The Sun.
London, England, 1839-05-20 00:00:00

is gun.

LONDON :
MONDAY, MAY 20, 1839.

fa.csro_neering
,
Ile late
—ll4
eie t• CHARLES MATHEWS had a good
story, of which, without further pre-
tt'ia we will remind our readers. They will find
Ls a moral not altogether uninstructive, as shall
47 made manifest after the old iEsopian fashion.
tan election in a certain corporate town, there
werev_ tyro rival candidates, one of whom we shall
;inure to call Mr. HUMDRUM. A stranger, who
itaat anxious to witness the progress of the contest,
Lir ded himself into the committee room of Mr.
41c4turtes antagonist, and had not been there
444 g before a printer's boy came with a roll of
;1).11a) wet from the press, bearing the
4 Ing inscription in large and legible capi-
" NO HUMDRUM--NO BULLOCK'S Ll-
tr/td At the head of the table sat a respectable
esman (the Chairman of the committee and an
Berman of the borough) to whom the stranger
„dressed himself for explanation. g, Pray, Sir,
ITO he, " what is the meaning of this—what con-
eetion is there between Mr. HUMDRUM and bul-
h!ek's liver ?" " Why, really," replied the Chair-
-174, with undisturbed gravity, " I can't pretend to
14Y; but we've had them bills printed because
make him very unpopular."
he application of this little fable will be clear
4.11gh
n to every sensible man who has taken up the
it:?s ewspaper since it became the tool of the
ownes, and the most potent declaimer against its
ant' Principles. Any trick, however shabby-
-4,1 artifice, however base and degrading—any
?owever shallow and palpable—has been
itiPtITY pressed into service, and bandied
vphiett, from day to day with an affected earnestness
Itti I") but for the known character of the journal,
Lat have passed for sincerity. The New Poor
and the No Popery cry have been to the
coil Tel what the bullock's liver was to the election
tnittee the instrument of an antagonist's un-
Pahar
l •
ity. But the thing has not been worked
discretion ; the disguise is too flimsy—the
falsehood and folly too apparent. In the maniacal
of-atortions, the froth and fume of this CALIBAN
4., the press, we see only the ravings of a renegade
t'd the pranks of a wretched impostor. The most
it'd
of benevolent blockheads must see
thro
„,,, ugh the shallow artifice, and recommend the
gejeuisoprerayotre the stocks as the proper infirmary for so
a case.
Pln a recent article on the proposed establish-
tet of a normal school for training teachers, this
hi°us oracle of the Church held forth in its
441 style about Romish Priests and " Dissenters
a dozen or fifty different kinds " apropos to
4
oo°thing ; it poured-out a fund of useful knowledge
paCerhin6 tii, I,e
Bishops of COLOGNE and POSEN,
ssia, and the POPE, the Emperor of AUSTRIA'S
th Will and testament, Spain and the Inquisition,
Bishop of LONDON, latitudinarianism, and
p!" Society for National Education in the
lll'eiples of the Church of England ;"h"ing up with a foolish commentary on
el e Government scheme issued by this latter con-
ave of shovel bats, and authenticated by the sig-
ollture of SAMUEL MILLS their secretary and man-
Q'II-work. Now the sole object of the rambling
sele in the Times, and the fussy manifesto of the
encietv, is to prove that little boys and girls of ortho-
tt Parentage, ought not to learn reading, writing,
o arithmetic in the same room with small scions
of the Dissenting stock, and the infantine progeny
Papists. For ourselves, we confess that this
i"Pears to us one of the most favourable features
bthe plan, and we rejoice in the hope that
,
the mingling together of different sects
of the happy days of childhood, the bitterness
religious animosities may be mitigated, and
tollfistianity become in fact, what it is in name, the
tc ',ion of peace. But the parsons detest concilia-
t°lll, and " the bond of unity," except among them-
kelves, is their utter abhorrence. Well, if they
1.44 have war, let it be so. The struggle may
4'31 for years ; but if carried on in the spirit which
eew pervades the Church party, it must end in the
ilttruction of a Church which, with some justice,
ihlts been characterised as the most monstrous abuse
Christendom—a Church staggering under the
,height of its own enormous possessions—a Church
il which every appointment, from the Archbishop
Job !"in to the grave-digger, is a political or personal
We subjoin an extract from the minute of the
r)lnmittee of Education of 13th April, which con-
oattis the entire subject of this political and clerical
tltbreak of intolerance. It is proposed to found a
normal school for the instruction of teachers, which
Ball include a model school for children of all ages,
rl.to, three to fourteen. The proposals concerning
:ginus instruction are contained in the following
raragraphs :
Ipelleittieligious instruction to be considered as general and
streligion to be combined with the whole matter of in-
'ttoti. and to regulate the entire system of di:cipline.
" Periods to be set apart for such peculiar doctrinal in-

