The Sun.
London, England, 1834-09-23 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

We think we have pretty well exposed (condemning
them from their own mouths) the inconsistency and
vivant of principle of the conductors of the Times, in
the attacks upon one, to praise whom, to use its own
phraseology but a little time since, " would be to re-
peat eulogies which are echoed by all men who are
properly interested in the welfare of their country,
—one who has devoted the best energies of a
noble and highly-gifted mind to the national good,
and who has been able to effect public improve-
ments which hardly lie within the reach of any
other man's power."—( Times, August 17.) This
individual who has, for fifteen years, been described in
the Times as actuated by honourable and elevated
motives—guided by fixed and enlightened principles—
aspiring to power by direct and manly means—dis-
posed to use that power virtuously,
,and capable of
using it wisely, is found all at once, and as our Corres-
pondent " Fair Play" observes, after the part he took
in the second reading of that " cheval de beadle,"
the Poor-law Bill, "an epitome of all that is mean
and contemptible and vile ;" or, as the Times
describes him whom it patronised so " affectionately,"
" fraudulent, guilty of base manceuvres, intriguing,
lying, fawning, betraying, undermining" ( Times, Aug.
'23). And yet the Times is surprised at the warmth of
the expressions of the Lord Chancellor when alluding
to its attacks upon him—attacks which, had they con-
tained a spark of truth, would have rendered him unfit
not only to retain the seals of that high office, in which
he has been enabled " to carry into effect reforms, the
necessity of which had been for years admitted on all
sides" (Times, August 17), but would have driven
him from the society of those honourable and scientific
men who now so eagerly court Lord B.'s society. "We
would allow"—says our contemporary, the Globe (al-
luding to the false imputations made by the Standard
on the Chancellor), in one of its columns yesterday—
" the most perfect liberty of comment on the public
conduct of public men ; but we would compel their as-
, sailants to speak truth respecting matters of fact, and
punish the writer who promoted his party ends by as-
serting facts which he knew to be false, or had not
good reason to believe true." And our shrewd corres-
pondent " Fair Play," speaking of the law of libel
and the liberty of the press, very justly observes—" As
for myself, I will neither yield to the Times, nor to any
person living, in zeal for the most extreme liberty of
the press; but I cannot shut my eyes against the
power it possesses of abusing that liberty nor my ears
against, facts of actual abuse, nor avoid feeling anxious
for the correction of them." And now let us hear
what our consistent contemporary says on the same
subject:—" It is strictly true that the liberty of the
press by no means implies a privilege to circulate false-
hoods of any human being. If cases of wanton ma-
lice should arise, where no regard is had by
an unprincipled journalist to the truth or false-
hood of any of his allegations, or to aught but
the amount of pain and wrong which, through them,
he may cause to the party selected for his victim—if
when one calumny has been refuted, or two or three,
and an endless series shall be risked—each lie over-
turned being but the preface to some more daring and
outrageous slander—if, in short, fiendlike and syste-
matic villainy be apparent in the face of the whole pro-
ceeding, and the largest measure of human patience in
the sufferer be overmatched by the ferocity of the yet
unpunished aggressor,—why, we say, it becomes a
question not of liberality, not of equity, not of human
and charitable feeling, but of downright prudence and
sagacity—whether the injured citizen had better sub-
mit in silence, or how he may best crush the scoundrel,
and possess his future life in peace—whether by law
or personal castigation, or by what form of either of
these dissimilar remedies." We would advise the
Chancellorto follow the first of these recommendations,
and to leave to the Times the task of crushing itself,
which it seems in a fair way of doing without his Lord-
ship's help.—Morning Chronicle.

We have copied from the Manchester Guardian
a very able article on the subject of " the reiterated
and ferocious attacks" directed by the Times against
Lord Brougham. The liberal press throughout the
country hold uniformly the same language respecting
these attacks.; and the eagerness with which they are
copied into some of the Tory journals would alone be
decisive as to the tendency of them, were there any
doubt about the matter. It cannot be said of the writer
in the Manchester Guardian that he is a flatterer
of the Lora Chancellor. On the contrary, he does
not hesitate .to • animadvert, with some severity, on
some of his supposed failings. But he admits what
no man who has paid any attention to public affairs
—during the last twenty years—can deny, that
the Lord Chancellor has laboured more for
the improvement of the people, than any man
living. The Lord Chancellor has many enemies, we
know ; but it is the good which he has attempted, and
is attempting, that has brought these enemies upon
him. A cautious, selfish man, who takes office merely
to gratify a paltry vanity, or to improve his income,
will have few enemies. But all who profit by abuses
in the laws and institutions of the country have a
deadly hatred towards a man like the Chancellor, be-
cause they know that he is in earnest in the work of
Reform, and his restless activity will carry him through.
