The Express.
London, England, 1852-02-02 00:00:00

THE BISHOP OF LONDON AND MR. GLAD-

STONE.
On Saturday the Bishop of London declared his
views and intentions with reference to the proceedings he
is adopting against the Rev. Mr. Gladstone, minister of the
Episcopal Chapel, Long Acre. An address had been pre-
sented to his lordship on Thursday, signed by the parochial
clergy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, namely, Henry Mac-
kenzie, vicar; J. G. Gifford, M.A. incumbent of St. Mat-
thew's, Spring-gardens; A. G. Edouard, M.A., incumbent
of St. Michael's, Burleigh-street ; W. C. llabington, M.A.,
incumbent of St. John's Broad-court; Sydney Clark,
M.A., senior curate of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields ; 8. J. G.
Fraser, 8.A., curate of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields; Edward
Ferrier, 8.A., ditto. After condemning the policy pur-
sued by their brother clergyman, these gentleman say:
" Most of us having ourselves been among the very
earliest to address your lordship on the occasion of the late
papal aggression, in language impossible to be misunder-
stood, we feel ourselves above any imputation of encourag-
ing Itonsanising views or popish doctrines, whether in or
out of the church ; and we declare our unhesitating convic-
tion that the inhibition your lorilship has felt yourself com-
pelled to issue has been for an offence on Mr. Gladstone's
part, not of a doctrinal, but of a disciplinal character. We
have had experience among ourselves that your lordship
does not require us to frame our preaching by any pro-
crustean rule, nor to lay down any definition of doctrine
more stringent than the articles of our national church ;
and wo are convinced, should Mr. Gladstone express sorrow
fur the warmth and impropriety of his language, and for
the disobedience of which he has been guilty to slighting
his diocesan's munitions, and promise to restrain himself
henceforward within the bounds of ' decency and order,'
that your lordship would even yet withdraw the inhibition
that has been issued."

On Fiatunlay, as wo have stated, the Bishop transmitted
his reply is the following note:
"London House, Jan. SI, 18.52.
"MST. isjin Than BItETIMEN' —I have received with
much satisfaction the address you have presented to me. It
expresses sentiments in which I cordially concur, and,
, should Mr. Gladstone be willing to act in the way you indi-
eat!, I should be perfectly ready to pass over his previous
indiscretions, and to withdraw my inhibition, which was
not issued till every method of indecing him to acknowledge
the impropriety of his having attacked his ecclesiastical
superiors from the pulpit had been tried in vain. It was
the place and time of that attack which made it my duty to
call him to account. You justly observe that ' conduct like
his, if unrestrained, would he subversive of all discipline in
the church.' Without, therefore, some guarantee for his
future orderly conduct, the ecclesiastical law must necessa-
rily take its course.—l am, your affectionate brother,
(Signed) "C. J. Lonnote"

NEW MILITARY HOSPITAL AT PORTSMOITTIL—The
Board of Ordain's° has accepted the tender of Messrs. Locke
and Neshens, builders, of London, for the erection of the
new military hospital at Portsmouth. It to be situated
adjoining the ramparts, opposite Lion-terrace, Ponies.
TUB MINISTRY AND TOE REFORM BILL—In the
course of an article on this subject, the Observer says:—
There are still four offices connected closely with the ad-
ministration to be announced on the eve of the meeting of
parliament : the Secretary at Wur, the offices of Paymaster-
General and Vice-President of the Board of Trade (com-
bined, with only one salary), an Under-Secretary of State,
and a Lord of the Admiralty—and there may bo one—or
' even two—changes more. But thee will be all, we be-
' lieve—as we stated some weeks back—from the ranks of the
liberal party, which their opponents are so kindly anxious
to divide. The Under-Secretary, its we stated, cannot, by
law and usage, be • Member of the House of Commons, the
other two Under-Secretaries, W. Bouverie and Mr. Peel, be-
ing members of the lower house. Although the names of the
two other more important additions to the government will
probably not be formally announced before the moving of
the new writs in the House of Commons, on Tuesday, on
their acceptance of office, we shall not be much surprised to
find that one of them will be a gentleman of already proved
ability and experience in a cognate office; and that the
appointment of the other will give an opportunity of testing
the opinions of a large and popular constituency, regarding
the measures and character of the government, which are
derteribed-Lby their several opponents and rivals—as on the
eve of political bankruptcy. Now, we venture to amen,
that whatever impression prevails that this article of the
rinses is founded upon any authorised communication of
the contents of the proposer' Reform Bill is entirely in-
correct. It is entire imaginative. A few days will con-
vince the public that the chimerical outline, which for
purposes of ridicule has thus been exhibited, deserves not to
he ranked even as a caricature of the proposed lie-
form Bill. It would be, indeed, believing too much to
suppose that no disfranchisement were to take place, when
Harwich, St. Albans, and Sudbury cry out to Heaven fur
amendment, if not for vengeance. Then, indeed, the St.
Albans inquiry would be totally thrown away, and all the
lessons of election committees upon the truly rotten
boroughs of our later day would be lost, and of no avail.
We believe that there will be disfranchisement, and en-
franchisement too. We believe that on this part of the
subject our generally well-informed cuntempuraiy is led
astray, or is the dupe of his own misgivings, without taking
Into account the honest,- of a minister who would not pro-
pose a reform before the time was ripe, but who is far too
earnest a reformer to pledge the Queen's government to a
" mockery, a delusion, and a snare ;" or to commit the
great party who have selected him as their leader to any
measure unworthy of their reputation or his own. We be-,
lieve, further, that it is not the intention of the govern-
ment to throw a crude or an abortive measure before tho
country. On the contrary, we feel nssured that the cabinet
councils so much complained of have been engaged upon a
measure worthy of themselvis and of the country.
THE NEW Hot'sES or PARLIAMENT.—On Friday
night, at 10 o'clock, the new iioll9lll of Parliament and the
various approaches to them were lighted up with gas. In
the royal gallery there are plaster statues temporarily placed
in the niches where the marble ones will mend when they
are finished, so ex to give an air of enmpleteness to the
place. 'Thu passages are all laid with a new kind of
gutta percha covering, to reprewnt oil cloth. Lord Seymour
was there, accompanied by Mr. lt.,rry, end afterwards went
with Dr. Reid to see his heating apparatus.
NI. 'Nit:lts was last week on n visit for a few days
at Lord Ashburton's seat, the Orange, Hunt,. On 11:s
return towards town, he went over Winchester Cathedral.