The Sun.
London, England, 1833-08-03 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF TrIE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

Some edifying protests against the third reading of the
Irish Church Bill, have been entered on the journals of
the Lords ; one from his Royal Highness the Duke of
Cumberland treats, as might have been expected, and
with characteristic unction, of the coronation oa-h, which
this illustrious personage pronounces to be unfairly dealt
by in the assent of his IVltjesty to the Bill. Why the
Duke of Cumberlani should be so anxious to supersede
the Lord Chancellor in his " keepership of the King's
conscience," we know not. Has the Royal Duke no other
conscience to look after ? The Duke of Cumberland affirms,
secondly, that the Temporalities Bill is opposed to the
wishes and interests of the clergy, while it has not been
petitioned for or desired by the people. Here are two as-
sertions, to both of which we must reverentially demur.
If the permanency of the Church be for the interest of the
clergy, then have we the Duke of Wellington's authority
for declaring, that " without some such Bill as this
the Church cannot go on !" And with regard to the
non-desire for it on the part of the people, the unanimity
and notoriety of the wish to see it passed is, we presume,
a sufficient answer to the Illustrious Duke's allegation
Third, He says that it is most unjust to exempt those
hitherto properly liable to church cess in Ireland, and to
impose such burden " arbitrarily on the impoverish-
ed Protestant clergy of that country." But we
must first agree upon the question who they are that
were "properly" subjected to the church cess. Those
who have hitherto paid it affirm that they were " im-
properly" so taxed, and arbitrarily, moreover, for purposes
which in nowise tended to their advantage ; and, in truth,
as they had the majority on their side, and flatly refused
to pay the church cess any longer, we should like to ask
the Duke of Cumberland how he would have contrived to
to force them? For the arbitrary imposition of the tax
to be levied on the clergy to help cut a substitute for the
old church cess, we will go so far as to say, that a neater
and more workmanlike measure might have been for the
Crown or Commissioners, after the commutation of tithe,
to deduct from the general revenue assigned to the church
a fit proportion to answer the objects of the parochial cess,
and turning over the residuum—that is, the bulk—to the
clergy, as their net income, enable them to spend it without
deduction or molestation. But such a change, let us recollect
would be one off)rm only. So far from the proposed tax
being of an " arbitrary" character, as described by the
Duke of Cumberland, it has been calculated and deter-
mined on one fixed principle, applied first to Bishops, and
secondly to the inferior clergy, the latter of whom will
have to pay in tax, as nearly as possible, the amount of
those deductions to which they have hitherto, on an ave
rage of years, been practically subject in the collection of
tithes from their parishioners. 4. Touching the owners
of advowsous and their vested interests, the question for
them to consider is, will they consent to pay a small part
of their income, or would they rather lose the whole?
5. The term " spoliation," applied to the consolidated
bishoprics, is worthy of the context of this whole composi-
tion, and, saying this, we say what is more than enough.
The asserted tendency of the Bill " to weaken the
" Protestant religion in Ireland" may be disposed of by
the single fact, that a church is weakened by the prevalence
of national hostility against it, and strengthened by public
acquiescence or concurrence. Now, will the Duke of
Cumberland inform us whether the Church Temporalities
Bill is more likely to provoke or to allay the hostile spirit
of the great majority of the people? There is another
pretest, with eight nem: s annexed to it, among which are
Bexley, Kenyon, Wyrtford, Ernest, and the Bishop of
Rochester. We allude to the document only because it
,ssigne, as a grievance, the power vested in the Commis-
sioners to stop the presentation to benefices where the sole
duty of the clergyman has been the collection of tithes !
Er into disce, We cannot waste any argument on
u .h a document.— Times.

The gratifying, though not unhooked for, intelligence
has at length arrived that Villa Flor, the brave Duke of
Terceira, entered Lisbon on the 24th of July, after an
action with Telles Jordao, who had opposed him at the
head of 6,000 men, the whole Miguelite force about, and
to the southward of Li-bon. The Queen's commander
Lad under him no more than 1,500 troops of the line, with
which he had marched from St. Übes on the 22d, and
coming up with Jcrdao the following day, on the left
Al hank of the Tagus, instantly attacked him. The Miguel-
i'es, notwithstanding the disparity of force, were totally
rioted, and a great portion of them driven into the river.
Jordan himself was killed on the quay at the water side.
