The Sun.
London, England, 1840-03-18 00:00:00

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.

FROM THE DAILY PAPERS OF YESTERDAY.
(From the Globe.)
Ultra-Anglican, and Ultramontane Roman Catholic
bigotry, resemble each other so closely, that it would
seem surprising they cannot agree better, if bigots ever
agreed the more for resembling each other closely.
The Rev. Messrs. Wilberforce, and the most Rev.
Dr. M‘ Hale, smell so completely to one nosegay
—held so completely the same language and pre-
tensions—that it is really a pity they cannot make a
joint-stock concern of it. Assuredly it is fortunate for
the Melbourne Administration, that such formidable
adversaries Cannot combine their forces. And perhaps
it may be regarded as in some degree providential—
the sort of mutual repulsion existing between such
very fiery particles, which would, doubtless, blow us
all up, if they did not waste so much heat on each
other. Archdeacon Wilberforce says very truly, though
we do not see how it serves his purpose—
"lf Christianity be true, it must, like the God from
whom it comes, be all-present everywhere. It is the aim,
the object, the manner, the tone of teaching, which makes
it religious or secular. Dogmatic theology has been, alas !
too often made most secular instruction. Ciphering may
be made religious. This is the great principle at issue.
Education is a simple body ; it cannot be resolved into the
elements of secular and spiritual. The attempted separa-
tion of its fancied parts can lead only to its absolute anni-
hilation."

Archdeacon Wilberforce imagines these sentences tell
against the views of Government. To us they seem to
tell more against " dogmatic theology," when a aimated
(" alas too often I") by a secular spirit.
(From the Standard.)
We have just received the return of the Irish corn-
mittals during the year 1839. After all that the
pablic i
i has lately heard of the tranquillity oF Ire-
land, it may naturally expect a considerable diminu-
tion n the committals, particularly in the• com-
mittals for the class of offences accompanied
by violence. We are sorry to say, however, that
such expectation will be grievously disappointed.
The committals for murder and manslaughter, in 1839,
amounted, according to the return, to the frightful num-
ber of six hundred and eighty-seven ; the largest annual
amount, we believe, even in the black catalogue of Irish
crime. The committals for murder and manslaughter,
in the first year of Whig government 1831, reached
no farther than 010, and on the average, of the twenty
years preceding, years of Tory misgovernment and
Orange ascendancy, they did not pass 100. They
have multiplied, however, threefold, under the benign
influence of Whig Administration, and we are told by
men who do not laugh in our faces, though they must
laugh inwardly when they utter the audacious false-
hood, that the tranquillity of Ireland has prodigiously
improved. They tell us that there are no faction fights
now ; perhaps not—the populace are better drilled, and
now know whom to murder.

(From the Courier.)
It is the people, and not the Clergy, who should re-
medy the: defects of which Mr. Baines complains. We
have never fora moment entertained a notion of in-
flicting ra mischief upon any portion of the community,
and th erefore we have not said a word about the
proprioty of restoring to the Clergy the funds, small
or la' rge, which are collected from them under
the name of First Fruits and Tenths, because
they ar© devoted to the improvement of the
cire umstances in which the more indigent of the
body are placed. We would not injure these indigent
p 'rsons, and therefore have left untouched the justice of
t he foundation on which Queen Anne's Bounty is placed.
There are far more equitable means of increasing the
-value of unrequited exertions without resorting to the
measures proposed by the opponents of our national es-
tablishments, and elaborated by the gentlemen who have
kindly interested themselves in a matter in which they
are in no sort of manner concerned.

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT

ROUSE OF LORDS, MARCH 17.

Their Lordships met at Five o'Clock.
CHURCH PATRONAGE (SCOTLAND).

The Duke of ARGYLL presented petitions against
Sie existing system of Church patronage in Scotland.

POOR-LAWS.

Lord SEGRAVE presented several petitions from
Stroud, and other places in Gloucestershire, in favour
of an amendment of the present Poor-laws.
INTRUSION OF MINISTERS.

