The Sun.
London, England, 1862-05-29 00:00:00

IfIE SUN, LONDON, TJIERSDAY EVENING, MAY 29, 1862. g

.L._..*

their IT ,port upon that core of the whole of our im-
medir .te financial difficulty " that is to come"—the
proje et of our Coast Fortifications, beginning at
Spitt lead ! For the scheme has clearly this pecu-
liarity about it. Decide upon one, and others
will follow to a number as indefinite
And alarming as the Shadow-Kings seen
iii the witch-glass by MACBETH. The first
stone fort erected according to this plan any where
along our coasts—say at Spithead—will be like a
stone dropped into water: circle upon circle, forti-
fication upon fortification will widen out from it.
For all which JOHN BULL will have to pay the
iPut of a yearly £5,000,000 or £10,000,000
Pincoemr—e Lt'ax. Wherefore it clearly behoves the old
gentleman to be exceedingly careful just now as to
what it is he is really about. One way or another
the Commons will have an opportunity of deciding
this momentous question upon the occasion of the
motion to be brought before it by the hon. member
for Halifax.

After looking through the long series of papers
on the Mexican affair, we have nothing to blame
out Government for but commencing the undertak-
ing at all. The papers do but confirm the original
impressions we received from public facts, and
which we have so recently expressed, that England
entered on the undertaking in perfect good faith,
and with no reserved thought whatever; that Spain
thought to outwit both her allies by anticipating
both on the scene of action, and calling forth a
Mexican demonstration in her favour; and that
France had also her own object, which is now de-
veloping itself. The excuse made at Madrid for
Spain's so obviously attempting to repeat the part
she played at St. Domingo is altogether nugatory
—it is "distance from the scene of action." We
fear that the true explanation of the present virtue
of Spain is that "the grapes are sour." Our con-
temporary, the ecotsman,makes a statement which,
assuming its correctness, explains everything on the
part of Spain ; it says that " the Spanish General
PRIM (who is either brother-in-law or son-in-law
of DOBLADO) was sent to Mexico with the design,
on the part not only of himself but of the Spanish
Government, to be set up as President ; and once in
that position he was to pave the way, as oppor-
tunities might serve, for the advent of a Spanish
Prince. This design became known to the French,
and wax openly charged against PRIM at a Coun-
cil, and an intimation made that France wonld
act independently of Spain, though she had no
objection to have the aid of Spanish forces in so
acting. General PRIM, not denying the charge,
assumed indignation, and withdrew his forces."
On the other hand, France early began to put
forth such extravagant claims to pecuniary compen-
sations as seemed designed to be the forerunners of
disagreement and rupture; but all was brought to
a crisis by the Frenchpermitting General ALMONTE,
and other known reactionaries, who had been
banished the country, to land under French pro-
tection, and even to advance with the French into
the interior, there to plot with the resident oppo•
nents of the existing Government at their leisure.
That this should be followed by petty hostilities on
the part of JUAREZ and his Government was but a
natural consequence ; and equally natural that
France, being on the watch for such an opportu-
nity, should make it a pretext for declaring war
against the JUAREZ Government. France had ap-
parently been really induced to believe the repre-
sentations of ALMONTE and the other fugitives,
that the Austrian Archduke MAximniAN would
be welcomed by the Mexicans as a Constitutional
Monarch, to terminate the present endless revolu-
tions, by the peaceful blessings of HAPSBURG rule.
The French contrived, therefore, to break up the
arrangement for a conference in which all claims
were to be arranged, and before it could be held, to
place themselves in a position to march on the
capital to enable the Mexicans freely to choose
their cwn Government when the existing one had
been ousted by French arms.
This, therefore, is how the quarrel now stands,
English and Spanish have withdrawn and watch
the doings of France from their own shores. France
meantime is marc-aing on the capital, probably by
this time she is there. Lord RUSSELL communicates
to Mr. WYKE our Government's full approbation
of his breaking off the joint action, when France
persisted in provoking civil war in Mexico, by
encouraging General ALMONTE and in refusing to
treat with the Government of JUAREZ. Lord Rus-
BELL, however, asserts that England could have
pursued no other course with honour than that of
joining in the original expedition, when she had the
same claims to make as the other allies had, and
that the evils of not uniting at first with
the allies would have been greater than the pre-
sent separation. It seems almost amusing, after
all this, to find his Lordship stating that nothing
has occurred to " impair the friendly relations"
between the Governments of France and England.
Nothing certainly to cause a quarrel. France has
a right to take her own course with Mexico; only
when three persons agree to act together, we should
say that the one which separates from the other
two is the prima facie offender. Evidently France
had a wish from the beginning to attempt setting
Mexico right. It is a pity she did not say se, as
it might have saved us some useless expense. As
to Spain, we cannot pity her; it is but too plain
that she would have liked to do what France is
doing.

