The Sun.
London, England, 1840-08-26 00:00:00

THE SUN. LONDON, WEDNESDAY, ATTGEIST 26, MM.

and to make it responsible for every accident or
every misfortune, which judicious regulations might
have averted.

In making such extensive demands on the Legis-
lature„ we task it far beyond its powers, which may
teach it humility and forbearance. Betwixt a
great or perhaps total abstinence from that intermi-
nable meddling with the. common and ordinary
business of life, in which our thousand law-makers
habitually indulge for six months i❑ the year, and
providing by regulations for every possible contin-
gency, making themselves responsible for every evil
which befals almost every individual in society,
there is no middle course. The Legislature which
prohibits climbing-boys must provide good wages
and a comfortable subsistence for the hand-loom
weavers and careful and skilful engine-drivers, or it
will act most inconsistently, and neglect the duty
its interference in one case creates for it in another.

But the electoral body, as well as the Legislature,
has duties as well as rights. The bulk of the
people are excluded from the franchise, and those
who possess it are bouud to look after the excluded.
Not one of the starving hand-loom weavers can
have a vote for a Member of Parliament. They
are all below the ten-pounders. The representa-
tives depend on the constituency, who thus become
responsible for the laws.
Nor have we far to seek for the effects of their in-
fluence. Two years ago a universal penny postage
was ridiculed as an idle dream ; the electoral body,
however, petitioned for it, and achieved a universal
penny postage. The electors have it in their power
to obtain all which they resolutely demand. They
are responsible, then, for the miserable condition of
the hand-loom weavers, so far as that has been
caused by Corn-laws and other noxious regulations,
or might be relieved by the acts of the Legis-
lature. They cannot plead poverty, for the
fourth of the sum they bestow on idle pensioners
would save the hand-loom weavers from their dire
distress. It is the duty of the constituencies to in-
terfere with the Legislature, and either compel it to
abolish such noxious-enactments as the Corn-laws,
or to provide for all such cases as those of the hand-
loom weavers. In one word, on the electors in this
free country rests the responsibility of the sufferings
to which that large and well-behaved class are
exposed.

The indefatigable THOMAS SPENCER, Perpetual
Curate of Hinton Charter House, near Bath, never
weary of promoting the cause of righteousness, and
never backward in defending truth, has just pub-
lished a valuable little pamphlet, " Practical Sug-
gestions on Church Reform." The leading sug-
gestion we shall now copy, recommending the pub-
lic to consider whether it might not be acted on
with great advantage. We will, however, preface
it, by way of rendering it acceptable to Church-
men, with the remark, that the Rev. Mr. SPENCER
is zealous for preserving the Church, and making
it more useful, while he advocates Reform. He
reminds his readers that the Church of England is
the property of all the people of England, who have
a deep interest in its right management. They should
repair it, because it is their own, and because they
are responsible for its condition ; because a true
Church is favourable to knowledge and improve-
ment, and a false Church promotes ignorance,
bigotry, slavery, and war. He is no enemy to the
Church by which he lives; but, like Dr. CHAL-
MERS or Mr. M'NEIL, he wishes to make it more
efficient. After adverting to its absurd and Papal
claims to infallibility, to some of its imperfections,
and to the impossibility of procuring any efficient
reform in it, unless the people exert themselves, he

Let the inhabitants of every town appoint a Com-
mittee of Inquiry into the ecclesiastical affairs of the
town and neighbourhood. There are societies for fo-
reign missions, and for local affairs ; but this important
work may be attended to, without interrupting any
valuable existing society. All the institutions of true
philanthropy assist each other. The duties of the Com-
mittee will consist in investigating the state of things
connected with ecclesiastical revenue ; and the services
performed in return for such revenue; and in guiding
the public mind as to the proper times and seasons for
petitioning Parliament respecting them. Let the Com-
mittee examine all ecclesiastical sinecures, all emolu-
ments of Deans and Chapters, Chancellors, Prebends,
Canons, &c., the amount of their stipend, and the na-
ture of the services rendered ; let them report all cases
in which one clergyman holds several livings ; or is
minister of more than one church ;. or, having only one
church, is non-resident, and performs his duty by proxy ;
devolving his own conscience upon a curate, to whom
a small part of the income is paid, whilst for the ab-
sent rector or vicar the larger portion is reserved. Let
all acquired information respecting sinecures, plurali-
ties, clerical offices and emoluments be' printed ; and
►et the petitions presented to Parliament embody the
statistical information thus acquired. The working
clergy will have no objection to this ; the faithful watch-
men and pastors will not be alarmed, although their
services and their remunerasion be examined ; and if
there be an outcry that " the Church is in danger," it
will be found to proceed from those who have indeed
brought the Church into danger. When the system
which pays plentifully those who do nothing, and which
half starves those who do the work, is in danger, then
will they " cry aloud," who have neglected to do so in
their pulpits.

