The Sun.
London, England, 1836-07-27 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNAL

After the explicit declaration of Viscount
bourne, that he would have no more to do with the
Irish Church Bill, if once the shears of the Tory ex-
Chancellor were to lop off all that made the measure
valuable or even tolerable, the solemn pomposity with
which the Noble and Learned Baron last night asked
the Premier if he would consent to fix Thursday next
for the third reading, was really ludicrous. The Prime
Minister, of course, consented to the proposed arrange-
ment ; for why should he obstruct the Destructive
Peers in the completion of their tragic farce ? Thurs-
day next is accordingly fixed for the performance of
this (as far as the Irish Tithe Bill is concerned) last
act, in the present session, of Tory folly and Lordly
mischief. We notice this circumstance solely for
the purpose of placing prominently before the coup'
try, and more especially the Liberal Members of
the House of Commons, the fact that on Thursday,
the 28th instant, the Irish Church Bill, as mangled
and deprived of that essence which made it palateable
to the empire, will be read for the last time and passed
in the House of Lords. That evening or the next the
mutilated remains will be returned to the House of
Commons. The consideration of the changes and
" amendments" by the Commons must consequently
take place on the early day in the first week of
August. It therefore behoves the Reformers who
have seats in the Lower House to be at their post on
Monday next. Those Members who are now ab-
sent have not a moment for loitering at home or tarry"
ing on the way. That all pretexts for absence may be
taken away—that there may be no room hereafter for
scheming excuses of any sort, we will repeat the import'
ant declaration of the Prime Minister on Monday night.
`6 TO THE PRINCIPLE OF APPROPRIATION," said Lord
MELBOURNE, " I AM PLEDGED, AND TQ IT I AM DETER'
MINED TO ADHERE. The instant 1 FXlzd that I have 701
the support of the other House of Parliament and of the
country upon that principle, THAT INSTANT I WILL
RESIGN THE OFFICE I HOLD, and I amsure, ,
shall be supported in that course by my colleagues."
It now remains for the Liberal Members of the House
of Commons to do their duty—to fulfil their promises,
and redeem their solemn pledges at the hustings.
Every Reformer, every man who wishes to maintain 0
Liberal Government in these United Kingdoms—every
man, in short, who is really opposed to the restoration
of a Tory Cabinet, which would treat the people Of
Ireland as " aliens in character, in country, and i°
creed," and the people of England as slaves—ever):
man of this stamp will, no matter by what sacrifice (0
private interest or personal inconvenience, be in his
place in the House of Commons on Monday nest.
Traitors alone will be absent on that occasion!
Morning Chronicle.
It is often amusing, if not instructive, to read the
lucubrations of the Herald. The deep erudition-"
the profound knowledge—the varied and extensive
formation de omnibus existentibus et non existentibus
—and the exquisite critical acumen daily displayed by
our amiable Contemporary, are really marvellous'
What can surpass the piquancy, for instance, of tbe,
following elaborate critique upon Mr. O'Connell's third
letter to the people of Great Britain ?
" Some of our Contemporaries profess to discover great
skill in the attempt to try the question of Ireland upon,
the merits of a particular case. It seems that Homer
the same thing. But as Homer wrote poetry, and Mr'
O'Connell writes politics, and professes to address himself
to the understanding, we cannot admit that the authority
even of so great an original is precisely the one he ought
to have consulted."
Well done, grandmamma I "It seems that Homer
did the same thing," i. e., attempted " to try the pies:,
tion of Ireland upon the merits of a' particular case.
What say ye to this, Messrs. the Annotators ? The
bibliopolists cannot, surely, let slip so fine an opportiv
pity for swelling the mob of " varzce lectiones." We
likened Mr. O'Connell's mode of exposing the abuses
of the Established Church to Sterne's plan of exposing
the abuses of tyranny ; but the gentle dowager of Shoe:
lane would strip the sentimental journalist of the mer
of the invention, and dub him a mere plagiarist. poli'
ticians and the literati must feel obliged for this " peg
light," by which the former perceive that Homer
,fir.v.
