The Press.
London, England, 1858-07-24 00:00:00

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is now certain and serious among the Liberals
This makes the plaition of the Government
greatly stronger. But, then, if some of the
Liberals refuse to follow Lord PALWEINTON any
longer—declaring that " he is no trite Liberal "
there are also those among the Consrvatives4o
begin to fear for the truth and faisikraWess of the
Government, and to ask, " Is it sincerely Con-
servative?"
As another instance and proof tic these at-
tracting doubts, we observe, while we write, that
Mr. G. C. GLYN has just visited his e(onstitttents,
and "referring to the present position of the
"Government, he charged them with sacrificing
"principle to place, and honesty to expediency :
" adding that they were led to a very great extent
"by a man whom he respected, but whose prin.
" aples he did not think conducive to the dignity
"or honour of this country ; he meant Mr.
" BRIGHT."

Now Mr. GLYN is not a sharp and unscrupulous
assailant—a Duncomhe or a Roebuck. And we are
sorry to find that such a man can deem it at all
justifiable to represent to his constituents, that a
Derby Administration is " led to a very great
"extent by Mr. BRIGHT." Not that we give any
credence to the story; but that we regret that it
should be possible to moot such a supposition in
the hearing of an English audience, without
raising shouts of unextinguishable laughter. Mr.
BRIGHT we believe to be a sturdy English Round-
head. He would have no Established Church ;
he would have no House of Lords; and we doubt
if he would allow more than a life interest to the
present occupant of the Throne. Is it not strange,
therefore, to hear such a supposition, as that Mr.
BRIGHT leads the present Administration, put
forward without being instantly hooted at as a
monstrous absurdity ?
Lord PALMERSTON, however, is cashiered----he
is past and gone, as a leader of the Liberals. It
scarcely seems a possibility that he should ever
regain the confidence of that party. Lord DERBY,
on the other hand, has advanced—has immensely
advanced, during the last three months—in
every point except one. But the surrender of
that one point—a point on which many hearts
were set—has deeply grieved many of his best
supporters. And in this doubtful and divided
condition, Parliament is about to separate, and a
six months' vacation to commence, during which,
preparations, on both aides, of the most critical
importance, will be made, to meet Parliament,
in January next, under other and probably very
different circumstances.

"LEGAL TRAVELLING EXPENSES."
THE House of Commons has recently been puz-
zling itself very unnecessarily over a question
which, taken hold of by the wrong end, proves
itself a very difficult one, but which, if rightly
handled, might be solved in a moment.
Property in England being widely distributed,
in large and small parcels, among the middle
classes, it follows of necessity that the persons
entitled to vote in counties in right of property
are found scattered all over the kingdom. In
Middlesex, for instance, there are, we believe,
some 1,200 or 1,500 voters registered, whose resi-
dences are in various places, far from Middlesex.
Scotland and Ireland, France and Germany,
contain registered voters for Middlesex. And
hence, when an election takes place, the question
immediately arises,—lf these electors are to be
brought up to Middlesex to give their votes, at
whose expense are the journeys to be performed ?
Two brothers, resident in Durham, write up
to the committee to say that they are quite wil-
ling to come up and give their votes for Lord
R. CatosvErion, or Lord CHELSEA, but that the
journey and return will cost, for the two, about
151. Will the committee defray that expense ?
hitherto the answer has generally been—" Yes,
all legal expenses will be paid" ; and thus, in
every Middlesex contest, the mere item of tra-
velling expenses for "out-county voters" has
always amounted to several hundreds of pounds.
Within the last year or two this question has
been mooted in the courts of law, and so much
doubt has been thrown upon it that a new Act
of Parliament seemed necessary; and, accor-
dingly, the House of Commons has recently been
mumbling and chewing this hard morsel—What

