The Sun.
London, England, 1832-10-11 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF Try. PUBLIC JOURNALS.

We are much gratified at the promising aspect
of the financial accounts for the quarter ended
yesterday, the 10th of October, which will be
found in another column. Even those who an-
ticipated an improvement in the revenue of the
last quarter, as compared with the corresponding
period of last year, must allow that their most
sanguine hopes have been greatly exceeded by
the actual result. The excess of the last three
months is 696,8471., or nearly 700,0001. above
the income of the corresponding three months
nf 1831. This improvement extends not to one
branch of national income alone,—it arises from
no accidental circumstance, like an increase of
the duties on corn, but it pervades the whole
sources of our revenue, and seems to depend on
general and permanent caues. The Customs
and the Excise share it in nearly. equal propor-
tions. The assessed taxes IcaVe likewise in-
creased, and only two of the considerable
branches of our national income show any
deficiency. The increase on the Customs is
356,3881. ; on the Excise, 297,591/. ; and
on the assessed taxes, 116,383/. The
deficiency is 23,986/. on stamps, and 33,0001.
on the Post-office. The latter is easily
accounted for from the general election,
or the more active correspondence incident to a
time of political excitement, which swelled the
Post-office revenue last year. On the whole
year, or between the 10th of October last year
and the 10th inst., there has been a falling off' of
327,576/., a sum which will no doubt be fully
compensated by the improved revenue of the en-
suing quarter. The result to which we have al-
luded, and to which we cannot now refer at
greater length, is most gratifying, as it falsifies
more than one sinister prediction, and gives us
the assurance that if all the great interests of the
nation are not in the most thriving condition, at
least its vital resources remain unimpaired.
When we couple this state of the revenue with
the reduction effected in the expenditure, the
prospect becomes more cheering. The national
gain from this source in the present quarter may
be estimated at 500,000/ ; more than making
up for the deficiency on the revenue of the
whole ; and actually raising the improvement of
this quarter, over the corresponding quarter of
la,t year, to more than a million sterling.— Times.

