The Sun.
London, England, 1850-12-05 00:00:00

ailludes in his recently published letter addressed to
Lord JOHN RUSSELL. That gentleman has virtually
claimed for himself a more than papal power of infal-
libility; he declares that every priest who speaks
in the name of the Church speaks in the name
of the infallible Church, and tint those who

take away the infallibility of the Church, that is the
infallibility of the priest, take away the certainty of
the Holy Scriptures, inasmuch as " you can only
I know that the Scriptures are true upon the infalli-
bility of the Church which has so pronounced it." Let
us carry out the argument, and we shall find it comes
to this : that we are to throw away as utterly worth •
less the labours of GROTIUS, of PALEY, of CHALMERS,
of WATSON, of all who have written on the evidences
of Christianity ; that we are to disregard all evidence
on the subject; that we are to treat with contempt the
apostolic precept, "Prove all things ;" that we are to
believe the Holy Scriptures solely because we are
told by Mr. BENNETT, as the organ of the Church,
that they are true, and that we are therefore to subor-
dinate our faith in the Scriptures to our faith in Mr.
BENNETT. To such, we will not say blasphemous,
but most absurd and most ridiculous conclusions do
the positions of Mr. BENNETT and of the other
Puseyite clergy lead us, if logically carried out. With
the personal attacks upon Lord JOHN RUSSELL and
upon the Bishop of LONDON contained in Mr.
BENNETT'S letter, we have nothing to do, but
with his objections to the QUEEN'S supre-
macy we have to do. Mr. BENNETT ho-
nestly avows that he objects to the QUEEN'S su-
premacy in things spiritual, because, in contending
for it, those who support it are " contending for the
power of general liberty of opinion," because " the
QUEEN'S prerogative is the Prime Minister's preroga-
tive, and the Prime Minister's prerogative is the
people's prerogative ;" and " because there is a sacer-
dotal power inherent in the Church, by essence ; "
which sacerdotal power "is the part of the
Church which is alone worth preservation." These
doctrines are more obscurantist than even those of Rome
itself; they are doctrines which, we take it for granted,
it is impossible any of the Archbishops or Bishops who
have signed this protest can by possibility entertain,
doctrines the profession of_which must surely be
sufficient to exclude from the ministry of" the Church
by law established" the holder of them, inasmuch as
they set the Church, the creation of the law, above
the law which created it, and which maintains it,

and which could disestablish it to-morrow. If the
holders of these doctrines can still lawfully continue
ministers of the "Church by law established," then in-
deed the time is come to complete the Reforma-
tion from without. If they cannot lawfully
so continue, then we call upon their Dio-
cesans at once to adopt measures to purge our Pro-
testant Established Church of the presence of these
ultra-Romanisers, who do not go over to Rome only
because each seeks to be Pope in his own parish, and
who are much more dangerous than the whole of the
recently-appointed Roman hierarchy. Truth suffers
less from the open hostility of a JULIAN than from
the insidious kiss of a JUDAS.