arc "legal travelling expenses," and how are
they to be paid ?
Yet, surely, a looker-on from a distance would
be very apt to airy, What an idle and foolish dis-
cussion I " Travelling expenses !"—why travel ?
Do railway conipanies oblige their sharehold
to come from ell parts of England to give th
votes ? No, indeed, they are not so silly. Th
have provided fir the coma by an Act of Parr •i ,
ment. They have got stamped proxies; and thus,
for a few pounds, the Whole thing is better done
than it could be kiy thIS outlay of hundreds. And,
with this example before them, bow is it that
members of Parliament cannot have regard
enough to their own pockets, and to the pockets
of their friends and supporters, to frame a similar
system ?"
But would not this "open the door to elec-
tioneering frauds " ? Most certainly not. The
door for such frauds cannot be opened any wider
than it is at present. For instance, at a Middle-
sex election, a booth is opened on the highway
at Charing-cross, and six clerks are placed there
to receive any votes that offer. The list of voters
who have a right to poll at that booth contains
the names of persons residing in every county in
England, all of whom are utterly unknown to
the poll-clerks. A respectable-looking man ap-
pears at the polling-desk. " Your name, sir ?"
John Simpson." " Your number ?" " 3,241."
" Oh, John Simpson, Bicester, Oxon ?" " Yes."
The name is entered. " Who do you poll %I.?"
"Lord —or Mr. —." A declaration (no
oath) is given, and all is done. Now we ask,
supposing the disposition to commit a fraud to
exist, how is it possible to offer greater facilities
than those which here exist ? Let any man o f
loose morals desire to help any one of the can-
didates at a Middlesex election, and he has only
to select his assumed names well from the re-
sister of voters, and poll early, and he may give,
if he pleases, a vote, in different names, at each
of the twelve or fourteen polling-places before
two o'clock on the day of election.
Voting by proxy might be fenced round with
many more defences than now exist in the case of
voters in person. Voters at the poll-book, as at
present, are wholly unknpwn to the vote-takers,
in 99 cases of 100. gut'Soters by proxy might
be forced to sign the parchment-proxies, in the
presence of a magistrate to whom they were
personally known. That magistrate might then
be empowered and enjoined himself to transmit
the vote by post to the returning officer. In
every respect, this way of voting might be made
far more safe than the present mode; and by this
course, the two brothers at Durham, whose case
we have above described, might record their
votes for their favourite candidate at a cost of
10s.,—instead of spending three days in a journey,
and incurring an outlay of 1.51.
Why is not so simple a remedy at once applied ?
Is it from a lurking fear, anywhere, of making
elections too cheap ? This can hardly be the case,
for, of late, county election-bills have shown such
a tendency to increase in amount, as to call loudly
for some check. We can perceive no other
reason for the neglect than this—that Govern-
ments are overworked, and active members of
Parliament are too busy ; and so the thing is left
undone. But, surely, it is a stranse specimen of
the skill and contrivance of the nineteenth cen-
tury, that a man in Orkney or in Berlin, having
a vote for Norfolk, and wishing much to give it
to his friend, should have no other means of
performing an act which occupies one minute, than
by taking a journey of3oo or 400 miles, and back,
to do that which might be better done by a
properly attested Power of Attorney.

AN EMBANKMENT OF THE THAMES.
Tak Main Drainage of London will now be
taken in hand, and before July in 1859 great
works in tunnelling will be in progress in many
parts of London. And this will render it abso-
lutely necessary to decide, once for all, on the
subject which we have placed at the head of this
article. If an Embankment of the Thames is to
take place at all, it must be decided upon now.
If the Main Drainage is effected without an
embankment, then an embankment we shall
never sec.

