The Sun. — London, England, 1827-05-24 00:00:00

SPIRIT OV THU PUBLIC JOURNALS. It will be seen from the Gazette, and from yesterday's proceedings in the Common Council, that addresses have begun to greet his Majesty on the late auspicious change in the constituion of his Government. This being a thing of course, where an alteration has been made so manifestly on a constitutional principle, and for so much better prospects, we notice' it merely to add the fact that the ex-Ministers are striving hard to get up counter-addresses of remonstrance or condo lence—we presume from their former partisans, but, who, it is pretty clear, will be their partisans no longer. What, then, we wonder, is to be the form of such very wonderful addresses ? Why, they must be addressed to the ex-officers them selves, to reproach them with running away from their Sovereign. It was their own act.— The Ring never thought of commanding them to resign : Mr. Canning never urged them. All this pother is of their voluntary making, and now they want to have their penitence recorded in the Gazette, with, it is to be hoped, an order for a general mourning annexed to it. It is, indeed, not more than rea sonable that a General Meeting of poor half-pay naval officers should be held, to thank Lord Mel ville for his generous appointment of those who had nothing but services and scars to recommend them, in preference to Scotch favourites, and political de pendents, where lucrative commands were to be given. It is but justice that a Committee of Colo mists should vote- their thanks and regrets to Lord Bathurst, for his upright selection and humane sup port of such Governors as the renowned Lord Charles; and above all;_it.would be a mortal in gratitude in the old suitors of the Court of Chan cery, or to speak more strictly, the heirs and execu tors—the disinherited heirs, and executors without assets—of a large body of those who were for half a century suitors in the Court of the late learned and praise-bedaubed Lord Eldon, if they did not pass a unanimous resolution of acknowledgment for at least one act of his official life, and of heartfelt sorrow that it took place no sooner.—?rimes. We think, upon the whole, though the sub ject be one which we view with great jealousy, that the motion of Mr. M. A. Taylor, respect ing the Court of Chancery, was, perhaps, prac tically as vrs'll disposed of as it could be at the present moment. It is, and has been, acknow ledged by the warmest advocates for Reform, that the mischief inflicted on the subject by this Court resulted partly from the system, and partly from the personal character of hun who directed the movements of that system. Such being the case, the distinct quantum of blame to be as cribed to each may, perhaps,'be best ascertained by trying a new Chancellor. Let him remove his share of the evil, and Parliament take away the rest. But if some very important change do not soon take place in that most detestable Court, the Court of Chancery, we shall say that the hopes of the people of England are frustrated ; and that they are robbed of one of the most important benefits which they ex pected, and had a right to expect, from the new Administration. We were not altogether pleased with the fulsome compliments which were lavished upon the old Chancellor., " Veniam sibi petunt, indulgentid peccatorum alienorum." People prepare a refuge for their own guilt, by affecting to treat the criminality of others with indulgence. If the present processes of the Court of Chan cery may, as is ascertained by the friends of Lord Lyndhurst, be easily shortened by his per sonal interposition, how can the late Lord Chancellor, who, in spite of all the remon strances of his countrymen, has suffered such processes to weigh with unalleviated pressure upon the subject,—how can the late Lord Chancellor, we sa y, b e eu saled to praise ? The Ultra Tories who are gone on: with his Lordship are con sistent. They say thai the Court of Chancery con tained no imperfections DI: such as are inherent in every court of equity--=that the, are irremediable — and that the Chancellor himself was ,11 most impartial and sagacious Judge ' • in which character th e y revere, and ought to revere him. But a man who shall at once reprobate the practices of the Court, allow them to have been corrigible, and yet praise the Judge who has acted under them without correcting them, a man, we say, who does this, is, without any circum locution, a knave : and with respect to the upright ness of the last Judge, which no one can doubt, let his Lordsk;o for that have his appropriate meed of renown. Oh wonderfully just and upright Judge, who, with no htni:ian motive to make his mind swerve in the causes whicii have come before him, has always decided according to the unbiaas'd dictates of his conscience His country is much obi;ged to Mr. Taylor for the manly and unfettered manner iP which he forced this question on the attention of the house : we hope he will resume the subject next session, and if something shall not then have been already done by the present Chancellor, and there shall not also then be evinced by Ministers an eager disposition i,Q extend and complete his reforms by Parliamentary *e nactment, we again say that the people of Englaoi will have to complain of having been deceived, and anojter instance will be afforded of the bad faith of patriots..