The Sun.
London, England, 1859-09-02 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, SEPTFMBER, 2, • 1859,

activity, enterprise, and capital of British mer-
chants) a great trade, opening up the resources of
both semi-secluded empires, should be developed.
This was no part of the original design of the
Western Powers in framing the recent treaties ;
but only thus will any foreign trade in the proper
sense of the term be created and developed. This
much already seems more than probable, that the
greater portion of such Chinese and Japanese trade
will pass into foreign hands, and ours more parti-
cularly, may be safely inferred from what is now
taking place. But that is certainly not the commerce
we more especially hoped to open up by our treaty.
On the contrary, our aim and hope was to create a
trade by the interchange of Japanese products with
British goods. -.Thus, as in a thousand instances,
we are reminded that—

" There's a Divinity that shapes our ends,
Rough-hew them how we will."

What we have Sought and striven for may indeed
be ultimately obtained, but neither in the way we
looked for nor by the instrumentality anticipated.
The Chinese form a natural and, to all appearance,
a necessary link in the development of any large
trade between Europe and Japan, just as India has
long been the connecting link with China. Just,
as we may yet discover, that Roman Catholicism
will form the connecting link between Paganism in
its many idolatrous forms and a purer Protes-
tantism, Though I feel this a dangerous ground,
and scarce know whether Romanists or Protestants
would most vehemently repudiate the inference as
injurious, that in the ways of Providence, either
could be beholden to the other, or the final propoga-
tion of Christianity among the heathen be depen-
dent upon an order of progression. The Jews, how-
ever, under an inspired leader, did not merge out of
Egyptian idolatry into a pure Theism, without
many intervening stages of progress of semi-idolatry
and assimilations to the ceremonial and material
worship they left behind. Men seems ill designed
or constituted for such sudden leaps from darkness
into light ; and all past missionary experience, I
think, goes far to enforce the unwelcome truth at
which lam glancing—that the abstract doctrines
of a Protestant faith find acceptance among a
heathen and idolatrous race with infinitely greater
difficulty than Romanism. There stands the fact ;
let those who will attach other explanatsons. With
one reflection more let me take my leave of China,
which bids fair to exercise as much influence on the
western world, and their relations with the East, as
we can ever hope to exercise on it. It has been in-
geniously suggested, I see, by Mr. Mill, that the
Chinese have succeeded beyond all hope in what Eng-
lish philanthropists of the present day are so indus-
triously working at—in making people all alike, all
governing their thoughts and conduct by the
same axioms and rules. He goes on to say,
" that the modern regime of public opinion is, in
an unorganised form, what the Chinese educational
and political systems are in an organised ; and
unless individuality shall be able successfully to
assert itself against this yoke, Europe, notwith-
standing its noble antecedents and its professed
Christianity, will tend to become another China."
Curious enough that while all things tend to
infuse into the Chinese mind ideas of progreis, of
change and development—even at the price of
great internal convulsions, and the destruction of
material interests—one of our most distinguished
writers should see in the tendency of our own
habits and education, worldly and other, a retro-
grade action to the dead level mediocrity and im-
mobility of the Chinese national mind. If so, the
two ends of the circle travelling in opposite direc-
tions may ultimately meet in Japan, which seems
less profoundly stirred up -in its depths by the
sudden contact of Europe than China, and not so
steadily bent on a collective mediocrity as the mind
of England.

IREL iND.

DUBLIN, THURSDAY MORNING.
ARCHBISHOP CULLEN'S POLICY.

The _Freeman's JO arnal of this morning takes up
the cudgels in defence of Dr. Cullen from the
attacks of the London journals, and endeavours to
vindicate the conduct of the whole body of the
Romish prelates in their recent onslaught upon the
system of mixed education. The organ asserts that,
from the very outset, when the scheme was pro-
posed nearly 30 years ago, all the bishops, with
four exceptions, exclusive of Archbishop Murray,
disapproved the system, and these four merely
waived their objections in deference to the excellent
prelate who then presided over the see of Dublin.
As to Dr. Cullen setting himself up as the head of
a new Parliamentary party, the Freeman scouts
the notion. The Apostolic Delegate, no doubt, has
other means at hand for carrying out his policy
without permitting the laity to have a finger in the
pie. Even the Catholic members of Parliament are
to be left free to follow their own will. Here is the
semi-official statement :—" Dr. Cullen will not, it is
true, be returned for the city and take the lead in
person ; but as dogs may be killed in more ways
than one, he may accomplish the end of leadership
by enlisting under his banner the Oath-Ale mem-
bers and directing their movements from his Prue-
torium. We believe we can deuy, on authority,
any such intention on the part of the Archbishop.
Catholic and Protestant members are at perfect li-
berty to take whatever side they choose on the
education as on all other public questions. No
coercion has ever been applied by him, or ever will
be. He declares his opinions like any other mem-
b3r of the bench, and with the modesty, that marks
his character, What he conceives right he utters,
and nothing can deter him. So it has been with the
other members of the Episcopacy. They discussed
one of the most vital problem, ever presented to
their consideration, with a f. .1 sense of its vast
importance. They reviewed the whole question, or
series of questions whica the system involved, and
after an investigation of all the facts, and a com-
parison of the evidence which each prelate furnished
from his own local repository, they came to the una-
nimous conclusion which has fluttered so many
of our English cotemporaries. We may observe that
neither since nor then, did the bishops suggest the
formation of a special party to press their views in
Parliament. The memorial to Mr. Cardwell was the
only result of their deliberations. Not a word was
spoken about appealing to or urging Catholic mem-
bers to give effect to the protest or resolutions in
Parliament. If they wished to second the efforts of
the prelates by determining on a common line of
action, well and good; but they were perfectly in-
dependent to co-operate or not, just as they thought
proper. We wish to be explicit on this point, be-
cause the voluntary action of some Irish members
is connected by the London papers with an express
order from the Archbishop of Dublin. The necessity
of such a contradiction only proves how little they
know of the man whom they force from the strictest
seclusion and privacy, compatible with his duties as
an Archbishop, to assume the position of public
agitator.",