The Sun.
London, England, 1839-11-01 00:00:00

THE ASIATIC JOURNAL.

The opium trade—a subject painfully interest-
ing at the present moment—is the subject of a long
and well-written article in this Number. It
gives a short history of this pernicious drug, and
states that, on the opening of the China trade, the
smuggling increased to an enormous extent, and
has nearly trebled in nine years, the estimated
value imported last year being above four millions
sterling. The writer of the article has evidently
availed himself of the information contained in the
letter of Mr. King, of the American firm of Oli-
phant and Co., who treats the free-traders and
Captain Elliot, the Superintendent, with little
ceremony or mercy. The charge against Captain
Elliot Mr. King sums up in these words :
" If there were one principle of more importance
than any other—a principle never to be contravened,
never to be lost sight of, in the progress of this ques-
tion—it was, the separation of the British flag—the
British name, from all responsibility for the illicit com-
merce. What, then, must be our decision on a course
of measures which, instead of accomplishing this grand
end, has, within the period of two years, completely
identified the two ; exhibiting the British factory at
Canton as the refuge of the opium importer ; her Ma-
jesty's sloop at Hong kong as the armed defender of
the drug after confiscation ; and the British Superin-
aeudent himself as its open assumer, its real controller,
its forced transferrer, its public deliverer, to the extent
of 20,283 chests ; and all ' in the name and for the
service of her Majesty's Gavernment!' "
But it would appear that Captain Elliot is not
the only person seriously implicated in this busi-
ness. Some of the first merchants in London had en-
gaged in the trade, and among these a mercantile
house, says Mr. King, perhaps the first in the world
—a family numerously represented in the highest
walks of British society, in the House of
Commons, in the Administration, in the Peerage
of England. The writer evidently leans to the
East India Company, to the prejudice of the
free traders, and therefore holds out but small
hopes of indemnity to the smugglers, the very
idea of indemnifying those who have lost their
property by the just operation of the laws they
violated appearing to him preposterous. The arti-
cle gives the opinions of various authorities as to
the injurious effects of indulging in the use of
opium. Among the rest the East India Company,
Mr. King, and Koo-King-shan, a literary graduate
of some university in the celestial empire. The
latter sums up its mischievous effects in ten para-
graphs under the following titles—it exhausts the
animal spirits—it impedes business—it wastes the
flesh—it dissipates property—it renders the person
ill favoured—it promotes licentiousness—it dis-
closes secrets—it violates the laws—it attacks the
vitals—and it destroys life. In the article on the
Women of klindostan, No. 5, there is a good deal
of amusing information relative to the treatment of
the female sex in the East, which the writer consi-
ders infinitely preferable to the treatment they re-
ceive in Europe and parts of Asia, where so many
of them are confined in harems and nunneries. The
" Asiatic Intelligence"—including the three Presi-
dencies, Ceylon, China, and Australia—is more
than usually copious, and from the important events
which have lately occurred, full of interest.

EPISCOPAL MAGAZINE.
This periodical preserves its character for rabid
hatred of all sects and religions, except the religion
of the Church of England, which Church it says,
" is coeval with the lives of the Apostles, and is
approaching the completion of two thousand years,
during which long period, with more or less bril-
liancy, it has been a witness for the truth." Now
we imagined that the Church of England took its
rise about the period of the Reformation, and that
it sprung out of that Church, which has been
described as the mother of iniquity, and the whore
of Babylon. It appears, however, that we are
under error. The Anglican Church dates from the
commencement of the Christian era. It is the most
ancient of all Churches, and the vile, persecuting;
soul-and-body-destroying Popish Catholic Church,
is only a miserable excrescence from this standard
of truth. Of the nine articles in this Number, five
are directed against Popery, and some of them of so
violent, disloyal a character, as to outstrip even the
rabid speech of the Member for Canterbury.
One would suppose from the violent hatred dis-
played towards Catholics, that these High Church-
men would not be satisfied with the repeal of the
Catholic Emancipation Act, but would have re-
stored to the Book of Prayer, the charitable invo-
cation drawn up by the Convocation, soon after the
Gunpowder Plot. The following is a clause of
what the Convocation called, " a form of prayer
and thanksgiving:"__

" Infatuate their counsels, and root out the Baby-
lonish and antichrithan SECT, which say of Jerusalem.
Down with it, down with it, even to the ground. And
to that end strengthen the hands of our gracious King,