--4bid. A Meeting for the propagaZ:on of the Gospel in Ireland was on Monday last held at the Free masons' Hall, and a report of its proceedings ap peared in yesterday's Journal. We shall have credit for good inentions, at least, from those *Nix) understand our Sentiinents,. and the real natu:e.of this very interesting subject, when we express . an unaffected and .deep-regret that such meetings * should now take place ; and that, under the present ci:cumstances of the United Kingdom, such projects z;fe.openlY contemplated. That the Romish creed IC tainted by a variety of super stitions, must be the Pyinion of every man who sincerely professes the 4cet - lines of the 'Church of England, and every ,Protestant who feels at tached to his communion, for its connexion with the spirit of civil liberty as well as for its covformity to the Gospel truth, is doubtless fixed and strengthened in his devotion to it by a strong dislike to the church-government of the - Roman. Catholics, as an instrument for gradually subjugating the reason of the layman to the ar bitrary will of his priest, and thus forming, by a natural though circuitous process, the ground work of an influence which, even in things tem poral, must tend to establish between the confessor and his penitent the relations oE superior and subject. it appears to us, that we have, in the above sentence , not un derstate 4 those chmacteristics appertaining to the Catholic faith, or its professors; on 'which the missionaries for the conversion of the Irish Papists wextilfl be most desirous to argue the duty and expediency of their enterpr humbly ise. Acalls honest oursel P ves), we rotestants, more then (for such we than doubt, under the actual circumstances of Ireland, both 6: expediency and the duty of any such attempt. it the question were merely whether you should, if you 17ere able, transmute the whole population of Ireland, ,from ignorant and indigent Catholics, obedient to no but t he pleasure of theirriesthood, and often 3,s regardless of that as o lany other, Into enlighten ed, industrious, and prosperous members of the Established Church, who could hesitate how such an interrogatory ought to he answered But there is, unfortunately, more in this propo ition than meets-the mind's eye of the worthy men, (for worthy many of them ve, we 'ac knowledge), pious and indefatigable in the cause, and wholly unconscious that owing to the scene on which they act, the unnatural con dition of the people whom they appeal to, the unchristian state of feeling which everywhere sur rounds them, the discoloured and perverted medium through which men and things are uni versally regarded—in short, the little aptitude of time, and Place, and persons, to the success of such a well-meant scheme—they, the preachers, are, by the distribution of Bibles, the multiplication of schools, and the warfare they have proclaimed against an erroneous faith, earning for them selves little better reputation than that of civil incendiaries. To be listened to with deference, a man's motives must not be liable to suspicion. The instructor who seeks to enlighten the igno rant, ought previously to have gained the confi dence of his pupils. He must have convinced them that he is not governed in his general con duct—more especially when he comes in con tact with these very pupils themselves—by sordid, or selfish, or ambitious passions. He ought first to have divested himself of any outward marks or symbols which may have adhered to him, and which may have classed him as one of a perma nent and well-defined faction, which, wherever riches or power were at stake, had betrayed a spirit of rapacity and oppression the most oppo site to that of the mild and gentle, the liberal, expansive, and benevolent doctrines which he now tenders to those who have hitherto only felt themselves his victims. A single preacher, or society of preachers, when they see the great body of the people of Ireland already exaspe. rated against the Protestant power, and suffering under temporal grievances, the sense of which ' has induced the sufferers to look upon most Protestants as their natural enemies, ought not, indeed, to abandon the sacred hope of one day placing their Catholic fellow Christians on sround, with regard to religious truth and corn tort, as safe and elevated as their own ; but we submit that they ought not to begin by attempt ing to teach the repugnant Catholic a creed from which he will turn with disgust, as being that of the man who oppresses him in his worldly interests. Raise the Ca tholic to the same level with yourself as a citi zen, and he will believe Your profession of a desire to lift him from religions bondage. So long as the Catholic priests and aristocracy shall teach the poor that their only want is constitutional liberty, and its consequence a rise. in their condition, it is obviously vain for a Protestant stranger to tell them that their wants are spiritual, not temporal; and that Bibles must satisfy them in the place of bread and justice. The priests and the laity of the Catholics will never let go their grasp of the public feeling of their body, or submit to such a diminution of their united strength, as would result from an understanding between any large portion of the Ca tholic mto...tude and the " Heretic" missionaries, until the mass of Catholic numbers, and their com- munity of passion upon the one great political point at issue, shall cease to offer itself as a powerful en• gine for the advancement of their civil rights. Until that day, the attacks which are made upon Popery as a religion can only tend to aggravate and en venom the political soreness of which Catholics are sensible - as a party: the religious outrage will, by the priest, be blended and incorporated in his addresses to the people with that constitutional wrong which every layman feels, from the noble down to the lowest of the peasantry; and the effect will be what the ex perience of the last two or three years proves to be inevitable in the existing state of Ireland—not an ac cession of true believers, or a change in the smallest degree favourable to our church, on a comparison be tween her members and those of the adverse com munion, but a positive increase of rancour and ani, mosity in the hearts of the vulgar Catholics towards the State, and a ripening of all those principles of violence and distraction whose tendency is to war and ruin. If we should be asked by any zealous labourer in the field of proselytism—" Are you, then for ever to abstain from preaching the Gospel, and extending the reign of Reformation over Ireland ?" —our answer would be, " God forbid 7 . we are no less anxious than the most eager of you all for the pro gress of that mighty blessing; but let us not defeat our joint aspiration by efforts ill-adapted and un reasonable. Exalt the Catholic gentleman, and pay the priesthood,—make partizans no longer necessary to the one, nor parishioners to the other,—make it ' indifferent to the gentleman whether his tenantry be Protestant or Papist, and to the priest whether his weekly congregation amounts to thousands or to hundreds only. In ten years afterwards, the cause of the Reformation, if supported by able Ministers, will have passed from a state of evident decay, to one of rapid and irresistible prosperity." The zeal anti activity of reforming missions in Ireland, after the question of Emancipation shall have been car ried/ and when there can be no further job or poli tical machination connected with such efforts, will serve as measure for ascertaining how much or how little of integrity or hypocrisy has hitherto mingled with and impelled them.--- ..bid. The discussion to which the motion of Mr. Michael Angelo Taylor, for the separation of the Bankruptcy Jurisdiction from the Court of Chancery, gave rise, on Tuebday night, is well deserving of attention. With respect to the se paration in question, we believe it is the general opinion of those best acquainted with the subject that it would not he advisable. In the Jurist, a new Quarterly Journal of Jurisprudence _and _Legislation, the first number of which was pub lished two or three weeks ago, and the appear ance of which we hail as a most auspicious sign of she times, affording, as it does; a proof of the increasing interest .taken - by the public in the most-important of all the sciences, it, is ably re marked—" Greatly as we advocate frequent dis cussion on .the subject of all .our judicial esta blishments, -and especially. of those in which the greatest abuses and inconveniences- prevail, as we fear - is the case in the present - administration of the Bankrupt Law ; yet we cannot but depre cate one -of I,lle forms in which this question is likely to be discussed karid probably will have been discussed-before this-paper me.sts the pub lic eye). We allude to the motion of which Mr. Michael Angelo Taylor has given notice, that the jurisdiction of Bankruptcy should be entirely taken from the Lord Chancellor:— We object to this form, first, as by mixing some thing of personality, or, at any rate, by exciting the suspicion of personality.in - the discussion, the general question is likely to be preju diced ; and, secondly, because we very sincerely believe, and in this belief we find ourselves con firmed by the concurrent opinions of all who are most conversant with the subject, that the con troul of the proceedings in Bankruptcy, and the finai appeal on subjects growing out of them, ought 16 remain with the highest judicial autho rity. \Ve do not mean to assert, that the inter position of the Lord Chancellor is absolutely necessary in one-third of the interlocutory mat ters in -which it is now exercised ;. these might be safely confided, in the first instance at least, to the Commissioners, even as now constituted in London ; but it is most material that the Commissioners, or any new Tribunal which may be itibstikut,7,d for them, should feel that they are acting under the equally import that the suitor should feel a confidence in the superiority of the p;tlgment to which his interests are ultimately to be submitted. The jurisdiction of Bankruptcy is not, and cannot be, in ordinary cases, subject to appeal in'the House of Lords ; being deprived of this last resort, it is, certainly, both just and expedient that the suitor should have the next best remedy against errors—the revision of the Lord Chancellor." The arguments by which Mr. M. A. Taylor was met were, the inexpedi ency of separating the two jurisdictions, and the possibility of the existing Courts being ade quate to the dispatch of the business before them. But several points not immediately connected with the motion were introduced into the dis cussion, and more particularly in the nature of the reforms necessary in the Equity Courts. It is but fair to allow to men in authority time for giving effect to their views on this important subject. To criticise measures before being put in possession of them, is to display neither can dour nor judgment. The measures which the Attorney-General stated that he was authorised by the Chancellor to announce as in contemplation may or :nay not prove satisfactory ; but at all events his Lordship is entitled to our forbear ance till he has had due time for making the public acquainted with his intentions. A sort of incidental discussion arose respecting the merits of the legal profession. As far as talents are concerned, a successful lawyer has juster cause to be proud than the members of any other pro fession ; for a merchant may become rich by lucky hits, a divine by favour, and a physician by making himself acceptable to ancient females, and useful to apothecaries ; but though many a clever man neVer rises in the. law, the man who rises must possess ability. With respect to moral qualities, lawyers will be found, we suspect, very much like other men ; some generous, some sor did, some single-minded ; others artful ; and so forth. It is true, every profession may be said to have acquired, from the circumstances pecu liar to it, some distinguishing-characteristics. While the Clergy in general displayed_ great soreness, on account of the character of Priests as a body drawn by Hume, Dr. Campbell, in an Address to his brethren, admitted that some of the features were popularly attri buted to the order; and that though na tional characters, and characters of particular professions, were not implicitly to be relied on, yet there was generally some foundation for them. It would be absurd to deny, that in the profession of the law there are not many men an honour to human natrire ; but there may at the same time be some foundation for