The Sun.
London, England, 1839-11-23 00:00:00

(From the Morning Advertiser.)

While the foul and calumnious Tory journals evince
a morbid sensitiveness of the slightest inculpatory allu-
sion to Queen Adelaide, upon whom their elaborate
eulogies are calculated to cast more odium than could
be excited by the direct application of the grossest ca-
lumny from any other portion of the press, they insi-
nuate and openly express the most. black and treasonable
slanders against Queen Victoria, to whom not only is
their allegiance more especially due, but whose youth,
sex and station—independently of the many virtues and
admirable qualities which adorn her character infinitely
more than her exalted rank—are calculated to elicit
from all but the reckless and depraved, the most pro-
found respect and most ardent sympathy. As the
' direct and overstrained panegyrics of the Tory organs
are calculated to attract towards the Dowager Queen
an opprobrious attention from which otherwise she
might have escaped, so are their indirect and ma-
' ' lignant imputations against the reigning Queen de-
, signed to convey charges which even their iniquitous
hardihood dare not express, and to attach obloquy
which their most open slanders would fail to convey.
As an instance of this indirect assassination of the
Royal reputation, we may adduce an article in yester-
day's Standard, wherein, with a disgusting affectation
' of sympathy and condolence with the Queen, a com-
plaint is made of the " cruel injustice" of attempting to
contrast her Majesty with Queen Adelaide, as if such
“ contrast" would place the Sovereign in a light of most
painful degradation. The Standard evinces its sym-
pathy much in the same way as a public executioner
would condole with a criminal upon whom he was
about to inflict the last penalty of the law, in the fol-
lowing strain :—" And now let us once again complain
of the cruel injustice to the reigning Queen, involved in
the attempt to contrast her with one of the best of
human beings." Now, admitting, as is here assumed,
that Queen Adelaide is " the best of human beings,"
we do not perceive the " cruel injustice" which Queen
' Victoria would suffer by the contrast. We are not
aware of any awful crimes her Majesty has committed
except the never-to-be-forgiven offence of refusing to
become the puppet of a Tory faction. Lest the gross
implication just quoted might be misinterpreted, the
Standard thus continues its disloyal and insulting com-
mentary :—" Though we feel how strongly public in-
dignation would be directed against the calumniators of
Queen Adelaide, and know that that indignation must
in the end take a political direction—we should regret
to see anything likely to produce an alienation between
Queen Victoria and a Princess from whose example
she may learn whatever can adorn the character of a
woman and a Sovereign." This is the most regicidal
observation of all ; for if public " indignation must in
the end take a political direction," whatever may be the
private virtues of the Royal Dowager, what would be-
come of Queen Victoria were the example of the Con-
sort of William the Fourth to be taken as a model for
the Royal guidance ? Should the Tories, by an unex-
pected casualty, obtain possession of Downing-street,
her Majesty must feel highly complimented in having
her Royal Aunt paraded as the standard by which the
Sovereign's conduct must be regulated. The Courier
appears disposed to exempt those with whom it generally
coincides from the just and indignant denunciation which
it hurled against all, of whatever political creed, who
would excite dissension between such high an d
illustrious parties as have been so indecently made
the subject of factious and treasonable recrimina-
tion ; but we should like to learn the grounds upon
which, with all its ingenuity and zeal, the Courier
can take exception to including its colleague—the
Standard—after the extracts we have just quoted, in
the " universal reprobation" which it invokes against
those who would make " assassin-like assaults against
the honoueand character of the highest personages in the
realm ?" the Courier bespeaks our loyalty for the ad-
vent of a Conservative Ministry, and expresses a hope
that such event will not provoke such an outrageous
want of decency on our part, as it implies we have in-
sinuated against other quarters. In reply, we have
only to assure our Contemporary that our allegiance is
not regulated by the contingencies of factious ascen-
dancy, and that in condemning the cause with which it
has associated itself we respect the rectitude of feeling
and genuine sense of honour which have marked its
condemnatory observations on the libellous and trea-
sonable animadversions of its political colleagues. With
a slight change of phraseology we would apply to the
Courier the observation of Woisey in his last extremity
—Would that it hadl served,the country with half the
zeal and ability it. now serves its cause, and it would not
be thus deserted in its old age.
