The Express.
London, England, 1849-02-20 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, TUESDAY EVENING, FEINUARY 20,

many tricks played off ca psrlisassat by this commie-
liCle, that the greatest eagles in legislating on its
affairs is ladispeneable. It
an
be watched as the
Sikhs ought to be, bat are not, under Lord
Moon's command. Credit the bishops, and they
are all ignorant of how the elms which ellimPtl-
dowdy separated their thud from the comma had
was slipped into a statute ! Believe Mr. Kumar
Mousy, and he knows nothing of the origin of the
clause which made him secretary and treasurer of the
commission for life. Nobody, in short, on or about the
commission know. anything of how all the mischief
it has accomplished has been ceased. Parliament in
legislating on it has already made neveral false steps;
ears, the greatest oars, mast therefore now be taken,
or the legislature will be babbled (that is the proper
word) again.
Improve the composition of the commission by all
means ; the more the better. Bat, first of all, secure
the episcopal fund for the common purposes of the
church. Move neither to the right nor to the left,
until the distinction of funds be extinguished. De-
lay
on this point is dangerous. Already 100,0001. from
it have been spent on episcopal palaces : it was only last
week that the fond was charged with 4001. a year to
pay house rent for a bishop who has an income of
6,0001. a year ; and other 20,0001. or 30,0001. may be
spent ongetting an episcopal palace at Manchester bgy
fore the bill for the fusion is introduced. Make, then,
that fusion part, nay, the first enactment, of any bill
that is brought forward. Separate it from general
legislation on the subject—let it form • distinct mea-
sure, and the dangers of its passage through the House
of Lords are fearfully increased. On every ground,
then, it is to be hoped that this fusion will be rat
I secu;'ed-

The fusion accomplished, do itapmvensent in the
composition of the commies.= will be easily achieved.
For it is impomible to males that body warmth= it L.
Any altaironon must be for the bettor. At present
the commimion is, for all priktical purposes, in the
hands of the bishops, and of Abair tools, its offieers,
who, in their torn, pay heavy eontributions on its funds.
There us, to be sure, a few lay commissioners, but
three-fourths of them are oosimistioners es-officio;
and their ether duties preclude the posibility of their
attendance. Yet the business to be transacted is
sufficient to fully occupy a department of the
state. It is not occasional business • but permanent,
increasing, and important besineSs; busmen, any
postponement of, or delay in which, involves neglect,
aaai expense, loss, sr mistnanazement. And
this basil:sea is left to the transaction of a class of dig-
nitaries whose fanctieos in their various sees are said
to be so overwhelming as to require the creation of
suffragan bishops, or of additional btshops. The Bishop
Of LINCOLN candidly told Mr. EVELYN DENISON'S
committee last session that he had little or no time to
owe teethe commission. And the troth Is, that either
the bishopsmust, in attending the commiasies, neglect
their dimness; or, by attending to their dioceses, ne-
glect the oommlinioe. Accordingly, Dr. KAYE is
rarely to be found in Whitehall ; whilst Dr. MALTBT
delays answering diocesan applications (that of the
Vestry of Gateshesd respecting a local charity abase
in which is strongly suspected, for instance) for
months on the excuse that the church is more benefited
by his presence in London than by his residence at
Auckland; and other prelates have, under a similar
pretence, had the cruelty to hold their ordinations
in town.
But were there any other alternative—were diocesan
duties and the functions of commissioners compatible
in these respects, the bishops are ill calculated to be
efficient commissioners on other grounds. The great
majority of them are not church reformers in the
proper sense of the term; they are opposed to such
an administration of ecclesiastical property as the no-
amities of the country require • they are influenced
in its administration by the prejudices of their order
by the obstructive tendencies of their own enormous
stipends, by the aristocratic pretensions of their own
positive, and by their love of power. They are with-
out uniformity of motive, view, or object. And they
are disturbed by the conflicting inducements of
serving their own high incomes and of s spreading
the common fund over as large a number of
the second order of demise the preservation of life in
that body will permit. The duty of 'bishop ought to be
amazed to things spiritual; the duty of an °eel&
deistical commitment" is entirely to regnlee and
manage things temporal And it is because the
duties of the one are incompatible and inconsistent
with the duties of the other office, that the temporal
affairs of the commission have been so scandalously
mismanaged.
What then the reel interests of the church require
is the exclusion of the bishops from the management
of the ecclesiastical commission ; and the assignment
of its affairs to the conduct of a few responsible lay
commissioners with duties well defined and limited by
the legislature. But such an improvement in its
composition is hopeless from the hands of
a ministry which is frightened at the very
shadow of what it calls, but most improperly
calls, the church; as if the laity was not
by far the most important part of the church. Any
such expectations from Lord Joss Roseau's pro-
mised measure are vain; for he has already announced
that It will, in the main, be based on the very insuffi-
cient recommendation of Mr. EVELYN DENISON'S

