The Sun.
London, England, 1827-01-25 00:00:00

ARTS AND SCIENCES.

A very ingenious and cheap little work has just been
published, under the title of Library of Mechanics and
Philosophy, by Robert Stuart, Civil Engineer. It is to
be continued in monthly parts ; the first being dedicated
to " Anecdotes of Steam-engines," a subject Ivell deserv-
ing precedence in this wondering age, when the mighty
powers of steam are applied to the accomplishment of
such stupendous projects. The work is illustrated by
very appropriate engravings, which must tend more effec-
tually to impress the reader's mind with a correct idea of
the invention described. Nothing is more conducive to
the improvement of youthful faculties than publications of
this description, explaining the mysteries of art in an
agreeable and easy manner, which imperceptibly generates
a taste for useful inventions, while it enlarges the under-
standing, by the contemplation of how much may yet be
achieved in art and science, by a review of what has al-
ready been effected, and that too from such insignificant
beginnings. But we cannot do better than give the author's
own introduction to his interesting labour►:, merely observ-
ing, that he endeavours to trace all inventions to their
first rude sourcei7with a❑ impartiality well worthy of imi-
tation :

" A machine, receiving at distant times and from many hands
new combinations and improvements, and becoming at last of
signal benefit to mankind, may be compared to a rivulet swelled
in its course by tributary streams, until it rolls along a majestic
river, enriching in its progress provinces and kingdoms.
" To those who are familiar with modern machinery, the con-
struction of these implements may appear to have conferred but
slight claim to the reverence in which their authors were held in
ancient times. Yet, artless as they seem, their use first raised
man above the beasts of the field, and, by incalculably diminishing
the sum of human labour, added equally to the power and enjoy-
ment of the barbarous tribes of those ages to which their discovery
is referred. In their rudest form they arc nearly all the mechani-
cal aids that were necessary for the wants ofnations, of shepherds,
and of husbandmen.

" For refinements, however, in the formation of even these
simple contrivances, or for the invention and use of more com-
plex mechanism, we must look to communities that have made
considerable advance's in the career of civilisation; to those regions
where men, congregating in large masses, create numerous artifi-
cial wants, and, by this peculiarity in their social position, ex-
cite the natural rivalry of individuals to devise expedients to re-
move them.

" Accordingly it is found, that the dense population of some
eastern countries had there produced a state of society eminently
calculated to call forth the resources of inventive power. From
a remote period, the great wealth of the Egyptians particularly
had generated a taste for luxurious magnificence, which that people
early displayed in the erection of colossal and sumptuous buildings.
The remains of their vast pyramids, temples, and palaces, evince
a skilful practice of numerous devices to abridge and facilitate
labour, and to give a permanence, almost eternal, to their gorgeous
structures.

" It is probable that at an era coeval with the raising of these
superb fabrics, seme of the properties of elastic vapour were known
to and applied by the priesthood in aid of the ceremonial of their
religion. The statue of Memnon is recorded to have emitted
sounds,' which were ascribed to the interposition of superhuman
agency; and this widely promulgated notion directing the steps of
devotees to the shrine, added greatly to the sacred fame of the
temple, of which, in other respects, this image formed a splendid
ornament. When the secrets of the waning faith were revealed
by the votaries of a rival belief, the celestial harmony was then said
to be produced by vapour, rising from water, concealed in a cavity
of the statue, being made to pass through a tube, having a small
orifice fashioned in a manner similar to that of the Pipe bf an
organ. As long as the fluid was heated by the rays of the sun,
mysterious sounds were heard by the assembled worshippers,
which died gradually away as the solar influence was withdrawn
from the gigantic idol.
Many authors have mentioned these sounds. Strabo af-
firms that he heard them : Pausanias compares them to those
produced by the snapping of the strings of a harp. Philostratus
says, that when the sun shone strongly on the statue, sounds
proceeded from its mouth similar to those of a stringed instrument.

