The Sun.
London, England, 1839-10-31 00:00:00

empire do the Anglican priesthood avow it to be
heir intention to establish over the mind of England.
The Universities are in their hands, and they
fashion the minds of our statesmen. Most of the
high schools are under their control, and they
mould to their will the thoughts of the youth of all
the upper classes. The Rev. Mr. DOWLEtt con-
fines his demands for empire to the minds of the
poor ; but, in our country, his modest claim ex-
tends over eight-tenths of the community. If
the priesthood, one of whom is in every parish,
the body of whom have a permanent and
large income, undiminished by the vicissi-
tudes of commerce, and which, by the in-
crease of the people, the mistaken munificence of
the State, or the worked-upon superstition and fear
of individuals, is continually increasing ;—if the
priesthood are to be the spiritual masters of the poor,
and arc to have the exclusive control of their edu-
cation, they must become as effectually the masters
of the community as ever the Romish priesthood were
in the middle ages. "Let who will make the laws,
if I am allowed to make the songs of a people," is a
saying which has almost passed into a proverb. But
the songs arc only one part of that education
which the priesthood claims. To the admirable
and universal system of education established in
Germany, under the control of the State, there
is but one real objection—that it makes the people
completely subservient to their rulers, and destroys
individual independence. It forms the whole people
on the model of those who administer the system at
Berlin and at Munich. But that system must be
shortcoming in its influence compared to a system of
education under the control of the Church, which
will strengthen secular dominion by spiritual terror.
If liberty repels such a system as that of Germany
—if the control of the songs of a people be suffi-
cient to resist the dominion of the lawgiver, with
what energy, determination, and zeal ought the
nation now to resist the vast ambition of the
Anglican priesthood ?

That society could go on without the Church,
seems tolerably evident from the remarks we yester-
day made. That it can go on if the ambition of the
Bishops be gratified, and if the people must be

placed under their spiritual dominion, is not so
evident. Their dominion must at once clash with
the claims of the Catholics and Dissenters, who
owe them no allegiance. That they have hitherto
grossly neglected the poor, as the condition of the
poor shows, is no proof that they will not hereafter
at least Use all their poNer to make the whole
people subservient to them. To us it appears that
they ought to be checked by some bolder expedient
than that proposed by the Ministry. The Whigs
are feeble against the priesthood, because they
fear them. They flatter the Church, and the
Church takes them at their word. According to
Whip,s as well as Tories, it is essential to the well-
being of society, and they must be prepared, there-
fore, to be defeated by the Church, or to surrender
into its hands the vast power it demands. In our
judgment, however, true patriotism and true policy
now require that the demands of the clergy should
be resisted, and their power abated.

Again our accounts from Manchester and the
manufacturing districts are unfavourable. Two ad-
ditional failures have taken place at Manchester.
The .demand for yarn was limited, and the price
lower. At Oldham and the neighbourhood the
winners of coarse yarn have resolved to work only
nine hours a-day for the next six weeks. We may
anticipate, therefore, considerable distress in the ma-
nufacturing districts during the winter. Of course the
landowners and agriculturists, who have pocketed dur-
ing the years 1838 and 1839 between 30 and 40 mil-
lions more income than in 1836 andlB37, will come
forward and contribute munificently to the relief of
that distress which has been caused to enrich them.
They have no occasion to give anything to their
rivals the cotton-lords ; they are not asked to
swell the profits of the factory owners, but they
may send flour and potatoes to the half starved
spinners and weavers, and sell them at reduced
prices, and so they may contribute to increase the
comforts without augmenting the wages of the
workmen, or the profits of the masters ?
We are usually told that the prosperity of the agri-
culturists gives prosperity to the rest of the community.
They are said to be the largest and most powerful
interest in the State, and that all goes well when they
are well off. Though this should be true, we do
not approve of that hangman kind of policy which
consists in cutting off some that others may flou-
rish. Where is the justice, supposing that the
agriculturists are benefited by the Corn-laws, of
stifling the smallest branch of trade, and annihilat-
ing those who carry it on ? Are merchants
and manufacturers of any kind rebels or cri-
minals, that they may be justly cut cif ? We
answer No. At the same time experience informs
us that the agriculturists may flourish, and the
community be ill at ease. While the agricultu-
rists have pocketed such a large increase of wealth
there has been general uneasiness and distress.
The army has been increased because the people
are dissatisfied. The police has been augmented,
and is now augmenting, in the rural districts, be-
cause crime has much increased and is increasing.
There is scarcely a county in England, we believe,
in which it has not been proposed to carry the ncw•
Rural Constabulary Act into execution, and in not a
few it has been adopted. At most of the meetings of
the Magistrates, it is declared that vagrancy has in-
creased, as at Chichester ; or that property is in-
secure, as at Lewes ; or that there can be no secu-
rity for either property or life, as in almost every
county, unless a more efficient police be established.
Thus the prosperity of the landowners, which has
now been extraordinary for two years, is consistent
with great distress, and an increase of crime in
the agricultural districts, and general uneasiness
in the community. When trade flourishes agri-
culture is sure to prosper, but in a community
which is a workshop for other nations, when the
andowners are enriched, the manufacturers go to
ecay, and the people become dissatisfied.

We call the attention of our Metropolitan readers
:o a paragraph w•e have extracted from the Civil

• •
Engineer's .Journal of this day relative to the highly
important subject of procuring pure,wholesome, and
cheap water, for London. On turning to the medi-
cal evidence in the year 1828, we are struck with
the deleterious and dangerous character of the water
then supplied, and which must be worse now, from
the increased number of steam.engines, manufactories,
and sewers emptying themselves into the Thames.
Coupling this fact with the division of London
among the present Water Companies—the conse-
quent monopoly—the immense profits, (original
shares of 1001., selling for many thousands,) and
the resolutions of Vestry meetings—proceedings of
both Houses of Parliatnent, and the prospect of now
procuring good water under the plans and sanction'
of such men as the late Mr. Telford, and the pre-
sent engineer of the Southampton docks, we
must say that we know of few projects better &-
set vmg public support, or private investment.

The French Journals of Tuesday Lave not yet
arrived.

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On Tuesday a body of Irishmen marched through,
the streets of Birmingham, to the tune of "Rory O'Alore:
to assist at the laying of the foundation stone of a new
Catholic chapel.