The Sun.
London, England, 1840-04-18 00:00:00

THE CHURCH AND THE. CORN-

LAWS.

The Church of England has been called the poor
man's Church ; yet it is contended that its very ex-
istence depends upon the laws which double the price
of the poor man's bread ; which prevent free trade ,
diminish employment ; and, consequently keep down the
wages with which he has to buy this bread. They
reason thus :—lf we permit the importation of corn in
exchange for the manufactures of our industrious popu-
lation, the plentiful supply will make it cheap ; and
as the value of tithes is greatest when corn is
dearest, and as the value of the rectory depends
upon the value of tithes, it is clear that cheap
bread will reduce the value of Church property, and
thus free trade will ruin the Church ; On sup-
position that this definition of the Church is correct,
this reasoning is conclusive. " Tithes and Church-
rates constitute the Church ;" tithes depend upon the
Corn-laws ; therefore the Corn-laws and the Church-
rates constitutes the Church. To the plain Christian,
who imagined that the foundation of the Church was so
sure that the gates of hell should not prevail against it,
it must appear almost incredible that its stability is
endangered by the present endeavour to obtain cheap
food and increased trade ! The following passage, how-
ever, quoted from the Bath Chronicle of February 20,
will place this matter beyond a doubt. After speaking
at some length of the " cunning devised fillacies which
the manufacturers of the. North arc propagating for
the selfish and despicable purpose of aggrandising
themselves at the expense of the British agricul-
turists," he says, " It is not, we think, sufficiently borne
in mind that this Corn-law agitation is, in no inconsider-
able degree, abetted because, if successful, it must in-
volve the ruin of the Established Church. Large is the
number of the subtle foes to the Church who join in the
abolition cry for this, and for no ether reason, knowing
as they do full well, that the withdrawal of protection
from the agriculturists must result in the utter r inn of all
who are dependent upon thy cultivation of the Foil ; and
that in their ruin, the means by which the Church is
maintained must be next to entirely lost. This being
the case, it behoves every friend to the Establishment
to take the matter up. It is not, we say, a mere fiscal
question, involving only the elevation or depression of
particular money-getting classes ; but it affects the very
existence of that sacred establishment, which is the
' glory and safeguard of England ; and with the uphold-
ing of which our strength, and even our continuance as
a nation, are identified." How perilous is the condition
of the Church of England. Would you remove any
abuse ? The Church is in danger ; for that abuse is
claimed by its secular or political friends as one of the
pillars on which it rests. Would you make fools
wise and drunkards sober ? The Church is in danger;
for ignorance and intemperance are essential
to its support. Would you banish its sectarian bi-
gotry, or humble its self-satisfied infallibility ? You risk
the banishment and humiliation of the Church itself !
Would you abolish Church-rates, which wrong the
Dissenter, or repeal the Corn-laws, which rob
the poor ? the Church would be annihilated ; for
these constitute the Church ! Nay, more ;if you let
alone the Establishment, if you shake not the pillars
of ignorance and intemperance, of bigotry and infal-
libity of Church-rates and Corn-laws, still it will fall
of itself, unless by Church extension, you erect more
pillars ; unless, leaving the wealth of the ecclesiastical
treasury untouched, you persuade the state to appro-
priate the property of Catholics and Dissenters to this
purpose. The voice of Scripture is, " What doth the
Lord require of thee but to do justly, and to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with thy God ?" Whereas the
Ultra-Protestant Churchman requires that you support
laws that are unjust ; that you imprison for conscience'
sake ; whicn is unmerciful ; and that you claim superi-
ority over all other churches and sects in the world ;
which is anything but humble. According to him, to
obey the divine command would be to put the Church in
danger ; and if this be so, let the Church fall ! All
who advocate the removal of abuses are described as
the enemies of the Church ; but the real enemies
of the Church are they who identify the Church with
every evil, and who use it as a shield to protect every
abuse !—Rev. Mr. Spencer's Pillars of the Church.

NEW YORK FESTIVAL IN 110
NOUR OF THE QUEEN'S MARRIAGE.

(From the New York Herald of the 27th ult.)
Yesterday the great feast came off in honour of the
wedding of Queen Victoria, at Niblo's Garden. It was
a curious, pleasing, and yet at times a laughable sight.
On Wednesday afternoon a large ox was suspended
in a sort of box with mica windows, and inside of this
box or temple of Pluto were three circular rows of gas
burners to roast the ox ; these were lighted about two
o'clock, were well managed, and roasted the ox by 9
o'clock yesterday morning. He was kept warm, how-
ever, until about noon, when he was cut up into slices
for the benefit of the widows and orphans, loafers and
lookers-on.

