The Sun.
London, England, 1834-11-21 00:00:00

thing that bears the name of Protestant in that country. vilifier
and aspersed—when I see the ministers of that religion ir-
s tilted, degraded, and I may say waylaid and murdered in open
day with impunity—when I see hundreds and thousands o!
our Protestant brethren compelled to emigrate from that
country, and solely on account of the religion they possess,
I entertain not the slightest doubt that the attack is not made
as is alleged, solely upon the revenues of the Church, but
that it is a direct, a hostile, an organised conspiracy against
the Protestant population of the country. If we turn our
attention from Ireland, we find in the last Session of Par-
liament that two important measures received the sanction of
the House of Commons, which, had they not been arrested
in their progress by the House of Lords, would have
tended very materially to weaken that connection which
has so long subsisted between Church and State, I mean
the Bills for the admission of Jews to Parliament, and for the
admission of Dissenters to the Universities, although the ob-
jection to these Bills appear to me to rest on very distinct and
different grounds.—( Cheers and hear.) With regard to the
former, they are a wandering race, possessing no stake in the
country, and consequently cannot be supposed to be deeply
interested in the welfare and prosperity of one country more
than another; and I sincerely hope that the principles and re-
ligious feelings of the country will never be so far outraged as
to allow a Jew to legislate for a Christian community. With
regard to the latter, the case is infinitely more complicated,
because the Dissenters are an intelligent, highly respectable
body of men, possessing a large stake in the country—( Hear,
hear)—and cannot but be considered as valuable acquisitions
to any community.—( Hear, hear.) The objection, therefore,
is not to the individuals, but to the principle they seek to este-
blish•by their admission—that principle which was so openly
avowed during the debates in Parliament last year, viz., the
principle of separation of Church and State. It is impossible
for me to make use of more emphatic or more fitting lan-
guage than that used by his Majesty in his gracious declara-
tion, when he says " The threats of the enemies of the Church
make it the more necessary for those who feel their duty
to that Church to speak out." We are assembled here for
that purpose. This no party or political meeting. We
are met here as loyal subjects, to speak out—( Hear, hear)—
to express our gratitude to our King for that glorious declara-
tion of his sentiments, for those conscientious feelings of at-
tachment to our Church, which do equal honour to his head
and to his heart. (Cheering. )—The cause of the Protestants
in Ireland is the cause of England. ( Hear, hear. )—ln fight-
ing their battles we are fighting the cause of England upon
the soil of Ireland ; and it is only by uniting our energies with
theirs, and by rallying round the sacred banner of Church
and State, that we can hope to preserve to them, and to our-
selves, those inestimable blessings which have so long en-
joyed—( Cheers); blessings that we may well deem the best
inheritance bequeathed to us by our ancestors, and the best
legacy we can transmit to our posterity—( Loud cheering fol-
lowed the conclasion of the speech, and the toast was drunk

with great enthusiasm.)
The CHAIRMAN then proposed, as a toast, " the Army and
Navy," which was most enthusiastically cheered.
The Hon. Coicnel MURRAY rose to return thanks. Though
his profession was not immediately connected with politics,
still he could not but think it to be the duty of soldiers and
sailors to co-operate in upholding the Church and the Consti-
tution under which they claimed citizenship. That portion of
subjects could therefore well co-operate with their fellow-
countrymen in affording the Monarch their support in carry-
ing into effect his Majesty's glorious declaration to the clergy.
He should ever hope to see the army and navy of the land
ready to support the Church Establishment of the nation, as
being the most glorious part of the British Constitution.—
( Loud cheers.)
Sir BROOK BRIDGES, Bart., then rose to propose to them the
health of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the praiseworthy
clergy of that part of the empire. , Unfortunately, there were
not only infidels, but also there were other persons, respectable
individuals, who, though professing to belong to the Esta-
blished Church, still conceived it to be their interest to en-

courage Dissenting privileges in others. One great advantage
from the Established Church was that all, particularly the
poor, benefited from it, inasmuch as it pointed out to them
sound rules of moral conduct and religious faith—rules sanc-
tioned by the laws of the country and by the opinions of eminent
men who came to a right conclusion, at which the poor, if left
to themselves, on account of their ignorance, could not arrive.
Another advantage was, that the ministers of the Church were
bound to guide the young, to comfort the sick, and to console
the aged. Now unless there were a Church established by
law, the poorer classes would be bereft of all the advantages
of religious instruction. He should, therefore, beg the meet-
ing to look at America and other countries, in which
there neither existed, nor was sought to be maintained, any
connection between Church and State—( Cheers.) In those
countries the poor had not the benefit or comfort to be derived
from the parochial clergy. Let the clergy in this country and
those be compared, and all would easily see the immense ad-
vantages of an Established Church—( Cheers.) In examining
the merits of that church he begged to state his conviction
that there did not exist in the world any body of men so at-
tached to the important duties of their office as were the cler-
gymen of the Church of England—( Cheers.) He regretted
that there were a few lamentable exceptions—that some cases
of dereliction of duty did exist ; but these instances were of
sue.: rare occurrence that it did not form any thing like the
general ,-,.ltaracter of the Ministers of the Church of England.
However, the:c was such a spirit of innovation abroad that
it was necessary ,for them all to beware and to guard against
it—( Cheers. )
The Rev. THOMAS SUDON returned thanks for the cordial
manner in which the healths of the Archbishop of Canterbury
and of the Clergy of the Diocese hat: been received and drank
by the company present. He was awize that their enemies
would insinuate that they had met that night, ,not to support the
Church in its purity, but to support tithes and all the abuses
of the Establishment. He, however, most distinctly denied
any such assertion.—(Cheers.) He had no fear that the
Church would fall, so long as it was supported by a Constitu-
tional King, and by the most intellectual and influential por-
tion of the community.
The CHAIRMAN then gave " the health of the Duke of
Wellington."—( Immense cheering, which lasted several mi-
nutes.) The Duke of Wellington is a man far above all
party considerations ; he can have no earthly object in view
except to uphold the honour and promote the welfare of that
country for which he has so often and so successfully fought
and bled—( Hear, hear, and cheering)—and we may rest well
assured, that to whatever objects the energies of his great and
comprehensive mind are directed, they will be carried through
with that ability, that sagacity, and that strict integrity, which
has ever characterized his brilliant career.—( Great cheering.)
The Earl of WINCHILSEA rose amid loud cheering, and said
that it was the duty of all now to rally round the Throne and
defend the altars of their country. In the declaration their
most gracious Sovereign told them "that the threats of those
who are enemies to the Church made it more necessary for
those who feel their attachment to that Church to speak
out." They were assembled for that purpose, and they
would speak out. They would loudly tell the men,
who were not only enemies to the Church, but to every
institution from the throne downwards, and their threats
would be brought to naught.—( Cheers.) It was impossible not
to reflect on the condition in which the Church was placed.
lie did not mean to allude to the great changes brought about
by men who seemed guided by no precedent, and who struck
into paths hitherto ventured upon- by no one—who hazarded
innovations that had brought the country almost to ruin.—
( Hear, hear ) But, though the Church was placed in a pre-
carious situation, through God and their country the danger
would be now averted, and England would stand, as she had
hitherto stood, the happiest nation in the world.—( Loud
cheers.) He flattered himself that it was pretty generally
known that he had always discharged his duty towards his
country to the best of his power. The toast he had to pro-
pose was—" Success to the noble efforts of their Protestant
fellow-countrymen, in the sister kingdom to support their altars
and their religion ; and may defeat tend upon the efforts
of the agitators and enemies of that religion—and may those
Scriptural truths be established, which alone could lead to
the peace, tranquillity, and safeguard of that portion of hi;
Majesty's dominions."—( Hear, hear.) England owed to Ire-
land a deep and heavy debt, and if she were placed under the
same laws and had the same sound religion established, she
would be relieved from the evils of agitation, and would be
now a useful portion of England, instead of being a burden to
her. But he hoped they were now about to have an Adminis-
tration who would not act as the late Government had done,
namely, weaken the Protestant religion, but who would use
every effort to strengthen it in that part of his Majesty's do-
minions. If the Roman Catholic party in Ireland required
the protection of the Government and Legislature, how much
more did the Protestants of that country require it, who for
the last three years had suffered unheard-of persecutions, and
who were within that period, to the number of 170,000,
obliged to seek an asylum in England? He would say
that h was a disgrace to any Government to allow any
country to ran4in in that unprotected state in which Ire-
land had been of .years left.—( Hear.) He hoped that
the loyal conduct of the Protestants in that country would in-
duce the future Government to take not only their case into
consideration, but also that of the whole body throughout the
empire.
The toast was then drunk amid general cheering.
The Hon. Captain KING begged to return the company his
warmest thanks for the manner in which they had received
the last toast. He was well acquainted with Ireland, And he
could assure gentlemen present that the Protestants of Ireland
were well deserving their sympathy. They were not only
fighting their own battle, but they were fighting on Iris!‘
ground, the battle of Protestant England.
The CHAIRMAN then proposed the health of the Earl of
Winchilsca, which was drunk with great enthusiasm.
Mr. W. MARTIN said that the toast which had been con-
fided to him was one of the deepest importance—it was the
heet;, of the House of Lords. He did not think it necessary
to .claim for it the support of the intelligent and influential
individuals presem, since the very object of their meeting ma-
nifested their intentio3 of supporting every branch of the
Constitution. Next to the Church the Peers were most
threatened by the Radicals, and that portion of the press de-
voted to them. Throughout the late contests the Conserva-
tive party were placed in rather an anomalous position—
they apparently seemed during that time, to be opposed
to the Monarch and the Government. Now the case
was different—they were ranged by the King's side,
and proud must the present day be to them when
they saw once more the banner of monarchy gloriously
floating over their heads.—( Loud cheers.) They had now a
chief to fight under, and the country had only to answer to the
call the King made upon them to rally and support Conserva-
tive principles. By responding to that call, they would show
to the King the value they set upon his choice, and whether
they thought the Duke of Wellington's Administration would
be a enefit to the country or nt. He begged to remind them
that the House of Lords was as o
it were the Conservative Mem-