The Sun.
London, England, 1837-01-05 00:00:00

effect has, indeed, been already produced. We learn
from various quarters that the greatest enthusiasm
prevails respecting this now vital question, in conse-
quence of the light that has broken in upon some, and
the activity which has been excited in others, by
Church-rate agitation. The spirit of the people is
now fairly up, and when that is the case, there is no
fear for the result. The popular voice demanding the
abrogation of an unjust, irreligious, and cruel law,
must be irresistible. The day is gone by when the people
of England could be persuaded that it is the duty of one
man to pay for the religion of another ; or that it is
good for the community to have their pockets emptied,
in order that those of a pampered priesthood may be
full. All this humbug has been exposed, and is now
laughed at. The right of every man to worship his
Maker according to his conscience, without let or hin-
drance of any sort or kind, is now acknowledged by
every man, who has the least pretensions to common
honesty or common sense ; and whatever interferes with
the exercise of this right, directly or indirectly, must be
swept away without remorse and without delay.

In the numerous congratulatory addresses presented
to the King of the FRENCH on New Year's Day,
copies of which will be found in another part of The
Sun, we occasionally meet with sentences of which it
would be difficult to determine the exact meaning. Of
all these addresses, that presented by M. DUPIN, in
the name of the Chamber of Deputies, is the most re-

_..._ ......___
markable. Did we not know that the Chamber
meant it for a congratulatory harangue, and that
the KING received, and responded to it as such,

we protest in all sincerity, that we should suppose it
to have been designed for an act of censure upon the
whole conduct of His Most Christian Majesty. As
this address has the merit of being as brief as such

addresses should be, when read in the presence o'

Kings, we will quote it paragraph by paragraph, in
order to show the grounds of the first impression

which the reading of it made upon us :
" Sire, It is but a very few days since the whole Cham-
ber, in mournful silence, expressed its profound grief to
your Majesty. To-day it ventures to yield to hope. You
therefore see it pressing round your throne, and saluting
you with its good wishes. You cannot, Sire, doubt its
sincerity, which is the forerunner of that loyal support de-
manded of us by the King, and in which we can never fail
towards his person, his dynasty, or in the sacrifices which
may be required for the honour of the nation, the full
maintenance of our constitutional institutions, and the ener-
getic defence of the Government founded by our mighty
revolution of July."

We cannot sufficiently admire the modesty of the
Chamber as evinced in this passage. It tells the
KING that he cannot doubt it 3 sincerity ; not be-

cause it has done anything to merit his unlimited reli-
ance upon its good faith, but because its loyal salu-
tations precede the discharge of functions in which it
can never fail. " Believe me for mine honour !" Is

this squeamish affectation, ( r mockery ? And is there
not a threat implied in this allusion to the sacredness
of the Chamber's allegiance, proceeding as it does
from the mouth of such an organ ! We confess such
is our belief. Had the Chamber challenged the KING'S
confidence on the plain and obvious ground of the
sacrifices which it had already made to support him—
_

of the popularity which it had lost, and the principles
it had abused to maintain him in power—why the

whole affair would be perfectly comprehensible. But
the common-sense meaning of the words under consi-

deration is this :—You cannot doubt our sincerity,
inasmuch as to believe us in your own interest. Your
faith in the truth of our professions must precede the
fine performances of which they are the precursors.
Then follows an ill-timed allusion to the revolution of
July, as to remnid his MAJESTY of the danger of in-
terpreting the language of the Chamber too literally.
The address proceeds thus :
Sire, The year is good for the King when it is good for
France. We desire for our country greatness and peace,
and that prospei ity in its material interests which forms its
wealth. But we also desire the satisfaction of those moral
wants of human societies which constitute the power and
dignity of nations—sound education for the people, honesty
in all business, and honour—French honour—in every
transaction, and as a necessary consequence of it the ful-
filment of every duty, a conformity between acts, doctrines,
and oaths, the real element of enlightened public opinion,
strong in encouraging well-doing, and powerful in counter-
! acting the genius of evil, by establishing a conviction that
evil cannot meet with support."
Is this the language of felicitation ? If so we know
nothing of its meaning. Has the past year been good
for France ? M. DUPIN leaves the question unan-
swered ; thereby leaving us to infer that he considered it
more prudent to be silent than to refer to the American
and Swiss affairs, the insurrections in the army, the
revolutionary plots of Paris, and the recent transac-
tions in Africa. M. DUPIN tells the KING what
will satisfy France; but he is careful not to com-
mit himself by saying that the nation has a right
to be satisfied. But wherefore the parade about
French honour—acts—doctrines—and oaths ? Is
his MAJESTY to be for ever galled with a recurrence
to such topics? Had M. THIERs dictated this sen-
tence, we could easily understand that the little Ex-
President of the Council sought to have a fling at his
SOVEREIGN touching that rather annoying document
—the quadruple treaty. Whether intended or not, the
allusion to its non-observance by France is sufficiently

striking.
The next t vo sentences are mere verbiage--" May
your MAJESTY'S reign last for many years !" is an
Orientalism which M. DUPIN in changing has but
disfigured—" 0 KING, live for ever I" is much more
beautifully expressive, and might have been uttered
with equal sincerity. The following is the conclusion
of the Address :
" Sire, pure justice is the first condition of good govern.
ment. Iniquitous judgment, or impunity for culprits, is the
most active cause of demoralization. To the magistracy,
therefore, as ever, we wish uprightness, wisdom, and strength
of mind and character sufficient for the execution of the
laws in administering that impartial justice which is equal
to all, which, by a high fiction of our law, is rendered in the
name of the King, only to attest that it is superior to all,
and that no one can pretend to be above its inflexible
Such, Sire, are the good wishes which I, as your faithful ser-
vant, respectfully lay at the feet of your Majesty."
It cannot but be observed, that throughout this
address the Chamber cautiously abstains from saying
one word respecting the blessings which France is at
present enjoying under her Constitutional Sovereign.
It refers to no department of the Government, in the
administration of which France has nothing to desire
in the way of improvement. It scarcely permits itself
to allude to the crime of MEUNIER ; and even where
it does, it is silent respecting the sacrifices which it is
prepared to make for the further security of his
MAJESTY'S person. In the words which we have
just quoted, our readers will readily perceive a covert
censure of the KING'S conduct, in the banishment,
without trial, of Prince Louis BONAPARTE. Taken
altogether, it is a document upon the presentation of
which the KING has no great cause for extraordinary
felicitation.
Upon the other addresses, and the answers made to
them by the KING, we have no room for comment.
That of the Chamber of Peers is three parts mere
drivel, and the rest nonsense. What can be more ridi-
culous than gravely to interrogate the KING respecting
the residences of those who attempted his life ? The
following extract is worthy of the opinion Europe en-
tertains of their Lordship's sagacity :
hail,.
have
spenthere
tehcaneminretsthh; wretches live who have dared to con-
ceive such crimes
existenceln twhhaattthsheyamereeful thush. aiugno,torceaent
otfhtheye
extent to which
more strongly felt than;an down upon their heads the exe-
cration of the country
can have no fears of giving The public horror is no where
impressedo f the firs first
tohd body
hoof ulle Chamber of Peers, and we
sacredtbe nature reandf
State,expression to it. As members
as Magistrates deeply
ciziou.r duties, we have a
right, and we feel the necessity of so
eir reasons for
The Peers of France_are prodigal of trii