Mr. SPENCER judiciously enfotces the propriety
of inquiring into prebendal and episcopal wealth by
several examples, and by a quotation from CRA N-
M ER, who wrote as strongly against Prebends as anv
modern writer. Mr. SPENCER next recommends that
that Committee should ask from Parliament that
parishioners should appoint their own Ministers.
This is rank heresy to our poor man's Church, but .11!r.
SPENCER enforces it by some excellent arguments,
which we shall quote on another occasion, our pre-
sent business being merely to make known his prac-
tical suggestions. The third is that the chief or
Corporation Church, should introduce the practice
of the University of Cambridge :
At the University Church there is no stated preacher,
but there is a constant succession of preachers from
amonst the Masters of Arts, whose nnmes are on the
University hooks. It was found, however, that many
of these afforded very inferior specimens of effective
preaching, and were not competent to address such
an audience ; in consequence of which, the custom
was adopted of selecting, from the most distinguished
members of the University, a preacher for every
month. These monthly preachers arc fixed upon be-
fore the academical year commences ; so that each
select preacher has ample time to prepare a course of
sermons for one month, suited to the learned body
which he has to address ; and to the immense num-
ber of under-graduates, most of whom are intended
for the ministry. In these monthly series many ad-
mirable discourses have been delivered. The preacher
has ample scope to " bring out of his treasures things
new ar.d old ;" he has an opportunity to communicate
his most valuable thoughts ; and yet there is not suffi-
cient time to exhaust his materials, or to fall into that
monotonous repetition of the same truths which gives
a character of dulness to the preaching of some per.
sons. Why should not the most intelligent inhabitants
of our corporate towns have this privilege ? Why,
should they not have an opportunity of hearing in suc-
cession all the most excellent preachers in the king-
dom? It would be easily arranged, if the Committee
of Ecclesiastical Affairs were permitted to provide a
constant succession of monthly or quarterly preachers.
As the age improves in liberality of sentiment, they
might be permitted also to make selections out of the
Scotch and American divines ; and out of the many
able, pious, and learned amongst the Dissenting ministers.
In the University Church, at the times appointed
for the members of the University, there are no prayers.
On the entrance of the Vice-Chancellor the organ
strikes up, the preacher ascends the pulpit, three verses
of a psalm are sung, and, after a short form of prayer
before the sermon, the preacher commences, and deli-
vers a sermon of an hour's length. If some of our best
preachers of various denominations, such as resemble
Paul or Apollos, were made more generally useful than
they now arc, by occasionally preaching in every town,
thiso f
imitation.custom o f theTbe Uanbisveeirisciet yofChurch e mayrs.
wouldbe m
deservingre ov e
are
from om
accustomedthe pulpitst oof our
other
forms of worship, but
cthheurocbhsetsacles
those which might
ministers
v
who agree in all essential points
of doctrine. So far from being an innovation, the e-
-1 hkoee
sent system may be more justly deemed a deviation
from the ancient practice. When Christ and his Apostles
preached to the people, they did not commence with
prayers.

Mr. SPENCER is a bold and yet a practical re-

former. Let him but persevere, and continue to
labour, as at present, to procure justice for the peo-
ple, and he will be the most formidable enemy to
Church corruption, and to abuses perpetrated in
the name of religion, who has improved Churchism
since the days of LUTHER. He cannot expect that
many priests will side with him, because their doc-
trine is that the people can know nothing of religion
but what the priests tell them, and they can never
admit that the scholars are fit to appoint the was-
ters. Mr SPENCER approximates too much to
the voluntary system to please them. They cannot
separate religion from an opulent endowed priest-
' hood, forgetting, apparently, that by endowing reli-
gion they incorporate with it all the errors and
weaknesses of man, and subject it to all the muta-
tions to which other human institutions are liable.

