The Express.
London, England, 1849-06-08 00:00:00

Mg hit to fight its oe hallea with extreme d
meoluttooar7 reformers." The " gradual reform "is
ehswhere aonsershat more ciptionly stated to casuist
" various emendations and enlargements of the
emmtitaenty, porifie mime in the electoral system, and
sabeitot ono of the most pspuloue f r the moat re-
hind bortugbe." But are is obeli to add that all
Sheen thinAs meat be doze " without going to the
of Mr. HUME, Mr. O'Comioa, and Mr.
rtucirr." . _ .

These symptoms are very igniaosat. It is not the
list time Coat the whips nave s .usht to counterse:
**effects of a rep ation for admthistratire 'Leaps-
illy, by promoting small mu a wee of constitutional
m wul.h gorged item credit for entertaining
liberal geodesists. withen• exposing them to the risk
ef Deism forced to act liberally. Tee votes in the
Bosse of Ciersoeo, and the prvmisse in the ministe-
rialjourt al, are mere decoys to withdraw reformers
*e. the puma of real reforms, progoo'ed by men
who are io • arm s% by setting them to chat.• iocong-
plete and illueoxy measurre, which will be dropped
by those who oiler them us soon as their purpose is
served. . . .

Thene la this., however, of consoling in the fair and
candied speeches with which reformers are now sought
to be allured from their own path. They show teat
the anti-reformers we aware of bums reissue teiag
shoat to be brought t i beer upon them which it will
sot be easy to retest. What it that engine of popular
strategy which has made our opponoits ell at
woe s • bland aad conciliatory ? We are much mit-
taken if it is any Bing else, then the movement to ex-
tend the 40s. ft echoic franchise. Tlrit mem ment is mire
to confer a power o e the popular party which banks
in anticipation the bold spirits alike of conservatives
sad atistucratio whip. Civil language will be held
towards reformers, and reforms will be cascaded each
Isom imp n tent and extensive dins hs predecessor, se
long as it is apparent that more and more of the mid-
dle and lower classes are daily attaining to tbepossw
Mon of 40s. freeholds. A sarty growing in political power
and importance is sure to be treat,d entbdefereocie and
some degree of fairness. Every fresh batch of 40s.
freeholders that is made, will open the eyes of the
whip and Prelites to the expediency and justice of
owe new reform.

Acorn= question on ecclesiastical reform by Mr.
BOWMAN : more delay required by Lord JORN Rue-
ItiLL! For two le 'dons the Premier avoided Mr.
Illoascan's missions by fins promisee and fair words;
be acknowledged the truth of Mr. Honiexam'a ex-
posure of the grievous mismanagement of the funds
of the Exlesiastical Conamiskou ; for two sessions
be admitted the extent is which the property of the
skint+ might be improved, but did nothing to int-
pewee it ; for two sessions he granted the proposition
that Le cher reform was indispensable, but made no
move in that direction. Nay, he commenced the prone nt
ness:on by. a declaration that he had no measure
of reform in preparation. Aid, when stung into Oe
tint by the reproaches of Mr. HORSMAN ; when
codinto amessure by the determination of the
. member far Cockennoul not to ba longer trill.d
with. Lord Jrnie Wrenn laid a bill on toe table • f
the House of Commocs so obviously de'ective, insuffi-
cient, sod hating ; so palpably a bishop's bill, that
be his never had the cootie to bring it under the
serious to sidelation of th- Louse; and now that tie
pester ce of Geer public business will no longer enable
him to stave off its discussion until all the membeta
interested in the question are driven into
the ra untry by use hod of the weather,
and by the absence of government busicess, Lord
Joule will this evening proper to re-commit the till,
in order that it may be so remodelled as to introduce
some pubstantial improvem nt into the compositim
and system of the Reelcsinstic 1 Commiision.
This is pitiable, unsatisfactory work. First, the fear
of the bishops and the dignified els rgy induces the
PREMIER t ) introduce a bad bill ; and then the fear of
Mr. llowous, Lod ASHLEY, and Mr. PAGE WOOD,
forces him to see if he cannot make it a good one!
Whig. may call this statesmanship; other people
think it the craft of a weak, uneable politician.
And, in the midst of such vacillation, ail that is
apparent is that Lord June's alterations will require
to be very closely watched ; for what confidence can
be placed in a minister who thus runs with the hare
and hunts with the hounds? The truth we believe to
be, that, person Ily, Led J. Rossent and his col-
league, in epee of all their pledges, hue rid little
or no atrent.en to this important subject; but
have allowed ti e EeelesiastioslCommispion to furnish
them with a scheme ; and ir, as might have been
septette!, turns out to be quite inefficient for any
wend purees-.
What its defects are we have before stated. The
vies of the Fe •lesisstiell Commission is that it and
the affairs of the church entrusted to its administra-
tion, ate at the mercy of the bench of bishops; and
the coneequer.ce of this episcopal supremacy has
been an extent of mismanagement quite with-
out parallel in the history of c it:temperaments
commissions. The funds of the church have been
scandalously and shamelessly wasted on 'episcopal
palaces, on episcopal perdue, on episcopal bed-
room., on episcopal stable.. &tate. have been
bought for bishops at pekes far beyond their value
Houses have been purchased for them became of their
fitness for episcopal residence; and no sooner has the
purchase been completed than thousands have been
Lid out on their repairs, on their adornment, on
additions. States have be n sold and exchanged
to the manifest and notorious injury cf the 11104 to
which they belonged. The principle has been
laid down and acted on too— tests the Bishops of Lin-
coln and Rochester—that bishops ought not to reel&
in their old places or in their episcopal cities. Allow-
ances hare Bien made to bishops—to Dr. Semen,
the Pilate., and Dr. WILBERFORCE for example—
beyond the stipends flied by the Church Tem-
poralities Reform Act. In short, there is no possible
way in which the episcopal fund could be abused that
it has not been ahseed ; and for its abuse the bench
of Notions is entirely responsible; for they it is who
have a huge majority on the commission • they it is
who are the constant attendants at its baled, • they
it is on who motion these things have been dote,
these acts of misappropriation have been perpetrated. ,
When the lest job was pissed for the Bishop of '
OXFORD, there were seven ecclesiastical and three lay
commissioners present at the Board.
The first step io the improvement of the commisairn
must, therefore, be the abatement of episcopal supre
marl therein. Without that abatement, no substan-
tial improvement can be made in its composition ; and
without improvement in its comp;sition, a better ad-
ministration of its funds is quite hopeless. Unlese.
then, Lord Jones's alterations remove this great and
primary defect of the commission, his bill will remain
so defective in principle as to merit the very stoutest
oppositionthatc an be given toit. Nor,in reqturingthis
Improvement, is anything demanded hostile to the best
interests of the church ; for the supremacy of the
bishops in tle commission is a late introduction.
Origitaily certain of the prelates only, and they
the best `of the bench, were members of it, and
they were then a minority ; and it is only since
the whole binds became ex officio commissioners,
that the property of the church has been squandered.
It would, we shall be told, be offensive now to ex-
*Weeny of the present bishops from the commission.
The alternative, we reply, is then obvious: give to
the lay and paid commissioners whom Lord JOHN'S
bill proposes to introduce the entire and complete
management of the property of the commission:
assign to them its temporalities, and restrict tte
commission u now composed to the direction of what
may be called its spirit unties.
Now, what Lord JOHN'S bill, as it stands, doer, is
to add paid and lay commissioners, for tits ostensible
purpose of managing the temporalities; bat in reality
It will leave the property quite as much in the power
of the bishops as before; for the management of th e paid
commissioners has to be subject to the control of the
general board, where the bishops will remain su-
preme. The introduction of these commissioners
may introduce order where chaos now reigns; it may
lead to a glad system of accounts; it may beget pru-
dence in the management of the property; it may
ensure a regular and authentic audit ; but it
will not necessarily produce any better ex-
penditure of the funds; and emscanently
with all these improved details, jest am vicious
an outlay as before may go on ; for the egmeraimismare
who threw away messy in times pelt athhiteri
palaces will, under Lord JOHN'S bill, have quite r
much power to throw more after it on like objects
hereafter. The Pays= must therefore consent to
some provisions that will prevent such a waste of
dwell property ;opaitra osa only consist of—either
ea abatement of supremacy in the commit-
sion,or the ttensfee Bits temporalities to the sew lay

