The Sun.
London, England, 1844-11-04 00:00:00

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LONDON. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1844.

'We have received the following communication
from Oxford :—" The Reverend WILLIAM Goon-
Ersouoir PENNY, N.A., Student of Christ Church
and Perpetual Curate of Ashendon, Bucks, has re-
signed his studentship on conforming to the Roman
Catholic faith. It is also announced, and the intelli-
gence has produced a deep sensation, that the Re-
verend JOHN HENRY NEWMAN has intimated to the
Reverend Mr. WILLIAMS, the late candidate for the
Poetry Professorship, the impossibility of his con-
tinuing a member of the Anglican Church." An
Evening Contemporary of Saturday, who is strongly
opposed to the Tractarian heresy, gives a dif
ferent version of Mr. PENNY'S case, and ob-
serves that the Dean of Christ Church, having
been informed that this gentleman had Joined
the Church of Rome, ordered inquiries to be insti-
tuted, when it " appeared that he had been a Ro-
manist for some months past, retaining his student-
ship and livings. A Chapter," adds our Contempo-
rary, " was held on Wednesday last, at which the
Dean and Canons, after commenting in terms of du,-
reprobation upon this shocking affair, struck off Mr.
PENNY'S name from the hooks of the college." If
this last version be correct, we do not wonder at.
the indignation manifested by the Christ Church
authorities ; but in the absence of more authentic
testimony we are willing to adopt the most
favourable view of Mr. PENNY'S case, and to believe
that ho, resigned his studentship the instant he found
that he could no longer conscientiously conform to the
Established Church. But how completely does this
circumstance of his conversion to the Catholic faith
confirm what we stated more than once at an early
period of the Oxford controversy—namely' that the
doctrines e doctrines of the Tractarians lead, asnecessary
consequence, to Popery ! More than one advocate
of these doctrines has already abandoned the faith
of his fathers—the faith in which he himself was bon,
and bred—in favour of Catholicism, and now we find
Messrs. PENNY and NEWMAN following the same
erunple. As regards the latter gentleman, we

cannot but express our regret and :surprise that
he has not seen fit, long before this, to announce
" the impossibility of his continuing a member
of the Anglican Church," for, from the very first rise
of the Tractarian heresy, he was conspicuous above
all others by his zeal in its favour. His was no mode-
rate, qualified approbation, but downright enthu-
siasm; he carried out its doctrines to the utmost
possible extent, and left even Dr. PUSEY far behind
him in his advocacy of Puseyism. He was, in fact,
an ultra-Puseyite, and opposition, so far from
checking his zeal, served only to give an additional
stimulus to it. Surely it was his duty, holding
such views—views so utterly opposed to those
of the Established Church—to have renounced
his connexion with the Establishment long ere
this, and to have frankly and boldly thrown
off the mask, and exhibited himself in his
true colours ! But, despite its high pretensions
and somewhat imaginative character, there is a
decided taint of Jesuitry lurking in the constitution
of Tractarianism ; it is specious and showy, abounds
in clap-trap appeals to the external senses, and is fond
of the picturesque in religion ; but it is deficient in
simplicity and straightforwardness, and while it is
well calculated to lead captive_ the susceptible fancy
of youth, it makes not the slightest impression on the
heart. Though we do not deny that Tractarianism has
done some good by rousing the sluggish feelings of
Mother Church, and making her more active—
from the pressure of necessity—in the perform-
ance of her duties, as little can we deny
that it has been the means of doing
world of mischief, by unsettling men's minds, con-
founding the true with the false in religion, and sub-
stituting—or attempting to substitute—mere showy
ceremonial observances, for pure, heartfelt, unso-
phisticated worship. Our main objection to Tracta-
rianism is, that it has nothing substantial—nothing
sterling in its character. We believe that it is per-
fectly sincere in its wish to do good, but it sets about
the task in a wrong spirit. It exhibits a fondness for
theatrical display that is wholly at variance with the
meek, modest, unobtrusive spirit of Christianity ; and
puts forth such exalted pretensions, and justifies those
pretensions in so imperious a fashion, that it is im-
possible for any one to acquiesce in them who is not
prepared to surrender up all freedom of opinion, and
turn a deaf ear to the calm, grave remonstrances of
reason. We hope, in justice to his sense of right,
that every clergyman who holds Tractarian doctrines,
will immediately follow the example of Messrs. NEW-
MAN and PENNY, and openly renounce his connexion
with a Church of which it is impossible he can be a
conscientious or efficient minister.

