The Sun.
London, England, 1852-06-24 00:00:00

stantly increasing revenue©; while the stipends of other
objects of their bounty remained without any aug-
mentation in amount, and were constantly dimin-
ishing in value? No, indeed; but as they tell
old a e' s t red
Of
ta ißoale
n the name of that Lord who broke. the bonds
"That
withy touilinelms necessaryigb
tbeliberally
trained,
for living, and
ses of alms to the
liberal larges
ge fostered
poor in Christ, and reps-
'ens of roads and bridges and other offices of piety
teeming over from them might thence flow abroad
and wide to all the hbo •ng places to the glory of
Almighty God, and tho neighbouring
common welfare and happiness
of the subjects of the Such, my Lords, were the
purposes for which cathedrals were founded, with statutes
so clear, that any one may read, and ordinances so plain
that no one can misunderstand them. Such, the objects
for which chapters wore created, and bound to observe
all and every one of them by oaths the most solemn,
and sanctions the most binding. My Lords, had these
statutes been faithfully observed; had the obligations of
these oaths been indeed deeply felt; had their sanctity
been truly revered; those objecte would have been, must
have been, fully realised, and the founder would not
(to use his own words) have been defrauthd
of tho expectation and wish with which, and for
which
.alone, ho endowed cathedrals, and incorpo-
rated chapters to perpetuate their endowments and
administer their Government. Then, indeed, might
they have been a support to the Church, a blessing and
an honour to the nation, objects of veneration with the
the rich, and of grateful affection to the poor, springs of
good and useful influence, fountains teeming and flowing
over with all generous and kindly offices. When the ear
heard of them, it would have blessed them; when the
eyo saw them it would have given witness of them. In-
stead of this, we find a bishop oven in the olden times,
complaining to the Queen of England, not without deep
sighs, that the good offices required of cathedral chap-
tent were, in a manner, almost cleaned and varnished,
and then praying her Most Sacred Majesty to take the
matter up herself, so that the holy plant of her Father's
hands might by her be well nourished and cherished,
and so the Lord would bless, prosper, and multiply her
days, to the great comfort of the Church, and all her
most faithful subjects. Then, in later days, we read of
ono M.P. telling the House of Commons, that to speak
no less truly than plainly, deans and chapters did
either just nothing, or nothing that was just, 'senile an-
other said to the same assembly, "You see wherefore
the lands were granted unto deans and chapters; what
their statures are, and their oaths. to keep them. It
might be thought that those. men do know some way,
another or nearer way to Heaven than they track us;
or, otherwise, that they would not sit where they do
without remorse of conscience. For it is notoriously
known that not one of the said statutes are, or over have
been during my remembrance, kept, or the matters con-
tained in them performed, by any of the deans or pre-
bendaries of the cathedral. They come, indeed, once a
year to receive the rents and profits, but do not distri-
bute unto the poor and needy their portion, and do not
keep any common table; and, instead of preaching the
word of God in season and out of season, they are and
have been the chief hindrances to the same being done
by others." But, my Lords, I will not dwell upon
what-the chapter plead as their excuse—the invariable
practice 'of their predecessors, 'for, only twelve years
ago, said the Bishop of " very fleetly of the
eathedral statutes • are notoriously disrege rded, alp
though every dean and canon has taken a solemn
oath to keep all and every of them." So said
the late Lord Melbourne, "It is scarcely worth while
to preserve bodies to perform duties which they have not
performed for 300 years, while only a few months ego
but one voice was heard in the Commons of" England
against a measure conceived and accepted in the spirit
of the Bishop of Exeter's declaration. That if the par-
ties who are now members of cathedral bodies shrink
from the performance of the duties assigned to them, he
should be very glad to abolish these institutions alto-
gether." And, if this be so—if institutions_ founded
with such care—fortified with such bulwark—confided
to such guardian—provided with means so ample—fur-
nished with resources so abundant—and placed in posi-
tions so commanding, have proved not the strongest ci-
tadels of our Zion, not the.most impregnable fortresses
of our Church,but her open weakness and her uncovered
shame, until her very friends have been fain to swell the
cry of her foes, and have almost said, " Down with
them, even to the ground"—my Lords, if this be so
—and who can deny it ?—would the foun-
ders, and if not the. founders, will, you—
I do not say dismiss—l will not say punish
me, but even breathe upon me the most subdued
wbieper of the faintest censure, for endeavours—hearth
sincere, and honest, as they have been—to avert a catas-
trophe so melancholy, to prevent an overthrow so humi-
liating and ignominious, by making those institutions
faithfully and truly what their founders have declared
they meant them to be. My Lords, those founders would
not, and you cannot, condemn .me, except for an inor-
dinate crime—a very grievous immorality. They would
not, and you cannot dismiss me except for an aggravated
deliequeecy—a gross violation of moral integrity; end I
repeat that my exertions began in integrity, have been
kept up in sincerity, as they are even now sustained by
the consciousness of that Justice which gives strength
irresistible to the feeblest, and armour impenetrable to
the most unprotected, while it unlocks the steel and un-
nerves the arm, and daunts the heart of him whose con-
science with injustice is corrupted. Bear with me, then,
my Lords, if now at the last I say that cheerfully have
I spurned delight, gladly and confidently have I lived
laborious days in the task (I use the words of one
of the most eloquent of living men) of trying to save
from the operations of time and the worse injuries of
an interested malversation, some of those monuments
which yet remain to us of the genuine glory of our an-
cestors—trophies which they won in a pious and inno-
cent warfare, and left to commomorato triumphs un-
mingled with sorrow, unpolluted by blood, and gained
over the worst enemies of the human race—ignorance
and her progeny,.vico. To lahoer in such I esel indeed
a privilege, to toil in such a task I count' indeed an
honour; to succeed will in truth be a triumph unal-
loyed by any feeling of wrong, unsullied by any act
of dishonour, untarnished by any word of deceit, un-
truth, or shame. And even, my Lords, if in such a
struggle I am to suffer more than I have already done—
if this suffering is by Tsui judgment and through your
agency (by whom it least should) to be put beyond re-
paration, and denied all redress, my consolation will be
that I suffer in a righteous cause—for principles which,
"though bsffld oft, yet ever win "—with the approval
of rriy own conscience, and the deep and wide-spread
sympathy of my fellow countrymen, in the endeavour to
regain for others advantages like those for which I em
myself indebted for the princely living of the same
founder, and to which many of the chiefest
of England's intellectnal sold moral hierarchy owe
everything which has • made their lives precious
to their country, .and their career: honourable
to themselves. It may be—for human frailty will show
itself
.in the best of actions, and . weaken even the
strongest cause—it may be that in doing so I have
sometimes spoken with more plainness than prudence,
with more zeal than discretion, with more indignation at
the wrongs of others than consideration for the comfort
and welfare of myself. But, my Lords, before you im-
pute this to mo as an inordinate crime, before you
charge this against me as an aggravated immorality,
stay, I pray you, a little, and reflect that deep impres-
sions, and firm convictions, and stroag conviction, are
not criminal; they are not immoral, they are not even
blameable; they may he irresistible; and, as. they alone,
humanly speaking, enable a man both to do and to
suffer, et facere et parte festre, so they make him not
studious of phrases so long as he keeps to facts, and in-
different about language so long es he tells the truth.
My Lords, that is what I have clone. I have not
written a book which is untrue; I have not pub-
lished a calumny which I cannot prove. I have
told the truth, which is great; and assuredly wil'
she prevail, whatever power be arraigned agains
her. I have pleaded for. justice, and assuredly w-'