The Express.
London, England, 1851-10-31 00:00:00

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LONDON, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31.

Toe multiplication of bishops, by the creation of a
large number of minor or suffragan sees, is a measure
earnestly advocated by many excellent men, who
thiuk that it will prove • very efficient instrument
for meeting and removing some of the worst spiritual
evils which now afflict our population. We may re-
spect their motives; but we must blame their judg-
ment : and as we believe the general opinion of the
country to coincide with our own, we should have
hardly thought the project &servileg of notice at the
prevent time had red rumours reached us that it was
finding favour in other quarters more capable of
carrying it out to completion.
It is certainly surprising that such a scheme
should be pressed just at the moment when the
character, the feelings, and the acts of the English
episcopate have been so painfully laid lore. let, in
truth, the shock caused by these revelations, and the
hop leeoncss of a cure fur the present order of bishops, '
contribute not a little to create the desire fur another
and different race. The same treatment is prescribed
for tke people of England as unhakpy patients 110
commonly experience from the off-hand physicians of
watering places. The complaint that no benefit is
derived is met by the ready answer, "you do not
Ore: the eaters a fair chance; you do not take
enough; double the number of glasses, and you will
be well."
The advocates of an episcopal increase contend that
our actual bishop; are separuted from their clergy by
their political and administrative duties, by their
nose and revenues, and the hee.its which these create;
that the clergy are thereby deprived of that counsel,
symputhy and care, which are so peculiarly needed
hir encountering the trials of the pastoral life; that
their efforts are guided by no central influence, espe-
cially in our large towns, where disunion or isolation
mar the efficacy of the ministry; that their labours
are rewarded by no encouragement, their errors cor-
nered by no reproof,and their lukewarmness aroused
by no friendly exhort atinre; and that the episcopal office
has hest the overlooking functions from which it de-
rived its name and its origin, to the great injury of
clerical Mueller and with much lose to the whole
community. It is urged that the presence of an
ever is sident bishop in a small diocese would quicken
the ex. rtions of the parochial ministees, and
draw festh powerful support from the clergy;
that we should have more 'schools, more churches,
mow subscriptions of every kind ; that the
dark messiest of ear population would he ex-
plore d. irreligion and infidelity stutters' in their very
and un active, zealous, and enthusiastic
clergy would penetrate the whole of suciety, and
keep alive the flame of true religion throughout the
land.
We sympathise with many of these desires; but
would they he realised? Can any guarantee be
given, any re:resemble ground of ussurrnice, that
thise will he previsely the results that shall flow
fawn an expunoon of the t pismire' order, and not
others rather of a very opposite. eh:am:ter? Hu the
data furnished by episcopal facts, by the temper and
spirit of the English epiecopute, us far as they Lave
been hitherto manifested, warrant the hope that to
inunase the episcopate would be to increase the
poser and influence of religion ?
We fear it is too true that the episcopate is not the
religious ckment of our church institutions, or that
pert of our rechsiustie al machinery which is riparian
calculated to produce a twaseas eking piety and a
truly spiritual Christianity. le as we believe, the
establishment of the church strengthens religion in
Eegland, then, indirectly, by the munugetnent or its
stealer affair., by aequiring credit fur its ministers
among the higher classes, and other similar means,
bishop, pother spiritual good; and it cannot be
ueerlouked that the English hierarchy has exhibited
noble spctimens of true and unselfish piety. The
great site, however, of the church of England is its
peliticul character; and by this we mean, not its
Inv:edit' of political power and worldly advantages, as
by an external and heterogeneous body ; but, the
worldly spirit it contracts, from being itself a part of
the isditieal constitution, and the cast and varied
amends of secular benefits which it has thereby
obtained. _ _

