The Sun. — London, England, 1821-01-18 00:00:00

FOR THE SUN. 'OBSERVATIONS ON METHODISM. MR. EDITOR—The following observations on Methodism I send for insertion in the columns of THE SUN, being induced so to do, by its avowed principles and determination to support the Church and King ;—your publication- likewise is rapidly and extensively circulating in this part of the country, relinquished only by a class of men, who have chosen 'to style it " The BVhdp's sale," solely from a motive of ridicule rand contempt they entertain for our ecclesiasti cal state. It is said in raillery by the wits of this town, that there is the face of a Bishop in " Fur. Su - N," meaning, I understand, that they imagine its religious sentiments are dictated and penned by the hand of some Reverend Prelate. Whether it is or not neither they nor I can tell ; but. it must be allowed that the venerable Bench ought not to be supine, and think that private individuals will fight their battles ;• neither their friends, nor their preaching once a week, can — stem the flood of:infidellty that threatens to aver --whelm this happy country—they must,adopt other means than publishing heavy tracts and volumes ; they must by incessant exhortation av, - aken mankind to a sense of their real state, prevent in plain but energetic language the means of salvation in the world to come, and the ne cesity of duty and obedience to God and their Country towards that end : I submit that a pub lication like The SUN, would be a powerful and effectual means for 'their purpose. But my de sire now is to call the attention of your readers to a' work entitled " SOUTII EY'S Life Of WESLEY," and the critique upon it in the Quarterly Reviqw for the Month of December last. The critique has been written_ by one evidently unacquainted with the genuine doctrines of Metliiidism, ; and who has relied on Mr. Sonthey's account entirely for his ktiowledge of Wesley's prinCiples and character ; indeed, the Iteiiew is very tender with Mr. Southey, - and 'if it dare not praise.his AirOfk it. has -avoided 'passing any censure upon it. The comments upon the work almost agree with he .F.entiments of the work itself : the excep- tionable pussages are passed of er g or some of them taken for fact and truth without examination, and _ _ the IA hole of it bears a feature thftt betrays, I think, the hand of a Poet Laureat himself. Be that as it may, I conceive that not only Mr. Southey is ignorant of, or else chuses to pervert, the real doctrine of Methodism, (if ever he has changed 'his earlier notions of dliiistianity), hut that the generality of the Church of England conformists misundorstand them, and that many of the Me- thodist Ministers exceed the doctrine Wesley in tended to inculcate. Had not Southey's name gained so much celebrity by his poetical works, this work might not have been pregnant with so mt.:h danger ; but now many will read these volumes unwarily, relying on so eminent a man as art indisputal;le authority; and thereby not only imbibe his prejudices against, and false views of, Methodism, but of Christianity itself; and the ignorant and profane will resort to it as a tool wherewith to mine the foundation of the Church of England, if the insidious attacks made in this work are not exposed. Ido not intend to write a defence of Methodism ; it is not re- quired ; but an exposition of the erroneous dm racter and doctrine attributed to that sect in Mr Southey's work. The Quarterly Review, folloW. ing Mr. Southey's notions, speaking of . the Me' thodists, says, " in all the countries whither they have penetrated, they form a distinct people, an imperiani in imperio—wboAhough - (the Wesleyan Methodists at least) avowedly Members of - the Episcopal Church -of England, and differing in few particulars from - the faith of the majority of their-fellow-citizens, have yet their own semina ries, their own hierarchy, their own regulations, their own manners, their own literature, "their own rapidly increasing population, who regard - themselves as the peculiar people of God,' and the•remainder of their countrymen as, if not altogether worldly and profane, at most wily • half Believers." Now, we - must' understand whether this pas Sage is applied solely to the'sect of Methodiits, or to those also who entertain 'the same doctrines as themselves, yet unconnected with their Society. Because herein; is a great distinction : for if he means the former, he is er roneous, since the principle he would then ad •judge to them is purely Calvinistic, which never was, nor is it now, Wesleyan doctrine. On this • point I will enlarge by and bye, and shew that - the true Wesleyan doctrines are the very same as those recognised-by the Articles of the English Clizerch.