THE Whig-Radical press have been some weeks labouring with all their might to prove, not only that divisions exist in the Conservative camp, but that the clergy, as a body, have no confidence in Sir Robert Peel, the acknowledged leader of the great Conservative party at the present moment. We purpose, therefore, to dissipate the mist in which the Whig-Radical newspapers have attempted to envelope this subject, and to state, for the benefit of any of our clerical readers who may have fallen in too much with the disparaging views of the ministerial organs, what those claims are which Sir Robert Peel, as a statesman, may fairly put forth to the confidence and support of all the Anglican clergy. Certain preliminary observations are, however, necessary. That our country has been exposed to imminent peril during the last ten years, the period of Whig ascendancy and Whig misrule, no one who exercises the powers of reflection, and is sufficiently honest to abide by the decisions of his own conscience, can entertain any reasonable doubt. The Reform-bill was carried in a moment of excitement, the people being led away by the current, which appears to have passed over from the Continent to this country after the glorious days of July 1830. Now, however, the people are sufficiently awake to perceive that the Reform-bill has left them much in the same condition in which it found them; and while all VOL. XXIV. NO. CXLII.

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the efforts of the late ministers failed to get up the steam in their favour, it is admitted on every side,-admitted even by their friends, that the people of England are not favourable to those statesmen by whom that measure was concocted and carried into a law. Since the passing of that measure a party has been gradually rising up in the country, which, at the present moment, outnumbers by far all the other parties in the kingdom and, as far as property and influence are concerned, no comparison can be instituted between the Conservatives and the motley crew of their opponents. In the first parliament under the Reform-bill, the Conservatives, having been seized with a feeling of indifference, were but few in number; in the second and third they nearly equalled all the other parties collectively; in the last they actually outnumbered them; and in the present the Conservative majority was, on the amendment to the address, ninety-one. The change, therefore, which has taken place in public opinion since the year of the Reform - bill, is most marvellous, and in no way inferior to that which was the cause of the rapid passing of the measure in question. It is not our purpose to express our condemnation or our approval of the Reform-bill. The Conservatives are prepared to act upon it, to carry its provisions into effect, and to manage the affairs of the empire under its enactments. It

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is now the law of the land, and Sir Robert Peel and his colleagues are ready to carry it into operation. The very first persons to complain of the measure were its framers; and the men who now wish to reform the Reform-bill were the very men who introduced it as a panacea for all our miseries. At the period when the country was agitated from one end to the other on the subject, the cry that resounded from the hustings and from the streets, from the candidates on the former, as well as from the mob in the latter, was The Bill, the whole Bill, and nothing but the Bill!" yet now, with most marvellous inconsistency, the actual framers of the Bill, the men who clamoured for it, and strained all their nerves to get it passed into a law, are the first to express their dissatisfaction and to call for alterations. The child of their affections, the beloved of their soul, is now viewed and treated as a bastard,-nay, it is actually nursed by Conservative statesmen, being renounced and turned out of doors by its unnatural parents, whom nothing will satisfy but the virtual repeal of the Bill by which they once avowed themselves ready to stand or fall. Certainly they have fallen by it; but their determination to submit to any consequences, provided they could secure the passing of the Bill, is now quite disregarded.

That the Whigs in 1830 expected that the Tories, as a party, would be completely destroyed is certain, for such was the admission of their organs of the press. In this hope they were miserably disappointed. They mistook the character of their countrymen, who, though they were ready to carry a measure of reform, were unprepared for a revolution. Though the people supported the Reform-bill, they were still Englishmen; and their love for the constitution exists in undiminished strength. A reaction has taken place. The cry of the people is, "Let us act honestly on the Reformbill, which we have adopted; let us be satisfied; we cannot be constantly changing; we do not want a revolution every ten years!" A Conservative feeling and a Conservative party have sprung up under the Reform-bill, which neither Whig trickery nor Radical violence can

suppress. The Bill will now be honestly worked by Conservative statesmen; its obligations will be held sacred; and England will again be what she was once, GREAT, FREE, and HAPPY!