The Duke of Cadoval, with Miguel's garrison, evacuated
Lisbon on the night of the 23d, and the pressure being
thus removed from the inhabitants, they opened the pri-
aens, and set free five thousand captives, confined mostly
for political offences. They then proclaimed her Majesty
Ponna Maria, and took arms and embodied themselves as
a national guard. This circumstance we recommend
to the consideration of the Duke of Wellington, and
of Lords Aberdeen, Londonderry, and Beresford, as
a fit material for the next Conservative speech on the
C. popularity " of Miguel in the capital of his usurped
dominions. It is to be observed that hitherto not a single
soldier of Villa Floes army had crossed from the south
bank of the Tagus, nor had one of Napier's ships been seen
within the bar of Lisbon. This declaration in the Queen's
favour, therefore, was the act of the people themselves.
A. communication was, however, made by the inhabitants
to the Duke of Terceira on the morning of the 24th. The
Queen's flag was hoisted on the citadel, and afterwards
that of England, which was saluted wtth 21 guns, a salute
which was returned to the royal standard by Admiral
klaerker'and the British men of war. Terceira marched in
on the 24th. On the 25th Napier with Pattnelle on
board the flag-ship, entered the river. The Duke of Ter-
reira teok the command of the city and of all the forts.
Jieserters (say the despatches) were coming in from the
remnant of the Miguelize force, which was flying towards
the Douro. Such is the summary of the accounts
received from Lisbon to the evening of the 25th,
and it sufficiently establishes two important facts,—l,
that the capital of the kingdom, powerfully defended by
sea and land, was in tranquil possession of the lawful
Queen of Portugal ; 2, that the first movement of the in.
habitants, when relieved from Miguel's garrison, was in
open support of the Queen. The steamer from Lisbon
left Oporto on the evening of the 27th, down to which
date no fresh attack had been made on the city by Bour-
rnont, and it is evident that as the news from Lisbon must
before that time have been spread through the Mi-
guelite camp, the troops of the tyrant, already beaten
and dispirited, would he in no very savoury trim
for a renewed assault upon an exulting enemy.
The first step, of course, to be taken by England—
that to which the faith and honour of King and na-
tion ere equally pledged—is the immediate recognition
of the legitimate Queen of Portugal. She is now undis-
puted Sovereign de facto, as de jure she has always been.
She has a conquering army,—the entire fleet,—the capita'
on the Tagus, the second capital on the Douro,—the Al.
garves, the Alerntejo ;--in fine, ail the keys and command.
ing positions of the kingdom—all that represents or con.
etitutes dominion, is atoually in the hands of the Queen,
Then, we ask, can the King of Engl end's Ministers, on
their own principles, delay one moment to acknowledge
Per? If they do, we trust that the people of England will
step in to hasten their tardy, unsatisfactory, and defective
counsels. A Regency, with the Duke of Pelmella at the
head of it, is, during the minority of Diana Maria, the
great point to which the desires of all the teal friends of
Portugal ought to turn.—Tithes.
In the House of Lords last night the Dramatic Per-
formances Bill was thrown out by a majority of 4—the
numbers being 19 and 15. Now, is this either just or
considerate on the part of their Lordships? The pro-
fessed object of the Bill was to facilitate the enjoyment of
a rational amusement in which the people o. this country,
and especially of the metropolis, take much delight. Upon
s..,ch an occasion just 34 Noble Lords are in their places.
H w kind a disposition is here displayed on the part 01
their Lordships to forward the wishes of the public, if
their Lordships thought the measure good or harmless :
how Meat an interest it manifests on the part of the
Houle of Lords in the advancement of morality and religion,
if they considered the measure to be bad, or of a preju-
dicial tendency I Why the Bill met with this fate is not
app trent from the discussion. Their Lordships could
not, of course, baste been influenced by the Bishop of
London's doubt " whether it was possible for a me-
tropolitan theatre to have any other than an im-
moral tendency," or by the Right Reverend Pre-
late's tattle about " the enormous vices encouraged
in the two great theatres,". because when the Bishop
talked thus he proved that he knew nothing about the
places and the performances which he, doubtless uninten-
tionally, so injuriously misrepresented, and because,
though the great body of their Lordahips may seldom visit
the national theatres, they must know that there is no-
tiung in them at all comparable to the meretricious gyra
tione of saute of the Opera dancers, which throw their
Lordships into such ecstasies. The attack of the Bishop
upon theatrical amusements came with a peculiar bad
grace from one whose reputation as a scholar rests almost
wholly upon his laborious, and certainly very valuable
comments, upon Greek plays. Was it not, too, beneath
the good sense and at variance with the fair dealing of the
Right Rev. Prelate to attempt to catch votes by telling the
story of a young woman who went very often to the Garriek
theatre, and at last " lost her character ?" Is it possible
to have escaped the acuteness and worldly knowledge of
the Bishop of London that if such an occurrence be an