the 1 1 have " f a i r t r i a l ; " but the very tet.sa of tne request, which also dekribe the concession, are conclusive as to the extent of the victory obtained by Ministers against their antagonists. When their measures are befote the public, then, and not till then, we shall see how far the confidence, now conditionally reposed in them, ought to be Confirmed or retracted. But in the mean time it would be the height of folly to suppose that, because the public have granted them a trial, they have granted them_ anything more. We would, therefore, impress upon the new Ministry the absolute necessity —nay, the reiterated pledges they are under to bring forward good measures. The cry of " Measures not men," much as it has been ridiculed by some, will be strictly applied, even by those who now exclaim most loudly against it, to the case of the present Ministers. So far as they have hitherto succeeded, they have, at best, done nothing more than cleared the way for those measures by which they must stand or fall. We re joice, for the sake of justice, that the trial is likely to be granted, and we shall watch the progress of that trial with every disposition to judge impartially, always remembering that while we owe a duty to the Govern ment, we owe another not less imperative to our coun try and ourselves.—Morning Herald. Our view of Church reform has always contem plated a total extirpation of sinecures=-and any mea sure of reform which does not secure that object, we .would consider mutilated and imperfect. We regret, therefore, to observe that our respected contemporary, the Standard, puts in a plea of . mercy for some por tion of the ecclesiastical sinecures. The plea, indeed, is put on as plausible a ground as a plea for an abuse can be put upon. "We mean," he says, " the pre servation of some of_ what are called sinecures in the Church as rewards for learning, piety, -and exer tion." Now, to our mind, it appears a strange mode of encouraging exertion, by giving it that sort . of re ward which is a direct temptation to indolence ; that is, if the Standard uses the word.- sinecure in the sense that we do, meaning an office the income of which is independent of the obligaiien of any real duty. Thus there are sinecures in the law—in the civil and military departments of the State—and in the _Church-414 of which we would have swept, away "as abuses inconsistent with the purity and efficiency the establishments on which those excrescences grow, being what the fungi are to the tree, whose nutriment they absorb, while they accelerate the decay "of which they 'are the rank unwholesome symptoms. 'As to piety anif learning, we like both very much, 1 and wish to see e them encouraged and rewarded ; but lit them be rewarded in some more direct and honest -4a t v than that JVhich " make's God's work a sinecure." 'Let the patronage of the Church be extended to pious anti learned men in preference to other claithants for ecdlesiaatic,alspreferment. If patronage be exercised so as to regard nothing but the qualifications of the can didates in respeetlto piety, learning, and industry, the man possessing those requisites for the ministry will have his reward without society losing anything of the usefulness of his exertion. It is_ possible that a scholar of great attainments and of shining abilities may be rendered usel4ss - to society, and eventually a burden to himself, hal being taken out of the path of hardy enterprise and manly emulation, to become the spoiled and pampered child of enervating sine curism. It is true th4t scholarship, to flourish well, should be raised above' the sordid cares of daily life ; but it is equally true that the indulgencies of luxury and indolence are not 14s fatal to the energies of ge nius than the crushing weight of ininutigated poverty. But, in point of fact, thcinecures of the Church have never (for excepted cash only prove the rule) been disposed of, as if they were set apart to he the rewards of "piety, learning,iind exertion." On the contrary, they have, in general, been so bestoWed as if they were created for the .peculiar advantage of well-con nected dullness and favoured incapacity. Defending the integrity of the establishment as we do, against ail its enemies, we cannot conceal its abuses—we cannot disguise the evils which corrupt patronage has brought upon it. How few of thee stalls in cathedrals have ever been given to poor and meritorious scholars—how many of them have been aPpropriatcd to increase the wordly wealth and luxurpof the already overgrown pluralist, whose fortunate-family and political connec tions more than compensate for the poverty of his mental accomplishments and spiritual resources ! Long before Bishop 'Watson's time, whose plan of Church Reform, we and others hare lately alluded to, the celebrated Bishop n3urnet endeavoured to bring, about an extensive reform of the establishment ; but, in consequence of the! opposition which he met with in -the Church itself,J"was not able to effect any thing be yond the passing - "of the Act in the second year of Queen Anne, ta: appropriate the tenths and first fruits to the augmentation of the maintenaee co s o f the poorer clergy:'- We know that this hai, 'men a very limited reform, and has operated.- very slowly, or there would not be at the resent day, so large 'a proportion of the, worle: tog clergy without adequate means of livelihooel in the Church, and therefore obliged to con:fed With their sacred duties some se , cular offices, Such as 'keeping a school, to enable them to streport themselves and families. But Bishop I .,urnet made an atteitipt to render the stalls in ca thedrals serviceable tO,the reward of " piety and learn ing," He set the example in his own diocese, but the heads of the Church a that time—in the reign of Wil liam lll.