Conservative is the term by which the constitutional party is now designated, and by which it will be known in history. This body comprises all the true friends of the monarchy, all the lovers of real liberty, and all the supporters of our settled institutions. They would preserve the monarchy, the church, the laws, and the liberties of the nation. And who and what are the opponents of the Conservative body? They are a most heterogeneous mass, consisting of some few who still contend that they are Whigs, though they have utterly renounced the principles of the Whigs; of the Radicals, who unblushingly avow their preference for republican institutions; of Chartists, Socialists, Dissenters, Infidels, and all whose wish is to see the country torn and distracted by convulsions, in the hope of reaping some benefit from the commotions which may arise. Such is the body at present opposed to the great Conservative phalanx of this mighty empire. They are a most disunited body, for on no one point are they agreed, except in their op position to the Church and the Conservatives. They can band together to destroy the institutions of the country; but, were the object effected, they would speedily tear and devour one another. On the other hand, the Conservatives, though not agreeing on minor points, are yet com pletely united in principle. Their views of the Church, the monarchy, and all the great questions on which, as statesmen, they will be called upon to deliberate, are the same. No disunion will exist in their camp, their line will continue unbroken, and their measures will be such as every man who loves his queen and his country must approve. All the assertions of the Radical, or Whig press, respecting the discord existing in the Conservative body, were scattered to the winds by the noble declaration of Lord Stanley during the recent elections; so that, if the Whig ministers ever believed the reports, they must now be fully sensible that

they have nothing to hope for from Conservative quarrels.

Every great party in the state must necessarily have its appointed and acknowledged leader; and much, as in an army, depends on the ability, the skill, the tact, and the energy of the chief. The leader of the Conservatives is known to the whole country. All eyes, at the present moment, are directed towards him; even our opponents concur in pointing to the same distinguished statesman. That individual is SIR ROBERT PEEL. Under his banner all the great statesmen of the day-a Wellington, a Stanley, a Graham, a Lyndhurst, a Sugden, a Follet, and others-are ready and willing to act. Some silly stories were, indeed, circulated respecting the feelings of an illustrious personage towards this eminent individual; and it was whispered by the Whigs that some other person must be found to assume the ostensible leadership of the new cabinet, even though the actual power should be vested in the hands of Sir Robert Peel. But no right-minded Englishman could give any credit to such an insinuation. The fact is the reply.

It is to us a source of infinite amusement, and must be equally so to the parties to whom the observations refer, to find the organs of the late ministry, especially the Globe, the Sun, and the Chronicle, indulging in daily lucubrations respecting the enormous difficulties by which Sir Robert Peel and the Conservatives will be encompassed in managing the affairs of the country. For some weeks after the dissolution of parliament, these journals spoke of Sir Robert Peel's return to power as a mere chimera. The country, said they, will decide that question; the people will speak a language not to be mistaken. Such was their tone for a time. After some few of the elections had been decided, they still persisted in their hold assertion, that her majesty's ministers would obtain a majority in the new parliament, and that Sir Robert Peel would never be exalted to the rank of premier. In a short time it became evident, and they could not disguise the fact, that the ministers must be left in a minority. This, indeed, was evident from the beginning, though the Whig-radical newspapers, in order to keep their