very halting committee. And there can consequently
be no difficulty in foreshadowing its contents.
The measure will, of course, provide for the ap-
pointment of three lay and paid commissioners,
two to be appointed by the crown and one
by the Archbishop of CANTERBURY, who shall
devote their whole time and attention to the
management of the property vested in the com-
mission, to be called Church Estates Commissioners;
their salaries to be paid out of the funds of the com-
mission. Theo officers will naturally give form and
shape to the management of the property, produce
order where chaos now exists, and diminish the power
of the existing race of subordinate functionaries. But
if these commissioners are to be hampered by an
Estates Committee; and if their proposals, and
schemes, and management are to be subjected to the
control of the general and unwieldy and irresponsible
board, their power of good and improvement will, in
other respects, beexceedingly limited. They will im-
prove the business details, Om the internal economy
of the commission-so a sound andecoessible footing, and
,facilitate the completion of arrangements. Bat, con-
trolled by the general board, they will have small op-
portunity of introducing those larger schemes of im-
t for which three commissioners will
worth their salarisis.
The measure will, also, it cannot be doubted, pro-
hibit hereafter the anion of secretary and treasurer in
the aus• person, appoint an auditor, place all the
officers ea the tenure at good conduct and efficiency,
and alter the presort absurd system of precedency.
All meal iniprommisols is their way, but all
net camellia:big such • reform as will
Ponumbithiblle refidence on the Ecclesiastical

Wbe Clint
A &publics bum the Provident laarltation,
Marthemplass, ecesiensse et Mr.
_Cebidiene, Its.
Mr. Brown, ffir James Eyre, Mr. Deogsee, Mr Mweltonl,
and Kr. amass* had an amullemee of Prime... Albert yse-
terday at lesideginea Plel the bower et s
Bola kletnns Womb, of aellelt
die lastlarden. The
Prince masplemod to acorns the aro of Prodient.
Tho Duke of Cambridge vidtether Matesty yester-
day, at Eneldeshan Pales..
Prins Albert, attended by Colonel Sam=
ILL Equerry in Wilda., visited Culitt's factory, at
lank, yesterday.
TM Queen and Prince Albert honoured tho per
of the Preach Plays with their prerees yesterday
evening. The royal smite annieled of the Countess of
Charletaoat, Eon. Mies Macdonald, the Earl of Listowel,
Sir Edward Bowater, and Colonel Seymour.

Mr. Beetherton, Bir Elkenah Armitage, and the
town els* et Mansiestn, bed an interview winair George
Grei yelanday Matte Mame-allee.
Mr. %wok dm American minister, returned
retarder km Paris to his home la tipper Beluare-etohrlaret
A degullaine of iserary operatives front
tfea,tee•Oldbma. and the Laneashire Newel ahem-omi
, had aa interview Lord Jean Rata and Sir
OrttraeltraCr =at the eM&I maidens, or the noble
lard in
A deputation of amounts to the borough of Bir-
(exemption from county rake) bill, eensistlagol
Brooke, Y.P., Mr Charles Douglas, M.P., Mr.
M.P., Yr. NewdeptehM.P., Mr. Willie..
lientd(BWarwie -on-A sad lin rtlearter )ierlaael J.
Yan W.
ajbles (Loadre), lead an interview yeaterday with Sir
George Grey.
Mr; Dodo hid an interview with the Right Roe.
R. laboushere retarder ma* ease of the Boarerd Trade.
A &palatial', coesisting of the *yet of Man-
chester. Dtr. Alderman Kmehaw, M.P., Mr. Alderman
Hopkise, Ocomeillor Gibb, 'and the Town Clerk of