24 FEBRUARY 1838, Page 15

"LORD MASTER LUTHER" AND MR. SMITH.

THE silence of Mr. SYDNEY SMITH 011 the amended schemes of Lord JOHN RUSSELL and the Bishops for reforming the Church, induced the suspicion that the caustic Canon had been sopped by the promise of a good Deanery, or perhaps a Bishopric. But lie merited not the unworthy imputation.* " A Letter to Lord JOHN RUSSELL, by the Reverend SYDNEY S3IITH," has just appeared. It is in the form of a pamphlet, of a very ladylike fashion- " This note was written upon gilt-edged paper, "33, Charles Street, Berkeley Square, Feburary 21. " Sir—To the charge of wishing Ibr a bishopric, which you and Mau Wilsou Cruker make against me, it may be worth while, mice for all, to make a short reply. No con- sideration in the world would induce me to ;wept a bi-hoprie, if it were tendered to Me; and of my notion, on this subject Lord Melbourne was completely and thoroughly aware before any of the late ‘acatudes took place. Whether he would have made roe bishop if I had coveted the Mike, I neither know nor- rare, but he knew well I did not wish for it. i neither want tam. would I accept that, nor any other promotion, which this or any other timernment could offer to toe; and to this I pledge lily honour and characb 2 as a gentleman. "I ani, Ste. Svrixer Satint." We are glad of this : there will be more epistolary trifles front the " joker of jokes." With a slight little crow-quill, neat and new "- but the contents thereof resemble the blows of a sledge-hammer more than taps of a fan. The Canon strikes right and left; and, as usual, his thumps are smashers. His direct antagonists are the Bishops, and Lord JOHN RUSSELL, whom he facetiously calls " Lord Master Luther, bred and born in our own island, and nou- rished by the Woburn spoils and confiscations of the Church." But the backhanded hits he deals on Mother Church herself are such as make the old lady groan in her innermost vitals. The plan for abolishing pluralities is shown-up as absurd and unjust. The argument and illustration in the following passage rest upon the fact which Mr. SMITH has always been too candid to deny, that men go into the Church as they enter into the Army or the Law, for the sake of geiting a living in a gentlemanly way ; the pretence of a call from above to undertake the clerical office being (as regards the great majority) a mere sham.

• In the following letter to the Times, Mr. SMITH declares that he will not accept promotion from the present Government or any other. " The clause for holding two livings at the interval of ten miles is perfectly ridiculous. If you are to abolish pluralities, do it at once; or leave a man only in possession of such benefices as he can serve himself; and then the distance should be two miles, and not a yard more. " But common justice requires that there should be exceptions to your rules. For two hundred years, pluralities within certain distances have been allowed: acting under the faith of these laws, livings have been bought and bequeathed to clergymen, tenable with other preferments in their possession. Upon faith in these laws, men and women have married, educated their children, laid down a certain plan of life, and adopted a certain rate of expense ; and ruin comes upon them in a moment front this thoughtless inattention to existing interests. I know a man whose fither dedicated all he had saved in a long life of retail trade, to purchase the next presentation to a living of SOO1. per annum, tenable, under the old law, with another of 5001. given to the son by his college. The whole of this clergyman's life and prospects (and he has an immense family of children) are cut to !deceit by your bill. It is a wrong thing, you will say, to hold two livings. I think it ; but why did not you, the Legislature, find this out fifty years ago? Why did you entice this man into the purchase of plurali- ties by a venerable laxity of two hundred years, and then clap him into gaol from the new virtue of yesterday? Such reforms as these make wisdom and carefulness useless, and turn human life into a mere ectatuble."