friends and supporters in the dark as to the real state of the case, as well as to prevent their courage from sinking during the elections, asserted the contrary. At length, however, the fact could no longer be concealed, and they were constrained to inform their readers that the returns would give a majority to Sir Robert Peel, but so small a majority, that it could never stand before such a minority as would be marshalled against him, and such a leader as Lord John Russell. The majority, it was confidently stated, would not be more than twenty, and what could such a majority accomplish in the face of such a formidable opposition. In this dishonest course the ministerial organs persisted even until the end, when the returns exhibited a Conservative majority of upwards of eighty-a majority far beyond the sanguine expectation of friends a majority sufficient to enable any minister to carry his plans into effect, which the Whig-Radicals have never been able to accomplish except by sufferance on the part of their opponents. This majority will, indeed, be increased by the accession of it may be twenty members, who have gone into parliament without pledging themselves to either party, but who will support any measures of which they approve, come from whatever quarter they may. The fact of an overwhelming majority is therefore incontrovertible. The question was settled on the division; but, to keep up the courage of their party, they now amuse them with dull dissertations on Sir Robert Peel's difficulties. They pretend that these difficulties are insurmountable, and that Sir Robert will not be able to hold the reins of government beyond a few short weeks, when the Whigs must be restored to power, we suppose by the unanimous voice of the people! It is truly ludicrous to witness such conduct on the part of a body, who have not for years been able to carry a single question. The very patrons of these newspapers held office (we will not say conducted the government, for no government has existed for several years) with a majority of five, of one, and even with a considerable minority; yet they talk of Sir Robert Peel's difficulties with a majority of ninety-one! By what

mental process these gentlemen arrive at their conclusion we do not pretend to determine; nor, indeed, is it of any importance to our readers.

Among other lucubrations of the Whig-Radical press for the amusement of their readers, the charge of love of place is constantly put forth against the Conservatives; as if, forsooth, the Whigs only held office during several years, simple souls, for the good of the country-to them a very ungrateful country; or as if office could be an object of desire to the great leaders of the constitutional body. At all events, Sir Robert Peel is as disinterested as Lord John Russell; and it is certain that he will be as able to manage the affairs of the nation with credit to himself and honour to his country as the Whig-Radical ministry. He will form no unholy compact with O'Connell. He will not eat his own words, nor change his plans in consequence of an adverse vote, rather than retire from office. We shall not witness under his administration such scenes as have recently occurred,- a minister of the crown introducing a measure, and, after swearing that he would stand or fall by this particular bill, either quietly giving it up, or adopting such changes as to alter its character and make it the measure of his opponents. We shall see nothing of this description under Sir Robert-we shall have, at any rate, an honest and a straightforward administration; and the people will rely upon their promises and pledges. Never since the first parliament under the Reform-bill, when the Conservatives sat still as mere spectators, have the Whigs been able to carry any single measure, to which a Conservative opposition was raised.

Had the Whigs evinced any thing like repugnance, or even indifference to office, the pretence of the Tory love of place would have come from them with a tolerable grace. Have they not, however, clung to office with the tenacity of drowning men? Let the bedchamber story be remembered. We know, too, that promises were scattered about in great profusion during the late elections: so much so, that to our certain knowledge it was said, by a gentleman in office, that were the Whigs to con

tinue in power for two years longer, they would not be able to discharge the debts, in the shape of promises and pledges, which had been contracted since the dissolution. It is therefore truly laughable for the Globe, and the other organs of the late ministry, to talk of the Tory love of office, when the Whigs have proved so immaculate. But the trick will not succeed. The country has had long experience of Whig tenacity in sticking to their places-of Whig cunning, in creating offices and filling them with their retainers-and of Whig treachery, in breaking promises whenever it was not quite convenient to keep them. Such charges, therefore, may amuse, but they cannot make any impression on the public mind.

The Whig press were loud in their abuse of Sir Robert Peel for not telling them what he intended to do; and as the right honourable gentleman was prudent enough to keep his own counsel, these valiant defenders of the Whigs deal out their daily dissertations on the difficulties by which his government will necessarily be surrounded. Really, the Whigs are very unreasonable; for at one time they told us what Sir Robert's plans were they were fully aware of his intentions-then, in the same breath almost, they loaded him with abuse for not making a public declaration of his views, and of the measures which he intended to propose in the ensuing session. It is clear that the late ministers and their supporters of the press are in a desperate case. To-day they are acquainted with his plans, and discuss them with all possible gravity; to-morrow, he is condemned for his silence, and the people are told that, as he has opposed the Whig measures, he is bound to reveal his own plans. He will make known all his plans in due time. He has, however, furnished a sufficient answer to all such paltry and spiteful cavils in his last Tamworth speech, which has thrown the Whigs into a fit, and which, in conjunction with the various defeats of which they have been the subjects, must render their recovery impossible.

