เ

repeat, without the inseparable combina- | restrictive engagement which we call tion of moral and religious instruction, marriage, but which Mr. Owen stigmatiwill be infinitely worse for themselves ses as an accursed thing,' 'an unnatural and society than even ignorance itself. crime,' 'a satanic device." And we are sorry to say that, not only by We had long known that Mr. Owen their scheme of national education (which, professed these and similar doctrinesafter all, is nothing but a device to grati- but we hoped, and indeed believed, that fy the enemies of the church, and should the man who could even imagine, and, never be discussed in any other sense), still worse, publish such abominations, but by many incidental circumstances, must be insane, and that we should next the government shows itself to be either hear of him in Bedlam. In this latter very ignorant or very careless of the surmise, at least, we were mistaken: we moral and religious interests of the peo- have next heard of him—at Court-preple; and this ignorance or inattention sented to the unsuspecting purity of a has contributed in no small degree to the Virgin Queen-by no random Lord in deplorable disorders of the times. Waiting, but, to give the astonishing pro. Lord Melbourne himself-pollicitus ceeding its full effect and solemnity, by meliora-besides his general and para- the Prime Minister himself! mount share in the measures of every Of 194 presentations to the Queen on department of his government, has, we the same day, 26th June, 1839, the are sorry to say, personally aided and assisted in this general system of disorganisation. It is the curious infelicity of this government, that, in their hands, the merest trifles become serious mischiefs -nuga seria ducunt in mala-scratches But this is not all-mad men and bad turn to cancers. The innocent indispo- men have been heretofore seen at courtsition of a lady in waiting becomes a to the regret of those who knew their cha public scandal and a fatal tragedy-death racters-but with, comparatively, little to her, and obloquy to others--no one of public scandal: the madness or the wickwhom would, we firmly believe, have edness of such men was either not notori been subjected to the slightest criticism or reproach, had the minister who chose to meddle with the matter looked at it in its true light, and treated it with either feeling or sagacity, or even with common

sense.

In the same way he has contrived to make of the most futile of all ceremonies, a presentation at court, an occasion of disrespect to the Sovereign-of insult to the moral and religious feelings of the country-and of menace to all our institutions. These may, at first sight, seem exaggerated results to be attributed to so slight a cause-but hear us out:-the subject will soon show itself to be one of the utmost gravity and importance.

Prime Minister did but three persons the distinguished honour of personally introducing them to Her Majesty the Earl of Scarborough-Lord Methuen, his creation-and Robert Owen !

ous, or, at least, they had some other claim to appear in the royal circle. And moreover, we may ask, whether the presence of a young and female sovereign ought not to be more carefully guarded against the intrusion of any shade of impurity than might, in former courts, have been rigorously necessary?

But these personal considerationsthough, under the circumstances, very serious-are not our motive for alluding to the affair on this occasion.

We have said that we hoped and believed that Owen himself was insane; but we had, till lately, no idea that there could have been any one else mad enough to adopt his doctrines even as speculaThere is a certain Robert Owen, noto- tive theories: it turns out, however, thatrious to the public for several extraordi- under the general relaxation of all pubnary speculations, but principally for a lic discipline-under the general contheory of political and moral government, tempt for all authority, and the general which he calls Socialism, and of which enmity to all our institutions-under the the main features are Atheism and the general arrogance of self-judgment, selfprohibition of all religion, especially the indulgence and self-sufficiency-all of Christian-the irresponsibility of man- which have been growing up for many appetite and self-indulgence the only years, but particularly since the unfortu rational rule of human conduct-a com- nate Reform Bill, and, most of all, under munity of goods-and-we hardly know how, with decency, to express the mon

See Owen's Marriage System of the New Mo.

strous proposition-the abolition of that al World, p. 17.

the Melbourne Ministry-Robert Owen | universe" and maintains that "to worship such a has made numerous practical proselytes -that he is at the head of a great and spreading sect, calling themselves Socialists, and professing the doctrines just mentioned, which are not only incompatible with our political constitution, moral obligations and religious duties, but we will boldly assert, wholly irreconcileable with any system whatsoever of human society.