—Set themselves against his plan, and he was obliged to abandon it. He was even maligned as an enemy to the establishment, though, by the timely re formation of-its abuses ( he would have proved hims its benefactor and preserver. In the life of this eminent Prelate, whose reforms flowed from conscience, and not from popular- clamour, we, find the following passage, bearing upon the part of the question of Church reform which we are now discussing :—" He perceived that the chief strength of the sectaries lay in the market towns. The livings there were most com monly in the gift of the Lord Chancellor, and as the Lord Somers, during • the enjoyment of the Seals, left the nomination to those in the dio cese of Sarum to the Bishop, he endeavoured_ to place in them pone but learned, pious, and moderate Divines, as; : the best qualifiz t i t o p reven t th e growth of schism. But as these enefices were gene sally small,,and a poor church will be too Olen served by as poor a clerk, he determined to obviate this difficulty by bestowing upon those cures the prebends in his gift, as they b ecame vacant , an d, unt il su ch a vacancy happened,` out of his own income he allowed the minister of every such church a pension of 201. a year, (equivalent to a much larger. sum at the present day.) When the, prebend itself was conferred upon the incumbent ;of the small living, the Bishop insisted upon his giving a bond to resign -it, if ever he quitted the living. ' Though this plan had been laid before the most e i Minenst prelates and Divines of the Church, as well as tbe,most learned among the Canonists, who highly approved the design, yet it was so warmly op posed by some of the Clergy, that in order to raise no further strife in the Church, the Bishop was prevailed on to relinquish the project, and give up all the bonds he had tak en ." It was the same pious and Learned Prelate who, denouncing the vice of pluralism in his first visitation at Salisbury, cited the authority of St. Bernard, who being consulted by one of his fol lowers, whether he might accept of two benefices, re plied, " And how will you be able to serve them both ?" " I intend," said the Priest, " to officiate in one of them by deputy." " Will your deputy be damned for you too ?" cried the Saint. " Believe me, you may serve our cure by proxy; but you must b e da mne d in persop.' If we may judge by the extent of plu ralism in the Church at the present day, the doctrine of St. Bernard and Bishop Burnet, as to the damna tory consequence of holding two benefices, is not re cci ed among the orthodox articles of faith. The Standard, towards the conclusion of the article to which we have adverted, says, "We do not want more of those cathedral sinecures to be saved than the offices necessary to carry on the cathe dral service ; and we believe the Ministerial plan does not contemplate the preservation of more." Not enjoying any share of that Ministerial con fidence which could put us in possession of Mi nisterial secrets, we can only say that if the Go. vernment mean to preserve no more of the ecclosia4lica°l THE SUN, LONDON, TFIURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 1835. offices connected with cathedrals than are actually ne cessary for the performance of cathedrpl we ap prove of their . . - .,:ention in that respect. But then cnose offices could not be called sinecures, in the pro per sense of the word. .Thoiigh iio parochial duties attached to them, yet still there would be duties, and those of a useful description. We would have the cathedrals—the splendid monuments of early piety, and taste, and genius—preserved, and still used as temples where the daily service to the Deity is per formed, independently of all parochial considerations ; but we would not hate them converted into the gilded dormitories of stall-fed pluralists.. Vital piety should minister at their altars, and its voice be heard subdu ing human hearts to the pure dominion of the Gospel within their venerable walls.—Morning Herald. We cannot express ourselves in terms of praise too exalted for the occasion, when we speak of a meet ing held on Tuesday last at Birmingham, the object , of which was to .promote the building of Churches hi the diocese of Lichfield and Coventry, to extend the benefits of religious instruction to the lower classes of the people without stint or exclusion, and to call upon the kingdom at large to imitate the example which the. worthy and excellent men who composed this meeting presented to its view. Our readers will find in. the Morn ing Post of this day a very full report of the interesting and gratifying proceedings of this assembly, over which the learned and pious Bishop of the Diocese presided. It is truly delightful to see the spirit which pervaded this meeting in active operation in England at the present moment. The . Church, ithas been said, is in danger, and the truth of this would be manifest, if we regard only the industry, the zeal, the rancour, and the power of its enemies, avowed or disguiSed. But when we read of what the friends of the Church are doing for its preser vation and support, when we recur to such proceedings as those which took place at Birmingham the day be. fore yesterday, we feel that we have the fullest warrant to deny the danger of the Church, and to proclaim that the Church is not only safe but triumphant. Sir Ro bert Peel gave to Mr. East and the Dissenting Depu ties of Birmingham, when they assailed his Admims . tration for -the purpose of assailing the Church, an appropriate and severe rebuke, a rebuke .the more ef fective that it breathed the calmness of an exalted statesman, and the urbanity of an accomplished Gen tleman. Dissenting bodies in various parts of Great Britain and . Ireland punished the coarse insolence and the rabicl violence of their infuriated brethren, the . political and religious incendiaries of Birming ' ham; by formal and express disclaimers of all par ticipation in their senseless rage. But the most effective rebuke and the severest punishment yet remained to be administered ; and administered it has been by men—thinking little of