We must do the Lords the justice to acknowledge
that if two of them, a temporal and a spiritual
peer, could be found to utter the most unmitigated
bigotry on Tuesday night, all the rest, whether lay
or temporal lords, had a word to say in favour of
some degree of liberty in subscription. The Bishop
of OXFORD'S High Churchism stands to him, in the
place of his worthy father's conscience. The con-
science of the father, by his excessive solicitude to
be right, often kept his Parliamentary friends in
painful suspense, whether he and the half-dozen
who usually voted with him would give their
votes to their party or to a scruple. All were
certain he would vote as he believed he ought,
though they thought he frequently employed
weights and scales too delicate for political matters.
Of the son, on the contrary, you are quite sure how
he will vote, because you know that his Church is
his conscience—his Church, unreformed, unmiti-
gated, with all the beauties of TUDOR and STUART
creation, and, indeed, all the ivy and moss which
was not scraped off at the Reformation. These are its
charm in his eyes. Hence the temper into which
the Right Rev. Father in --- threw himself
with Lord EBURY'S Bill. It actually had the
audacity to propose some mitigation of the pressure
on clerical integrity in the matter of subscription—
some modification of an act certainly worthy of the
darkest ages—the Act of Uniformity. We have all
of us read enough of history to know that not one
of our standard historians now ventures to defend
that monument of bygone bigotry, indeed, hardly
OXFORD will
offotuhnedchwuhreoh.does not implicitly or ex-
plicitly condemn it. Never mind—the Bishop of
oneis a ean
pillarbe maintain, against all corners, that it
With most liberal•minded Englishmen, the only
with fault they would find Lord EBURY'S bill
ho. that
WO it (lid not go fear. enough. me
u...
question is simply this—The Act of Uniformity

requires of all beneficed clergymen, and many
others, not only an engagement to conform to the
Prayer book in their conduct of public wor-
ship, but a declaration that " nothing in it is
contrary to Holy Scripture," and that they give
their "unfeigned assent and consent" to everything
in it. How much there is in it few of us know.
Often as we use its ordinary service, how many of
us have ever read all the services for every occa-
sion, and how many ever thought of examining the
theological truth, or even consistency of the parts ?
By nearly all, who have so examined, the parts of
this compilation of services, creeds, catechism, ar-
ticles, &c., are declared to be many of them contra-
dictory to each other—and we presume there can
be little doubt of the truth of Lord CHATHAM'S
dictum uttered in the House of Lords, that "we
have a Calvinistic Creed, a Popish Liturgy, and an
Arminian clergy." We have all of us the vague
impression that the Articles favour the Evangelicals,
while the Liturgy is the stronghold of the Ro-
manizers—an impression justified by the conduct
and preaching of both parties.

Things being thus, let us, says Lord EBURY, not
require all our clergy to declare that they believe
all things written in this possibly incongruous col-
lection of creeds and services—lut us be satisfied
with accepting their declaration simply, of confor-
mity. Let the clergyman merely say that he will
use these services, and no other, in his official capa-
city. This seems a very moderate proposal. How
is it met ? That admirable theologian, Lord Dux.
GANNON, moved the rejection of the bill, in a speech
which we searched in vain for arguments. What
seemed most like one was a sort of picture of a con-
gregation listening to a clergyman who declined to
express his "unfeigned assent and consent" to all
he read to them—how then must their faith in him
be weakened. But, unfortunately for this argument,
if he were not required to express it, his congrega-
tion could not be aware that he differed from his
book—and, still more unfortunately, as things
stand, the preaching of at least three great
sects in the Church the Puseyites, the
Evangelicals, and the Broad Church—makes
the people think something much worse of
them—namely, that they have subscribed to what
they do not believe ! So that the question is not
whether the congregation shall doubt their believ-
ing every iota of the Prayer-book, for they know
the contrary, but whether the congregation shall
think their clergyman a man who will not only
take liberty to doubt and disbelieve many things,
but the further and much more questionable liberty
of signing what he does not believe.

The rest of the Lords and Bishops, although all
having something to say for the " venerable Act,',
or for the need of "caution" in the mode of dealing
with it—still felt that something was really needed
to make an old Act of the time of the STUARTS
square with the intelligence and the spirit of
inquiry of the present age. Lords RUSSELL and
SHAFTESBURY felt this very strongly, and the son_
of WILBERFORCE and the theological Viscount made
but sorry figures by their side. For ourselves, the
whole subject seems hardly to admit of dispute. To
think in the year 1862 of requiring any educated
human being, with a conscience to call his own, to
sign to implicit belief in all and everything in an old
Book so big, and so full of controverted matter as
the Prayer-book, seems like an insult to his under-
standing. When position and emoluments are made
to depend on subscription, as in the case of the
Established Church, the demanders of subscription
are almost guilty of subornation to perjury—of
subornation of unbelieving subscription they cer-
tainly are. In the sleepy unexamining times of the
Church, so vividly painted by MACAULAY, subscrip-
tion was done in the lump, and, as a matter of
course, like Custom-house oaths, The Revenue
Service has, however, abolished its impractic-
able oaths, and the Church must abolish her im-
practicable subscriptions. The Church must rise
to the civil standard of morality, or she will make
pharisees of the civilians. It can no longer be en-
dured that clergymen shall be forbidden to think

out of the ruts of the Prayer-book, because they
have pledged themselves not only to use it, but to

believe it from the first to the last sentence.