The attornies hate Lord Brougham ; he is hated also
by a number of barristers, for reasons which ought to
endear him to the people of England. And the people
find that Lord Brougham is attacked not on account of
his weaknesses, but on account of his services to his
countrymen. The Tories, from the first, showed
their tact in looking on Lord Brougham as their most
formidable enemy. The High Church parsons, who
have good noses, singled him out in their organ (John
Bull) as a man who would never rest till he had
" disturbed their ancient reign." All these enemies
of his Lordship are, of course, overjoyed at the hosti-
lity of the Times; but it would be strange if the well-
disposed were to join those who are his enemies, pre-
cisely because he has rendered, and will continue to
render, great benefits to his fellow-citizens. But
whatever estimate may be formed of the Lord Chan-
cellor, there is but one formed of the Times. The
opinion we expressed in the outset of our controversy with
the Times has been subscribed to by every independent i
.journalist. It never, in fact, entered into the head of any
human being, that the Times, either in its praise or its
abuse, was at any time guided by a regard for truth,
honour, or honesty. People might not know the par-
ticular motive of our contemporary ; but of one thing
they were sure, that the motive was dishonest. The
Manchester Guardian hits off the character of the
Times very happily :—" People began to speculate
(says that journal) what could be the motive for that
savage hostility to his Lordship which the Times
had latterly displayed. Reasoning from the an-
cient and consistently-supported character of that
paper, they at length came to the conclusion
that it was not patriotism but private spleen which
guided the editor's pen ; that Lord Brougham
had in some way or other crossed the path of
the leading journal,' and thus committed an
• offence against its dignity, for which nothing less
than his political annihilation could afford a com-
mensurate revenge. * * * * * * So far as we
ourselves are concerned, the calumnies and defamation
of the Times have merely given renewed strength to an
opinion which more than twenty years' constant pe-
rusal of the Times had previously led us to form, that,
with all its activity and talent, with all its occasionally
splendid, services to the public cause, it has very little
real principle, is utterly unscrupulous in its conduct
towards those who have offended it, and would rather
commit a hundred acts of
, injustice than make an ac-
knowledgment of, error. In the case of the Lord
Chancellor it has, however, miscalculated its force ;
and the anticipated triumph has ended in shame and
discomfiture.—Morning Chronicle.
We fully agree with Lord Durham, that the whole
state of Ireland is at present a question of the first im.
portance, and we still more fully concur with his Lord-
ship " that on this question may be said to hinge the
existence of the present Administration." For the
"peace and prosperity of Ireland" we are as anxious
as his Lordship, or (to use his own words) " as any
Irishman can be ;" and of such vital and immense im-
portance do we consider this object, that for its at-
tainment we think the adoption of almost any means
might be justified. But is it to be credited, as has
been reported, and, from what we have ourselves ob-

served, we fear too truly, that a part of the Cabinet
are ready, if they are not now in direct connection with
him, to admit into their confidence and councils that
unprincipled and mischievous individual, of whom it may
be fairly said he has only wanted courage to become
a rebel. Even if we believed that Ireland really could
be tranquilised by such a disgraceful connection, ought
we to hesitate in rejecting it, when we recollect that
so direct and indecent an encouragement of all but
open rebellion, of such a system of selfish and das-
tardly political conduct, must inevitably inflict so severe
a blow, not only on the character and moral influence
of the present Government, but of all Governments,
as would effectually counterbalance even the immense
benefit to be derived from it. But we confess that we
have no such confidence in the power and influence of
the arch Agitator. Notwithstanding the Globe autho-
ritatively tells us that this individual " has the power to
place three fourths of the people of Ireland in harmony
with the Government," and notwithstanding a charge is
made by the same Journal against Lord Grey, for hav-
ing " excluded him from all the Ministerial arrange-
ments HI" and " insulted him by making his oppo-
nent a Judge instead of him !" But let us pause and
ask is the power of England and of the Government of
Great Britain sunk so low, that it is paralysed by the
machinations of a single individual ?—We cannot
believe such to be the fact. All that is requisite to be
done, in order to completely annihilate the influence of
such a man, is to adopt a manly and just course
towards Ireland, to redress real grievances, and to ex-
tend that protection to the peaceable and loyal portion
of its inhabitants whieh they have a right to expect.