Mr. East and his confederate—by men intent only to uphold and invi gorate the Church, not by means of controversy, not by reciprocating terms of reproach with Mr. East.and. his, associated Dissenters, but by their own direct ef forts and spontaneous sacrifices, seeking honestly and earnestly to maintain, purify, and strengthen that ec clesiastical establishment of which Mr. East and his colleagues are. the natural and the implacable foes. Not a day passes in which we are not reminded of the difficulties which surround the question of Reform in the distribution of the revenues of the Church and the regulation of its internal discipline. These-difficul ties are indeed in themselves of appalling magnitude, and while the enemies of the Government and the Church, labouring in their natural and . proper vocation, strive to increase them, and, if possible, to render them insuperable, it cannot but be perceived that some who call themselves the friends of the Church and of the Government, and who probably are so in reality, contribute essentially to the same end, by pro- yoking baseless, premature, and most unprofitable dis cussion. But these difficulties, great as they are, mul tiplied and'enhanced as they have been, alike by the enemies and the friends of the Government and the Church, are stripped at once of whatever was most formidable in their character, when we witness such a scene as that of the Birmingham Meeting, and behold the zeal, alacrity, and devotion with which Churchmen of all ranks and classes rush forward in advance of an Administration which they know meditates an exten sive reforth of the Church, upon the principles of ho nesty and piety, and by the employment of their own energies and resources expedite, and even anticipate, the most important and valuable of all the reforms that are by any party of honest Reformers deemed really desirable. It may now be truly said that what 7 ever is most beautiful and precious in the substance and essence of Church Reform is produced spontaneously from the very bosom of the Church itself,-.—Morning Post. We learn, from a s: - ,Urce on which we can place implicit relianc , :, that however much Ministers may affect to ' tie pleased with the result of the elections, his I _-ajesty makes no secret of his disappointment with it. He was made to believe, before the dissolution of the late Parliament, that so great was the extent to which a re-action had taken place, that the re turn of a very large Conservative majority might be looked on as a matter of ab so l u t e cer t a inty. If re port speaks correctly, he has expressed himself in no very flattering terms on the subject, to those who de ceived him. His first suspicion that matters would not turn out as he had been taught to expect, was occasioned by the result of the metropolitan elections. For this fact we can vouch—that when the elections for the metropolis were concluded, he sent for one of his leading Ministers, and told him that this was a very awkward and unpromising commencement, and that Conservatism did not appear to be so flourishing in the country as had been represented to him. The an swer cf the Minister was to this effect, if not in the precise words :—" Sire, the elections in the metropolis afford no fair indication of the feelings and principles of the nation, as intelligence, property, and loyalty are there overpowered by the low class of voters created in all large towns by the 101. clause ; but your Majesty will see how differently the respec table constituency of Middlesex will act." It was added, that the metropolitan ccunty would have far more influence on the elections throughout the country than the city and boroughs of London. -. His Majesty observed, in reply to this, in a very , sig nificant manner, " I am glad to hear it; we shall see." From this moment, it is unnecessary to say, the issue of the Middlesex election became a matter of the very highest importance to Ministers ; hence the extraor dinary exertions which the Tories made to oust Mr. Hume. What the mortification of government must have been when so signally defeated, we may safely leave to the imagination of our readers. Of this we are assured, by an authority which we cannot doubt, that the Duke of Wellington would much rather that forty Tory Candidates had been unsuccessful in other Counties, than that Mr. Hume should have triumphed in Middlesex.—Morning Advertiser. A child under the rod is always told, but Atever convinced, that it is all for his good. The Church,, under the shadow of Reform, receives the same sort of assurance ; but, like the child, it will not be per suaded, and kicks and roars lustily. There are al• ready signs of the rising wrath of the Clergy ; and, as some one has observed, the D makes a Church in anger a " Church in danger." At a Tory dinner at Barnstaple, the Rev. Archdeacon Barnes poured forth the troubles of his mind:— Certainly (said he) at no period within the memory of those around us, have the Clergy of the Church of England been more zealous, or have more actively applied themselves to their sacred duties, than at the present.—( Applause.) But, gentlemen, we are fallen on times when your exertions and ours are imperiously called for. Never was the Esta blished Church br oug ht t o so aw f u l a cr i s i s a 4 at this m omen t . The next few months cannot pass withou t some changes being effected, and, in fact, the point determined whether we shall have an Established Church or not. But if you, gentlemen, who constitute that Church, of which we are the ministers, shall, as I feel assured you will, do your duty, and we, the clergy, do ours, I am confident it will be impossible .for any Ministry, however much they may threaten it, to overthrow that Establishment." The good gentleuan is troubled with vain fears. Who threatens to riwrzthrow the Establishment ? 