The Sun.
London, England, 1858-05-01 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY,

that of the transfer to the Crown of the jurisdic- 1
tion hitherto exercised by the Moribund " JOHN
Comrunr." But even " NERO had mourners,"
and it could not be anticipated that the Magnates
, of Leadenhall-street could be suffered to go the

way of all flesh witkout a funeral oration or a few
garlands being hung on the gaping sepulchre !

The task was erntrusted to Mr. R. D. MANGLES,

who certainly performed the duty with impres-
siv e solemnity. He knew that it was "an uphill,
and almost hopeless battle to fight." His attempt,
therefore, was merely "to vindicate the character
and rule of the Company." He felt that it was
doomed, and all he could do was to let it fall with
decency. We do not complain of the course
adopted by the Honourable Gentleman, consider-
ing the position he has occupied, and although it
led to some delay, he was fully justified therein,
although he admitted that he had not the slightest
anticipation of success, and was merely hanging
a garland over the yawning tomb. He did
not even divide the House, and the first and most
important resolution was carried with virtual
unanimity.
The discussion was not, however, by any means
thrown away. Many important points that must
hereafter be considered were ventilated. The most
interesting related to the conneltion between the
finances of India and of the United Kingdom,
and the necessity of providing for any possible
deficiency in the former from the National Ex-
chequer. This is a matter to which we have
frequently referred, suggesting the propriety
of rendering the burdens as light as possible
by the use of the superior oredit of the
Home Government. These suggestions were,
however, ignored ; and. we must, consequently,
make up our minds to bear the increased burden,
if it should ever be cast upon our shoulders.
This is, however, happily, a very improbable con-
tingency ; for, looking to the existing circum-
stances—the virtual suppression of the Indian
insurrection, and the improved returns that may
fairly be looked for from the establishment of a
better administration of affairs in._ that im-
portant dependency—the liability, or respon-
sibility, is hardly worth taking into
account. The real point is by how much the re-
turns to England will be diminished in conse-
quence of the grave mistake. This, however, is
not in any degree to be ascribed to the present
Government. Their predecessors are entitled
either to receive the praise, or submit to the cen-
sure that may be attached thereto.
As to the notion that a creditor of the Com-
pany could possibly object to the substitu-
tion of the British Government, it is one
-hat could only have occurred to the astute
mind of the Right Honourable Member for Oxford.
A. creditor is seldom disposed to cavil at anything
bat materially improves his position, and gives
him practically a far better, or rather an unex-
ceptionable security in addition to that which he
formerly held. If any parties should rejoice at
he contemplated alteration, and give a ready and
cheerful assent thereto, it is most assuredly the
creditors of the Company, whose securities will
Increase materially in value in consequence
thereof.

Mr. SPOONER has given the Roman CAtholics a
high religious character, one too high, perhaps,
for his purpose. Allegiance to the Crown is with
them, be says, a secondary consideration—allegi-

mice to their Church stands first. That is, their
toast is like Mr. SrooNmes, Church and King, or
Church and State ; not King and Church, or State
And Church. What, however, is this but the old
principle with which Christianity began, the prin-
ciple, indeed, of all religious martyrdom, that
GOD must be obeyed rather than man. It is not
for one mortal to 47„,yekde for his ,fellow-mortals
what is obedience b -gi.)D. A man's Church ex-
..,
' - . .•.•

presses his notion, right or wrong, superstitious
or enlightened, still his notion, of what his
service to GOD should be ; and, though you
may induce him, by bribes, or threats,
to prove faithless to his Church, you
do not eradicate his conviction of its prior
alainas. Those who really believe • that thera is
ao difference in the claims of different churches
.)n individuals, are but few indeed. C,rtairily
Nit.. SPOONER is not amongst them. The origin
of that preference may be vary unsatisfactory to
the philosopher ; in nine cases of ten, at least, it

