The Express.
London, England, 1849-06-22 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, FRIDAY EVENING, JUNE 22, 1849.

PARLIAMENTARY DIVISION.

Vie wr nwtoo.

OUTGOING MAILS.
Lill Mn Brltleh North Athena and the United °lath will be
nude up this peed's,.
The mails, rid Mmeillem, to the Meditenanesn, Egypt, Ceylon,
toilia, liong.honet, he., will he made up on the 23th June.
The mad, foe Vigo, Op:atm Liaboo, Madeira, Cadia, wad Gib:altar,
will be made up cm the morning of the 27th Whine.
The Wert Mina Made, iinuudmi Bermuda, daranna, Nara%
. lomiursa, New Orlauri, and Mezioo, aad excluding More lot
dadvirs, Xt. Jaan-do-Wicaramta, New Granada, Chili, sod Perm, will
be made no on the mornine of the 2nd July.
The mulls Inc Madeira, the !truth, and Buenos Ayres, will be made
upon the even* of the 4th otJuly.

spreading those diseases of the brain which pu• the
sufferers beside themselves, and lead them, amongst
trh-r il delusions, to imagine that in Lord
BROUGHAM they be o'd • trustworthy politician.
The d light of exhib tiog to such an at.d.ence,
and of re:ailing thus the pleasures of Lis youth.
is so intense that Lori BROUGHAM stipulated, it
is said, before he finally determined to abandon
free trade for protteth n, that tt e Bord-street com-
pany should give him a fair chance of a run on the
theatrical boards. At first, we can well imagine ther
doubts and mis;ivii ge on the score of expeuse, from
the fear of being horribly quizzed, and from, per-
haps, certain di-creet fears lest, after all the co-t
of gas, bill-sticking, and decorations had been in-
curred, the Lord Chamberlain might int,rpcse and
interdict the terformence as unseemly. Bu. how to
get the unprecedented attraction otherwise, or how t,
co without him, at It remained unanswerable. The
tires hetitet d long ; but as the session
waned without any fruits to show, and as the
accounts " from every part of the countre" continued
to give the moat alsrm'ng accounts of imperld'rg
abundance a d consequent low pricos of corn—the
scruples if the more dignified leaders of the Carlton
gave way, and it was resolved to engage PROMUS
upon his own term!.
Monday wee'r has b•en fixed for Mr. Disesem's
merlon on the state of the nation. We hardly know
whether the pliticel performances at Drury-lane
will comment,' previous or subrequent to the firef.g of
that signal gun ; but, for the ask, of the only man of
genius in the petty, we sincerely hope that
he will not cons-,:t to appear siting the bocoli,
mimes who are ho)ked to figure on the scene. It may
be all very well for obsoleted, magognes or coxcombical
states /010 whose celebrity has been acquired in
prirate theatricals, to c wet ha'f-crown plauoits and to
emulate the fame of those who tie id a " re il stage ;"
but we should mourn over the humiliation of one who
has conquered for him-elf the whip and reins of a
numerous and thorough-bred team, and who can make
the dumb adjure!s go fast or slow as suits his witim or
his convenience, stoling to wear a mask of poplar
sympst'l, or to paint his face with the colours that
denote a " farmer's friend," or to recite the " fiat and
unprofitable" r assorts of the Bond-street compositions.