the popular impression, that the harm lessness of the dove is not exactly emblematical of lawyers. But however this may be, it is clear, that to the virtue and honest intentions for the public good of members of the learned profession we must be indebted for improvements in the practice of the law. In proportion, indeed, as laymen become better acquainted with the science, and are better able to appreciate the labours of professional men, may we hope to see among the latter greater devo tion to the cause of the public. The same cause which has improved the character of public men (and indeed all classes), namely, the eye of an en- Tightened public, must act beneficially on the learned profession. No position is more certain, than that where the mass are ignorant, the heads will be cor rupt. Virtue and the diffusion of intelligence are dependent on each other . . It is for this reason that we have always urged the paramount importance of making the study of law in this country a part of the education of a gentleman • and that we hail the appearance of the work (which appears to be con ducted with great talent), from which we borrowed a passage in the outset of this article. No man ac quainted with the generous ardour with which Mr. Brougham has always devoted himself, and is now now devoting himself, to the improvement of his fellow-countrymen, and with his utter contempt of every thing gross and sordid, would ever think of imputing unworthy motives to him. The wonder is, how a man who has so much professional busi ness on his hands, and who exerts himself so often and with such effect in the Legislature, Can find leisure, and can possess the strength, to labour as he does for the diffusion of useful knowledge among the people. Other men may have the desire ; but who is there that possesses the versatility, the energy, and the inexhaustible spring of spirits to execute a moiety even of what Mr. Brougham does? That he will never turn his back on the cause of improvement we firmly believe, and we think he has sufficiently proved his disinterestedness to entitle him t 6 repel any thing like insinuation levelled against his motives. We will not quarrel with him for the eulogy he passed on his profession, though the colours are certainly laid on with a flattering hand. We only hope that the result will prove that his anticipations, with respect to judicial reforms, are well founded. As we have already observed, legal improvement can only be derived from profes sional knowledge. But instances of professional liberality are becoming more and more frequent. Mr. Humphreys has, by his book on property, con• ferred an inestimable benefit on the public. Seve ral Professional Gentlemen acted in the same liberal spirit in their recent communications on Bankruptcy matters to the Committee of Common Council. If the public expect a devotion to its interests, they ought not to be niggardly of their approbation where it is merited.—Morning Chronicle. The Westminster Dinner yesterday was ruffled by some singular proceedings, which were, how ever, we believe, pretty generally anticipated.— We have hesitated to express our sentiments freely, both in the way of approbation and dis approbation of Sir Francis 13urdett (for if the Hon. .Baronet has, in Parliament, occasionally delivered sentiments which met our -approba tion, he has at other, times uttered opinions of which we never can approve), and we, do not, therefore, believe that we shall be accused of proneness to assentation, when we state it as our firm conviction that, ever since the meeting of Parliament,- his language in Parliament has been equally creditable to - his tead: and his heart. That his constituents generally viewed his conduct in this light is what was to have been expected, It is ridiculous to take up - this opinion expressed at one time, and that opinion expressed at another, with regard to oertain men and certain questions, with a view to - found a charge of inconsistency against him. The test by which he ought to be tried is a very simple one. In the opinions which he formerly ex pressed, and those which he now expresses could he be actuated by any other motive than the be nefit of the people ? Would the nation have benefitted by the continuance in office of the Lord Chancellor, Lord Bathurst, Lord. Westmor land, Lord Melville, the Duke of Wellington, Mr. Peel, and the accession of half a dozen of narrow-minded bigots ? Who would dare to maintain this ? The rescuing us from such an Ad ministration would alone have made any man a great benefactor of the nation. Mr. Canning, and those of his colleagues who rallied round him, had, by their measures, provgd themselves entitled to the public confidence; and hence it became the duty of every honest man to rally round them during an emer gency, when such support might be essential to se cure their continuance in office; and, consequently, to secure a continuance of their liberal measures, and preserve us from the positive evil which would have resulted from the return to office of their late illiberal coiieagues.—lf Sir Francis Burdett had ex pressed himself a hundred times more unfaveurably of Mr. Canning's former conduct than he has done, yet if he believed that his support of him at this try ing conjuncture would benefit the nation, he would have made himself responsible foc the. evil which might have resulted from his withholding it. He would have thereby proved himself an enemy of the people, and. really inconsistent. Reform he does not renounce; but Reform itself is verily valuable' as conducive to the protection of the interests of the people; and what sort of consistency would that be, which, while advocating a measure on the ground of its tendency to produce good to the people, should, at the same time, contribute, either by omission or commission, to inflict on the people the calamity of an Administration hostile to all improvement, and disposed to thwart and oppress all well-disposed men throughout the country ? But the good