The Sun.
London, England, 1858-11-19 00:00:00

TILE WEATIIER.—SuN OFFICE, Nov. 19.

THERMIIMETER, IN TILE SHADE.
48—highest since noon yesterday.
40—lowest this morning and during the night.
50—this day at noon.
BAnomErEn-29.92—a sudden rise.
WIND, S.W. ; light, with dull rainy weather. The
wind changed in the night, with rain.

THE SUN.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1858.

A five hours' address, at a primary visitation by
our Metropolitan, certainly claims a few minutes
comment from ns. Moreover, the Right Reverend
Prelate, although addressing himself to clergymen,
and to upwards of a thousand of them it is said,
yet distinctly mentioned that most of his topics had
equal interest for us of the laity. And if he had
not so said, we could not have overlooked his
concio ad clerum ; as ladies read tales about hus-
bands, and husbands novels about ladies, so we lay-
men must naturally be a little curious to see how
our chief Presbyter would lecture our Parish
Priests.

For one thing, then, we are well pleased to see
our Bishop so little of a Priest himself, and so
disposed to put other priests in their proper places.
The first article in our Apostle's Creed being " I
believe in no Priest," at least in no human priest,
it is satisfactory to find the head of our London
clergy so free from the worst and most degrading
of all superstitions. Speculative points of theo-
logy arc wholly out of our province, but the prac-
tical point—whether any mortal can be a mediator
between us and our GOD, whether sacramentally or
otherwise our future salvation is in his hands—this
is a point to which the friends of liberty can never
be indifferent. There may be, and are, noble indi-
vidual exceptions, but the mass of men can never be
faithful to liberty if they have sold first their
consciences to a priest. We know of no country
where the people believe in priests possessing
powers derived from on high superior to those
ordinary men, where liberty has taken firm hold.
We never could have become what we are had we
remained a Popish nation. The confessional and
sacramental powers derived from apostolical suc-
cession, are fictions, faith in which is incompatible
with the higher exertions of intellect, and the free
energy of a nation. All Europe and America are
witnesses to this plain fact. Quite apart, therefore,
from its theological interest, as public writers and
politicians, we read with no little gratification our
worthy Bishop's views on this great subject. The
best glories of England would soon begin to fade,
if the contemptible Romanising of a few young
curates, and some old enough to know better, should
seriously influence the community. The Bishop,
indeed, spoke kindly to these clerical harlequins,
but he spoke his mind pretty plainly—more plainly
than his double-tongued predecessor would have
done.

The Bishop favoured us with his views on a sub-
ject on which we have long held but one opinion—
Church-rates ; and. on this matter at least we shall
not be thought to trench on theological grounds,
the arguments for and against them being but too
secular. To be sure, we do think compulsion for
religious purposes a very irreligious thing, but the
whole affair has now become one for the QUEEN,
Lords, and "Comm.ons to settle. Ths Bishop has
some natural affection for the dear old rates, but he
manifests also, a kindly
consideration for the preju-
dices, irrational, as he deems them, of Dissenters.
As men have irritated themselves into a belief
that they have a grievance in Church-rates, it s
-
politic, it is Christian, fully to consider their feel-.
ings.". Politic it certainly is, for if Churchmen do
not consider them men have the power to consider
for themselves ; a power they are using .very year
more extensively. As to its being Christian, we are
sorry to believe that clergymen have rarely shown
much inclination to sacrifice money or power, by
whatever means obtained, even if obtained by in-
fectious burial grounds until public opinion was
thrown into the scale with Christianity. It is so
in the matter of Church-rates certainly. Public
opinion, as represented not only by the press, but

also by a large majority of our half-reformed House
of Commons, has pronounced against them, and it
is a consolatary thing for the clergy that they may
do a Christian thing, by obeying the vcice of the
people.