A careful perusal of the report of the " Select
Committee on Mortmain," appointed last session by
the House of Commons, although it has afforded us,
in conjunction with the Minutes of Evidence, some
entertainment, as well as instruction, has not led us
to concur in the pro-repealing views of the Com-
mittee. In this report we have a fair statement, we
must allow, of the origin, objects, and operation of the
N.lortmain laws; but we do not find an adequate case
made out for their abrogation. Nay, the Select
Committee conclude their report by declaring
" that" they do not feel authorised, by the
terms of reference, to report in favour of (even)
' any specific alterations of these laws." These terms
were precise, if they were not ample enough to include
the recommendation of any remedial measure which
the result of their investigations might have appeared
to them really to warrant. They were instructed " to
inquire into the operation of the laws of Mortmain,
and of the restrictions which limit the power of
making gifts and bequests for charitable and religious
uses." But the " finding of this tribunal of inquiry,
is simply that they feel bound to state, from an at-
tentive consideration of the evidence submitted to
them by witnesses whose means of information and
tuthority must be held to be great, that the operation
of the laws is most unsatisfactory; tends to doubt
expense, uncertainty, and litigation ; frequently de-
feats good and pious purposes which the present aspect
of the country would induce all men to wish fulfilled;
while, from the existing facilities for evasion they
cannot be regarded as serving the main pur-
pose for which they are supposed to be
maintained, by securing the heir from the
unexpected alienation of property to which he
might reasonably have hoped to succeed." This is
all very well—as a one-sided view of the case. But
the " good and pious purposes," the4,...a. frequent defeat
. .. . .
pathetically deprecated, were just as ofteri represented
in times gone by, by the most exorbitant and reckless
alienations of property which the timidity of super-
stition, or the extravagant dotation of a guilty con-
science worked upon, intimidated, excited, or cajoled
by the crafty whisperings of a ghostly father—under
the fiercest access of his penitent's malady, whether
of mind or body, could extort from him in favour
of some ecclesiastical foundation or spiritual destina-
tion, and to the manifest robbery of the rightful
legal heir. For our own parts, although we
see, on the list of the Committee, the names of
such highly respectable men of all political parties, as
Lord JOHN MANNERS, Mr. FREDERICK SHAW, Mr.
CHARLES BULLER, the Hon. Mr. SMYTIIE, Viscount
CLIVE, Sir GEORGE GREY, &c., we are not at all
convinced that there is anything in the altered aspect
of society and political institutions at this day, which
should induce the Legislature to throw down a bar-
rier which the " wisdom of our ancestors," so long ago
as a period even before the PLANTAGENETS existed,
and under that heroic line of Princes consolidated, to
protect the landed property of the laity against the
encroaching and grasping spirit of the churchmen.
_ls to the securities which the Select Committee con-
.eive to be provided by the present state of society
ind of the law against similar diversions of pro-
?erty from its legitimate channels of descent,
. nheritance, or representation, to corporations
ecclesiastical, charitable, or municipal, their own
admission, as to the " facilities of evasion"
:Horded by the law of Mortmain under its existing
arm, should make them more distrustful than they
eem to be of the chances of a like evasion of the same
iaw in that altered form to which they would reduce
it. " The Moirrstaris LAWS had their origin in a
state of society widely different from the present ; and
nearly, if not all, the reasons" (the Committee ob-
-erve) which appear to have induced the PLANTA-
GENET and TUDOR Kings and Parliaments to enact
the various laws restricting the alienation of real
property, first to religious, and, subsequently, also, to
lay corporations, from the time of MAGNA CHARTA
down to the Reformation, exist no longer."—(P. III.)
We are not so sure of that. We can imagine a case
in which, if the piety or remorse of some san-
guinary Norman Baron has remitted, on his death -bed,
part of his ill-gotten lands (the rewards of his brigand
violence, or the indications of his Sovereign's favour),
to the impoverished but illustrious house of some
lespoiled Saxon Thane, it is at least possible
that such lands would have been applied at
that time, or been found at this, appropriated
to some more honourable and respectable uses
than if they had been surrendered to a spiritual
brotherhood. For example, the Almonry at West-
minster, in the hands of a succession of lay proprie-
tors, continued through the last eight hundred years,
might never have been presented at law, as the nuisance
it has been for about a century past, owing to the
:haracter and pursuits of the tenantry who have held
that close under the ecclesiastical ownership of the
Dean and Chapter of Westminster. This reminds us
:hat the Bishop of LONDON, a witness examined be-
t'ore the Committee, gave some characteristic evidence.
Ilis Lordship did not once allude to the Almonry and
its housekeepers, but he expressed great indignation at
the fact of the late Dean of WESTMINSTER'S bequest
of 5,0001. to the Trustees of the Metropolis
Churches' Fund having been found to be void owing
to the operation of this law of Mortmain, which law
had been successfully appealed to by the residuary
legatees under Mr. DEAN'S will. Then the Bishop
gravely tells the Committee "that there would be
no danger of the Protestant clergy using undue in-
fluence over dying persons in favour of the (Estab-
lished) Church ; but the doctrines of the Roman Ca-
tholics
would lead to such influence being used."
Liberal, this : but we would not have trusted ; the
Right Reverend CHARLES JAMES, himself, with the
late N. M. ROTHSCHILD, if the Bishop's darling
scheme of " more churches" had been then afoot,
and himself at the great broker's bed-side in his last
illness. Wft are inclined to think that WILLIAM the
Cormtuestots, thougb, be
disinterested than Dr. Bt.
sagacity which is slow to deenerve)'
might, not have been more
itself.
more thatt

