The Sun.
London, England, 1841-03-22 00:00:00

itOYAL SURREY THEATRE.

Immense attraction. Mr. T. P. Cooke and Mr. Collins the
same Evening• the last week of their appearance. " Poor
Jack " and another nautical drama, in conjunction with
" Paul Clifford."

THIS EVENING, MARCH 2/
Will be acted a Nautical Drama in Four Parts, called
POOR JACK ; OR TIIE WIFE OF A SAILOR.
In which Mr. T. P. Cooke, and the entire strength of the
Company, will perform.
After which,
THE PILOT.
Long Torn Coffin by Mr. T. P. Cooke.
To conclude with
PAUL CLIFFORD.

Paul Clifford, with the Song of " Hurrah for the Road," Mr

Collins.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE TO-MORROW.
2 minutes after 2 I Evening • 0 minutes after 2.

The Publication of the Evening Edition of THE Stn.; corn

meneed at 10 minutes after:Three.

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LONDON:
MONDAY, MARCH 22, 1841.

The law most relied on by Dr. NicnoLL in the
House of Commons, and by the Tory press, rela-
tive to Church-rates, is the common law, as an-
nounced by the Judges in their decision on the
Braintree case, which runs thus :

" And we are ALL of opinion that the obligation by which
the parishioners, that is, the actual residents within, or the oc-
cupiers of lands or tenements in every parish, are bound to
repair the body of the parish church whenever necessary ; and
to provide all things essential to the pet formance of Divine Ser-
vice therein, is an obligation imposed on them by the common
law of the and•
• • • • • • •

" Such, then, being the law of the land, it follows, a,
a necessary consequfnce, that the repair of the tabric
of the church is a duty which the parishioners are com-
pellable to perform—not a mere voluntary act which they
may perform or decline at their own discretion ; that the
law is imperative upon them absolutely that they do repair the
church, not binding on them in a qualified limited manner
only, that they may repair or not, as they think fit; and that
where it so happens that the fabric of the church stands in
need of repair, the only question upon which the parishioners,
when convened together to mate a rate, can by law deliberate
and determine, is not whether they will repair the church or
not (for upon that point they are concluded by the law), but
how and in what manner the common law obligation so bind-
ing them may be best and most effectually, and at the same
time most conveniently, performed and carried into effect.
The parishioners have no more power to throw off the bur-
den of the repair of the church than that of the repair of
bridges and highways, the compelling of the performance of
the latter obligation belonging exclusively to the temporal
courts, whilst that of the former has been exercised usually,
though perhaps net necessarily exclusively, by the spiritual
courts from time immemorial."

According to the Judges that is the law, and
that, according to the leaders of both parties in
the House of Commons, men must be-compelled
by fine and imprisonment, or by hanging, if
necessary, to obey. Now, we must remind the
expounders and the enforcers of the law, that
there took place, some three centuries ago, a great
change called the Reformation. In consequence
of that England became Protestant, and the
great principle was gradually established, which
is now consecrated by numerous statutes, that
every individual is free to interpret the Scrip-
tures for himself, and to believe according to the
evidence he finds. Before that period the Ro-
man Catholic religion prevailed in England,
which forbade men to read and interpret the
Scriptures, except under the guidance of a priest,
and forbade them to believe or fallow any doc-
trine which the priest did not sanction. In that
antecedent time there was cnly one form of
Christianity known in the land, and no other

EVENING EDITION.

