The Sun.
London, England, 1833-04-01 00:00:00

SPlltlf OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS

-
It were really to, be wished that certain portions of
the people of Scotland would be satisfied with the
triumph of puritanism over episcopacy in their own
region, and would refrain from instructing their mem-
bers to torment us Englishmen with stupid and
vexatious motions in Parliament, falsely entitled
" for the better observance of the Sabbath." What
business have these comparative strangers to our
customs with the mode in which Englishmen
spend their Sundays, in their own country too ?"
What folly, as well as presumption, is it, for Sir
Andrew Agnew to come and dictate to the con-
sciences of 12,000,000 or 13,000,000 of English-
men how they on the south side of the Scot-
tish border shall employ themselves, their fami-
lies, servants, &c. ! Sir Andrew Agnew has
brought in a RH, which we shall not term nonsensical
merely, because there is throughout its provi-
sions a tendency to direct and lamentrble mis-
chief, to make the mass of the people shrink
from the return of " the Lord's Day" as one
of unpitying restraint and privation, as one of alarm
and confinement, as a day on which spies and in-
formers only were permitted to enjoy themselve.,
or could carry on any profitable business, by watch-
ing the most innocent actions of their neighbours,
invading through key-holes the domestic privacy of
every tradesman's house, and swearing to the breach
of some of the thousand and one prohibitions of this
inquisitorial and hypocritical act for the sake of half
the penalty. Six days of labour would thus be em-
ployed by Act of Parliament to usher in for every
poor family in the kingdom a Sabbath of gloom and
stupefaction. The ministers of religion are already
looked upon with coldness by the bulk of the laity
for one cause, now about, we trust, to be removed.
But, as if there were a revival of a certain " solemn
league" against the best influences of our episcopal
establishment upon the minds of the people, down
comes this sour covenanter with his law for inter-
cepting the return of all kindliness and good temper
in the English community towards their pastors, and
for aggravating the unfavourable sentiment
hitherto entertained against the persons of the
established clergy into one of hatred towards re-
ligion itself, the name and authority of which
will have been made instruments for oppressing
the people ! The preamble of the Bill asserts,
that it is the " bounden duty of the Legislature to
protect every class of society against being com-
pelled to sacrifice their comfort, health, religious
privileges, and conscience, for the convenience, en-
joyment, or supposed advantage of any other class
on the Lord's Day ;" and then the Bill goes on
slap-dash to enact, that no person, " upon any part
of" the Lord's Day, shall do or exercise any kind of
work, &c., or shall employ or hire any person to do
it for them, under penalties afterwards defined.
Now, how does this provision cohere with the
preamble above quoted ? The preamble asserts, that
no man's comfort is to be interfered with, for the
sake of another man's comfort ; the enactment goes
directly to meddle with the comfort of every in-
dividual in the community, by telling him that
he shall not dare to do a prodigious number of
things in his own house without certain punishment
on detection. Another clause says, in effect, that
no person or family not keeping house, or having
conveniences to dress their own dinner, shall, on the
Lord's Day, eat any dinner at all; for they must
not eat in any public-house, hotel, or coffee-house,
nor, on the other hand, is the hotel, coffee-house,
or tavern keeper, to send out any eatables to a cus-
tomer sleeping under a different roof, be he ever so
near famishing for his dinner. It is well known,
moreover, that the great majority of minor trades-
men and working people in towns have their Sun-
day dinners cooked in some neighbouring oven, and
sent home hot from the baker's. But perish bakers,
customers, and piecrusts all; this is henceforth, on
the Lord's Day, to be an offence against the statute.
The cold remnant of the pinched meal of Saturday,
prepared before the week's wages have been re-
ceived, is hereafter to " furnish forth the Sunday
feast." The Scotch fanatic will have it that our epis-
copalian countrymen are to enjoy, for the sake of the
"comfort, health, religious privilege s, and conscience,"
of the aforesaid modest and benevolent puritan, no
less than 52 Parliamentary fast-days in the year,
over and above those others for which alas! too
numerous already, they need not resort to any Act
of Parliament. That shops are not to be " open"
on Sundays, it did not require this Draco of devo-
tion to enjoin. The good sense and respectful
spirit of the public has already, and abundantly, se-
cured throughout every part of England the pious
Christian from that violation of his feelings. Again,
no meeting is to take place for public debating or
discussing any subject, or for public lecture, on a
Sunday. What not for a religious lecture ?—not
for any serious communing ? Why, there are 50
religious congregations in London which would'
at the will of captious and arbitrary Magistrates,
be punishable under such a statute. Again, no
news-room or club-room is to be :open on " the
Lord's Day ;" and every person being seen in either
description of apartment shall be liable in pe-
nalties of from ss. to Si. ! It is pretty clear
what sort of reception such a Bill will meet from
Members of Parliament, some of whom—we speak
from knowledge—have no homes to repair to but
their clubs. This is a conjuror of a Scotchman :
he subjects a man for being drunk on " the Lord's
Day" to a penalty of 205., being, in fact, a bounty
on drunkenness every other day in the week! By
the way, the Scoteb,as we haVe heard them say, do
not close their brothels on a Sunday. No stage-
coach is to carry passengers on " the Lord's Day."
No person can hire post-horses for a journey, or a
single horse to drive his wife or child for healthful
recreation, on " the Lord's Day." No matter how
urgent the business, be it one of charity, duty, secu-
rity, health—one in which life or death may be the
alternative—no man can budge from home, or,
being away, can return to his fire-side,
without incurring fearful penalties, or invol-
ving others in them. We thought that they
who travelled " by land and by water" were spe-
cially prayed for by the Church of England ; yet
this ruthless fanatic decrees penalties of from 501. to
1001. against every vessel of less than 200 tons
burden which shall start upon a foreign voyage (let
the wind be ever so favourable) on the Lord's
Day ! Have we gone far enough in exposing this
monstrous compound of intrusive folly and imperti-
nence ? Mr. Beaumont well described it as a Bill
for promoting " cant," and if it promotes anything
else but a general derision of its author, we are much
deceived. What Sir Andrew Agnew's pretensions
are to the rank and authority of a legislator may be
further judged from a second measure of which he
has given notice, viz, :—" Art address to his Ma-
jesty, praying that he would be graciously pleased
to command that the carriage gates of Hyde-park
may be kept closed on the Lord's Day." It will
scarcely be carried. He attacks both ends of so-
ciety—what impartial blockheadism !—Tinzes.
We lately noticed the proceedings of a dinner
in London, honourably given by a numerous body
of eminent members of the Royal Society, and
comprising the names of the Chemical Professors
of the British and Irish Universities, in celebration
of the Centenary Birthday of Dr. Priestley. We
rejoice to see that this example of respect for the
character of that distinguished Philosopher and
Divine has been subsequently followed in Bir-
mingham—a town, the theatre of those lamented
and disgraceful scenes in 1791, which exiled
Dr. Priestley from his native laud, and in
which, Vandal-like, were destroyed his library,
philosophical apparatus, and the manuscript labours
of years. In Birmingham—and at the same hotel
which popular delusion first assailed on an occasion
when the French Revolution was celebrated. by the
advocates of Reform—the services of Dr. Priestley
in philosophy, and in moral arid political science,
are now peaceably and honourably commemorated
by a numerous assemblage of his surviving personal
friends and ardent admirers. We extract from the
Birmingham Journal the following brief but elo-
vent notice of this local meeting, which excellently