learned and interesting evidence of Mr. R. MAT- i
THEWS, the barrister, we have marked, for the Bishop'
especial perusal, the following paragraph :
" The alienation of land in Mortmain seems to have
been practised to a very considerable extent, at a very
early period of English history. Seldon states that a
license from the Crown was necessary for that purpose
among the Saxons, at least sixty years before the Con-
quest. There is a curious passage in Speed, 441 b,
which may also be found in Tomlins's Law Dictionary,
title Mortmain—' William the Conqueror demanding
why he conquered ;the realm by one battle, which the
Danes could not do by many, Frederick, Abbot of St.
Alban's, answered, that the reason was, because the land,
which was Lfor the maintenance of martial men, was
given and converted to pious employers, and for the
maintenance of holy votaries; to which the Conqueror
said, that if the clergy were so strong that the realm
was enfeebled of men for war, and subject by it to
foreign invasion, he would aid it. Therefore he took
many of the revenues of the abbot, and of others also."

We have accounts from Madrid of the 27th, the
day on which NAILVAEZ was to have been assassinated.
The whole affair, a brief account of which appeared
in The Sun of Saturday, bears a very suspicious cha-
racter. It is more like a miserable ruse—a low in-
trigue got up to frighten the peaceful inhabitants of
Madrid, and make them submit quietly even to
martial law during the discussions on the Reform
Bill. The very manner in which the news is given
excites suspicion. " General NARVAEZ was to have
been assassinated at the gate of the French Embassy.
General PRIM was arrested and other arrests were
made." Of the arrests we have no doubt, and as little
doubt of their obj et, but that any attempt was to
have been made 01 the ife of NARVAEZ we have not
the slightest proof. al mere assertion, and re-
sembles the fictitious plots and conspiracies which
have been blazoned fort4kby NARVAEZ and Co.
ever since they assumee - despotic sway over
the Spanish people. The affair at Barcelona
has more the appearance of a reality, as
some of the unfortunate persons arrested have found.
According to accounts from that town of the 29th
ult., four persons had been condemned to death, and
nine to the galleys. A permanent court-martial was
established. The following individuals besides PRIM
have been arrested at Madrid :—MENDICATTI, a
former Aide-de-camp of ESPARTERO ; Don BASA
MONTENEGRO, Don MIGUEL FERRER, Don RAFAEL
GARCIA, Don MIGUEL MOLIA, and Don CARLISTO
INFANTES.

