THE MANCHESTER MAMMONITES, AND THE NEW ZEALAND GRANT. (From the "Butannia.")

New Zealander, Volume 7, Issue 593, 20 December 1851, Page 3

THE MANCHESTER MAMMONITES, AND THE NEW ZEALAND GRANT. (From the "Butannia.")

It is not always in long and stirring debates that the true spirit of parties comes out in greatest force and sharpness of outline. The most reckless are guarded in their language when they suspect all ears are listeiiing, and many arc ready to

interpret, judge, and acquit or condemn. But in. those side debates which are not so exposed to the inquisition of the public mmd — in the by roads as it were of parliamentary life — where the travellers are few, the reporters indifFerent, and the Argus eyes of the constituency are sleepy from long watching the more blazing and attractive oratorical displays, we catch the true spirit, the aim, and designs of those political parties, and fragments of parties, that hover over the dying Parliament till the last moment. New Zealand was the subject of a short conversation in the House the other evening. Mr. Ilawcs advocated the grant usually proposed, on mercantile and commercial views neither unimportant nor unworthy of reference. Mr. Pliunptre took the higher, and to us, we confess, the most important view — the religious bearing and significance of it. The Coryphaeus of the Manchester school suspected that the awful wickedness was about to be perpetrated of devoting some portion of the grant to religious purposes, and forthwith struck in with eloquent reclamations against such waste of the people's money, and in order to evince the thoroughly irreligious temper of a school of which he is the chief exponent, he " objected to the spreading of the doctrines of their faith, either through the operations of government, or by force of arms (which last method nobody had advocated.) He would leave the spread of Christianity to the voluntary exertions of benevolent individuals." All this arose from the proposition to continue a vote of .£6OO a-ycar toward the maintenance of a Protestant Bishop in New Zealand. These Manchester M.P.'s are pure Mammonites. Their hearts are in the " diggings." Their paradise is California. Gold in their creed is the cause of all good— the cure of all evils — the ultimatum of all happiness. Let Pio Nino and Cardinal Wiseman parcel out the realm into Papal provinces, it does not matter if our cotton mills still go on. Let religion be neglected at home, and perish in our colouies, who cares, if oui 1 taxes diminish, and bread is a half-penny cheaper per quartern loaf. In the minds of these men, education means the teaching of the way of making most money in the shortest time, religion the duty of the cotton-lord to exact all he can from his subjects, and the obligation of the miserable workwomen to give up health, and home, and life, to enrich the mill -owner. Statesmanship means exposing the country to any aggression, insult, or defiance, in order to flourish with fewer soldiers and a mutilated navy. Import from New Zealand cheap cotton, and the Manchester Mammonites will defend and uphold our connexion witli it. Propose to send Bibles and Christian teachers to its miserable inhabitants, and these economists grudge the outlay of sixpence. Money seems their religion. Their motto is — Rem recte si possis, sinon, rem. The sooner such a school is dismissed by the constituencies, branded by public sentiment, and. either reclaimed or sent to its beloved Francisco, the better. We advocate as strongly as they can do a severe economy, but we do not believe that wealth will uphold the internal prospei-ity and grandeur of England, or perpetuate to her coming generations the heritage of their fathers. It did not so preserve Home, or Venice, or Portugal and Spain. There are things more precious than gold. There are elements of prosperity not to be dug from the deepest mines. Many a Sunday-school child in Mr. Cobden's constituency can tell him where these are to be found.