was tolerated. Now the law which the Judges
expounded being the common law, running be-
yond memory, and that law " having been exer-
cised by Ecclesiastical Courts, from time imme-
morial," it is scarcely necessary to add that this
common law, which the Judges decide is now,
and still the law, was made when Roman Catho-
licism was the exclusive religion of the land, 1t
it were not made by Roman Catholic priests.
We must distinctly state that we do not im-
pugn the integrity of the Judges, but their intel-
ligence. We do not say that they are dishonesty
but we have not the smallest hesitation in assert-

ing that they are unwise. We admit their pro' •-:
.found knowledge of law, but it is so huge that it
shuts out common sense. If they took a large
and comprehensive view—if they were wise and
,
intelligent—if they looked more at society, and '
bound themselves less by the decisions of their pre-
decessors--they would not, three hundred Years
after the Reformation, have declared, in this pro-
testant country, that this Popish enactment was
now the law of the land. If they had beeneoll-
- compelled, by the absence of all con-
tradictory decisions through all time, to declare
that it is still the law, they would have accomPa-
nied it by another declaration, namely, that suelh
a law, though very suitable to the time when the
Romish religion prevailed and toleration was ea:
known, is wholly unsuitable to the present
time, and that it ought to be instantly repealed
['hey would have said that it is a remnant 0f
that system which compelled every man to submit
his judgment to the priest, which allowea
of no diversity of faith, and fined a man who Wa
absent from his parish church of a Sunday; ands
'
with the spirit of Protestants, they would have
indignantly denounced the law as wholly an"
suitable to the present circumstances of the
community. .
We feel astonished that Protestant Judge!'
and great sticklers for . Protestantism both la
Parliament and out of Parliament, should el;
tend vigorously in behalf of the Papal law., °
it is, as the Standard correctly observed.°it
Tuesday, "that the blunder or defection (or or
pression) of yesterday is exalted into a Pree.c-
dent to-day, and becomes the parent of a prin-
ciplei of government for all time to come." lit
Papal priest law is a case in point. The opPrec
sion of the Romish priesthood, though the
power is extinct in the land as an esta-
blished priesthood, their determination 'u
make all men submit to them, embodied into s
law to make all the people pay for their Chao,..'.
has been a precedent ever since, and is now.re„/Ii;
thrced as a principle of our Government. It
adopted by venerable Protestant Judges/ w 4
can find no better rule of right than this Pap
usurpation.
Its incompatibility with our present habits 15
e
Apparent from what takes place in our large °Li
tropolitan or suburban parishes. In each °
them, instead of only one sect, or one religi°.°l:
there is a dozen, or perhaps a score. The parka
is divided into districts, each of which has, le
church of its own. There are, moreover, elnir of
and churches, in communion with the Church 4
England, erected by voluntary contribution,
or
built as a commercial speculation. They are ad
avowedly rivals of the Dissenting chapels/ i
a ,
many of them have been built expressly t° "j.
men from Dissent, or to keep them from bee° olt
Mg Dissenters. Hence all the meretricious arh:, a
of public worship are employed to attract cost:
mers." Popular preachers—young men `vit lot
certain sort of persuasiveness—are selected i Were
care is taken about the singing, good organs end
built, and the greatest care is taken to rival a-f
supersede th:. Dissenting shop. The clergy'll'elide,
the different sects are like rivals ill trad is
seeking to carry off each other's customers; all jo
it fair or honest in the State or the law to step to
and levy a tax on one Sect to enable anothersay
have finer wares or sell them cheaper ? We is
that the tital change which has taken Place
the religion of the people since the common 're,
was established for keeping churches in
pair, makes it wholly inapplicable to the Preseot
times. • the
For seats in the churches, as well as seats in
The
Dissenters' chapels, a pew-rent is asked.
pis,
Churchmen have adopted the plan of therelt
centers. Even the pews of the parish elni" ir
are hired. The Dissenters have to repair t,..leto
