The Sun.
London, England, 1828-07-01 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS,

We recornme•ad to general attention the observations
made last in the Huuse of Commons on the Oporto
blockade, by Sir James Mackintosh, whose extensive
knowledge of constitutional and international law is only
ogualled by his eloquent hostility to oppression and arbi-
trary violence. To his exertions in calling for explana-
tions from Government, we owe the perfect understand-
ing which both this country, and (we trust) our allies in
Portugal, have gained of the question. And it must be
Agreeable to both to hear, the terms in which Mr. Peel
has, at different times, spoken of the perfidious and con-
temptible tyrant whose conduct was arraigned.—Times.
The Additional Churches' Bill produced some very edify-
ing proceedings last night in the House of Commons.
The best tomplimeut that can be paid to religion is, that
its name is still used as a screen to almost every scheme
for 'pillaging the people, though the constant association
between 'the pretence of a regard for religion and the exhi-
faition, of dishonesty might, we should think, have been
eufficient to make the prudence doubtful of recurring to
such a pretext. Whenever any measure is introduced with
regard to the Church, it seems to be a matter of course
'that it should be based in fraud, and that the authors of
it should determine to depart as wide as possible from
good faith in all that they say, and all that they pro-
mise. With respect to the Bill under consideration, it
certainly would he difficult to conceive a measure mote dis-
gracefully unprincipled in itself, and 'which has been less
beholden to honour and honesty in the mode of its intro-
duction
to Parliament. Mr. Jo2.itt Wood observed, that
" the Chancellor of the Exe:aequer gave notice of his inten-
tion to bring in the Bit!, at two o'clock in the morning of
Friday se'nnight, e;,,ul actually did introduce it the same
morning withosa a single word of explanation." Mr.
Hume " born testimony to the accuracy of this statement,
and expre;sed an opinion that ttie Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer had acted improperly in not explaining the
objects of a .ill so important as this must prove to the
country." 111 r. Alderman Waithinan " concurred in the
expression of dislike to this Bill, and declared his con•
viction that it would have been hurried through the
House without notice, but for the attention which bad
been drawn towards it by the observations of the Hon.
Member for Preston." Explanation is not always
convenient, and the most approved methods of obtaining
:money now-a-days is to give as little warning as possible.
There was a period in the History of this Country, when
a highwayman made it a point of honour to call out,
" Stand, and deliver !" or, " Your money !" before at-
tempting to put his hand in your pocket; but the previous
intimation is now generally dispensed with, as it is found
that a man parts easiest with his money when it is taken
from him without his knowledge. Indeed, we think that
the present Chancellor of the Exchequer has formed the
justest conception of the duties of his office; and though
success has not corresponded to the ingenuity of his plan
either in the case of the Cider Licensing or the Church
Bill, yet the merit of the conception is not the less on that
account. To have told Ole House and the country, that
by the Additional Cht.aches' Bill the churchwardens would
have the power of tSxing the parishioners for the expense
of celebrating Di-eine Worship in all the new churches, and
that any plac'd of worship, though a notorious failure as a
speculation, might be thrown in this way ore the parish-
ioners, riould have been to prepare for himself a strenuous
opposition. It would have been as foolish as if a pick..
pocket were to go about calling out " have a care of
your pockets." The observations to which we have al-
luded were made on the presentation of petitions when the
Chancellor of the Exchequer was not in the House. He
afterwards moved the second reading of the Bill, inti-
mating that two of the clauses which he' considered
most objectionable he meant to withdraw for the present.
This piece of tactics is not new. Last year a Bill was
brought in about two o'clock in the morning, at a late
period of the Session, giving select vestries a power to tax
parishioners ad libitum fur watch-boxes, Ice. &c. It'was
about to be read a second time without any explanation, at
about the same hour in the morning, when the manoeuvre
was detected ; and the moment the objectionable clauses
were pointl out, they were abandoned. The principle is
to stick at nothing, however gross, as there is a chance of its
escaping detection, and when the worst comes to the worst,
it is only abandoning what is too shameful to bear public
examination. In this way credit for candour may be ob-
;tined, for the scandalous nature of the attempt is forgotten in
he subsequent contrition. Mr, John Wood observed, that
ndependcntly of all other objections to the Bill, " it was a
b reach of faith ; for when the building of new Churches
was first proposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer of
that day, Mr. Vansittart, when that Right Hon. Gentle-
man moved that a million of money be granted for that
purpose, stated, in explanation, that if this sum were
granted, the new Churches would be hereafter no charge
to the parishioners. If the House would allow him, he
would read five lines from Mr. Vansittart's speech, which
would sheav the pledge on which this sum had been granted.
