The Sun.
London, England, 1831-10-07 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

We see, on looking over the debates of he Lords oh Wednes-
day evening, that some persona begin tb take alarm at the effects
produced, or anticipated, frOm the speeches of those Peers who
have defended the Reform 13111, and are inclined to quarrel with
Lord Grey because his Lordship "presumed to lecture" the
Right Iletr, Bishops. If there was one passage of Lord Grey's
excellent oration more impressive and affecting than any other,
it was that towards the close, wherein he turned and appealed to
the Lords Spiritual, calling upon them to be Wise in lime, and
not endanger the stability of the ChUrch of England by a course
which they must hereafter repent of. And who is there, let us
ask, among the enlightened friends of our national Church, that
does not cartel* with the head of the King's Government, in
beseeching the Bishops,—and in their sphere the Clergy gene-
rally,—but above all, the Right Rev. Prelates,—to watch the
temper of the times, and to put their house in order, that
they may meet, not unprepared, the manifold dangers which
approach them ? By what considerations Can an observant
and reflecting member of the Established Church be in-
duced to vote against this Measure of Reform ? We allude
at present to Mtn of understanding, who know how to
calculate and appreciate symptoms,—not infatuated fools, who
rush 'blindly on, and take offence at being told there is a preci-
pice before them. Of sober-minded Bishops, then, tve would
fain ask the question, what induces them to vote against Reform ?
They may answer u 3 that they fear its effects upon the Church.
But what effects ? The thininUtion of its wealth ? and,—to push
the inquiry house,—by what power will its wealth be diminished?
The terrified Bishop will be apt to say,.' By that of an House
of Commons subservient to popular opinion. I therefbre give
my vote against the creation of such an House of Commons."
Now we understand each other. The Bishops conceive that
public opinion, if it can find an instrtnnent for the purpose in a
direct representation of the people, will deprive them of part of
their iniportance, Is there, then, any reason why the feelings of
the country should, by nature or necessity, be more adverse to the
Church of England than to the King of England ? If the hostile

sentiment dies generally exist, it must arise from a general
impression that the Church pursues interests at variance with
those of the community. And how is such an error to be cor-
rected ?—how such an unftiehdly spirit conciliated ? Not, surely,
by now stepping in to defeat the eager wishes of a unanimous
nation, and transmitting the intelligence through the remotest
parts of L'ngland, that it is the Bishops who prevented the great
Bill of Reform from becoming the law of- the land. If the
Bishops dread the country, as an enemy, let them strive to ob-
tain a bold of the public gratitude, by proving themselves lovers
of liberty, and enabling themselves to tell the people, " the
lay Lords were divided almost equally, but we threw our mitres
into the scale, and it is to us you owe your majority in favour of
Reform." Who, let us ask, in any public assembly of Great
Britain, would dare to fly in the face of such benefactors, and
deny that the Church of England deserved well of the English
nation ? Who, if the Bishops continue to reject the Bill,
will henceforth dare to be their advocate t If they be
really fearful of a Reformed Parliament, do they not see
that the existence of such a Parliament cannot by any
human possibility be retarded beyond the ensuing Christ-
mas ? And do they desire to arm both people and Parliament,
with pretexts if they be hostile, with reasons be they ever so
friendly, for cutting away the power, the patronage, and magni-
ficence of the church ? Should it be the unhappy determination
of the Prelates to rest for their support on a borough Parliarnent,
had they not better first convince themselves that the borough
Parliament itself has some assured support ? From all that ap-
pears of the public spirit in every part of the kingdom,—from the
meetings of the people,—from the petitions which load the table
of the House of Lords,—from the admissions of Noble Peers,
themselves most inveterately hostile to Reform,—nay, from
the obvious wavering of the Duke of Wellington himself, more
firm to his creed of expediency than to that of no Reform,—it is
clear as noon-day, that the measure is virtually carried, and that
the Bishop who votes against the Bill gives a vote against the sta-
bility of the church of England. As for those of the Rev. Lords
who toss their heads at Lord Grey, and bridle up at his
Lordship's freedom in advising them, they are incorrigible in their
obstinacy if they do not now perceive that the Noble Earl (him-
self deeply interested for the Bench) has been its most honest
counsellor. The Right Rev. Prelates have still some eighteen
hours to correct any false calculations of which they may have
been guilty. We pray them to make use of their time. Mean-
time we point their attention to a matter of painful singularity
connected with one of their Reverend body. Carr (as Dr. Burnet
is used to speak of his brethren), Bishop of Chichester, was pro..
'noted by Ministers to the See of Worcester,—though not the
richest, yet a very rich See,—which his circumstances were
thought to require, and possessing other peculiar conveniences.
The terms of his promotion, if it be irrevocably passed, were well
understood; because, undoubtedly, Ministers would not have pro-
moted a man who had not given them to understand that he was
favourable to a measure which they thought indispensable to the
good of the country. Yet this man has deceived them. He has run
away from his engagement ; he has not taken his place; and with
a character such as this conduct will establish, he enters upon
the diocese of Worcester. There is a talk of some others ratting,
but those to whom the rumour applies are men, we know, of too
high honour to merit the imputation. Besides, the rats only
quit a sinking ship; and we can give the Noble crew notice, that
even if this ship were to receive a broadside in the present struggle,
she will take time to repair her tackle, add fresh sails, and then
renew the action with the certainty of success. Nothing different
from what they have done was expected from Lords Glengall and
Coventry. We suppose their example cannot attract many fol-
lowers. The debate last night presented no peculiar feature.
Lord Camarvon uttered an energetic declamation against the
Bill, and Lord Plunkett a most ingenious and logical argument
in favour of it. After some further conversation the House ad-
journed. It appeared from what fell from Earl Grey, that the
debate on the second reading of the Reform Bill will not termi-
nate before Saturday. It is understood that their Lordships will
sit on that day, and, as on the occasion of the Catholic Relief
Bill, commence the proceedings at an early hour, so as to admit
of their being concluded before twelve o'clock at night. Lord
Althorp's declaration in the Commons, that the session is likely
to last a considerable time, conveys a hint which we trust will
not be thrown away.—Times.
The debate is again adjourned, and will probably be still further
adjourned. Lord Falmouth, who opened the debate last night,
very properly refused to go farther back than 1688; for it was
then that boroughmongering first obtained a field for its display.
l'he boroughmongers fought admirably for themselves and the
people, when the Crown was opposed to both ; but the Revolu-
tion gave the power to Parliament, and Parliament not being ac-
countable to the people, made a property of taxation. We give
some of the Anti-Reforming Lords credit for their dexterity in
raising a mist of words, through which they escape from the ques-
tion. The question is a very simple one :—Shalllsogentlemenmake
a property of us, by the simple expedient of distributing a part
of the plunder they extort from the nation among a few poor
mechanics, dignified with the name of freemen ? An industrious
nation like this is, indeed, a valuable property to any 150 indivi-
duais, and we do not wonder that, as Prior's thief at the gibbet,