That .
an immesh*,
matter,"
But, as
diffteulf
Board
but it
of the
Theie
. owlish
or thrge
these, it
it would
work.
An .
important
it almost
Board
to Will

miles of ,
one, but it wouli
main difficulty
the course
it now -

fingers, all
Some of these

wharf
be innumerab)
enough to
fortune
An
large twill)
series of •
date the
thirdly,
the public
effected,
stopping
being.
permit, ,
a liberal
perhaps
Probably

mere mason
three -
hazardous
banded •
we ought
meat without
outlay -
We
We do
thrown
prudent, ._
an undertaking,
Board
money
Would
for five years
it would
was so
Dublin and
ehester,
Would
of Q. or
has been
Drainage,
of sheer
the river
was not '
)iipply a
leeived •
still larger
additional
required
There
is prodigiously
by an f
similar

that tax
made several
remain

and the means
Embankment
could be calmly
inhabitants the
a great -
tax remain,
So thinking,
ginning ,
be submi
other pal
the coal-t
effect this
want. B€
Metropolitan

iat an Emlnealtment of the river would be
=ewe improvement of the Metropolis, is a
er about which there cannot be two opinions,
as the advantage would be great, so are the
aides great also. In the Metropolitan
I of Works the question was often mooted;
t was, always put down by the remonstraneeß
e pider and mbre experienced members,e always urged that the Board had quite
gh before it, in the Main Drainage, and two
rep new streets ; and that if, in addition to
it undertook an Embankment of the river,
aldliebn find itself overwhelmed with the
Embankment of the river is so great and
tint a question, that, if undertaken at all,
nost dbserves, and requires, a separate
or Commission. If the task were merely
Id quays and terraces along two or three
of naked banks, the wogriTtpuld be a great
ait it would be of a simple elmiracter. The
difficulty in the case as it exists, is, that in
kurse of two or three miles of the river,
r runs, you find four or five hundred what..
s, all whose claims you have to deal with.
of these will demand 20,0001. for a single
Aad law suits and Chancery suits will
Lumerable. The soliCitor who was happy
h to be employed, would make a decent
to in the next five years.
Embankturnt iiniplies, of course, first, a
tunnel, to , carry oft the sewage; then a
of wharfs, shrove the tunnel, to accommo-
he riverside trade oft the,inetropolis ; and
', a carriage-way, above all, for the nse
Lblic at large.. Now, all this could not be
d, in front of any exititing:Wharg without
ng the trade of that.~ for the time
And this stoppage, the owner would not
t, unless you bought his wharf or gave him
ral compensation for the stoppage and
is destruction of his trade.
bably —we speak unprofessionally the
nation's work might be effected for two or
millions sterling. But it would be
lons to estimate the compensation. de-
xl at less than an equal amount. Hence
;ht not to think :OC.* Thames. Embank-
without associating with it the idea et:an
of five millions sterling.
do not say that this ought to deillifitel•
not think that five millions wad& he
a away on such a work. But it wcwaid be
it, before seriously contemplating such
[dertaking, to ask, as the .Metropolitan
of Works has asked, " Where is the
to come from ?"
aid Parliamenycite it Million per annum
e.37ears for melt a work We strppose that
la not„'isiii-iTetV the hale FprLondon
30 imfor6ved lit The cost of the nation,
and flAinburgh, mid Glas)glits end Man-
r, would soon claim td 'belittle:Med also.
aid the metropolis submit tq . another rate
or 6d. in the pound ? A threepenny rate
een quit* contemplated for the Main
ige, becanse that work was regarded as one
!I' necessity. To go on as we were, with
rer emitting a fearful stench every summer.
it to be thought of. So the proposal to
a remedy at a cost of 3,000,0001. was re-
without a dissentient voice. But would a
rger rate be
for
submitted to—an
.nal rate, and for a matter not absolutely
ed ? We think that it would not.
re remains only one other course. rark
Ligiously Unproved, chiefly by funds raised
octroi. In London we have only. one
• tax—that upon coals. By the aid of
x we have built one noble bridge, and
several new streets. Only, let that tax
as it av for another thirty er.
ikeif years,
ie means are at once' plowed for an
'lament of the Thames. If this question
be calmly put to the most intelligent
rants of the metropolis, we believe that
t majority would replyi—Let the ca-
non-4 and let the river be embanked,
pinking, we should be glad if; at the be-
st of the next session, the question could
imitted to the London Corporation mid
public bodies, whether, in their opinion,
il-duties might be continued, in order to
his particular object. But here we feel a
Beside the London Corporation and the
iolitan Board of Works, we have scarcely

another public body in the metropolis competent
to answer such a question. We feel, on such an
occasion as this, the. want of municipal c3r-
porations in Westminster, Southwark, and
3larylebone.

