The Sun.
London, England, 1858-07-26 00:00:00

THEE SUN, J L O N'DO:N, MONDAY EVENING, JULY 2G, 1858,

judge for himself. That believing, as he did
that Scripture sanctioned these marriages, it was
a grievance of which the people might justly com-
plain, that the law of the land was not in har-
mony with the revealed law of GOD ; that no

social evils resulted in countries where such mar-

riages are common ; that, in contradiction to what
had been said, the feeling of the country vias in
favour of these marriages—the petitions were but

300 with 10,000 signatures against the bill, and
1,047 with 125,539 signatures in its favour;
while the marriages of this description through-

out the country were very numerous. Such an

amount of religion, morality, and common sense
from a Bishop HARRY of EXETER could not stand.

What ! pretend to say that Scripture sanc-
tioned- what canons (the bishops' proper

Bible) pronounced incestuous ! as good say "I care
oot for the Church, if the law of GOD sanctions
Anything !" Why, if a clergyman, not in a
privileged place, lik.d dared to say so, a "faithful
bishop would call him to account for such wor&,"
tnd should the bill pass, a faithful minister would
be compelled to refuse a person named under it
the Sacrament which was NECESSARY for his
alvation," and hero the successor of the Apostles,
.n his very apostolic place is the British House
.f Lords, and stimulated by apostolic wrath, or
y the holy refreshments purchased by his truly
.postolic income, dashed "the wretched bill"
:Ton the floor ! Poor Bill. No wonder it was
hy 99 in 46.

The episcopal anatheniasifinished, Lord OYER-
iTONE blandly endeavoured to soothe the irate old
nan, and to avert his curse ; but all in vain, the
nalediction of EXETER was on the bill, and the
weigh, y remarks of the great currency Lord cowl 1
aot remove it. Lord GAGE, the venerable Lord
LYNDHURST, Lord WODEHOUSE, Lard GRANVILLE,
tll joined the Bishop of RIPON and Lord OVER-
STONE in defending the Bill, and in urging its
lecessity ; but Evangelical bigotry, High Church
uporstition, and possibly, in some few instances,
;he hope of saving Noble Lords and their sisters-
in-law from imaginary temptations, prevailed, and
the Bill is lost for the session.
We can but regret it. Lord DERBY is undoing
.0 the Lords all that the better half of his Cabinet
would do for him in the Commons. The;e con-
flicts with the Commens and the people, especially
the ecclesiastical ones, are very ill advised. They
make rancorous enemies. Levying of Church-
ratcs and forbidding to marry do Lard DERBY
muaense practical harm. Concession on such
ooints would not hurt his Church in the least,
*bile they would do much to detach Dissenters
from the Whigs. Churchmen dare not forsake
nim. He should paralyse Divent3rs' opposition
by conceding their just demands. They are strong
in the borough., and nothing galls them more than
to be fettered by the Canons, and t 3 be taxed by
'he officials of the Established Church.
The foolish perversity of the Peers not only
injures the present Government, but damages the
House of Lords. Tile people see that the House
is worse than useless. They can pass measures
,equired by the intelligence and liberal religious
sentiments of the age through the House of Com-
mons, but no sooner do they get to the House of
Lords than the measures are met and stopped by
all the ignorance or bigotry of the middle ages.
ft tikes years to batter down this oligarchical
stupidity and pride ; the Lords are, however,
simply obstructivcs ; they cannot ultimately hinder
.he prevalence of truth. To what end, then,
r(tain this hereditary mud-bank, this bar to the
noble stream of progress; A channel has always
:o be forced through it in each separate case—
why not dredge the bank in the new Reform Bill
once for all, and make it easy for the QUEEN'S and
country's Government to be carried on.