A curious fact, throwing some light on the
baneful operation of the Corn-laws, at least as dis-
tinguished from the promises of its supporters, has
just been made known by a paper, ordered by the
House of Commons to be published on the 11th
of August. From the several facts lately men-
tioned as to the condition of the manufacturing la-
bourers in various towns, such as the reduction of
wages at Leicester, Nottingham, Coventry, and
Stourbridge, we need scarcely remind our readers
that the manufacturing districts have not been
flourishing for some time, and that the promised
large and valuable home market for our manufac-
turers, as the result of therorn-law, has not saved
them from the most poignant and increasing dis-
tress. The complaints from Birmingham and
Wolverhampton, as well as from Coventry, have
been great, and there can be no doubt that from
1838 to the present time, want and distress have
made great progress amongst our hardware, as well
as our riband manufacturers. Within the same
period, in consequence, it is said, of the Corn-law,
the price of corn has been exorbitantly high,
and agriculture has flourished. We ought
to expect, therefore, that pauperism should have al-
most disappeared in the favoured agricultural dis-
tricts. Now the fact—the important fact—pub-
lished by the House of Commons is, that in the
year ending Ladvdav, 1840, in fourteen agricul-
tural unions, " indifferently selected," containing a
population of 233,832 souls, the number of pau-
pers per cent. in the population is 8,318, while in
a population of 233,961, contained within seven
manufacturing unions, the amount of paupers per
cent. was only 5,192. The number of paupers
amongst 233,832 agriculturists was 19,451, while
the number of paupers in 233,961 manufacturers:was
12,149. This is the result after the manufacturers
have been exposed to two years' most severe priva-
tion, and after the agriculturists have had three
years of, for them, almost unexampled prosperity.
The figures are copied from Mr. WEAL'S Report
on the comparative state of pauperism in four-
teen agricultural unions, and in seven manufactu-
ring unions ; and after this unanswerable state-
' ment, we shall hear no more, we presume, of the
lying assertions that manufactures generate pau-
perism and that to get rid of it we must, by con-
tinuing our Corn-law, encourage agriculture and
check the growth of manufactures.

We will now acid but one more remark. This
result is obtained after the new Poor law has been
six years in operation, which has been far more
effectual in the agricultural than in the manu-
facturing districts, and has reduced the ex-
penditure and the pauperism in the agricultural
unions 48 per cent., and in the manufacturing
unmans only 22_per cent. It is agriculture, there-
fore; and not manufactures—the landed gentlemen,
not the skilled capitalists of the towns, *who' are
continually devising or promoting new employ-
ments for the people—who are the authors of pau-
perism.

The news brought by the German Journals is
rery scanty. In a letter from the Russian frontier
of the Bth inst., a frightful account is given of the
famine which prevails in the interior of that vast
empire. The scarcity of food was rendered more
terrible by an extraordinary scarcity of money in all
the Provinces in which the crops had failed.
An impression prevailed in Russia that a new
expedition against K hiva would be undertaken in
the course of the present year. Captain ABBOT,
who the last overland mail from India informed
us had visited Khiva, arrived lately at St. Peters-
burgh with pacific overtures from the KHAN to his
Royal " brother" the AUTOCRAT. It appears,
however, that the mission of the gallant Captain
has not proved successful, the EMPEROR being
reported
A B
Bt oc.
ABBOT
aivse
arei; received himoffic
officer
very f
n coldly.oted Cap-
taineilergy and talent:

the Lreatpt
dr s r fi
sr oe mor\t'hieennFa of the 15th i
Funds
sinthat
city,ns instant announce t
consequent
upon a general belief that the Eastern question will
be settled without disturbing the peace of Europe.
On the first arrival of the news that the treaty of
London was signed and that France was arming,
the Funds fell, but when it was observed that
Austria was making no military demonstration, re-
maining a quiet spectator of the Parisian hubbub,
prices rose as rapidly as they had declined. The
ofAlh theas n
020 g t
aian
tnisothot w
f,
prices,llichbri
ee,the rate at which they stood
liso teirihngeasltnhteNle,ll,.iieasi ercitaiilenZt :heel
oliiwitguageistzilgvc,w
wh
written.