(From the Morning Herald.)
A great meeting of conspirators against the Esta-
blished Church has been recently held in the town of
Leicester. The avowed object was to take into consi-
deration the case of John Thorogood, a contumacious
cobbler of Chelmsford, who has refused to pay his
Church-rates—and who has calculated, no doubt, on
converting that refusal into an effective claim on the
purses of the general body of " friends to religious
liberty." The impudent cant which these advocates of
the " rights of conscience" utter, is unutterably disgust-
!rig. This man Thorogood owes five shillings and six-
pence, the amount of his Church-rates. He refuses to
pay. He does not plead inability. He refuses pay-
ment, simply because " his conscience" will not be
easy, unless he be permitted to rob the Church
Such is the result of the " concessions" that have for
the last fifteen years, been made to Dissenters of all
kinds. At first, these enemies of the Church pleaded
only for " toleration"—for permission "to worship in
their own fashion." Now, they deem themselves
oppressed, in being called on to contribute to the
Church, funds, which belong to the Church, and which
do not belong to the recusants for " conscience sake."
Church-rates affect an immense mass of property ; and
that property has been in the vast majority of cases
bought subject to the burden of Church-rates. Dissen-
ters, therefore, paying Church-rates, contribute, in
reality, nothing out of their own stores, to the mainte-
nance of the Establishment. Church-rates are not theirs
to withhold ; and the act of withholding Church-rates
is neither more nor less on their part, than an act of
robbery. If John Thorogood's " conscience" prompts
him to refuse payment of Church-rates to an establish-
ment, of which he disapproves, John Frost's conscience,
we dare say, has often prompted him to refuse:paymen; '
of taxes to any but a Chartist Government ;—and if
John Thorogood's " conscience" is to have scope, why
not John Frost's ? Nay, if the non-payment of debts
justly due, is, henceforward, to constitute a claim to
public admiration, her Majesty's gaols will, for a long
time to come, be found to contain martyrs innumerable
for " conscience sake." Tithes and Church-rates are the
property of the Established Church ; and unless the
Government is disposed to leave all property with-
out protection, the Government is bound to enforce
payment of Church-rates, and of Tithes. The
Dissenting conspirators talk about the beauty of
a Church supperted by voluntary " contributions."
They forget that nearly all the endowments of
the Church of England have proceeded from the piety
of private individuals. They forget, therefore, that it
is most false to represent the Church of England as
pressing heavily upon the purses, or upon the " con-
sciences" of the poor. Dissenters are now allowed to
bold forth, undisturbed, in their respective conventi-
cies ; thay are merely restrained from " dissenting" so
far from the rules of honesty, as to indulge in pillaging
the Established Church. This restraint, however, as
we have seen, impels some of them to shout forth
that the rights of conscience are invaded I But such is
" the march"—such, the tendencies of " Liberalism I"
The policy of " toleration" has been fully tried ; and
the advocates of “ toleration" demand now that the
Established Church shall be " tolerated" no longer.
Thep
e l l eo nd c
—r ooarc lit
the Church
s iof i
s Dissentmust,doomo
d
to
subversion
raging
earoundw d
calculator us.
John
in hiTs ge-
neration. this complexion has it come at last, and no good can
re
result from shutting our eyes to the great truth involved
isobvior,
h To
in the struggle
doubtglethat insotrg i,
a sneration. He has weighed well, in all probability, the
profits of his present " martyrdom"—and will remain in
Tho-
rogood is,
gaol so long as he may hope to extract a shilling from
the pockets of " the friends of religious liberty." It may
be instructive to note the tone adopted by the advocates
of the " rights of conscience," at Leicester, in reference