The Sun.
London, England, 1839-10-21 00:00:00

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the pamphlet before us has lade .d succeeded in r-Aucing
the quantity to Zero. Assuming that the section of the
Church of England, which adheres to the principles
of the Oxford tracts alone, represents the true Catho-
lic and Apostolic Church, he pours the vials of his
wrath on all other denominations, sects, and parties,
and invoking the spirits of Thomas of Canterbury, and
Gregory VII., and taking for his motto the legal apho-
rism, " Nullum tempos occurrit ecclesim," he demands.ted in
that
all the monastic lands, impropriate tithes, &c., forfeited
the time of Henry VIII., be restored to the Church, that
the ecclesiastical body be rendered independent of
the
State, and that the Erastian principle of lay interference
in
Church government be for ever abandoned. Why his favou-
rite saints, Becket and Hildebrand, would have paused be-
fore making such sweeping demands. The Tridentine sec.
taries, as he calls the members of the church of Rome, never
made such extravagant claims in the wildest days of hiero-
cracy. The spirit in which the book is
written will probably,
prevent its obtaining the attention which the immediate sub-
ject of it may justly claim. The author complains, with some
show of justice, that the Anglican Church is defective in
machinery, that the ;parochial system—however efficient
in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, is inadequate to the
reiigious instruction of the crowded and dense population
that has grown up in the manufacturing tots ns—and that
some intermediate instruction is necessary between the cler-
gymen, fresh from the refinements of the university, and the
coarse intelligence of artisans and rustics. To the want of
such an intermediate he ascribes the growth of Methodism;
these itinerant preachers brought their doctrines more level
to the minds of their auditory than a senior wrangler or
first-class man had either the power or the will to do ;
they thus acquired the same influence over Anglican
Protestants which the Preaching Friars possessed over
the Remanists—we beg pardon, " the Tridentine secta-
ries." Mr. Wackerbarth is not satisfied with the similar
efforts made by that section of our Church commonly
called Evangelical ; home-missions and itinerant mis,ion-
aries, in his view, labour under the capital defect that they
are self-constituted, and consequently that, to a certain
extent, they recognize the congregational and voluntary
principles. He deems that no system of religious in-
struction should be recognized which does not emanate
directly from the constituted ecclesiastical authorities ;
and furthermore, he distinctly charges the whole evan-
gelical party with being " false brethren," and Dissenters
under a thin disguise. As a remedy for all these
evils he proposes that monastic institutions should be re-
vived, and points out, with considerable ability their pro-
bable effect in checking schism, their influence as a means
of evangelizing large towns, and supplying machinery for
the direction of National education. To these he adds
their advantages as depositories of ecclesiastical learn-
ing, and their effect in forming local fortresses by which
the clergy might be enabled to resist the encroachments of
the Civil Power. Such a proposal at the present day is
sufficiently remarkable, and not less so is the recognition of
Thomas a Becket and Hildebrand as saints, by one who
represents a large and influential section of the Anglican
Church.

But religious schemes are not confined to Pres-
byterians and Protestant Episcopalians. The
Clergy of France also have their " Revivals," and
have entered into fasting and prayer for the con-
version of all the heretics of this Protestant country.
Even Mr. O'CoNNEEL, in the general rage for
" Revivals," forgets Repeal, and joins in the wild
cry for uniting in one undivided faith the thousand
and one sects, or shades of sects, and gathering
them all under the wings of the Lady, denominated
by them the " Whore of Babylon." The Tory
party too—or, as they are fond of calling themselves,
the Protestant party—are in absolute terror of " Re-
vivals." One of their organs, on Saturday, an-
nounced with sorrow, that all is going on worse and
worse for them, and that every day unquestionably
darkens the prospects of Protestantism in this
country ; and the Quarterly Review tells them that
they are ruined " beyond human relief," unless they
adopt the system of Revivals by HEAD (not the
Clergyman, who also has one of his own), and act
" without delay on fixed principles."

