The Sun.
London, England, 1839-04-26 00:00:00

on those who do not belong to the Church not to
use political power for her injury. Such a course
of policy is merely contemptible, for whatever may
be the effect of voluntary oaths, imposed oaths
were never powerful enough to overcome the de-
mands of interest. Oaths to enforce a moral
obligation, like an oath to tell the truth,
have sometimes been objected to; but oaths to con-
tradict a moral obligation are mere jesuistry, and
are treated by all men of sense with scorn. The
Churchmen feel it to be a moral obligation to pre-
serve the ascendancy of their own creed, and the
Catholics and Dissenters are under the same moral
obligation to promote theirs. To expect to bind
them, contrary to such an obligation, and con-
trary to their interest, by an imposed oath,
is mere babyism, unworthy of sensible men.
Accordingly it is now a very general complaint on
the part of Churchmen that the Catholics in parti-
cular, and sometimes it is said of the Dissenters, do
not regard their oath, and in spite of it wish to
take away the property of the Church, or use the
political power they possess for her overthrow.
The latest instance of the power of these
sects over the Church was that mentioned
by the Bishop of EXETER in the House of
Lords on Tuesday, that a Catholic Nobleman had
recommended a Clergyman to be the Dean of
Exeter. That was probably a proper exertion of
Parliamentary influence, however wrathful at it the
Ultra-Churchmen may be. The Government
being carried on, in fact, by the Parliament, the
members of it must, in a great measure, have
through the Ministers, and it is known they
have, the bestowal of many goad things ;
and there is no reason why Catholics and
Dissenters, having Parliamentary powers, should
not have their fair share of Parliamentary patronage
as well as Churchmen, and why they should not
equally fill up vacancies in the State Church. It
is true that the application was not in this instance
successful ; but who can tell in how many in-
stances similar applications are successful ? The
Church, by her own avarice, and her own
worldliness, is now placed under the hoof of a State
composed of Catholics, Dissenters, and Infidels.
Does she not tremble for her faitiq Is she not
alarmed for her doctrine ? She has good reason,
and we are not at all surprised that Dr. PIIILL-
POTTS, the Rev. Mr. TOWNSIIEND, and a consi-
derable body of the Priesthood, begin to complain
of the connexion between Church and State, and
wish, though they dread, to dissolve it. We agree
with them. It is time the union was at an end.
They ought to dissolve it, and we will cordially aid
them in a work which we believe will promote
piety and devout feelings as much as it will serve
the cause of political liberty.

The readers of The Sun are tolerably well ac-
quainted' with the name of the Rev. EBENEZER
MORRIS, the pluralist Parson of Llanelly and
Llanon, who rejoiceth in the imprisonment of Dis-
senting Churchwardens. They can hardly have
forgotten that JOHN JAMES, a poor farmer, was
lugged by this Worthy into the Spiritual Court for
not attending Church, and thence transferred to Car-
marthen Gaol, through the official instrumentality
of another Parson, who presides at once over an Ec-
clesiastical Court and a Tory Newspaper. The
said EBENEZER'S next exploit was to give his pri-
soner, the Churchwarden of his parish of Llanelly,
a companion, in the person of DAVID JONES, the
Churchwarden of his parish of Llanon, whose
heinous offence it was that he had not provided
bread and wine for the Communion, although he
had done all that the law required of him by calling
a vestry to lay a rate. The vestry met, and
refused the supplies. Poor DAVID JONES, haw-
ever, was held responsible for this lack of courtesy
on the part of EBENEZER'S flock, and was bv a
sudden jerk of the ecclesiastical engine, worked by
him and his reverend coadjutor of the Carmarthen
Journal, precipitated into the dungeon in which he
now lies.

Such is a brief account of the late ecclesiasti-
cal doings in Wales, which, it will be seen by our
Parliamentary report, were brought under the
review of the House of Commons last night
by the Honourable Member for Lambeth,
in the able and effective speech with which
he prefaced his resolution for the aboli-
tion cf the Inferior Ecclesiastical Courts in England-
and Wales. The Debate which ensued will be
read with interest. It will be seen that no attempt
was made to shield. these Courts from the fate
which they deserve, and that the resolution was
agreed to without a division. The speech of Sir
STEPHEN LUSHINGTON is particularly worthy
of attention. The Learned Judge stated that he
had read all the proceedings in the case of
DAVID JONES ; that he perfectly concurred
in the opinions delivered by Drs. ADDAMS and
HAGGARD that there was no charge at all; and
that if the proceedings had been brought into any
of the Superior Courts; before Sir 11. JENNER, the
instant they bad been presented, they would have
been rejected. " Those Courts," added the Right
Lion. Civilian, " were armed with very great powers,
and they were administered by Clergymen who
knew nothing of the law, and who did not know
whether their proceedings were consistent with law
or not. He ardently desired to see them abolis!ied,
for while they remained, they remained as great
instruments of injustice. It is gratifying to find
the opinion of the public as to these nuisances, thus
amply borne out by so high an authority. These
pestilent sources of many of the worst evils that
afflict society, are at last doomed to destruction.
Thanks be to EBENEZER MORRIS for the hand
he has had in bringing about so desirable a con-
summation I We had intended to notice the
ill-judged and worse executed attempt of an Hon.
Gentleman, to white-wash this worthy, as well as
some other points arising in the course of the dis-
cussion, but we are prevented, at present; by want
of room.

The annual exhibition of Mr. IVT
..... HEE and
Dr. O'SULLIVAN took place yesterday at Exeter-
' hall, under the auspices of Lord KENYON. Mr.
A. Pa INGLE represented Scotland, Mr. PLUAIPTRE
and Mr. HARDY England, and Lord RODEN was
to have appeared for the Orangemen of Ireland, but
some return of common sense, roused by the in-
jurious effects to the Conservatives of the debate of
last week, prevented him from gratifying his wishes.
He is identified, however, with this political party
(for religion they have none), he is their patron and
supporter, and is the loudest in calling out for the
destruction of Maynooth College, and the re-enact-
ment of penal laws that all but excited in 1829 a
civil war in his native country. It was in vain,
therefore, that he absented himself from such a dis- '
graceful exhibition as that of yesterday, and it is
in vain that the Conservative organ, loudest in its de-
nunciations against Irish Catholics, attempts to con-
ceal their deeds from the eyes of the public. They
began their proceedings, as usual, with prayer ; the
two speeches were mixed up with the most atroci-
ous imputations on the religion of eight millions of
their fellow-subjects, and Dr. O'SULLIVAN ended
them with a political attack on Mr. GIBSON for
daring to act according to the dictates of his con-
science. Under the sacred name of religion, the
RODENS, the PLUMPTRES, and the PRINGLES,
the supporters of Sir ROBERT PEEL, pray not only
for the repeal of the Emancipation Act, and of
every concession made to the Catholics, but for the
enactment of more penal laws, even to the extent of
excluding Roman Catholics from all share in the
management of their municipal affairs ; in other
words, they pray for an Act of Parliament which
never could be carried into effect, and which in a
few years would sacrifice countless thousands of
their fellow-creatures, and, according to all history
and all experience, only render those persecuted
more attached to their religion. Sir ROBERT
PEEL is certainly to be pitied, but he has himself
only to blame. If he is sincere in his professions
of reforming all proved abuses, why does he still
co-operate with the miserable remnant of a faction
that cannot exist without abusing, oppressing, and
trampling on their neighbours ?