The Press.
London, England, 1857-09-19 00:00:00

THE PRESS, SEPTEMBER 19,1857.

England who believe there is littlo difference
between the Church of England and the Roman
Catholic Church ; but are we therefore to have a
Catholic alliance in which English deans and
Popish priests shall kneel down and pray
together? The one would be exactly as
reasonable as the other; for the Church of
England is " the Holy Catholic Church " no
less than a Protestant one. It is indeed her
very Protestantism which now makes her
catholic. And it is just as false to suppose
that our Protestantism makes us all one with
Dissenters as that our catholicism makes us
all one with Popery.
We are most unfeignedly sorry that any
English clergyman should have been so ill-
advised as to act in this manner ; and we do
hope that some of the Church authorities will
take some opportunity of publicly protesting
against it.

THE WHIGS AND PEERAGE
JOBB ERY.
WITHIN the last few days a list has been
published of the peerages made by the Whigs
since they entered office in 1830. The
" families" have certainly taken care of their
own friends, and one most objectionable
practice of the Whigs in connection with the
granting of new titles is seen in the fact that
they have repeatedly given peerages to families
already ennobled. The Abercromby family
had a peerage already, but after four years
service as Speaker Lord DUNFERMLINE was
gazetted to a Barony. It may well be asked,
what did Lord DUNFERMLINE do that a second
peerage should be given to his family? Mr.
PONSONBY, once Member for Dorsetshire, was,
in 1838, created Lord De Manley, although
that family already had the Earldom of Bess-
borough and Barony of Ponsonby. A
Viscounty was given to the late Lord PON-
BONBY, who was our Minister at Constanti-
nople, and Lord MELBOURNE got the Barony of
" Beam-o.le " for his brother FREDERICK.
At the coronation of her Majesty the Irish
Lord LISMORE was raised to the English
peerage, his special pretensions consisting in
th.: facts of his near relationship to the
families of Grey and Ponsonby. For the sake
of political effect the Earl of MULGRAVE was
made Marquis of Normanby, though it may be
remarked, without offence, that the " House of
Phipps " has scarcely status for that elevated
rank. Graceful feelings of regard for an old
personal friend of the Queen's father induced
her Majesty to bestow th 3 Earldom of Leices-
ter on Mr. COKE ; but as we stood a short time
since in the picture-gallery at Penshurst, and
observed the portraits attesting the connection
between that title and the Sid neys, we wished
that Mr. Com'. had got some other honour
We d 9 not like touching on the social rank
of certain persons ennobled by the Whigs in
the last quarter of a century, but after sur-
veying the list our readers would probably
agree with us in thinking that peerages had
been given to some families without due con-
sideration. The late Sir HENRY PARNELL was
a most respectable and accomplished gentle-
man. In politics, he was too Radical for the
Whigs and too Whiggish for the Radicals ; he
was too theoretical for office, and too high-
spirited for a "popular leader." He wrote an
excellent handbook on road-making, and
he was a better specimen of the " Economists."
But what (lid he ever do that he should have
been raised to the peerage, while a Privy
Councillorship was refused to the much.
respected, but nearly-forgotten, JOSEPH HUMS?
In law peerages, the Whigs have grossly
jobbed. They made Lord COTTENHAM an earl !
and this at a time when Lord LYNDHURST and
Lord BROUGHAM were simple Barons, as they
now are, when they have no reversion of their
baronies. Lord CAMPBELL got two peerages,
one for himself and another for his wife, Lady
STRATHEDEN, whose father (Lord ABINGER) had
previously been ennobled at " the other side
"of the question." Mr. BICKERSTETH, a spe-
culative Republican, was made Lord LANG•
DALE, and Sir THOMAS DENMAN, and Sir 'l'.
WILDE, and Sir R. Roux were successively
ennobled. In the five years while Lord JOHN
RUSSELL was Premier, the baronies of Dartrey,