'Who imagines that t ‘.ne point will be mooted, much less determined, - Rhether we shall have an Established Church or not ? How prepared must the clergy be for I,te e orm, when the bare idea of it, and from friendly har fills them with such unreasonable and wild ap erehensions " Heaven and earth are coming toge ther," cried Swift's spider, when the broom approaclied its cobweb. Yet Archdeacon Barnes has his own no, ions of Ra--- ....vim, and promises to lend his assistance to a change, provided the doctrines and property of the Church are preserved inviolate. Nay, he goes farther, and declares his anxiety to co=operate in any plan " to mate the paynierits have a gleater degree (if certainty," and to render the collecting less vexatious : " Gentlemen, there are doubtless great changes to be made. On account of those changes, I now visit this town, to meet my brethren ; And t trust we shell ecuivince year that we shall not be backward in rendering our services id snip ellatigei as may be found sound and practicable, if in those changes the doctrines of our Church, f,,unded on everlasting truth, are kept inviolate, and our property; ,however much it may excite the envy (f others, preserved inviolate, and applied to the sa cred purposes for which it was originally given. In that pro perty, you are aware, the lay body of the Church are intimately concerned ; but if any thing can be done to make the payment arising from it have a greater degree of Certainty, or to render rile mode of collecting less grievous or vexatious, We should he most anxious and ready to co=operate." There is something very touching in that desire for the inviolability of the Church property, ."how ever much it may excite the envy of others " It reminds one of that passage in the Duenna, where Falter Paul, as he munches his cake and drinks his wine, so edifyingly observes upon the glut tonous longings and sinful envy of the lay bro ther. W e th us s e e that the injunction against covetousness has been observed with such extra ordinary effect, that the Church is a cause of covetousness in others. As for the Archdeacon's sti pulation that the Church property shall be applied to the sacred purposes for which it was originally given, few will refuse assent to it : the question is, whether the original purposes were to provide a few favoured gentlemen with fine houses, handsome equipages, and luxurious tables ; fortunes for their sons in the dra - goons, and livings for those quartered on the Chttcli, and portions for their daughters who dance at Almack's. The question is, we repeat, whether these, or such as these, are the pious uses. With respect to the Dissen ters' grievances, our Reverend Archdeacon is wonder fully liberal. There is nothing he will not concede to them, provided only it does not interfere with the inte rests of the Church ; but then the misfortune is, that the Archdeacon finds the vital interests of the Church opposed even to so small a concession as the ad mission of Dissenters to the honours and privi leges of the Universities. While he declares this, he takes occasion to lament that, with such feelings (as he gives evidence of) towards the Dissen ters, they have not reciprocated. The Archdeacon then proceeds to the somewhat startling demonstration, that the admission of Dissenters to the privilege§ front which they are cut off in the Universities would be fatal to Christianity, inasmuch as the education of the Clergy in a place exclusively appropriated for it is, in his opinion, " the means of keeping alive Christianity in this land." The Rev. Archdeacon, proceeding in this mild and moderate train of reasoning against the admission of Dissenters, emphatically avows his anxiety that Christianity " may be tolerated ;" which he evidently thinks would not be the case if Dissenters obtained a footing in - the Universities. This senti ment most remarkably illustrates the Christian spirit which is nursed in some reverend breasts by the boasted exclusive system. We quote the passage as one of the curiosities of the 19th.century : " With respect to other grievances that are said to exist, — and I more particularly allude to those by which our Dissent ing brethern are affected,--there is nothing we would not con cede, so far as their civil disabilities are concerued, provided it does not interfere with the interest of the Established Church. With such feelings towards them, I could have wished to have seen displayed more friendly feelings towards us ; but it is with pain I perceive the hostile feeling and rancorous hostility to wards the Established Church which is exhibited at this time. I am the more pained, because I am convinced that that hos tility does not arise from mere religious scruples on mere mat ters of conscience,—the opposition of the present day partakes more of political and party feeling. There is, however, one claim made by the Dissenters, which I hope will never be con eecled,—l mean their admission to the honours and privileges of our English Universities. I object to this, not so much for the purpose of keeping up party distinctions, but because I believe that the education of our clergy in a place ex clusively appropriated for it, is the means of keeping alive Christianity in this land. I believe that if all religious points of doctrine were done away with in the Universities, there would be no Christian education whatever.