The Sun.
London, England, 1835-12-25 00:00:00

392

Place here now (as supposed to be hostile) the afore-
said

knowledge they are not one step beforehand with
the great majority of Englishmen. Why, it seems
natural to ask, should Mr. O'Connell have entered
into a bond of union with the Whigs now in
power, after having just abused and reviled them to
the top of his bent ?" The only answer that can
possibly be given to this question is that the latter
have pledged themselves to a certain course of policy
and to 'certain specific 'measures, which he believes to
be conducive to the final objects he has in view ; for,
to do Mr. O'Connell justice, he has manifested consi-
derable superiority to the rest of the Whig-Radical
party in this, that he has not sought for himself or
his immediate connexions the personal advantages of
office. And Englishmen are not such simpletons as to
believe, merely for the accommodation of Lord Mel-
bourne, and Lord John Russell, and the rest of their
anti-national cabal, that the course of policy and the
specific measures which Mr. O'Connell deems so emi-
nently favourable to his designs, that, in order to set
them in motion, he makes a willing sacrifice of the
hostility and disgust he has often and forcibly ex-
pressed towards every member of the present Cabinet,
can be precisely such as are best calculated to strengthen
the British Government, or to advance the cause
of the Protestant religion in the sister kingdom.
It is pretended that the alienation to the general
purposes of education of that portion of the revenue
of the Church of Ireland which is not required for
the immediate and direct objects for which a national
Church ought to be maintained, must eventually con-
tribute to strengthen the connection with Great Bri-
tain, and to extend the influence of the Protestant
faith. But can anybody suppose that this is the opi-
nion of Mr. O'Connell and of the Roman Catholic
hierarchy of Ireland, whose political power he wields,
and whose political cunning and purposes he repre-
sents ? Was it to extend the sphere and renew and
invigorate the authority of Protestantism in Ireland,
that Mr. O'Connell, in a moment, forgot his recent
vituperation of the Whigs, and formed with so many
of them as'would submit to the degradation and pollu-
tion of his alliance a firm and lasting league ? The
absurdity is too revolting for contemplation. And
who, indeed, is so ignorant as not to know that the
whole amount of Church revenue in Ireland maybe
well and most beneficially applied to the cultivation
and diffusion of true religion in that country ? The
whole life of Mr. O'Connell bears witness that he
is not the friend of British connection, and that
he is zealous and faithful in the service of that
hierarchy of a false and fraudulent' superstition, by
whose aid he has risen to power. Stronger evidence
cannot be required that the measures by which Lord
Melbourne's Government have purchased his support
cannot, in his view of them, be favourable to the govern-
ment or the religion of Great Britain. The friends of
Protestantism -are bound to regard the support afforded
by this Gentleman to any measure relating to the interest
of the Church as the most effective denunciation of that
measure that can possibly be uttered by any human
voice. And to this really powerful denunciation of the
appropriation measure, the peace-offering of Lord Mel-
bourne's Cabinet to their late bitter enemy, Mr. O'Con-
nell, what authority in its favour have we to oppose ?
The authority of Lord Melbourne's Cabinet and of some
three hundred Members of the present House of
Commons we shall perhaps be told. But if Mr.
O'Connell's zeal for the promotion of this measure,
considering his enmity to the Protestant cause, be a
good reason why the people of Great Britain should re-
gard it with suspicion and dislike, can any counter-
vailing reason be found on the other side in the notorious
and indisputable attachment of Lord Melbourne's
Cabinet and its three hundred Protestant supporters
in the House of Commons to the Ecclesiastical Esta-
blishment of the country, and the pure and undefiled
religion of which it is the ark and the defence ? The
former looks to ulterior, the latter to immediate ob-
jects. The former is the agent and the pupil of a
cunning Priesthood ; the latter are a band of place-
hunting politicians. The former has before him the
splendid vision of reconstructing a prostrate Church,
perhaps of founding a new kingdom ; the latter are
stimulated by no higher objects than to secure to
themselves a few more quarter-days in office, or to
preserve the votes of their Radical constituents
against a new election. Which is the better authority
for the tendency of the measure that they conspire
to accomplish—Mr. O'Connell, whose advocacy of
the measure proves that in his judgment it will be
fatal to the Protestant Church and faith in Ireland;
or Lord Melbourne and his party, whose support of it
proves nothing but that they are determined to main-
tain themselves in place as long as they can, and know
that without Mr. O'Connell's assistance they could not
retain office for a day ? The people of Great Britain
have fortunately made up their minds as° to -the answer
which this question' demands. They will not permit
the Legislative assertion, therefore, of a principle for
which Mr. O'Connell displays so much anxiety, nor
will they ratify the bargain by which the Protestant
Church is corruptly bartered away in the purchase of
a certain number of Papist votes to support the pre-
sent Administration in the House of Commons.—
Morning Post.

