The Sun.
London, England, 1840-11-20 00:00:00

growing discontent with that part of tl'aeir manage-
ment to which we have adverted.

We arc again obliged to the Morning Post
for puffing into some notoriety another specimen of
the silliness, or the absurdity, of the party which it
daily helps down the steep of decay.. It quotes
with approbation a passage from the new work of
Mr. LOYOLA GLADSTONE, in which it is stated
that " some," meaning the Priest and Pusevite
patty, " look rather to a traditional than an ideal
type,-and are deeply impressed with the conviction
that in the oldest way of faith alone are truth and
peace to be found." This party expects " felicity
to be found," and is willing to coerce the multitude
into its way of thinking, " in a patient and submis-
sive spirit (in the multitude, not in themselves,)
assuming the line of ancient and positive revela-
tion, as the only competent guide of its future pro-

gress."
Now, what is meant by " ancient revelation,"
" oldest way of faith ?" Have there been scveraj
revelations, and was the 'prentice hand of the Re-
vealer better than his master hand ? If the oldest be
better than the latest revelation, then was this made
in vain. To ascend from our own time, the
latest revelation believed here is that of Christianity,
which superseded the Mosaic, and Mr. GLAD-
STONE, preferring the most ancient, must in truth
be a Hebrew. He repudiates CHRIST. He looks
for national felicity to restoring the dominion of
" the Lay; and the Prophets." Perhaps as he
is known, by a certain speech in the House of
Commons, to be intimately acquainted with Chinese
modes of acting, and to approve of them, he
prefers the Chinese ancient faith, which is much
older, if their records are to be believed, than
that of MOSES, and expects to make England
happy by introducing here the creed of the tea
and well-poisoners.
Faith being at all times a sentiment of the mind,
must bear the distinguishing characteristics of the
mind at any period, and be in proportion to the know-
ledge of those who believe. Revelation was
adapted to the condition of society, and was dif-
ferent on that account at the time of MOSES and
at the time of CHRIST. The former, too, ex-
pressly adapted his teaching to his people. On
this palpable principle the more savage and barba-
rous a nation, the more savage and barbarous its
faith. But all nations, not even excepting the Is-
raelites, have gone through a regular process of ci-
vilization, beginning with barbarism, and the far-
ther back their history is traced, the more rude
they appear. The Israelites preserve the tradition
of a time when the use of metals was unknown, and
fire was nut possessed. Of course, then, the more
ancient the faith, the more absurd it must be. Now
Mr. GLADSTONE, and we quote him as a type of
the whole Tory Priest party, wants to substitute the
most ancient and the most barbarous and savage
faith for that which knowledge, time, and ages of
imps ovement have now implanted and nourished in
the heart and mind of man.

Or suppose we confine ourselves to the Christian
dispensation. Mr. GLADSTONE prefers, on this
principle, the Protestantism of HENRY VIII. to
that of the Dissenters ; that of the Papacy to
Protestantism under HENRY VIII.; the faith of
the primitive Christians to that of the, Papacy.
Instead of adopting the faith, which an en-
lightened interpretation of events as well as doc-
trines has established—which experience has taught,
Mr. GLADSTONE ; expects to make men
happy, and place society at ease by preaching the
coming of the Millenium. Poor classic Mr. GLAD-
STONE, how many followers will he have I We
will back the mother of the new SHILoII against
him, and JOHANNA SOUTIICOTE will beat him
hollow.

There is one point connected with ancient and
modern faith which plausible superficial sentence-
grinders entirely overlook. All that is good in an-
cient faith or ancient knowledge has been incorpo-
rated into modern faith aid modern knowledge, and
forms a part of the mind of society, or of our
social existence. Whatever was really useful and
true in the ancient faith was as certainly preserved
as what was useful in ancient geometry. Those
parts of it which have been found not good or ❑ot
true—which have been ascertained to be unsuitable
—have been cast out. The mind both of indivi-
duals, and, speaking generally, of mankind at large,
is fed like the body, and like'it throws away much
useless and noxious matter, that nevertheless was
necessarily imbibed in the youth of both for the
health and vigour of the system. Much of the
knowledge acquired in youth, both by individuals
and societies, is lost or forgotten as they grow old.
This is a necessary part of the system. To cast
out, in fact, is a necessary consequence of taking in,
and one does not exist without the other. When
Mr. GLADSTONE, therefore, and that sect of col-
lege-drilled writers—they do not deserve the name
of thinkers, for they only write as other people have
thought—ridicule and sneer at modern desires, and
modern knowledge, and modern doctrines, they only
prove that they are tremendously ignorant of
what observation teaches, however learned they may
be in the lore of tradition. Modern knowledge, the
popular mind of society, contains and includes all
chat is yet valuable in the ancient knowledge which
Mr. GLADSTONE exclusively adopts. He, how-
ever, and the other chiffoniers of the Church,
gather out of the common sewers the rags and the
rubbish of knowledge which the opulence of modern
society in- its progress has cast away, and, though
they clothe themselves in the luxury of wealth,
they insist that the gathered refuse is the only ma-
terial for clothing the mind of society.

It is well known to those acquainted with the
habits of the lower classes, that they are much ac-
customed, however rude their speech, kindly and
affectionately to help one another when in distress.
To a considerable extent the poor keep the poor.
Those who are in extreme need receive help and
relief from those who are barely above want. Out
of the wages of the industrious when employed,
many of the necessitous are maintained. Any-
thing which checks employment ani degrades
wages not only brings more demands on the parish,
but it sends forth a horde of paupers into the pub-
lic streets who have no parish, or refuse to go into
the workhouse, to implore the public charity. So
we arc inclined to account for the vast number of
pitiable objects—very aged women, half-idiotic
half-dressed men, young simpletons of girls, and
ragged boys—who now infest the public streets,
worse, we think, that at any time within our recol-
lection. Perhaps the number is increased by those
who in the summer are scattered over the country,
being forced by the inclement season to take refuge
in towns ; but we believe the greater number is
caused by the most wretched objects no longer
being able to find amongst the working classes, by
their present poverty and want of employment, that
relief and support they obtained in happier times.
We might see some compensation for this could we
suppose that this extremity of distress would rid so-
ciety of the feeble and inefficient ; but the same sad
process which extinguishes them degrades an addi-
tional number into their wretched and desperate
condition. The distress that is chronicled in sta-
tistical returns, and appears in the Poor-rates, is
but the smallest portion of what is felt by society.
There is a large portion of it below the reach of
statistical returns and relieving officers, and in that
pvtion all the pants of hunger and sorrow, of rags
and bitter recollection, are now intensely felt. They