The Sun.
London, England, 1841-11-06 00:00:00

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS

PROM THE EVENING. PAPERS OP YESTERDAY.
GLOBE.—Tbe Anti-Papist anniversary prompts
the question—Who are the Papists now I When it
is remembered how persevering an outcry was kept up
against the late Government and its supporters, on ac-
cour.t of their political leaning towards Popish con-
nexions, it is certainly strange to mark the much closer
connexions and sympathies which exist in a high
sphere of Toryism with all that is superstitious in
Popery, and in every other system which has but the
merit of formality and antiquity. A sort of Holy Al-
liance of all priesthoods against all innovation (that
sort of alliance which would have made the Reforma-
tion impossible, and Dissent a crime) appears to be in
the contemplation of Oxford Tories of this stamp.
The public has lately stared or yawned at a long series
of articles in the Times, evidently inspired by this re-
fined ecclesiastical policy, which' were aimed at dis-
couraging all sanction by the heads of the Church
in this country of the King of Prussia's religious
munificence in subscribing for an English Bishop in
Pak stine ! The refined and subtle style of the objec-
tions to this liberal offer strongly indicate the utter
abandonment of plain-sailing Protestantism by a power-
ful portion of that party who decried the Whigs for
betraying its cause ! Forsooth, the King of Prussia
was a Lutheran Prince. The whole drift of the
papers was, that the King of Prussia is a sort
of schismatic, who is thrusting himself between his
getters, who should be quite above being obliged to him.
The leanings of Pueeyite-Toryism towards Roman
Catholic orthodoxy are still more curious indications of
this new spirit of ecclesiastical policy. Such arc the hopes
inspired by these very evident tendencies (which so justly
excite the ireful and fearful outcries of Exeter-hall), that
the well-known Roman Catholic leader, Dr. Wiseman,
writes as follaws to Lord Shrewsbury (we extract the
passage from the Paris Catholic organ, L'Univers for
the 2d November, and our version, as we translate from
the Eench, will probably not be literally accurate) :
" I cannot doubt that tile return of this country, that
is to say of the Established Church, to Catholic unity,
would put an end to religious dissidence, and intestine
discords. The population would be formed to purer
morals by two powerful means—in the country, by the
influence of the parochial clergy, in the towns and the
manufacturing districts, by Vic monastic orders."
The following extract from a private letter is com-
municated to us at this moment. Nusquam luta fides !
"Ryde, Nov. 4, 1841.
" A circumstance has occurred that has filled Ryde
with mourning, lamentation, and woe. The Rev. Waldo
Sihthorp has sold his church, and suddenly taken his
departure, in order to become a Roman Catholic
priest. I: must lament the circumstance, as it is likely
to prove a stumbling-block to many, and to injure the
cause of Christ in the world. You will, doubtless,
bear more about it than I can tell you at present.
n S. F."
We need only add, for Tory comfort and edification,
this fifth of ovenzber, that Mr. Sibthorp is a Fellow
of Magdalen College, Oxford, and brother to Colonel
Sibthorp, M.P. We have not now space to notice Lord
Shrewsbury's last. Since his championship of the
Peel Ministry, and the Corn-laws, Lord Shrewsbury
has published a pamphlet, which shows that supersti-
tion divides his mind with Toryism. It is entitled—
" A Letter from the Earl of Shrewsbury to Ambrose
Lisle Phillips, Esq., descriptive of the Estatica of Cal-
daro, and the Addolorata of Captiana." We leave our
readers to make head or tail of this marvellous title, if
they can We will only add, that the bed-ridden
legend of the pamphlet may well sustain the stare of
astonishment at the title-page to which this Tory-
lauded Earl sets his name ! !
STANDARD.—The Morning
.Chronicle contends
that the question of the Corn-law is a question of civil
and religious liberty ; because—
" There is no reason why a nation of bread-taxed
slaves should not sink into a nation of beaten slaves.
The command of a people's food is the most absolute
despotism, and it must be overthrown, or its advances
will be felt in all departments of social and political life.
Parliament checks monarchy by the control of the
purse ; but this is a feebler power than the control of
the means of subsistence."
- Surely this argumeut is strained. Doubtless there
is no reason why slaves should not be slaves, and sub-
ject to all the painful and insulting incidents of
slavery ; but it is a pettlio principi to assume that
the laws protecting agriculture enslave the people ;
and if such were the fact, there is a manifest ab-
surdity, in apprehensions for the civil and religious
liberty of a people already deprived of both.
But the Morning Chronicle proceeds to say that the
control of the means of subsistence constitutes the
most absolute despotism ; nerd, perhaps such is the
truth ; but in what sense can any class of Englishmen
be said now to control the people's means of subsistence?
One cannot easily suppose a case in which all the land-
owners and all the farmers of the United Kingdom
should conspire to withhold all their grain from the
markets, in order to coerce the people, as the first
effect of such a conspiracy must be the utter ruin of
the landowners and farmers themselves, and as the
admission, duty free, of any required quality of
foreign grain, wholly defeating the purpose of the
conspiracy, must be the second effect. But though
we owe an apology for gravely treating of this absurdity
of a conspiracy of corn-growers, the anticipation of a
conspiracy of corn importers, if not for the purpose
of tyranny, at least for the purpose of robbery, is by no
means so extravagant. Should the country be thrown
for subsistence upon the foreign supply, a dozen friends
at Mark-lane could come to an understanding as to
" the control of the people's food" much more easily
than a million of agriculturists spread over England,
Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.
CO URIER.—We lose no time ,in bringing to the
notice of her Majesty's Government that a now in-
stance of rebellion against the authority of the Kirk
as now put forth has arisen in Scotland within the
Presbytery of Garioch—the next in locality to that
of Strathbogie ; in other words, another instance has
occurred of a body of her Majesty's liege subjects
paying respect to her Majesty's laws in spite
of the injunctions laid upon them to the contrary by
the General Assembly of the Kirk. The next step
which we expect to hear of is, that the " Seven
Ministers" of Garioch have been " suspended" by
the Commission ; and as they have fixed the settle-
ment of the vetoed presentee to Culsamond for the 11th
of this month, there is no time to lose if Mr. Candlish
is to do anything to prevent the spiritual " high treason'
coctemplated. We may, therefore, expect another tur-
moil within the Kirk ; the precursor, we venture to
say, to many more edifying spectacles of the same kind,
if her Majesty's Ministers do not bestir themselves in
right earnest to restore peace and order among these
churchmen. Now that the affair of M'Leod is off
their bands and no fears entertained of a brush with
America, Sir Robert Peel may have time to turn to the
Kirk, and we shall take upon us to tell hi,n what he ought
to do. The House of Lords, having solemnly declared
that the Veto-law of the Kirk is illegal, and the Kirk
as it appears, still persisting in carrying it into effect
and in deposing ministers who will not obey it,
it is the duty of her Majesty's Ministers to eall
in the aid of the Legislature to streegthen the
bands of the judicial authorities in Scotland. The
proceedings of the Church Courts, and the principles
on which they are determined to act, as set forth
in the " Memorial" lately addressed to her Majesty's
Government " by the Commission of the General As-
sembly," leave to Sir Robert Peel no alternative, but
rendering aoy bill he may introduce a " Bill of Con-
formity," providing that the benefices of the Church
now enjoyed, or to be enjoyed, shall be held on the con-
ditions to which, in order to remedy existing evils and
to prevent their i ecurrence, it may be necessary to re-
sort. Government, in adopting this measure, will only
be following the example of the purest and best days of
the Kirk—the Act of King William and Mary, 1693,
c. 23, entitled " An Act for settling the quiet and peace
of the Church "—being an " Act of Conformity" of the
most express and peremptory description. Should Go-
s ernment resolve on taking this step, we would have
them to advise her Majesty, as constitutionally em-
powereo, to call an extraordinary General Assembly, in
order to lay befor, it the bill intended to be introduced,
it the Church shall render this necessary by her adhe-
rence to her present position, and her refusal to rescind
t ata, "
thelng mostit.l7 Veto, and all her acts subsequent upon it, as they
~
teve,a' glttempted to aff,,ct the ecclesiastical status of clergy-
inn di: r,
This,p owretatnhti,nka,nd is due
hitherto
othe Churchmost
of St
I honoured and useful institution of the country.
the