• We . are told that there exist many objections to the doctrines the. Methodists parti cularly. teach, and the discipline they impose on their,followers ; and that even if the objections "were few, yet it is of serious evil tendency to • unsettle the minds of mankind from " the reli gion of their ancestors and of the state, and from those forms of worship which early associations, have rendered venerab!e." • I should like to know upon what data this observation is made— it is very ambiguous ;—for, I cannot tell how the. doctrines of Methodism can .effect an injury to the Established - Church, when they are -diffusing principles and doctrines founded on the thirty nine Articles'of that Church ; but I allow that onr present - Ecclesiastical, Establishment is the best qualified of .01 others for the purpose of public devotion : yet for religious instruction, it is not at present adapted ; neverfhless, neither its removal nor that of its ministers is desired, hut the improvement of both. Even the Review, after havinc , deprecated • the desertion of the Church, and afterwards recurring to the progress of Methodism, proceeds thus:— " It must be observed, that if by the success of Nietho dism, the number of those who are avowedly separated from the Chnrch is increased, a great proportion of ?heir con verts were previously, in fact, of nu church, and no religion ; that no stnall number have been drawn from sects whose principles were, more hostile to the Established Church than those'o.f the Nlethodists , ; Thai irtbe Chapels of the Metho dists are nuMerous, they are,, on the other hand, mostly small ; .that as their principal harvest has been reaped, if not from the indolence of the Clergy, yet , from the inspfEcient supply of Church room, so many of thdm' return to the wor ship of their forefathers wherever they meet .with _afrce church or a poptilar pastor i" and that their numbers are " about two or three hundred thoustinds out of sixteen" mil- ,oris of persons. " But the moral effects that Methodists have produced, and are producing, among tliriitians, must nOt be estiniatedyy their numbers More. The ferment excited by their preach ing,, has stimulated the Clergy to greater seriousness and ac_ tivity in the dischN:•ge of their functions, it has set the laity on thinking for themselves; it has, as an incidental conse quence of the rivalry of hostile sects, forwarded the educa tion and religious instruction of the lower classes; it has opposed, among those- classes, a mighty and countervailing principle to the poisonous flood of modern philosophy; from the same cause, Religion is More in the minds and mouths of men than formerly: and amid all the vices which a lung war and a luxurious Capital, and a renewed intercourse with fo- reign nations, have produced in the two extremes of society, the majority are, on the whole, less ashamed of, and more attentive to the outward appearances of piety, than Ilvey seem to•have been during the preceding century. Nor can it be doubted, from the crowded state of our ancient places of worship, and from the avidity With which eve)) , hddilienal opportunity is seized which free Cliniches and evening lec tures afford, that the Church has gleaned in this spiritual harvest a great, if not a proportionate, addition of intelli gent and zealous members, and that if the appetite for reli gion, however excited, can he gratified in national esta blishments, a great proportion of the world will, in prefer ence, att'end them.'.' Now what does this statement yield ;—has Me- thodism been beneficial or not ; has it or has it not brought the abandoned nearer to the Esta blished Church ; has it not been doing that duty which the Ministers of the Church have left un done ; has it not exhibited to the State the de fects in its ecclesiastical policy, and not only pointed them out, but endeavoured to supply them ?—These results being granted, are the Methodists any longer to be held - up as, objects of detestation ?—The rise and progress of irre ligion has been encouraged by• the neglect and bad example of many of the Established Church on the one part, and the inconsistencies of dis senters on the part.—But now:for the bad consequences Mr. Southey teaches incidental to Methodism'—they consist in occasioning breaches of christianity, of national as well as ecelesiaStical union, religion becomes a party question, as be tween man and man only—not the Creator, has been the pretence for justifying all species of malignity ; in neighbourhoods Rud families, dis sention has been sown : " needless scruples. and ill judged austerities of• manner and deportment have darkened bosoms, which before `were guile= less, innocent, and gag as birds in a thicker—that all these effects afforded argument for the impious against religion, and " the worst evil of all is, religious discussion has become so universal, as to be a thing rather to be talked about, than car ried into effect—in fact, nothing more than a godly gossip."