sense of the people dispenses us from the necessity of saying more on this subject. Sir Francis has even risen in estimation by his liberal anti manly conduct. —lbid. The special revelation which Mr. Brougham has had of the merits of the Chancery-system, is another remarkable instance of the change which usually takes place in the moral vision of men on migrating from one side of a certain Great House to the other. It may appear unaccount able, that an orator, by stepping about half-a dozen yards across a room, should lose, at it were, his political identity—should even become the adversary of his former self. If we were told of such a thing in the Arabian Nights' Entertainments, we would say it was the effect of enchantment—that there was some talismanic charm in the neighbourhood of the Treasury Benches, which .so operated upon the " mind's eye" of a converted patriot, as to make him see nothing but beauty and excellence, where all be fore had been deformity ; and to fill him with admiration of things which he had previously de nounced and condemned. We had heretofore believed that Mr. Brougham was one of the ar dent advocates of reform in Chancery, and that he had about as much reverence for the Court and the Judge who presided there as Sampson had for the Temple of Dagon. His opinion',is now so different on this subject, that we are bound to suppose that he sees things in another light from what he did, otherwise we could not give him credit for sincerity in the expression of his sentiments on Mr. Michael Angelo Taylor's motion. In op posing that motion, he took occasion to speak of the Chancery system in the same manner that Mr. Can ning speaks of the rotten-borough system—namely, that it is capable of " working well ;" and so it is ; but whether to the lawyers or the public, is another question. It is curious enough, that, besides find ing out the merits of the Court of Chancery itself, Mr. Brougham has also discovered that Lord Eldon was an able Chancellor. Where, then, did the fault lie of that " delay, expence, vexation, and disap pointment to suitors, as well as that dreadful accu mulation of arrears of business," which used to draw forth from the Hon. and Learned Gentleman and friends such torrents of eloquent invective? The fault was not in the system, for Mr. Brougham thinks that so good, that he is most anxious not to endanger it by any attempt at reformation; nor can the rate Lord Chancellor be blamed, for Mr. Brougham says, " Lord Eldon .was undoubtedly a man of great ability, knowledge, and talent ;" and what more could be required than a Judge with those qualities, as no one has ever been so unjust as to impeach his honesty ? Where, then, did the fault lie ? Mr. Brougham has discovered it. He has found out, that, though Lord Eldon " was at all times an able Chancellor, there never were an able Vice- Chancellor and Master of the - Rolls acting with him at the same time." We suppose he will now order. his biographer to throw in the fire his vehement and sarcastic Philippics against that venerable Judge ►. We wish, however, he had indulged in less decla mation, and condescended to be a little more argu, mentative in remarking upon the speech of . Mr. Harvey. His defence of the lawyers, and his pane gyric upon their virtues and wisdom, would have come with better taste, if not with more effect, from one whe was not a member of the profession. The seventy-two Gentlemen of the Robe, who manage the bankruptcy commission business, may be very brilliant instances of -that legal excellence on which he so warmly descanted, but the public have yet to discover, their talents and their utility. Eut while he expressed his indignation at the idea that the law should be supposed "to hatch beings only fit for the hot-beds of corruption," he was resolved that the patronage of the Court of Chancery should not be diminished, by allowing the bankruptcy business to be separated from the system of that Court. The statement of Mr.. Harvey might not have been so florid as that of Mr. Brougham, but it had more substance—it went more to the facts of. the easel.-- and is more likely to carry with it the voice of- the public.—Morning Herald. The Times of yesterday, speaking of the re• cent ministerial changes, has the following obser• vation " But the new Prime Minkter is charged with having rid himself somewhat too dexterously of his old colleagues. We ask, why should he have done se from personal mo tives ? Whatever might have been his station, he was much more likely to have been of consequence among those bigots and brutes, than among men of talent and character: and if he has indeed contrived to surround himself with a phalanx of greater ability and genius, the nation will derive the benefit, and ought to thank him." It is not on account of the scurrility of the above extract, that we notice it. We think that its coarseness is rather desirable as an antidote to its falsehood. It is a wise arrangement in na ture, that reptiles which are noxious should be also revolting—that the toad should be ugly as well as venomous.. Our contemporary's Bil lingsgate may, therefore, be excused, because of its neutralizing effect. • It is the falsehood of the statement we are desirous of exposing, The " bigots and brutes" of the late Cabinet, who have not seen fit to join the present one, are, the Earl of Eldon, the Duke' of Wellington, the Earl Bathurst, the Earl of Westmoreland, Viscount Melville, and Mr. Peel. Lord Melville has all along voted for Catholic Emancipation, so that, taking the term bigot in its ordinary acceptation, Lord Melville is certainly none. He, we suppose, is included under the other gentleman-like category of . our contem porary. It is to the other five seceding Members, therefore, that the imputation of bigotry, is, we presume, meant to attach. We consider it somewhat of the best, and certainly the briefest way to learn men's opinions from themselves, and in what exposition of their sen timents, by any of those exalted individuals, such reasoning as bigots are wont to use has appeared, we are at a loss to discover. The argument which they have ordinarily used, is, that the tenets of the Roman Catholic Church, are hostile to civil liberty. They prove this, as those who think with them affirm, or attempt to prove it, as those who oppose them affirm, by reference to the effect of those tenets, on the liberties of countries where they predominate.