WEST,EHRONN,
i1,...,17*E,
„ItARY INSTIT U-
READINGS Fo MILTON.
We gratified oh oura visit to this institu-
tion on Thursday evening, by
natural requisites for
hashis chosen. his readings of Milton.
the metropolis, possesses all
pperresfeai
gentleman,th
e
uola graceful,vjho iis
ne wantod
success In the career which 17,
well
ginoffered a if
nal appearance is commanding,
sroved that
his voice sonorous, powerful,
whichd be
pletely under command. Haigh) 4ted' and com-
tory observations on elocution, which
he was perfectly aware of the difficultiep
address
was would have to grapple in the task which he had
under-
taken, he gave a short but excellent critical disquisition
the versification of Milton. This opening
was loudly applauded. Mr. Browne then proceeded
to give his readings, which consisted of selections from
the two first books of " Paradise Lost." Great judge.
meat was exhibited in making these selections, so as to
preserve the thread of the narrative unbroken. The
selections were excellently given. The paientheses
with which Milton so abounds were all distinctly marked
by the modulations of the voice, and the structure and
meaning of the sentences, however involved, rendered
clear and understandable. The address of Satan to the
fallen angels was given with great power and effect, and
was loudly applauded. The gem of .the evening, how-
ever, was the address of death to Satan, in the Second
Book, in which Mr. Browne exhibited powers of the
highest order. His readings were throughout loudly
applauded, and sincerely do we congratulate him on the
success of his first appearance. We hope soon to have
the pleasure of-meeting him again.