These lines ought to be impressed on the memory of every
gentleman in that House, and the country, in order that
they might always remember what was Ministerial faith;
a more scandalous breach of faith could not be conceived
than this which Wall attempted, after not only the million had
been voted, but half a million more. The expressions used
by Mr. Vansittart were, " the charge of repairs, and the
Ministers' salaries, would not be taken from the parishioners,
except thrice who might be pewholders. It was proposed
that a moderate rent should he paid by those who had the
accommodation of pews; and that this mould be sufficient
was proved by the examples of Proprietary Chapels in dif-
ferent parts of the country and in London, from which a
very considerable income was in many cases derived.' "
Speeelica tire made to persuade, as razors are made to sell;
and Mr. Vansittart has the greater merit in behalf of the
Church, that he persuaded the House by a fiction, and
not at the expense of a waste of truth. It was always
understood, in the best days of the Church, that no ques-
tions were to he asked as to the/. way in which she was be-
nefited--that so praiseworthy an end sanctified all manner
of means ; and, therefore, if Lord Bexley cheated the
House into a grant of a million on a false pretext, he has
thereby proved himself a meritorious son of the Church.
When Caesar Borgia persuaded three gentlemen, with whom
he was on bad terms, to put themselves in his power by
accepting an invitation from him, when he deprived them
of existence, Machiavel, who tells the story, laughs at
the gentlemen for being such simpletons; but he evi-
dently had a high opinion of the cleverness of the other.
We suppose the trick to which Mr. J. Wood alluded will
be thought creditable to Lord Bexley, and creditable to
the Church, which has benefitted by the trickery, and that
the people will, as usual, be laughed at ; for, as for Hon.
Members, few of them will break their hearts from exces-
sive sympathy with the nation. Mr. Calcraft, who, in his
address to his Constituents, informed them that ha has
taken place from a conviction of the liberality of the pre-
sent Government, had the gratification of giving his first
services in support of a Bill, which was necessary to give
effect to the original giant which he approved of at the
time. This is great encouragement to people who might
otbei wise take fright at the word liberality ; nothing so
easy as to be liberal—liberal in voting away other people's
money. A variety of divisions evinced the hostility to the
Bill, which we trust Ministers will be forced to withdraw.
They may now make a merit with the Church that they
did not spare themselves--that they showed no reluctance
to the dirty work—and the will must be taken for the
deed. Enough has been done to show that the Duke's
Administration will not be over scrupulous.—Morning
Chronicle.

The conduct of the Catholic agitators of Ireland conti-
nues to be of the most daring and criminal description;
end now that the infuriated mobs of Limerick and Clare
are instigated and led forth, not only by Popish Priests
bot Pop;sh Bishops, consequences of a character too hor-
rific to be contemplated are not unreasonably apprehended
from such infamous Ind abominable proceedings. Murder
A
the most atrocious indeed stated to have been already
committed ; and unless soma remedy be promptly applied,
the fair land of Erin may shortly overflow with the best
blood of its people. That legal mountebank 0' Connell
CO!tinues with encreased boldness his illegal career—agi-
tating to the highest pitch of frenzy the minds of the
thoughtless and deluded multitude, for purposes the most
iniquitous—the professed subject being as senseless and im-
practicable, as the pursuit of it is audacious and infamous.
Under these alarming circumstances, it might not perhaps
bp inexpedient to resort to Parliament for the means
of depriving the chief agitator of the legal clothing with
whit;li he affects to cover his mischievous designs. Might
not a Bill be instantly brought in and passed (the stand-
ing orders being suspended from the extreme necessity
of the case), declaratory of the spirit of the law as it ap-
plies to the case of O'Connell, who, for the purposes of
sheer mischief, offers himself as a candidate for a situa-
tion which he well knows he is by law disqualified from
filling. 'When Papists were by Jaw wisely excluded from
Parliament, it never entered the contetuplation of the law-
makers that any man would he so shameless and daring as
to offer himself as a candidate for an office which he knew
himself to be ineligible to hold ; and it remained for the
present era of Irish agitation to produce a wretch capable
of such an outrage against propriety and common sense.
'Would it not therefore be advisable, in order to frustrate
the objects of so unprincipled an adventurer, to pass at once
a Declaratory Act, in regard to the spirit of the original
Constitutional Law, that as no person refusing to take cer.•
trin indispensable oaths was qualified to sit in Parliament, so