The Sun.
London, England, 1821-06-21 00:00:00

PROVINCIAL JOURNALS.

(From The Birmingham and Lichfield Chronicle, Jane 14.)
The Coronation, it appears .from the Gazette of Tuesday, is
fixed fOr the llith-of July; and the London papers are already
filled with accounts of the preparations for this great national
solemnity. We'haveno doubt that the known good taste of his
Majesty, and the advanced state of the arts' in this kingdom,
will render the approaching festival far more splendid than any
which has preceded it. And' thus it should be. The proud
pre-eminence .to which the country has attained demands it.
And we should be ashamed to nee any 'sordid motives of parsi-
mony prevailing at such a moment. Whatever sums of money
are expended on this occasion will be wisely and -beneficially
employed in assisting the manufacturer,. in fostering the trade
and commerce, and in. rewarding the ingenuity of our own
countryrnen ; . and the result will be, a display of grandeur and
magnificence, well calculated to impress foreign nations with an.
idea of our power and unimpaired resources, and to.invest this
important ceremony with' all those external circumstances of
dignity and splendour which should Mark that.hour when the
Scivereign of a mighty Empire publicly assumes his Crown.
But it is not merely as a magnitilient pageant, as a proud
display of the richrs and the taste of the nation, that
we look forward to the Coronation. higher and holier
thoughts are inspired by the - consideration of the real
motive for all this show of Magnificence; The Coronation,
if viewed in its. true light, is- a' religiaus ceremony of very
solemn import. For then die Monarch receives his Crown in
the Presence of Him by whom Kings reign ; and at his Altar
swears to wear and maintain it for the good ofhis people. Then
he vows that he will maintain inviolate cur happy Constitution
in Church and state ; and then is an opportunity of more than
ordinary interest and :value afforded toms loyal subjects,to pour
forth their ardent and united prayers tq Heaven for his support
in his great and arduous office. This, then, is • no vain or use-
lesa ceremony ; no insignificant pinn'eant invented merely to dis-
play the skill of our artists, the excellence of onr manufactures,
ontne n-reatnos of our o:calth. Mean and narrow must be his.
mind. who can contemplate it in thiS light only; and still more
sordid must be the.character of hit, who can grudge the ex-
penditure which it will occasion, and turn unmoved. from its
imposing ceremonial to calculate the farthings it may add
to the amount of his taxation. We know • no higher, no
more effectual obligation upon the conscience, , than an
oath : and the wisdom of our ancestors determined that their
Monarchs should thus bind. .themselves by a public sacred.
pledge in the presence of God, and in the hearing of all that is
great and dignified fOr rank and station amongst their subjects,
to.reign according to the established laws of Ole kingdom, and
to maintain: the rights, the privileges, arid the 'liberties of all
their subjects unimpaired. That oath his Majesty is now
about to take : an oath which will be registered in Heaver!, and
in his own conscience as the guide of his conduct. We shall.
hear no persons speak cf this as an idle ceremony, but those'
who feel not the obligations of Religion, and value not the
bonds of a religious compact. Some such there may be ; and.
they may perhaps affect to curl the lip and shrug the shoulder,

when they read of the preparations for this holy solemnity.
But they are few ; and their voices, if indeed on such
.an occa
sion they. dare to raisz, them, will be drowned in those-heartfelt
acclamations, those deep and earnest prayers for the life and
safety of our gracious Monarch, which will then be pealed forth
by a Loyal anti united people. We look forward then to the day
' fixed for this auspicious rite with anxious pleasure : we trust
etarmt will occur to delay it further; and that it will be
hailed, and pass /throughout the country as a day of National
is with difficulty that we can prevail upon ourselves
to return from these gratifying anticipations to the scenes ofthe passing hour.; to the 'complaints, and machinations, and
fury of those who regard any manifestation of energy on the
part of 105-al men as a declaration of war against themselves ;
and shrink with terror from the first display of that spirit, which
their long provocations have at last awakened. The whole in-
dignation of the Radials and all their abettors, high and 1 ;
from the blaspheming publisher, to the writer who in the mur-
ky recesses or his. garret furnishes the poison which such crea,
tuaes vend, and the: deluded readers who swallow it as a cordial
anti a patacea ; all the tribe of evil spirits, black and grey,
thingte their venomous ingredients. to prepare a spell potent
'enough to- relieve them from the dreaded influence of the (7on-
stitutional Association. But they win fail. The goOd sense
and energy, of the nation will defeat them. Loyal and Wise men
are fully alive to their situation; they know the evil withwhich
they have to contend, and they know how to combat it without in.;
fringing upon the real liberty of the press or violating the laws.
They Cannot bepersuaded that their Religion, and the C,onstitu-
Lea of their cinerary. are less valuable possessions than their hou acs
or their g=ileaS.... They have, learned, by experience that they
may lawfully, -and
.can effectually associate .to preserve them
from spoil and deprtaation and they cannot be bullied cut of,
taking the same effectual measures to vindicate the purity of
their Holy Faith from the insults and revilings of the Blas-
phemer, and to defend the Constitution and the Constituted
AuthorttieS froM the vile attacks of the calumnious scribbler
for hire, or the bolder inroads' of the *sties of sedition and
treason. Mr. Ex-Sheriff Parkins thee.- may bustle, and look
unutterable deeds of vengeance ; his legal man Friday n:ay cm-
ploy all hiS special- pleading to wrest the laws to his purpose;
the 4 Times' may anew its talent for logical disputation, and
its less disputed poee.aa of abuse ; and the Morning Chroni-
cle' may pour forte the gall and bitterness of reckless and (Es,
appointed ambitiOn ; but the good will continue to associate—
and their united efforts, if directed with temperance and perae,
vering firmness, will silence-the brawlings of the factious, and
put down the combinations of those who are enemies alike to
their iktonarch and to the Laws; to virtue, religion, and their.'
country.