" Oft took his leave, yet was loth to depart,"
The boroughmongers should take leave of their power to tax
without responsibility *Rh much anguish of heart. Their
speeches are admirable—full of invective and all that; but will
they convince John Bull that he ought to be a slave? for every
man is a slave who is the property of another. Will the Noble
Duke of Wellington convince Sawney, by telling him he is a
well-conditioned lad, that he ought to toil at the loom, and at the
anvil and the plough—to navigate every sea—to earn money to
enable Lord Charles to live in one colony, Lord Thomas in
another, in a princely style, without imposing any burden on
their parents ; and to enable Lady Betty to have a pension at
home to assist her in housekeeping ? No, no; both John and
Sawney begin to put their hands on their halfpence with a de-
termination to know what is to be done with their money before
parting with it. The question is very simple—the Lords find it
very convenient to have access to the pockets of the people ; and
the people find it very inconvenient that their pockets should
thus be at the mercy of others. It is a struggle for
the pence; and we shall see who can wrestle best.
That Noble Lords should cheer the abuse dealt out to
Ministers so lavishly by Earl Carnarvon is quite natural.
But there is another audience, and that audience too conceives
that its applause or disapprobation is of some consequence in
this case. The Anti-Reformers are quite delighted with their
own wisdom, and their own goodness, and the benefits they have
conferred on an ungrateful people, who seem inclined to dis.
pease with having their representatives named for them in fu.
ture. The Roman Catholics say of the Protestant Church, that
it puts the Bible into the hands of the people, and tells them to
examine for themselves, only they must take care to find what
the clergy tell them to find. The Lords deliberate on this ques-
tion ; but the decision is, thank God, in another quarter. When
the Commons are firm, the machine stands still till the Lords are
made to move; the people can part with a part of their number
to assist the motion of the Lords ; and then all will be well,
Nil desperandum, we say, Englishmen, be firm, you are invincible.
and your enemies are not.—Morning Chronicle.

If any thing were wanted to convince the Peers that they owe
it as a sacred duty to their country to reject the Bill, the events
of every hour would supply the deficiency. The various attempts
made to intimidate them, by collecting large bodies of men to-
gether—by summoning partisan meetings—by the unconstitu-
tional use of the King's name—and by all the ferocious arts of a
Jacobin Press, are unparalleled in the annals of this country.—
But all is vain. The conservative Peers, with Wellington at
their head, stand in the breach of the Constitution, as under
the same leader the British army stood at Torres Vedras. So let
them stand, and the cause of truth, of honour, of liberty—the
cause of England and of Europe—is once more saved. At the
eleventh hour a new batch of Peers is talked of, to secure the se-
cond reading, and the debate is said to be artificially prolonged
to bring the mystery of iniquity to maturity. But will the Lords
submit to this ? It is obvious they have it in their power to pre-
\Tilt the abomination; for the Peers now prepared to support Mi-
nisters might pass over to the conservative side faster than the
base mercenary recruits could be brought to fill their places. In
addition to the long list of failures which we have noticed, we may
point out the grand Birmingham meeting as the greatest failure
of all. The meeting was intended to intimidate the Peers • but
are they intimidated ? The Tivmsthreatens more such
meetings.