That it might once have answered to have bought off
(to use a political phrase) this individual, we may not
deny ; but, at any price, now he would be dear, if not
absolutely ruinous ; and what pledge or security could
ever be obtained from such a one ? But we have heard
' it suggested, and by those who know something of what
is passing with respect to Ireland, that a place in the
Government might be found, and that then he would
be safe. But can any person believe that the people
of Great Britain would, for an instant, allow such a
man to take a part in their councils—one with whom
Lord Grey has so well said he would not hold even
the slightest communication on any subject ; and, if
we know anything of the public mind, we believe that
the mere surmise of the possibility of such an event
has already created, throughout the kingdom, one ge-
neral feeling of disgust ; and which feeling, we trust,
would, on such a connexion taking place, burst forth
with sufficient strength to hurl from power any Mi-
nisters, be they who they may, who could thus dese-
crate their important offices, and thus wantonly and
grossly insult the understandings of the loyal and well-
disposed throughout both Great Britain and Ireland.
—Morning Herald.
The organs of the disappointed Whigs, at the beck
of their employers, who are enraged at the failure of
the attempt at Edinburgh to ape the glorious assem-
blages at Glasgow, at Dublin, and at Newton, have al-
ready commenced to sneer at and cast odium upon the
proceedings of the Men of Kent. The avant Courier
has made his appearance, and seeks with puny voice to
negative the effects which the commemoration of his
Majesty's glorious declaration will necessarily produce.
'Kent, forsooth, " is one of the least advanced coun-
ties of the kingdom." Following so closely upon the
demonstrations we have referred to, the county of
Kent has surely not been very backward in the career
of civilization. But " Kent is deprived of flourishing
woollen, worsted, and iron manufactures," and " want-
ing coals"—Heaven save the mark l—" has not
sprung forward like the other parts of the kingdom."
We will tell this manufacturing and undermining
scribe what the Men of Kent are, and what are their
projects in this re-union. The Men of Kent are loyal
subjects of the House of Brunswick, and they revere
the principles which set that house upon the throne of
these realms. They are devotedly attached to our ve-
nerable Church, they are determined opponents of all
speculative innovations, and they hate imposition
and charlatanism. The Men of Kent recognize in
the solemn declaration of King William the Fourth to
the Bishops an unflinching resolution to support a
Christian Church in union with a Christian State.
The Men of Kent are resolved to stand to the last by
the solemn appeal of his Most Gracious Majesty, and
to uphold with their lives the institutions with which
the prosperity of this country is intimately connected.
The "class of people," (as the men of Kent are called
by the blockhead in the Courier, who could never
surely have seen the list of Stewards, consisting of
seventy-five names of the highest rank, talent, and
wealth of the county) who will attend at the comme-
moration regard with ineffable contempt and laugh to
scorn the threat that their projects will be " checked."
The writer who has thus dared to menace the Men of
Kent, no doubt with sufficient authority, has displayed
as little tact in the application of his threat as he has
shown information as to the actual state of the popula-
tion. The Men of Kent will maintain their attitude of
defiance against the enemies of Church and State, and
are resolved to defend the sacred cause of law, order,
and religion, in despite of the Courier and its masters.
The moral example will not be lost upon other coun-
ties, and before it will have spent its force we shall be
enabled to present abundant proofs of the existence of
a re-action.—Morning Post.
We have yet a few more words to say on the charge
of the Bishop of London. The suggestions as to the
system of instruction in the national schools seem to
us liberal and judicious :
" Religion ought to be made the ground-work of all educa-
tion ; its lessons should be interwoven with the whole tissue
of instruction, and its principles should regulate the entire
system of discipline, in our national schools. But I believe
that the lessons of religion will not be rendered less impres-
sive or effectual by being interspersed with teaching of a dif-
ferent kind. The Bible will not be read with less interest if
history, for example, and geography, and the elements of
useful practical science, be suffered to take their turn in
the circle of daily instruction. On the contrary, lam per-
suaded, that the youthful mind will recur, with increased
curiosity and intelligence, to the great facts, and truths,
and precepts of holy writ, if it be enlarged and enlivened
by an acquaintance with other branches of knowledge.