— Honest John Bunyan, long ago remarked, that of the two great enemies of Christianity, Pagan was dead, and Pope was grown old, and could do little more than sit in the mouth of his cave, grinning at the pilgrims as they went by. The influ ence, indeed, of the pseudo-representative of Saint Peter, the enemies of the Catholic Claims, as well as their friends, admit to be no longer formidable ; nor do they deny that much of the evil leaven has been worked out of the practice, although it still mingles with the creed of his followers. But, with all these con cessions, they contend, that the mass of Catholicism has not been yet so far purified, as to admit of its safe a malgamation with Protestantism. Is this bi gotry ? The enlightened opponents of the Catho lics oppose their claims, not because of the cut or colour of a robe—the composition or !angry. of a hymn—or the form of a ritual—but because they consider Catholicism hostile to the liberties of Eng land. Again we ask, is this bigotry ? If so, what is Patriotism ? What say the advocates or those Claims ? Do they deny that a Catholic people, and an ignorant people—a Catholic people, and an enslaved people—are all but synonimous terms ? Do they deny, that wherever Catholici3m :.hoots forth its branches, that in the precise ratio of their vigour and their extent, ever:) , liberal institution withers, every liberal art decays ? Do they deny the existence of that innate instinctive hatred which the Catholic Church has ever shewn to the great instrument of human improvement, with out which freedom has never been won, or at least never been preserved—we mean the press? They do no such thing. They admit all this. They merely argue, that the danger of perpetuating the exclusion of the Catholics is greater than the danger of admit ting them ; and on this point they and their antago nists are at issue. Who will say that the one party are bigots more than the other ? Is the range of our contemporary's observation so very limited; that he has never discovered any bigots but among the Anti-Catholics ? For our•own parts, we have met with bigotry in men of all parties, and we have found it almost an infallible symptom of the disease, that the patient, like a drunken man, imagines every one reeling but himself, and is always the first and the loudest in railing at the weakness to which he is most subject. Away, then, with the false and foolish cry of bigotry or intolerance I Let this ques tion be discussed as its magnitude and importance may well demand, temperately and deliberately, with a proper consideration for the wishes of our Roman Catholic countrymen, and with a just appreciation of their grievances on the one hand, and with a proper consideration for the feelings and opinions of our Protestant fellow countrymen, and a just apprecia tion of the dangers that may result from concession on the other.—New Times. COURT OF COMMON COUNCIL. (Concluded from our Paper of Yesterday.) Mr. FAYELL hoped he might be allowed to say a word or two now, which would prevent misunderstanding. He had supposed it to be perfectly understood, that a Com mittee must be appointed to draw up the Address, as was always done ; and, to prevent his motion being misunder stood, he begged permission to alter the wording of it thus :—" That this Court, equally anxious to support the different branches of the Constitution, on the due exercise of which the happiness and liberties of the people depend, do present an Address to his Majesty, congratulating him upon the firmness which he has shown in the just exercise of hie Royal prerogative, in the late appointment of an Administration." The LORD MAYOR said, that personally he could have no objection to the proposed alteration. At the same time he must remind the Court, that as the Motion would then be essentially different from that originally proposed, it might throw the whole discussion open again. After some discussion the alteration was withdrawn, on the suggestion that any one could move it as an amendment. Mr. Alderman BIRCH said, that he thought the address would neither be grateful to his Majesty nor to his Prime Minister. The present motion reminded him of what oc curred exactly '2O years ago, when the " Talents," as they were called, came in. That Court then addressed the So vereign, congratulating him upon his administration, be fore it was known what they meant to do. Lord Grey and Lord Grenville endeavoured to introduce a Bill by a side wind in favour of the Catholics ; but the King saw through it, and very shortly sent them all about their busi ness. He begged them to apply that to the present case ; and he cautioned the Protestants of that Court against congratulating his Majesty on an Administration, at the head of which was a person who, much as he admired him, had declared that Catholic Emancipation was his heart• felt object. He thought it expedient to wait until they had seen what the Ministry meant to do, and he should therefore move the previous question. Mr. BUTTERWORTH seconded the motion for the previ ous question. Mr. Alderman WAITHMAN said, that it was in perfect accordance with their principles to support every branch of the constitution—the King's prerogative as well as every other part; and he should therefore support the motion for the address. To approve or disapprove the present Ministry did not enter into the question ; and as for the Court declaring its:confidence in the Ministry, that was equally irrelevant. " Confidence," as Lord Chatham said, " was a plant of very slow growth ;" and they must have more experience of the Ministry