aity." It is no more possible to doubt that ho is tell-
' ing the truth, thanit would be that ]fr. Snake, in
The School fur Scandal,' does so when brought to
aid in the Wnotiement of that comedy by his conies-
' Mon. One can fancy Mr. EDWARDS, like his proto-
type, begging hard to have his one - action, his
discovery of the rascalitics he has been mixed up
i with, kept a secret, because it is to the badness of I
his character that he is indebted for a hvelihood. It
was expected on the morning of Mr. EDWARDS'S Ci-
aminatton that he would " make a clean breast of .
it." That he has succeeded in doing this we will
not take upon us to say ' • but lie certainly has thrown'
a wonderful quantity of dirt out of it.
Mr. Enwseus, as pourtrayed by himself in
his auto-biographical revelations, is a charac-
ter that would have done no discredit to
Lt SAGE himself. Ilia confessions are as racy and
piquant as those of the worthy AMBROSE LOYOLA
himself. As far as Mr. EDVFAILDS was himself con-
cerned, he gave his evidence in that "frank and
manly" manner which betokens the desire of a
brAeen and a contrite heart" to make amends. Rut
" when his testimony affected the honour and cha-
meter of other persons, he was painfully affected."
There is an exquisite propriety in the use of the
ambiguous word "affected" iu the description of
such a touching display of emotion. Still a fastidious I
critic might perhaps be warranted in objecting that
Mr. Faiwamei has not attained the highest grade of
artistical skill—he scarcely appears to feel the impor-
tance of the maxim ars eat Mare artem. "Ito would
give a narrative if it were insisted on ; but the posi-
tion in which he stood made it preferable that lie
shined have his evidence drawn frum him." A hint
so broad as this ought to have been
_given in a
whisper.
The most pathetic scene in the highly dramatic ex•
hihition of Mr. linwanns, is that in which the names
of the bribed St. Albans electors were extorted from
him. There his companions in guilt, the objects of
his sympathy, were standing around him. If he
persisted in concealing their names, he forfeited all
he had earned by his previous disclosures; if he re-
vealed them, lie incurred their enmity. It was a de-
licate dilemma: no wonder Mr. SLADE exclaimed
"We feel for your position." Mr. EDW. RDS. ac-
cordingly, with infinite tact and skill contrived, by
assuming fur a time the character of examiner, to
impress upon the minds of his auditors the honor of
the prise forte et dare he would incur by standing
true to them. Ile had been in gaol eighteen weeks,
and, rather than peach he would go back for eighteen
weeks more; but the inexorable 'Mr. SLADE informed
hini,in the heal ingof all the bribed,that lie might be
imprisoned fur life. Not a man of them but felt that
Mr.litiwalins was justified in giving up their names;
with unutterable aorrc.w, but without one angry
emotion, they felt that the inevitable hour haul come
when light was to be let in upon the dark doings of
the Das DANIEL of St. Albans corruption. They
wept in silence as EDWARDS, the reterding angel,
gave up their names, and he wept as he gave them
up. but his tears were unavailing to blot them out.
What Mr. Enwsans has been, rind what kind of
a system he has organised in St. Albans, our readers
have learned hum the report of yesterday. The re-
velatien is only valuable as showing the character of
the greater system of corruption, oh' which lie and it
are mere subordinate parts. Ilow many constituen-
cies arc there in the ktngilum which have not their
I'.uw.taut. with a train of mercenary followers
paid and drilled like his? There are constituencies,
undoubtedly, in which the great orris is pure;
but even in these, similar corrupt hands lie in wait
for closely contested elections, when they may be
paid for turning the scale. And in too many of our
constituencies the contest at elections lies not haween
great tuitional parties, but between two or more
parties of these political rondotticri. Mr. EDWARDS
bias favoured UN with an edifying account of the
treaty between himself and Mr..iiI.AGG (who was for
the "conservatives" of St. Albans what Mr. ED.
wAitos was for the "liberals"); and how Cluesmin,
the head of the "third party," seduced the low,
"conservatives," leaving Mr. Etmvulis and Mr. I
lit.met only the " inHuentials" (who on this occasion
had no intfuenee) of that party. The
inpreliminaries
of the race for the St. Albans seat parliament
closely resemble the preliminaries of other races
famous in the rewords of ed (am actions • no wonder
Mr. CRAVEN, the first MCC vouno fledgling" recom-
mended by Mr. Centered: to Mr. Env:suns, acted in
accordance with his name, and backed out of the
affair.

Hut bishops with small Ws and moderate incomes,
we are told. will set a better example. They will '
not lie chosen with an eye to their votes and their
specties in the House of Lords. They will not he
afraid to make proposals for the good of the church,
which would stamp a great bishop as unsafe; they
will be taken from the working clergy, and will con-
tinue to be working clergy in their episcopal cha-
racter. 'this may be so at first. The feeling which
lid to their creation will make itself respected in the
tilling of the first appointments. But in the long
run. nay, very soon. the spirit of the great bishops
will pervade the whole mass. The
pers. with their wealth, their rank, and their posi-
tion in English society. will wield a paramount
intluenee. The minor bishops will be so many
most powerful channels for the infusion of the
episcopal riding into the clergy. These smaller
bishoprics would lie the high mid to the grandeur
of the larger moo; the pernitious system of transla-
tions nould thus be practically no iced; acd we
should see, as now, energetic ministers converted
into cautious politicians, aft aid, above all things, of
esnipromising their prospects by an imprudent dis-
play of enthusiasm or over-religiousness. And thus
the very object contemplated by the promoters of
this scheme would be lost ; riligion would have
gained little, if indeed anything at all, and the
worldly temper of the establishment would be rivettcd
wire firmly than ever.
Now perils, too, would spring up. The electioneer-
ing influence of some hundred bishops, in small
towns, would be prodigious. If it succeeded in
swaying the elections, the political power of the
church would ls-come ho formidable, that the Prime
Minister would be a hundred times more compelled
than he is now to think of politics alone in nominat-
ing bishops: and this would be the ruin of the church
by the corruption of its essence; or if, as is most
probable, the clerical influence culled forth a stronger
reaction, revolutionary changes would be nut far off.
Neither would the people bear long the sight of twi n-
ty-aix rich and idle bishops by the side of a hundred
poor and working ones. The downfall of the former
would be at hand. for their pressat faults would be
aggravated: their political functions would be dis-
tinctly avowed to be their chief ones; their spiritual
tone would be still more lowered, and much harm
would accrue to both church and state.
The only hope for episcopacy in this country is its
present reform, not its extension. When that good
work is done. and not sooner, shall we have a safe
basis for a larger episcopal edifice. The people of
England do not wish for more bishops. They hare
had small reason for putting faith in their efficacy.
They seek fur Christian pastors, religious men of,
Out).- spiritual lives. By such alone can our popula-
tion he Christianised. This is the calling of a
Christian bishop; and the spiritualising, out the
enlarging, of the episcopate is what the nation
needs.

