Star.
London, England, 1831-08-01 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE JOURNALS.

HERALD.—The Archbishop of Canterbury's Will for
confirming and perpetuating the augmentations made by
ecclesiastical persons to small vicarages and curacies—in
short, for improving the condition of the inferior clergy—will
be hailed with satisfaction by every well wisher of the esta-
blishment. Though there are many parts of out Church
government which require, and will, no doubt, experience
revision in the reforming spirit of these times, there is
no part of it respecting which the demand for alteration
was so pressing, as that which relates to the almost
destitute condition of the possessors of small curacies and
livings. We are glad to find not only that this subject has
been taken up, but that it has been taken up in the proper
quarter—by the church itself. It is of great importance to
know that those who fill the highest stations, and exercise
the greatest influence, in the establishment are anxious to
meet improvement half way, instead of taking measures to
oppose an unavailing resistance to the wishes of the people ;
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what state. The
outrageous contrast observable in the provision for the higher
and the lower clergy was always one of the great blots upon
the system. By adding to the comforts of that respectable
class of men, who are entitled, by the nature of their office
and the extent of their education, to the respect of the com-
munity, we shall have done something towards the removal
of so great an evil. We shall not only have begun improve.
meet but begun it at that end which, on the score of huma-
nity, was entitled to the first attention. But lett we should
appear to exaggerate what Is proposed to be effected by the
measure, we wish to be understood as estimating its chief
value from Its principles, which is that of reform.
POST.—The Whig Radicals, seeing that the moment of
popular delusion has passed, and that the people, so artfully
and unnaturally excited in favour of revolution, under the
specious guise of reform, are daily more and more returning
to their senses, begin to despair of being able to carry their
atrocious project. They have therefore resolved upon a new
desperate expedient, every way worthy of their cause, and in
perfectly due keeping with their obvious designs. The de-
bates in parliament upon the revolutionary bill have served so
completely to undeceive the public upon this most momentous
of all questions, that the revolutionists, in their ca.
german to destroy the Constitution, do not hesitate to re-
sort to the most unconstitutional means to accomplish their
purpose, and they have accordingly determined to petition
parliament to stifle all further discussion upon the subject,
and to adopt every means of coming to an immediate deci-
sion upon the question. Such is the evident purport of a
requisition addressed to the Lord Mayor by the city radicals,
to convene a common hall, to express the sense entertained
by the livery of London of the delays in passing the reform
bill. and of the vexatious and prolonged opposition raised
against it.' This of Itself affords a tolerable specimen of
the kind of freedom of discussion and justice of decision to
be expected from the proposed revolutionary system ; and we
hope and trust that such additional exposition of the deep-
laid plans of our reformers will serve still further to expose
their iniquity to public view, and show the necessity of in-
creased exertion on the part of the friends of the Constitu-
tion to counteract such infamous designs.
TIM ES.—There are 40 boroughs in schedule B. Sir
Robert Peel had made a motion the previous evening, on the
success of which be pledged himself should depend the
fate of all the remaining boroughs. He moved that, in-
stead of one member, each borough in schedule B. should
have two, giving it clearly to be understood, that if he
should be beaten on that point, he would offer no trouble
in the case of individual boroughs. What has happened
since ? Why, that there is scarcely a borough yet named
in the list which has not brought up two or three
orators, on the most stale and frivolous pretences (with
one or two exceptions) for inducing Parliament to do
that very thing seriatim, which, on Sir Robert Peel's
motion, it had within 48 hours refused to do in the
bulk,—namely, expunge the name of this and that specific
nuisance from the schedule, by perpetuating its two repre-
sentatives. The Opposition evidently take for their fa-
vourite watch-words—delay, and the chapter of accidents.
They are besides, we grieve to admit, entitled to the praise
of perfect union—of admirable discipline--of alertness, dili-
gence, pertinacity, and boldness, in their general conduct
of the war. The habit of service and the consequent
promptness of obedience goes fur much, and, however
lamentable, it is curious at least to find the volunteer camp
of Sir Robert Peel more adroit in manoeuvre and more re-
solute in battle than that of the regular and royal force
opposed to it. There is no parallel for such subordina-
tion in circumstances thus untoward, but-that which Milton
has described so powerfully in the first book of Ida great
poem, where the defeated tinny of a certain chief are pic-
tured as maintaining, in the depths of irretrievable ruin,
that same spirit of combined though desperate action which
had encouraged him and them to the prosecution of their
bad enterprise. For these qualities then, the borough.
sooners are far more conspicuous than their oppo.
nents. But what of that? How often have we been forced
to remind the minister that he has all England at his
back ! And how deplorable will it be if the people of
England, instead of being content to follow the King's
Minister, shall find themselves compelled to take the
advance of him I There was nothing more true than the
statement which we gave a few weeks ago of the perfect
organization which reigned, and still exists, throughout
what may be justly called the insurgent force of the borough
mongers. The head-quarters may have been transferred
from Buckingham-house, Pall-mall, and the oligarch star.
dard painted on some less elevated station, but the con,-
mittee still exists and acts. The morning plot is developed
by the evening's execution ; the 14 members of the com-
mittee, with Sir It. Peel for the chairman, the 14 squads of
nightly combatants, each instructed by Its own drill-acrjeant
from the committee, who is responsible for the muster, and
for the manourres of his men ; all thew preparative* be-
speak an organization as complete as that of our old friends
the United Irishmen, and for a purpose almost as pain-
worthy as theirs. To the committee belongs the
task of fixing on topics for the night's perfor.
liana,—what point of the brill shall be carped at, and by
whom,—when matters shall be pushed to a division, on what
ground, and so forth. We wish it could be confidently
added, that the Government were equally well equipped, in
any thing but numbers, for the contest. It must, however,
be confessed that Lord Althorp's unfortunate, though pos-
sibly very amiable, habit of suffering the shrewd old hands
on the opposite bench to soapbim by extolling his lordship's
candour, his good temper, his liberality, At. Ac. appears
more than once to have distracted his lordship's attention
from the one thing needful—" the bill, and nothing but the
bill." The country witnesses with contempt these combing,-
down across the table : should it find them invariably fol-
lowed by a grant of some jurther delay, contempt would be
swallowed up in indignation.

NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, JvLl' 28.

•
The deservedly high estimation in which George
Silvertop, Esq. of Minster. Acres, the present High
Sheriff of Northumberland, is held, was unequi-
vocally manifested yesterday, by the very nume-
rous and brilliant corkge, which accompanied him
in his state procession from the Northumberland
Courts, to receive and welcome his Majesty's
Judges of Assize, at the usual place, the Cannon,
in the county of Durham. The train of carriages
amounted to nearly forty—several of which wine
splendid equipages and four ; and the number of
gentlemen on horseback, which included a large
portion of the respectability of the county, must
have been at least 600 or 700. Ihe late members
of the Bywell Yeomanry Cavalry, headed by John
Jobbling, Esq. of Newton-Hall. and which were
formerly under the command of the High Sheriff,
attended in the procession as a special mark of
respect. The state-carriage of the High Sheriff
was drawn by six beautiful bays, and the liveries
being all new, the set-out was every way handsome
and attractive. The worthy High Sheriff himself,
who looked remarkably well, rode a fine chesnut
horse, being attended, according to ancient fashion,
by two Pages of Honour—one at each stirrup.
Percival Fenwick, Esq. who officiated as Under
Sheriff, headed the procession. Between eight and
nine the procession returned to Newcastle with
the Judges, when the commissions were opened at
the respective Courts in the usual manner.

It has been observed that there are few martins
(hirundo urbica ,) and no wrynecks (lynx torquilla)
this year, while swallows, (hirundo rustics) are
particularly numerous.