230

Deduct from this the non-opposing and the favourable 393
And pray what excess of Dissenting congregations has
your Lordship remaining in opposition to the demands
of the Church
But even had the majority of Scotch Dissenting con-
gregations favourable to, or declining to oppose the
grant, not been such as deprives this wretched Go-
vernment of all pretext for allowing the hostile minority
to be represented on the Commission, we maintain
(and we may possibly show this some day soon) that
to put a Dissenter upon such a Commission, under any
circumstances whatever, is not only to insult the peo-
ple of Scotland, where Dissenters are to Church folks
not quite as 1 is to 5, but is moreover a surrender of
the whole principle of a national establishment, as
well as a violation of " the Act of Union," which,
having been passed when there was not a single Dis-
senter in all Scotland, except a few Catholics, and
the old non-juring Episcopalians, renders in impe-
rative upon the King, in terms of the very first
oath taken by him on ascending the Throne, to
maintain and uphold the Presbyterian Church of
Scotland, as established by law. As long as Mr.
Dick is permitted to sit upon that board, we seriously
recommend the Scottish Clergy to insist upon the
Act of Union " being fulfilled to their Church ; and
- until it be so, to decline recognizing its illegal constitu-
tion, by flinging back its unanswered schedules with
becoming dignity and contempt. Would the spirit of
' Knox have quailed to such treatment ? Where is the
good old Presbyterian blood of Pentland and Drum-
clog ? Is it not crying from the ground, "To your
tents—to your tents, 0 Israel ?" We must really
apologize to Lord John Russell for requesting him to
bear with us a little longer ; but a deliberate mastica-
tion, they say, assists the digestive powers.—Times.
We conclude that some Members of the present
Government have made advances to a reconciliation
with the Statesmen who separated from them, on the
ground of the principle of appropriation, or robbery
rather, of Church property, and have experienced a
mortifying rebuff, from the circumstance that, after
being downcast and silent for a day or two, the Minis-
terial journals have resumed their confident and swag-
gering tone, and that. those who are understood to ex-
press the sentiments of the Leading Members of the
Administration, have been instructed or permitted to
speak of Lord Stanley and the Duke of Richmond in
a language which approaches to that of insult. An
Evening Paper, whose connection with the Govern-
ment is more notorious, if not more intimate, than that
of any of its rivals, does not " profess to know that any
change of opinion has taken phice among the seceding
Members of Lord Grey's Cabinet ;" but adds, " it is
possible that the Duke of Richmond, Lord Stanley,
and others, are open to conviction." Now, we do
not profess to know that any change of opinion has
taken place among the actual Members of Lord Mel-
bourne's Government as to the policy of continuing to
court the support and forward the projects of Mr.
O'Connell, nor do we know that any application has
been made For the support of Lord Stanley and the
Duke of Richmond, with or without the undertaking
that Mr. O'Connell -and his objects should be aban-
doned ; but we certainly do know, that had such an
application been made to these Noble persons, and had
it been—as, if made, it must have beenscornfully
rejected, the 'journal in question would have adopted
upon the occasion exactly the same pert and flippant
tone of which the above quotation is an example. It
would not, we believe, be deemed of much importance
by Lord Melbourne and his colleagues whether Lord
Stanley and the Duke of Richmond are open to con-
viction or not, if the former could upon any terms
obtain the assistance and support of the latter ; but as
they know now, if they did not always know, that of
this there is no hope, it is prudent to represent to the
world, that unless the two Noble Lords are prepared to
show that they are open to conviction—in other words,
that their principles are of so elastic a nature as to yield to
the slightest pressure of interest or ambition—they would
not be acceptable, as undoubtedly in this case they
would not be congenial or suitable allies of the Mel-
bourne Cabinet. The grapes are out of reach, and are
therefore depreciated, as in the fable, with this differ-
ence, that our Ministerial foxes despise the fruit, not
because it is sour, but 'because it is too mature, gene-
• rous, and excellent, for their taste or purpose. The
seceders from Lord Grey's Government will not so far
forget what is due to their own reputation and the tn-
'tcrests of the country as to form a junction of any
kind with the men who have so far degraded them-
selves as to enter upon a compact with Mr. O'Connell,
upon the principle of undermining the Protestant
Church, and promoting the dominion of Popery and
arbitrary power in Ireland. They know the men too
well to entertain any doubt as to the final tendency,
the meditated consequence, or the unprincipled cha-
racter of their political confederacy ; and in this

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.

ADVICES, ARRIVALS, AND DEPARTURES AT

THE SCOTCH WHARFS, DEC. 24.

HARE'S DUNDEE AND PERTH STEAM WHARF.—Advice :
the Dundee, Perth, and London Shipping Company's steam-
ship Perth, John Spink commander, sailed from Dundee the
23d inst. for this wharf.