struction as may be required for the religious training of
the children.
" To appoint a chaplain to conduct the religious in-
struction of children whose parents or guardians belong to
the Established Church.
" The parent or natural guardian of any other child to
be permitted to secure the attendance of the licensed mi-
nister of his own persuasion, at the period appointed for
special religious instruction, in order to give such instruc-
tion apart.
" To appoint a licensed minister to give such special
religious instruction wherever the number of children in
attendance on the model school belonging to any religious
body dissenting from the Established Church, is such as to
appear to this Committee to require such special provision.
" A portion of every'day to ,be devoted tothe reading of
the Scriptures in the School, under the general direction
of the Committee, and superintendence of the Rector.
Roman Catholics, if their parents or guardians require it,
to read their own version of the Scriptures, either at the
time fixed for reading the Scriptures, or at the hours of
special instruction."
How on earth a body of educated men, or even
the hired ruffians of the Times, could find in these
seven sentences the materials for vilification and
abuse, we are at a loss to conceive ; but it seems
that Clergymen and their advocates are sharp hands
at detecting a plot---cunning dogs that can smell a
rat at any distance—keen-sighted fellows who can
see further into a mill-stone than those who
picked it. TITUS OATEs was their forerun

ner, and not only in penetration, but in
lying and scurrility they beat him hollow. Plain
dealing people like ourselves see nothing more in
the scheme than what is to be found in every pri-
vate day school in the kingdom. The children of
persons of all denominations meet in such schools

for instruction in the ordinary branches of know-
ledge, and are trained at home in those religious
principles which their parents profess. In point of
fact, there are few schools of this class where doc-
' trinal points are discussed at all ; and the reading
of an occasional chapter in the Bible is the full ex-
tent of the master's interference on so critical a
subject. Whatever difference exists then, is de-
cidedly in favour of the Government scheme,
for it is provided that religion shall be
combined with Me whole matter of instruc-
tion, and regulate the entire system of discipline.
" But it is not the religion of the Thirty-nine Ar-
ticles," roars a red-faced Rector. May we not
venture meekly to ask why it should be so ? Are
the taxes paid exclusively by Churchmen ? Is reli-
gious freedom sanctioned by law, that it may be a
hoax and a delusion in fact ? If the public purse
is to be opened for educational purposes, let it be
opened for the benefit of the people at large ; and
if a preference must be shown, let it be a preference
dictated by justice. Give to each party accord-
ing to its necessities, and pour not your entire
wealth into the lap of a Church already bloated
with excess of good things. In the rural districts
the parsons have long had it all their own way, like
the bull in the china-shop—like him, too, they
have made a pretty concern of it ! The fruits of
their labour must be looked for among the followers
of COURTENAY, alias THom, in Kent, and the
rick-burning peasantry of Sussex. Large towns
(in which the Clergy have had little or nothing
to do with the education of the people) have
usually been remarkable for the intelligence
and good conduct of the working classes ;
and if, at this moment, exceptions can be
pointed out, it is because the incendiaries of the
Times have kindled the commotion and encouraged
an armed resistance to the law. Should the streets
of Birmingham unhappily become the scene of
bloodshed, they who, to serve the vilest of purposes,
raised the outcry against the New Poor Law,
ought to be made responsible legally, as they
will be morally, for the consequences. The first
call to resistance was made by the Times—it was
responded to by STEPHENS and OASTLER, and
the present position of the Chartists has gra-
dually arisen out of Tory agitation. Sir ROBERT
PEEL had much more to fear from his frantic sup-
porters than from a few Court Ladies, though he
made the latter serve as an excuse for deserting his
QUEEN, and dropping once more into the station
of a private individual. Backed by the Times and
the Orange faction he would have been mad to at-
tempt the formation of a Government.

