The Sun.
London, England, 1830-09-08 00:00:00

far better than that they prefer. Perhaps I go
farther than you when I say that I am by no means
certain that it is true charity to force the widow
from the pile, or to compel the Hindoo to quit the
scene of what we call his bloody orgies. You kill
perceive that I neither state the Catholic system of
education in Belgium to be worse or better than that
of the Protestant system in Holland ; but what
I do state, and what I will maintain, is that
the King of Holland .should have consulted
the wishes and opinions of the millions, and
not have been guided by the advice of a few
prejudiced, though perhaps honest Dutchmen. No
wonder, then, t hat the Priests are not satisfied.
But this is not all.
For many years past the Catholics in Belgium
have desired Bishops; but the Government and the
Pope alternately made various objSictions. At length
after years of effort and apparently fruitless toil,
these absnrdities were got over, and a' Concordat
wits signed between the Pope and the Kieg of the
Pays Bas. When this fact was known, the Priests
and people were in ecstacies, rind fetes after fetes
were held in all the churches in the Pays Bus; to
render thanks
,to God, the King, and the Pope !
But no sooner had thie•jost measure been adopted
than the Dutch Gorernmeut began to regret it.
Those foolish men called it a concession—a danger-
ous concession—a concession which might be con-
strued into a precedent—and they protested against
it. How very stupid and short-sighted was this !
Whitt ! call it a concession to allow millions of
people, all professing the same faith, to have the
right of having Bishops to direct the spiritual con:
corns of their church ! It was no concession At all.
It was ail act of justice, and no more. But .what
followed ? Why, as the King had veto in the
choice of Bishops, he was advised to use it us to
retard the execution of the measure. When the
names were presented to him, he objected to ihem
altogether—said they were unsuitable, mid that their
choice was insulting—and thus delayed and delayed
the execution of the concOrdat. Why, even up to
this very hour the concordat has not been honestly
carried_ into execution—and the Priests find that
they were in too much haste to return thanks to the
King! Now I ask who can be surprised that the
Priests should be dissatisfied when they perceive the
interests of that church, of which they ere such
zealous ministers, thus most shamefully sacrificed,
or treated with such marked disrespect ? The
Priests, therefore, are revolutionists !
But evsn this is not all. In Holland the Pro-
testant clergy are treated by the Government with
just and deserved respect, They are honest, con-
scientious men ; are men of learning and integrity;
subjects of the King of the Pays Bas; .and are zeal-
ous in the discharge of their religious and siacer
dotal duties. In Holland these Protestant ministers
are not, only well, paid, but . have all authority---are
cow-tilted—received well at Court--surround the
person of the King—counsel the. Government--
and are ranked among the first of the citi-
zens. This is just and liberal, enlightened
and great. But the Belgian Priests, whose piety
is not less sincere, whose duties are far more ar-
duous, and whose zeal is above all praise, `are not so
treated, so courted, so received, so patronised by the
Dutch King, and the Dutch Government, and who
then can wonder that the Priests are revolutionists?
Go where you will in this wide world, and 'you will
find in every land, " known, or unknown to song,"
some religion. There will always be Priests to'
sacrifice either to the sun, the moon, or the stars, to
a thousand idols, or to the "one true God." And
wherever there are Priests, those. Priests, are the
feared or respected, the loved or the dreaded, or all.
And not to respect, not to treat with attention these
men, is to insult the general society, and to incur
of all those who profess religion.
of folly, this system of
„miserable petty in-
tolerance, 'this
act
l e animosity
e ran
has been acted upon for many years past
in Belgium by the Dutch Government ; turd who
can wonder that the. Priests ure revolutionists ?
The Priests, offended in their persons, their prin-
ciples, their Church, their Bishops, and even by the
conduct of the Government with respect to
.the
concordat, in their Pope, are naturally unfavourable
concessions,and half iof half
ntolerane c;alf measure.,
and they do not
halfto th s
liberality,sys em
a
hesitate in public and private, to revert to. those
when Belgium formed prat of the em-
pire
happyo days,
fFraice! A great deal of this might have
been prevented by a different system of Government
—by a conciliatory line of conduct—and by pru-
deuce, generosity, and justice; but still I admit that
the separation of Belgium from France never could
have given satisfaction to the Flemish Priests, thou;;)
they might not have exhorted the people to actua
revolution.

But even yet you have not a fifth of the various
causes which have led to, the revolution in tile Pays
BIM That revol►tion may be arrested or turned;
but it will never be finished until Belgium shall first
become independent of Holland, and afterwards
shall be united to France. I will continue to notice
the causes of this Revolution in my next letter.
Your obedient servant, 0. P. Q.