The Sun.
London, England, 1834-10-27 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOU

Considerable disappointment has been
various quarters, on grounds religious, as
tical, at the manner in which Lord Me
commenced the disposition of his Church patronage.
Since his accession to his present office, two prominent
pieces of preferment have fallen—the See of Bristol,
and a Canonry of Windsor. The former he has
given to the tutor of Lord Althorp, of the name of
Allen ; the latter to a member of some noble family
of the name of Moore—both names undistinguished
in the walks of theology and literature, and entirely
unknown as belonging to the supporters of those
liberal principles, upon the continued ascendancy of
which, the Administration alone can preserve its
power. Lord Grey was condemned for his conduct in
this particular in too many instances ; but it must
not be forgotten, that he promoted such men as
Tate, Maltby, Sidney Smith, and Whateley,
who were recommended to him only by their per-
sonal reputation and the independence of their
characters. A tutor of a Chancellor of the Exche-
quer may, indeed, reasonably expect to derive some
benefit from his pupil's advancement ; but Dr. Allen
had been already amply preferred. In 1807, Lord
Spencer procured for him a prebend of Westminster,
which, at 1,4001. a year, must have netted him little
short of 30,000/. As part of the patronage of the
Dean and Chapter, he claimed the vicarage of St.
Bride's, in Fleet-street, having previously obtained
from Lord Spencer the valuable living. of Battersea :
from these sources he cannot have received much less
than from his stall. Of course he was a non-resident
pluralist, without the excuse of a scanty income to jus-
tify his having the prebend and the country benefice
before he took the town one. The case of Dr. Web-

[bourne

ber (the non-resident minister of St. Margarets') stated
a few days ago—an individual equally undistinguished—
is not a more striking instance of favouritism than
Dr. Allen's. Of Mr. Moore, nothing can be said,
for nothing is known. The Tories pursued this course
of patronage as part of their system ; but in the
Whigs, and especially under a Government that was
understood at its re-adjustment to be even more liberal
in its views than Lord Grey's, it is not more incon-
sistent and offensive than suicidal. The Church, as a
body, never can be propitiated by any Ministry friendly
to reform. The attempt to win them over by neglect-
ing the fair pretensions of the political friends of
Government, is not more unprincipled than hopeless.
The clergy constitute a large portion of the Conserva-
tive meetings, where their speeches are remarkable for
the bitterness of their sentiments, and their implacable
hostility towards the present possessors of office. Their
activity at elections is exerted with the most fatal effects
in the agricultural districts ; and wherever the liberal
candidate has failed, the success of his competitor may
be attributed to their influence, indefatigably exercised
in his favour over the minds of a class of voters
most susceptible of delusion. It is not only most
unjust to pass over the few clergymen of known per-
sonal merits who have professed liberal opinions during
the prevalence of Tory. domination, and thereby esta-
blished the disinterestedness of their conduct and the
sincerity of their opinions ; but it is the height of im7
policy to encourage opponents, whose rancour never
will be diminished, until they find they can only in-
dulge it at the expense of all their chances of profes-
sional promotion. It is stated that the new Bishop
will generally be found in the ranks of opposition.
Away with the cant of disregarding political conside-
rations in these appointments. As long as the laW
permits Bishops to have a voice in Parliament, so long
must their political principles be important; and if Mi-
nisters are in earnest in their professions of an anxious
desire to carry certain measures that are nbt pala-
table in the House of Lords, as we believe them
to be, they should carefully abstain from adding
to the formidable force that is already there
arrayed against them. It is to 'be hoped Lord Mel-
bourne will give no further occasion for the dissatis-
faction that has been felt on this head ; and that the
Lord Chancellor, whose opportunities are so frequent,
will confound his slanderers by making a selection for
his church patronage among those only who are as well
known by the profession of those political principles,
which carried himself upon the full tide of popular
favour into place, as by the claims they individually
possess on the high grounds of their fitness for advance-
ment. It would be idle to express any hope of a ge-
neral amendment in the disposition of episcopal patro-
nage. At this critical conjuncture, when the eves of
the public are scrutinizing every act of the Bishops,
Dr. Van Mildert gives one of the golden prebends of
Durham (vacated by the event that made void the see
of Bristol)—that should be sacredly reserved as the
reward of the highest merit—to an obscure person of
the name of Douglass, now heard of for the first
time ; but the Bishop is a leading Conservative, and
has a right to do what lie will with his own.—Mornino•
Chronicle.
The Dutch papers to the date of Saturday contain
'ample reports of the proceedings on opening the Ses-
sion of the States-General upon Monday lait, the
Speech of the King of the Netherlands on that occa-
sion, and the Address of the- Minister of Finance on
presenting- the Budgets for 1835 on the Thursday fol-
lowing. The announcement which we have just made
would insure to the two discourses now presented in
our Journal all the attention which their intrinsic im-
portance merits, and any remarks which we feel bound
to make on the subject would almost appear as intru-
sive, were it not for the unavoidable reflections which
must strike every observer on a perusal of the interest-
ing statements of the Monarclr and the 'Minister.
The Revolution of September, 1830, in Brussels,
as a mimic representation of the " three glorious days"
of July, has now reached four years since the period
of its breaking out, and we find that in Belgium an
ancient Nobility, after the occurrences of the late
riots, has either left the country in disgust, or is still
more determined not to recognize the mushroom
Royalty of a revolutionary origin. Trade has dwin-
dled to its last extreme of depression, for the emigrants
who sought the towns of Belgium under. the paternal
sway of the House of Orange as places of residence,
having having ascertained the amount of protection to
be derived from the new order of things, have prudently
sought other asylums for the prosecution of the indus-
try and economy. Manufactures in utter decay, and
commerce completely paralyZed, sufficiently indicate
how far an independent nation can be created from
such hollow materials, as those which have placed in
the map of Europe a nation by name, but which would
be better described as an appendage to France. How
different is the situation and condition of the brave
Netherlanders, the worthy descendants of the indus-
trious- men who snatched Holland from the sea.
The encroachments of the ocean are guarded
against by dikes, the preservation of which forms
so heavy an item in the annual expenditure of the
country. But if the insidious advances of the
waters are thus carefully attended to, there is no
neglect evinced' to meet the approaches of " liberality."
A careful upholding of the simplicity of the primitive
customs, an entire devotion to the Illustrious House,
the annals of which present so many glorious reminis-
cences, and a deep-rooted attachment to the institu-
tions founded upon the spirit of the age in the Low
Countries, have enabled Holland to assume a proud
attitude of defiance against the most disgraceful attack
ever made upon her liberties. And while she has dis-
played her capabilities of resisting physical disadvan-
tages, her moral position has at the same time been
Considerably elevated. It is, therefore, with no surprise
that we find in the Speech of the King of the Nether-
lands those sentiments of high patriotism—that attach-
ment to the interests of the people over whom
he has the happiness to reign—that calm review
of the state of the country—those dignified allusions
to the allies who befriend him—that withering con-
tempt of the allies who have forsaken him—that con-
fidence in the loyalty of his subjects—that reliance
upon the natural resources of his country—that atten-
tion to education, jurisprudence, and commerce—that
support of the science and the fine arts—and, finally,
i
that regard to economy n every branch of the expen-
diture which have invariably characterised the proceed-
ings of a Monarch of whom it would indeed be suffi-
cient praise to say that the Duke of Wellington has
eulogised both his public and private character. We
believe in the assertion of the King of the Netherlands
when he states that he continues to receive from many

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