and paid commissioner. This. Mr. BOWMAN may
depend upon it, is the mein point to be attended to in
the bill. Unsecurid, his put labour will have been in
vain.

- Whilst on this subject, we must advert to the pre-
sent state of the Bishop Wear/Death ease, It
Lord J. Rtrsem stit'es, under the consideration of
the law officers of the crown. Now, es it is no part of
the duty of the Arroanar ie. SOLICMOA-GENERAL
to devise a scheme such ae Dr. MALTBY promised
should be prepared, tile ems must be before them
one point of law : and that point, we presume, is
whether a scheme can be carried through w thout
again bringing the queetion under the consideration
of parliamt at, and thereby avoiding fortherdiscussion
of the Bishop of Dcanatt's conduct. If this suppwition
be correct, tt inveves a substantial breach of faith:
for it was only oa the consideratioa that legislation
on the stihject was indiepeneable that the previous
question we, carried on Mr. BOWMAN'S motion. But
it involves what is more et rims even than a violation
of good faith; it involves the carrying out of a
scheme which must be a bad and deective one f
there Is no power by which the necessities of the
ease of Bishop Weaim 'nth and rl nd can be
adequately met by an Order in Centel. Mr. Hoes-
wa most therefore be on the alert, or here too the
Eueleeisstical Commission (for to it the case bas
been referred) will steal a march upon. ha.

TEE COURT.

THE QUEEN AT ASCOT.

- - -
WINDIIO2, TIIURSDAY, .711.7,16 7.—Her Majesty
went to•dy to Aaeot Rms. U. Royal procession was
formed at twenty minute, past 11 o'clock, in *hi grand
quadrangle of the Castle.
Her Majesty and the royal party raturned to the Castle at
Ave rant k.
Her It *al Wines' the Duchess ef Kent visited the
Meese this morales is the Castle.

The eoessaittee of privy eoneeil en education bad a
nserdag yesterday at the Caused *gin which was attended
by the Lord Presidia% Lord John Runll, the Earl of,
Micro, the Earl of Carlisle, the Cbaneellarot the Exchequer,
and Sir Giteege Grey.
D. 'patches were sent eft yesterday from the Colo-
nist-office, tee the Governor, a Ceylon sad Latina. Des
patches wen olio seat otf ono Governor of Malta.

MIL O. W. HATTfit, the newly appointed Seen-
lazy to the Lords Commissiosors of her Majesty's Treasury,
Mee Mr. rather, nomina:ed Secretary to this Admiralty,
has assumed the duties of kis Whom

MANSION-HOUSE. JUNE 7.—The Lord Mayer begs
to anaconee that in eatinequertae of her Majesty's ball on
Wedneedry next, the dinner, which was to have been given
ota that day is the Egyptian Ilea, is potponed until Satur-
day, the 23rd inst.