There is now at least a reasonable prospect that
some judicious measure of University reform will
speedily be brought under the legislative notice. We
cannot suppose that the labours of her MAJESTY'S
Commissioners will prove fruitless, or that their
searching inquiries into the various abuses that have
sprung up during successive ages will elicit no in-
formation sufficiently authentic to form the basis of
new enactments, better suited to the spirit of the age
in which we live. The institutions and statutes
both of Oxford and Cambridge are of too
monastic a character to be continued in
a Protestant country. To these institutions
may be attributed in no small degree the spread of
the Tractarian apostasy, that has created so great a
schism in the Church of England, and exposed the
Establishment to the most imminent peril; and nothing
can remove this formidable danger, but the extirpa-
tion of the causes by which it was produced, and
rendering the universities—what they ought to be—
seminaries fur the improved instruction of youth, and
for the reward of those who have distinguished them-
selves by scientific or literary attainments.
The education afforded at these seats of
learning should be of the most useful description, cal-
culated to enable the alumni to enter upon " the
battle of life" with extraordinary advantages, with
their minds schooled and exercised, so as to be
enabled to seize upon every opportunity that offers,
and turn it to the best purpose. They should be
taught how to mix with society and fill the various
stations to which they may subsequently be called as
legislators, magistrates, barristers, clergy men,
and physicians, with credit to themselves and
benefit to the community, in place of being only qua-
lified to doze away their existence in dreamy obscurity.
Let it not be supposed that we mean to insinuate
that such has been the condition of those (and their
name is Legion) who, having passed with distinction
through their undergraduate career, subsequently
attained high eminence in their various pursuits. Far
from it, but we do say that their success has been oc-
casioned by other causes—that it was obtained in spite
of; and not in consequence of, their previous studies
at Oxford or Cambridge, at least so far as the Col-
legiate course, the appointed curriculum, was con-
cerned. This is not as it should be. It requires
a large and comprehensive measure of re-
form ; and it is because, with all their
faults, we love these venerable establishments,
because we desire to see them restored to a healthy
condition, and flourishing in renovated youth and
vigour, that we urge these much-required alterations
and ameliorations that will perpetuate all that is va-
luable in the system, and which should be retained
and restored.
The civil and criminal jurisdiction, about which
the authorities of the University are so jealous, is
neither hensflcial to themselves or to the inhabitants
of the districts where it prevails and is recognised.
All experience has shown that the judicial au-
thority cannot safely be entrusted to the hands
of ecclesiastics ; and yet it was one for which they
struggled vigorously and energetically in the olden
time. We are indebted to the " good old times" of
clerical Chancellors and clerical Judges for many of
the refined absurdities, the nice and subtle distinc-
tions, which makes the issue but too frequently depend
on the strict observance of useless forms in place of on
the substantial merits of the case. We often find
our most able Judges deploring the decisions they
are compelled to pronounce, and which they
feel, although strictly in accordance with es-
tablished precedents, to be altogether opposed
to equity and good conscience, and strict and im
partial justice between man and man. But these un

toward events are the legacies bequeathed to us by the
monastic occupants of the bench of justice.
Why, then, we ask, should persons resident in Ox-
ford or Cambridge be compelled to resort to the
Vice-Chancellors' Courts ? or why should the ordinary
tribunals in operation throughout the rest of the
kingdom be superseded in the vicinage of the Univer_
sities ? There were formerly many of these inferior
courts, which have been gradually abolished, and
the beneficial results of the change have
been cordially and unanimously acknowledged
by all disinterested persons. Last year the Palace
Court was swept away. Why should the Vice-
Chancellors' Courts be retained ? Without: these
tribunals they, nevertheless, can fully maintain their
authority over all persons in, statu pupillari, and
there is no sufficient reason why they should be per-
mitted to retain eny jurisdiction over other persons.

But, if the University authorities aro not well
qualified for the discharge of the judicial functiorit,
they are still less calculated to perform the duties of a

police force. The proctors and their "bull-deg r'' may
hunt nut, if they please it, unruly undergraduates,
and subject them to collegiate impositions, or other
recognized penalties ; but why should they be per-
mitted to assault and insult with impunity unoffend-
ing females, on vague suspicion, or to refuse any
redress, even the poor satistaction of an apology,
when they have manifestly and unquestionably
committed grave mistakes ? A case which was heard
before the bench *of magistrates, at Cambridge, on
Tuesday, in which a charge of assault was preferred
egairl4olB Joupi YgNwtoz-,, ALA., of Corpus
Christi College, and his-two attendants, in university
parlance'tatz~nglyilitisti:ates the of
the existing aysteil!. ;
It appeared that retiring girl 'named
tfiemp.soi4. re,f, urc,tng (a respect
uhte powkeeper house, in -Cambridge;,, w abo)