before they could give them theirs. He had made up his mind to support the Ministry wherever he could, reserving to himself the right of op posing them on measures which he did not approve. Mr. DIXON thought that the pretence of addressing the Crown was only secondary to supporting Mr. Can ning's administration. If, however, there was to be an ad dress, great care ought to be taken in drawing it up. He hoped that if the worthy member opposite (Mr. Favell) Went up with the address, he would not lose so good an op portnnity of asking the King to dine with them in the city. Mr. Deputy SAUNDERS opposed the motion for an ad dress, and thought that Protestants had much to fear when they saw that man, who was like a battering-ram to the Protestant interest (loud laughter), was at the head of-the Cabinet. Mr. Deputy OLDHAM, Mr. HALL, Mr. T. CuaTts, and Mr. BLEADEN, supported the motion for an a ddress. Mr. Deputy ROUTH said, that as soon as the motion for the previous question was disposed of, as be was sure it would be, by being negatived, be should move as an amend ment to the original motion, the alteration which Mr. Favell had proposed. The motion for the previous question was then put, and by the show of hands there appeared a considerable majority 'against the motion. A division, however, was demanded, and the numbers were declared to be_ For the previous motion— I Against it— Alderman 1 Aldermen...—. 2 Commoners 3B I Commoners ...82 Tellers 2-41 I Tellers 2-86 Alajority against Mr. Alderman Birch's motion, 45. Mr. raven's motion, as amended, was then put and agreed to. A Committee was immediately appointed, to withdraw and prepare an Address accordingly. The Committee then withdrew, and shortly returned with the draught of an Address, which was read and agreed to. 7 —Ordered to be fairly transcribed, signed by the Town Clerk, and presented to his Majesty by the whole Court. The Sheriffs, - attended by the Remembrancer, were in structed to . wait upon his Majesty, to know when the Court - might attend him with the Address. The resolu tion for the Address was ordered to be advertised. THE RECORDER'S REPORT. Yesterday the Recorder of London made a Report to the King in Council, of the following ~prisoners lying under sentence of death in Newgate-namely, Sharpe England, aged 18, for uttering a forged cheque ; Evan Jones, 26, for uttering a forged bill of exchange; John Eagles, 35, for secreting and stealing a letter which had come into his bands by virtue of his employment at the General Post office; John Smith, 21, Joseph Clarke, 23, Henry Spizey, 21, and Page Donald, 34, for stealing in a dwelling house to the value of 40s. and upwards; Charles Seward, 22, for returning from transportation ' • John Davis, 26, Geo. Avory, 23, Thomas Fowler, 25 , Henry Ironmonger, 26, Robert Jones, 26, and Benjamin Saunders, 24, for high way robbery ; William Blanchard, 18, and Jeremiah Con nor, 21, for burglary ; William Rust, 29, John Oliver, SI, John Howard, alias Johnson, 21, Edward Laycock, 17, and Samuel Jones, 27, for horse-stealing ; George Williams, 35, for sheep stealing and horse stealing ; Wm. Austin, 23, William Fox, 44, and John Duxberry, 22, for housebreaking in the day tine ; and Rebecca Mullins, 42, for counselling and aiding the said Fox and Duxberry, before the commission of the crime.-Also Daniel Bispham, aged 19, Ann Williams, 45, George Harris, 20, John Hill, 28, Elizabeth Frankland, 34, Robert Smith, 23, John Smith, 18, George Ford, 18, Francis Boyer, 23, William Wicks, 20, Thomas Samuel White, 20, and Charles Pearce, 22, for stealing in a dwelling-house, to the value of 408. and upwards ; Edward James Plowman, 33, Charles Smith, 24, William Jones, alias John Harrison, 23, Jeremiah Donovan, 12, John Reid, 34, John Gardner, 20, and - John Jennings, 29, for burglary ; William Williams, 24, and Thomas Featherstone, 19, for sacrilege ; Richard Price, 44, for sheep-stealing ; David Skinner, 35, Joseph Brown, 18, and Edward Steward, 23, for highway-rob bery ; John Hughes, 25, and Lancelot Cooper, 57, for forgery ; John Carey, 53, for horse-stealing. His Majesty was graciously pleased to order that all the said prisoners should be respited during his Royal pleasure, excepting George Williams, John Eagles, Joseph Brown, and Benjamin Saunders, upon whom the law is left to take its course, and they are appointed for execution On TUOS day next, the 29th inst. PARLIAMENTARY PAPER. A Bat for ausaiTtwo Raley to certain Peas°lts DO:i:". sawnwo from the CRILIA of ENGLAND, in resp ezt the mode of celebrating 111mtataaa. WIIERVAS in the nineteenth year of the reign 0 1 his late Majesty King George the Third, an, was passed, intituled, " An Act for the hull "Relief of Protestant Dissent:i,g Ministers fo, " Schoolmasters ;" and in the fifty-third year of ing,' said late Majesty, an Act was passed, intituled, " " Act to relieve Persons who impugn the Doctrine • " of the Trinity from certain Penalties :" And whereas several of his Majesty's subjects, being Protestant Dissenters from the Church of England, entertaining- conscientious scruples with respect to belief in the doctrine of the Trinity, and commonly called Unitarians, regard the neceteity c" solemnizing matrimony according to the office of ina" trimony in the Book of Common Prayer as a griev‘ vance repugnant to their religious feelings, and ha nd at various times petitioned Parliament to ie relieve therefrom : And whereas it is expedient to grant some ease t ° scrupulous consciences in this respect, without it' fringing on the general policy of the law relative t° marriages; Be it therefore enacted, by the King 1 , 4 most excellent Majesty, by and with the advice 0 0 1 consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, e°' Commons, in this present Parliament asse mble and by the authority of the same, That from 0 ,, after the it sh all be lawful for every Parson, Vicar, Minister, or 01 " rate, entitled by law to • solemnize marriage* and such Parson, Vicar, Minister, or Curate' is hereby