The Sun.
London, England, 1833-10-26 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

ZIJINBURGH REVIEW, No. 117.
EDINNURGE, 1833.
teThere are some admirable essays in this num-
fttadmirable not less from their spirit than
°ln the variety of their information. It also
kt,nmes a bolder character than has been usual
w tlth it of late ; is no longer shackled by Whig
%Inds, but speaks of Ministers as their inde-
ihdent friend and adviser, not their slave and
/eophant. We allude more especially to the
icles on " National Education," and on the
tTirst Session of the Reformed Parliament,"
th, of which are characterized by bold, honest,
sstt essay
1;i i4e r 13-forward reasoning, keeping ahead of
yet not too far in advance. In
e a
saad
ynin particular, which is a brief, im-
rnd summer of the acts of the late session,
xPedi
e Y
ency of a still further Church reform—
°fone that
shall make itself felt and leave no
:i4 ,
Idie for the perverse ingenuity of ultra-radi-
jvsin to fasten on—is strenuously advocated.
have been much struck with the spirit and
good sense of these remarks :
Ve think it cannot be denied that the change intro-
f
ip tin bY Government, and adopted by Pa.rliamen!, istvoe
itimele size, although, with our Presbyterian habits,
p; ',of course, have greatly preferred one of another.h
k,n-t p.non.
Holding with Dr. Paley that the establish-
He -
Its p',.150Y is supported by the State, ought always to be
le'e"gion of the great majority of the people, and feeling
thurttbtoolute impossibility of establishing the Catholic.
lqteen, We should have been inclined to say that it was
14, tr there should be no State religion at all, but that
1/417°Ilers of all those classes—Catholics, Episcopalians,
gip:enters—should be equally maintained by, moderatein.
tkined front the public ; or, that none. being
.t thus ma
Nr) the People should, as in America, be obliged to pay
'than for the support of his own minister."
lthe Reviewer then proceeds to observe, that
-Be, are " views which may perhaps be consi-
kite' visionary"—why should they be ?—and
it th' therefore, the measure adopted last Session
te,a e best calculated to " lessen, if it does not
tt N:37e, the just complaints of the nation." On
4lilonal Education," though it is penned in
yet.bateral spirit, and contains much just thinking,
eh It is rather too much ofa desponding, Penseroso
vearseter. The writer conjures up a thousand
klue Phantoms, and then swoons away at the
difr/V8 of his own creation. He exaggerates
oticulties--piles up perplexities on perplexities,
he ~eftplains that his horizon is bounded. Thus
kuitillinks, in the first instance, that we are not
tionejeatly ripe for a system of national educa-
l)ea such as is practised in Prussia, and has
tecil Projected by M. Gurzto in France ; and,
iu t°:ndlY, that we shall find incredible difficulties
a,141.111141ing the balance between the Churchmen
att the Dissenters. May be so. Still the
exetnpt is worth making, and to the fullest
thetetit. To be discouraged at the outset is not
Way to succeed either in love or politics.
toelesia Anglicana ' is a grave ironical notice
or
411 absurd poem, lately perpetrated by the Rev.
Overton. To meet with the equal of this
mhymied abortion we must go back to the days of
laelrmore. Assuredly, this parson-poet has
el' to answer for. We have little doubt he
will
be the death of his bookseller. " Present
state of Manufactures, Trades, and Shipping,"
pa- very encouraging essay. After an attentive
14:441 of the evidence taken by the Par-
otai-entary Committee, the Reviewer comes to the
wi Leitiskn, that the statements lately put forth
t"
such confidence, as to the prevalence of
!entleral and overwhelming distress, have been
en
refuted. The next article is devoted
of an analysis of the public and private character
ivZir. Roscoe, who is pourtrayed, as he really
44-' not by a flattering but an impartial pen, as
curable, consistent, modest, accomplished
pr:ltleman and scholar. What a world of
gslve eulogium is comprised in the two words,
tall ature's nobleman"—by which he was gene-
llel at Liverpool I " State and
toialaitkns of the Turkish Empire" will afford
tel/41°Yed gratification to nine out of every ten
rtiis.ers• It is in the boldest and most uncompro-
NI TR
las spirit. Many a sturdy blow is dealt at
t the for his conduct towards the Poles, and
the b(2ugh exposure made of his intrigues with
Nesotted Porte. From first to last, the article
alolarMs every argument The Sun has been
last-gt daily broaching on this subject for the
agtt4ght months and upwards. The Reviewer
the': with us that the revolt of iVlehemet Ali,
(so„sturhances in Boriia, and the insurrections
vi,er-telY yet quelled) in Servia and elsewhere,
theree ,g°t up by Russia, for purposes which
wa; .t 8
nn mistaking ; and argues that the only
tl,l;' t° keep the St. Petersburg Cabinet within
groin bQuuds, is by England promptly making a
beari decisive declaration. When the Russian
Itoo sb°ws symptoms of fight, he must be
to eked down and muzzled. It is of no use
ot,taPPear frightened and run away. This will
Provoke the brute's attack. We have
olh 43's contended that Russia's chief power is
thvihpaper. Here, her millions have a very
like" aspect. The catalogue of her hordes,
fill 40mer's catalogue of ships, might alone
&oe book. But what are these savages in the
and ?5 Let the two last campaigns in Turkey
of h' °land answer. From the immense extent
zati er territories ; from the system of disorgani-
he47, that, to a greater or less degree, pervades
14 ,1; from the vast armies that are conse-
lye rit'Y necessary to keep them in subjection,
4lio,ruch question whether, on any emergency
I\iith an actual invasion of the kingdom,
&fly 'as could bring together a hundred and
how l"ensand men. And of this number,
the
riTanY would be able to cope with
61y as'seiPlined troops of Europe ? Fossi-
Nit bout a third. Yet this is the power
games °Perating craftily on its fears, pre;
Iq
all t° dictate to the whole civilized world .
loarven civilized history we know of nothing so
north
e°us as the long-continued success of this
the se bully. From the days of Catherine
Prosent eccld, who set the fashion, down to the
•
hear time, Russia has been the leading bug-
laod,s32;t Europe. Even now, France and Eng-
. would be idle to deny the fact—are
gro
to tucker), at her very name. She has only
_ll,
and show her teeth, to throw both into
I 8 I°°s• But this season of apprehension
) v,„ ,
- qua, fast passing away. If we do not