The Earl of GALLOWAY complained of the de-
lay on the part of the Government in bringing forward
a measure to conciliate the dissensions which were agi-
tating Scotland from one end to the other. He had, in
deference to his Noble Friend behind him, abstained
from proposing any measure himself, and he was willing
to leave the matter in the hands of the Government, if they
would undertake it. But he assured their Lordships that
it was necessary for the Legislature to take some steps
for the purpose of reconciling the authority of the
Courts of Law, and the rights of the proprietors with the
interests of the Church, and the proper exercise of cle-
rical authority. He regretted to see the clergy of the
,Scotch Church resorting to the same unworthy means
of agitation by which the Roman Catholic clergy had
acquired- so much notoriety and importance.
Tae Marquis of LANSDOWNE said he could not
allow the observations of the Noble Earl to pass with-
out stating that neither he nor any other person was
justified in supposing that, because the Govern-
ment had delayed to bring forward a measure
on this important subject, there had been any
delay whatever in its consideration. On the
contrary, that consideration was given to it at an early
period ; and it was only that great importance of the
question to which the Noble Earl had referred, and the
very circumstances he had stated, that had pre-
vented the Government from bringing a measure for-
ward, and he (Earl of Lansdowne) would much rather
incur, on the part of the Government, the reproach of de-
lay than that of launching precipitously upon it before
they had made themselves acquainted with the opinions
and circumstances connected with the transactions in
Scotland on the subject. This was not the time for
him to refer to the assertion of the Noble Earl that
the Scottish clergy had borrowed the practices of the
Roman Catholic clergy because it would invite dis-
cussions on the subject that had better be deferred until
it came more formally before the House, and he should
therefore defer making any observations on those which
fell from the Noble Earl on that subject.
The Earl of GAL LOWAY was glad that what he
had said had elicited a more explicit declaration of the
intentions of the Government than they had before
given. He was far from making against the Scottish clergy
generally the imputation the Noble Marquis had attri-
buted to him ; on the contrary, he had specially
stated there were exceptions known to him. If the
Noble Marquis had spoken the honest intentions of the
Government, he the Earl of Galloway) must be most
unreasonable not to be perfectly satisfied.

The Earl of ABERDEEN suggested that in taking
ample time to consider the nature of the measure (if
one were to be proposed), the Government would re-
member an important event with respect to the fate of
any measure, would take place in the month
of May, when the General Assembly met, and it was
of essential importance that the measure, if it were to
be introduced, should be considered before their meeting.

The Marquis of LANSDOWNE explained that
he had not stated the Government had decided upon
bringing forward a measure, but that they would speed-
ily decide whether or not they would do so.
Lord REDESDA LE presented several petitions
against any alteration in the Corn-laws, against the Irish
Municipal Corporation Bill, and against any farther
grant to the College of Maynooth.

The Marquis of LONDONDERRY' presented peti•
tions from Scotland against the intrusion of ministers.
Lord FITZGERALD presented a petition from
the town of Galway, praying that that town niay be
excepted from schedule A of the Irish Municipal Re-
form Bill ; also a petition from the Corporation of
Drogheda, against the same

Cord MELBO URNE, in answer to a question from
a Noble Lord, said that an address from the Legislative
Assembly of Upper Canada had been forwarded to the
Government relating to the subject of emigration, and
that the address would receive their consideration.
The Earl of GALLOWAY presented a petition
from a parish in Hereford, and another from
the town of Lingharn in Norfolk, against the Irish
Municipal Corporation Bill ; also petitions from the
same places against any further grant to the College
of l‘laynooth.
The Marquis of WESTNIEATH presented a peti-
tion from a parish in Berkshire against any alteration in
the Corn-laws.

Lord ELLENBOROUGH moved that the Regis-
trar. General of deaths, births, and marriages in London
(as we understood), should present a report of the num-
ber of persons who had died of the small-pox in the
year 1839.
Loyd's Divorce Bill was read a third time and passed.