The Sun.
London, England, 1834-12-04 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

Though Church-rates are condemned by public
opinion, the blind and head-strong devotees of the
Hierarchy are not alive to the " signs of the times."
The High Church bigots would seem to think the
present moment favourable for giving battle, and they
have chosen for the scene of action the town of Bir-
mingham. In that enlightened town, abounding and
growing in Dissent, the popular insurrection against
Church-rates first commenced in 1832, whence it
spread like wild-fire through all the large towns of
England and Wales. In 1831-2, a great majority of
the rate-payers of Birmingham, in open vestry as-
sembled, rejected the proposition of a fourpenny rate,
and instead of the imposition, almost unanimously
passed the following resolutions :-
1. " That every, religious association ought to depend on
the voluntary contributions of its members for its support ;
that it is unjust in principle, vexatious and oppressive in prac-
tice, and, moreover, utterly repugnant to the genius of Chris-
tianity, to tax men for the support of a system of religion they
do not approve."
2. " That what is called ' the Established Church of Eng-
land,' is partly supported by the forced contributions of min
who dissent either from its doctrines or its discipline ; and
that, therefore, (for the reasons given in the foregoing resolu-
tion) this meeting feels it incumbent upon it to resist, by
every legal and peaceable means, so outrageous a violation of
every principle of religion and justice."
From this memorable decision to the present period,
the communicants of the Church Establishment in
Birmingham have handsomely defrayed the expenditure
(formerly provided in Church-rate levy) by voluntary
contribution. A clique of political Churchmen, how-
ever, are determined again to involve the Church of
England in a deplorable contest with the Protestant
sects dissenting from the Establishment, with the
" Society of Friends," and two numerous congrega-
tions of Catholics. Cui bond 2we would say to these
mistaken zealots of the Hierarchy. What possible
good can result from this agitation of the religious
community ? What charity will spring from such " re-
ligious" contentions ? If the High Churchmen are
defeated, where will be the gain, pecuniary or in good-
will, to the Establishment? If the Church be success-
ful, will not the Dissenters groan under the injustice,
and never rest till the humiliation is removed? In-
fatuated indeed must those Tory Churchmen be who
can for a moment believe that the country will
submit to this pillage of one class of religionists in
support cf the ecclesiastical forms and peculiar tenets
of another. What would the burning zealots for
church-rates say if a tax was imposed upon them to
repair the Vatican of the Pope of Rome, to plaster
the mosques of Constantinople, or to provide red and
yellow caps for the Grand Lama priests of the Western
Tartars ? Are the theological Tories of Birmingham
aware that Episcopacy and church-rates are not neces-
sarily connected ? The Episcopal Church of Scotland
is kept up by its own adherents--church-cess is abo-
lished in Ireland—and we may add, that church-rates
are practically abolished in England. Could the late
Ministry, in the next session of Parliament, have.
avoided the entire abolition of the rate ? Can Welling-
ton or Peel refuse to relieve the Dissenters from this
odious tax ? Why, then, should the Torified Church-
men of Birmingham thus immolate the Church, and
render a sacred institution odious in the eyes of
the Dissenting sects in hostile array around her ?
Nor is this a question of Dissent. It is simply one of
justice and policy. The injustice of the imposition
is a settled principle with all but the blindest bigots ;
the policy of it may be calculated from the fact,
that the two parties in Birmingham have been long
preparing for an active and deadly fight—that Com-
mittees are organized—that the Pulpits have sounded
the note of crusade, and that mad Churchmen dream
that they shall gain by such un-Christian and bit-
ter social commotions ! The Liberal Members of the
Establishment are scandalised by these disgraceful and
suicidal follies of their bigoted brethren. Are there
no wise friends--no enlightened Clergy, of the Church,
in Birmingham, to step forth on Friday next, when
the rate-payers in angry attitude will meet to debate
the question of a church-rate, or to save the Establish-
ment from her false and destructive friends ? Who
are the real friends of Hierarchy ?—the fanatic writers
who in the Tory journals urge on these strifes and
contentions— or the conscientious Churchmen
who desire to terminate injustice and to rescue
the establishment from the folly of indiscreet par-
tisans ? Sincerely do we hope that by the timely
intervention of the more liberal and far-seeing mem-
bers of the Church of England, this threatened politi-
cal movement (for we are sure that the rate-proposers,
at such a time, in such a town, and under present cir-
cumstances, must have a political object in view) will
be stopped, and a public subscription substituted. In
what religion can gain we are at a loss to imagine ;
what will befall the Church of England by the repeti-
tion of i.uch follies it requires not the gift of prophecy
to foretell. The old English adage is pertinent--
" Save me from my friends, and I will take care of my
enemies."—Morning Chronicle.