" tried the question of Ireland upon the merits of P
particular case ; " and the latter, that " Homer
wrote poetry ;" and first, endeavoured to show the
nature of liberty, by taking a single captive, and pur
suing him through the detail of his sufferings." This
wonderful discovery completely falsifies the old saying'
that " there is nothing new under the sun." The
Herald has an old reputation for happy classical
sion. We remember a very elaborate leading article I°
our Contemporary in which the authority of Horner,
Julius Caesar, Cicero, and other old Grecians
_.„‘va'"
appealed to as decisive of a particular question. 1-I°'
mer still maintains his post, we see.---Morn. Citron'
The admirable and unanswerable speech of 1,014
Lyndhurst in the debate on the Irish Tithe Bill last
Monday evening would, in the minds of all reasonabi.e
men, have settled the question on the soundest prinel:
pies of policy, and on the truest elements of arithinetf,
cal calculation, had the nature of it not been alreaal,
made manifest by the known views of the Melbourne
Ministers, and the necessities of their degraded 1309.1;
tion. Lord Lyndhurst, retracing the history of tTe
Church -question, referred to the time at which t"j
" fatal resolution" for plundering the Irish clergy bait
first been passed by the House of Commons, and are f
from the different circumstances of that period and
the present a conclusive argument why Lord Nle
bourne should now feel himself bound, as 90
upright statesman, to abandon that ill-omened re'
solution. It was most correctly stated by Toeie
Lyndhurst, that, when the appropriation prinniPb
was first carried, the real condition of the Chu/e
of Ireland was "totally misunderstood." The influx
ence of repeated and obstinate miscalculations as to tr
number of Irish Protestants, and the amount of Se'
siastical income, still prevailed in many quarters;
nos having been yet corrected by the reports of tb
,r,
Commissioners of Church Revenue, or by- inte"/
gence from any well-informed source. Among these
not very trustworthy calculators who were chargeable
with the production, whether deliberate or otherwise'
of much gross and pernicious error, was Dr. Dorei
who reckoned the revenues of the Church at sever
millions, and the Protestant population at 260,00
souls I There was also Mr. Joseph Hume, who sits
for years upon the plainest sum in addition or subtraee'
tion, and never fails to bring out an addled result.
the truth-telling Joseph, so late as the year 1834, Ile
it down as the fruit of " precise inquiry and accts'
calculation," that the revenues of the Irish Chute',
amounted to 3,200,0001. It will be remembered tut
notwithstanding such prevalent impressions, Lord Ali
thorp and his colleagues, forming the majority of tile
present Cabinet, did nevertheless in that same yew
and in the teeth of the Middlesex man of figures, re
e'
'
fuse to sanction the appropriation principle, on th
ground that Commissioners of Inquiry had been °I;
pointed, and that it would be altogether inconsiste
to anticipate and in a manner supersede their report 1)4
adopting a conjectural, however probable, basis
Church legislation. This course was coldlylooked ••
at the time by many friends of Church and State s:e
independent supporters of the Ministry, and, if se
mistake not, by surselves among the number, beoau
fwe were, in common with others, deceived complet el s
as to the amount of the clerical revenues, and confides
that after providing for all the essential wants of tb.:
Church, there would remain a real, natural, and e'
tensive surplus. We were governed also by a furthoet
consideration—namely, that the Administration 11.lr
composed of English Whig gentlemen—that tli,eey
supporters were English Whigs—that together ti`
formed an actual majority of the House of Couull°oo,
—that they were friends of the constitutional loi,
narchy—that O'Connell was their noisy, virulent, roof
corous, indefatigable foe—that whatever corrections sirs
the Irish Church system were applied, or rant
enacted, would be administered and worked in a si,lb
of tenderness towards the Church, and of good PyVe
and protection towards the Protestant community. 1,,
were then, as we now are, cordial advocates for the "ef
plication of a real surplus of revenue, from whalel
41
source derived, and when placed at the disr;er
)11, ,7;a+
of a loyal and reputable Government, to w 133001
objects of national benefit the bgislature 600
think proper to prefer. But to an approloia
clause—framed for no earthly purpose say; the
cloak and countenance the indefinite robbery ° the
Church, after its resources have proved, 011 tivg
showing of those whose interest lay in exaggera