Sir Richard Bourke thought differently, and so did the Earl of Ripon. They absolutely abolished the Established Church, destroyed its charter, confiscated its property; and then proceed in grand style to make a new code of laws for the future management of the colony. Then came Lord Glenelg's part of the work. In his despatch, in answer to Sir Richard Bourke's, he apologizes for two years' delay, and then proceeds, in his characteristic and peculiar manner, to get rid of as much trouble as possible, by begging the Governor and Legislative Council to do as they please. He makes no stipulation for the Church of England, no objection to Popery being placed on a level with it; and scruples not to hand over all the churches then in existence, to trustees, after the manner of dissenting chapels in this country. Every thing Sir Richard Bourke says, he almost literally echoes, even to the modest proposal of withdrawing all the means of education from the Church, and handing them over to a new board with liberty to mutilate the Bible. The result has been, that the charge for the Popish religion, which in 1833 was only L.1500, is now rather more than doubled; and L.3000 more has been voted for the national or rather Popish system of religion, against which, four out of seven of the nonofficial members of the Legislative Council had solemnly protested, and against which Bishop Broughton had protested also. It must be observed, that previously to Lord Glenelg's obtaining power, the mode of educating the people was precisely similar to our own in this country. For instance, besides a grant to the Church of England's schools, L.800 to the Scotch Church College, and L.800 to the Popish schools, were voted in 1833. But mark how liberalism steps in to reform. The English and Scotch schools are shut up, the Popish schools are comparatively neglected, for what? To establish other schools in which Popery is to make no compromise, in which all the compromise is to be on the Protestant side, for Popery is only to give the children such portions of the Bible as it chooses, and

Protestantism is to see its professors educated in schools where the Bible is held up as a book to be read only by license. And this system is adopted in a colony with 80,000 European inhabitants, of whom only 20,000 (and those chiefly convicts) are Papists! One petition signed by 80, and another petition signed by 1300 respectable persons, were presented against this innovation, but without avail; and New South Wales, therefore, has, at the present moment, a system of Popish education, as many Popish as Protestant ministers, and all for the behoof and benefit of one quarter of the population. Besides this, there is a Popish college at which the sons of Irish convicts are educated as missionaries and teachers.

On this statement there are two remarks to be made; first, as to the Dissenters, and secondly, as to the Church. We desire to know from the Dissenters, how it happens that they, who are so eager for the fray in trifles, who are so earnest against endowments, do not protest against these Colonial endow ments of Popery? In India there are not less now than fifty Popish priests paid by Government; while by an express clause in the India Charter Bill (Lord Glenelg's production), the Presbyterian chaplains are limited to a small number. In New South Wales there are now a bishop, and many Popish priests entirely supported by Government; in Newfoundland the same, in Canada and Ceylon the same, and we may add a similar statement of nearly every other colony. How then, we repeat, is it that no conscientious compunctions afflict the Dissenters, so ready with their convenient scruples in this country? Is the voluntary principle only for home consumption?' Or is it not true, after all, that in fact it is not the conscience which is afflicted by endowments, but the ambition which is now excited by the position of parties? We guess so. At any rate, it is strange that we hear nothing whatever of complaint as to endowments abroad, even though Popery enjoy them, while anything of the kind at home (so long as it does not come to Dissenters, as part of the annual education grant does,† and the

grant for poor Dissenting ministers, and the regium donum grant) is held up to public indignation with all imaginable violence, and with unscrupulous exaggerations. To the churchmen of both England and Scotland, we have a more important observation to produce. We ask them to look at Newfoundland, Upper Canada, and New South Wales, as specimens of all the colonies; and then to judge if our present Government has not betrayed and abandoned the principle of Establishments? In some places no notice whatever is taken either of Episcopacy or Presbyterianism; emigrants are invited out, and they arrive to find neither place of worship nor minister, neither school nor Bible. Is this conduct befitting a Christian country? Sir Richard Bourke may affect to be scandalized at the dreadful idea of emigrants finding in New South Wales what they had in England-an Established Church; but we certainly feel that, instead of an evil, it is a benefit, and peculiarly so when the choice is between a Church Establishment and no public means of grace at all. The Irish Protestant who emigrates (as many have done) from the force of persecution, and who goes to a distant colony where he hopes to find peace from Popery, either finds no religion, no churches at all, or Popery on a par with every other persuasion, if not, as in Newfoundland, Lower Canada, Trinidad, &c., dominant and triumphant. This is too bad, and should be altered. We hold that Great Britain does not carry out the intention of an Establishment unless she provide means of religious instruction to every being existing beneath her sway but what shall we call that system, which ships off thousands, yea, perhaps hundreds of thousands yearly, to places called British colonies, where there is neither freedom nor religious observances ? And further, if that be disgraceful, how much worse is it, when, under pretence of providing for those observances, Popery, which our rulers and Queen