The preceding extracts, which have been made | ed that we should not enter into the defrom a considerable number of documents relating to tails of the controversy; but we shall the same subject, will serve to give an idea of the manner in which this infidel agitation is carried on in venture to lay before our readers, in corthe principal manufacturing and mining districts of roboration of what we have quoted from the country, of Cheshire, Lancashire, Staffordshire, Mr. Pearson, a single passage of Mr. Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Durham, &c.' Giles's general exposition (Giles's 1st Lect. pp. 1 and 2) of Mr. Owen's doctrine:

But as we have said, it is not Churchmen alone who are alarmed and scandalised at these proceedings. We have before us two lectures (the third has not yet reached us), delivered by Mr. John Eustace Giles, minister of a Baptist congregation at Leeds, and we appeal to his evidence the rather because nobody who knows anything either of the general character of his sect, or of Mr. Giles individually, will suspect him of any undue bias towards establishments, nor of any prejudice against sectaries. Mr. Giles states that his attention having been drawn to Socialism by the great increase of the sects in his own immediate neighbourhood, he felt it his duty to examine their tenets-he accordingly procured Mr. Owen's publications-indeed they were furnished to him by the Socialists themselves, in the hope, it would seem, of making a proselyte. These he proceeded to read

Though many have smiled at the presumption of their wild and visionary projects for a new arrangement of society, only few have suspected them of aiming at nothing less than the subversion of reFounder of the System carefully concealed at first ligion. To prevent unfavourable impressions, the his infidelity from the world; while, under promise of great advantages to the working classes, he drew attention to his plans and experiments for social imextent, the public ear, he deemed it no longer necesprovement. Thus having gained, to a considerable sary entirely to withhold his daring speculations on morality and religion; though, in making them and under such pretences of reason and virtue, as known he has proceeded in a manner so gradual, were least likely to "shock the prejudices" of mankind; while many of his associates have practised the more impudent fraud of endeavouring to shelter their designs under the name of Christianity. 'In his recent publications, however, he has exercised less caution, and laid himself open to the public view as the undisguised enemy of Revelation. "Theology," he affirms, "when stripped of useless words, is founded in a simple dogma," which, with another afterwards explained, "is the evil genius of the world-the Devil of the Christians, and the real and sole cause of all lies and hypocrisy.' Religions," he observes in another place, "foundwith the prepossession in their favour that they were ed under the name of Jewish, Budhu, Jehovah, God or Christ, Mahomet, or any other, are all composed the productions of a mind [Robert Owen's] somewhat sceptical and visionary, yet incapable of malig- and when these laws are analysed they amount only of human laws in opposition to Nature's eternal laws; nant hatred to religion, and by no means unfriendly to good morals. The perusal soon convinced him of to three absurdities, three gross impositions upon the his mistake, and unfolded so many impious and licen- ignorance or inexperience of mankind." To which tious principles; so many hypocritical pretences, not- may add, that, in a publication yet more recent, he withstanding, to virtue and philanthropy; so many a blow, to destroy both virtue and religion, denounces not only repeats the same sentiments, but hoping, at apologies for crime; so much inveterate hatred to the Christian law of marriage as a Satanic institucivil government; so many artful contrivances to ention," an accursed thing;" and deliberately prosnare the superficial by crude metaphysical subtleties, the indolent by promises of luxury without labour, poses that men, like other animals, should be left to and the sensual by a perpetual eulogy of the animal the inclinations of nature, and proceeds to askappetites, and the prospect of a Mahomedan Paradis, as awakened in his mind a detestation of the-what we dare not venture to copy!system to which he was previously a stranger. With And this is the man whom Lord Melthese altered impressions, the writer, after further bourne went out of his way to present to delay elsewhere explained, felt bound to caution the public against the folly, wickedness, and mischievous tendency of a system, which he saw propagated with an industry worthy of a better cause.- -Giles, 1st Lect., Pref.