Another remarkable passage in this letter admits, that if Church-of-England-men were allowed to elect their own pastors, a va-t number of existing incumbents—nearly all in one diocese— would be turned adrift, or at least would never have been put in the places they occupy. It is proposed that in benefices having a population of 2,000 souls, the Bishop may appoint a Curate, with- out the consent of the Rector, (should the latter demur,) to be paid by the people. This clause, says Mr. SMITH, is worthy of the Vicar of Wrexhill himself- " Now, what will happen? The Bishop is a Calvinistic Bishop; wife children, chaplains, Calviuized up to the teeth. The serious people of the

meet together, and agree to give a hundred pounds per annum if Mr.

ilkinson is appointed. It requires very little knowledge of human nature to predict that at the expiration of two months Mr. Wilkinson will be the luau: and then the whole parish is torn to pieces with jealousies, quarrels, and compa- risons between the Rector and the delightful Wilkinson. The same scene is acted, mulatis mutandis, when the Bishop sets his face against Calvinistic prin- ciples. The absurdity consists in suffering the appointment of a Curate by private subscription,—in other words, one clergyman in a parish by nomina. tine, the other by elertimi : and in this way religion is brought into contempt by their jealousies and quarrels. Little do you know, my dear lord, of the state of that country you govern, if you suppose this will not happen. I have now a diocese in toy eye where I am positively certain that in less than six months after the passing of this bill there will not be a single parish of two thousand persons in which you will not find a subscription Curate, of Evangelical habits, canting and crowing over the regular and established clergyman of the parish."

The truth of this statement may in a great degree be confirmed by the experience of any body who has paid attention to the per- severance, energy, and success with which the Evangelical party in the Church of England have pushed their proselytizing schemes. • The abolition of pluralities will make the Church vulgar, its parsons really pastors of the poor, and unfit companions for lords and gentlemen. What a consummation! How very different from that contemplated by the author of Christianity—but not the founder of Establishments !

" The great prizes of the Church induce men to carry, and fathers and uncles to send into the Church considerable capitals ; and in this way enable the clergy to associate with gentlemen, and to command that respect which in alt countries, and above all in this, depends so much on appearances. Your bill, abolishing pluralities, and taking away at the same time so many dignities, leaves the Church of England so destitute of great prizes, that, as far as mere emolument has any influence, it will be better to dispense cheese and butter in small quantities to the public than to enter into the Church.

" There are admirable men whose honest and beautiful zeal cat ries them into the Church without a moment's thought of its emoluments. Such a :nan, combining the manners of a gentleman with the acquirements of a scholar and the zeal of an apostle, would overawe mercantile grossness and extort respect from insolent opulence; but I am talking of average Vicars, mixed natures, and eleven thousand parish priests. If you divide the great emoluments of the Church into little portions, such as butlers and head gamekeepers receive, you will very soon degrade materially the style and character of the English clergy."

The style—yes—but possibly men who are not stylish may be best fitted to preach the gospel to the poor ; and the defenders of an endowed Establishment are ever assuring us that they covet not the Church revenues for themselves, but for the poor, who require gratuitous instruction in religious duties. Mr. SYDNEY SMITH despises this falsehood. It is a part of the scheme for remodelling the Cathedrals, that new members are to be added to St. Paul's and Lincoln, which Chapters are to enjoy their present patronage so long as there remains a member appointed before the adoption of the plan; the new mendiers having equal rights with the original ones ; and thereby infringing on the vested rights of the latter. Mr. SNIITIE is very indignant at this " scandalous injustice." No doubt, he clearly perceives its operation : but a brother Canon, though a " Minor " one, (the Reverend JAMES LUPTON,) in a letter to the Chronicle about a fortnight ago, anticipated his exhibition of its consequences. A passage from Mr. Luerom's epistle will be admired for its truthful confession of practices which degrade even sound divines to the level of mere money-grubbers.

" From the first part of the Report, where the rights of existing members are spoken of as to be preserved, I was led to suppose that the new members would be bound by the proposed restrictions; but the passage which I have quoted from clause 67 takes the restrictions off, or rather prevents their being imposed, and allows new members (over and above the injury done to the Chapters at St. Paul's and Lincoln) to exercise nepotism to their heart's con. tent ; and the more uncertain their reign, the more likely they are to abuse their power whilst it lasts they must make haste to serve their friends—they must make haste to provide for their brothers, and nephews, and cousins— they must make the best of their patronage whilst they hare it. It will be a principle with them to strain every nerve to set ve themselves."

Go on, gentlemen : Macte SMITH ! Macte LUPTON ! Soon will the world, by your eloquent exertions, be made aware of the true character and real use of the Church Establishment.