The Sun.
London, England, 1862-12-03 00:00:00

The ex-Minister claims, as well he may do, all kind
of liberty of thought for the laity, but denies it to
the clergy. They have sworn to their creeds, and
they must not examine further. The Bishop of
LONDON feels, too, the obligations of creeds and
formularies to which the clergy have given their
" unfeigned :assent and consent," but he does not
i relish the thought of an uninquiring, unexaminiog
clergyman, or of one afraid to inquire. To require
of the clergy, he says, unquestioning adherence
to the Church's standards removes:the clergy out
of the category of inquiring honest men, thus
robbing the Church of all that weight of testimony
which is derived from the heartfelt free adher-
ence of so many of the most intelligent men
of each generation."

Nor does the Bishop like the prosecutions for
heterodoxy. If a clergyman is brought before
the courts, of course the judge must do his duty as
he best can ; but he thinks the policy of the Church
of England, in more modern times he must mean,
has been not to spread erroneous notions by the
remotest semblance of persecution. She has relied
rather on meeting error by superior learning and a
better Christian spirit. The Bishop boldly tells the
plain truth, that it is only dishonest men who can
be kept in check by fear of penalties. " A good
truth-loving man," should he fall into great error,
will be sure to quit the Church in which he can no
longer minister with integrity or comfort. Hence
these persecutions keep in the Church only those
who, whatever their real dissent from her doctrines,
will take care not legally to commit themselves.
While the better men would leave spontaneously.
One opinion expressed by the Bishop will cause
not a little consternation in some quarters. He
had been recommending that bishops, in examina-
tions of young men for holy orders, should not
harass them by minute inquisitions into their
opinions, and added—" Even as to the declarations
which the law of the land requires to be made at
ordination, I should be ready myself even new, in
spite of all temporary alarm as to unsound opinion,
to relax rather than to tighten the bond !" We
remember the Bishop very recently, in the. House
of Lords, designated the Act of Uniformity,
" the charter of the Church." We thought, while
reading the words, that the stringent, barbarous old
document might be more properly termed the fetters
of the Church. The Bishop seems now to be verg-
ing to that opinion. We certainly have always
agreed with those who think its requirements, of
young men especially hardly out of their 'teens,
little less than immoral. Young men are taught,
practically, to make the most solemn subscriptions,
either in uninquiring ignorance, or, in spite cf
doubts and disbelief, as a matter of form. Alto-
, gether we must think the Bishop, from his position,
has touched one of the exciting topics of the day,
with a master hand.

THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT AND
TEX LIFEBOAT SERVICE,

Some few weeks ago the life-boats of the National Life-
boat Institution, stationed at Lytham and Southport,
rescued, during a fearful storm, the crew of 18 persons be-
longing to the ship Annie E. Hooper, of Baltimore, United
States. The Hon. C. F. Adams, the American Minister,
having been informed of the facts, promised to bring the
case under the notica of the American Gevernment. Mr.
Adams has just sent the following gratifying reply to the
Institution :

" Legation of the United States, London,
Dec. 2, 1862. _ _

" Sir,—Some time since I had the honour to acknowledge
the reception of your note informing me of the timely assist-
ance rendered to the crew cf the ship Annie E. Hooper in
their hour of need by the Lytham and Southport lifeboats
of your valuable institution. I then promised that I would
transmit a statement of the facts to the Government of the
United States.

" I have now the pleasure to inform you that in testimony
of his sense of the value of the Society's labours, the Presi-
dent has directed me to present in his name to the Royal
National Lifeboat Institution the sum of £lOO. lam like-
wise instructed to present, through the Society, £5 to the
coxswain, and £2 to each of the crew of the boat which
went to the relief of the Annie E. Hooper. To that end I
have the honour to enclose a draft au Messrs. Baring
Brothers and Co., payable to your order, for the sum of
£l3l sterling,—l have, &c.,
(Signed) "CHAS. F. ADAMS,
" To the Secretary of the National Lifeboat
Institution,"