authorised and required, from time to time, upon receiving a written declaration ' lt the form specified in the Schedule to this Act, signed by the persons proposing to be married, being Protestant Dissenters of the Unitarian persnv sian, to proceed to celebrate and register the c ontract of Marriage of such parties, either in the body ° the church or chapel, or in the vestry or registry thereof, according to the pleasure of such minister, within the hours and in the presence of the Wi t " nesses- required by law for that purpose, in m6ll' and according to the form following; the Man t be married, taking the Woman to be married by ow, . hand, shall plainly and distinctly pronounce th ese words, 6' I, A. B. do take Thee C. D. for my wedded vv'"; " and do here, in the presence of God, and bey — . " these Witnesses, promise to be nor the . " loving and faithful husband." And then the Woman, taking the Man by the han d ' shall plainly and distinctly pronounce these words, " I, C. D. do take Thee A. B. for my wedded flu it i " band, and do here, in the presence of God, a° " before these Witnesses, promise to be ludo thee " a loving, faithful, and obedient Wife." And that immediately after such Parties shall bas e contracted and celebrated Marriage in manner afotl; said, an Entry of such Marriage shall be made I n the Register book of Marriages* provided and keP. t by law, and sh o e:l s hii: D e: b . y h the Minister, w ithll' proper addition, and by the parties married, an; attested by such Witnesses; whis t Entry shall be made in the form or to the effee following, with such variations as circumstan ce¢ may require ; that is to say— this 5 " A. 8., of the with consent of / P w ar e cu re t: 7°44 " of this Parish c banns, ""Y licence, Guardia* " this day of in the year I* 1 " according to the provisions of the Statute " George Fourth, and C. D. "L. S. Rector. ), Vicar. Curate. IC. Minister deputed bt g' " This marriage was had between us, ,f jt. P. ~ C. II , , By - me, " In the presence of "E. F. G. H:' And the said Minister in every such case is ber e q directed, empowered, and required t o make sn e ,, alterations in the printed forms fequired by laW wa the registrations of marriages as are specified O w authorized by this Act; and all marriages so to bye had celebrated and re g i s t ere d as a f oresa id, shall as valid, binding, and e ff ec t ua l i n th e l aw , to all tents and purposes, as if the same had been soil; nized according to the office of Matrimony in t Book of Common Prayer, and no further or ot he f; wise; and it shall not be necessary thereafter to gis as evidence the delivery of such written declani:. tion, or to prove that the said parties were Pro t° tent Dissenters of the persuasion aforesaid, in 5 11 1 ) ; port of the validity o f any such mar r ia ge , upon 11 ' 3 e i , occasion what soever , nor s h a ll any ev id enc e he t ,„. ceived to prove the contrary in any suit touen'' the validity of such marriage. Provided nevertheless, and be it further enoc' ° tint nothing hereinbef ore con t a i ne d s h a ll o perate ro . be construed, so as to annu l, d e f eat , or a l ter the P . 1 ,4 visions of any existing law relative to the pres l° o , publication of banns or the obtaining of licenco' any other qualifications, ceremon i es , f orms , or P r o f ceedings whatsoever, regnisite to the validity 4 , 1 marriages, except as f ar as th e same are expN s altered or dispensed with in this Act is the CO aforesaid. Provided a l s o, and be it further enacted, that o nothing in f this act contained shall be construed o as to defeat, prejudice, alter or affect the right n l the officiating parson, vicar, minister or curate , O es , clerk respectively, to their accustomed fees, du tl isr . or emoluments payable upon the celebration of ° et , riages, in any of the cases provided for by this A at Provided also, and be it further enacted , t o this Act shall extend to England and Wale;, a n the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed. ne -fit j And be it further enacted, that ntli copies of this Act shall, as soon as conven e- bis may be after the passing thereof, be provided by .4 Majesty's printer, and transmitted to the o fficio° o f ministers of the several parishes and chapelr ie .% , "England and Wales, and the town of Berive.es upon-Tweed respectively, one of which Cor!o, shall be deposited and kept wi t h the book cen t s 1 0 'the marriage register of such parish or choPeltY' the cheat or box provided for the custody of t Same. Tce SCHEDULE to which this Act refers. We, the undersigned A. B. and C. D. do het be declare, that we are Protestant Dissenters, from,` n, Church of England, of the Unitarian persu as, and that we are desirous of taking the benefi t °;„„ certain Act, passed in the eighth veer of the red of King George the Fourth, intituled, for granting relief to ce r t a i n persons di ssen ting'!;" o f the Church of England, in respect to the rniw e celebrating Marriage." As witness our hands, 0, A. BIRTH. Itif Yesterday, at his house in Bloomsbury-square, 1 - e of J. Loeb, Esq., of a son. On the 22d inst. Capt. J. DIED C. Lambie, late of the ng°l Cavalry, aged 33. I ,p thj'' Yesterday, in the 23d year of her age, Eliza, t'",ng" daughter of Mr. John Riland 'Vander, of Stoke Ne-i ton, Middlesex. A At Walton Hall, near Liverp p 001, Thomas Leyla nd c); his de It is generally believed that he was cease, of one million and and half of money, P cipally in the FundFunds.ossessed at the tcnreio, G, at t he PRINTED and PUBLISHED by M. Y OUN , Sulc.Orrcr, No. 112, Strand, - MARRIED. to I** On the 22d inst., Eneas Mac Donnell, Esq. Long, widow of J. Long, Esq. • tl l At Banff, on the 15th inst., John Cumine,_ E 92 ter 0 younger of Auchry, Aberdeenshire, to Jane, daug" A. Young, Esq., solicitor, Banff. el * On the 19th inst., at St. Mary's, Bryanstontliocbt by the Rev. G. Brett, Benjamin Manning Vander ter 0 1 Esq., of Torrington-square, to Mary L y di a , date' J. Booth, Esq. of Wyndham place, Esq.