DISCOVERY OF THE BODY OF Mn. CROMPTON.
—The body of this unfortunate gentleman, who, it will be recol-
lected, suddenly disappeared six weeks ago, and for whom a long
and unavailing search has been made, has at length been disco-
vered. On Sunday last some persons walking along the side of
the river, near Carrington, saw something floating down on the
surface of the water. With some difficulty they succeeded in
drawing it to the bank, when they found it to be the body of a
wan. From its size and general appearance they immediately
concluded it to be that of Mr. Crompton ; and on examining.
the neckcloth, they found it was marked with a C.—ln the pock-
ets were a watch, a silver pencil-case, a memorandum-book, and
other articles, which the unfortunate gentleman was known to
have about him when he disappeared ; and which, as well as the
body, were immediately recognized by his relatives.—As the last
time Mr. Crompton was seen was when he left the Bolton boat,
near Oldfield rold, it appears probable, from this discovery, that
he must have fallen into the canal somewhere near the locks corn-
municati,ig with the river, into which his body has been subse-
quently carried.—lt certainly is difficult to conceive how a person
could be drowned in so public a place, in the middle of the fore-
n°ol3, without some one either seeing him, or bearing his cries;
but every other supposition is attended with still greater difficul-
' tiec—Afanehester Mercury.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
Sir,—Having read with great satisfaction an article
which appeared in your paper sometime since, touching,
though in a very general and liberal way, on the subject of
in
the Catholic Question, I cannot forbear, connexion
with the same subject, and as I conceive strictly in unison
with the sentiments of that article, requesting the atten-
tion of such of your readers as may not have seen it, to a
most admirable discourse bearing upon the same topics,
lately published by the Dean of Chester, (Dr. Copleston,)
and preached on the sth of November last. It is a ser-
mon bearing throughout the characteristic impress of that
high ability for which its author is sa distinguished : and
not less does it display the most truly !Moral and tolerant
views. Without entering in detail upon arty political con-
siderations, the author has taken a luminous, masterly, and
dispassionate view of the subject, which, to Nth parties
in this question may suggest many valuable topics LS Con-
sideration.
The author traces from its commencement the eorrt.'u-
tion of the purity of Christianity by the Romish Church,
and the introduction of the principle of exclusivendits and
persecution. The supposed duty of extirpating heresy,
and all its horrible train of consequences, are most ably
referred to as the sources of all the main evils of a Popish
ascendancy ; whilst the separation of the religious from
the political question of restrictions on the Roman Catho-
lics, and the entirely distinct nature of the two, is set forth
with great perspicuity and force, and the representations
are I conceive such as must powerfully tend to allay the
animosity-and diminish the party warmth with which the
question has been too often agitated, arising, no doubt,
from mixing up religious zeal with a question which is, in
fact, not one of religion, but simply of political expediency;
a question, not of what the Romish tenet* and influence are
Butln4etloY butmrusto fflevrha tot t)h,oe effectur ris
eaders olinkeeloyr
two
ob ein p s
short
tactc ie.
extracts
in the author's own words

But it is one happy effect of the agitation which
the question has undergone in these more enlightened time., con-
cerning the civil disabilities imposed upon our fellow-subjects of
the Roman Church, that self-defence is now almost universally
admitted to be the only justifiable ground for making any disqinc-
tine at all ; and the question being reduced to these limits ; that
is, having become one of policy and of expediency, not of religion,
it no longer concerns the ministers of religion, in their capacity
of ministers, to engage in it; although it is perfectly unjust and
unreasonable to deny to them, in their capacity of citizens, the
same right of expressing strongly the interest they take in public
measures, which, in a free country, is the common birthright and
privilege of us all.
object,Lt
not,
me
I cer thaoi:l.‘e.vhe however,
(lbe
itmisunderstood,
beof cis i
l
f main-
tain and establish the purest form of Christianity, it must in tgict im
a
te
can-
dour be allowed to the bishops and pastors of that Church, to
iigovernment,t be a
le:
feel a livelier interest and a prompter zeal in its defence than van
he expected from the generality of its lay members By their
education, moreover, they are frequently enabled to understand
more correctly, and to explain more clearly to others, the grounds
and the utility of a religiou3 establishment, than thousands of
their fellow-subjects among whom they live. If, therefore, tipon
the prospect of danger, they appear foremost in giving the alarm,
if in case of observing a culpable indifference to such things they
endeavour to conquer the apathy, to awaken the attention, to
enlighten the mind, or to direct the judgment of their neighbours,
they cannot with reason be said to exceed their province, or to
abuse their sacred office. But the truth unquestionably is, that
in this country the public mind is too apt to be violently excited
upon such questions; and the duty of a minist€r of religion much
more frcque:itly consists in softening prejudices gal animosities,
and in allaying the heat of party feeling., than in stimulating the
minds of men to an active and eager interest in them.—(p. 33.)
What defensive measures ought to be adopted, I have alreaci;
said is not a question for the consideration of this place. But
being measures of security only, they must, by their very nature,
be variable, and adapted to the circumstances of each particular
age. It is useless therefore to declaim upon the general principles
of liberty on the one hand, or upon the corruptions of popery sin
the other. Both have a tendency to inflame the passions and to
mislead the judgment, at the very time when it is most desirable
that the mental perceptions should be clear and unembarrassed,
and that the mind should be calm, and unprejudice4, and un-
disturbed.
But although it be foreign to the province of religion to ante;
into the details of this subject, yet wherever duties are to be per-
formed by members of Christ's church, whether in public or pri-
vate life, the voice of religion may not improperly be raised to
guide and moderate men's minds in the discharge of those duties,
and to set them on their guard against the evils which are most
apt to insnarc them, and to betray them into error.
Let me then in conclusion be permitted to address a word of ad-
vice to all those who take an eager part in this much agitated
question, whatever their opinion may be as to the policy which it
becomes our Government to observe. In the first place, it would
be well to separate as widely as pinisible the religious from the
political part of this momentous subject; not to agitate their
minds, or to excite the warmth of religious feeling, by a detail of
the gross corruptions both in doctrine and in practice which the
Roman Church maintains, which in many parts of Europe have
debased Christianity into a noxious superstition, and have well
nigh extinguished the true light which Christ brought into the
world. It is better, I say, when the practical question comes
under consideration, to turn our attention from these things, be-
cause they have a tendency to confuse the judgment, to present an
exaggerated view of the case, and to raise feelings of hatred and
indignation, when temper and sobriety are most needed, and a cool
impartial estimate both of the degree of danger to be apprehended,
and of the best means of providing against it.
But if such be the caution requisite for those who think some
restraints upon our Roman Catholic fellow-subjects essential to
our own security, still graver is the duty of those who seek to re-
' move them altogether, and still more solemn should be the warn-
ing addressed to then, not to bend religion to their political views ;
not to represent the difference as slight or unimportant between
fraud,ti the pure
odoctrinesf fable,o ofour
f priestcraft,
jes
tc
„Ch a
ft,u land ,
superstition, t
spurious
lvith
which mixture of
h
Church of Rome has corrupted and overlaid the Gospel.
_(). 20.)