PBIN GESS' S TLIEA7 RE.

Mr. Charles Kean last night appeared in the favourite
'play "The Corsican Brothers," being the first time he has
represented the part since he retired from the post of lessee.
The announcement of the representation drew a very
crowded audience, and it is almost needless to say that Mr.
Kean went through the performance with the greatest
effect. The h'gh-born, courteous, and vindictive Corsican
is raised by Mr. Kean far above the level of ordinary melo-
drama, and in the thir act, where ho appears as the incar-
nation of an avenging Nemcsis, his stern earnest demea-
nour and concentrated energy are admirably effective.
Every faculty, mental and corporeal, seems strained to the
one work of retribution, which, without passion or scruple,
he calmly performs as a solemn duty. Mr. Jordan as
Chateau-Renaud is a good representative of a professed
man-slayer, though he lacks some of the conventional at-
tributes of the French roué. The fantastic pleasantries
and bustle of the masked ball are managed in the best
style.

PRINCE ALFRED AND THE CHANNEL FLEET.—A
division of the Channel fleet, comprising the Revenge, 90,
Captain Fellowes, bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Smart;
the Trafalgar, 90, Captain Dickson; the Emerald, 51, Cap-
tain Cumming; the Chanticleer, 17, Captain Stirling; and
the Porpoise, gunboat, arrived off Great Yarmouth on
Tuesday, and were still lying yesterday in the roadstead,
where they are awaiting the arrival of the St. George, 90,
Captain Egerton, having his Royal Highness Princo Alfred,
with Major Cowell, &c., on board. The St. George was to
sail from Burntisland, near Leith, on Tuesday, and was
expected to reach Yarmouth last evening or this (Thursday)
morning. Up to yesterday afternoon, however, she had
failed to make her appearance. The five vessels now in
the roads came to Yarmouth through the Downs. It is
quite uncertain how long they will remain in their present
anchorage after being joined by the St. George, the officers
of the squadron being themselves in ignorance as to their
future movements. The ships are at anchor within about
a mile and a quarter of the shore, and are objects of much
interest to the townspeople and numerous visitors now at ,
Yarmouth, who have put off in steamers and beach gigs,
although the occasional wetness of the weather has some-
what damped the ardour of excursionists. The arrival of
some ships of war at a place like Yarmouth is, of course,
quite a godsend to strangers having much time on their
hands, and if the squadron remains some days in the road-
stead it will doubtless be visited by large numbers of per-
sons from the surrounding country.
REPRESENTATION OF SHREWSBURY.—The writ
for the election of a representative in the place of the late
Mr. Slaney was received on Tuesday by the Mayor, who
has fixed the nomination for Saturdaynext. There are three
candidates in the field, viz., Mr. Banner Oakeley, conserva-
tive; Mr. Henry Robertson, liberal; and Mr. Henry Atkins,
who, it is understood, is unfettered by party trammels. The
two former gentlemen have addressed their respective sup-
porters, but we have not heard that Mr. Atkins has done
so yet. All three are actively canvassing.—Shrewsbury
Journal.

ARRIVAL OF THE GREAT EASTERN AT NEW YORK.
—LIVERPOOL, WEDNESDAY.—The Etna, which arrived
off Queenstown at eight o'clock on Tuesday night, has
brought intelligence of the safe arrival at New York of the
steamship Great Eastern, after a very rapid passage. It
will be remembered that the big ship left Milford Haven
late at night on the 7th May, and according to the advices
by the Etna she reached New York early on the morning
of the 17th; thus (computing the time of her departure for
and arrival at New York) she made the voyage out in nine
days and five hours, which is one of the quickest voyages on
record. The Great Eastern will leave Now York for this
port on Saturday next, the 31st instant, aid if she makes
an equally favourable run home she may be expected in
the Mersey on the evening of Monday, tho 9th June, or
the following morning. We understand that it is the
intention of the directors to have her thrown open for vi-
sitors as soon after her arrival as possiblEimprobably the
next day, so that the great numbers who visit this town
during Whitsun week may have an opportenity of inspect-
ing the ship.

Some anxiety is felt for two or three New York
ships, now considerably overdue, having sailed three months
since. One of them, the Mansfield, is classed
. 1 for 14
years. and
iusurance at Lloyd's advanced yes-
terday to 50 guineas. •