own places of worship, but the law, acccord'yqbe
the Judges, will also make them repair gr.
places of worship belonging to their rivals. 05
THOMPSON goes to a Meeting-house and Plir.
2,55. or 30s. a-year for seats for his family'
t°
of
JOHNSON, his next door neighbour, Ve5.,..„,r of
Church, and pays the same for an equal notnu-go.
seats. Mr. THOMPSON pays in addition 55. or
a-year to the building fund of the ChaPe, but
" try
Mr. JOHNSON, instead of that, goes to vesod.
And votes to levy 2s. 6d. on himself and '2s.
air
on his neighbour, Mr. THOMPSON, to rep to
his Church. Poor Mr. THOMPSON then has h
n lIC'"
pay for his own Chapel, at least twice as -lraet
as his neighbour, and must also pay, by the ,lesli•
of that neighbour, half as much again. ' oa-
and blood, at least English flesh and blood, eves
not bear this arrogant robbery ; yet the J°(;,os
say it is according to law, because a law,sts,
made on the subject by some Catholic pile
they do not know when, nor by whom. tioa
To us, it appears, that as soon as tolerate 5
4000 ti
.grew. to he the custom of England, as --. jottS
the various sects could freely offer their relig
gild
instruction to the judgment of the peoPier,' a at
the lawgiver ceased to require all men toatteilipal
one Church, from that moment the old Cos,
common law became inconsistent with thedaes
toms and the institutions of society. Tile, jruobes,
compare the obligation to repair eon 90a
to the obligation to repair highwaYs tile
bridges ; but the latter are f°r ches
use of the whole public, the ehtir fy
loh
ire for a particular and rival sect. The 3'
pa'
would be complete if the law compelled the
larid
eishioners to keep the landlord's parkin Ord
cultivate the priest's garden. Such all ini-,- de'
would not be submitted to, but the Judge' the
dare that an analogous injustice is the law °Jitted
!and. Do they expect that it will be stiblihorae-
to? The Dissenters, or we mistake their e,. pre'
ter, will undeceive them, and convince both //at-
testant Judges and Protestant Members of toots.
iiament who combine to fasten on the Plvte
re-
?
of the community this Popish yoke, that rtV
ligion is not to be made a sport of to suit )11 •
and political purposes.
of tile
An account is given, in another part
Puy
paper, of the harsh treatment to which Po'-‘l, noir
ire subjected by the new mode of licensinvo'-t. the
lie-houses adopted since the establishment, tuol‘
Metropolitan Police. The scenes whiel .s. are
place at the Clerkenwell Sessions on Sattirtia'' 4E;
ell i
only a repetition of those which have be
,‘r_ re-
aessed on every licensing day in this quartt'idable
presenting alike the severe and ullins_nsible
conduct of the Magistrates, the irresr tient
the Pa have
authority given to the police, and
yho .
sufferings of the licensed victuallers, l' toe
functionaries for the smallest relief front ' 1.,.
to trust to the tender mercies of these Pbeir
galling bondage. We have had ocea-r
.„,,hich
peatedly to notice the despotic characte_ to
hit el a
this new force has assumed within
years, and regret to see that, thoug . , been
day ha% L u
day on the increase, scarcely any step
~._. abate
taken, even by those most interested, I:ntirely
the grievance. The publicans now are
eorors/
At the mercy of a set of persons called i115.P,.0 the
who report to the Commissioners and L._.,er,
think Pwr, 1
.county Magistrates whatever they t ~11) Y
P°s- a
the has
cry'
indulging . their- own private piques' l ofrere
avenging what they may consider in.sur.a,
votg,
to them in the course of their inouislt_oe'_lionge
and altogether exercising a system of
..s.P,hicat
v resPeets
of this military police. In man, e Guards,
unknown in this country before the estabusi` they
imitate their prototypes at the Hors
.1. wart:
book, has as little chance of a when A
11 th Hussars , 0r,..
play as the officers of the to D
and any publican who is en.rollieideailliutgltoerl
of oil;
to report them - still t
pleases Lord CARDIGAN Of till Ct
11 jiot "
publicans may rest assured,
or ""
flnt. or Lord FITZROY
Journal, e
then/
in self-defence, all that any
a
Hear
We have ~,ea
from this degrading bondage. , have '''' .
`ice the) eon-
accounts of treatment to w. mould be 1,,
subjected on licensing days, wh.w. Their
.i
SE/R;7l.ey will
ii rile
Journals together, can do, will not reset'
ended for the n '
ceases are susP
sidered disgraceful even m Riertari•viat WS-

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