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

atantly increasing revenues; while the stipends of other
objects of their bounty remained without any aug-
mentation in amount, and were constantly dimin-
ishing in value? No, irdee d; but as they tell
us in the name of that Loyd who broke the honda
of Rome, " That youth might liberally trained,
oldagelfaorsgtecle se fostered
ofwitharas l things
thengsnecessary for living, and
liberal
poor in Christ, and repa-
rations of roads and bridges, and other offices of piety
teeming over from them might thence flow abroad far
and wide to all the neighbouring places to the glory of
Almighty God, and the common welfare and happiness
of the subjects of the realm." 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 whioh chapters were 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 objects would have been, must
have been, fully realised, and the founder would not
(to use his own words) have been defrauded
of the expectation and wish with which, and for
which alone, he 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 aid
an honour to the nation, objecta 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
eye saw them it would have given witness of them. In-
stead of this, we find a bishop even in the olden times,
complaining to the Queen of England, not without deep
sighs, that the good offices required of cathedral chap-
ters 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
one 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, while an-
other said to the same assembly, " You see wherefore
the lands were granted unto deans and chapters; what
their statutes are, and their oaths to keep them. It
might be thought that these 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 ever have
been daring my remembrance, kept, or the matters con-
teined in them performed, by any of the deans or pre-
bendaries of the cathedral. They come, indeed, once a
year ies 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 &me
by others." But, my Lords, I will not dwell upon
what the chapter plead es their excuse—the invariable
practice of their predecessors, for, only twelve years
ago, said the Bishop of London, " very many of the
cathedral statutes are notoriously disregarded, al-
though every dean and canon has taken a solerien
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 ago
bat 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
the performance of the duties assigned to them, he
from
muld be very glad to abolish theee institutlons 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
and have almost said, " Down with
them,cry
yof h
even foeentso, 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
whisper of the faintest censure, for endeavours—hearty,
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
delinquency—a gross violation of moral integrity; and I
repeat that my exertions began in integrity, have been
kept up in sincerity, as they are even now sustained by
the consciowness 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
frees the operations of time and the worse iejaries 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, end left to commemorate triumphs un-
mingled with sorrow, unpolluted by blood, and gained
over the worst enemies of the human race—ignorance
and her progeny, vice. To labour in such I feel 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 your judgment and through your
agency (by whom it least should) co be put beyond re-
paration, and denied all redress, my consolation will be
that I suffer in a righteous cause—tor principles which,
"though beflied oft, yet ever win "—with the approval
of my 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 am
myself indebted for the princely living of the same
founder, and to which many of the chietest
of Englaed's intellectual and moral hierarchy owe
everything which has made their lives precious
to their country, and their career honourable
to themselves. It may be—fur human frailty will show
itself in the best of actions, and weaken oven 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 me as an inordinate crime, before you
charge this against me as au aggravated immorality,
stay, I pray S ou, a little, and reflect that deep impres-
sions, and firm convictions, and strong conviction, are
not criminal; they are not immoral, they are not even
blameable; they may be irresistible; and, as they alone,
humanly speaking, enable a man both to do and to
suffer, et faeere 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 as he tells the truth.
My Lords, that is what I have done. I have not
written a book which is untrue; I have not pub-
lished a calumny which I caunot prove. I have
told the truth, which is great; and assuredly will
she prevail, whatever power be arraigned against
her. I have pleaded for justice, and assuredly will
she assert her majesty and hold her own, whoever may
usurp her rights and ignore her supremacy. If I have
done this imprudently—if with any impropriety or for-
getfulness of my position, call not this an aggravated
sin, visit not such a fault with anything like cruelty,
approach it not with anything akin to partiality or vin-
dictiveness—leave all that to others. Do you rather, tar
rather, regard it with favour, be it only for the good
which it has done, even if you cannot reward it with
admiration for the feelings from which it has sprung;
nay, my Lords, if you cannot, if you will not follow
your own better feelings, and bestow even a reluctant and
faint-hued commendation where others have instinctively
proffered the mead of unqualified praise, deny me not
that consolation which honesty of purpose claims and has
its claims allowed; withhold not that indulgence which
is everywhere else shown to those who plead and
prove continued provocation in others and the absences
of all malice in themselves. Refuse me not, if you
have any regard for the credit of our national justice;
refuse me not, I say, that equity
.which is granted to the
meanest criminal who elects "to be tried by God and
his country ;" remembering, in the words of a great
writer, "As the man who attacks a flourishing estab-
lishment writes with a halter round his neck, few will
be found to attempt alterations but men of more spirit
than prudence, of more sincerity than caution, of warm,
eager, impetuous temper; so that if we are to wait for
improvement till the cool, the calm, the discreet part of
mankind begin, till church governors solicit, or Minis-
ters of State propose it, I will venture to pronounce,
that without His interposition with whom nothing is
impossible, WP may remain as we are till the renovation
of all things." My Lords, I have done. May your
judgment be such as the universal acclaim of England
will at once ratify, and that "still small voice" which
whispers in the unseen tribunal of your own hearts will
never condemn, and I have no fear or misgiving as to
what that judgment will be.
The Bishop of ROCHETER—We will consider what
•udgment we will give.

----- ---- ---
POLICE INTELLIGENCE'
„ Wilson,
MANSION-HOUSE. were
the station
Mary Ann Stagg, stout 18 years old'
Iwo cheques. Th
aged 23, and Charles &arias, aged 1,13
pa
ii c
kio
n,
iotot t brought
,s
ht,t
before Sir P. Laurie, charged u
robbed a farmer at Ald b °rung h ittnriit
amount of 5001., four sovereigne,
moment after the prisoneri wi?re
convnltte a d
Nilo:len to
robbery, Acting.
upon suspicion of having .
City police, communicated
Inspector Hamilton, of c
at Norwich, tnmunicated
with the police and spe in
by telegraph ting that the ro e 1 y
received an answer ets p. perty described
and re
by him had been stolen,
in requesting that the ri
custody,
soners might b 3
detained
Norwich. and by next train-
the chief constable arrived in London.
Mr. Jolla Dunne, chief constable of
Norwich, said—l OWL,' the polico of the
city of - ually received .
f robbery which had beeninformation
o a
lair, on Monday night, upon committed at Aldborough
farmer and dea!er in the Mr. George Gooch, a
county of Noriolk.
me that as he was yesterday Mr. Gooch reported to
on Monday night,
he returning home, at about 12 o'clock
sonor on the green Ivas accosted' by the female
ofpri-
the village of Aldborough, LW