Our attention has been called to a paper
which has been enclosed to us from Marlbo-
rough, describing, as it does, a case of much
apparent oppression. Mr. Lucy, the writer of
this appeal " to the inhabitants of Marlborough
and its vicinity," and a tenant of Lord Ayles-
y, complains of having received from his
Lordship's agent a notice to quit the premises
he held under him, on no provocation, as he al-
leges, but that of' having, in the course of his
trade as a printer, printed off such political
handbills as were brought to him ; the object of
many of which, he acknowledges, was "to weaken
Lord Aylesbury's influence over the election of
Members of Parliament." Mr. Lucy, he him-
self affirms, has no vote for the borough ; so
that, even according to the criminal jurispru-
dence of Newark,—the classic soil of election
tyranny,—he had done nothing, and could do
nothing, to earn his domestic ruin at the bands
of a vindictive landlord. It is true that Mr.
Lucy had been charged with printing many
(anonymous) handbills which appeared,—and
some of them, no doubt, sufficiently offensive,—
lint this poor man declares, in the most solemn
manner, and is ready to do so on his oath, that the
charge is utterly without foundation,—that he
never printed a single handbill to which his
name, as printer, was not annexed,—nor ever
been instrumental in transmitting or circulating
any, but in the performance of his duty as post-
master, which obliged him to forward whatever
should be sent through the office. Now, it is
obvious, that had every slander put forth against
Mr. Lucy been an unquestionable truth, and
had he not merely possessed a vote into the
bargain, but actually voted against Lord Ailes-
bury's candidate, nothing could justify the spite-
ful retaliation inflicted upon the Postmaster on
his Lordship's alleged authority,—nothing, save
the example of a Noble Duke, which will not, we
presume, be quoted by Lord Ailesbury as a de-
fence. How much more flagrant, then, was this
persecution, when it turns out that Mr. Lucy
had been falsely and shamefully libelled,—that
be had never printed the obnoxious handbills
imputed to him, nor circulated them, except
ex- officio, and by compulsion ! We read of
suck proceedings with more grief than anger. It
is far from our wish—it cannot be the wish of
uly reason b'e or upright Englishman—to see the
body oflanded proprietorsbecome objects of popu-
lar hatred, or the persons of the peerage, forming a
large portion of that proprietary, held in aversion
by the middle classes throughout England—a mis-
fortune pregnant with one "still more serious,
viz., the exposure of their constitutional func-
tions to a share of that strong sentiment of dis-
psi, which will have been provoked by the abuse
of thgif. landlord power. If Noblemen be
anxious to strengthen and prop up their " or-
der," they muta attain the end as much through
the attachment of their respective neighbour-
hoods to themselves as individuals and their fa-
milies. as through a conscientious and public-
spirited fulfilment of the duty of legislators and
judges. The tide at this moment sets not in
faviur of either the aristocracy or the temporal
church. The age for furnishing sops to the
imagination, that men's reasoning faculties might
be lulled or diverted, has gone by, and names,
anti forms, and glittering externals, which served
to dazz;e the great bulk of our forefathers for
centuries, are now listened to or gazed at with
other emotions than those of reverence and won-
der. Even the worn artisan, thirsting for relaxa-
tion, turns away from the most elaborate politi-
cal pageants, mutters his dislike of their le-
vity, his denial of their use, his anger at
their extravagance, and his distrust of or con-
tempt for the actors in them. A dry and stern
temper of mind like this is not to be safely trifled
with ; much less ought it to be exasperated by
grave and solid provocations. We scarcely think
that at such an hour a considerate clergyman
would press with even unwonted pertinacity for
his arrear of tithe, or that a nobleman who could
see a Nail before him would choose just this
particular crisis as the best for bolstering up an
odious candidate at an election by insisting on a
double rent from his tenants,—their free-agency
in addition to their money. On the other hand,
let us once again impress it on the Government,
that if' they desire to rule the storm, they must
ride with it and upon it. They must themselves
begin by separating uses from abuses. If they
would preserve the church, they must reform the
condition of the clergy. If they would preserve
the existing distribution of lay property, against
which there is much, though ill-fOunded, cla-
mour, they will take some active and efficient
steps to prevent or mitigate the corrupt perver-
sion by men who own the soil, of the rights over

others-, which enure to them through that pos-
session-- Times.

The manner in which the whole population
of Scotland may be said to have exhibited their
sorrow on the death of Sir Walter Scott, and

the promptitude of all, and especially the higher
classes, who are most able, in coming forward
to raise a perpetual monument to his memory,
reflect the highest honour upon them. It pre-
sents a national tribute paid where a national
tribute is so justly due. We should have been
the first to upbraid the want of such a feeling ;
and would, therefore, be among the first to hail
its salutary presence. It is truly refreshing to
the mind occupied in the turmoil and constant
contemplation of mere political subjects
.to be
drawn aside, even for a moment, to view at
once the amiable, nay perfect character, accom-
panied by the splendid genius of Scott. It is
rarely indeed that such an object presents itself,
or that the lamp of life expires after having
presented, from first to last, so pure, so steady,
so brilliant, (would we could say so unextin-
guishable !) a flame. But the mighty magician
is laid low ; the mind which has done more than
any other of the present age to delight, inform,
and humanize mankind, is now fled :o the ream
of kindred spirits, leaving to his surviving coun-
trymen only the painfully-gratifying task of do-
ing all that can be done to perpetuate their
sense of a memory and a genius which can never
(lie. Though our Northern brethren have a-

