The Sun. — 1842-06-20 (London, England)

THE KIRK. (From the London Correspondent of the Scotsman.) Two of the great apostles of the agitation—Doctors Candlish and Buchanan—were deputed to London, to proselytise Members of Parliament. They arrived in the metropolis, per steamer from Leith, with a cargo of the pamphlets and publications of the General Assembly. These active and zealous missionaries, to do them justice, disseminated far and wide their paper and print. " The Claim, Declaration, and Protest of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland," in a goodly quarto type, and" the Church of Scotland's Claim of Right; to which are prefixed the speeches of Dr. Chalmers, Dr. Gordon, and Mr. Dunlop, in the General Assembly, in support of the same, May 24, 1842," were duly on the breakfast-table of every Member of the House of Commons this morning—whether Tory, 'Whig, or Radical. Nor did they confine their labours to this dissemination of tracts. They got Mr. Fox Maule to sign a circular to two hundred Members of Parliament, inviting the Representatives of the people to hear their " sweet voices" this afternoon on the grievances of the Kirk, at the British Coffee-house, Cockspur-street, Westminster. But, with the usual fatality attending the agitators, the hour named was unfortunately two o'clock—affording only two hours for the "explanations," as the House of Commons meets at four o'clock. Clergymen are apt to be long in their discourses; and the two hours, as might have been imagined, did not suffice for a patient hearing of Drs. Candlish and Buchanan ! The meeting, thus ill-advisedly convened, was an utter failure. Not more than two dozen Members of the House of Commons attended this funeral service of the Kirk. The paucity of attendance evidently much abashed and discomfited the agitators. Their select vestry was composed of equal parts of Tory, Whig, and Radical, English, Scotch, and Irish M.P.'s; of Scotch Non-Intrusionists, English Saints, and Irish Presbyterian Protestants—a motley jury to hold an inquest on the suicide of the Kirk ! I must, however, do Dr. Candlish the justice to say,, that after he had recovered his breath from the panic of this miserably thin audience, he earnestly and eloquently descanted on the text of his mission for an hour and a quarter. The reverend improvisatore ably and fervently handled the NonIntrasion history, from its commencement in 1834 to theprcsent hour. Dr. Candlish was to have been followed and backed up by his fellow-apostle Buchanan ; but Mr. T. Id. G. Escourt (the Member for Oxford University, arid a Doctor of Civil Law), j putting some hard questions on the sentiments of the Kirkites in regard to civil and ecclesiastical law, an interlocutory discussion followed Dr. Candlish's long sermon, which occupied so much of the only remaining half-hour, that the meeting broke up on an intimation from Hon. Members that in all probability there would he " no house" unless all the M.P.'s present immediately departed to attend in their places in the House of Commons! This notable assembly, therefore, was prematurely dissolved, and adjourned sine die to St. Stephens. The scene then resembled the drawing up of the curtain for a new opera, where the manager comes on the stage and announces —" Ladies and gentlemen, I regret to say that the prima donna is so seriously indisposed, that she cannot possibly appear before you this evening but at the risk of her life." A snore ludicrous juggle never took plaee. The actors in this mummery had been cautioned that the trick would be played, hut, like the sceptics, could not be induced to believe. Thus are the Non-Intrusionists fairly floored by the wily Premier and by false friends, and thus is all legislation cushioned !  THE LATE EXTRAORDINARY INTREPIDITY or A Boy.—The extraordinary instance of intrepidity and heroic conduct of the little boy, Joseph Lague, in saving the life of another, the particulars relating to which were detailed in this journal of Thursday last, has been rewarded in a manner which speaks highly for the liberality of the English public. On Saturday morning Mr. Berkley Westropp, the Secretary to the Royal Humane Society, waited upon the authorities of St. Pancras workhouse, to collect the particu• Lars of the case, with a view to lay it before the Governors of that Institution, in order that the poor boy may receive therefrom a suitable reward. The boy and his mother, who is in the receipt of parochial relief, being a widow with seven children, was introduced to Mr. Westropp, and he expressed himself highly pleased with the poor little fellow's appear.. ance. On Thursday evening, in consequence of the paragraph in the newspapers, two gentlemen in a cab called at the house of Mrs. Lague, No. 4, Oxford-terrace, King's-road, and presented her with the sum of 11. 155., 10e. of which was to go towards buying the boy some clothes, and bs. to be placed in his name in the savings' bank. They promised to call again, and on the mother showing them the book, proving that the deposit had been made, that they would made it up to something handsome. On Friday morning an elderly gentleman, in his carriage, called at St. Pancras Workhouse, and expressed a great desire to see the boy. He was sent for by the porter, and on seeing him, the gentleman took off his glove and shook him cordially by the hand, and gave him a sovereign, promising to see him again and do something for him. Another person presented the mother with 15s. for his use, and in the various public-houses about Camden-town subscriptions are in course of being collected.  M. Duptu:z.—This celebrated tenor singer, so long known at Paris as the premier sr jet of the Grdnd Opera, is now in London. Whether he comes with a view to any professional engagement, or whether his journey hither is merely for recreation, has not yet positively transpired, but the general belief is that he has accepted an engagement with Mr. Charles Kemble, and that he will make his debut as a singer in the English language at Covent-garden next season. There is a rumour that he has been already offered an engagement at her Majesty's Theatre, and that Otello was to be his first character, Rubini having kindly consented to take the comparatively small part of Roderigo.