ARELOW, IRELAND, Dec. I.—At daybreak this morning
a large vessel was observed aground on Glasgorman Bank.
It was blowing a gale, and the sea was running so high
that no fishing or ordinary boat could put to sea. The life-
boat of the National Lifeboat Institution on this station was
thereupon instantly launched with all despatch. As she
was nearing the vessel the masts were out away,' and the
ship floated inside the bank. On arriving alongside, the
vessel proved to be the ship Eliza Bencke, from Liverpool
to Bombay, with a crew of 25 men on board. The coxswain
of the lifeboat asked the captain if the crew wished to come
off in the boat ; but, after consulting with them, they deter-
mined to remain by their vessel, and the lifeboat therefore
put back, but when she was some distance off a signal was
hoisted for her and she returned, when the second mate got
into her and was brought on shore for the purpose of going
to Dublin for a steamer. Had it not been for the lifeboat
again, in this instance, no communication could have been
effected, through the heavy sea then running, with the
shore. If the wind does not increase the vessel will pro-
bably be got off the bank and be taken into Kingstown Har-
i bour.

THORPENESS, SUEFOLR, TUESDAY NIGHT.-At about
4 a.m. one of the Coastguardmen reported to the coxswain
of the Ipswich lifeboat of the National Lifeboat Institution,
stationed here, that lights had been seen on the Sizewell
Sand Bank. The wind was blowing hard on shore, and
the sea was very rough at the time. The lifeboat was im-
mediately launched and proceeded in the direction of the
lights, which wore found to be shown from the screw steamer
Normanby, of London, bound from Hartlepool to London
with a cargo of pig-iron. She had struck heavily on Size-
well Bank, and had broken her screw propeller, but after-
wards came off and let go her anchor. She was making
water, which was kept under by tke steam pumps. Although
the services of the lifeboat were not actually required to
take off the crew, yet she contributed materially to the ulti-
mate safety of this valuable steamer, by taking through the
surf a message to the shore for the assistance of steam tugs,
which will bring her to a port of safety. The lifeboat be-
haved very well in the heavy sea, and the crew spoke highly
of her.

VARIETIES.

(Fram Fun.)

JEBB'S JEITELS.—The other day three of Sir Joshua
Jebb's jewels, who have so great love for the Spanish that
they have adopted the national garotte, were going down
Long Acre. An offensive person persisted in coming home
from a party in Pimlico, although it was three o'clock in
the morning. The three jewels remonstrated with him
mildly, by knocking him down, and kicking him in the
ribs. They were about to fine him summarily for the offence
of being a little elevated, when, seeing a policeman approach,
they retired, as modest virtue should do when detected in a
good action, in order to escape his thanks for the attention
they had bestowed on this late and inebriated ruffian.
Strange to say, their exertions in the cause of peace and
sobriety were misconstrued. They were taken before the
police magistrate. Listen to the words of conscious inno-
cence :—" Marrot (first jewel)—What has the gentleman
got to complain of ? He wasn't robbed of anything. Allen
(second jewel)—What right had he (the prosecutor) out in
the streets at three in the morning ? Besides he was drunk.
Sheriff (third jewel)—lf we are committed, I should like to
go to the Old Bailey." Just see how these precious youths
have been treated by the kind Sir Joshua. They are ac-
customed to every indulgence, to have every complaint at-
tended to, every wish obeyed. When he takes such pains
to make spoilt children of our felons, if they knock him
down and kick him in the ribs, we don't know that he would
have anything to complain of.
MUSICAL.—We hear that a celebrated composer is en-
gaged in writing a National Air for the Northern States of
America, and that the music isparticularly distinguished by
its very extraordinary "runs."
MEDICAL.—When is a joke like a black draught?—
When it's to be taken directly.
"AWAY WITIL MELANCICOLY."—Sobbing ; which is
most certainly a way with melancholy I
INJUDICIOUS.—The West Bromwich magistrates have
just sent a paup3r to prison for 21 days for complaining of
the quality and quantity of his rations. It is not likely
that he will complain of his food in jail, but ho will be
certain to be discontented with the workhouse fare when he
returns to it. If the West Bromwich magistrates begin to
teach the paupers in this way, how much better we treat
our prisoners than our poor, they must expect to suffer for
it in the increase of crime.

...._ ,m, ...„.. _
We are authorized to state that we shall have no more
news concerning Garibaldi, because there is now no
bullet-in.
A QUESTION FOR ALL THE JUDGES.—An execution at
1 N. ewgate may make one murderer less in the laud, but does
it make two?