As we suspected, it is by Order in Council and not
by Bill in Parliament, that the Bishop ef Deletion
means to proceed in the case of Bishop Wearmouth ;
and in this mode of prom dure he w 11 be eupport.d
by Lnrd JOHN RUSSELL who makes his friendship
for the prelate do duty as reasms for his conduct;
and by Sir GEORGE Gamm, who's gree ly family have
divided amorgst them same of the best livings that
Dr. .MALTBY has had to bestow on welig-lingo.
To this cturee there are, however, three objections.
1. It is a breach of faith on the part of the Bishop and
of the government with the House of Commute.
2. It is calculated to deprive the people of the parishes
of Berhop Wearmouth and Sunderland of that
opportunity of considering or expressing an opini in.
in enmity, on theme measures affecting their
public welfare which every class of the com-
munity in this country has a right to exercise
and enjoy. 3. An Order in Council involves an in-
sufficient amount of reform, inasmuch as the Privy
Council has not the legal power to do what the me-
multi. 8 of those parishes and the goad of the chureb
require. And if these toree obi, etions be net c in-
clusive agai• at the trick Dr. MiLTBY has hid re-
eourmi to, there ate where at his service. But to un-
episcopal and unofficial minds, these, when esta-
blished, will probably sufficient.
1. As the alleued bre ch of good faith ineolre•
the honour and honesty of men high in Church
and in St.te, it is ent tled to precedence. If
snide out, it will probably afford a clue to
the meeives and indueements of the change that
has taken place in the Bishop's and Lord Joux's
intentions. On the death of Dr. W. ELLE.4.EY, it will
bo recollected, the Bishop of Demme' made some
arrangements as to the revenues of the rte.
tory of Bishop Wearmouth, which gave to
Mr. Fuse's collation to that berefice a simo-
niecel character, and for which he had, of course, no
authority in law. Aesuming that these arrange-
ments were the very best that could be made, hi law
they were nevertheless werthless ; because they were
bindipg neither on the Bishop nor the rector; and that
an Order in Council could not clerhe them with legal
force was c rtain. It was therefore out of the ques-
tion. But as the arrangements, instead of being the
beat, were about the worst thst could have been con-
cluded, an application tr parliament to breathe I .gis-
'dive life into them was a dang roue experiment
to try. On the opening of the session it wu apparent
that Dr. MALTBY and Mr. EDEN had not at all made
up their minds what to do in the matter. The Bishop
had, to avert a proper measure of ecclesiastical reform
and to advance the fortunes of a whig aristocrat, far
overstepped his episcopal authority ; and his C ellatee
had sec .pted the finest living in his patron's gift on
remoniacal stipulations. Had the rest of the world
been content to !cave matters as they were, it is more
than probable that they would not hsve made the
slightest effort to have rectified their irregu
lsrities. •

The case was, however, too flagrant an one, and
the facts had attracted tco much attention to insure
quiescence; and, after various attempts to induce the
government to interfere, Mr. HORSMAN was at last
co;npelled to bring it before the House of Csismons.
Lord Joust endeavoured to pooh-pooh the miter
down. The Bishop was his friend, Mr. EDEN was
a good man, the revenues of Bishop Wearmouth
were over-stated, the house was an unfit tribunal
for such questions. Such were the ministerial
platitudes serve' un in answer to Mr. HottsmAN.
They fell lifeless and dead on the house. Mr. lIORR-
MAN had gained(its ear; the facts had interested it;'
a great practical abuse had been brought be'ore it ;
a fine opportunity fur correcting a practical gricv.
ante was open; a Bishop, notwithstanding his
great age, his great income, and his great learning,
had been caught in the very act of jobbing. It was
imposs.ble to sanction what had been done. So up
rose Alderman THOMPSON, Mr. MANGLES, Mr. Dm-
RAELT, and Sir R. PEEL, in quick succession, and one
after another plainly told Lord J. RUSSELL that his
reply was inadmissible, that the episcopal arrange.
ments we re quite intolerable, and that legislation was
indispensable. Thus, for instance, spoke Sir It.
PEEL:—
Hs thought it would be an excellent example if the church
were to require authority to make a fresh distribution of
these revenues by act of parliament. Many laymen bad
taken a similar course, sod had caked for power to make a
new aopropriation cf valuable ecclesiastical patronage, for
the sole purpose of promoting the spiritual welfare of the lo-
calities which it immediately concerned. It would be most
seemly if the church were to follow the same course, and re.
quire a similar authority under similar circumstances. He
could net concur with those wha thought that in this case
the parish of Sunderland had no higher claim upon the reve-
nues of the parish of Bishop Wearmouth than any other
parish. It should be recollected how much Bishop Wear.
mouth was affected by its proximity to the large and poor
population of the port of Sunderland; above all, it was not
to be forgotten that at the time when the revenues in guts
Lion received their present a' propriation the two parishes
were a united parish. He therefore considered it impossible
to coot. nd that Sunderland had ne greater claim on any sur-
plus there might he after amply providing for the spiritual
wants of Bishop Wearmouth than a parish in a distant part
of England. If the noble lord succeeded in negativing the
present resolution, he might surely enter into a friendly
li communization with the right rev. prelate on the subject.