To darken the face of Europe with the plague
of war seems the general wish of the Paris Re-
publican and Legitimist Journals of Monday. The
organs of the Court and Cabinet are, however,
more moderate,toexuactsafs orottir
n them, mde,in
another will
of refe-
renceh eoer part
see
by
a
Sun. They are for maintaining a firm, but by no
means a menacing attitude. To this we can offer
no objection. If France fancies herself threatened
by a combination of other Powers, from which
she has thought proper to exclude herself, she has
an undoubted right to take what precautions she
pleases in the way of self-defence. Whether those
who now clamour so loudly for expensive warlike
preparations, for which there does not in reality
lexist the shadow of national necessity, will here-
after as boisterously support the taxes which they
will impose upon the community,is a different affair.
The advices from Egypt are satisfactory, not-
withstanding the refusal of MEHEMET ALI to
restore the Fleet at the bidding of the French Con-
sul. It is enough to assure us that there will be
no war to learn that France, signified to the Vice-
roy a determination to observe a strict neutrality.
This is all that is required to ensure the mainte-
nance of European tranquillity.
Letters from the frontiers of Italy represent the
petty Sovereigns of that country as apprehensive
of a rising
of
the " Patriots," and consequently
engaged in plans for maintaining the present state
of things. " The Duke of MODENA, says a
letter in the Semaphore de Marseilles of the 20th
instant, " had visited the Grand Duke of TCS-
, CANY at Leghorn, for no other purpose, although
under the pretence of negotiating a marriage for
his son." "So persuaded Were the Ministers of
England and France that the journey of the Sovereign
I of Modena was connected with some political ob-
ject, that they immediately set out from' Florence
for Leghorn on hearing of his presence at the
Court of the GRAND-DUKE. Several distinguished
personages had ; likew.se arrived ill that city, and
amongst others the ex-King of HOLLAND,
Louts BONAPARTE, Princess HELEN PAU-

LOWNA of Russia, Princess CHARLOTTE,
daughter of Prince PAUL of Wurtemherg, the
Grand duke
.MICHAEL, brother of the Emperor
of RussiA, and M. BuLow, who, however, con-
tinued his joianty to Marseilles."
The following paragraphs include all the other
news we find in Monday's journals :

NEWS FROM AFRICA.-Our accounts from Algiers
of the 15th instant state that another disaster had be-
fallen the French in that regency. Sonic Arabian de-
setters having announced to the Colonel in comma 33 of
the camp of Coleah that the ex-Bey of Miliana was
marching between the Sahel and the sea, with the iu-
tenti in of crossing the M..ssafran and invading the plain
of Staoli, he immediately despatclii.d in that direction a
reconmetring party, composed of 126 soldiers of the 3d
regiment of Light infantry and 25 Chasseurs, under tl:e
command of Captain Morisot. Carried away by his
courage, Capt. Morisot advanced too far, fell into an am-
buscade and found himself instantly surrounded by a force
ten times superior to his own. He attempted to form
his men into a hollow square, but the Arabs did not
give him time to execute that tnanceuvre ; they charged
the detachment with extraordinary fury, and put near')
the whole of it to the sword. The few who escaped
were fortunate enough to reach the blockhouse of
Mockra-Beira, the guns of which checked the pursuit
of the enemy. When this melancholly intelligence
reached the camp, the Colonel proceeded with a bat-
talion of infantry to the scene of the slaughter, but
rived too late to avenge the death of his soldiers, 103
(the Siecle) says 125 of whom were lying headless in
the field. Captain Morisot and his officers were among
the slain.

Marshel Vallee, outrageous on learning this occur-
rence, recalled the ColOnel of the 3d Regiment, who
was to return to France by the next packet. It was
believed that he would be tried by a court-martial.
Our Correspondent at Toulon informs us that the
son of the Prince of Orange arrived at Toulon on the
19th, on board the Dutch frigate the Rhine. Admiral
Jurien Zagraviere paid a visit to the young Prince.
We have received the following letter :

" TUNIS, AUG. 7.—Thc French squadron under the
command of Rear-Admiral Rosamel, consisting of four
ships of the line, the Marengo, the Genereux, the
Trident, and Ocean, which bears the Admiral's flag, is
now at anchor off Cape Carthage. This naval force,
which seems to have been sent hither on account of
the Bey having taken the field at the head of a re-
gular army, veill shortly leave this station. As
soon as the Bey was informed of the arrival of the
French squadron, he announced that he should shortly
return to the city; and, in fact, a corvette which fol-
lowed him along the coast, has just arrived, and brings
word that it left the Bey a few days' march from Tunis.
—Le Conslilutionuel.

The Elberfeld Journal publishes the following letter

" BERLIN, AuG. 16.—With respect to the Oriental
Question and the Quadruple Alliance, we learn that
Prince Metternich has had a long conference on the
subject with the King of Prussia. The Prince has also
had several interviews with the representatives of the
Northern Powers, in which the execution of this treaty
was discussed.

" We know from good authority that Russia, Aus-
tria, England, and Prussia, intend, before execut►ng the
treaty, to make a last attempt to obta..n the assent of
France. In case of refusal, Russia will take the lead in
forcing the Viceroy to accept the terms proposed.—Le
Cownierce.