The Press.
London, England, 1856-10-25 00:00:00

1010

the Reform Club, failed to obtain his election
when started for Dublin after his ejection in
1841 from the West Riding. How comes it
that Roman Catholics should be appointed to
the stipendiary magistracy of that city in the
proportion of six to three ?
We must also record our conviction that
the present Lord Chancellor is introducing to
the county magistracy of Ireland, a most pecu-
liar class al Ps. No one should be made a
county magistrate unless he be a gentleman
by position and general repute We indicate
the status which may be expected from a justice
of peace, when we say that he should have
such social standing as to make it natural to
see him in the country gentleman's club of his
neighbourhood. It is asserted, on what we be-
lieve to be good authority, that Lord Chan
cellor BRADY has gone too far in lowering the
rule by which magistrates are selected. We
are further assured that there is a perfect fever
amongst the Roman Catholics to become
justices of the peace. If a man by praise-
worthy industry in a shop puts together a
small parcel of money, and invests part of
it in a farm, the priests of his district at once
.desire to certify him as one of the county
gentry. The poor man himself does not care
for it, but he is told that he must "stand up
" for Catholic rights ;" and then half a dozen
.Boman Catholic members of Parliament are in-
voked ; every Romanist in the Castle who can
be reached is entreated to " put in his word ;"
the Lord Chancellor is assailed with certifi•
ca.tes, memorials, and deputations from circuit-
going "counsellors;" the!question of ":respeet-
ability" is then discussed, and in many cases is
decided in favour of the noisiest and sturdiest
claimants. So far has this deterioration gone
that Roman Catholics of indisputable rank and
standing have, in some parts of Ireland, de-
clined the now questionable " honour " of be-
coming a J. P. under the present system.
They have preferred to wait, and " get it from
the Tories," as some of them have said.
We call attention to these important matters
animated by no sectarian feeling, but we hold
that it is time for the Conservatives to be more
vigilant, while attempts are made apparently
with the design to push the Protestants of he
land out of their legitimate social influence.
Let it be recollected, as stated by us for-
merly, that out of the twelve Irish judges only
four have been taken from the Conservative
Bar; although that Bar is far superior in pro-
fessional celebrities and numbers to the
Liberal Bar. Eight to four on the judicial
bench, and six to three on the police magis-
tracy, of Romanists and pro-Romanists against
Conservatives and Protestants, is a most un-
fair and unpopular organisation of offices. it
would certainly seem as if certain political in-
fluences were steadily employed to depress
and damage the Protestant interest in Ireland.
It is when such onesided patronage takes
place that independent persons become cen-
sorious about the Viceregal patronage which
has been ostentatiously employed upon purely
Roman Catholic charities, conventual bazaars,
and such similar societies. At other times
people would not notice such things; but,
taken in connection with the official patronage
of the Viceroy, the Protestant public mind be-
comes distrustful, and trust in the firmness of
the Executive becomes diminished.
Lord CARLISLE is a most amiable and ac-
complished nobleman, for whose private cha-
racter just esteem is felt. But there are
certain influences at Dublin Castle which, we
fear, warp him from the course which a Vice-
roy should steer; and in the memory of living
men never was the influence of Dublin Castle
so steadily exercised as now in the Roman
Catholic direction. For some time past all
the nominations have leant to the Roman
Catholic side. Mr. JOHN O'CONNELL slipped
into his brother-in-law's lucrative post, as if by
hereditary right. A bevy of Mr. Sergeant
MURPHY'S relatives are quartered on the public
purse. Twice in succession the Attorney-
Generalship of Ireland has been given to
Roman Catholics ; and all this systematic
distribution of offices is taking place when
the Roman Catholic constituencies refuse to
elect even " Liberal Protestants," and when
they unite all their forces to drive the Con-
. scrvattve gentry out of the political repre-
'imitation of the country.

SATURDAY,

We are bound, however, to add that in the
case of this inquiry the instances are not fre-
quent in which the Comptroller of the Exche-
quer was satisfied to give expression to his
opinions in the shape of a single assent or
dissent. If the question is long, the answer
is generally found to increase in its dimen-
sions accordingly, and in wading through the
evidence the wearisome repetition of long
questions, followed by long answers, impresses
itself painfully as the feature of this inquiry.
We must enable such of our readers as happen
to have access to the Blue -book to exemplify
our remark by one or two references. In
illustration of the ponderous and argumenta-
tive style of question and answer, if our reader
will turn to page 275, he will find a question
(2768) put by the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHE-
QUER, occupying half a page, and the answer
occupying the remaining half page ; or let him
open the book at page 270, and hP will find an
interesting history of prisage and lutterage in
England and Ireland, given in more than two
pages of questions, by the same learned states-
man. There is, however, one other feature in
this inquiry which we must also notice. The
members of the committee generally appear to
have stood in the position of being the
audience, or as bystanders. Occasionally,
Sir JAMES GRAHAM, Sir HENRY WILLOUGHBY,
or Mr. HENLEY, managed to put in a question;
but the whole affair was a conflict between the
Exchequer and therrreasury—the Treasury, in
the person of Mr. WILSON, and we admit with
great talent, assailing the Exchequer with
sharp questions, and the Exchequer retorting
upon the Treasury with ponderous replies. It
is much to be regretted that the inquiry
should he overloaded with this departmental
antagonism; for the subject-matter is one of
great public importance, and respecting which
the public are very ill-informed. Seventy or
eighty millions a year received and paid away
is no light matter. There is not an individual
in the whole community whom it does not
affect, and yet we venture to state that even
among our most intelligent classes there is
scarcely any one who possesses anything like
an accurate notion of the instrumentality by
which this immense sum is received and dis-
bursed, and of the checks which exist to secure
its proper receipt, appropriation, and pay-
ment. We purpose—though the task, for the
reasons we have stated, is somewhat heavy—
to extract from the 400 pages of questions and
answers, and the 400 additional pages of appen-
dices, such information as will enable our
readers to understand the mechanism of our
eighty millions of public monies.

THE MAINE LIQUOR LAW
AGITATION.
NOTHING can more strongly show the social
stagnation of the political world as the fact
that so much attention has been given to the
agitation for compulsory teetotalism got up
by the British Alliance. The clear and logical
arguments adduced by Lord STANLEY upon the
subject nearly exhaust all that can be said
upon it. Undeterred by argument, and ex-
cited by enthusiasm, the cause of dictatorial
teetotalism is worked with increased energy
by its advocates. It has got its platform in
England ; it has opened business in the Free-
trade Hall of Manchester, and it has its
stipendiary lecturers. We foresee that we
shall have a stunning clamour on the subject,
and itinerant lecturers will carry on a vigorous
war against the " Licensed Victuallers " and
their patrons of all classes. It is well for us,
therefore, to consider the subject in detail.
Alchemists did much for chemistry, and
phrenologists hive done something for moral
science, and in a similar fashion we do not
doubt but that indirect good may accrue
from the persevering efforts of an organised
alliance against drunkenness. But the
" United Kingdom Alliance " is of too exagge-
rated a character, and the views of its pro-
moters partake largely of extravagance. They
overlook climate, prescriptions, customs, and
last, not least, the exhaustion resulting from
the excessive work forced from our Anglo-