The justice of this indignation against Mr. Owen, Mr. Giles proceeds to justify by numerous and frightful quotations from his works, and by able and acute commentaries on them-of which, as of Mr. Pearson's discourse, we should, at first, have said that their only fault was that they took superfluous pains to refute fallacies and follies by which no sane mind could be led astray; but the recent spread of the system quite justifies the zeal both of Mr. Pearson and Mr. Giles in its refutation. We have already stat

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a royal Virgin!—and the time he chose for doing so was that precisely when the growth of the pestilence had alarmed every one who had ever heard of Mr. Owen, and when the solemn and unusual presentation of this wretched man by the Prime Minister seemed as if it was pre pensely calculated and timed to give the greatest and most opportune encouragement to his profligate votaries, and to excite the greatest alarm and indignation throughout all the loyal and Christian community!

But we hear some angry Ministerialist exclaim, in affected derision, "What a fuss is here!--just because Lord Melbourne's careless good nature consented to in

dulge the vanity of a foolish fellow who wanted to be seen at court!'

We do not question Lord Melbourne's careless good-nature, nor that ministers may inadvertently commit mistakes in small matters of Court ceremonies as well as in weightier affairs, and it is certainly not the habit of our publication to give undue importance to such triflesquas incuria fudit:-but this is no such

case.

Will Lord Melbourne say that he knew nothing of Robert Owen ?-Then he should not have presented him to the Queen.

Will he say that he had indeed heard of him as a harmless visionary ?-What business had such a visionary, however harmless, at Court?

and his petition was to solicit the patronage of the Queen to the tenets of his society, at which the very title of the petition pointed in significant terms. It was the petition of the UNIVERSAL COMMUNITY SOCIETY; that is, a society for universal community-a community in all things; with whom all things-WOMEN not excepted-shall be in common! And this a petition to a maiden Queen, who had just turned her twentieth year, in presence of her whole court, and by the introduction of the First Minister!

But this, as to our understanding it seems, gross insult to her Majesty's feelings, person, and authority, is still more remarkable and abominable, because it was, as far as appears on the face of it, utterly gratuitous and wanton for the But having heard that he was a vision-petition did not even pretend to ask anyary, ought not Lord Melbourne to have at thing of the Queen herself. It professes least satisfied himself that he was harm- only to solicit the Government to invesless! Had his lordship never heard of tigate certain measures,' an object for Socialism? Did he never converse with which a presentation to her Majesty was his Secretary for the Home Department, wholly unnecessary; and Mr. Owen need on the state of the country? Did he have gone no farther than to Lord Melnever hear of the Socialist meetings in all bourne himself; but no! Owen wanted the great towns of the north, between to obtain for himself and his 'universal the months of January and June? Have community' doctrines some pretence and the Christian Advocate' at Cambridge, colour of royal sanction: it would legaland the dissenting minister at Leeds, ise, he thought, his CONGRESS to have its been forced reluctantly into conflict with a wide-spreading moral plague, of which the Prime Minister had never so much as heard?

But monstrous as such a supposition may seem, the real fact is still more

monstrous.

Our readers will recollect that Mr. Pearson founds many of his statements on the report of the Congress of the Universal Community Society of Rational Religionists.' This Congress was held in May; and we find by the Court Circular' that the introduction, on the 26th June, of Robert Owen to the Queen, by Lord Melbourne, was to present a petition

'from the Congress of the Delegates of the Universal Community Society of National Religionists, soliciting the government to investigate measures which the Congress proposes to ameliorate the condition of society.'-Times, 27th June.

Thus, then, this presentation was not an accidental slip of Lord Melbourne's careless good-nature. Mr. Owen was not a mere commonplace intruder: he came for an object, an avowed object, and, we boldly assert, an illegal object; an immoral, indecent, and disgusting object. Every one who ever heard of Mr. Owen knew that the most remarkable of his tenets was the abolition of marriage;

acts recognised and accepted by the Queen, under the immediate advice of the First Minister; and the very fact that SUCH a petition had been placed by their founder and leader in the Queen's own hands would excite and bewilder the imaginations of his ignorant proselytes into some idea of royal patronage and approbation.

And here it cannot escape observation that while Lord John Russell-the avowed friend and encourager of popular meetings-thought it necessary to censure and finally to dismiss a magistrate of his own creating for attending a 'CONVENTION of delegates,' Lord Melbourne had no scruples in presenting at Her Majesty's levee Robert Owen, who had no other business or character there but as representative of a' cONGRESS of delegates' quite as illegal and much more dangerous than that which had so lately excited the severity of Lord John Russell.

