The Sun.
London, England, 1830-12-28 00:00:00

last weeh k considered as baying most propitiousiy
determined the future condition of France, and given
a triumph to constitutional order and to freedom,
over democratic anarchy and despotism, The per.
tonal exertions of the King appear to have ►vainly
contributed, with the admirable conduct and unpa-
ralleled zeal and &roam of the National Guard, in
the accomplishment of this glmious end.—Morning
Chronicle.

A Morning Contemporary (the 'Ames), speaking
of the recent trials at Winchester, observes,
" One circumstance apparent on the face of these pro
ceedings is, to us, inexpressibly humiliating ;—we mean,
the ignorance and intellectual degradation of the peasants,
who, throughout these southern counties, have first been
starred into discontent, and then entrapped, by reason of
their very stupidity, into criminal and brutal courses* as
means of relief from suffering "
It odds—

4, We are tempted to ask, in what savage community
have such wretched men been born ? Under what
government have they lived, that it allows their
natural wants to be so cruelly disregarded ? Who is
guil►y of the heinous crime of so neglecting their general,
irel especially their moral instruction, as to have
looked on whilst the whole agricultural inhabitants of
this (self-called) humane and enlightened country, grew
up in utter callousness to the difference between right
and wrong—of utter incapacity to release themselves
by means becoming any reasonable creatures from a con-
dition of prostrate pauperism, the existence of which,
almost incredible anywhere, ought to be considered mon-
strous in England, foremost of nations in industry, wealth,
and knowledge ? We do affirm, that the actions of this
pitiable race of men, as a commentary on the treatment
experienced by them at the hands of the upper and mid-
dling classes—the gentlemen, the clergy (who ought to
teach and comfort them), and the farmers who ought to
pay and feed them—are disgraceful to the British name.
44 The present population must be provided for in body
and spirit, on more liberal and Christian principle., or
the whole mass of labourers will start into legions of ban-
ditti—banditti less cri►ninal than those who have made
them so—than those who, by a just but fearful retribu-
tion, will soon become their victims."