One remarkable feature, too, marks all these dif-
ferent shades of the disease—and whether we look
to the symptoms of Mr. BURNS or Dr. PUSEY, or
the Archbishops of COLOGNE and POSEN, we see
a rage for uncontrolled power, and the most insuf-
ferable of all despotisms, the despotism of religion.
Could better proofs of a general epidemic be given
The sober portion of the community look on with
sorrow, because, like most distempers of a similar
character, it is beyond human aid, and they there-
fore wait patiently for the natural cure—the Revival
of Common Sense.

The Times of Saturday, had an article in the
spirit of which we most cordially and entirely agree.
The Times proposes that henceforth the adminis•
tration of the British Navy shall be conducted
solely with a view to the promotion of the true in-
terests of the country, and the encouragement of
merit, without any regard whatever for the sup-
posed claims of political partizanship, or Ministerial
or family influence. We rejoice to find the
most influential of our political opponents de-
claring in favour of a system which, for the
last seven years, has had our most strenuous
support ; and the Times may rest assured that it
shall neither want our aid in enforcing the wisdom
of adopting such a proposal, nor our recollection
of the solemn pledge which it has now given to
abide by it, no matter who may be in office, should
our Contemporary deem it commercially prudent
again to box the political compass. In Heaven's
name let the Navy be no longer made the political
plaything of any faction in the State. The affairs
of the Navy are national, not party considerations ;
and the Minister, be he Whig, Tory, or Radi-
cal, who would not scruple to sacrifice the inte-
rests, the efficiency, and glory of the naval service,
to the gratification of his friends, the enriching of
h:s relatives, or the reward of his supporters in or
out of Parliament, would deserve to be publicly
branded as not only an enemy, but as a disgrace to
his country.

In illustration of the anti-persecuting and be-
, -aignant spirit of the Protestant Prussian Govern-
ment—of which a great deal has lately been said,
especially in contrast to the persecuting, morose
spirit of the Catholic Government of Austria—we
beg attention to the following paragraph. Many
of our readers will probably be aware that the latter
Government has lately been most severely con-
demned for compelling some Protestants to leave
the Tyrol, and the forme: has been as much lauded
for planting them in Silesia. Now read how it has
constrained, or wished to constrain, the consciences
of its own subjects. We take the following para-
graph from a Buffalo paper (United States), which
reached England by the British Queen :
THE PRUSSIAN IMMIGRANTS.—These immigrants conti.
nue to excite attention, and their prolonged stay in our
city has led some to think that they would remain during
the winter, and become a tax upon us. No fears of that
kind need be entertained. The party now here are from
Prussian Silesia, and number about 700. In a few days
they expect to be joined by about 300 more, next spring
by 1,260, and during next summer by perhaps 1,000 or 2,000
of their countrymen, making in all not less than 4,000. They
are Protestants of the Lutheran church. A new organization
of the religious establishment in Prussia having been ef-
fected, the King ordered all his subjects to join it, threaten-
ing certain penalties for non-conformity. This being in
many respects repugnant to the feelings of the old esta-
blishment, the more firm and thoughtful refused obedience
to the royal commands.

People who would thus sacrifice long cherished associa-
tions and abandon the land of their fathers rather than do
what their consciences forbade, are not likely to become a
burden upon any community.

The fact is that both these Governments insist
on prescribing, to a bleat extent, the faith of their
subjects, and as long as they submit and conform
to the State ritual, whether Catholic or Protestant,
all goes smoothly on; but when either the Lutherans
and the Pietists in Silesia, or the Protestants in the
Tyrol, adhere to a faith of their own selection, then
their chapels and churches are shut up, and they
are dragooned into submission or compelled to ex-
patriate themselves.

has now taken the Tories under its especial
A Weekly Journal, once a Radical, which
protection, advises them, as an Opposition,
to do what is liberal and
just, and " win
golglen opinions from all sorts of men." It would
• have them bid for popular favour. Can the
Ethiop cast his skin ? Can ti3e Tories, either in
oppositiou or in power ever depart from the prin-
ciple which is the basis of their political existence ?
Toryism is to govern in spite of popular favour.
It is founded on despising the people, and
coercing the popular will. It aims at de-
basing and degrading the people. At all
hazards it seeks the aggrandisement of one or
two classes, and them only, which can only be oh-