The Sun.
London, England, 1845-12-05 00:00:00

way. A great meeting was held at Edinburgh, on Tuesday
convened by the LORD PROVOST, and wasattendedby the
first citizens of the northern metropolis, and among
other visitors by Lord JOHN RUSSELL and Mr. MACAU-
LAY. His Lordship's opinion on the subject is now a
matter of history, and will form a most interesting
episode of the history of the corn-laws when
the country is relieved from this ruinous,
unjust, and oppressive tax. Mr. MACAULAY
'in his speech joined cordially in the sentiments ex-
pressed by the leader of the Opposition, and the result
of the meeting altogether left no doubt that this great
question must be settled speedily, and to the entire
satisfaction of the free-traders. A requisition has been
presented to the LORD PROVOST of Glasgow, numerously
signed, calling upon him to assemble a meeting of the
inhabitants for a similar purpose, and no doubt re-
mained that in that great commercial city the cry for
free trade, and, above all, for free trade in corn, would
even be louder than at Edinburgh. At a meeting of the
Corporation of Dublin, on Tuesday, Mr. O'CONNELL gave
notice of the following motion :—" That an address to
presented to her MAJESTY, praying that she may direct
that measures should be taken for opening the ports,
and for feeding and supporting the Irish people." The
LORD MAYOR of London, it appears, still bangs back, and
allows his Tory principles to obstruct, as far as he
can, the expression of public opinion in the
metropolis ; but that very obstruction will only give an
additional impulse to the movement, and give more effect
to the public feeling. Already a great number of mer-
chants and bankers have issued a declaration on the sub-
ject of free trade and the corn-laws, and even without
the aid of the LLCM:. MAYOR it will be generally cir-
culated and signed by thousands in a few
days. The game, in fact, is up. The feelings of the
country can no longer be mistaken or treated with con-
tempt, and the frequent Cabinet Councils held within
the last ten days are the best proofs that the Ministry
begin to see the danger of further delay and mys-
tery in its true light. No Government, pledged to
the maintenance of the corn-laws in any shape,
could exist for a session, nay, for six weeks.
Sir,RonEaT PEEL knows that, and, independent of his
own private opinion on the question, he would not be
mad enough to destroy the popularity already
acquired by his commercial reforms, by absurdly
standing out against the most important reform of all.
He knows that the principle is advocated, not by Whigs
and Liberals alone, but that many of his supporters are
free-traders, and he must either go with the current or
be swamped. All those engaged in trade—and they are
entitled to credit from their experience—concur in the
sentiments expressed in a petition presented to the House
of Commons, in 1820, by the present Lord ASHBURTON,
that " of the numerous protective and prohibitory duties
of our commercial code, it may be proved, that while all
operate as a heavy tax on the community at large, very
few are of any ultimate benefit to the classes in whose
favour they were originally instituted, and none to the
extent of the loss occasioned by them to other classes."

Our readers, no doubt, remember the case of the Rev.
WILLIAM DAY, who, at the Spring Assizes at Aylesbury,
was indicted for cutting and maiming one of his parish-
ioners, named BATCHELOR, and, being convicted of the
assault, was sentenced to be imprisoned in the com-
mon gaol of Aylesbury for six weeks. If
we mistake not, this was by no means the
first appearance of this reverend misdemeanant before
" My Lords the QUEEN'S Justices," at the Bucking-
hamshire assizes. There was a case of horrible cruelty
to a sheep, in which, if we mistake not, the Rev. Rector
of Hawridge narrowly escaped conviction, through
the intervention of the late Lord ABINGER, who
tried the case, and screened the Rector.