England is unqestionably foremost of nations in
industry and wealth, and in useful knowledge. But
some how or other the class of persons alluded to
by our contemporaries, are in such a state of pro-
strate pauperism, ,we fear their condition is the re-
sult of a design to keep them in a state of degrade.
don. Our contemporary says, the Clergy will not
teach and comfort them. It is well remarked by the
poet Cowper, when speaking of a sermon of Paley's,
that the Church of England possessed the advantage
of having Clergy for all description of people—the
higher for the rich, and the lower for the poor; that
there ought, in that case, to be three or four clergy-
men in every parish. The Clergy, he added, were
to be found often enough in the houses of the rich,
but they seldom knew anything of their poor pa-
rishioners. But a heavier charge lies against the
Church of England than this. While the Puritans
exerted themselves to the utmost to promote the
instruction of • the poor, the Church of Eng-
land unfortunately set itself against the instruc-
tion of the poor, which it seems to have consi-
dered incompatible with the authority to which
it laid claim. All who promoted Sunday §chools
were prosecuted by the Clergy. When the Lord
Chancellor first devoted himself to the pro-
motion of education, the Clergy, with hardly an ex-
ceptioti, were opposed to him. They resisted edu-
cation to •the laq, and only changed their system
when it was impossible to prevent. its spread. In
the last speech which the Lord Chancellor made
when in the House of Commons, on the subject of
education, he alluded to the great change which had
taken place in the sen►iments of the Clergy, since
the commencement of his labours. In Scotland, we
observe in the same manner the encouragement or
discouragement of education, as the Presbyterians
or the Church of England had the ascendancy.
There is a striking passage on this subject in the
evidence given by Dr. Chalmers, before the Com-
mittee on the State of the Poor in Ireland. " In
the middle of the sixteenth century (be says) there
wawa very efficient system of Christian instruction
in the perishes of 'Scotland, and it is understood the
country at that time was in a very healthy moral
condition : immediately after the Restoration, the
Act for the establishment of parochial schools was re-
pealed, and there was an attempt to enforce Episeo-
prey upon the Scottish population, which gave rise
to what may be termed religious wars, that lasted
for nearly thirty years ; from the disorder and tor.
bulence of that period, along with the suspension of
parochial education, the population seems to have
deteriorated very rapidly"---After quoting the well.
known description, by Fletcher, of Salteun, of the
frightful state of Scotlatal in 1698, he proceeds—
" It appears from very distinct historical documents,
that such u state of things subsided almost per
suntan, very suddenly indeed, when the population
had leave to repose from the religious persecutions,
And the parochial system of education was again
general. They were besides plied from Sabbath to
Sabbath by an efficient and respectable Clergy, in
consequence of which the transformation appears to
have been quite marvellous." If England is now
the first in arts, we owe this chiefly to the Dis-
senters. There is a curious and instructive volume
published in 1816 by Israel Worsley, in which he
showed that the manufactures of Great Britain have
been " for the most part established and supported
by the Protestant Dissenters." The Dissenters never
neglected education, and hence throughout England,
wherever Dissenters are found, the people will also
be found to be less stupid and brutal. Like most
other wealthy Corporations, the Church of Eng-
land has acted on a narrow and exclusive spirit,
and so far front England owing anything to that
Establishment, it is, we fear, chiefly owing to it that
the nation, which has made the greatest advances
ill arts and industry, has not only the worst in-
structed peasantry in civilized Europe, but ranks
nearly the lowest in science. The state of educe.
tion of the clergy, according to a competent judge,
Dr. Arnold, of Rugby, is of the tnost narrow de-
scription, and white they cannot supply front them-
selves the scieotific wants of the nation, they have
influence enough to exclude laymen of merit from
the scienttf►c situations for which they are fitted.
The persecution of the celebrated Dr. Halley, and
other celebrated men, is well known to all who are
familiar with the history of the Royal Society. In
the very interesting Correspondence of Mr. Pinker-
ton, recently published, there is a curious proof of
this sinister influence in a letter from Sir Joseph
Maness.

" When the Archbishop of Canterbury (he says) first
acted as a Trustee to the British Museum, he did me the
honour to consult ow un a vacancy which then happened
in the department of Natural History. I gave him my
opinion with all possible freedom, but he, in direct oppo-
sition to it, put a roan, who, I had declared, and he, 1
tielieve, was convinced, had no kind of knowledge in 114-
Loral history. 1, who thought lie did this because the
person whom lie promoted was in orders, made no secret
of my opinion of the transaction, whether this came to
hie ears or not, I do not know ; but, aver such a treat-
ment, 1 have no inclination to obtrude my advice
upon him, nor is it likely I II succeed, were I to do
so. You who know the Archbishop's partiality towards
the Church, and recollect, no doubt, that hitherto the
other electing Trustees have left all the appointments of
the Museum wholly to his decision, will easily see the ne-
cessity of using ad the interest you can raise; and the
more so, as two Clergymen have already declared them-
selves candidates."

The Church drew from the Puritans and their
descendants most of the men who ctn►ferred lustre
on the hotly. I.4ightfoot, ns, Tillotson, But-
ler, Seeker, So'intim, &c. will always be her
principal ornaments. Latterly, since the value of
her high places has become ►;o enormous, interest
and not merit has almost exclusively etijo) ed her
chief benefices; The Church, by a singular retri-
bution, is now paying the penally of her narrow
policy. The ignorand and consequent degradation
of the peasantry enabled the farmers and landlords
to throw part of their support on the parish funds--
system which, when once introduced, must of ne-
ces,ity be continued, from the superabundance of
fallour winch it produces. The chief object of the
farmer at first was to make the tithe-owner pay
more than his fair share of the inlet for the support