I see no reason why the education given to the poor should
differ from the education of their superiors, more widely
than the different circumstances and duties of their respec-
tive conditions in life render absolutely necessary. One
thing is certain, and it is a very important consideration„
that if we teach them the methods of acquiring one kind of
knowledge, they will apply them to the acquisition of other
kinds ; if we sharpen their faculties for one purpose, they will
be sure to use them for others.. Some information, on subjects
of general interest, many of them will undoubtedly seek to ob-
tain ; and it is plainly desirable that they should receive it from
our hands in a safe and unobjectionable form. It is desirable,
also, that they should not be accustomed to consider that there
is anything like an opposition between the doctrines and pre-
cepts of our holy religion and other legitimate object's" of intel-
lectual inquiry ; or that it is difficult to reconcile a due regard
to the supreme importance of the one, with a certain degree of
laudable curiosity about the other."
The Bishop then proceeds to observe that the ex-
tension and improvement of the national system will pro-
bably decide the question whether the education of the
poorer classes shall be suffered to remain where it
ought to remain, in the hands of the parochial clergy,
or whether an attempt will be made to place it under
the control and direction of Government ; and he con-
cludes by saying, that if the latter experiment should
go to deprive the clergy of any portion of their
legitimate authority and influence in the education of
the country, it would be productive of incalculable
evil. The cause of the church can gain nothing by
this style of reasoning ; on the contrary, under such
weak assumptions its defences seem- to break down.
Why should it be made to appear that the compulsory '
system of education (open to so many solid objections)
is judged of with a jealous reference to the authority
and influence of the clergy ? Could a more suspicious
or invidious ground of objection have been presented?
If the change would diminish our authority, reasons
the Bishop, it would produce incalculable evil. This
is a conclusion which will not be accepted in these
times. The Bishop has to maintain the value of the
authority which he flings into the scale against inno-
vation as if no conceivable benefits to society could
weigh against it. Men are not now satisfied with the
assurance that any projeet which would abate the
authority of the clergy would be of incalculable evil.
They will have the authority valued, and the evil of.
any deduction from it distinctly proved. The argu-
ments of Demetrius, the silversmith, have lost cur-
rency; and we know of nothing so injudicious as the
introduction of them into any question in which the
church is concerned. A judicious advocate of the
establishment will not deal in apprehensions of injury

to the clergy, but will rather show the injury to society
which would result from any measure affecting the
clergy, and diminishing their influence. The Bishop
is so indiscreet as to make the following remark :
" A conclusive argument for the disinterestedness of the
great body of the clergy is to be found in the fact, that the
greater part of enter upon their sacred office without any
reasonable prospect of obtaining more than a scanty pittance,
inferior to that which- might have been earned in almost any
secular calling."
Yet the wealthy bishoprics and rich livings have been
defended as prizes within the possible reach of all,
and operating as motives to the exertions of all, though
few can grasp them. But it is not true that the pe-
cuniary condition of the. clergy is lower than that of
any other profession. We may instance the army as
worse paid than the clergy. A poor subaltern is not
better off in money matters than a poor curate ; most
rectors are better paid than field officers ; and there are
no military appointments which equal bishoprics. A
poor man who enters the army may hope to be a Ge-
neral, but he cannot hope to realise a fortune ; but a
poor man who enters the church may hope to be a
Bishop and a man of great wealth. The profession of
peace has pecuniary inducements, which are wanting
in the profession of arms. The honour of the service
should be equally felt in both cases. Our Bishop says,
however—

" We plead, as we will continue to plead, for the temporal
possessions and immunities which belong to the established
church, because we are persuaded, and every day's experience
proves it to be so, that they recommend the church, and
through it the doctrines which it teaches, to the acceptance of
the people at large; that they give to l its ministers advan-
tage ground, upon which they may male their stand, and pro-
claim the great truths of the Gospel, with an authority, de-
rived indeed from their high commission, but strengthened by
the habits and prepossessions of their hearers ; and because it
serves as a perennial fountain of divine truth, continually send-
ing forth its streams to fertilize the dry and barren places of
the land, which, if left to the operation of a voluntary system,
would lie for ever desolate and neglected.
In some cases it is to be apprehended that wealth
gives the clergy a "'vantage ground " which raises
them too high above the people, among whom their
mission lies. In the latter part of the passage we have
quoted, the Bishop becomes ungrammatical, vague, and
flowery in a commonplace. way. The argument, how-
ever, we collect to be this—that the clergy turn the
authority of wealth to the strengthening of their com-
missions, but the Bishop forgets that wealth would not
have had the great authority of which he would so
avail himself, if the lessons of Christianity had been
effectively inculcated. And in the churches of other
nations, not to mention the near example of the Irish
priesthood, we see that the clergy can maintain their
respect and influence without drawing on the worldly
worship of wealth.— Times.