IT was a curious coincidence that brought into our
columns, on two consecutive days, the examination of
Mr. EDWARP:4 before the St. Albans Bribery Commis-
'ion, and the examination of Captain ALEX tNI)ER
M'EACIIET ALLEYNE in the prosecution for a turf
forgery at the suit of Viscount CtiEDES. The pro-
fessional speculators in parliamentary elections, and
the professional speculators in horse races, belong to
the same class of irregular industrials, follow dif-
ferent branches of the same trade. The veteran turf
gambler (to borrow the language of a letter pro-
duced be the captain with the beautiful long name)
is in the habit of " borrowing a house to do a plant,"
whenever he can get hold of nice young fledglings."
And from the evidence of Mr. Enw pans, it is clear
that houses are borrowed (or hired) for the same
purposes, when " nice young fledglings," disposed to
the vice of political rambling, are to be caught.
The evidence of Mr. Eow,taos is indeed what
Cot.r.atoor. would have called a "psychological curl-

But the most important part in the disclosures of
Mr. Enwsuns is the connexion of himself and kin-
dred spirits iu the provincial constituencies with cen-
tral agencies of political corruption in the metropolis.
1k has named the party who does basiness in these
affairs for the " liberals," and the house of cull used
by hint. Parliamentary committees have rendered
the public familiar with the name of the late agent
fin. the "conservatives" (alto hes succeeded to the
office, we know not) and his house of call. The
"liberal" vote-excliange and the "conservative "
vote-exchani;e arc in as convenient proximity as
Jonathan's and Capel-court ; and this is clear, that
there are offices and agents in London where regis-
ters of all the provincial jobbers are kept, of the
means at their command, and of their prices; that to
these offices and agents " gentlemen" wishing to
Require a scat in parliument are in the
habit of resorting for advice and assistance ;
and that to them constituencies at a lass
for a purchaser are in the habit of applying
through their local agents. There is, in short, a
permanent, organised system of political corruption,
with its branch societies in every town and county ;
and with its central agencies in London. Both in
the metropolis and in the provinces there are indi-
viduals whose avowed and only profession is to act
as agents for these societies. They areas easily found
out by those a ho wish to deal with them as were the
great smuggling houses in Guernsey and the Isle of
'Man halt' a century ago; or as the purveyors who
deal with poachers, or the keepers of St. James's
hells in our own day. And, like the worthies we
have named, their trade is to evade or defy the law,
and to assist others to do the same, and teach them
how to do it. They are a public nuisance. They
minister to the vanity or worse passions of rich
men (or of adventurers seeking to venture their little
all) in search of seats in parliament ; they fill the
legislature with incapable or corrupt members; and
worse than either they accustom a large section of
the community- first to scorn the constraints of
and gradually to advance along the path of deceit,
and falselesel, and perjury, which such scorn inevi-
tably leads to. They taint public morality at its
source: they render the fairest external forms of
free institutions mere whitened sepulchres full of
dead men's bones and rottenness.
Any change in the mere mechanical structure of
our representative institutions that does not go to
paralyse this organised system of corruption will be
a mete mockery. It tlouriahed in the old days of
borough mongerv; we see how soon it has accommodated
itself to the changed relations of these days. It
cannot be destroyed by any mere constitutional ar-
rangements so long as anything is to be gained by
practising it. Its agents, and the class who are alter-
nately their employers and their dupes, will survive
a new reform bill, eager and ready to begin their
dirty work anew as soon as such a measure has be-
come law. The great end and aim of an efficacious
reform hill ought to be, by breaking up and brushing
away all their spider nets, to impose such a task
upon them in the reconstruction of their machinery
as will hold them long enough to allow purer 'At-
tica' morals and electioneering management to be-
come habitual with the great majority of the con-
stituencies.
To this end various changes may be made subser-
vient. A large infusion of new electors will bring
; into play men with whom they arc unacquainted. A
re-distribution of the electoral districts will force
them, if they persist in their nefarious trade, into
new fields of action, in which they have no esta-
blished confidential auxiliaries. By charging public
; officials with the care of putting the electors on the
roll, the party associations for that purpose—which
have of necessity become little more than mere tools
of the borough brokers—will be set aside. By
making secret voting compulsory, they will be pre-
' 'circa from learning how men really give their suf-
frages. and all calculations thereon based set at
nought. No timid half-measure can break up the
orrtuisation of the political clubs at the west end,
with their clever and unscrupulous metropolitan
agents, and their sub-agents in every provincial con-
stituency. New voters, new classification of voters,
new methods of registry and voting, are required to
break up tin ir nefarious alliances, and place them in
a condition of ignorance and perplexity that will
leave them for a tune utterly iucapablc to act.

THE EXPRESS, FRIDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 31, 1851.