Like us, and we suppose like her MAJESTY'S
Ministers themselves, the Bishop is quite in the
dark as to what the Government measure is to be.
He has little hope that Parliament will ever help
him to recover the power of levying rates in those
parishes which have already refused them. There
certainly lives not the statesman who dare venture
his present or future chance of power in such an
attempt. He would as soon think of restoring Pro-
tection. What can be done the Bishop does not
know. He half thinks that landlords might be will-
ing, if legally empowered to do so, to charge their
estates with the maintenance of the fabric of the
Church. What, however, is to be the actual plan
he cannot say. The present one, he owns, has con-
fessedly its inconveniences, and, therefore, he is
quite ready " for any good alteration which can be
suggested," and wishes it to be as conciliatory as
possible to those who are not members of the
Church. This is kind, to be sure; but, for our part,
we can see no plan, except that of unconditional
abolition, not open to insurmountable objections.
To that plan we know of but one objection—viz.,
that those who want the use of the national build-
ings called churches must then keep their own
house wind and weather tight. The worthy Bishop,
and his fellow-mourners over the sick bed of Church-
rates, seem ever to forget that the larger half by
far of the worshippers in this country already per-
form this extraordinary feat, and make this prodi-
gious sacrifice for their religious worship. Not only
Dissenters, who are more than half the actual wor-
shippers, but all those who worship in the nume-
rous churches built by voluntary subscription, and
in the parish churches where rates have been re-
fused, do keep up their own buildings. Every little
Methodist community, in every little country parish,
does it. To us, therefore, it really partakes of the
ludicrous to hear our brother Churchmen thus potter-
ing about the ruin of their parish churches. Would
any of these weeping Churchmen suffer their own
church to go unpainted, unwhitewashed, and to be
as pervious as BURKE'S rhetorical cottage to the
wind and rain."

The good Bishop himself, however, has no fears
at the very worst. He expresses his full con-
fidence that come what may, the churches in his
diocese will be kept in good repair. He warns
his clergy that all must depend on the Church
being true to itself. If Dissenters are unrea-
sonable, the sons of the Church will be but so much
the more liberal, and make up all deficiencies. Of
that we may all be sure enough. We cannot,
however, think with the Bishop that it is unrea-
sonable in Dissenters to refuse to join some
Churchmen, in seeking to retain power to enforce
Church-rates on their fellow-Churchmen. The
Dissenter cannot consistently do this. He objects
to all compulsory taxation for religion. lie cannot,
therefore, honourably vote for permitting some
Churchmen to tax others. He might then be
justly taunted with getting rid of injustice to
himself by inflicting what he thinks injustice to
others. On the contrary, he holds that if Church-
men are willing to pay what is wanted, a compul-
sory rate is useless—that if they are unwilling, it
is wrong. He leaves it to Churchmen to settle
how they will raise the money they want, but
he cannot be the man to vote compulsory powers
into their hands. They may carry this by their
own strength if they are strong enough, but he
cannot help them to do it.

Scarcely a week elapses that some one or more
of the Commissioners of the Insolvent Court do not
find reason to complain of the system which enables
an angry creditor to incarcerate an unfortunate
debtor at his mere will and pleasure. The man
may have acted in a perfectly straightforward
manner—his troubles may have arisen from
casualties which no degree of prudence on his part
could have averted ; but still he may be compelled
to endure severe punishment before trial, and
possibly be detained for an indefinite period,
debarred from the opportunity of earning money
for himself, until his friends can provide the
means of carrying him through the Court. A
man is proverbially a bad counsel in a cause in
which he is personally concerned—he is a still worse
judge when dither his interests are engaged or his
passions excited. The nation, however, encourages
his vindictive feeling. It provides gaols and gaolers
and turnkeys to confine the prisoners, who, if
destitute of the means of supporting existence,
must be provided for at the expense of the country.
Every ratepayer is, therefore, interested in stop-
ping the system. If a man desires revenge, it should
be made an expensive luxury, and he should be
compelled to pay at least for the support of his
victim, if not to contribute something towards the
necessary expenses of the establishment in which
the prisoner may be detained.
It is true that a person liable to arrest may
obtain protection until the day of hearing, on
filing a petition and schedule, with all due forma-
lities ; but the process is costly, and it is not every
person who can find. £lO or £l5 to provide the
necessary outlay to his solicitor. Should he fortu-
nately possess the required sum, he is more disposed
to give it to the creditor, in order to obtain some
temporary indulgence. Should he not do so, it is
made a ground of complaint against him. Indeed,
it may be regarded as a general rule that few men
seek the protection of the Court until their pockets
are emptied, and friends can be found to provide
the requisite funds.