just right to take precedence upon this occasion,
we need not say the pleasing task of honouring the
memory of Scott must not be confined to them.
As his genius was universal, so must the im-
perishable trophies to his memory be; and we
trust there will not be a hand, capable of contri-
buting even its mite to such an object, whose
contribution will be withheld. Let even our
children live to say, " I was among those who
reared that statue." While every pen of any
literary note in the kingdom is employed on
this one topic, we feel it alike presumptuous
and unnecessary to say more upon a subject on
hich all men's minds are bent. All then that
we would add is, let the call which has been thus
promptly made be as promptly obeyed ; and let
Great-Britain show, upon this occasion, to the
world, that her inhabitants, though occupied so
largely in commercial pursuits and political ob-
jects, are feelingly alive to the claims of genius ;
and that while they can hand down her states-
men and warriors to posterity, as objects of un-
dying honour and applause, a large space in
their Temple of Fame lies open for such trim-
scendant claims as those which Sir Walter
Scott has left upon the applause and admiration
of a grateful country.—Morning Herald.
The " latest " last day—namely, the 10th of
October, for the settlement of the Belgico-Dutch
question, has expired, and, like all the former
" last days," has left the question as complicated
and unsettled as ever. Some of our Ministerial
contemporaries anticipate great things in relation
to a new " final settlement of the matters in
dispute between " obstinate" William and com -
plaisant Leopold, from the Cabinet Council
which is convened for to-day. It is time, indeed,

that the curtain should fall On this solemn farce.
Europe has had quite enough of that ridiculous
oscillation of our diplomacy between peace and
war which has signalised the interference of oty:
Government in a questio❑ which it should have
allowed the parties inirnediately interested to
have decided inter se, and it would long ago
have been decided. Destructive, indeed, has
this absurdly-protracted negotiation been to the

interests of commerce, and to all regular busi-
ness. At one time couriers are seen traversing
the political stage from all quarters with packages
of protocols ; at another, armies and fleets move
on only to— move off again. This moment the
immediate approach of a " final settlement " is
announced from " unquestionable authority "
the next, the trumpet of the ordeal of battle is
flourished, and the cannoneer is seen with the
lighted match at the touch-hole, only to burn
priming and make a little smoke ! While the
English Government is duped into this children's
play by the crafty Holy Alliance, that despotic
confederacy are pursuing their own despotic
schemes on the continent—for he is blind who
does not see that all the minor interests of

the Governments of Russia, Austria, and
Prussia are merged, for the present, in
the one grand object of putting down
political liberty throughout Europe. We al-
ways looked upon the renewed connection
of our Government with the Holy Alliance as
a most unfortunate connection.. In entering
into it our Whig rulers sinned against know-
ledge," for not only did they understand what
were the despotic principles and ambitious in-
tentions of the members of that Autocratic
Confederacy, when out of office, but they took
good care that the people of England should
understand them too. What eloquent denun-
ciations did they not pour forth against the ma-
chinations of the "legitimates" while the Tories
held the reins of Government ! What praises
slid they not bestow upon Mr. Canning when
he severed the connection with the Holy Al-
liance, and, without asking permission of all or
any of the military Dictators of Europe—with-
out submitting to a Conference, or manufac-
turing a protocol—without sending an Ambas-
sador Extraordinary to St. Petersburgh to be
feasted and wheedled, declared the South Ame-
rican Republics independent. When our Mi-
nisters display in their foreign policy the decision
and firmness which the crisis requires, and
which becomes the station and character which
England ought to maintain, we will rejoice at it
more sincerely than their flatterers. It will not
do to make the Cossacks the legislators of Eu-
rope. Let the fate of Germany instruct the
world !—Morning Herald.
The war seems now begun in good earnest
against the church. The Protestant Dissenters
throughout the country are willing to contribute
their fair share to the burdens of the State ; but
they are unwilling to be taxed for a church to
which they do not belong, and from which they
derive no advantage. They claim no superiority
over their brethren of the sect of the Episcopal
Church ; and they do not see why their brethren
should have any superiority over theth. They
build and repair their own chapels, and pay their
own Ministers, and they think it is but fair that
the members of the Episcopal sect should build
and repair their own churches, and support their
own clergy. The present time is unquestiona-
bly most fitvourable to the object of the Dissenters.
There are now few of those who approveof the doc-
trines of the established sect who are not as sen-
sible of the glaring abuses in the establishment
as the Dissenters can possibly be. The people
of England generally have become convinced
that the abuses in the establishment render the
clergy the patrons of all other abuses. They see
in the clergy the enemies of all improvement, the
drag on the wheels of the State machine. They
will never forgive them for the dangers to which
they exposed the country during the progress of

