The Sun.
London, England, 1840-11-14 00:00:00

are futile inventions to secure judgment, knowledge,

and sagacity.

We see, by the Wiltshire Independent, and by
letters from Correspondents, that Mr SYDNEY

SMITH is lecturing at different places in Wiltshire
against the Corn laws. He collects crowds to hear
him, and his denunciations of the bread-tax are
received with loud cheers or bitter cries of" Shame,
shame." Every word he utters finds in the starv-
ing people a mind ready to believe, and must make
them hate the tax and hate the authors of it.
Whether the doctrines of the anti-bread-tax party
be true or not, there cannot be a doubt that, in
proportion as they are believed, so they must
excite in the working classes intense hatred
of the landowners and their allies. Whether
or not they deserve this hatred they can judge ;
they can judge also whether they are likely
to live in peace, while such a sentiment prevails in
the masses ; and they can perhaps ascertain the
best means of stopping the growth of this hatred
and extinguishing it. A fearful thing it is to see
such a sentiment spreading through the land, and
preparing with certainty for a great revolution. As
long, however, as the authors of the unrighteous
bread-tax persevere in their iniquity, spread it must
and will ; and if the landlords do not turn from their
wickedness the chances are that, in the end, the tax
will plunge them and the bulk of our institutions in
one common ruin.
By the efforts which the gentlemen made at Li-
merick to put down Mr. MURRAY) the anti-bread-
tax lecturer, as reported in The Sun of yesterday, it
would appear that they begin to be alarmed, and
are ready to sacrifice the liberties of the people to
preserve their hated tax. Agitation for repeal is
tolerated, but agitation for the suppression of the
bread-tax has in it too much of truth, and is based
on too terrible a reality, for those who have an inte-
rest in the tax, to allow it to be freely discussed if they
can prevent it. In England they have tried to
prevent discussion, but without success ; in Ire-
land, where liberty is less known and less respected,
they may succeed. On this subject, however, Ire-
land will be sure to follow the course of England ;
and if the Anti-bread-tax League succeeds, as now
appears probable, in England, the arbitrary pro-
ceedings of the Irish gentry will be no obstacle to
final and complete success. We cannot find room
to copy the report of Mr. SMITH'S lectures from
the Wiltshire Independent, in which it is given at
considerable length ; but we can affirm that it is
animated, eloquent, full of facts—is a powerful,
and will be a successful, appeal both to the hearts
and understandings of the people.

JOHN THOROGOOD has at length been allowed
to walk out of Chelmsford gaol, after an imprison-
ment of twenty-two months for a rate of 53. 6d.,
claimed by the richest Church in Christendom.
Who his deliverer is, he cannot tell. Possibly
the " illustrious stranger," Sir ROBERT INGLIS,
may; or perhaps some dignitary of that overgrown
Establis,": ment, inwardly ashamed that he should
riot in wealth, with a princely income of 20,0001.,
or 30,0001. a year, while a poor shoemaker,
a sincere Christian
d a conscientious Man,
sl oUli be treated like a fclort because he cannot
conform to her oppressive laws. Bt: t. of what use
is it to let JOHN TIIOROGOOD free, if WILLIAM
BAINES iS to supply his place ? is there to be
no end of this martyrdom, notwithstanding the
almost unanimous opinions expressed in the House
of Commons against the folly and madness of
making the very name of the Church odious to
every Dissenter, and to many Churchmen ? A
Bill in accordance with these opinions passed
the Commons, but all the good it con-
tained was neutralized by the mischievous clause
introduced by the Duke of WELLINGTON, at the
suggestion, no doubt, of the heads of the Church.
The imprisonment of Mr. BAINES, of Leicester,
is the first fruit of this precious " Bill for the Relief
of Dissenters." And what is the amount of re-
lief ? Mockery. Yesterday, War. BAINES, of
Leicester, a conscientious Dissenter, like JOHN
THOROGOOD, was taken in execution under a writ
de conlumace, issuing out of the Ecclesiastical
Court of London, and hurried off' to gaol on the
very day after the martyr for ss. 6d. was released.
A copy of the writ will be found in another part
of the paper, and we wish the Church joy of the
result. He is imprisoned for the non-payment of
21. ss. the rate, and the costs, 1251. Ss., more than
fifty times the original claim. If the fees and other
costs incurred in these absurd and cruel proceedings
increase in proportion to those demanded of JOHN
THOROGOOD, by the time the second martyr has
completed the twenty-second month of imprisonment
he will be called upon to pay for the support of this
State Church at least 8001. But these cruel
proceedings cannot go on. This second act of
oppression has roused the sympathy and 'indigna-
tion of the people of Leicester, and the feeling will
extend like wildfire to the breast of every honest
Dissenter and Catholic throughout the United
Kingdom. Let the Dissenters stand true to their
colours, and by next session of Parliament they
may expect a delivery from this grievous and un-
warrantable impost.

The Correspondent of the Morning Herald,
who, yesterday communicated to that Journal the
important news of an ultimatum having been ad-
dressed by Lord PALMERSTON to M. GUIZOT on
the Eastern Question, has addressed the following
additional information to our venerable Contem-

porary
The Conference of London, faithful to its character
as a mediator between the conflicting interests of the
Sultan and the Pacha of Egypt, and desirous to main-
tain the peace of Europe, have just decided upon an
important step, which, I understand, formed also the
object of the deliberation of the last Cabinet Council,
to authorise Admiral Stopford to offer the friendly
services and intervention of the Four Powers to the
)
acha, to grant him the hereditary possession of Egypt,
Provided he submits instantly ; if not, the operations
will be carried on in the most vigorous manner, and even
not be interrupted during the winter. The Conference,we hear, is
actuated in this measure, which is only the
complement of the former one, by which Lord Ponsonby
was instructed to dissuade the Porte from the decheance
of Mehemet Ali, by a desire to show its disinterested-
ness, its love of peace, and that no ideas of a party are
entertained by it. That the Conference, whose mea-
sures have been crowned with so great success, has
chosen this moment to hold out a saving hand to the
Paella, shows at once its moderation and its wisdom.
The sound policy of this measure will be dis-
puted by no person at all acquainted with the pro-
gress of the Eastern question. Nor can we sup-
pose that MEHEHET ALI will persist in setting
the Great Powers at defiance, seeing that he can no
longer hope to receive any assistance from France.
When lately recommended to cast himself upon the
clemency of the Four Powers, the VICEROY
affected to believe that Loid PALMERSTON had
resolved upon his
utter destruction, and conse-
quently it was useless for him to propose any terms
of submission. Very possibly it was this affected
conviction of the PACII A that induced Lord PAL-
MERSTON to propose to the Representatives of the
Powers in London the offer of mediation with
which Admiral Sir ROBERT STOPFORD is en-
trusted. But in whatever consideration the pro-
posal of a friendly mediation in favour of the
VICEROY originated, it clearly demonstrates the
utter absence of any selfish consideration on the
part of the Four Powers. As to the continuation
of the operations on the coast of Syria in the event
of the PACHA proving refractory, the best defence
of such a course is afforded by M. TRIERS' expo-
sition of the policy which it was his intention that