The Sun.
London, England, 1828-04-19 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC ,TOURNALS.

Too much praise cannot be bestowed on Lord
-Holland's speech on Thursday night. It was evi-
dent that the Bench of Bishops were taken hy sur-
prise with the reading of English History which he
-gave them; for though they protested against his
views, they were unable to combat them. He de-
monstrated that the Corporation Act only came
through circumstances, which could not have been
calculated on at its passing, to be a religious test,
excluding Protestant Dissenters, for when it passed
the Churches were chiefly filled with Presbyterian
Ministers. The history of the Test Act is better
known.—allorning Chronicle.
The petition from a congregation of Wesleyan
Methodists at Lewes, presented by the Duke of
Wellington on Wednesday night, praying that the
Test and Corporation Acts might not be repealed,
ought by no means to cause any surprise. The
Wesleyan Methodists take the Sacrament according
to the forms prescribed by the Church of England,
and having consequently the whole range of offices
open to their ambition, they no doubt deem it hard
that an Independent or a Presbyterian should lessen
the value of the monopoly for which they are in-
debted to their orthodoxy. The Weslevans call
themselves Church of England men ; they only-
claim the humble merit of being serious, by way of
distinction from the other Churchmen, who are se-
rious only with respect to temporalities. But serious
as they are as to spiritual matters, the petition spews,
that while one eye is turned towards heaven, they
have the other attentively fixed on the things below
But on the principle on which they now determine
to resist the admission of the Dissenters- to the fall
benefit of the Constitution, the Clergy of the Estee
blishment hated them with a more cordial hatred,
than they bore to the other Dissenters. As a, proof
of this, we will not go back to the publications of
Warburton, Laviugton, &c., because their bitterness
may be placed to the account. of a natural hatred
of innovation, but to the official publications of the
Church in our own times. The late Bishop of Lon-
don did not scruple to state, in several of his pasto-
ral charges, that the Presbyterians, Independents,
Baptists, &c., were respectable enemies, as they
fought under their own banners, and people knew
they were enemies ; but the Wesleyans would iueree
with the Church, whether the Church would or
not : and in that way fought against the Church at
an advantage. Lord King gave great offence to the
Earl of Falmouth by calling them miserable Wee-
leyans. He did not know why so respectable a
body of people should be called in the House misera-
ble lifethodish.. This does not augur well for the
Wesleyans. We fear for a sect when it is called
respectable by Lords. It used to be said, in the
country, of a youth, when he had done growing,
that he had got a knock on the head. During the
growth of sects, the rule is to hate ehemt they be-
come respectable when they become stationary, or
are on the decline. Many thousand worthy ortho-
dox men passed uneasy days and sleepless nieens,
during more than three times the period that Pro-
vidence permitted the French Revolution to haunt
the pillows of the great and the powerful ones of
this land, under the idea that Quakerism would swal-
low up every thing valuable in our glorious Consti-
tution ; but when it began to be discovered thai
running into steeple-houses, and bothering the Pin-
son, lost its attractions with the multitude, and that
the Quakers were thinking of making money instead
of making proselytes, then your Lord Falmouths
began to discover that they were a very respectable
sort of people. The Wes.leyans are, we presume,
gaining money and losing enthusiasm ; for respecta-
bility as Alderman Brown knows, is never applied
to poor people in this country. As the Wesleyans,
however, hang together, we presume this petition
from Lewes is only the precursor of a long array of.
petitions. The Conference has, no doubt, deter-
mined to make a stand in favour of Orthodoxy,—
The thing will not surprise those who are read iu
the book Of human nature : but if it is not surpri-
sing, it is at least instructive.—lbid.
• We understand that the story of a Congress at
Warsaw and the Coronation of Nicholas on the Ist
of May, which appeared in the Augsburgh Gazette,
is a pure invention, for which the Jew party receive
credit. Neither at Vienna nor at St. .7ames's is any
thing known of such a Congress and Coronation
having ever even been in contemplation. Some
speculation is afloat as to whether Prince.Lieven is
likely to remain here. The grounds for suspecting
that he may not remain are, Ist, that Mr. Wm.
Temple, brother of Lord Palmerston, is the only
representative of our Court at St. Petersburgh
and we understand it is the intention of. Goyerli-
ment not to send an Ambassador, but to continue to
avail ourselves of the services of Mr. William
Temple, in whom British Diplomacy -does not
exactly appear with the advantage it received from
his celebrated namesake. Secondly, people remark,
that Prince Leven has not Leen at the Foreign
Office for three weeks. Thirdly, we understand
that no General Officer will be sent from England
to attend the Emperor at the Russian head-quarters
neither will arty such character be sent thither by
Austria. It is confidently affirmed by thore wleCe
have good sources of information, that the Russians
will not remain in the Principalities, but proceed to
Constantinople. They will neither meet with any
opposition in the Principalities, nor will they find
any one to negotiate with, were they even inclined
to negotiate. Lord Prudhoe is now in ,Constanti-
'nople, and writes of very late date, that the English
were there treated with the utmost kindness and
consideration, and he thinks (but of course this was
only inference) that the Porte is assured of the
support of England, in the event of Russia invading
her. We should imagine the Turks, if they count
on the support of England, are deceiving themselves.
Our Government never can be so imprudent as to
involve us in a war for any such object its the de-
fence of Turkey. Though Algiers is unquestionably
the point the French are fitting out their eapedition
for, and it is now ascertained that great preparations
have been made by the Dey to meet the Freech
force, yet the suspicion is entertained by Ministessa
that a part at least of the naval force is destined fin
the Archipelago.--Ibid.
Who would have thought, some few years tlgo,
was the case
that the principle of a repeal of the Test and Cor-
poration Acts would be carried in the 'louse of
Lords without a division, or, to speak more property,
Este--
aft restraint on them. Ty-
aTlmhuorsstdauynnanigirno.usliy4)?rd
EYle(tlosnuri.ris
the
chiefono_
bnelinsked
opponents, and by
NCVlemerecillif—essfor%Nitestofpelrevelasiselttir's:antgiol)i-t ifi°rsrt,tilitend next
for its dignity. But real dignity, ,arnectsultsienvgerfer.omTtiii
consciousness of strength, is best evinced by he...
f
cious
which is insecure of its own existence;,
Ty-
ranny le-
niency
only,antl impositionge not e
Learned Lord aboveeeatned said, that
it was with the greatest pain that he contemplated
any change in that principle which declared that the
Church and State, taken together, formed the Con-
stitution,—that they were inseparable,—and that it
was impossible to destroy the one, without at the
same time destroying the other, and undermining,
the
principles
of the Constitution." But, exclu-
sive of tile fact that the new Bill recognizes in the
broadest terms this union of Church 'and State, is
his
Lordship prepared to say that we had no Con-
stitution, or that there was no union of Church
and State in that Constitution, Ivor(' the Test and
Corporation Acts became the law of the land ?
And if not,—if his Lordship
assert this, may not the Constitution and the union
of Church and State under it, which existed before
the passing of the Test and Corporation Acts, con-
tinue to exist also after their repeal ? His Lordship's
argument would make the whole British Constitution,
and all the blessings, civil and religious, emanat-
ing from it, to depend upon the permanence of
those two Acts,—Acts passed only from motivee
(perhaps misjudged motives) of temporary expedi-
ency !—Acts that apply exclusively to what we may
call the central part of the realm,--and Acts
which exist only as a brutum firlirtctt, and are never