There was a great and enthusiastic meeting held
at Bristol on Friday, at which it was unanimously
resolved to present an Address to her Majesty.
Two strong resolutions were passed, expressing the
indignation with which the meeting had heard of
the attempt of the Tories to control her Majesty,
and interfere with her right to choose her own so-
ciety ; and requesting her Majesty ouly to give her
confidence to those Statesmen who would improve
our institutions and secure the rights of the people.
The general tone of the meeting was extremely
libera', and worthy of imitation. Not one of the
speakers, though many of them very judiciously
praisJd the Ministers for what they had done, said
that they had gone too fast or too far ; on the con-
trary, Mr. TOTHILL expressly said that they had
gone a great deal too slow, and dwelt on several
circumstances which had almost made him and
others despair of the Ministry. If the tone of the
Bristol meeting should be generally responded to
throughout the kingdom, as we earnestly hope it
may be, it will give strength and confidence to the
Liberal party, and convince the Ministers that the
greatest danger they can run, will be not to support
their own friends. We copy from the Bristol
Mercury an ample report of the meeting,
to which we refer our readers, proceeding ourselves
to make a few remarks on an important word,
thrown out by one of the speakers.
A general election, it was said, was close at
hand. In all the country papers that fall under
our notice, we see preparations making for this
contingency as if it were likely speedily to arrive.
It is right, therefore, that everybody should be
prepared for it. The Ministers said when the
present Parliament had assembled, and they found
the Liberal party comparatively weak in the House
of Commons, that it was impossible for them to
carry any extensive and liberal measures. They
found in the lukewarmness of the constituencies a
sufficient reason for not themselves being energetic,
and Lord JOHN RUSSELL'S first declaration against
further reform at the opening of Parliament in
1837 was only the supposed reflection of the opi-
nions of the people, as exhibited in the elections.
Now, to take away such a plea from the Ministers,
it is the duty of the people at once to exert them-
selves, and everywhere make their prepara-
tions to return Liberal Members, and the
most Liberal they can find. Extension of the
suffrage was much insisted on at the meeting at
Bristol, and we are inclined to think no better
object could now be aimed at. Were the middle
classes heartily to take up that cause, and make a
point of electing no man who was not friendly to an
extension of the suffrage, they would take a great
step towards healing the lamentable division which
now exists between them and the lower classes,
threatening the public peace and endangering pro-
perty. We cannot with propriety call on the Mi-
nisters to propose measures of reform of any de-
scription, when we know that such measures would
be opposed by the House of Commons. For the
contentment of the people, and it is infinitely better
to content them than to be forced to put them to
death, a further extension of the suffrage has
become necessary, and if the constituencies do not
elect men on that principle the Ministers neither
can nor ought to propose it. With the ex-
tension of the suffrage the abolition of the
Corn-laws, and a uniform penny postage
should be united. These are practical measures
which would gratify millions, not only by the
immediate benefits they would confer, but by excit-
ing hope that more, and indeed all which justice
demands, would in the end be peaceably and
righteously obtained. An earnest endeavour on
the part of the middle classes to procure those
measures, would separate the lower classes from
a few misleading mischievous orators, and go a
long way to restore that harmony between the lower
and middle classes, without which it is impossible for
the country to prosper. Whatever measures may
by the electors be deemed proper, now, when there
is a probability that t hey may be called on to ex-
ercise their suffrage,is the time for them to bestir
themselves ; and as they shall vote and determine
at the general election, come when it may, so will
be the conduct of Ministers for some time hereafter,

By the packet ship Siddons, which sailed on
the 25th ult. from New York, and arrived at Liver-
pool on Saturday, we have received American papers
of a date three days later than those brought by
the Great Western. They are not, however, of
any political importance. Tranquillity continued
on the frontier, and the Boundary Question had
ceased to excite any apprehension. The only topic
of general conversation in New York when the
packet sailed was an account of a great fire in
Albany, which took place on the 20th of April,
and burned upwards of forty houses, with property