THE RELATION OF THE ESTABLISHED
CHURCH TO THE CONSTITUTION.
A CERTAIN set of men, made bold by apparent
success in their anti-Church-rate agitation, begin
to speak very plainly in regard to their ulterior
and real designs. " The abolition of Church-rates,"
they say, "is not a final measure. It recognizes
and embodies a principle of civil equality in re-
gard to religious matters which may be applied
in a large variety of ways; and the nascent power
of Liberalism is intent on so applying it, as op-
portunity occurs." The meaning. of this ob-
viously is, that they intend to agitate next for
the separation of the Church from the State, in
order to bring down the Established Church
front the exalted position which it occupies, in
its recognized union with the State, and to reduce
it to the level of Dissent.
This being the case, it may be well for us to
point out what is the real nature and effect of
the union of the Church with the State ; or,
rather, what is the relation in which the Estab-
lished Church stands to the Constitution.
It seems not to be considered by those who
would separate the Church from the State, that
the union of the Church with the State is essen-
tial to our free Constitution ; for the Established
Church of this country contains exactly that
degree of liberty, with exactly that degree of
subjection, which fits a people for living under a
limited Monarchy. Dissent is suited only to a
Republican Government—from a Republican
spirit it springs, and to Republicanism it tends.
The liberties of England, it ought never to be for-
gotten, are coeval with the establishment, under
its present form, of the Church of England.
So identified, for this reason, has the Church
become with the State in the minds of the Eng-
lish people that they scarcely ever mention the
one without mentioning the other. Hence
"Church and State" have become "household
words" amongst us, conveying the idea of some-
thing as inseparable as man and wife. Their
relation is, indeed, very much of the same cha-
racter as that of the marriage union; for by it the
State is solemnly consecrated, and set apart as a
sacred thing, to be kept free from all the cor-
ruptions of falsehood, fraud, deception, violence,
injustice, tyranny, and every kind of unchristian
oppression. Against all these the Church, by its
incorporation with the State, bears a direct,
though tacit, protest. And this consecration of
the State, he it observed, by a State religious
establishment, is necessary to act as a wholesome
check upon the feelings, the passions, and the
private interests of free citizens ; because, in
order to their freedom, they must enjoy a certain
portion of power, and, in order to their not
abusing that power, they require to be put under
the restraints of religion. " All persons pos-
" sensing any portion of power," as it has been
remarked by a great writer, " ought to be
" strongly and awfully impressed with an idea
" that they act in trust, and that they are to
" account for their conduct in that trust to the
" one great Master, Author, and Founder of
" society." In a free country, then, like ours,
with a constitutional form of government, a
Church connected with the State is even more
necessary than in countries under a despotic
government, where the people have no power,
or in those under a pure Republic, where their
power resolves itself into their own will.

To say that Government has nothing to do
with religion—that it is an engine constituted
only for civil ends, and has no higher functions
than imposing taxes and settling questions of
revenue, &c., is to introduce quite a new doctrine,
and one that will not bear examination for a
moment. In the Old Testament Scriptures we
find a national religion sanctioned and established,
under the express authority of Deity—not
certainly, for the purpose of making the Church
political, but the State religious ; •and in the New
Testament we find nothing to contravene this
arrangement in regard to Christianity, when any
?Lotion or kingdom should conic to acknowledge
it as the true religion. Men (rulers among the
rest) are still the same, and require to be