solemnly have sworn to be idolatry, is alone endowed, as it is in some places

that is, instead of providing what is good, or nothing, when something grievously wrong is provided! In the very best of our colonies, all that can be truly affirmed is, that absolute indifference exists, so that, in the eye of the State, all religions are alike right, or alike wrong; in some the case is even worse, for error is supported; and in India, under the vain pretext of conciliating the natives, Government sanction is given to heathenism; and the officers, both in the army and the civil service, are compelled to join in some of its abominations. It can be no matter of astonishment, when these things are done by the home Government, that the local Legislatures follow the example. It would be wonderful if it were otherwise. But reasonable and natural as it is, there can be no doubt that there exists in the circumstance much to lament, and much which may hereafter be regretted. On looking at the Catholic Magazine of the present month (October), we find that a certain Bishop of Agna has been paying an apostolic visit to the West Indies. He says that there are wanted six more Popish priests in Trinidad, and that the local Legislature has offered to pay four of them in addition to the present establishment. In Granada he asked for three more ; in St Vincent for one only, in St Lucia for seven, which the local Legislature promised to provide; in Dominica for four, and for a sum for chapels, and both were guaranteed; in Montserratt he obtained a promise from the governor of an additional chaplain, and one also for Barbadoes. În each of these islands there is a large Popish population, amounting altogether, we believe, to very little less than 100,000 souls.* In Jamaica, also, the Papists are working with extraordinary zeal, endeavouring to avail themselves of the opportunity presented by the recent emancipation, to obtain a hold of a still larger portion of the ignorant population; and if the local Legisla

tures are disposed, as it seems they are, to fall in with the Atheistical spirit of the age, giving to Popery as readily as to truth, and, like Gallio, "caring for none of these things," it is clear that they have great chances of success, with their attractive and enticing ceremonies. It is equally clear that it is quite useless to look to the Home Government for any impediment to this system, while it is actuated by the principles which at present guide it. On the contrary, the Governors of our Colonies and the local Legislatures, both of whom look very cautiously to the wishes of the Colonial Office, doubtless now find it very gratifying to that department to see any assaults on the Protestant system, and any aid to Popery. Lord Glenelg, therefore, is not only mischievous himself, but the cause of mischief in others; and all this, too, with marvellously pure and patriotic professions, and with the constant cant of liberalism on his lips. Our readers, however, do not need to be told how empty and ridiculous such professions are, and that cant is, when duly examined. In Lord Glenelg's case we are fortunately enabled to appreciate both, by his celebrated Order in Council concerning the Hill Coolies. Applications were made to him to allow the importation into the West India Islands and the Mauritius of certain poor creatures in Bengal called Hill Coolies, who appeared to be fit for West Indian labourers. His liberal Lordship considered the request, and issued an Order in Council authorizing the unholy traffic; and the very consequence has ensued which, perhaps, the applicants and his Lordship wished -namely, a restoration, under another form, of the odious slave-trade. goes have arrived in the Mauritius, in British Guiana, and elsewhere, of weak degenerate natives of an Eastern climate, imported by hundreds, nominally as freemen and actually as slaves. But the Order in Council came to light, the whole iniquitous plan was discovered, and the Colonial Secretary was compelled to promise a rescinding of the Order, and an immediate restoration of the Coolies to their own land. Doubtless the only error the Liberals could see in the whole affair was in its detection. It might have gone on for years without remark or complaint from liberalism; it might have proceeded without com