—( Hear, hear.) We do not stand in the way of education and instruction—our labours in our several parishes prove that we arc desirous of extending it ; but we do feel anxious that Christianity and the religion of our forefathers may be tolerated. I trust, there fore, that in the contest in which we are engaged, you will keep in view the necessity of an Established Church for the purpose ( 9 1' maintaining Christianity and sound feeling among us. It is said in the pages of everlasting truth, that Christianity shall never fall ; but with sorrow we may say that we can look around us and see places where the banners of the cross were once unfurled, and waved triumphantly, where the Christian may walk amidst darkneSs and ignorance ; this has arisen by the;r falling off from religion, thereby causing the increase of vice and the growth of infidelity. He (the Rev. Gentlemattl, however, hoped that England would never be reduced to that state, or be induced, under any circumstances, to depart from those principles which had so long preserved it ; for it was quite certain that Providence never deserted that Christian land which never tampered with the principles of Christianity." The Dissenters are less insulted than Christianity by these disgraceful remarks. What must be the sys tem of patronage in which the utterer of such narrow and bigotted opinions has found preferment ? The improved liberality of the Church, and its disposition to concur in an efficient measure of Reform, have lately been much vaunted. Are we to accept Archdeacon Barnes as a specimen ?—Morning Chronicle. COURT OF CHANCERY. The Marquis of Bristol and the Earl of Carlisle took the necessary oaths this morning to enable them to vote by proxy at the ensuing election of Representative Peers for Scotland. ANGEL V. WEIVECOMBY. This was a bill of discovery filed against the defendant and a person named Fry, to compel the production of cer tain papers and documents which the defendant alleged to be necessary to support his claim to the fee, certain premises in Lambeth, which they held under lease from John Angel. To this the defendant put in a plea of adverse possession for more than twenty years, and a denial of the right of the plaintiff. The Vice-Chancellor overruled the plea as bad in point of form; and refused any liberty to amend ; but Lord Brougham, on appeal, although he also held the plea to be void, gave the defendant liberty to amend. The Vice- Chancellor again held the amended plea to be bad, on the ground of surplusage and uncertainty, and against this de cision the defendant again appealed. The LORD CHANCELLOR was of opinion that the plea must be disallowed on the ground of surplusage. Mr. TINNEY hoped his Lordship would give them liberty to award. Mr. JACOB resisted this. The Lora) CHANCELLOR said that went to the merits, and if they insisted on it, the matter must be argued to morrow. ROLLS' COURT. TREVELYAN V. CHARTER. Mr. PEMBERTON appeared for the plaintiff. He pro ceeded to tat the facts of the case, which were briefly as follow The original bill was filled by the late Sir John Tre velyan, the father of the present plaintiff, against the de fendant, the son, devisee, heir-at-law, and executor of his late father, Mr. T. Charter. The object of the bill was to have delivered up to the plaintiff various documents, pa pers, and accounts belonging to the estate of the late Sir John Trevclya n, which were in the possession of Thomas Charter in his character of steward to that gentleman. The next object of the bill was to have set aside a certain purchase obtAbled by Mr. Charter in 1788, and which the bill charged had been obtained under circumstances of fraud, which fraud had been studiously concealed from the plain tiff until 1826. In suppport of this position the Learned Gentleman cited numerous cases. Mr. SHARPE, after reading the evidence, wts heard at considerable length on the same side. Mr. 13wKliasTETti appeared for the defendant. He was Proceeding when the Court rose. VICE-CHANCELLOR'S COURT. THORNTON V. BOSHILL. Mr. RICHARDS moved for a special injunction ex-parte t o r estrain th e delivery of a cargo to some of the defendants. The defenda nts, Boshill and Costello, merchants at Dublin, ordered 120 casks of Russia tallow from the plaintiffs, mer chants at Petersburgh and in London, for which they gave their accep ta n ces, which became due on the 13th of Ja nuary last. Some days previous to that date Boshill and Co. we r e known to be insolvent in consequence of some late extensive• Irish failures, and, with full knowledge of the circuni s tances, the defendants, Barclay, Daniel, and Co., of London, to whom they were indebted, obtained from them first a deposit of the bill of lading, and then a bill of sale of The acceptances were dishonoured, and Boshill talaned(7,lrog.°f•ailed on the 15th of January. The cargo had not yet arrived. The plaintiffs' bill sought to repudiate the contract, and to impeach the transactions between the bankrupts and Barclay and Co.—lnjunction granted. COURT OF KING'S BENCH. HALLIDAY V. BEST. In this case a question had been raised as to the right of Mrs. Best to claim dower of her husband's estate. She had left him about a year or two after the marriage, and had lived in adultery with another man, but she came back to him, and was received by him into his house, and re mained there some time. She afterwards quitted him, and returned to him more than once, and then again quitted home in August, 1819, and while she was absent from his house he died. There was no statement in the case that on each of these occasions the husband knew of the adul tery. The case was argued a few days ago, when it was contended on the one side, that after having pardoned the adultery once; the husband had pardoned it for ever, the power of the husband to deprive the wife of dower being, like a condition in a demise, that once gone was gone for ever. On the other side, it was insisted, that etch fresh act of adultery gave the husband the power of depriving the wife of dower, and that to entitle her to it, she must prove in each instance a fresh act of condonation. Lord DENMAN said, that the Court did not think the circumstances of this case sufficiently set forth as to enable the Court to give any opinion upon it. The latter part of the life of the lady must be more particularly described, or enough ust b stated for the Court to be enbled daw an inferen m ce as e to the conduct of the parties, a so as o r be able to apply the law to it. BAiL COURT. Mr. Justice PATTESON sat in this Court for the purpose of bearing motions. Sir George Murray took the usual oaths as Master- General of the