The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1835-03-31 00:00:00

UA,Rcif :31, 1865.

hitherto opposed, and which is fraught with fraud and
injustice.

The motion, . when divested of its Jesuit's bark and I
laid bare to ordinary apprehension, means -this. The
surplus revenue of the protestant ehnrch, " when not re-
quired for the. Spiritual wants of the church," is, for the
first time. since the revolution in 1688, to be placed
at the disposal of parliament, and' be, by parliament, ap-
plied to 'the7" religious and moral instruction of all
classes of the community." Parliament,_ or in other
words, the House of. Commons, is to decide' as to the
necessities of the church', 'and the "spiritual wants" of
its 'members, Lord JOHN RUSSELL, JOSEPH HUME,
JOHN. GULLY, Dr. •BOWRING, Shrgeon WAKLEY, and
the sainted "tail," are to have the power of determining
the; "Wants" of the protestants of Ireland, of augment-.
ing or diminishing the supplies of the church, of sitting
in judgment upon its labours, of approving or disap-
Proving of its ministrations,
,and of .extending or cur-
tailing. its powers at their.sovereign will and pleasure ! !
If this sort- of :popisluand• infidel inqUisition is to be
established
.in England it will inflict upon the people
many humiliations, and perhaps lead to bloodshed and
confiscation. Birt the 'evil doeS 'not end with the vast',
"a0(1 inquisitorial .powers demanded by Lord JOHN Rus-
-BEI4- He _requires that parliament' shall have the
Pou'er.of distributing-thosqlfunds, which'parliament may
declare to be surplus funds. In- other words, parliament
is to determine the Amount of revenue to be subtracted
from the income of the church, and have the privilege of
distributing it in aid of such religious and _moral _pur-
poses as it may think fit to direct. For instance, the
funds called surplus by an omnipotent and irresponsi-
ble body may be appropriated to support some arrogant
and upstart advocate of infidel or unitarian principles in
some deserted but usurped chapel: A portion may be
given to a few of O'CoNNEI4.'s priestly impostors in Ire-
land. A few pounds, in shape of largess, may be given
to some political hireliligjvho has denounced. an honest
voter from the altar.. The proposition of Lord JOHN

RusFELL has no other object than to provide a fund? de-

rived from the church, to destroy the church itself, con-,
fcr power upon the enemies of religion, encourage hos-
tility to the institutions of the. country, And undermine,
and ultimately destroy the monarchy.
We feel satisfied that the intelligent and respectable
portion of the people of England have only to'reflect for
a very few moments on the crafty designs of Lord JOHN.
RUSSF.LL to see that they, aim at spoliation—that they
are founded in a malevolent hatred of the church— and
that they are framed in a spirit. of deliberate fraud.
Can any thing be more monstrous than to assume, as

the basis of this plundering proposition, that the church
of Ireland has or gan have any " surplus revenue." If
by any unforeseen changes her tevenues could be •in-
(Teased, surely they cannot be increased in the ratio of

the *ants of Ireland. .Is no difference to be recognised

between popery and protestantism ? Is it of no. cop_
sequence to give to the-Roman Catholics of -that island
R spiritual education ?—to disinfect their depraved minds
from the thraldom, the helplessness, and the desolation
of idolatry ?—to raise them in the scale of humanity, and

make them more amenable to law, reason, and the max-
?ins of christianity—maxims they have never been tauglit
—law they disobey—reason they do not comprehend ?
If this moral and spiritual yevolution be not ruled to be.
desirable, we give up our case. But we contend- that
the first duty of an enlightened christian is to make,all
the available ievenne of the Irish church applicable to the

extension of protestant principles and Christian duties.
The statesman who asserts the contrary may be a block-
head, but he is also an enemy of peace, charity, moral-
ity, and real religion. He may simply be a candidate
for,place, but still he is a firebrand in a peaceful country.
Lord Jortil RussELL is a disappointed man of a very
small mind, but yet be is capable of doing much mis-
chief. He may.not see to what terrible extremities his

