The Sun.
London, England, 1839-09-18 00:00:00

clares that the country was never in the world so
much dishonoured. All this is suitable to the
Times. It must abuse the Ministers, or it could
not live. Like the goat eating hemlock, it thrives
only on what poisons the common race of mankind.
It is remarkable, however, that this silly, vulgar,
and contemptible abuse is borrowed and repeated by
some of the metropolitan and half the provincial
Tory journals. The scribblers have no capacity for
thinking, and what the Times says that they echo,
as stupid as the rock, which, with some alteration
in tone, gives back the human voice. If the Eng-
lish be a thinking people, as is said, evidence of it
must be sought elsewhere than in the parrot notes,
vulgar and harsh, which the Tory journals borrow
of the Times. If they could even discriminate,
they might deserve some commendation, but when
they borrow its groundless abuse of the Ministers,
because the Carlist rogues have fallen out, they
prove themselves as destitute of discrimination as of
thought. Like the parrot, whatever sounds they
hear they repeat, and like it, they seem to have a
peculiar affection for abuse, lies, and swearing.

The Tories at present have a great advantage
over the Whigs—they do nothing, and so escape
criticism. In fact, they are now nothing but
critics, and appear, therefore, with all the assumed
superiority of that very unproductive class of
writers. They hold no public meetings ; they
attend no dinners ; they have paid no visits to
their constituents ; they are contented with shoot-
ing at partridges, and taking their rural or
sea-side walks. They do not say the coup•
try is in a safe state ; but they have neither
time nor inclination to promote the public
welfare. Never was the empire, according to
them in a more disgraced and degraded condition,
but they put out no hand to help it. The revenue
is looking bad, the people are in distress, com-
merce is in a doubtful state, agriculture is not
prosperous, even the seasons are adverse, while the
Ministers are weak, still the Tories look on and
do nothing. They have indeed promoted one
or two Bible meetings; they continue to talk about
the Extension of the Church ; they have even got
up a Revival or two in Scotland, which
promise to rival the camp meetings of the
Methodists in the United States, or even in fervid
faith the deluded followers of THOM ; but they do
nothing serious for the salvation of the country. That
the Tories, while they make little display or noise,
are carrying on their peculiar business of corrupting
and fanatic►sing the people, we can readily believe,
but, with the modesty of true genius, they endea-
vour to keep their merits secret, and would blush
to find that fame which they do by stealth. So,
working in secret, and so, silent in public,
they have the advantage of affording few points
of attack to their opponents. To assail them
it is necessary to go back to the time
when they were in power, and then their deeds
afford rather more matter for criticism than those
of the Whigs. Minute points like this are worthy
of notice as accounting for much of the bluster in
which the Tory journals are able habitually to
indulge.

Among the " revivals " which we perceive are
aking place in the Scottish Kirk, the most gene-
ral and the most to be deplored, is the revival of
bigotry. That persons of great constitutional sen-
sibility, alias weak nerves, when their feelings are
excited by eloquent appeals on topics of deep in-
terest, should fancy that the sensations which they
experience on such occasions, are the effect of
supernatural agency—the direct impulse of the
Deity on their minds, is, no doubt, a wonderful
delusion, if any thing can be considered wonderful
which relates to modes of religion. The delusion,
however, is comparatively harmless, and is much
more calculated to raise a smile at the vagaries of
poor humanity, than to provoke ally thing ap-
proaching to indignation. If the dupe of his own
imagination be happier in the indulgence of his
dreams and visions of glory than in the " cold
realities " of truth, and observe the law of peace
and nroderation in his intercourse with others, it
were almost cruel to undeceive him.
The bigot is an animal of a somewhat different
description. He is fierce and intolerant. His
charity, like that of the tiger, extends not beyond
those who are marked with his own stripes. To
all who differ from him in points of religious belief,
he is a sworn enemy on principle, and dooms them
by myriads to the everlasting torments of hell-fire,
as monuments of the mercy, justice, and glory of a
benevolent Creator. Were he not held back by the
conviction that the times in which we live are not
suitable for the display of an auto da fe, he would not
hesitate to resort to that orthodox mode of punish-
ing heresy, the deadliest of all human sins. He
dare not venture so far as this, but he goes to the
utmost extent of his tether. Wherever he can ex-
ercise authority--wherever the absurd policy of a
barbarous age has given him power to interfere be-
tween man and his Maker, there we are sure to
find him at his darling work of forcing the reluctant
conscience into the mould of his own narrow mind.
These remarks have been suggested by some late
proceedings of a Scottish Presbytery. A gentle-
man of the name of BLAIKIE has been appointe.l
to a Professor's chair in Marischal College,
Aberdeen. Mr. BLAIKIE is an advocate or bar-
rister, and a member of the Church of Scotland,
and his new office imposes upon him the dangerous
task of instructing his pupils in the mysteries of
the Latin language. Such an opportunity of un-
dermining the doctrines of the Confession of Faith,
was regarded by the Reverend Presbytery of
Aberdeen with no small alarm, and in order to
make assurance doubly sure, that pious, conscien
tious, and learned body of Divines, insisted upon
Mr. BLAIKIE'S signing the Confession, as by an
old, obsolete, and absurd law they had a right to
do. Mr. BLAIKIE complied, but accompanied
the act of subscription with a declaration to the
effect that he did it to satisfy the Presbytery that
he was a member of the Church of Scotland, but
that he could not say that he believed as an article
of his faith every proposition contained in it, because
those propositions were so numerous, and of such a
nature, that they required much more time and con-
sideration to be bestowed upon them than it had
been in his power to devote to the subject. Having
affixed his signature, he received a certificate of the
fact to be delivered to the University authorities
previously to his admission to the Professorship. So
far all went on smoothly enough. But certain ar-
dent spirits in the Presbytery bethought themselves
that this qualified subscription wes not exactly the
kind of thing that ought to satiel. their scrupulous
souls. It was still possible, they opined, that Mr.
BLAIKIE, in imbuing tl-e minds of the Aberdonian
youth, as it was his duty to do, with the pure
doctrines of the heathen mythology, might slily
slip in some neological tenet, not in conformity
with the standard of the Kirk. The result of
much anxious pondering on the subject was, that the
Presbytery summoned Mr. BLAIKIE before them
to give a more particular account of the faith that
was in him, with which summons Mr. BLAIKIE
very properly declined to comply. Not to appear
wanting in respect to the Ecclesiastical Court, he,
however, wrote a letter to the Presbytery in which
he stated at some length his notions anent sub-
scribing articles of faith, hoping that the explana-
tion would be satisfactory to them, but stating that
whether so or not, he, acting in accordance with the
opinion of Counsel " learned in the law," could
not acknowledge any farther jurisdiction on their
part. The Presbytery voted this explanation un-
satisfactory, and having got themselves into a pretty
mess, wisely took time to consider how they should
get out of it. This, we apprehend, they will find

no very easy matter.
The Professor elect has done all that the law
requires, and will, therefore, be admitted to his office
In spite of the opposition of the Presbytery. The
Reverend Gentlemen cannot recal the fatal certifi-

cate of subscription. They may fulminate their
anathemas against him if they please—it will be of
no use• Once snugly seated in his chair, be may
laugh at their impotent persecution.