Ordnance, and Sir Charles Rowley, as one of the Commissioners of the Admiralty. WILTON V. CHAMBERS. Mr. BARSTOW appeared to show cause against a rule obtained by the Solicitor-General on a former day, calling upon William Gill Paxton, Esq., the late Sheriff of Dor setshire, to make a return to a writ of . fleri facias issued by the plaintiff against the good of Chambers for the sum of 2,4071. This was one of the numerous actions against Mr. Chambers, the banker, and the Court some time since made an order, allowing the Sheriff to abandon - possession of certain premises until the trial of .the cause " Bernas coni v. rarebrother" should decide upon the validity of the commission of bankruptcy issued against Mr. Chambers. The result of that trial, however, did not set that part of the question at rest. The Sheriff had not resumed the possession of the property, which he abandoned three years ago under a special order of the Court, drawn up by the present Mr. Baron Parke. He, consequently, was not in a situation to make any return to the writ, nor was the plaintiff in a situation, according to the terms of the order, to call upon him to do so. The SOLICITOR-GENERAL supported the rule. Mr. Justice PATTESON said he would take an opportu nity of consulting with the other Judges, before he gave his decision, but he would give it in the course of the pre sent term. COURT OF EXCHEQUER. BRISCOE V. ROBERTS. Mr. PLATT moved for a rule to show cause why this action should not be tried in London or. Middlesex, instead of Surrey. It had created much attention, the ground on which Epsom Races took place being the subject of litiga , tion. Mr. Briscoe, as Lord of the Manor on which the ground in question was situate, had commenced an action against the defendant, and he (Mr. Platt) did not doubt that is was owing to that transaction that Mr. Briscoe had lost his seat for Surrey. Mr. Briscoe had, moreover, during the election, made speeches throughout the county in which the topic principally figured. Consequently the excitement was so great that it was apprehended that if the action took place in Surrey, while the minds of so many were heated with this controversy, a fair trial could not be had, and therefore he had been instructed to make this motion.— Rule granted. INSOLVENT DEBTORS' COURT. James Youvg was opposed by Mr. Cooke on the part of a creditor named Baker, and was supported by Mr. Woodroffe. The father of the insolvent, who had been a carrier and coach proprietor, in Crown- street, Soho, for twenty years, died some years .ago. His mother continued to carry on the business until her death in May 1832. The property was then divided between the insolvent and his brother, the former took th.! stock and the latter the money. He carried on the business for about twelve months. in No- vember, 1833, he sold the stock of horses, hackney-coaches, and cabs, and received, after deducting the expenses of Mr. Robinson, of the Horse Repository, the sum of 326/. ; at that period be owed 2261., from which debts be now applied to be dischaiged. He received the money from Mr. Robinson in November 1833, and went to prison in Nov. last. On being asked what he had done with the money, he replied, " I have spent it." Mr. CooKE—Pray, have you been to horse races ? I have. Mr. CooKE—Have you been to prize fights ? Yes, I have. - - Mr. COOKE—Have you visited gambling-houses ? I have. --• Mr. COOKS—That is the way in which the money was spent. The insolvent admitted he had spent monoy Li the va rious "sporting" places. lle had, he said, lived on the money, and had none left when he went to prison. It was all gone, and he had nothing for his creditors. The Learned CHIEF COMMISSIONER sentenced the in solvent to an imprisonment of 14 calendar months, for a gross making away with property. POLICE INTELLIGENCE. BOW-STREET. Daniel Regan, a full-grown sweep, was yesterday brought in custody before Sir F. ROE, charged with having been found concealed in the kitchen of Mr. John Squire Burrows, of King-street, Covent -garden, early that morning, with in tent to commit felony. Mr. Burrows deposed to the fact of his having found the prisoner huddled up in a corner of his kitchen, he having taken the opportunity of the temporary absence of the ser vants to slip down stairs, evidently with the design of car rying something away with him. The prisoner, whose countenance exhibited a singular mixture of humour and low cunning, when asked by th e Ma gistrate what he had to say to th charge, replied, with a wonderful appearance of innocence and candour, " I assure your Vorship this here charge that the gentleman brings against me is all wrong, and as for whipping away any of his traps, I'd scorn the haction." Sir F. ROE—What business had you in the gentleman's kitchen ? Prisoner—V y, your worship knows as yell as I do, that the new hact of Parlymint vont let us cry sveep no longer in the streets, and so, you see, ve're 'bliged to knock at gentlemen's doors in the morning to look for a job. I sees this gentleman's door open, and thought there would be no harm to go down to the kitchen and ax the cook if the chimnies didn't vant a sweeping. The cook warn't in the way, and I thought I'd sit down in the cor ner and rest my bones a bit, till some of the sarvants come down. Notwithstanding the ingenious defence of Master Chum my, the magistrate, conceiving that the situation in which he was found warranted the conclusion that his object was to commit felony, sentenced him to be committed to the House of Correction, as a rogue and vagabond, for two months. Yesterday a ruffianly-looking man named Daniel &A ran, and a boy named Brown, were charged, the latter with committing a robbery, and the former with assaulting the person robbed, and endeavouring to rescue Brown. A young man named Valentine was passing along Drury lane on Tuesday evening, when he felt a pull at his coat pocket, and turning round, saw Brown with his pocket handkerchief in his hand. He seized him, and was taking him off to the station-house when he was surrounded by a gang, several of whom called out—" Rescue," and " Fetch Big Dan." The prisoner Sullivan came up and knocked Mr. Valentine down with a tremendous blow on the nose. Assistance, however, came up, and the prisoners were se cured.