The Express.
London, England, 1866-10-13 00:00:00

THE WEEKLY PRESS.

The Spectator says the church congress at York
has not been very fortunate in obtaining good reports of
its proceedings. The Archbishop of York's opening ad-
dress was too much of a glorification of talk to be
of great interest. The Bishop of Ripon succeeded with
a paper on the Sabbath, maintaining that the Fourth
Commandment determines the proportion of time to be
devoted to religious rest, but not the special day—a
remark which the Rev. James Bandinel afterwards ap-
plied by inferring that any twenty-four hours would
do, and that iu point of fact the day kept varies with
the longitude. The bishop held the Sabbath still abso-
lutely as binding on us as upon the Jews, " works of ne-
cessity" only being permitted in both instances. The
Congress appeared to agree so completely on the subject
that it seems pretty certain the Laymen of the church were
vary feebly represented. Archdeacon Denison understood
that the Sabbath was not properly observed "in the very

. .
highest quarters," which means, we suppose, by the
Queen, though the archdeacon himself appeared, ou the
late Mr. Keble's authority, to approve of moderate
"cricket" on Sunday as no breach of the Sabbath. Dees
the Queen do anything worse than play cricket on a Sun-
day, or is it rather that the archdeacon does not approve
of her chaplains
- -

Tho Spectator argues that it Is only by a junction of the
liberal mid conservative forces that a wide scheme of redis-
tribution can be carried, and thosowho hold such a measure
indispensable to thorough reform ought to long for a tory
proposal, Instead of refusing it by anticipation. Suppose
the tortes, for example, to propose a bill next session com-
p icing household suifta,go for the boroughs, a franchise of
21)7. for the counties, the disfranchisement of the sixty
smallest seats, and the grant of those seats to the great
towns as third seats on the minority principle, would not

England be better, infinitely better, represented than at
present ? Mr. Bright is doing good service when he makes
redistribution a cardinal point in his advocacy of reform,
when he asks the mai*es to cry for that as well as for their
own rights ; but Mr. Forster takes the broader view when
he argues that the tories may yet bring in a great bill, and
that if they do, it is our duty to seo it pasted.
The Saturday Becky) continues to urgo that the object
of the present reform movement is to intimidate rather
than to convince. Mr. Lowe is Mr. Bright's intellectual

equal, but in a time of tlisturbanco he might be utterly
unable to cope with Mr. Bright's infuriated rabble. It is
a seriousgcause of regret that Mr. Forster should have
countenanced the Leeds meeting, unless, indeed,

he approval of Mr. Bright's incendiary language
and of his menaces of insurrection. Mr. Disraeli must
watch these meetings with complacmit approval, as no
other combination of circumstances could have provided
him with co fair a chance of proposing 'and carrying a Re-
form Bill of his own. Conservative obstinacy maybe pliable
under the menace of revolutionary disturbance, and the
great body of the liberal party will be less ready than in
1559 to vindicate Lord Russeil's claim to a copyright or
patent monopoly of reform. Mr. Bright's furious hostility
to Lord Derby and his party will go far to reconcile the
lfouse of Coaunons to the ministry, if only Mr. Disraeli
can induce his colleagues to conform to the necessities of
the time.

The Social Science Congress is twitted by the Saturday
R., rale with encouraging mere gossip and fruitless sugges-
tions. It furnishes a home for destitute letter-writers
who have been refused admittance to the grievance
cJltr.ns of the Timrs, and a spacious airing-ground
for hobby-horses. Our great towns in succession form
a site for the erection of many Crochet Castles ; RTA
if they did not debase science, and discourage real and
patient inquiry, they would only be amusing. As it is,
they are amusing ; but there are amusements which are
mischievous.

A desperate attempt, says the Exam ihrr, is made to
discount the value of the multitudinous meetings recorded
every week in favour of reform by muttering inquiries as
to why Lord Trimmer or Sir John Flunkey was not there.
Who wants them ? We do not want anyone to prove to
us how little the baronet (Jr the earl cares about the goes.
tion. They had their opportunity for settling it pretty
much as they pleased, and they let the opportunity
slip never to be recalled. They have proved
themselves to be incorrigibly stupid and in-
capable in the affair. They have let the settle-
mint of the question slip out of their hands ; and the
best thing they can do is to sit quietly at home and let
the world forget their folly. But as to expecting or wish-
ing to see them politically totter up the steps of a platform,
or to hear them politically stammer out sham professions
of zeal for the cause, with which nobody credits them, we
hope we may be spared the infliction. The one thing to
be done this autumn is now doing, and doing thoroughly
wJI. The people are making proof of the fact in the case
which must decide the issue. Already the few men of
sagmcity whom the tones number in their ranks begin to
see that the sole chance of deferring their expulsion from
office lies in bringing forward a larger and Letter bill than
that of last session.
Observing that the London, Chatham, and Dover Rail.
way furnishes a parallel to the case of Overend, Gurney,
and Co., that the law has been systematically evaded,and
that published accounts have been wholly misleading, the
Economist proceeds to infer from the facts that have be-
come known that the railway ought at once to be
sold. It cannot pay its way, and its credit is at an end. A
new proprietary with a simple constitution, who bought
at a fair price, might under new directors still make
much of a line so near to London and with oppor-
tunities so many. After what has passed an audit of
the debenture accounts will be a necessity. The board
of trade ought to see that the capital required to be paid
up before debentures are issued is, in fact, paid up before
a single debenture is issued, and it ought to stamp all the
debentures, and so assure everyone that only the permitted
•
issue is made.