The attention of the Bishop of LINCOLN haying been
drawn to the conduct of this clergyman, his Lord-
ship, in the execution of his duty, promotes a cause
in the Arches' Court, under the provisions of the
Church Discipline Act, against him. The charges are
for having addicted himself to continual and ex-
cessive drinking of wine, beer, and spirituous
liquors, so as frequently to be intoxicated,
and particularly for having been in a state of intoxi-
cation on the sth of June, 1844, in the Rose and
Crown public-house, at Hawridge ; and, also, for having,
since the issuing of a commission of inquiry by the Lord
Bishop continued to addict himself to habitual and
excessive drinking, so as frequently to be intoxicated,
and also for having been convicted at the assizes
held at Aylesbury, on the 10th of March,
1845, of an assault upon TEtomes BATCHELOR,
having thereby occasioned great scandal to the Church.
Such were the charges on which Sir HERBERT JENNER
F UST was yesterday called upon to give judgment, and
if ever there was a judgment which proved the absolute
necessity that exists for a thorough and complete reform
of our Ecclesiastical Courts, it is the judgment of
Sir HERBERT JENNER POST in this case. The
Learned Judge considered the article charging
"habitual and excessive drinking and frequenting
public-houses to be sufficiently proved." With
regard to the next article, the Learned Judge con-
sidered it not proved, and that, for reasons so very re-
markable, that we would wish to call our readers' atten-
tion to the passage in the judgment :
"The next article charged, that Mr. Day, on some day in
May, 1843, went to the Rose and Crown, drank there to ex-
cess, and in a state of intoxication left the house with Benja-
min Batchelor, and, after preceeding a short distance, a large
dog, belonging to Mr.Weedon, followed a small dog with Mr.
Day, who said, ' I will do the rascal ;' and, taking out a knife,
gave the large dog a cut, or slash in the throat. The Learned
Judge observed, that the Court was not called upon to censure
Mr. Day for cutting the dog's throat, but to decide whether
he was intoxicated at that time; and, although Pitkin, the
landlord, had deposed that Mr. Day was ' very fresh,' and
that he staggered in his walk, Batchelor, who had the best
means of judging, says he was not intoxicated. The ques-
tion was less material, because the exact day in the month of
May, 1843 when the circumstance occurred was not fixed,
and it might have been before the 10th, in which case the
offence would be beyond the limit of two years. The Court
could not, therefore, hold that this article was established by
the evidence."

Now, the acquittal on this article makes the conviction
on the first article of infinitely greater importance. Here
is this clergyman, after drinking in a public-house untl
he was very fresh, and staggered in his walk, found cutting
the throat of a neighbour's dog. The Judge, it seems, did
not feel himself called upon to censure the
cutting the dog's throat ; but he does not consider the
fact of staggering as conclusive proof of intoxica-
tion, and, therefore, acquits the clergyman. How
overwhelming, therefore, must have been the
evidence in support of the first charge which
could induce Sir H. J. FUST to declare it proved.
The charge of having been convicted of an assault in
having, in a state of intoxication, cut one THOXIS
BATCHELOR with a knife, was also admitted to be proved.
The effect of the Rev. Gentlemen's example on his
parishioners is thus stated by the Judge :
"The effect of the conduct on the part of Mr. Day had
been to create a great scandal in the parish, and whereas,
heretofore the congregation at the church had consisted of
about 100 persons, for some time past very few had attended
divine service, thereby showing that Mr. Day was much
worse than useless."

Now, what does the reader think was the sentence upon
this rev. drunkard—this cutter of the throats of dogs—
this stabber of men—this convicted misdemeanant ?
Had he been an officer in the army or navy,
he would most assuredly have been cashiered.
Had he been a barrister, he would have been disbarred.
Had he been a policeman, a clerk, or in fact anything,
save and except a clergyman of the Church of England,
he would have been dismissed from the office which
he had disgraced by his scandalous excesses It
but, being a clergy man7of the Church of England, he is
sentenced, not to deprivation, but to be suspended for
three years, and until he produce a certificate of
good behaviour. In no other Church—among the
members of ino other sect—would a man, who
had so scandalously misconducted himself, have ever
been permitted again to desecrate, by performing the
sacred rites of religion. As friends to the Church,
we lament this misplaced leniency. Those are the true
friends to the Church who would, by removing from her
ministry for ever all such men as the Rev. WILLIAK
DAY, set her right in the public opinion.

Madrid journals of the 26th ult. contain no news. On
the Bourse the Three per Cents. were quoted at 36 at
60 days, but no business was done in the Fire per Cents.

The Paris lifouitteur, as well as most of the other
papers, contain seven official dispatches from Marshal
BUGEAUD, furnishing details of the movement of troops,
and the state of affairs in Algeria up to November 25.
They are, on the whole, of a very unfavourable cha-
racter. The presence of the Marshal, with the rein-
forcement of 20,000 additional troops, appears to have
produced no effect whatever on ABD EL-KADER and the
vast number of tribes that adhere to him as their
leader. He, in fact, keeps the French com-
pletely at bay ; no station is secure, and no detach-
ment is safe from the attacks of that enterprising chief-
tain, or his lieutenant, Bou MAZA, who rivals him in
patriotism and energy. Most of the Opposition journals,
and notwithoutreason,condemn in the strongest terms the
policy of BUGEAUD, and consider that there will be no
end of the ruinous system while such a vain, imprudent,
incapable, and unmanageable Governor is at the heat
of affairs. Even the Government paper, the Journal des
Debats, gives a very glooomy account of the state of
affairs. "It is impossible," it says, "to dissemble, that
according to the reports just received, the state of affairs
in Algeria does mot present any decisive amelioration,
and that we are again compelled to have recourse to
harassing and incessant expeditions against that multi-