The Sun.
London, England, 1825-08-11 00:00:00

THE ARCHBISHOP OF DUBLIN.

We are happy to see that the Dublin Guild
of Merchants have paid a just tribute of respect
to their amiable and distinguished Archbishop.
On the 23d ult. the following excellent Address
was unanimously agreed to :

" MAY IT PLEASE YOUR GRACE,
" No act of public duty has, at any time, been discharged
with more heartfelt gratification by the Guild of Merchants
than the present, when we approach a Divine, who, during
a long series of years has proved himself the talented, unwea-
ried, and unbending supporter of that Church, of which,
in this country, he is at once the ornament and the safe-
guard. A public duty, indeed, we conceive .it to address
your Grace, in the language of gratitude and of praise, at the
present moment ; when we reflect on that clear, luminous,
and valuable evidence before the Committee of the House
of Lords, which is at once an exposé of the true principles and
real state of Protestantism in Ireland, and of the ,actual inten-
tion of those who, forgetting that they are but a tolerated sect,
act as if they were a privileged body ; and while they malign
and libel the Established Church, its Minsters and supporters,
seek, by its overthrow, to form a basis for the towering pillar
of their pride, which aims at that supremacy bigotry would
establish, and superstition maintain.
" The unceasing animosity evinced towards your Grace—the
vituperancy with which you are assailed—the insults that have
been patiently borne by you, call for this expression of our feel-
ings, ever warm in the cause of Protestantism and of Loyalty,
and we beg of your Grace to accept it, as a tribute to worth—
an offering to truth.
" In testimony whereof, our common seal is hereto affixed."
To this Address his Grace returned the fol-
lowing Answer:—
" GENTLEMEN—The Address with which you have been
pleased to honour me demands my sincere thanks.
" The cordial terms in which you express your sense of my
endeavours to discharge, the duties of the station in which I am
placed, and to promote the interests of the Church in which I
am appointed to serve,
.are gratifying in no common degree.
The warmth of your attachment to that Church is mani-
fested by the high value which you set on every effort for its
prosperity.
~ .
" Whilat tIW genuine principles of the Reformation are
sincerely felt, and manfully avowed by the informed and
influential classes of our community, we shall have little
to fear from the violence of its open enemies, or the
machinations or weakness of its temporising friends.---
The cause of true ' religion cannot fail, even under the deser-
tion of its nominal followers. Superstition cannot put down
Scripture. The conviction of this truth affords a Christian con-
.solation in these unchristian days. The public cause being felt
thus secure, in the midst of clamour, it is scarcely worth consi-
dering what calumny may cast upon individuals. As to that
which you remark to have been so unsparinglay heaped upon
myself, I feel but a small concern ; at the same time, it is gra-
tifying to think that what has drawn forth, from a certain tie.
scription of persons, continued revilings, has appeared to such
men as compose the Guild of Merchants of the City of Dub-
lin, a fit subject of commendation." . .

SPEECH OF THE LORD BISHOP OF LICHFIELD
AND COVENTRY,

AT A MEETING OF THE SHROPSHIRE AUXILIARY

BIBLE• SOCIETY.

Scarcely recovered from the pressure of domestic
affliction, and labouring as I do under the weight of official busi-
ness and of some degree of indisposition, I should have.excused
myselffrom participating this day in your proceedings, had I not
felt your meeting to be one of paramount importance, and one of
that class in which I always take pleasure. To open the Word of
God to every eye that will see—to present it to every enlightened
mind that will understand—and to bring it to the door of every
heart that has been opened by the Holy Spirit—is a work of the
highest interest and of the most exquisitedelight —a work of duty
of the purest kind, by a participation in which the humblest
Christian furthers the precept of his divine Master, which com-
mands his faithful followers to " preach the gospel to every crea-
ture." It is that operation which goes to overthow the dominion
of Sin and Satan, and to produce that blessed consummation
when "all flesh shall see the salvation of God." As Englishmen'
we must have a peculiar pleasure in promoting the spread of
scripture truth, in disseminating the glad tidings of salvation, in
sending the Word of God to all nations. As Patriots and as
Christians, we must feel it our duty to fulfil the calling of our
faith, whichl directs each of us to act as a Missionary in the cause
of our Master. As Protestants we must feel it an obligation
upon us to assist in dispelling those mists which bigotry has
raised round the pure Light of the Gospel ; and no means can
be so effectual for this purpose as our strenuous efforts to spread
the Word of God. Blessed be his Holy name ! we must feel that
pleasing task to be not only a duty but a debt, our sense of which
can never be so well expressed as by our endeavours to send fOrth
to the hundreds of millions of our benighted fellow-creatures the
glad tidings of salvation—considering thatthese hundreds of mil.
lions of human beings possess only a knowledge of natural wants
and human passions, and live under the degrading and despotic
dominion of human sins ; and that by no other means than
those which the Scriptures afford can they be brought to glorify
God, and to live to the glory and honour of his holy name.—
But I must confess, however gratifying is the consideration of
this extended prospect, that my mind, perhaps, for want of
more comprehensive views, is disposed to compress its scope,
and to watch the operations of the Bible in a single soul. Take
ia child just able to comprehend its simple truth, and behold
the mode by which it instructs him in his youth, confirms him
in his manhood, consoles him in his old age, supports him
in death, and finally leads him to glory. Contemplate its adap-
tation to the daily affairs of life, to every case of strong temp-
tation, to every instance of bitter bereavement ; see how by
it sins are checked, and how the performance of duties is
promoted—how comfort is administered, how love and cha-
rity are encouraged, and bow much good is done to the soul of
any one to whom it has been presented. Let us then look
from this effect on an individual soul to the fruits which may
be anticipated from a diffusion of the Word of God among
the countless millions of the heathen world ; and as a point of
duty, as well as a point of gratitude, I can but impress upon
you a consideration of the pleasure to be derived from a parti-
cipation in the spreading among all nations the pure light of
Scripture Truth. In a spirit of true Christian charity let all of us
say, This is ourcause, and we will go on under any sacrifices,and
under any privations, assured that our labour will not be in vain in
the Lord ; that We shall have an amplepayment in this life,as well
as in that which is to come. Under these impressions, and with
these views, I willingly and cordially accept the office of Patron of
your Society. At the same time I beg to lament that my distant
residence,and official situation and duties will prevent my lending
thatlactive aid, which it would otherwise bei my highest pleasure to
give to your proCeedings : but yet, as placed officially in this
district, I shall feel a gratification in my humble co-operation ;
and an additional pleasure will be derived from the call thus
made upon me to labour with my Reverend Brother, your ve-
nerable President, so greatly and deservedly respected for his
able and persevering efforts, and so highly esteemed among
yourselves for his unwearied attention and assistance.