Scottish Protestantism. [From the "Britannia"]

New Zealander, Volume 7, Issue 587, 29 November 1851, Page 4

Scottish Protestantism. [From the " Britannia "]

Mb. Chambers, the author of many interesting papers for young people, weaned, it seems, of speaking to the young, addicted the old very lately through the Times newspaper. His subject was " I'rotestantisiu in Scotland." Ihs line of thought, or rather his q. c. d. was the uttei indifference of the Scotch nation to anything of the soit, ami by implication then entne and exclusive dt-light with his own public .tions, winch are certainly verj five fiom Piotestint or othei religious elements.. Dr. Wiseman natuially enough sung si new Jubilate at so gratifying information; and Bishop iUuidoch and the other titulars of the north saw the certain piospoct of a Scotch hiciaichy, an Aichbishop of Edinburgh, aud red stockings for the new primate. John Hull looked on armupd, as he well might, that his sia'er Kate, once so furiously Piotf st.mt.had settled down so suddenly and so contentedly to the level ot the Piolestantism of Chumbei s' Mugazme. The authoi ol the infounation had clearly a monopoly of it. Nobody in Scotland had an) idea there was an atom of truth m his discovery. It puzzled his fellowcuuenstofiudout who could hive made Mr. Chambeis' new Piotestant thennoineter, by which he had gauged and ascertained, apparently without the possibility of error, the zero stale of Scottish Piotestantism. It was no less perplexing an inquiry to the good folks of Auld Reekie, what could have induced their '' respected townsman," as they call him, to keep his discovery seciet in his own capital and leveal it only m London. Was it a prospect of Peehio prefei merit ' Was it to encourage "1 he Giahanisl" Nobody knows. Mr. Chambeis has this seciet as well as the other in his own bosom. It may one day ooze out in " Papeis for the People," or in a speech at the hustings. A3 soon as the echo of Mr. Chambers' letter in the Tunes amved in Edinburgh, one of the largest Protestant meetings was held foithwitb. It was oowded, enthusiastic, and indignant that the Piotestantism of Scotland should be so misrepresented by a quondam candidate for their political favour. 'Iwo clergymen of the Church of Scotland, I\lr. Stevenson, of St. George*, and Mr. Ni&bet, of St. Giles's, made most able and effective speeches; two of tho old bianch of seceders and two of the new or Free Church branch followed with vigoious protests ag.unst the libel in the Twm ; Dr. Candlish cleverly hinting for the future guidance of Mr. Chambers, that a people who regaided Lord John's Bill as too feeble and faint an exponent of their feelings, were not likely to accept Mr. Chambers as their Protestant representative at next electiou. No sooner had Mr. Chambers heaid in his own to<M» the refutation and contiadiction of his foolish Jetrer,_and >» v^y uiimistakeable terms, than anothei explosion of Protestant indignation revet berates from Glasgow. A vast assemblage is crowdecT"R>gether in that commercial capital, and Eiotestants of all denominations meet and mingle their reclamations against a gioss m srepiesentntion of the national religious feeling. Dutufiies follows Glasgow, and 111 rapid succession the, Protestants of Scotland make known alike their mind and metal. Weie Mr. Chambers placed in a big dium, with a hundred drum-sticks descending on each end, he could not be entertained with moie agieeable thunder, or occupy a more enviable position, lie will get good irom all this. He will learn that his Protestantism for the people is not of the right sort. He may also save himself trouble and expense by making himself scarce at next election. His representation ot the Protestant people of Edinburgh in print is so unsatisfactory to them that they are not likely to risk his embodiment of it in Parliament. ' Our excellent townsman" will do well to continue writing papers for the people, aud to l«»ave others to make speeches for them m Parliament. His first representative attempt is quite euough. He has a iMt, let him stick to it.

The Great Exhibition. —Ay American Scutate. —Among the new schemes in America in connection with this descent upon our shores, is a lottery, under the dibgdise of " The Worlds-Fair Art-Union," limited to four thousand subscribers, eacU paying five dollars. Every subscuber is to receive on engraving of the intenor of the building as fitted up, and there are to be twenty-five first, and twenty-five second-class prizes; the firstclass prizes to be " a first cabin passage from New York to London and back, with eveiy requisite for the voyage, together with 100 dollars for expenses in London ; and each second-class prize will be a first cabin passage Iroiu New York to London and back, with every lequisite for the voyage." The advertisement, wlnrh we find m (he New York Day 800k } says: " We have taken the trouble to asceitain, by a careful j and elaboiutc estimate, (hat to produce an engraving woithy of this memorable occasion, and to make 4000 copits of it, would cobt at lea-it 5000 dollars. Por buch an engraving 1 the printsellers w«uld charge certainly 10 dollars, probably 15 dollars a copy, and pocket peihnps 20,000 dollars of profit. Instead, however, of letting this enorn*ous sum be bwallowed up by the printsellers, we will publish the engraving by cooperation; so that eacb subscriber can obtain a copy of it, at, to &ay the least, ono half the price the pi impeller would chaige, and then have a large sum to spare to j distnbute pwzeo." An American artist is to be sent j over.