And now with regard to the clergy; for the Whig-Radical press are constantly harping on this string, as if Sir Robert Peel would find himself

greatly hampered by the clerical body. The clergy are not a political, but they are a very important body. Their numbers can be little less than eighteen thousand, including those who are beneficed, the licensed curates, and a considerable number who have neither livings nor curacies, but who still exercise some influence in their respective spheres. Such a body of educated men, scattered from one end of the kingdom to another, cannot fail to operate as a leaven upon the community at large. The moral power of such a body cannot but be immense. Of this the enemies of the Church are fully aware; and hence the declamations, the misrepresentations, and the calumnies of the Whig-Radical press. They wish to neutralise the moral force of the clergy by rendering them obnoxious to the people. To accomplish this object they propagate their slanders and their lies, in the hope, though it will prove a vain one, that the people will listen to their declamations. The trick, however, has failed; for there never was a time when the clergy were more beloved, or when their influence was more extensive. Notwithstanding the efforts of the Radicals and Dissenters, backed as they have been by her majesty's late ministers, new churches have risen up in every direction, clergymen are located in their neighbourhood, and large and attentive congregations attend on their ministrations. Wherever a church is erected, the clergyman is viewed as the universal friend-as the individual to whom the people are sure to repair, not only for pastoral instructions, but for relief, for sympathy, and for advice in their temporal necessities. That poor man, indeed, who abuses the clergy, is lost to all right feeling. Thank God, the number of such, notwithstanding the efforts of Radicalism and Dissent, is very small!

What, then, will the clergy do under the government of Sir Robert Peel? This question is asked by the Whigs, who tell us that the clergy will not support the Conservative leader. We shall submit a few remarks on this important point; and we shall offer a few words of advice to our clerical readers respecting Sir Robert Peel's claims to their confidence and support.

In so large a body there must of necessity be various shades of opinion. Still the clergy must be anxious for the welfare of the Church, or they are perjured men. They may entertain very different views on minor and non-essential points; but on all fundamental truths they are of course agreed, having all taken the same oaths and subscribed the same formularies. Like all other bodies, the clergy are divided in opinion on matters of more or less importance; but with respect to the welfare of the Church they can have, as honest men, but one wish. There may, indeed, be differences among them respecting the mode in which the best interests of the Church may be secured; but concerning the thing itself the greatest unanimity pervades the whole body. Were the case otherwise, it would be strange, since all the men who minister at the altars of the Church have sworn to defend her against all adversaries; and the man who assumes the priestly garb, and yet is indifferent to the Church's welfare, is altogether unworthy of the clerical name. Few such characters exist; and, at all events, they have no concern with our present inquiry.

What answer, then, can be given to the questions, Has Sir Robert the confidence of the great body of the clergy? and, Ought they to give him their confidence? These are very important questions at the present moment,-questions to which we shall attempt an answer.

Still

We are by no means disposed to shut our eyes to the true state of the case. Doubtless, there are some among the clergy who do not confide in Sir Robert Peel. First and foremost, there is a small-a very small section of Whig clergymen. This party is so small, that they could not muster an assembly of their body in any single county in England. there are such men as Whig clergymen; not Whigs according to the meaning of the term in 1688, for in that sense all Conservatives are Whigs, but Whigs in the modern, or Lord John Russell acceptation of the word. That such men should be numerous is not possible while solemn pledges and promises are regarded, inasmuch as Conservatism is involved in the very oaths which