—Committed. MAR YLEB ONE. Yesterday a young woman named Brooks, whose hus band is a trunkmaker in Blandford-street, Marylebone, appeared at this office on a warrant, charged with assault ing a middle-aged spinster , one Ann Lucas , a neighbour, under the following singular circumstances : From the complainant's statement it appeared that a child belonging to the defendant died suddenly on Monday last, and that soon after the event she proceeded to pay a visit of condolence, and then returned home, but had not been long quietly seated before the defendant came to her lodgings, and in a most violent rage charged her with hav ing disfigured the face of the deceased infant ; in a moment afterwards, and without the least ceremony,she aimed a des perate blow at her head, which felled her to the floor, where she lay for some time in a state of insensibility, and on re covering found that her assailant had left the place. In reply to the charge, defendant accused Miss Lucas of inebriety, and in that state going to her house ; on entering which she expressed herself able to restore the child to life ; she then placed herself by it, and began to cross with her fingers the child's face ; this ridiculous ceremony last ing , some little time, she was desired to desist, which she refused, and ultimately fell from her seat, when she was led out of the room, and in a few minutes afterwards it was discovered that in the course of the performance of her mummery she had mutilated the child's face with her nails ; she (defendant) being naturally excited at this behaviour, followed her home, and then struck her the blow alluded to . Mr. RAWLINSON considering that great provocation had been given fined the defendant Is. for the assault. MARLBOROUGH-STREET. Mary .11erry,;11risi;;oin;n:wflo has been repeatedly at this office, charged with various petty robberies, and who is at present remanded to Tothill-field prison, on suspicion of felony, was brought before Mr. CONANT, charged with having attempted to steal a blanket belonging to the prison. Mrs. Cooper, the matron of the prison, said she had lent the prisoner some articles, of wearing apparel during the period for which she was remanded, and wishing to get them back on Tuesday, as the prisoner was on that day to have a second examination, she went into the ward, and asked the prisoner to return the clothes. Perceiving some thing bulky about the prisoner's person, she made her strip, and then found one of the prison blankets wrapped about her. Mr. CONANT asked the prisoner, who pretended to be labouring under a severe attack of cholic, how she came to steal the banket ? Prisoner—(groaning)—Och! plan yer Honner's Wurtchip, the doctor told me in the infirmary that it was something warm which 1 must take for my complaint in me inside, and plaze yer Wurtchip, I tuck the blanket. The prisoner was ordered to stand remanded for a few days on both charges, in order to procure additional evidence. WORSHIP STREET. Yesterday a young urchin, not more than 10 years old, named Robert Durham, but who has frequently been charged at this office, and once convicted of felony at the Old Ll . aileY, and sentenced to be well whipped, was placed at the bar to :re-examination before Mr. GROVE, charged with stealing a piece of pork, weighing four pounds, from the shop of Mr. Barnes, pork-butcher, in the Haekney-road. Mr. GROVE fully committed him to Newgate for trial, and informed him that very likely he would be this time sent out of the country. The prisoner said he hoped not : be had a statement to make, which he wished the Magistrate to allow the clerk to take down in writing, so that it might go before the Judge. Mr. GROVE directed Mr. Bayles to let any statement that he had to make follow the depositions of the witnesses against him. Mr. Bayles then took down verbatim the following from the mouth of the prisoner :---" I wish it was written down, that I hope the Judge will take compassion on me this , once. My mother is near her confinement, and lam but it little boy, but I have been a wicked one. If I can but get off, then shall no boy eat more honest and worthy bread, but if the Judge can't let me off, I hope he will let me go into the Penitentiary, where I will become good, and I pray to God to have mercy on me." As the prisoner was being removed from the bar to the lock-up he again seriously, and in tears, addressed the Ma gistrate, and said, " I hope your Worship don't consider what the generman has just taken down from me is untrue. I mean it—on my soul I do ; for my poor dear mother's sake do what you can for me." Mr. GROVE told him that what he had said would go before the Judge at the Old Bailey, and would be read by him to the Jury, and if they considered that he was penitent, he would perhaps be got into the Penitentiary. The prisoner's mother was present and cried bitterly while the depositions were being read over against her. son. She was; by her appearance, far advanced in pregnancy. QUEEN S Q UARE. Mary Ann Cameron, a very respectably-dressed female, was charged before Messrs. GREGORIR and BURRELL with shoplifting. The prisoner on being removed from the bar appeared dreadfully affected, and was with some difficulty conveyed to the lock-up cell. On searching her she had plenty of silver in her pockets. UNION-HALL. YestertLY George Wilson and James Parker were brought befell; Mr. WEDGWOOD, charged with assaulting a Miss Tillett on t;i;. , highway, and robbing her of a parcel containing a silk gown, \cilia she was carrying at the time. —Committed. THAMES OFFJCE. Henry Long, a north country salor, was yesterday charged before Mr. COMBE with breaking the windows