The House of Commons on Monday Nichi, March 3 —-The gentle dew of mercy seldom disturbs the dust of St. Stephens On Monday night, when pad iotic placeman were in agonies on behalf of the coiintiy and their own salaiies, shouts of laughter were hcaid throughout the House. The least incident was seized upon as an excuse for a heartless peal. As the 500 honorable members who h.id assembled weie watching the h.inds of the clock, looking anxiously at the dooi to see if Loul John would be punctual to his appointment, and curiously scrutinising the countenances of such members of the late, and of the possible and probable futnic Governments, to try and glean something from their looks, Mr. Hayter, lose, and immediately a cry of ■' Order, order," sounded from all quaiters, and the whole House listened to the right lion, gentleman's words as though he were an oracle. Mr. Hayter said, in a solemn and particu laily measuicd voice,—" Sir. I move that you do issue your warrant for a new writ for the borough of Haiwich in the loom of the light lion. Sii John Cam Hobhouse, who has accepted the office of (hcie anticipation became awfully deep) the Stewardship of her Majesty's Chiltein Hundreds." A burst of laughter, loud and long, fol~ lowed this giave announcement. Again,the repoitcis tell us that Ihe second reading of the two Bills, fiist on the paper, the Improvement of 'I owns (Ireland) Bill, and the Metropolis Building Bill, »• were postponed amidst much laughter." But the incident which gave the most amusement was an unfortunate move on the part of Mr. Munckton Milnes. Just before Loid John's appealance Mr. Milnes cnteied the house, and, as if honi absence of mind, walked up to the vacant seat reserved for Loid John llusscll on the Trcasuiy benches, and was about to take it, when he peiceived his mistake and withdrew hastily " amid roais of laughter." It has been insinuated more thr.n once by the envious, that the lion, member for Pom ef) act "wanted a situation," but his ambition was novel supposed to leach the seat of the Fust

Loid of the Treasuiy. English and Scoich.—Unless whisky-drinking ben virtue noith of the Tweed it is difficult to make out the assumption of superior morality for the people of Scotland. If the traveller compare thp indications of civilisation in the middle and lower cl.i-sot, of the English and Scotch, ho will find himself obliged to confess that there i? a deficiency north of the Tweed, especially among the female half of the community, on whom

civilisation inimly depends, in tbosp smallei im<;es, habits, am! ways'of In my, wlmh add to the comfort and wollbpin4 of common civilised life. I here is a slultisl'iies" about the womankind and <tll the women's work in a Scotch dwelling of the lower, or even of tho jnidrlle-cl:i<s family —n, dirty eontentednoss of husband and wife, with any discomfort or nuisance of "be and wont—winch stands* lemaikably in contrast with the older, lesjulauty, tidine*-, and cleaning, dusting and scouring propensities of the housewives of the same classes in anj' Fiiqlisli town or village The Scotch people of the middle and lower cl.\s>os mt»y have more and better school instruction, me moie lehoious, nnd moie iniellectual in then 1 leligion, moie hut^.il and piudont, except in the use of spirituous liquors; but the English of the same classes live in a moie civilised way, are of more refined and civilised habits, are better biought up, although woise educated. Their rn.inneis towturis e.icb other, their habits ot re<*iid for others, and their self-respect, and the legulauty, nicety and spnit of Older in their households which pioceed fioni self'-rt'sppct, are more cultivated. The English i'enial.'s of those classes are brought up in their buck tenements to keep a cleaner and mo)e cheerful house, and a more regular housekeeping, on earning as small as the humus of the same class of labouiers <md tradesmen in Scotland. The table and tablecloth, the plate, and knife and folk, aie laid out with decent regul tiity and cleanliness, even in the pooio-t dwelling of the woik'n»;-man, should it only be to grace a dinner of bread and cheese. What a routing, and dnving, and bawling, and scolding, all the morning in a ' aiu' Scotch familythat keeps but one bare-logged servant lassie,' before things are got into any decent older! In England, in a small tradesman's or workiug-man's family, you wondei how the housewoik of the female—the sweeping, cleaning-, bedmaking, cooking, and such work —is done so quietly, and so nicely, with only the wife's pair of hands. All is in order, as if the fairy folk bad been helping all night with the scouring and rubbing. —Leung's Social State

«f Kin'fjie. Ciiangl hoii a Sovi RLiCfW —At Scliauff havisen there were, as umiul, many Englishmen who, also as usual, had n giowl about the moneys and the hotels. '' 1 have been making- myself piactically acquainted with the cuirency m a way of my own," said Smith, junior. — "How so?" inquired one of the gioup of travellers who were gossiping on the subject. —"l changed a sovereign," explained our heio, "at Ostend; and then changed what 1 got for it m Piussm; then changed that in the Duchy of Nassau; and that again in the free city of Fiankfort; and so on repeated the process m Baden and Bavaria—in fact, in each separate jurisdiction through which we passed. Theie it i&," said Smith, as he suited the action to the word by emptying the contents of liv. expou mental pocket upon the table. The exhibition looked very unpromising ceitainly. The gluteiing twenty-shilling piece left at Oatend was now represented by as ugly a collection of duty, worn, countei fell-looking- a jumble of silver and copper as ever .in Isiaehte counted out in the Jew's Lane, at Fiankfoit. —"Count it up,"said Smith the jounger. — '* Veiy good," said the Geuiiau, and ho began. " Five francs —ten —" said Smith. — •' Stop," said the German, "Swiss fiancs and Fiencli francs aie diflerent things — different values. I will tell you the woith of this heap." —He went to work to tell them over, and stated the result in batzen and lappen. —"And bow much is that woith in English slei ling coin V asked a bystander. —"Justfourteen shillings and a penny fartlunj," replied the German. —" What!" shrieked Smith. — '• Fourteen shillings, and a penny farthing, English/ repeated the German. —Household Woids.