HoßE's WHARF.—Advices : the Peterhead packet, W.
Taylor master, sailed from Peterhead the 19th inst. • and the
Dundee, Perth. and Shipping Company's smack Perth, Henry
Taylor master, sailed from Dundee the 20th inst., and both for
this wharf. No arrivals. Departure : the Dundee, Perth,
and London Shipping Company's schooner Courier, W. Mills
master, for Dundee, with a general cargo.
DOWNE'S WHARF.—Advice: the Montrose and London
Shipping Company's smack Hawk, David Murray master,
sailed from Montrose the 21st inst. ; and the Bridport Ship-
ping Company's vessel Dorset, Caleb Clark master, sailed
from Bridport the 23d inst., and both for this wharf. No
arrivals or departures.
MILLER'S WHARF.—Advice : the London and Edinburgh
Shipping Company's smack Trusty, Henry Rchren master,
sailed from Leith the 21st inst. for this wharf. No arrivals or
departures.
ABERDEEN STEAM WHARF. Arrival : the steam-ship
Duke of Wellington, John Walker commander, from Aber-
deen, with goods and passengers.
LEITH AND BERWICK WHAllF.—Advice : the Berwick
Shipping Company's smack King William, T. Daglish master,
'sailed from Berwick the 21st inst. for this wharf. No arrivals.
Departure : the London and Leith Old Shipping Company's
smack Duke of Bucelcuch, John Jorean master, for Leith,
with a general cargo.

VESSELS ENTERED INWARDS AT THE CUS-
TOM-HOUSE, DEC. 24.
Liberty, Pain, from Boulogne ; Earl of Liverpool, Lomax,
Ostend; London, Pearson, Rotterdam; Juno, Quick, Tar-
rhgona.
ENTERED OUTWARDS FOR LOADING, DEC. 24.
Maria; M'Lagan, for Malta and Messina; Fidelia Arnie=,
—, Trieste and Venice; Zior, Ducker, Trieste and Venice;
Cherub, Blake, Bayonne ; Sir Edward Banks, Norwood,
Hamburg ; Eclipse, Easterbrook, Corfu and Zante ; King
George, Garner, Ostend; Earl of Liverpool, Lomax, Ostend.
CLEARED OUTWARDS WITH CARGO, DEC. 24.
Sir Edward Banks, Norwood, for Hamburg; Britannia,
Fox, Ostend; Cater, Whitnall, Dunkirk ; Attwood, Morfee,
Antwerp; Commodore, Howland, Trieste; Courier, Palmer,
Cape of Good Hope; Gullino, Godfrey, Gibraltar ; Ange-
rono, Redknap, Barcelona.

VESSEL SPOKEN WITH.
The Clydesdale, Vianna to Newfoundland, the 17th ult.
lat. 46. long. 49. by the Mary Barry, arrived at Newfoundland,

On Wednesday two boys, the sons of a man named
Sandford, living at Brixton, ventured to slide on a pond in
the centre of a field, near the mineral springs at Streatham.
They amused themselves for some time at the side of the
pond; when at length the eldest, a boy about 12 years of
age, proposed to cross it, and for this purpose went
some distance into the field, and made a run in order to
slide to the other side of the pond. He was closely fol-
lowed by his brother, but before they got half way across,
the ice broke, and they both fell into the hole, where the
water was between eight and nine feet deep, and, before as-
sistance arrived, they were both drowned. The bodies were
taken out in less than 12 minutes after the accident, and
conveyed to an adjoining public-house.
INCENDIARISM.—A case of wilful fire-raising has
occurred at Craighead, near Dalry.
We had snow for the first time this season in Jer-
sey on Sunday last, though the fall was not large, nor did
it remain long upon the ground.--Jersey Argus.

A notice was issued by the Post-office yesterday,
stating that newspapers to and from Spain may be forwarded
by the Mediterranean packet, via Cadiz, free from any
charge of postage.

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 25,

INSOLVENT COURT-THURSD Y.

The COURT sat to-day foi• the disposal of motions, and
on its rising- adjourned to Friday, the Ist of January.

SLAVERY.-14 THE MATTER OF MARY ANN FORTLEES.

This was a curious application.
Mr. WOODROFFE moved, on the part of the assignees,
for the further examination of the insolvent. She was dis-
charged some time ago, and in her schedule inserted a claim
for nine negro slaves, domiciled in the island of Demerara.
The assignees had made a claim for compensation under
the Act abolishing slavery, and would have received the
money by this time had not the insolvent sent to Deme-
rara a counter claim for the slaves, which would delay the
settlement of the question for about twelve months. The
assignees were anxious to ascertain from her what right
she had to the compensation, -inasmuch as her interest
in the slaves passed to her creditors by the assignment to
the provisional assignee, executed at the time she filed her
petition.
Mr. CommiSsioner.BOwEN inquired,what claim the In-
solvent had made ?
Mr. WOODROFFE read the claim assent in to the Com-
missioners of compensation.
The Learned CHIEF COMMISSIONER held that sufficient.
grounds had been shown to grant the application.
Mr. WooDEoFFE prayed that the rule might issue
instanter.
The COURT granted. the prayer, and appointed the 12th
of January for the insolvent to attend for further examina,.
tion, or. on that day to show cause why she should not be
further heard. _ _ _

John Gidley, an elderly man, was opposed by Mr. WooD-
ROFFE, on the part of Messrs. Knight and Holdsworth ;
he was .supported by Mr. COOKE.
The COURT adjudged the insolvent to five months' im-
prisonment from the date of his petition.