or will not, know her weakness, Russia knows
it right well. She knows that she is bound
down to keep the peace, on pain of fortk;:ting
Finland, Poland, the Crimea, tl►e countries bor-
dering on the Caucasus, and the outlying pro-
vinces of Turkey and Persia. The following
extract deserves the reader's strict attention
" Surely tbe,e are not the elements with which Europe

is to be awed in the present day ? Far from it. Russia
is now, and his been, ever since the accession of the Em-
peror
Nicholas, in a critical and precarious state. She is
surrounded by the smouldering vengeance of her mangled
Polish provinces, in the treatment of which she calls forth
the execration of mankind by her barbarities. She thus
adds to the deep hatred with which the liberal nations of
Europe regard her exercise of tyranny at home, and sup-
port of absolutism abroad. Indeed her late conduct must
render the more mild and enlightened of the despotic
governments half ashamed of her alliance ; and it is far
from improbable that their whispered remonstrances may
have called forth the late lame apology for her policy to-
wards Poland. Were she now, therefore, to precipitate
matters in Turkey, she would lose much that she has
already gained, and consign to other hands the prey which
on some future occasion she hopes to make her own. We
do not therefore expect that her usual wariness will so far
desert her as to tempt her into a war ; but we fear that,
by resorting to her wonted expedient of assuming a warlike
attitude, she may be suffered to consolidate her authority
in Turkey, and to obtain the recognition and the privileges
of a treaty she has surreptitiously wrung from the fears
and the gratitude of the Porte. At all events let her no
longer be permitted to play off the Belgian question upon
the patience of Europe. It has served her purposes long
enough, and well enough. Under its shelter she subdued
Poland. But the hour of transitory weakness is past, and
our ministers may reap the recompense of the wise patience
with which they have conducted our foreign relations.
France and England have both happily gone through their
reforms ; they are united in power, policy, and mutual
esteem ; they carry with them a very large portion of the
moral power of Europe, and no small share of its physical
force. The keys of mighty events are in their hands.
Possessing this commanding strength, it behoves them to
use it with temperance, certainly, but with firmness also.
Authority, as well as other things, can make herself wings
and flee away. She remains longest with those who best
know how to use her. At present she is with the liberal
side of the world; and it would seem that by the use of a
firm tone, the aggressions and intrigues of the opposite
party may loa checked, and war most effectually averted by
looking it steadily in the face."
" Baron d' Haussez's Views of Great Bri-
tain" is a satirical notice of a work recently pub-
lished by a Bourbon emigrant, who betrays in
every line of his production undeniable evidence
of spleen and dyspepsia. Just expelled from
France, it was not to be expected that the Ex-
Minister of Marine would take pen in hand
with any disposition to look on the sunny side of
things. Accordingly he has dtscovered that
Englishmen have no taste, no refinement, be-
cause they will not cram their rooms with look-
ing glasses, and jabber " soft nothings" at the
rate of ten knots an hour. The Reviewer does
this testy old Baron justice. But the best article
in the number is unquestionably the one on
" Horace Walpole's Letters to Sir Horace
Mann." From the terseness—the fire—the
brilliancy, and the perfect knowledge of the times
that this Essay exhibits, we can have no hesita-
tion in assigning it to the pen of Mr. Macauley.
The characters of the two Walpoles, father and
son—of Lord Carteret, and of the Duke of
Newcastle, are master-pieces of composition,
and as finely discriminated as anything in Cla-
rendon, of whom the Member for Leeds is
clearly a staunch admirer.