The Sun.
London, England, 1839-05-24 00:00:00

DANGER

THE CHURCH ALIVE To ITS

Up to the lotest advices no commotion has taken
place on the eiloc•ition qui stion, though it is clear that
we are on the'ergo of an explosiiiii. Peri,aps the
Conservatives arc writin,r for the gr.at it •monstration
.if the met inten:lug ten ti:at Lold
neous" assemblies ti.rouguout toe y. T., e
danger is imminent, for the Times says—" The
Church is now almost literally in a state of siege. The
Archbishops and Bishops, though not sent to
the Tower, are almost banished from the Court."
We do not know whether this is true or false, but
are sure that the mortification which is expressed
at such banishment is one of the strongest proofs
of Episcopal self-denial, for which virtue our
Clergy hate always been conspicuous. Humble and
ni,'y men, their taste has led them to the ewe of their
,
flocks to the "doing good by stealth," and to forming
themselves upon the model laid down by St. Paul in
his instructions to Timuhy ; but their public duty has
overcome their private feelings, and induced them to
undergo the society of a Court, and: on the precept of
becoming all things to all men, to conduct themselves
while in it so as to he mistaken for courtiers. A
Bishop, whose name we do not now remember, and
it is as well forgotten, for he was only a Papist,
acquired some celebrity for exposing himself to the
perils of infection when the plague raged at Marseilles.
He walked about among the dead and dying, adminis-
tering the offices of religion, or as the Times would say
of" infidelity," and relieving the corporeal as well as the
spiritual wants of the sick ; and he did not take the
infection. England, Protestant England, would not
eue behind Pr pistic and infidel France in zeal and devo-
-ion. When the siege shall be raised, even though
Sir Robert Peel may not have returned to office,
holy men will be found ready to encounter
the moral pestilence of our Court, our profligate
premier, our scandalising coteries, and our " camarilla"
Government. They, too, like the Bishop at Marseilles
will move uninjured by the surrounding malaria, and
come out as pure as they went in ; confident in the
goodness of their cause they will feel no fear, and re-
solve to remain at their posts, unless, like Enoch, for
their superabundant goodness, they are translated. But
at present the siege, or, rather, the blockade continues
" The Church perceives her danger, and has resolved
to discharge her duty. She sees that the union be-
tween herself and the State is now practically sus.
pended, and with that constancy and zeal which ever
belong to her apostolic character, she resolves to retire
on her native resources, and to confide in that Power
which can never leave her or forsake her."

This is fine writing, but rather equivooal as to the
course which the Church means to pursue. We should
be glad to know what is meant by " native resources."
We have been accustomed to hold that the native re.
sources of the clergy were the punctual discharge of
their parochial duties, visiting the sick, comforting the
afflicted, promoting peace and good will, not meddling
with political factions ; instructing the ignorant, not im-
peding th• course of instruction ; avoiding brawling
and foul language. This does not seem to be the
notion of the Times :—" All the blarney about bigotry
and intolerance is but so much mud and dirt, and
rotten eggs, the first missiles of the low and vulgar, be-
fore the pike and the brickbat, before serious civil war
and confiscation awake us to the horrors of a realrevolu-
tion." Perhaps the Times considers language such as
the above one of the " native resource? of the
Church. If so, we shall wait with intense expectation
for the speeches on the 28th.