The Sun.
London, England, 1830-05-15 00:00:00

same rigour as the Jewish Sabbath, which was
one of the many ceremonies of a religion, whose
forms Christians regard as superfluous, but it
instituted Sundays and holidays as days on
which labouring people should be exempt from
work, should attend the service of the Church,
and indulge in any amusements not contrary to
law. The holidays, as interfering too much
with industry, fell gradually into disuse, and this
may, perhaps, have contributed to the prevalence
of a notion among. some Divines, that it was
necessary to keep Sunday more strictly than of
old. HALLAM tells us that it was not until
1595, fifty years after the Reformation, (which
left the observance of Sunday exactly on the
same footing as before it,) that a class of Sabba-
tarians sprung up, who attempted to make
Sunday very nearly resemble the Jewish Sab-
bath, " interdicting not only the slightest action
" of worldly business, but even every sort of
" pastime and recreation ; a system which, once
" promulgated, soon gained ground, as suiting
" their atrabilious humour, and affording
" new theme of censure on the vices of the
" great :" and one of these Sabbatarians pre-
ferred charges against Bishop AYLMER for
playing at bowls on Sundays. The high-
churchmen of those days divided the cant of the
Sabbatarians, justly contending that the modern
observance of the first day of the week was an
ecclesiastical, and not a directly divine, institu-
tion, and in no degree more venerable in itself
than other festivals, or than the season of Lent.l
King JAMES the First, wishing to root out of
the Church these atrabilious ministers, laid a trap
for them, by ordering a declaration to be read in
all churches, permitting all lawful recreations on
Sundays after divine service, such as dancing,
archery, May-game, morris-dances, and other
usual sports, which declaration many of the Puri-
tanical Clergy refused to read, and were punished
as they deserved. The dislike of the high-
churchmen which prevailed in the succeeding
reign, contributed to the success of Puritanical
principles—and the word Sabbath began to be
used instead of Sunday. The Acts of Ist and
3d CHARLES I. were passed, for the better ob-
servance of Sunday, which however only prevent
unlawful sports ; and subsequently the Act 29th
CHARLES 11. c. 7, which now prohibits work
being done on the LORD'S day, and for the vio-
lation of which our metropolitan Bishop threatens
his flock with eternal perdition. His Lordship,
indeed, goes far beyond the provisions of this
puritanical Statute, and directs his thunder
against wherries, omnibuses, and short-stages,
which have escaped the wrath of the Puritans.
It would be in vain for us to attempt to avert
the Episcopal fulminations, but we cannot help
wishing his Lordship would amuse himself with
playing bowls on Sundays, like the high-church-
men of the good old times, for he might pos-
sibly thereby work off some of the atrabilious
humours with which, in common with the Puri-
tans, his Lordship is unhappily filled.
We are strongly disposed to suspect the inte-
grity of purpose of those who are over anxious
to burthen the people with forms and cere-
monies, and to censure popular amusements on
any other ground than those of their actual im-
naor&lity. We see no reason why enjoyments
which are innocent in themselves should be 'de-
barred from the multitude on the only day on
which they have time to taste them. Locomo-
tion on a Sunday is, in truth, rest, to those who
are enjaged in sedentary or mechanical occupa-
tions the rest of the week, and to say that there
is any scandal in the population taking the
opportunity of the day of rest, to emerge from
the confinement of a crowded metropolis into the
fresh air of the environs, is almost as malevolent
as it is absurd. We do not scruple to say that
it would be, in many points of view, desirable
that the Picture Galleries, the Panoramas, and
the British and other Museums, if not the
Theatres, should be open on Sundays, as they
are every where on the Continent. But if the
fastidiousness of the Church is opposed to an
alteration which would add so greatly to the
happiness of the people, let it not think to suc-
ceed in wresting from them the few sources of
enjoyment which they now possess. The Bishop
who lives in luxury and indolence may think
there is virtue in
" Hanging up his cat on Monday,
" For killing of a mouse on Sunday ;"
but we recommend him to abstain from publish-
ing any more pamphlets upon this topic. There
are other and far more effectual means of mend-
ing the morals of the inhabitants of London,
than the Sunday discipline proposed by the
Bishop, nor is his Phillippic, in any one way,
calculated to improve society, or to make us
better men, or better Christians.