The Sun.
London, England, 1835-05-07 00:00:00

Lord John Russell successful in previous contests, and
to what but " re-action" can be ascribed his defeat
in 1835 ?" We can have no difficulty in accounting
for the altered circumstances in which he fought the
recent arduous but unsuccessful battle. The question
of Parliamentary Reform, with which his Lordship's
name is nobly associated, excited the county consti-
tuency to extraordinary exertions and gallant sacrifices.
Liberal electors braved the unconstitutional " in-
fluences" notoriously used against the purity and free
dom of election. But there is a natural limit to the
temporary independence of that large portion of a
county constituency exposed to coercion. In Decem-
ber last Lord John Russell was unopposed. We have
reason to know that his party then calculated on the
loss of his election, had the Tories started a second
candidate. As the Ministerial leader of the House
of Commons, and the proposer of the resolution
of appropriation to be incorporated with Sir Ro-
bert Peel's Irish Tithe Bill, the Tory Clergy
and political fanatics determined to leave no
stone unturned to prevent his re-election. Local
circumstances peculiarly favour the design. The
county town of Devon possesses in its cathedral a
citadel garrisoned by Tory Clergy, commanded by a
Bishop, notorious for his political bigotry, his party
spirit, and let us be just, his extraordinary energy.
Dr. Phillpots bartered his opinions on Catholic Eman-
cipation for his mitre, and like the old sinner sentenced
to do penance in a white sheet at a church door, who
voluntarily stood double the prescribed time in that
uncomfortable situation, this 0-odic, father of the Church
conceives that he cannot sufficiently atone for his po-
litical apostacy but by the most rancorous resumption
of illiberality. The staff of deans, prebendaries, canons,
and inferior priests, constitute, with the thickly stud-
ded parson-ocracy of the county, a most formidable
committee of electioneerers. The Magistracy, the
Tory-bred Squirearchy, the numerous corrupt
and self-elected Corporations in the western part
of England, the pauperized tenantry of the small
farms, mere political serfs of the landlords, excite only
astonishment that the independent electors mustered so
strong in favour of Lord John Russell. For nearly a
century past all the Church preferment of England,
Wales, and Ireland, has been exclusively monopolized
by the Tories. Liberal opinions were the sorry com-
fort of a few neglected curates ; livings they had none.
The rem in spe was only to be realized by excessive
zeal in favour of divine right and intolerance. The
Exeter diocese is filled to satiety with Tory parsons.
They are centinels in every parish, who form a cordon
sanztaire against the contagion of liberalism Thus
we find it recorded that one clergyman came from a dis-
tance to poll for Lord John Russell ! The clergy and
the corporators are grievously alarmed for the abuses
of their respective systems, and verily they have cause
for anxiety since the days of hirelings of the Church
and self-elected corporators are numbered.—Morning
Chronicle.

VICE-CHANCELLOR'S COURT.

PARKER V. DOWNING.

The only point of any public interest among the several
questions discussed in this case related to a right to dower.
Mr. WAKEFIELD, in support of the widow's claim to dower,
stated the will of her husband, Mr. Ward, whereby he de-
vised his freehold messuage or tenement then in his own oc-
cupation, situate in Easton-street, Chipping Wycombe, with
the appurtenances, together with all his furniture, plate,
linen, china, horses, carriages, articles and things in, about,
and belonging to him at his said dwelling-house upon trust,
to be sold, and the money to arise from the sale to be dis-
tributed among certain of his relations. He then directed
a house at Margate to be sold, and that his widow should
receive the income of the proceeds of the sale, together
with the interest of the residue of his personal estate for
her life. The question now raised was, whether she was not
also entitled to her dower out of the house at Easton-
street.

His HONOUR, after referring to the words of the devise,
said his opinion was that the devise was sufficient, by
necessary inference, to show that it was not the testator's
intention she should claim her dower out of this house.