—Such is the faithful portraiture of Methodism, and such are the evils generated by it. Now in these statements how contradictory are the results—if Methodism has excited a valry which has promoted the education and religious instruction of the lower classes; has sup- Plied an antidote for the bane of modern philo sophy; has introduced religion into the minds and converse of mankind more than formerly - ; if amid all the vices into which The trzo extremes of Society have been allured, on the whole piety has been respected more than in the last age it-it isindis putable that the Church has been a successful GLEANER in this spiritual harvest ; and if an appetite for religion has been excited by the diffusion of Methodism, what rational and un prejudiced being. can say, that the assertion of the evil seed sown with the-good seed justifiable or warranted in truth ? The evils complained of are not the effects of the spirit of genuine chris- ianity, but of licentious and evil dispositions.— shall not now trespass further on the time o• your readers, but leave them to judge of the statement of the effects-of Methodism, hereby now exposed. Should you receive this communi cation, in my next I shall make some observa tions upon the doctrines of Wesleyan Methodists, afterwards on the discipline imposed upon them, and submit, since in these times, we have the full and free exercise of any religion, whether the Church of England ought not gradually to introduce a discipline of its own, - so that no one can be oppressed by it, and many improved — that obedience to that discipline should be vo luntary on the part of the subject—that with this discipline the true doctrines of Christianity should be taught; and that this object might be carried into effect, an Association might be form ed, entitled the Christian Association, having its rules and principles sanctioned by the highest dignitaries of the Church. On this latter sub ject I shall discourse in a future communication. Should the subject be thought adapted to your Paper, I will address you on Saturdays, until 'I have concluded an exposition of a work, but too ably and artfully written, to mislead mankind in general. FIDEL DEFENSOR. I shall likewise submit to your readers ) a plan and rules for such an Association. Stockton, Jan. • ARRESTS IN DLIBI,IN,-Sunday bet Ween the hours of eight and nine o'clock, Major Stan, upon previous information, proceeded with a strong party of Police to a public-house in Wine tavern-street ; having entered the house, he found there a number of persons assembled, apparently w of the class of orking tradesmen : they appear ed to be in close consultation, with papers on the table, the character or subject of which, whether political or otherwise, we have not .been able to ascertain. The appearances were such, however, as that Major Sirr .conceived himself fully war ranted in taking into custody the whole party, nineteen in number. After a private investiga tion at the Head Police .Office, they were sent off to diffe:rent prisons, some to Newgate, some to .Kilmaiuhani, and the remainder to the Richmond Bridewell. In several towns, in different parts of the coun try, meetings of the inhabitants have been called for the purp6se of deciding whether they will consent to the churchwardens and overseers pro viding volunteers for the militia to complete their quotas, instead of proceeding to the ballot, and submit it to a general rate, to reimburse the ex - pences. TO THE RIGHT . HON. EARL GREY. MY Lour,- T 2 ln looking at .the complexion of the Gentlemen who attended . .your Lordship at the late County Meeting at 'Durham, and who seem properly drilled into your service, I am led to' consider your Lordship as' the author of tie Address and Petitions which were brought / forward with intently to -promote your Lordship's advancement to power. Mr. LAMBTON, however conversant with the arts of declaiming, seems not very skilful in argu mentative reasoning with his pen, as We has not yet answered any of his able opponents, ex cept (when they were not present) by assuring the populace that their statements were contemptible : the, talents of Mr. S. M. BARRtTT and the other itinerant orators, however useful they may be in assisting to delude a gaping multitude, are not calculated to have been employed in framing the elaborate compositions which were approved at the meeting. Whatever tinge of colouring to your Lordship's representations may have been derived from the splenetic suggestions of other members of your gloomy cabinet, they assimilate with your Lordship's views, and blend in one uniform shade of sullen discontent. I shall con sider them, thdrefore, as the dramatic works of your Lordship, got up for stage effect, and de signed to give weight to your appearance in the house of Lords, and to that of Mr. LAmwroN, when encouraged by the absence of Mr.CANNING, to rise, in the other House. I proceed, therefore, with all due respect to your Lordship, to examine the contents of the Address and of the Petitions. Your Lordship first informs his Majesty, in the name of different classes, (from among which some of the nobility and most of the