LS birth or eduoition. Mr. SPOONER, for

stance, is a Church of England man, we have
little doubt, solely beeline he was born an
brought up one. B,rn at Rome, or at Vienna,
he might have been a first-cltss Jesuit, and born
north of the Tweed a most ardent denouncer of
" Black Episcopacy." This is, to be sure, a
miserable reason to give for the faith
which is in us ; but we fear the m ijority
us can give no better one. We wont
to the parish church, or to the kirk, or to the
Catholic chapel, or to the chapel of some dissent-
ing community when we were lads, we learned the
catechism of our sect, we went to school where we
duly marched to the proper place of worship on a
Sunday,—and so we are Churchmen, Presby-
terians, Catholics, Dissenters. We talk proudly,
perhaps, of our convictions, but forget to inquire,
honestly, how we came by them. If we did, we
believe that bigotry would have a limited ra
indeed. Few, ♦ery few, are the enthusiasts who
owe their zeal to any process of intelligent inquiry.
Indeed we may safely affirm, that really intelli-
gent inquiry must disclose such a world of difficul-
ties and doubts to the inquirer that a bigot or a
persecutor he could never be.
With Mr. SPOONIiII'E3 good leave then, in fore

conscientia, Church first and Crown second is the
order of every man's creed, and must be so.
Catholics are not worse than others ; only being,
in a measure, under oppression, they exhibit to
the world more plainly what, at the bottom, is
the conviction of all men. Strange creatures we
are to be sure. Why, the very criminal like LaNI
1 about to expire on the scaffold, or the licentious
monarch like CIIARLES the Second, about to die
in a palace, alike sends foraminister of the Church
in which he has still a mysterious faith, as the
mediator between him and Heaven, however the
whole life may have been a denial of its precepts.
Our inference from the fact mentioned by Mr.
SPooNER is then just the reverse of that
which he would deduce from it. We should
say that as it is a fact with religionists of all
classes, and as we are all in some measure reli-
gionists, it is far better that the Crown el.• dd
never contest the prior claims of the Church. That
the former should regard the latter as ono of those
inalienable rights of the individual--to select his
own Church, we mean, and to hearken to its
voice which must be protected but never inter-
fered with. The Crown mti,t, in a word, deal
even-handedly by all Churches, and then all
Churches will show equal honour and bear equal
allegiance to the Crown.
As to the Maynooth grant itself, it will cer-
tainly
never be withdrawn till all State en-
dowments in Ireland, Protestant as well as Ct-
tholie, are withdrawn with it. Lord DERBY
warned the Anti-Maynooth deputation that they
were futnishing a handle to the voluntaries
of wllieli the latter would not be slow to avail
themselves,
Mr. WIL2OLE, on Thursday night,

also, very properly reminded Mr. SrooNER that
Jo distinction could be made in point of principle
between ishe.grant to Maynooth and the grants
by the Committee of Privy Cauncil to Roman
Catholics and all denominations, on behalf of edu-
ation, asd that he was not prepared to enter on
uch an extensive agitation. The Premier and
Mr. WALromi are unquestionably right. How
often have the Voluntaries attacked Irish Church
endowments in connection with Anti-Maynooth
motions ? It is not, indeed, to their credit, as a
party, that they were asleep this time ; their posi-
tion requires that they should have had an amend-
ment proposing to withdraw all Gavernment support
from Episcopalians and Presbyterians in Ireland,
whenever the Maynooth endowment is abolished.

Perhaps, however, they mean to give Mr.
SPOONER a ROLAND for an OLIVER, when the Re-
gum Donum grant to Presbyterians is voted.
It is useless to protest against wasting the time
of the House by this annual motion. While
more than 150 Members can be induced to gra-
tify their constituencies, and some of them their
own bigotry at the same time, by a vote against
Popery—for that is its meaning—the SPOONER.
motion will have its right in the House of Com-
mons ; and, when the Hon. Member quits the
stage of public life, the useful mantle, or
livery, will descend to some successor
of the prophet. We must, therefore, be
content to get what good we can from the evil.
And there is some good in it. We believe it is
this—that it will expedite the downfall, not of
Maynooth, but of Tosi MOORE'S " Irish Church
Establishment "—the huge costly establishment
for the heretical stomachs that won't eat the meat
of Protestautis m. That no doubt would be a
splendid good, ani Mr. SPOON BR is a large con-
tributor towards it. He is, we are sure, a devout
believer in a special Providence, and in its mak-
ing all agents, whatever their intentions, subserve
its purposes. And we can hardly doubt that the
anti-Maynooth member is one of its blind instru-
ments working hard to overthrow that which he
desires to strengthen, but which will one day be
overthrown, the Maynooth buttress having been
first knocked away.