The Church•and-King wen are taking the field.
Lord Kenyon has published an Address " to t'ne Pro-
testants of Great Britain" in the Standard (we must
postpone this precious document till to-morrow), in
which, alluding to our gracious King, his Lordship says,
'son its being asked of him whether he would sanction a
partial extinction of Pr testanism in Ireland ? he re-
plied, like his sainted father, I will die first ;' " and
then his Lordship exclaims, " Shall your Kirg
be deserted when he so makes his stand ? If Britons
deserve to be called Christians, the nation's cry will be
—NEVER !—WE WILL STAND BY OUR KING.
We will not desert our God." The Standard is be-
yond measure gratified by this letter. The Sinecure
Church must not be touched. No matter whether we
have flocks or not—we must keep up the number of
Bishops—we must keep up the number of Protestant
pastors without flocks--they must still shear the Ca-
tholic flocks. Their cause is the cause of GOD. Like
the " Famine, Fire, and Slaughter," of Coleridge, the
Winchilseas and Kenyons " will cling to the Duke
everlastingly." We are obliged also to postpone an
account of " a great Conservative dinner at Ipswich"
(for everything is great now—even the meeting of
Lairds and Farmers at Kelso is " a great Agricultural
Meeting.") Upwards of 300 Conservatives of East
Suffolk dined at Ipswich on Tuesday, and yet up-
wards of 100 could not obtain admission. Suffolk is
" the Parson county" par excellence, and Parsons
abounded. Dr. Etough contended that the con-
nection between Church and State was ordered
by God himself, to be a precedent for all future time.
The Chairman, Sir C. Brooke Vere, called on the in-
habitants of Suffolk "to strengthen the Conservative
interest." " The Duke" was received with frantic ex-
ultation, " Sir Robert Peel" cordially ; but it is evi-
dent that the High Churchmen are somewhat suspici-
ous that Sir Robert will not "go the whole hog:"
Lord John Russell was termed " the inveterate And
uncompromising enemy of the Established Church."
" Those," said Dr. Etough, " of the late Whig Mi-
nistry who were foremost in the robbery of the Church
of Ireland, and were the most desirous to have the
same robbery perpetrated on the Church of England,
were the descendants of the men who had reaped the
greatest benefit from the spoliation of Church pro-
perty." Lord Henniker rejoiced that " the reign of
misrule was at an end." In short, one and
.Vj seemed
to exult that Reform was at end, and t.l;iat abuses in
Church and State would remain as ';uxuriant as ever.
—Morning Chronicle. .

-Idere is no agitation--there There is no excitement-4
in the public mind, in con-
is no alarm, say the Tori ,s,
7uption of all but the Sovereignty
sequence of the assn
of the State by '.tie Duke of Wellington ; and, truly,
for once,
th`4.are in the right. There was agitation—
there trpas alarm—there was excitement, when the news
of the extraordinary, unprecedented, and uncalled-for
dismissal of his Majesty's Ministers, burst, along with
the appointment of the Duke of Wellington as their
successor, like a thunderbolt, upon the ears of the
people ; but these feelings have now vanished—the
people have had time to reflect, and as they
have reflected, they have ceased to entertain alarm,
or to be frightened by the accession of even a
Tory Cabinet to manage the affairs of the coun-
try. They feel that they have the power in their own
hands of putting an end to it, when, and in whatever
manner, they please. The Reform Act is in their
hands, and they rest on its power to accomplish, not
only a reform in Church and State, but such a change
of Administration as shall in every respect meet their

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