Conceiving that these excellent passages will require no
comment, I leave them to the consideration of your readers,
particularly recommending the whole discourse to their
notice, and remain your obedient servant,

CLERICUS.

A forgery of a dividend warrant has been com-
mitted, by which 7001. was obtained on Tuesday, at the Canso'
Dividend Office at the Bank. The perpetrator has not been dis-
covered.

DR
daughter of Mr. S. Wilson, of No. 40, Werdour-
street, Soho, met with the following most shocking accident ;
As
DoIdF,"ACACCIDENT.—Last night, a little girl,
three }'caresl
The aurae maid having tilled her tea-pot, and placed it on the
kitchen-table, the child being thirsty during the absence of the
nurse, drank from the spout a considerable quantity of the seelding
water. Her screams brought the servants to her assistance, but
her inside was so much injured, that she survived only a. few
hours. Mr. Dickson, surgeon, of Oxford-street, attended, but
could render no effectual assistance, the lunge being scalded so
dreadfully.

DREADFUL ACCIDENT AT THE DUKE Or
YoßK's I uERA L.—On Saturday evening a shocking occurrence
took place at Knightsbridge. As Mrs. Ann Willis, of Philip-
lane, London-wall, was on her return from Hounslow-, after view-
ing the funeral procession of his late Royal Highness the Duke of
York, in company with her son, a youth five years old, and a fe-
male friend, on their arrival between the Half-way house and the
Horse-barracks at Knightsbridge, she was suddenly knocked down
by a horse running away with a gig, and so dreadfully injured her
that she expired in a few minutes; her son was also thrown
under
bruised.t•hh oe
A
narrowly escaped a similar fate, and her
friend
was
vehicle,
h e much
saw
n
nentleman named Grosse, a pro-
fessor of music, was returning from Kensington and saw the oc-
currence horseand chaise galloping at a furious
rate along the road without any person inside, they having been
previously thrown out. The animal ran with the vehicle at a
rapid pace along the footpath and forced down several persons ;
t
it then proceeded on the main road again, and in a few minutes
he heard the screams of a female, and the upsetting of a chaise,
which was broken to pieces. Here the horse was stopped from
doing further injury. Mr. Grosse went forward to assist the
unfortunate woman, she was totally insensible, groaned bitterly,
and died in a few minutes. The body was speedily conveyed to
St. George's Hospital. The whole of her ribs were completely
beaten in, and severe injury done to the vertebrae of the neck.
The poor woman has left a husband and four children to lament
her death. A Coroner's Jury is summoned on the body to u-
certain who the horse and vehicle belonged to, also the persons
who were in the chaise.

UNITARIAN DISSENTERS.