of the house of an old widow lady named Osborne, where he lodged, in New Gravel-lane, and attempting to set the dwelling on fire. Mrs. Osborne stated that the defendant had lodged with her for some time until Saturday night, when she told him that she could not give him credit any longer, and he said he would go to Mr. King, the agent in this country for Don Pedro, and in whose service he was, and get some portion of the money due to him. He went away, and late on Monday night he came again in a state of intoxication, and swore if he was not allowed to sleep there, he would let no one else, and arming himself with the poker, he began to break every article of furniture within his reach, and eventually smashed the back-parlour window, frame, glass, and all to pieces. Witness was so alarmed, that she sprung a rattle, which she had in the house. He then threatened to kill her, and on her telling him she would give him into custody, he said he did not care for her, nor for the poliee, nor for the Magistrates, and as a climax, said he did not care for the Lord Chancellor himself—(A laugh)—and that he could soon stop his mouth. He con tinued swearing for some time, and brought the half-naked inhabitants from their beds. The police at length arrived, and put an end to his proceedings by taking him into cus tody. The witness added, that a few nights before he broke open a carpenter's chest belonging to one of her lodgers, and burnt all the planes he could find, and nearly set fire to her house ; after which he broke all the plates and dishes on her dresser, for the benefit, he said, of the Staffordshire Potteries. She declared she was in danger of her life whenever the defendant was drunk. Mr. CWII3E-Why this fellow, when drunk, must be in a state of madness. Mrs. Osborne—Yes, Sir ; but he's more artful than other people in their sober senses. 'The defendant, in reply to the charge, said he did not re member anything of the circumstances, and that when the liquor was in the wit was out. He could say with Shakes peare, " Oh that a man should put an enemy into his mouth to steal away his brains."—(Much laughter.) Mr. COMBE said the defendant had not much attended to the admonition of the immortal bard, for he had allowed the liquor to steal away his brains, if he had any. The defendant said he was regularly by the head, and was willing to pay for what he had broken. Mr. COMBE said he thought he should send the defendant to prison. Mrs. Osborne--You will be doing him and me great jus tice by so doing, for he is a most terrible character. The defendant—l think not, Sir, for lam wanted in Spain, whither I intend to proceed next week. Mr. COMBE then directed that the defendant should be kept in prison until the ship was to convey him to Spain sailed, observing that he was too much of a madman to be allowed his liberty in this country. The prisoner was accordingly committed. The architect Paloy, better known as Paloy the psv triot, and who was employed by the Commune of Paris to re move the ruins of the Bastile, after its destruction on the 14th July, 1789, has just died in one of the suburbs of that capital- He distinguished himself in the attack upon this celebrated prison. He proposed that miniature bastiles should be formed out of the stones composing the ruins, and one sent to each of the departments—but this fanciful design was not carried into execution. BIRTHS. On the 26th inst., at Ashford Grove, near Ludlow, La Comtesse de Croismare, of a daughter. On the 20th inst., at Bolton-le-Moors, the lady of Major Patton, pf the 12th Regiment, of a son. On the 26th inst., in Chapel-street, Belgrave-square, Mrs. R- Gre k ,fill, of a daughter. On tlte 26th inst., at Bromley, Kent, the lady of R. Seymour of a daughter. Cock, Esq., R R lED. On the Ist inst., at Rome, Colonel Manley, Adjutant-Genera l of the Pope's forces, to Harriet Maria, second daughter of the late W. Trenchard, Esq., of Taunton, Somersetshire. On the 21st inst., at St. Maurice Church, Winchester, R. S. Lasham, Esq., of Westmeon, Woodlands, Hants, to Emma Marla* eldest (laughter of Mr. Good, wine-merchant, of the former place.. On the 27th inst., at St. Paul's, Deptford, George, fifth son of Daniel Stow, Esq., of Dulwich, to Mary Jane, youngest daughter of John Hillman, Esq. DIED. On the 26th inst., at Southampton, in her 84th year, Mrs' Hambly, widow of the Rev. Thomas Hambly , of Mardock House, Hefts, 'Rector of Bermondsey. On the 9th ult., at Savannah, Daniel Blake, Esq., of South Carolina. On the 26th inst., Henry Edward Swift, Esq., of Grove-end' road, Regent's-park, aged 53. On the 26th inst., in her 52d year, Mrs. Elizabeth Lovell Fish' wife of Mr. Robert Fish, Bank of England, and of Hackney, lgiey dlesex. On the 24th inst., at Primrose-street, Mrs. Robert Davie* eldest daughter of Mr. Oldham, of Hackney, aged 27. On the 23d inst., at Clifton, aged 17, Eliza Jane, daughter °. the late John Macintosh, Esq., of Aldenham, Herts. On the 25th inst., the infant son of John Hayter, Esq., of Foler place, aged three weeks. On the 23d inst., in the Rue de Varenne, Paris, Monsie uf Armand Seguin, Membre de l'lnstitut, in his 68th year. On the 23d inst., Mrs. Robert Davis. of Primrose-street, 14.13 d eldest daughter of Mr. Oldham, of Hackney, aged 27. On the 23d inst., Mrs. Ann Clack, of Fleet-street, aged 68. --- London : Printed and Published by MURDO YOUNG• at The Sun Office, Na. 112, Strand. A rp fti tve r Ticelv Sale emisiF_; °as ill te, Per 'Skier Cat The venue Pultifie, quirie s An -4, or Add ti, Ded A Li obtainer N O . 17, taking ev'eru, Carria,c To 7„ liquare. Pr the Fi ne: 'tanner 2 mended ; ''llY eon., 11 3rate ni Ilro ng l y r li tkitru 40r wi ne --si n Pot; b Tnoi 9 , bieure s 'world fa iliduct; th wined b 'where ec tenon C great j rn Ea c h tain e d lad throe itt t he Ur •To pr %rated A bott Fo b Cr c The their Pat establishr follo w 1. Carr fr( 2 ' Char. 3. Dinh 4. Dray 6. Silk 6. Plat; 7, o rm , 6. 3 ,00( 9. s m ., 12. .Auct