clergy have al reac&y entered their protest against your measures under the countenance of the High Sheriff,) that " the nature and character of the proceedings against her Majesty appear calculated to inspire the greatest alarm, and that you see in their ori ginal adoption principles openly acted upon, which we and our ancestors always have held to be con trary to the dictates of justice, and subversive of the Constitution, for the maintenance of which his 111‘.1JESTY'S August Family was placed on the Throne of these Realms." Now, my Lord, you must be aware that this is not a correct statement. Your Lordship ad mitted at the Meeting, that Bills of Pains and Penalties are constitutional, and that they have been resorted to in times most auspicious to li berty. It is certain that the constitution could not be . deprived of such expedients upon-suitable occasions, without greathazard and injury to the Public. The only question is, whether this mode of procedure was applicable to the case of the QUEEN; and I confess that I cannot conceive a case of stronger necessity than that which existed to induce the Ministers, as protectors of the dig nity of the crown and guardians of the public morals, to institute such examination into her conduct : and never did any proceedings indicate greater impartiality or moderation than those at which your Lordship assisted. Had it been practicable to determine (as your Lordship in your kindness to the QUEER recommended) to proceed by impeachment, her life might have been endangered, which surely the public would not have wished. It is to be recollected also that however dis gusting the details which have been published are, they must ha\'e resulted equally from any other mode of inquiry which could have been in stituted ; and they are to be attributed, , not to any wantonness of disclosure, but to the exist ence of those lamentable circumstances which are recorded. Your Lordship voted for the di vorce clause, and thereby , expressed your con viction of her Majesty's guilt ; and if you bad not, it was your duty _to bow to the decision of the majority of your House. Certainly it must ever be considered as degrading to your Lord ship's character, to employ your talents in bring ing forward garbled statements of evidence to the populace of Durham, in order to disparage that august Assembly of which you constitute a part, and to vilify what you know to be the most illustrious Council that ever has existed in the world. The professions of loyalty which are made to the person of the SOVER.IGN in the Address are effusions exuberantly poured out when your party imagine that they have a chance of coining into power; but they come 'with an ill grace from men who have exerted every nerve, and employ ed every art, to diminish his authority, and to render his Government (glorious as it has been) odious in the eyes of the public. If your Lord ship has endeavoured to support the just pre- I rogatives of the Crown, the party with whom you act have uniformly laboured to assail them, and very recently have endeavoured to oppose one of its most essential rights- I —that of proroguing Parliament. The deep feeling which your Lordship expresses for the depres sion of the country, in its agricultural, manufac turing, and commercial Interests, is the wailing of factious complaint at difficulties resulting, you well know, from causes not within the controul of government : the most effectual relief which would have been offered to the country was counteracted by the measures of your party, compelling administration to give up the property tax, by which measure the burden, borne by the opulent ranks, was thrown upon the middling and lower classes. To what your Lordship alludes by " the repul sive harshness" shewn towards the complaints of the people, and of " the substitution of force and coercion for the dominion of British law," I really am at a loss to understand, nor do I know of any refusal to correct abuses where they have been specifically proved to exist, • though I believe that idle and hackneyed declaimers upon the subject have been treated with merited contempt. With respect to" the sacrifice of our national interests to a system of foreign alliances," when your Lordship shall bring forward the instances, I shall be ready to examine them ; at present I see nothhig in your statement, but gratuitous and unsupported assertions. It is not, my Lord, from these causes that a spirit of discontent has arisen, but from the flag . rant misrepresentations of your patty. The peo ple were disposed to be gratefiil for the vic- tories and distinctions which their country had obtained, under his MAJESTY'S present Go vernment and Councils ; they rejoiced at them with unprecedented exultation. It is your ' Lordship and yoUr - adheients who have madly scattered the seeds of discontent among them, who-have taught them to attribute every difficulty to the misconduct of ,their rulers, and have introduced