MADRID BOURSE, OCT. 26.—Three per Cents.,
for cash, 24 ; for account, 27i. Five per Cents., for
account, 201. Floating Debt, 63/ for account.

The Paris papers of Friday and Saturday are en-
tirely destitute of intelligence. Friday, indeed, no
business was done, it being All Saints' Day, and only
two papers were published. Petty contests, for want
of better, are carried on by the Ministerial and Op-
position journals relative to the merits and demerits
of the GulzoT Ministry, and the former certainly
have the best of the fight. The following amusing
attack on M. TRIERS appears in the Paris Globe:—
" The Ministry of October 29 has existed for four
years, and still exists, in the name of the King, in the
names of the two Chambers, in the names of the elec-
toral body of the people. It has never shrunk from the
judgment of either of these powers, by whose con-
currence alone, according to our present constitutional
system, Cabinets are formed and supported. It is im-
possible to find a position more precise, more strong,
more constitutional than this. Those who deny
the legitimacy of the Cabinet, and its right to
remain in power, must, to be consistent, deny
the legitimacy of the Constitutional Government,
and they should call not only for a change of
Ministry, but for a revolution. To take no account of
the opinion of the Chambers, the opinion of the electors,
is to take no account of the charter ; is, in fact, to reject
it. When, from the appreciation of the value of the as-
sent
of the Chambers and the electors, they proceed to
the appreciation of the acts of the Ministry, the Opposi-
tion journals are still more contradictory and blind. The
Constitutionnel, the Siecle, and all the other journals of
M. Thiers, find that the cannon of Beyrout and Saint
Jean d'Acre was more honourable to France than the
names of Tangiers, Mogadore, and Isly. The Constitu-
tionnel and the Siecle find that a rupture with England
would give France a stronger position in Europe than a
cordial understanding with her. The Constitutionnel and
the Siecle find that France, which manufactured muskets
in 1840, was more prosperons than France in 1844, when
she is manufacturing iron rails for railroads. According
to M. Thiers and his journals, the words Honour, Force,
Prosperity, should be thus defined in a new edition of the
Dictionary of the Academy—viz. : Honour :—A word
which expresses the action of putting one's self under
shelter on the approach of danger. Example—Recal
of the fleet to Toulon in 1840. Force—The result of
isolation, and not of union; union is not strength—the
wisdom of ages tells us so. Prosperity—A state of
affairs in which unproductive expenditure is increased
tenfold, leading individuals to the workhouse and nations
to bankruptcy. If we compare theepoint of departure of
- - -- • ala Wll Cll li, IS
arrived, we shall find a striking difference. Had this
Ministry done no more than repair the faults of that of
March 1, it would still have done much. But it has done
more. It has not contented stself with repairing, it has
reconciled the secondary interests of the people with the
interests of peace. This grand and fruitful idea will
survive it, and the system of the entente cordiale will long
be called in diplomatic language the system of Oct. 29.
We should like to know what has survived the Ministry
of March 1 ? A speech in which the English alliance
was cried up to the point of sacrificing to it the naval
power of France; and a speech in a disunion with Eng-
land was cried up to the point of sacrificing to it the
peace of France. Two contradictions within a few
months—and nothing more !"
The Courrier Francais says :

" We are informed that all the irresolutions of the
Ministry on the subject of the loan are at an end. It is
said to have been resolved to issue the remaining portion
of the 450,006,000 f. that has not yet been negotiated.
These 300,000,000 f. are to be done in the Three per
Cents., and the contract is to be decided about the 25th
instant.