I 1 the Nobles and Magistrates of the land, with justice
and judgment. to tact (di' those workers of iniquity (whose
is rebellion, whose faith is faction ; whose prac-
murdering ~ - .ouls and bodies), and to root them
- "-nits of this kingdom, that they
tot of the confines anti ' triumph in the ruin of
rrypy neftr prevail against us anu ...„m and serious
Thy 6urch,•aaf CO give us grace, by t,
_.6 from
repentance 1N Weft these and the like judgme,. s
us. This, Lord, se' earnestly crave at Thy mercifu,
hands, together with the eontinuance of Thy powerful
protection over our dread Sovereign, the whole Church,
land these realms, and the speedy confusion of our ins-
placable enemies," &c.
After quoting this exterminating prayer, the
writer naturally follows it up with this episode, on
the Court of our Most Gracious Queen :
" Our present most gracious and youthful Sovereign is
surrounded, in her bed-chamber, her council board, and
during her times of relaxation and pleasure, by these
workers of iniquity—whose religion is rebellion—whose
faith is faction, and whose practice is murdering souls
and bodies.' What then can this nation expect from
the Queen's backsliding from the faith of her ancestor,
whom God so wonderfully preserved from the Popish
plot, but the outpouring of the vials of His wrath upon
her people, and the murdering of their souls and
bodies by that Babylonisb and antichristian sect' who
abound bath in the court and in the camp, and the re-
hellion and faction of the people."

THE CHRISTIAN REFORMER.
Sherwood and Co , and Smalfield and Son.
The Christian Reformer of this month contains

the entire closing speech of the Attorney-General
before the House of Lords, in the celebrated Lady
Hewley suit, printed from Mr. Gurney's notes.
This speech, which lawyers allow to be one of the
finest specimens of forensic argument, sums up the
whole of this important case. The Lord Chancel-
lor's questions for thg consideration of the Judges
are added, upon the answers to which the Judgment
will evidently turn. This number gives an account
of the book recently put out by the soi-disant son of
Louis XVI., now living at Lambeth, purporting to
be a Divine Revelation against what is called thelta -
lian religion. An article is devoted to the question put
by the Eclectic Review to Congregational Dissenters,
in reference to the creeds in most of the trust deeds of

their chapels, " Are we Protestants ?" We find
some very sensible remarks in a paper on the
" Tendency of Puseyism." The Review depart-
ment contains an analysis of the volume of Sermons
by Mr. Turner, the aged Presbyterian Minister of
Newcastle, for subscribing to which the Bishops of
Durham and Norwich were so furiously attacked
by the narrow-minded bigots of the Church mili-
tant in their respective dioceses, and by the hire-
lings of the illiberal press. From the articles of
" Intelligence" we extract the following amusing
anecdote of Mr. Drummond the banker, and Mil-
lenarian, and Sir Robert Peel :
" Mr. Drummond, the banker, is well known for his
conversion-expenditure at Geneva and elsewhere. One
of the late Nos. of Le Protestant (a Genevese Maga-
zine, now discontinued), under the head of New
Fanaticism of Mr. Drummond,' says that his latest
change is to the profession of the expectation of the
speedy coming of the Messiah. Accordingly, he has
a chamber always ready in his house, and a vacant place
at his table, for the reception of the Divine Messenger.
On one occasion, says Le Protestant, on the authority
of a letter from England, on the writer of which the
Editor places entire confidence, the wealthy banker
went, with some of his adepts, to the house of Sir Ro-
bert Peel, to apprize him of their Divine inspiration.
Sir Robert replied, Gentlemen, I propose to take two
of you in order to be shut up in separate apartments,
and Ito give each the same text to explain. If it be
explained by both in exactly the same manner, I will
believe the inspiration: The trial was not agreed to."

SPORTING MAGAZINE.
SPORTING REVIEW.

We class these two periodicals together, because
they treat on the same subjects, and with little or
no difference in point of ability. The digest of the
sporting proceedings of the month is equally copious
in both; and of their engravings, suffice it to say
that the Sporting- Review contains an ably-executed
Plate, entitled " The Earth Stopper ;" and the
Sporting Magazine one not less meritorious, en-
titled "Hunting—the Find," in which there are
some good effects of perspective.