a- spirit of turbulence and insub- Ordination, by which. the happiness of the country is greatly impaired : in every district idleness and wickedness are produced, which we shall long have cause to deplore. The apprehension which your Lordship 'ex presses as to the ulterior measures of farlia- Ment with respect to the Queen. are palpably intended to ,keep alive the irritation of the public mind, of which your Lordship speaks, and - to preclude the Ministers from adopting such measures as the conduct of her Majesty may render necessary, while she is urged by her intemperate .advisers to a line of conduct equally injurious to,her own interests and those of the state. The prorogation of Parliament, of which, in your zeal for the Royal prerogatives, you complain, was intended to allay this irrita tion. It has already been productive of the - most beneficial effects; and your Lordship may be per suaded that the delusions which have prevailed are rapidly dispersing—that the predominant sense of the community is convinced, that your Lordship's party, even when wielding the Radi cal force, is not the best calculated to remove the difficulties which prevail—to preserve a confi dence in the financial resources of the Country, and to maintain unimpaired the Constitution as it happily exists in Church and State. Having ex ceeded the limits which I wish to observe, I shall postpone my remarks upon the Petitions to a future letter. I am, my Lord, Your most obedient servant, SCRUTATOR. FOR THE SUN. ROYAL GRANTS Mn. EDITOR—As a Parliamentary grant to a Queen Consort is about to be proposed, I send you an extract from the Speech of our late venerable SOVEREIGN to the Legislature, on tirst meeting them after his nuptials 7---" I .dare say, your affectionate regard for me and the QUEEN makes you go before me in what I am next to mention, the making an adequate and honoura ble provision'.for her support; in case she should survive me. This is z,;hat not only her royal dig. pity, BUT lIER OWN MERIT, CALLS FOR ;. and earnestly recommend it to your consideration." " Hcu quaalurn urotato RI/ 111 a !" Four's, I. G. N. P. S. To the foregoing I think I nib well subjoin another extract—" I will only add, that there never was a situation in which unanitnit . l, firmness, and dispatch were more necessary for the safety, honour, and true interest of Great Britain."—lf such was the case in the glorious war of 1761, what shall we say of it now FOR THE SUN. TUE COAL. TRADE. MR. EDITOR—I lately called the, attention of your readers to the injury which the Ship-Owners sustrain by the unfortunate system now adopted in the London Coal Trade. The Counties of Durham and Northumberland are suffering se verely from this, circumstance, and it loudly calls on the real friends of those Counties to provide a remedy. There are other trades which might be opened out for the Shipping of the North; if a few zea lous and active friends could he found. It is confidently reported that a Commercial Treaty with France is on the carpet ; if sn, uo tune should be lost to endeavour to obtain a diminu- tion of the duties, in order to enable our Coal, which is, I believe, very superior to the French or Dutch ; to be carried to France. A part of our Shipping are employed in the liamburgh Trade. I beg to call the serious at tention of Northern Members to the practicabi lity of a treaty with llamburgh, which might not only increase the Coal Trade there, bat also . create other branches of trade mutually advan tageous to both parties. Jan. 13, 1821. A NORTH COUNTRYMAN. FOR THE SUN. EXk:NIBLARY BENEVOLENCE. Ma. Envroa,—l request that you will insert in your valuable Paper the following, as au excellent example (to the Nobility and Gentry of this Me tropolis) of humanity, liberality, and fveling.— From undisputed authority I have learned that those most excellent characters, Mr. and Mrs. Cowrrs, while they are enjoying every luxury, and are honoured . by thb society of the most illustrious Characters of the Kingdom, do not suffer the poor and wretched to be forgotten.— Upwards of a hundred poor families have at the same time reason to rejoice, having received bedding, clothing, and food. I most sincerely trust that so laudable an example may be more generally followed, and remain, Sir, with respect, Your obedient Servant, INVESTIGATOR. MA R LBOROUGH-STREET. - A. case of individual importance came on , ye4erday at this Office, touching how far the military had a right to in terfere with publicans where soldiers are quar tered. The Magistrate expressed his opinion that it was the duty of every publican, for the preservation of good order, to allow every faci lity to non-commissioned officers to ascertain if the privates were in quarters ; but on looking at the articles of war, he .could not find section which authorized searching a house, excepting for a deserter or a felon, and he must therefore dis miss the case with the observation, that the house of an individual was different from barracks, but he Tecommended.that publicans should give every facility for the subordination and good discipline of the soldier, and the good order of his OWn . house, The case was dismissed. PRICE OF STOCKS THIS bIY AT TWELVE CrCLOCft. Ratak Stock 222} 223 2-22 i 4 pet Cents. - 87 3 per Cent. R. 691 i ' ilk; Cent. Navy Alan... 1031 3 per Cent Cons. .3i per Cent. HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE TO-MORROW. Morning. 