Well; aided by this hick-bonded support, Lord
Jon succeeded, not, however, in negativing the reso-
lution, but in carrying by a very small majority the
" previous question ;" and, no sooner had he thereby
avoided Mr. Hoitsaimeh motion, thin he mounted the
stool of repentance, and thus adopted Sir ROBERT'S
suggestion :

He had no hesitation, after the division which had taken
pla e, to adopt the suggestius of Sir R. Peel, and commu-
nicate with the Bishop of Durham with reference to the
feeling of the house on the subject

And the " feeling of the house on the subject"
gu;ckly produced a very satisfactory reply from the
Bishop; for, in a fortnight's time, LordJoux reported
that—

Be had been in communicatinn with the Bishop of Dur-
ham and the Rector of Bishop Weymouth, and they both
stated that it bad always been in their contemplation that an
ad of parliament would be necessary to cyry out the
strangements which th.y had in dew; and be would be
able, titer Raster, to state when it was intended to bring in
1 a bill.

This usurauce—this pledge—quieted all apprehen-
sion. A bill was certain, and though, as introduced,
it might be insufficient, its provisions would, at all
event', undergo discussion and revision. Under such
circumstances it would have been unseemly to have
pres,e4 the government further. Whitsuntide wu
allowed to pus without the bill; and half June had
elapsed before anything more was heard about the
matter. Rumours, however, got abroad that a trick was

rin contemplation. Lord Joni b-gun to shirk inquiry in
the house; until, at last, on Friday right, further con-
cealment became impossible ; and, Lord ions, with
astounding *eV-complacency, admitted that there was
no intenei en of bringing in a bill ; but that an order
in cmincil would be substituted. Tots, we submit, is as
flagrant a breach of Rood faith on the part of Dr. MALTBY
and Lord JOHN RUSSELL as ever bishop patronised or
prime minister pi rpetra ted. L ,rd JOHN was saved from
defeat, awe the bishop from what would have been a
vote of ceneure by the fc...ling of the house " that
I%;i:dation was indisp-usahle. Taankful fur being
raved, they promised legiehtion ; and, now that pub-
lic opini n his somewhat coiled down on the subject,
they drib rattly break their pramiee.
2. For be it rein mbered. however meritorious the
order in council may be, it must be &scheme it:cretly
pr.ptrr t, silently enacted, and without the approba-
tion of these most deeply interest. d in its operation.
It will su'Aitute the legislation of Dr. MALTBY, Mr.
EDEN, rod Lord Jetts Itussent. (two of whom per-
petrated the original job and the other of whom
sanceioned it) for Vie legislation cf parliament;
it will be the work of an ecclesiastical c
&aye ; it will ire denuded of all popular atehoi y;
it will deny to the people of Bishop Wearmouth and
Sunderland tt.e right th, y crnstitutiunally prawns,
viz., of forming end expreesing an opinion nn a public
measure retrying their welfare; and it will deprive
them cf the u ietance of p irli-ntent, which th2y we-re
aolemn'y promised they should have. Are the inha
bitants of this great and important town pre-
porel to submit to such treatment? Will
they sanction by their si'ende the trick that
their bishop has had the audacity to play
off upon them and parliament ? Are they content to
be thus deprived of the'r constitat ion-el rights; and
to have their ecclesiastical concerns legislated on by
such a body as the ecclesiastical c:mraission ? If
they are not, their petitions will intercept the sung
arrangements contemplated by Lord JOHN and his
friend," the Bishop.
3. Fur, lastly, they must knnw that an order in
council cannut in this matter do them ju-tice. Par-
liament hes net corf reed on the privy council the
powers necessary to correct the mongrme abuse of
ecclesiastical revenues to be seen in their town. T..at
bviy may manipulate the revenues; may do Milne
little good ; but it cannot pr duce a measure of tho-
rough and perfect reform. That .h.. legislature alone
can achieve. And it will yet be their own fruit if
Iparliament does not achieve it for them. Though
ate, there is st,ll time to the &vete the bishop.
Bad and faithiets as Lard Joni RUSSELL'S conduct

in this matter huts en, his condor t on the Ecclesias-
Cell Commission Bill has been far worse. But the
xposure of the trick he ha• playtd off on the Church
Reform, rs in the Howe of C mtmons requires a sepa-
rate notice; and that it shall have.