Bankruptcy, although in many respects affording
complete relief, is an expensive luxury, alike dreaded
by debtor and creditor. The embarrassed trader
cannot himself petition unless he has £l5O avail-
able to pay for the working of the Court. And a
very recent judgment has decided that a petition,
even by a bona fide creditor, cannot be sustained if
put forward at the instance of, or in collusion with,
a bankrupt without assets. If there are ample
funds to meet expenses, the bankrupt will pass
with flying colours, unless some strong case can be
established against him, but woe to the shabby
wretch -whose estate will not pay every Court
claim. The dividend, in which the creditors are
chiefly concerned, is a matter of comparatively tri-
vial importance. If it be but the fraction of a penny
it will suffice, provided all be right in other re-
spects. In this respect the Insolvent Court is far
superior. *Whatever can be realised from the estate
is fully and fairly divided with comparatively
trifling deductions. It would be well that there
should be an assimiliation of the powers of the two
courts, in which the good parts of both would be
preserved, and the objectionable set aside. Neither
tribunal can be spared. There is ample business
, for all.

The first important point, so far as insolvency is
concerned, is to regulate the mode by which a
debtor may be brought within the jurisdiction. At
present, until he has been arrested and remained
some three we4s in prison, no creditor can take
anystep, save to arrest or detain his person, or levy
an execution on his goods. The former course, as
we have stated, is alike unfair and useless. The
latter gives an undue advautne to the sharp prac-

titioners—the " hard calculators," who care nothing
what may be the consequences either to the debtor,
or the remaining creditors, provided they can
obtain their full pound of flesh. The possibility of
r.
securing this advantage has frequently led to the
ruin of many, who could have eventually struggled
throughtheir difficulties, and paid 20s. in the pound,
were it not for the anxiety to obtain priority, which
the present state of the law necessarily occasions.
The alteration so urgently required is, that any
judgment creditor, whose claim has remained a cer-
tain time unsatisfied, should be entitled to bring
the debtor before the Court, and that he should be
compelled to surrender, under penalties analogous to
those now provided against absconding bankrupts.
He might then be examined touching his estate and
effects, and directed to file accounts within a cer-
tain specified time. There would titen be the regular
hearing, as at present, and if it appeared that he
was deserving of censure, a fitting punishment
might be adjudged. This would exactly meet the
justice of the case, and not allow the matter to re-
main, as at present, a mere matter of chance, de-
pendent on the caprice of possibly a single creditor.
Wherever af. fa. was levied on goods, it should
be regarded as an act of insolvency, the money be
brought into Court, and the defendant ordered to
surrender as in bankruptcy. No solvent man will
suffer his property to be disposed of by a sheriff's
sale ; and the mere fact may be regarded as prima
facie evidence that the interposition of the Court is
required. Such a provision would alike defeat the
designs of the sharp practitioners and of fraudulent
debtors, who might wish to secure the whole of
their property for themselves under colour of legal
process. If it were once practically established
that no legal sanction could be obtained for such
proceedings—that the only possible way would be to
bring the entire case before the Court, and fairly
distribute the property between all the bona fide
claimants, the relations between debtor and cre-
ditor would be greatly improved—there would be
greater fairness on the one side, and more indul-
gence on the other. The assets, whatever they
might be worth, would be equitably divided, and
no one could have any motive either for oppres-

sion or evasion.

There should then be no imprisonment for debt, save
under the judgment of a Court of competent juris-
diction, and any sums realised under a sheriff's sale
should be lodged either in the Bankrupt or Insol•
vent Court for equitable division, according to the
position of the defendant ; and either Court should
be enabled to grant a certificate, which would com-
pletely free the insolvent debtor, and liberate him
from the millstone which now hangs about his
neck, and paralyses his energies—knowing that he
cannot save money as a provision for his advanced
years, or for his family, without being liable
to be again called before the Court, and have
all his affairs ripped up and exposed to the
community. This is a most demoralising provision.
It is a direct incentive to improvidence, inducing a
man, who has had the misfortune to have been once
an insolvent, to spend his earnings as fast as
they are received —to shun any investment,
of which he may at any moment be deprived, or to
incur debts sufficient to cover the amount, and
which, under the existing law, have priority over
those contained in his former schedule.
These are matters that must be attended to in
any measure that may be brought forward. There
are many others worthy of notice, but these are
leading features of any bill for the amendment of
the law of debtor and creditor.

f
"."t
4411 e, ^
4.7
(OW-
A _
a
- 16' . •
-