the Mom contest ; and, indeed, the clergy
take care, by their continued hostility to the
cause of good government, that the impression
produced by their conduct during the struggle
for Reform should never be effaced. The
church of England is a costly establishment.
The people are at least entitled to demand, that
for what they pay so much, a corresponding re-
turn ought to be made. They look to the esta-
blishment, and they ask, what return does it
make for the cost- at which it is upheld ? In
the Liveipool Albion, received yesterday, we
observe an attempt at an estimate of the numbers
of the Dissenters ; and the inference is drawn,
from the numbers without the pale of the church,
that the establishment does not answer its end.
" Few (says our Liverpool contemporary) in this c.iuntry
would, we believe, trouble their heads about the abstract
hearing of the subject of the Church Establishment, if
such establishment proved its capability to answer the end
for which it was designed. The age of theorizing and of
speculation has passed away. Now every subject and
every plan must be submitted to the test of Cui Lono?
The real question at issue en the subject before us is, sim-
ply, whether the Church of England has, with the ample
means at her disposal, done what ought reasonably to have
been expected at her hands for the spiritu ml amelioration
of the population of this kingdom ? This is the point to
be discussed, and which must inevitably occupy the early
attention of our reformed Parliament. We hope we may
not be deemed pursuing an irrelevant course, if we attempt
to offer some data by which our readers may be enabled to
form an opinion as to how far the Established Church of
this country has answered the end for which she was in-
stituted. Our calculations on this subject, general as they
must occasionally he, cannot be expected to be accurate ;
but, we believe, from all the observations we have been
ah!e to bestow, as well as from the state of things in our
own neighbourhood, that our readers will find the follow-
ing statement to be much below the m irk as to the actu ml
religious destitution of a large proportion of our country-
m n.

" In the following calculations we will confine ourselves
t , the condition of England and Wales. Scotland cannot
well be included in our investigation, inasmuch as the bulk
of her population belong to a distinct establishment; and
with much less reason can Ireland be enumerated in the
research, where five-sevenths of its inhabitants profess the
Ramish religion. The population of England and the
Principality was, by the last census, nearly 14,000,000:
" Of these, the adult members of the Wes-
leyan Methodists amount to about 210,000
Supposing one third of these to be heads of
fimilies, with 4 to a family, we shall have
. _

the additional number of 280,000
And if we compute the occasional hearers on
their Ministry to amount to twice that
number, we shall have to add 9BOOOO

1,470,000
Making a total of newly a million and a half
connecte.l with this denomination of pro-
fessing Christians alone.
The numerous classes of Independents and
Baptists will, at least, equal the amount
just given 1,470,000
Add the Roman Catholics and other sects,
who will amount to, at least, an equal num-
ber 1,470,000

4,410,000

Ilak'ng a grand total of about four millions
and a half, under the spiritual jurisdiction
of the various bodies of Dissenters. But
this is, after al!, a very inadequate view of
the case. We ought, in order to estimate
the number of our population actually un-
connected with the Established Church, to
add to the above aggregate those who do
not belong to any religious per•uasion.—
The number of these it is not easy to deter-
mine, but if we may instance the case of
our own town, as a specimen of what may
be inferred as to the kingdom generally,
we should think our estimate much under-
rated when we computer!. those " sheep
having no shepherd" at one-fourth of our
whole population, say ...... 3,500,000