43 minutes ;i0; I. 1 I.venipz. intwitt s %.!. rfiriN sciN. SOLIDI 61U IS DICTItE E.4I,SU,V A UDEAT LONDON, TiIURSDAY, JANUARY is, 1821. We have received this day Paris - Papers of Monday last.—The projet of law for the provi sional credit of six-twelfths of the taxes for the present year, has received the Royal sanction, pd been officially published. The Minister of Finance has delivered a report to the KING, sub mitting a projet of- law for the definitive regula tion of the Budget of 1819, v.hich' presented to the Chamber of Deputies. ,~ i:c ials -of the persons accused of exciting 'le disturbances Which took place - at Paris t the month - of 3 une last, finished on th . e 4th instant, when the whole.of them were ac. quitted, except Fay°lle and Adam, who - were . condemned to be placed under the surveillance of the Police, the former ten years, and the latter. five years; to give security for their good beha-: viour, and to pay the costs of the trial. The Cott gres of Laybach will be rnore'numerous than:that of Troppau, and each of the different Powers will .be represented by a greater number of Ministers. The Emperor of Iltys.st.t will h=r attended by all his Ministers, and three French Ambassadors from different Foreign Courts will repair to Laybach, and assist at the conferences ; Counts 'CARAMAY, de la FERONNAY't, and de BLAOS. • The Marquess de SAINT-MAnsA,N, : Sardinian Minister of Foreign Affairs, has set out for the same place. It - is reportt' , d at Milan that hostilities against Naples will shortly, take place, notwithstanding the mediation of the Papal Court to prevent a war. Accounts from Augs burgh state, that political objects of the highest importance will be the subject of de liberation, at the approaching Congress, anci that the Otto►iau Porte will he a party interested: in these discussions, in consequence of - the pro. , tectiou afforded by Russia to the Set-vial - s, whq have in vain petitioned the Divan against the: ex actions of the Pachas and other''.farkish Agents-. . A new conspiracy has just been discovered at Saragossa. ; Several persons have been arrested, among whom are the Marquess .de LAZAN, (fa ther of the celebrated PALArox, and former ly Captain-General of Arragon), f and four Canons ; the tow❑ was then perfectly trart (oil. Besides the Editor of The Constila tionel, whose 'arrest was nuntioned in our Paper on Tuesday last, IM. LUNA, a Guerrilla. Chief, and the Duke del PARouE, have also , been. arrested, for having been active in promot— ing the late , disturbances. at Madrid. A great many pamphlets have appeared against the Spa nish Ministry, denouncing them as traitors to their Country. The loyal AddresSes which are poUring from all quarters, have naturally excited the spleen of the.. Opposition, who hope to bring into discredit those attestations of respect for the Sovereign and regard for the Constitution, by styling then' "Ministerial' Addresses. This epithet, .however, sheWS thac. the Party Writers are .blinded by their zeal In , bad cause, and are not aware of their inconsist-- eniy. They frequently declare that Ministers , have sunk into the lowest estiniation in every part of the Kingdom. If so, how is it that these " Ministerial." Addresses, as they style them, should be so general and so abundant.? The act, however, that Ministers have nothing to do. with . these loyal Addresses, •and any in terposition on their part would only tend to cheek that spirit of loyalty from which those :addresses actually proceed. If Ministers were really to • interfere,. those who wish to manifest their respect for their- Sovereign and their attachment to our glorious political system; might be apt to fear that interested motives would be imputed 'to them ; but now they must be sup posed to act from pure disinterested feelings, not however without alarm at the daring progress of sedition, and the attempts which are daily made by factious and infidel Writers'to - root out every principle of loyalty and religion from the mind:* of the lower orders of the People, who of course must constitute a great majority in every State. We understand, that the Coronation is posi. tively fixed to take place on the 18th of (Public Ledger.) • Every preparation is making in the Depart. meat of the Master of the Horse for his M.. 1 JEsTy's going in State to the house of Lords on . Tuesday. It is nevertheless, we believe, very, doubtful whether or no the Session will be opened . by Commissiou.--(fieraid) r ti tit -01 A. ~,, ~~ ~: ~: