The Sun.
London, England, 1869-06-25 00:00:00

A PASSAGE FROM THE LIFE OF DEFOE.

Some recently-discovered papers of Daniel Defoe do not
present the author of " Robinson Crusoe" in the mos'
favourable light. Truth, indeed, will be rather unaccept-
able to those who from childhood have been led to regard
the celebrated writer as a hero. Some letters discovered
in 1861—which aro all in the handwriting of Defoe
himself, and of unquestionable authenticity—spew that
in the year 1718 the writer was engaged by the Whig
Government of Lord Sunderland, as he had been a few
years previously by that of Lord TOwnshencl and
Sir Robert Walpole, to exercise a species of secret
influence over the high Tory publication called
Mist's Weekly Journal, as well as another periodical of the
same stamp, called Dormer's News Letter. This he did by
introdncing himself to the proprietors of those journals,
representing that he was under the displeasure of the
Government (as in fact he had been some time before),
and so obtaining the management of the papers—•
ostensibly with a view to advocating Tory principles,
but really with the design, as he expresses it, of
" taking the sting out " of the comments anc
paragraphs of news, amusing the party, pre-
venting their setting up more violent organs, and
" disabling " and " enervating " the journals in question,
" so as to do no mischief, or give any offence to the
Government." He also himself commenced, and carried
on for several years, a monthly review, called Mercurius
Politicus, which, by a mild expression of Tory, or what
we should now call Conservative, principles, still further
" amused " the bamboozled party, and prevented th
starting of independent journals. Mr. Mist, the proprie-
tor of the Weekly Journal, seems to have justified his
name, and to have had at first no idea of the purposes to
which his periodical was being put. Defoe, when
he suppressed anything very strong against the
Whigs, told him that he did so to keep the concern clear
of a prosecution ; hut it would seem that ultimately Mist
himself came into the plot, and, upon the Government
foregoing a prosecution for some piece of sedition which
had obtained insertion despite of Defoe's vigilance, under-
took to act secretly in favour of the Government. The
Journal had been set up in the Pretender's interest, and
one part of Defoe's work was not only to suppress the
treasonable matter which thus came into his possession,
but to hand it over to the Ministers. The connection
between Defoe and Mist continued with a brief interrup-
tion until July 1720, when the former refused to be further
responsible for the general conduct of the paper, though he
contributed to its pages for some time longer:.

Several papers publish a very old opinion of the
Solicitor-General Sir Round°ll Rixliner and Dr. Deane, Q.C.,
t the uffect that no means at present exia for trying, before
any tribunal competent to decide the queqion, ivhether or
no Dr. Colonso, the present Bishop of Natal, has advocated
doctrinal opinions not in accordance kith the doctrines held
by the Church of England; and assuming. the present
Bishop of to Lavo bccn guilty of an ecclesiastical
:':fence, no steps can bo taken to bring him, as such bishop,
Leforo any tribunal.

The remains of the Light lion. Edward John
Baron Stanley of Alderley, have been interred in tho family
vault beneath the ancient end venerable parish church of
Alderley. The body was brought down to Alderley- park on
Saturday night from London. Thu funeral was conducted
in the plainest and simplest manner; but the long line oZ
mourners, exclusive of those who were connected by family
ties with the deemed peer, bore testimony to the estimation
in which he was held. pkz Dean cf Weettnifistor coudnctcd
the funeral service. •