The Sun.
London, England, 1839-07-17 00:00:00

disown—in numbers more formidable—in organizat:on
better prepared—strong in their reckless wills, and
ready on occasion, to wield the arms wherewith their
wild energies have furnished them. Are the Chartist
millions unlettered ? is their appearance upon the scene
one of the phenomena of ignorance ? If so, then woe
to the Established Church, for not one of them apper-
tains to Rome ! But I believe that Ido not exagge-
rate in ranking them as the portion of the lower
classes, the most educated, according to the material
meaning of that term. I believe that this country
is yet destined to give a melancholy proof
of the extent of that material instruction imbibed
by these remarkable men, and of the depth to which it
has penetrated within them. But spiritually there is
either a total blank, or worse still, a total perver-
sion. I care not whether these classes have had the
guidance of the Church Establishment or whether they
have been abandoned by it to the Mechanics' Institutes and the lecture-rooms. In either case the result will t ,
have been much the same ; there is no blessing upon
the labours of the Anglican Church whie'a the secular
pe.lagogue might not obtain for his own instructions.
Of the science which is received by them, there sur-
vives but the husk. Their knowledge can be but in-
tellectual at the best, retaining only the visible or the
physical elements which may inflate the head but can-
not nourish the soul of him they feed. The Bible in
the bands of an Owenite receives a development which
!s so consistent with the great Protestant principle that
it should make the most bigoted of Biblicals doubt at
last of its propriety. Upon the perverted Gospel they
have preached the doctrines of licentiousness and
-quality. The ties of duty and reverence, first relaxed
by the founders of the Anglican Church, are similarly
altering now in the hands of these new expounders of
the moral code, and are already being put in practice.
They read history too, the history of their own country,
which orthodox Protestants have long ago recorded ;
and they are surprised and pleased to find there many
an event chronicled with approval which they them-
:elves will by-and-by not hesitate to attempt against
Peer and Parson upon their own account, but not till the
gallows shall have lost some portion of its terrors. They
follow up the sciences ; they read the laws of nature,
and the same analysis which enables the Anglican
sophist to blaspheme the sacred mysteries of our faith,
as the juggleries of priests tempts the lese learned me-
chanic to deny the fundamentals of the Christianity
which is preached to him by men of whom he thinks he
has far better cause to doubt, and scrutinize the disin-
terested zeal on his behalf; the Anglican parsons! And
when these things shall be can the sufferers complain ?
Shall they murmur who taught the people that in all
questions of right and wrong, of truth and falsehood,
tree judgment is the most sacred of duties ? What !
shall the deeds and muniments and registers of their
pedigree, which flank and warrant their titles to their
own estates, be more sacred in the eyes of these Biblical
Lords and Esquires than " the pure Word of God," as
they delight to term their own impure version thereof?
Not so think those below them ! to the same private
interpretation must all things come at last, whether
divine or human. And when it happens, there may
come with it a kind of sorrowful remembrance of
occasions long gone by, when, for the popular guid-
ance, had they been wise, the self-denial, and the
patience, and the Blowing devotion of this island's
ancient faith might have been preferred to the Pa-
ganism of science and the religion of nature. And
here I am reminded that the respectable Baronet who
speaks the sentiments of the University of Oxford
in the Lower House, has invited us in common with all
other denominations to provide for our own charity
schools upon the voluntary principle. It appears that
if we did so, we should be unmolested. What, is Sir R.
H. Inglis prepared to advocate and promote the repeal
of all obnoxious laws which incumber the Statute-book,
and were meant to incumber cur free education ? Will
he in good faith forego the gratification which it gives
his party to pore over the disgraceful clauses which, obe-
diently to their will, if not at their dictation, were in-
serted into the Relief Act, and made the indispensable
securities for our emancipation ? Will he really waive
his right to repay the instruction of the poor with the
penalties of the law, or to make criminals of the monks
and convicts of the Jesuits ? No, verily—not at this day
.nay we hope to see expunged this foul blot on our na-
,ional escutcheon. The boon is' too great even for the
ibernlity of our friends to bestow upon us ; and it will
rernaia to a later period, then to be wrested from the

Legislature by the healthful arm of the freshly
Catholic people. In the meantime, let our ene-
mies, in the name of decency, forbear to gloze
upon their liberality, and their readiness to befriend
us in the cause of education after the voluntary principle.
BefOre I conclude let the beseech you not to be alarmed
hut encouraged at this agitation which our enemies have
commenced in the name of education. The general,
but somewhat tardy, zeal which, after three centuries,
has nox first appeared in the cause of national educa-
tion, may be, in fact, but a reflection of the spirit of Ca-
tholicity now abroad among us. For the moment they
have caught it, and it has caused this their last expiring
fTort in favour of their charter. And so must it ever
be. The dawning of the day which is to ripen into the
perfect splendour of the noon, must first penetrate the
very cloud which would quench its brightness and pro-
tract the'night, before its beams can gladden the lowli-
ness of the valley, or crown the loftiness of the moun-
tain. But whatever may be the issue of this high de-
bate in which our country has engaged herself, the noble
ends we seek shall be pursued by none but the noblest
means. We ask not for exclusive privileges ;we de-
mand our rights ; but we recognize the same in all our
countrymen. We know that we are Englishmen, and
we claim our birthright ; but we respect and will assert
the equal rights in the same matter possessed by all
Englishmen of whatever degree or denomination. It is
is feeling which adds a new zest to the pleasure which
eel in moving the resolution which has been entrusted
and it is—