But what did Lord Melbourne mean, by lending himself to these proceedings? -We cannot tell: we do not suppose that he meant to express any approbation of the doctrines of Socialism; whatever he might think of one part of the system, we cannot suspect him of any wish to share his estates in Herts or Derbyshire

with Robert Owen. Seriously, we be-, nay, for the very acknowledgment of & lieve and admit that he was not aware, God? to its full extent at least, of what he was We believe that there is not à departdoing. He probably did not-as, how- ment in the state, nor a part or province ever, he should have done-look at even of the empire, from which we could not the title of the petition-much less make produce analogous instances of the truckany inquiries as to its purpose-but he ling of the pseudo-government to every assuredly never contemplated anything species and degree of agitation, high and like the covert insult to the Queen's sex low, and of countenance and preference and station which it involved. The pre- given to persons who are or have been senting Owen and his petition he thought notorious in their several localities as -if he thought about it at all-a matter busy leaders of that already too powerful of course; and that he was doing no party that would not have things so;' more than his daily task of upholding his and we could prove-if common sense did government by its ordinary and indeed not of itself sufficiently establish it-how only means of existence-the crouching much this gross misapplication of the in(most reluctantly, we cannot doubt) to fluence of a government has tended, and every vulgar agitator, demagogue, or necessarily must have done so, to profanatic, who can raise himself into notice duce that general spirit of insubordinaby hostility, however foolish or however tion and disorder which every honest and wicked, to the established order in poli- benevolent mind must deplore, and at tics, morals, or religion. which the boldest look with dismay, and the most sagacious almost without hope. And where is this to end?-and whence

injustice to them, and an equally gross delusion of ourselves, to imagine that the dangers of our present situation arise so much from any mischievous intentions in the individual ministers as in their lamentable weakness and utter inability to resist the torrent which--while they seem to careless observers to rule and direct it, is in truth sweeping them on, involuntary victims, to destruction.

But then if such be the case-if such be the dire and irresistible necessity of Lord Melbourne's position-if such be can we expect such a happy change of the empty phantom that would pass itself circumstances as shall restore the gov off on us for a government-where is ernment to a healthy, constitutional, and there any permanent safety for the coun- governing condition? During the existtry-if a ruffian is to be made a magis- ence of the present ministry it is manitrate in one year with no other apparent festly impossible; and it would be a gross claim than the profession of principles which next year bring him to the gallows -if a Chancellor of the Exchequer is to induce the legislature to remit an important branch of revenue on the promise and pledge that certain illegal, immoral, and incendiary publications should thereupon be prosecuted and suppressed, and if such publications are nevertheless allowed to proceed with increasing scandal and uninterrupted impunity-if the minister. especially charged with the preservation of the public peace is so blind or so wilful as to volunteer a public panegyric on popular meetings at a moment when popular meetings were everywhere threatening the public tranquillity-if a pococurante Premier can, from carelessness or from weakness, be drawn into giving to the brutal and abominable tenets of universal community the appearance, however false or flimsy, of Royal and minis-1 terial sanction-if, we say, we are to be Lord Melbourne had neither by his priexposed to such an unnatural perversion, vate nor political inclinations any tenor such a miserable abandonment, of the dency towards Robert Owen, whom he powers and duties of a government presented to the Queen-nor Mr. Spring who or what shall be safe or sacred? Rice for Mr. Vincent, at whose unstamped where will there be any security for pro- periodical he connived;-nor even Lord perty or for life-for the honour of men John Russell, with his all natural and hereor for the chastity of women-for the ditary Whiggism, any violent affection existence of religion-for the authority for Mr. Frost, whom he exalted,-any of law-for any bond of human society-more than Lord Normanby for Mr. O'Con

We do not mean to palliate their errors their ambition, their selfishness, their folly, their party spite-which drove them to employ as agents evil spirits which are now become their masters. When they found they could not command the support of the more legitimate foundation of governments-property and intelligence they looked for help to physical force, agitation, and disorganization:

Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo.''