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ment; and then Lord Glenelg and his coadjutors would be boasting of their love of freedom, and declaring their attachment to liberty, being engaged all the time in a sneaking and pitiful slave-trade, a despicable trick, whereby, under the cover of a sly Order in Council, human beings might be stolen and smuggled like illicit goods, and sold for something more than the freight. Could any thing be more mean and unmanly? Could any thing, both in its commencement and termination, be more worthy of the wretched Melbourne Cabinet, the tottering, hypocritical, imbecile, and vacillating compound of the selfish, the jesuitical, and the absurd? We rejoice that the Order in Council was issued, that it was disclosed, and recalled; because, when we hereafter shall meet any fraudulent pretensions to liberalism in Lord Glenelg and others who were parties to this base transaction, we shall know well at what price to value them, and where to seek for their refutation. Truly, if the Tories in any part of their career had been parties, directly or indirectly, immediately or remotely, to such a transaction, the whole country would have been agitated from one end to the other, by the indignant denunciations of the very men, including Lord Glenelg himself, who have now been parties to this Order in Council. How loud and vehement would have been the invectives of every Whig who now finds himself compelled to be an apologist ; how fierce and how fluent would those Liberal members and Liberal associa tions have been, who now have preserved their silence, and by silence given their assent! We say, then, we rejoice the Order in Council was issued-not that we feel no abhorrence of the light and trivial manner in which a Colonial Secretary dared to treat his fellow-beings; not that we feel little for the captured and deluded Indians, who died on their passage, or pined in slavery for their homes, but because it has taught a lesson worth learning-it has stamped Liberalism for ever with falsehood and tyranny. But we may be told that Lord Glenelg was not to blame, he was only deceived and mistaken. Yes; Canada was in rebellion, and Lord Glenelg had been "mistaken;" Newfoundland is in a state of violent excitement, and Lord Glenelg has only been "inattentive;" the slave-holders in the West Indies

oppress their apprentices, and Lord Glenelg "cannot help it;" Popery is progressing in the Cape of Good Hope, and Lord Glenelg "did not know it; the Hill Coolies are snatched from their native land, and carried thousands of miles to toil at labour even the Africans themselves will not perform, and Lord Glenelg is merely "deceived;"-these, or such as these, are the only defences his Lordship's advocates ever attempt for him; these, or such as these are the pleas for this liberal statesman's delinquencies. Wherever he is found to have done wrong, his friends labour to prove, not that he has done right or tried to do right, but that he was either slumbering or duped. And, indeed, we believe the defence is generally correct, for we know of no end either to the laziness or imbecility for which this liberal and enlightened Reformer is distinguished.

In some respects it must, however, be admitted, that his foolish and mischievous proceedings are merely incidental specimens of the general policy of the Administration, and not independent and headlong acts of personal indiscretion. We allude particularly to the Malta commission. Certain Papists in Malta, with the Bishop at their head, being determined to show, not only that they partook of the spirit, but also were influenced by a right appreciation of the signs of the times, sent home sundry complaints, petitions, and claims to the British Government, with a view, principally, to the establishment of a liberal policy in that island. Our readers will be amused, though not surprised, to hear how Lord Glenelg met these applications. It was in the long vacation; all lawyers were idle; some were weary, some more were desirous to obtain, by travelling, relaxation and health. The opportunity, therefore, was peculiarly tempting, and it was not thrown away. A commission was appointed to go out and enquire! Mr Austin and others, therefore, sailed in a Government vessel, visited Malta, were entertained and lodged, paid regularly five guineas a-day, and then, after two or three months' absence, returned with their valuable report. As they sailed in a man-of-war, and were chiefly entertained in Malta at the local expense, their charge for wages and printing was only L.700-a very

convenient present, no doubt, for having given their valuable holidays to the patriotic undertaking of cruising for pleasure. The Duke of Wellington (a man not accustomed to deal in hard words without much cause and provocation) publicly declared in the House of Lords, during last session, that "this was one of the grossest jobs he had ever heard of." And, indeed, it is quite evident that that censure was well merited; for there were persons in the island, the Governor and others, who must have been far better acquainted with the real wants of the population, and far more capable of advising, than any hungry lawyers who might be honoured with the opportunity of spending a few weeks as guests at the Governor's table. This, however, never appears to have entered the mind of the sapient Lord Glenelg. He prefers the wise and statesmanlike plan of paying for opinions he might have obtained for nothing, and of receiving recommendations from the inexperienced instead of from those most capable of judging and best informed. No one, therefore, will be astonished to hear that he was entirely misled. The commissioners came home to recommend a free press and all other liberal enactments; that is, they came home to recommend precisely those things which their Liberalism would have suggested had they stopped at home, which the Popish Radicals of Malta had demanded, and which the Governor had refused to sanction. But with that keen and simple wisdom for which he is distinguished, the Duke of Wellington at once exposed the fallacy of all these crotchets. He said, and said truly, that Malta was nothing to this country but a fortress in the Mediterranean; that we had no interest in preserving it except in that character; that the people were disinclined to consider themselves English subjects, and were disaffected to our Government; and that, therefore, in such a place, affecting to apply fine theories, and to establish democratic institutions, was perfectly ridiculous. He added, that the Whigs might as well talk of a Parliament for the Tower of London and St Helena, and a republic for Gibraltar. Perhaps they thought so too, and certainly all the governors and experienced persons of the island concurred in the opinion. What, then,