Principles •lead. But it is no excuse for our apathy that
he is destroying the houSe of RUSSELL. The revenues of
the church of England were secured to her for the pur
Puse of propagating the principles of the reformed faith.
The property Of the dukedom of BEDFORD was given to
the house of Ri/SSELL, avowedly in recompense of its ser-

vices in the cause of the reformed religion. Parliament,

therefore, has no mote right to touch the one descrip-
tion of property than it has to touch the other. The
Aids and revenues of the church are the property of the
-ehurch. The lands and revenues of Tavistock Abbey and
Covent Garden were the grants of royalty ; and the
frequent invasions of their charters, for the sake of profit,
by the RUSSELLS, particularly in regard to the "seven
acres," where the most wretched part of the metropolis
now stands, were violations of law. Had.the house of
RUSSELL been restricted to the conditions of their origi-
nal grants, they would not have been worth one hondredth
part of their present, income.
This, however, by the way. Lord JOHN RUSSELL has
not yet reached the dream of restoration. He is only
Playing the part of one of the Gadshill robbers in the
Present parliament, " Pethee, lend me thy lantern,"
Rays Lord JOHN. "11l see thee hanged first," answers
Sir RonERT PEEL. The noble lord, flattered by very
sorry purse-takers, fancies himself qualified to be prime
minister and the leader of the House of Commons.
Poor poet! He forgets that Lord STANLEY has.bigher
claims, and that he is only endured because his ambition,
being turned into a'channel of party annoyance, gives no
offence, simply because -ft can create no jealousy. He
is a respectable faggot;, he is an useful drudge ; but as a
star, or as a leader, if there were the slightest hope of
change, Lord JOHN would be kicked into the first conve-
nient horse-pond, and there extinguished and forgotten.
But the question comes—what is Sir ROBERT PEEL, to
do in the event of his defeat bra majority of the house
upon Lord JOHN RUSSELL'S motion ? We do not fear
such defeat; but still having, in common with the nation
generally, reason to repose the utmost confidence in the
Professions, the measures, and the talents of the right
honourable baronet, we are most anxious that his fade-
Pendence as a minister, and the ultimate success of his
conservative and enlightened principles, should not be
tliWarted or compromised by any factious vote of the
House of Comawns. Sir RointaT.PEEL is the only man
in whose hands the interests and institutions of England
are safe: He is disposed to make large and liberal con-
cessions—and to the utmost extent of liberality and con-
ciliation we are prepared to follow and support him ; but
if. on this question,. involving the very existence of the
church and the preservation of the supremacy of the pro-
testant religion, he should succumb to the majority of the
'louse of Commons, led by men who are the ene-
' mies of the church, we frankly telli the right honourable
baronet that, come what may, we cannot, we must not,
We will not support him !
He has with him the hearts of all good Englishmen.
He has, in ease of defeat, a-sure, a noble, a glorious re-
medy in his own hands, The. country is delighted with
his yet immattned but initiated measures. His tithe
commutation bill—his dissenters' bill—his Irish compul-

sory commutation bill—his legal reform bill—have gained
Lint the cordial, grateful, and harmonious approbation of
the people at large. He must not therefore make any
compromise with Lord JOHN. He would sink inealcula
ply in public estimation. if he did. The House of Com-
mons underwent a wholesome purgation at the last elec.
tion. Taking all, the whips, quacks, infidels, and
unitarians into account, there were at least one hundred
and fifty members who were dispossessed. of their seats.

That was alarge blessing. Still there are from-fifty. to
'twenty members-=we do not include the " tair—whO
hare no pretensions whatever, either on the score ..of
talent or respectability, to sit in that house. A new
flectinn would rid 'us .of these worthy patriots, and send
the-tn back to pursue, it not a more honest, atleast a more
useful calling in the.eountry. In carefully looking over
the lists we find room for at least forty conservatives that

'night have been returned in January last if they had had
the courage to offer themselVes., Lord Joma RUSSELL
has most effectually destroyed every remnant of reputa-
tion which might haVe belonged to the Whig party.
Ma coalition with O'CONNELL and HUME has convinced
every intelligent man, that his motives are factious, that
his views are selfish, that his whole conduct in opposition
is base and malignant. There was a time when Lord
J°llN -RUSSELL was held in high estimation by a large
t'ofly of dissenters? but he bas most deservedl, lost their