In adverting to the singular occurrence which tool.
place at St. George's Church, Queen-square, the Sun-
day before last, the particulars of which have bees.
already before our readers, it is by no means our in-
tention to give to that circumstance an importatee
which it does not deserve, and which every feature ie
the case clearly shews it was the connected design of all
the actors in the scene to confer upon it. We recur
to it only as affordin.o- an opportunity for offering some
general remarks em the subject of the marriages of
those who obiiect to the formulary at present insisted
upon as e':.sential to the legality of the marriage.
No class of dissenters, except the Unitarians, or
nrde properly the Ultra-Unitarians, calling themselves
Free-thinking Christians, entertain any objections to
the Church ceremony, or feel any wish to have the
ceremony performed in their own Chapels—so far
from it, that we have understood many of their
Ministers decidedly reprobate the idea of their being
compelled to officiate in such a rite, or being tied down
by the restrictions, and being made responsible to the
enactments of civil power in this respect. Most of
he Sects of dissenters are beyond every thing jealous
of any interference or mixing-up with their spiritual
ministrations, anything of a civil or temporal charac-
ter. The Unitarians, then, and some kindred sects,
are the only parties to whom the question applies ;
they, as is well known, call out against being compelled
to go through the Church ceremony as absolute per-
secution. The plea was by many thought a strong
one, and a Bill, as our readers are aware, in a former
Seaton of Parliament, passed the lower House but
was thrown -out in the Upper ; on that occasion the
Bench of Bishops was divided. It is, however, re-
ported, that since that period some changes of opinion
haVe taken place, and we ha —! some ground for
imagining that a Bill, perhaps somewhat modi-
fied, will be likely to meet with greater suc-
cess in the present Parliament. As to the princi-
ple of such an enactment, it certainly seems upon the
general view to be fair; though when we come to look
closely into it, there may, perhaps, be some difficulty
in pointing out the precise necessity for it. The Uni-
tarian does not require any thing more than our cere-
mony to make the marriage complete. He thinks less
would suffice. The rest then is, to his idea, a mere
superfluity—a mere nullity ; which, ix consequence,
we should suppose, would not be worth tile trouble of
objecting to.- He is required to pledge his troth in
the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost. The Unitarian does not deny that those
words are actually the words of Scripture. He un-
derstands them, it is true, in a different sense from that
in which the Church understands them ; but we really
do not see what there is to compel him to put any
sense upon them which he objects to. He may surely
recite the words as Scripture, and understand them ac-
cording to his own interpretation of Scripture.
Upon such considerations as these we feel some he-

sitation in perceiving any strong necessity in the case, I
and under these circumstances we imagine the measure
must be very much swayed by practical considerations.
If, for example, any material practical difficulty should
present itself, we do not see that the case is of that im-
perative or important nature to induce us to put ourselves
to any inconvenience to bring the measure about. The
main practical difficulties which occur to us are those
respecting the registering of the parties, and the pro-
bable abuse of such an enactment, for the purposes of
clandestine marriages—for which, indeed, the existing
laws afford sufficient facilities. As to the former
of these points various methods might be pro-
posed ; but few that are not free from consi-
derable difficulty. If registers are to be kept
by the Unitarian Ministers, how is their regularity and
authenticity to be secured ? Who are the responsible
and official persons whom the law is to recognize as
those entrusted with this duty ? Where is the public
depositary of such records to be ? If this office be
turned over to the civil power, besides leaving it open
to many difficulties similar to the last mentioned, this
would be to introduce a novel and singular principle in
law, requiring the interference of the civil authority in
one instance and not in another. That some change
might be beneficially introduced in the general regula-
tions for the registering of marriages, we do not mean
to deny ; or, that the formal recognition of marriages
by law might not be much better placed in the hands
of the temporal than of the ecclesiastical authorities ;
but such measures, we conceive, ought to be general
measures ; and should bear a reference to the principle
of authenticating the civil contract of marriage in the
eye of the law,—whilst the religious contract should
be left to be administered in such a manner as may ac-
cord with the religious principles of the parties. Upon
such grounds, we conceive, some general regulations
might be framed by which the necessary precautions
for preventing clandestine or illegal contracts, might be
secured by the provisions of the law, and enforced
by the power of the Civil Magistrates, instead of being
left as they are "at present to the wholly inadequate se-
curity• intended to be afforded by ecclesiastical regula-
tions—regulations, which together with the power by
which they are at present supported, are extremely in-
efficient. This is a point which our present limits
forbid our entering upon, but at a future period, we
may, perhaps, recur to it. Any enactment, however,
upon such a general basis, as we have alluded to, will,
we do not doubt, afford the double advantage of al-
lowing. all Sects to follow their own consciences as to
the religious sanctions they may think necessary
while the security and correctness of the civil contract
would be provided for ill a really efficient manner by
the legal regulations and forms required.