was the secret of the whole affair? Was advice really needed? Were the petitions and claims really incapable of being understood by the local authorities? Was it, in fact, ever intended to make Malta a hotbed of sedition and an insecure possession, like Newfoundland and Lower Canada, by the same process as has led to these results in those colonies? No, certainly not. The secret of the matter consisted in the word commission; and though the advice of the governor was amply sufficient, though it was never meant to act by any other recommendation, that magic word settled the conduct of the Administration, and gave vigour even to Lord Glenelg, Well, therefore, may we affirm that the Melbourne policy has no equivocal and backsliding disciple in his Lordship! Well may we congratulate that noble advocate for "peace, reform, and retrenchment;" that pure No-patronage ruler, on his complete accordance in principle and in his practices with those patriotic persons by whom he is surrounded. Lord Glenelg is one of those reformers who prate very much about Tory corruption. We deny the correctness of the imputation, but this at least is certain:If it be correct (and Lord Glenelg, having long been a Tory, is perhaps somewhat capable of judging), he has not lost his opportunities of acquiring perfection in the art; if it be not, he has proved that he has at least genius enough to be original in one thing-namely, ingenious Colonial jobbing. Canada shall speak for his energy, Newfoundland for his liberalism, New South Wales for his attachment to the church, the West Indies for his prudence, India for his conscience, Sir Francis Head for his judgment, the Hill Coolies for his humanity, and Malta shall add her testimony to his marvellous economy and purity.

These things we recommend to the attention of the people. It remains for public opinion to declare whether incapable men are to conduct national affairs, and whether Lord Glenelg, who now stands at the head of the incapable class, is to remain in the most important, difficult, and responsible post under the Crown. Already he has done much to alienate the affections of our colonists, already he has done

much to break up that grand colonial system which has long been the pride, and not unfrequently the great source of strength, of this country. He has sent out men as governors who are notoriously incompetent; in some cases he has despatched the very men who are of all others the least qualified to obtain confidence either at home or abroad. Why, for instance, was Sir Andrew Leith Hay, who was the only member in all the House of Commons who opposed the abolition of slavery in 1833, sent as governor to Bermu da? Why was an O'Connell sent out governor of the important colony of New South Wales; the Radical Mr Hutt to South Australia; and Lord Nugent to the Ionian Islands? But, above all, what folly less than complete infatuation could have induced the Ministry to send Lord Durham, Mr Buller, Mr Ellice, and Mr Turton, to Canada? And what madness led Lord Glenelg, whose private character none can impeach, to sanc tion not only these appointments, but also that of Mr Edward Gibbon Wakefield? Here, again, his Lord. ship is only following the example of the rest of the Ministry. If Lord Palmerston can send a Mr Henry Bulwer to Constantinople, a Lord Clan. ricarde to St Petersburg, a Mr Kennedy to Cuba; if Sir John Hobhouse be content with a Lord Auckland in Calcutta, and a Lord Elphinstone in Madras; if Lord John Russell be allowed to give places to a Whittle Harvey, a Joseph Parkes, and a Fitzsimon; if Lord Melbourne make a Dr Hampden a professor, Evans a K. C.B., and Tom Moore a pensioner, surely Lord Glenelg, who generally is only one of the "imitatorum servile pecus," cannot be seriously blamed for following in the same track, and selecting similar characters for places and honour. If his colleagues establish a half-Po pish, half-infidel system of education in Ireland, of course he, in duty bound, does so also, as we have shown, in New South Wales; if they encourage Po pery, he does so too; if they pay its priests, he does so likewise; if Lord Normanby makes high sheriffs according to his own caprice, and passes by those who are duly nominated, Lord Glenelg, acting on the same principle, and going a little further in the working of it, hands them over, with the