The Press.
London, England, 1856-09-06 00:00:00

842

tion of large classes out of doors. It is worthy
of note that the people of Manchester invited
him to preside at one of the anniversaries of
their Athenwum, and the brilliant speech on
that occasion showed how deeply the whole
social problem had been studied by him ; and
even the Spectator recorded its philosophic
approbation of his address at Manchester.
Even his fictions proved how much social phe-
nomena were studied by their author.
Not only was Mr. DISRAELI the first to speak
about " Administrative Reform," but he was
the first also to touch with critical precision
on the true nature of the disease of our offi-
cial system. " The want of spiritual rewards "
in the Civil Service leaves subordinates with-
out the hope of fame, and their ardour is not
called forth by the ideal excitement of
honourable distinction. On that defect in our
official system Mr. DISRAELI cast powerful
light in his speech on the subject in Parlia-
ment ; and we assert that no other public man
has so repeatedly given proofs that " social
questions " were so constantly present to his
mind as the Member for Bucks. Such sub-
jects are fatiguing, and involve much consi
deration of intricate details, and we must do
Mr. DISRAELI'S detractors the justice of ob-
serving that most of them acknowledge " the
labour" and " capacity for hard work" of Mr.
DISRAELI. Such qualities, combined with vast
social knowledge, and continued study of the
subject (as evidenced in a series of thought-
ful speeches), gives the Member for Bucks the
most powerful claims for being heard with the
greatest respect on a subject which he was the
first to invest with practical importance.

THE CONSERVATIVES AND THE
CHURCH OF ENGLAND.
THE two great parties into which the Church
of England is divided are in turn broken up
into a variety of sections, each more or less
strongly marked with its own peculiarities,
according to its distance from that central
mean where High Church and Low Church
imperceptibly melt into each other. At pre-
sent we are concerned with only two of thes e
many subdivisions,—those who assert, on the
one hand, that he cannot be a sincere Pro
testant who would not repeal the Maynooth
grant, and those who maintain, on the other,
that he cannot be a sound Churchman
who would not revive Convocation. Both
unite, as extremes often do, in viewing the
Conservative party with some degree of cold-
ness and distrust; and, as we promised in our
article of last week, we shall now proceed to
consider the causes of this estrangement,
and what we believe to be the true way of
meeting it. It is to the latter class of mal-
contents we shall address ourselves on the
present occasion.
Had it not been for the unfortunate rupture
in the Conservative ranks, occasioned by the
repeal of the Corn Laws, it is possible that
this source of dissatisfaction might never have
occurred. But it so happened that among
t'ie body of gentlemen who adhered to the
late Sir ROBERT PEEL were to be found many
of those names which a party in the Church
had long been accustomed to regard as their
especial friends. When, therefore, the separa
tion took place, the eyes of this party naturally
rather followed the movements of those who
stood aloof from, than those who still consti-
t ited, the ancient Conservative body As
events progressed, matters grew worse. Scme
few of the more astute and ambitious spirits
began to perceive the advantage which might
accrue to them from this opportunity of ad-
vocating a high sacerdotal theory behind the
m isk of political liberalism. The effect of
the conduct to which this idea gave rise is still
♦isible both among the clergy and laity, but
happily as it was shared by none of our more
experienced and judicious Churchmen, so we
are glad to perceive that its disciples are daily
growing fewer; while the divine who has been
the recognised head of the party we are now
ad lressing ever since the first publication of
the " Tracts for the Times " is known to be
totaily opposed to it.