The Moniteur of Friday contains a Royal Ordon-
nance, dated October 30, for the re-organisation of
the Polytechnic School.
A letter from Berlin of the 28th ult, in the Journal
de Frankfort, says :
" The Government has sent a strong note to the Ha-
noverian Government against the commercial treaty
concluded with England, and has recalled Baron de
Seckendorff, the Prussian Ambassador. We cannot say
what the precise terms of the note may be, but it is cer-
tain that it uses strong language against the anti-Ger-
manic conduct of Hanover. There is no possibility of an
arrangement at present, and consequently the post of
Hanoverian Ambassador at our Court will remain vacant,
and Count de Hardenberg will not have any successor.
On the other hand, it is confidently asserted that the
King has received from the King of Holland overtures
for a commercial connexion between Holland and the
Zollverein."

The following appears in a Havre journal :
The long-projected idea of carrying on the corres-
pondence between Europe and Peru, across the Isthmus
of Panama, is, it is said, about to be realised. M. Mar-
cescheau, the French Charge d'Affaires at Bolivia, was
charged by his Government to find the means of esta-
blishing this service, but has hitherto met with insur-
mountable local obstacles. But Captain Boulanger, who
is well known and highly esteemed at Havre, and has
resided in Peru for several years, has come forward and
undertaken to realise the plans of M. Marcescheau. It
is proposed that three fast-sailing vessels, ably com-
manded, shall be appointed to convey the letters, pas-
sengers, and merchandise, between Callao and Panama,
touching every voyage at Payta. By sending the dis
patches from Europe to Chagres, and thence across the
Isthmus, to be again embarked from the point at which
the new packets arrive, it is expected that they will
reach the city of Lima in 60 or 70 days from the time of
their departure, whereas it requires double the time for
them to arrive at their destination by the passage round
Cape Horn. It is probable that, through the active ex-
ertions of Captain Bolanger, who is the director of this
new line, the project is already carried into execution,
and that this way of communication will be announced
to the public, and must be received by all interested in
it with the approbation and pleasure it is so well calcu-
lated to excite."
THE BOURSE—SATURDAY, Nov. 2.
First Highest Lowest Last
Price. Price. Price. .Price.
French Five per Cants.— •• 118 75 118 80 .. 118 75 .. 118 80
Three per Cents••• sl 90 .. 82 05 .• 81 85 .. 32 05
Bank of France•• .• • .• ••••• 3572 50 ..3072 50 .•3072 50 —3072 50
Laflitte Bank, I,ooof. Shareslo9s ..1095 ..1095 ..1095
5,000 f. Sharessolo ..5015 ..5010 ..5015
Belgian Fives, 1831.
1840 .• ••• • • • 1031 .. 1031 .. 1031 .• 1031
Spanish Threes.
Passive .. • 51 .. 51 • . 5f .. sf,
Portuguese Five per Cents•. 53 .. 53 .. 53 .• 53
Neapolitan • ....... • • ... .. 98 80 .. 98 85 .. 98 80 .. 98 85
Reman .. ••• 1051 .. 1051 .. 1051 .. 1051
RAILWAY SHARES.
Versailles, R.B ... 4OO .. 400 .. 400 .. 400
L.B. ..... ••• .• 282 50 .. 285 .. 2,42 50 .. 285
Rouen ••••• • • ••
Rouen to Havre.... • • ..... . 770 770 .. 770 - • 770
Orleans • • ..... •• —lOl6 25 —lOl6 25 ..1015 ..1015
Strasburg to Bale ... 282 10 .. 285 .. 282 50 . 285
Avignon to Marseilles.• •• •• 801 25 . 801 25 .. 801 25 .. 801 25