The Sun.
London, England, 1857-03-25 00:00:00

given them 18 days, where Lord DERBY gave
them four months ; let them do in a day the
work of a week. It is often best to be compelled
to instant decision. Energy may more than sup-
ply the want of time. R3form must not be sac-

rificed to a Tiverton coup d'etat. It need not.
The boroughs are the grand seat of tho Reform
struggle—in most of them some staunch Reformer
is well known—in most we mean where there is
really a constituency ; and even at the eleventh
hour a bold push may often be successful.
Reformers must remember that they are very
likely electing a seven years' Parliament. If, as is
probably the case, the parties in the new Parlia-
ment will be better divided than in the late one,
then, should no war, or potato rot, or unfore-
seen contingency alter the course of things, we
shall have a WALPOLE Whig reign for many
a long year. A good infusion of thorough-going
Liberalism, now, is almost our only chance. There
is no danger of choosing too ardent Radicals. The
sone of St. Stephen's always lowers the Radical
thermometer to temperate, and temperate Liberal-
ism to the freezing point. The Chartist there
becomes a Radical, the Radical a Whig, and the
Whig a Liberal-Conservative. Reformers—old,
tried Reformers, are the men wanted. If they
have not been brought forward yet, it is not too
late even now. Not one moment, however, is to
be lost. Put your man through the " Candidate;
Catechism," and if he shows no signs of wincing,
take him to the hustings, go with him to the poll,
and present him to Lord PALMERSTON' as your
interpreter of his " Well-considered Reforms."

The valuable opportunity afforded by the
coming elections should not be neglected or mis-
applied by Ecclesiastical Reformers. This para-
mount duty is even more incumbent on the
friends than on the opponents of the Establish-
ment. Those who desire its continuance, who
believe that it has many good points, should en-
deavour to purify it from the abuses that have
arisen during a succession of ages, and to render
it worthy of the title of a truly reformed Church.
The Ecclesiastical Courts have long since been un-
equivocally condemned by the voice of public
opinion. They literally " stink in the nos-
trils" of the People. And yEt these relics
of the dark ages still flourish in rank luxu-
The sentence so clearly pronounced
remains unexecuted. All parties in the
Legislature were desirous of the abatement of the
social nuisance. The Government, the Opposi-
tion, and the independent members alike put for-
ward measures, the great principle whereof was
the abolition of the jurisdiction of these obnoxious
tribunals. But, as we have stated, nothing has
as yet been accomplished—the artful strategy of
an insignificant clique has hitheFto contrived to
bailie the efforts of men of all parties, and to con-
tinue the grievance without amelioration or modi-
fication of any description.
It is not the Testamentary Jurisdiction of these
tribunals alone that are so loudly and so justly
complained of. The Church discipline department
is, if possible, worse conducted ; and although the
evils arising therefrom are not so generally felt, yet
scandals are occasioned very prejudicial to the in-
terests of the Church and of the Protestant reli-
gion. The injustice inflicted on the Rev. W.
LAMBERT, incumbent of Christ's Church, Ealing—
who was virtually condemned to poverty and dis-
grace, so far as their power Extended, without
being even heard in his own defence, and that
simply because he was not rich enough to satisfy
the exorbitant pecuniary demands indispensable
in proceedings in these courts—disgusted the pa-
rishioners of the oppressed gentleman, who felt
that his suspension from the performance of his
clerical duties by a bishop unable t 9 discharge his
own was a grievance of no ordinary magnitude,
and, as declared by a large majority of the
parishioners, "an irreparable loss " to them-
selves. Had the health of the late Bishop per-
mitted personal explanations—had he been en-
abled to receive those who waited on him for the
purpose of giving them—the gross " cruelty and
injustice " perpetrated on a hard-working and
efficient Minister might have been averted. It is
sufficient, however, for the purposes of our argu-
Ment to show that such things are even possible
under the existing system, not merely to justify,
but to render a Legislative remedy absolutely in-
dispensable.

Hance.

But there are ether abuses no less patent
than those above referred to. The dis-
tribution of " patronage " occasions shame
and regret to the well-wishers of the Church.
What can be more painful than to see
almost daily advertisements offering for sale next
presentations—pointing out the advantages to
wealthy clergymen of the Rectory of " panes cum
piscibus," or some other equally desirable " living,"
as it has been appropriately termed, where the
sporting facilities of the neighbourhood are mani-
festly considered of greater importance than that
of labouring in " the LORD'S vineyard," and the
paucity of the population is an irresistible induce-
ment to indolent pastors. The system of " pro-
potion by purchase " in the army is bad enough
in all reason, but it sinks into insignificance when
compared with that in the " Church Militant,"
where the spiritual wants of the population are
as nothing when placed in the opposite scale to
the pecuniary interests of the patrons, or the love
of ease of the clergymen with wealthy or influen-
tial friends.

Nor is it only lay patronage that is misplaced.
Even Bishops can sometimes err. How often
have the people witnessed with disgust the setting
aside of the person who had faithfully and
honestly discharged the important duties of an
extensive parish ! " Unice seminat alter metat "
is but too frequently illustrated in Ecclesiastical
affairs, when the man who has sowed the good
seed is displaced almost on the eve of the harvest
time. The universal complaint of the parish-
ioners of Hanwell—when the Rev. Dr. MOR-
TON, who had for twelve years been the efficient
curate, who had been mainly instrumental in pro-
curing the erection of the handsome church that
graces the parish,
was removed from the position
in which ho had been so pre-eminently useful by
a new and comparatively unknown man,
affords a striking illustration of the evil. The
habitual readers of The Sum cannot forget the obser-
vations which we then felt it an imperative 'obligA-
tion to offer. The reproach to the Church, however,
was perpetrated, and we believe that it has never
since been remedied, although even the bishop,
who disregarded his claim, acknowledged the z)al
and fidelity with which he had acted as curate of
Hanwell.

The friends of the Church should ponder on
these matters, and every one pssessing the
elective franchise should pause bafore giving his
vote, until assured that the candidate i 3 a friend
of real Ecclesimtical Reform ; determined to pro-
mote it by all legitimate means, and to leave no
stone unturned to purify the EitAblished Church
from long-standing abuses—to sweep away the
accumulated filth of a succession of ages.

The Austrian Minister has been recalled from
Piedmont, and thus there has been a suspension
of diplomatic intercourse between the Courts of
Vienna and Turin. The excuse for this course is