Between 11 and 12 o'clock the company began to
assemble, to the number of from 2,000 to 3,000. Every
seat allotted to the spectators, both in the gallery and
the body of the grand saloon, was filled before noon.
By 12 o'clock all the widows and orphans had arrived,
and were seated, and soon afterwards dinner was served
up. The Astor House, Waverly, Globe, City Hotel,
Howard House, &c., each supplied their complement of
waiters, and all went off remarkably well. The British
• Consul was in high glee—sometimes very sublime,
sometimes very ridiculous, as some thought. He kept
calling out, " Who wants beef ?" " Who wants bread ?"
—and when the clergyman commenced the grace, or
prayer, he broke in upon the solemnity of the scene, by
crying out, " Take off your hats, every one of you,"
which almost produced a general laughter.
Still the scene was a delightful and beautiful one.
Everything was well managed ; and over 3,000 widows
and orphans sat down to dinner with a most excellent
appetite. There was abundance to eat of the very best
quality ; the ox was well roasted, the bread was good,
and there was excellent port wine in abundance, from
the London Docks, vintage 1815.
With such fare it may be believed that the heart of
the widow was made glad, for one day, at least. After
they had all eaten as much as would satisfy nature for
twenty-four hours, at least, the cloth was removed and
" Non Nobis Domine " was sung. One Irishman cried
out, " Let every body join the chorus of Anno Domini
for Queen Victory !"
The usual Loyal, Disloyal, Republican, Anti-Republi-
, can, and patriotic toasts were given, and then the great
cake was cut up in slices, and sent ail over the garden
and the city. Then there was a great scramble to get
the cake ; some got a pocket full ; some got several
pounds, and some got none, These last made up for
that loss by drinking an extra portion of wine.
After the cake was cut up, then commenced the
speeches, some of which were peculiarly brilliant, par-
ticularly that of Colley Grattan, and Mr. Buchanan,
the Consuls for Boston and New York. The latter
spoke as follows :—" Boays—boays—you see the big
cake—silence—attention—it's the biggest cake you ever
saw—and when you grow up to be men you'll not
forget the big cake—the great cake—there it is—it
weighs 1,200 pounds, although part of it is cut up and
eaten—never mind that. It's a big cake any way ; and
when you're prenticed out to tinkers, end tailors, and
shoemakers, you won't forget the big cake—it's the
biggest cake in the world ; there never was such a cake ;
and it is'nt all dough, either.—(Great cheering.) But
there's this moral to be learnt boys, when you're trusted
with your master's money, and put your hand into the
till to take out the dollars, don't forget the big cake.
And when any one tempts you to take a gin shag or a
mint julep, you won't forget the big cake. And %%he❑
any body offers you a cigar, remember the big cake ;
for smoking leads to drinking, and drinking leads to the
devil—so remember the big cake, and God bless Queen
Victoria, who made it, or caused it to be made, by
getting married."
Mr. Buchanan's eloquent. address was loudly cheered,
and he was followed by Mr. Grattan, British Con-
sul for Boston. He delivered a humourous speech,
and closed it by the following remarks :—" Ladies, I
see many bright and beautiful faces around me, and to
your sweet sympathies I appeal for an approval of this
occasion. You must love Queen Vicioria, because she
loves the United States. She has passed from the sin-
gle to the United State ; she has become a naturalized
citizen of the great state of matrimony. Moreover,
she has a claim on your affections, for one other most
important and decisive movement—she has fixed in her
own person the great Main Boundary Line between
virginity and womanhood, and settled that little trou-
blesome affair for ever."

This produced immense cheering. Three cheers
were then given for the occasion, and the meeting broke
up at dusk, in delight and harmony.

A CHINESE MAP OF THE WORLD.-It IS
two feet wide by three and a half high, and is almost covered
with China. In the left hand corner, at the top, is a sea, three
inches square, in which arc delineated as small islands, Europe,
England, France, Holland, Portugal and Africa. Holland is as
large as all the rest, ant Africa is not so big as the end of one's
little finger ! The northern frohtier is Russia, very large. The
left corner, at the bottom, is occupied by " the western ocean,"
as it is called, containing the Malay peninsula pretty well de-
fined. Along the bottom ate Cainhoja, Cochin China, &c.,
represented as moderate-sized islands, and on the right is For-
mosa, larger than all the rest put together. Various other
countries are shown as small islands. I should have given an
engraving of this curious map, but that a true reduction to the
size of a page would have left out most of these countries alto-
gether. The surrounding ocean is represented as huge waves,
with smooth passages, or highways branching off to the diffe-
rent countries, or islands, as they represent them. They sup-
pose that ships which keep along these highways go safely; but
if they, through ignorance or stress of weather, diverge, they
soon get among these awful billows, and are lest.—Makoin's
Travels.

EXTRAORDINARY PERFORMANCE.—In the
course of last week, Mr. Elineek, foreman of the smiths' works
in the granary yard at Whitehaven, belonging to the Earl of
Lonsdale, with the aid of engine machinery,- bored through
not le;s than sixteen feet three inches of malleable iron in the
short space of ten hours, with a bit one inch and a quarter in
diameter. The weight of the boring, when collected together,
was not less than (6 lbs. This Herculean performance; we
understand, has seldom been equalled, if, indeed, it bt, not, al-
together without a parallel in undertaking,. of a similar nature
and description.—Carlisle Patriot.