The Sun.
London, England, 1826-04-20 00:00:00

ENEW T1M41.3

A. document just laid before Parliament serves to
fil3COUnt, in a great, degree, for the late commercial
distress. It contains a statement.of the official value
ct the Import 4 and Exports of the United Kingdom
fipr,. the year 1825. The Imports are valued at a
little more than. - 44 millions, and-the Exports at
eb'ove .5(1,I Millions, of which latter- the British and
4:1:14ih iiroduee, and manufActures are somewhat more
ttian 4 njilli9lis. . What relation the„real value of the
Imports bears to the official %-::17-t, 1.14.0 kniAy not, but
the, re;tl value of the British and Irish produce and
manufactures is probably rather under than over 37
millions,. whit]) isnearly the avelAge , of the years
1-80: /EO3, and 1424. In those, three years, the
aver ;e official value of the Imports was not
rnoCh more than 344 millions. It follows, there-
kite, that while the Exports of Ifig.s did not exceed
tfle average of the three preceding. years, the imports
eiCaeded a similar average very
.nearly in the proportion
ovour to ihre,e ! Hence it is clear, that unless we
6. ,e our exportsfor the years 18P.2, 1823, and
i 24; to have !wen very excessi,ve, there must nave
b`iii in'1,825 4ri ovcr-tradin
of invQrt to the amount
, g
a 9 i liiilliniin of official value ; and it is certainly not

at all surpri4 thit 'those who tpeettlaltd so in-
considerately in importation should have involved
themselves and all their connections in great embar-
rassment. ,

[MORNING CHRONICLE.]
We have no doubt that the motion of Mr. Cressett
Pelham, last night, for occasionally holding the Par-
liaments in the capitals of the kingdom, other than in
London, was-not lightly taken' up by him. The Hon.
Gentleman, however, seems to have been rather averse
to communicate his reasons'for the measure, so that we
can onlyguesi at them. Some may think that he meant,
by a side-wind, to destroy the Press, calculating on the
inability of the London newspapers to transport their
steam-engines to the scene of action for the time, and
get
.them properly housed and manned, to be in readi-
ness -for operation when the eloquence begins to ex-
plode. Others may suspect that the project is connected
with the present misunderstanding with Russia, and
that it had itsprigin in Russian influence, the object
being no lesi than to get hold of the steam-boat con-
veying the great Council of the nation to Edinburgh,
by force or fraud, with a view to send the said Great
Council to Siberia, just as the- smack conveying the
free and independent electors of Berwick-upon-
Tweed from London to that pure Borough, was
carried into Norway. Were it not that the name
Pelham is synonymous with profound attach-
ment to Church and State, .we should be inclined
to suspect that the Honourable Member had been
plotting with Mr. Hume and the Presbyterians to take
an unfair advantage of the Bench of Bishops. As
Presbyterianism is the established religion in Scotland.
when the Parliament meets at Edinburgh, the first fast-
day, the two Houses, including the Bench of Bishops,
of course, would be obliged to proceed in order to St.
Giles's church, to be electrified with the powerful
chorus of 'a Scotch congregation, and to listen to a
sermon from a preacher not ordained by a Bishop. Pro-
bably the Hon. Member has not turned over in his head
all the consequences which might follow from the, Ge-
neral Assembly of the Church of Scotland and the Par-
liament sitting in Edinburgh at the same time. We should
really consider the situation of the Archbishop of
Canterbury and the rest of the Bench of Bishops, as
exceedingly hazardous in the neighbourhood of' a
Church proud of its former achievements, when Epis-
copacy was at its feet in both parts of the island, and
rendered confident by opportunity and superiority of
numbers. Should the Honourable Member bring the.
subject again before the House, he will probably deem
it advisable to set the minds of his Majesty's subjects
at ease on these interesting points.

[THE REPRESENTATIVE.]

We have just been favoured with the perusal of an
Act passed by the Governor, Council, and Assembly
of. Jamaica, to consolidate and amend the several
laws relating to the Clergy, and to invest the Bishop
of that Island with ecclesiastical jurisdiction. This
act assigns to the Rectors of the different parishes a
stipend in money amounting to 6001. per annum, in
lieu of the uncertain mode of remunerating them,
which had previously prevailed ; emancipates them
completely from their former dependence on parochial
vestries, and places them under the exclusive controul
:of the 'Bishop. It provides also a most liberal allow-
ance for curates to assist them in their various duties,
more especially in acting as catechists, and in-con-
veying to the slaves on the different estates throughout
the island_ elementary instruction in the principles of
Christianity. These arrangements, securing, as it
really. appears to us, most effectually, the religious in-
struction of the slaves, upon a regular and thoroughly
organised system, will, we doubt not give the greatest
satisfaction to the rational friends of the negroes—
to those who possess common sense enough to esti-
mate practicable 'rid a attainable improvements above
imaginary and delusive theories. This act. in all its
details offers,. we think, that the charge of disincline-
.tion, or even of indifference towards the improvement
of the Negro population, brought-against the body of
West India proprietors, is perfectly unfounded—as
far at least as. concerns the white inhabitants of
Jamaica. They have by this act established a
regular body of religious instructors to reside in the
different parishes, they have imposed upon themselves
a tax for the maintenance of this hierarchy ; and al-
though the funds for supporting them are furnished
from their own property, they, have consented that they
should be placed entirely under the jurisdiction of a
Bishop appointed by the Crown. We know not in
what other way the planters of Jamaica could evince
to the world their readiness, their desire to adopt
every practical expedient, suggested for ameliorating
the condition of their slaves ; nor do we know any
other means by which they could so effectually refute
'the gross and cruel calumnies which have been so in-
dustriously Circulated against them. We have likewise
the best authority for stating that the planters have n .1t
only given this public and authentic testimony of their
disposition to promote the instruction of their slaves ;
'but that they have, in almost every instance, shown
the greatest willingness to use their personal and local
influence in giving full effect to the exertions of the
'clergy. From them we hear no high-sounding
speeches ; no florid declamations on general principles
and abstract rights ; they content themselves with the
less ambitious, and much more usefUl task of improv-
ing by easy and gradual stops the condition' Of the
negroes, whom the present state of the West Indian
society has placed at their disposal.