The Express.
London, England, 1868-08-11 00:00:00

MR. FORSTER, M.P., AND HI ti CON-
STITUENTS.

Mr. Forster, M.P., last night delivered ttir
annual addreaa to his constituents at Bevitned. Aft.r
referring to the local contest, declaring that he supper',"
Mr. Miall because he believed he was the choice of ti,
liberal party, he said that the great
now before the country the Irish church. .0
one which might well make them wish utony
to dispel all personal piques and local jealoinesi.
It was a question that stirred men's minds throughout thv
country, and it had stirred the minds of the men of
ford. What was the motive of the liberal party in new,
efforts P They believed that unless they carried out tb,,,..
measures we could not preserve the union between En,
land and Ireland without—for there was no use in min -in,
matters—having, first or last, civil war. Now. whet IN
the motive of their opponents These two f-ir,
that the interests of proteNtanti,m would br,
gered, and that the Eng!ibli church would be
What did governing Ireland by fore mean i.--,
with the possibility, as the Irish were a high
of a civil war breaking out every moment. M ,• ,
congratulated the Lord Mayor and hi. gue,t, up
Mate of Ireland. lie (Mr. Fonder) could not con ,• ;
them upon the state of Ireland. and Mr.
his friends hail done all they coni i to s: .
countiy upon the state of that land. And
the cause of that Omni': In consalering ti r
he had had to look deep into the ut...t11,1_, .„

between the two countries. A union botw.•

and Ireland was not a union in

of the Irish people. If we kept up by
Ireland the chinch of a unuenty, .
instantly swept away wore Ireland an in 11 •,. •
country how could it be said that we pre..ere...i
upon Gums of political equality: The Q ue,t ion ,e
imperial, because it was ono that specially arTe.l-,,
interests and Irish feelings ; and Irish feeling...l,: •
considered upon many questions, and most of all the. r • •
lay deepest in men's minds—that of religion. The oe
ought to be considered upon the principles of the Union. n
upon those terms which were partly bribed and l 1., v
bullied out of the protestant minority who then a:
Ireland, but upon those principles which .-
patriot could accept, those of a real un
equal terms of the three countries. Now he
to the fears which inspired the polny :if :• -
opponents ; and first that of prate,tanti-ni
endangered by the disestablishment of the Ind.
He was as much opposed to the Roman eatholi, : •
religion as they could possibly be with his. but he •i i
believe that the interests of prole-A:Hahn'
advanced by the protestant ameendaney. .
that they could not have adopted a plan
to advance the interests of
the present. The old system of fume and ;. .
secution might have succeeded, bet by no po,ihihr.

they have adopted a system less likely to do ,t
they adopted in Ireland. The protestant ascemian, . .:.!
land had damaged the interests of prot,,tant.sin...%
result was that whereas inmost catholic ,outdrew t h
a very strong party in opposition to that ultrain .• • •
policy whifll, he was wiry to say, now WU-.
Ib me, in Ireland there were scarcely :my
did not belong to the ultramontane parry.
Mg to Dr. M'Seile's arguments on thi, point. he •
should be sorry if, by any action of those is
the church came to an end, and he w..,1.1 -
them why. Not because he thought there is ,
great advantage of bishops being in the I

(Laughter.) Not because he conceived that in th.
sent state of society and civilisation an (ill .•
was necessary, for if he were a colonist he 'teeth] .
bably, as the colonists do, be they e.
tires, whigs, or radicals, have perf..et eq.)
of religion ; but for this reason, that As
land was now constituted and circumstanced,
church of England and the clergy of that chum+ 4,1
great good, and he should feel that if the church wer.• .1. -
established and disconnected with the state, a great engm.•
of good was remover'. That engine of goo.' he 1,051.
dered to be the parochial system. There was a erns hi ii
system in England which did good, but the paroelna
system in Ireland was an insult to the people.
How could a man look after the spiritual interests hi,
parishioners when the enormous majority of them %vle
taught week by week to believe that he was a her...o •
That was a glaring anomaly, and he asked all
were the real friends to the church of England
—those who wished to separate her from the
church of Ireland or these who wished to keep her
indissolubly united with the church of Ireland?
Allowing that the two churches must be united, and that
they must remain one, and that the English church
could not be separated from the Irish church, at the same
time they would believe that the English church could
not be maintained in Ireland except at the point of the
bayonet, and then they should be oblige to ask the
question—Was the English church with its bless-
ings worth preserving at the coat ? The friends oi
the church ought to be very careful before they put tint
question to the country, and he asserted that they said
that at this moment, and it was because that was
that we found so little response to the appeal whip h he
grieved to say the Bishop of London had made to twenty
thousand clergymen, an appeal which even at tha:
moment he must regret that he had ever made. He (the.
speaker) was notthe less a friend of the church of England
because he argued with all his might in favour of tL.:
disestablishment of the Irish church. (Applause.) A. to
the endowments of the Irish church, with respect to the
anxiety to know his views on that matter, In, should
not have the disposal of it, and could ouly
them the general principles, and these general prim ivies
were these—That all individual interests should b.!
generously bested, and that the state should not attempt
to dispose of any property which was not state property.
(Hear, hear.) He should lac asked what was state pro-
perty. Well, he should say that the state ought not to
interfere with such an endowment as that whieh wasgiven
by the late Sir Benjamin Uuinnew to the cathedral 01
Dublin. But it was impossible that he could enter upon
this phase of the question, 'and he cxpertol that in the
event of any Irish Church Bill being passed. a "UnlittAh'
would be appointed to examine into the ca.c. A. to the
surplus which there would undoubtedly be, and hoe
they would dispose it, these two principles would guide,
that hav'ng abolished one state church, ho shoal I
not set up another, and that if there were any surple.
let them not think it would be any great quantity. Aft• .
individual interests were looked after and nelsrly
greedy for the money, it was a question of principle and
not of money ; he should say it must be given to Irish in-
terests, and in doing that he should very much ..onsult th.
feelings of the Irish people. (Applause.)

twenty-fifth annual
BRITISHARCHAOLOGICAL AssoriaTios.—The
meeting of the British Arclueologie
Association commenced at Cirencester yesterday. TO:
meeting is held under the patronage of the Earl of Duceh.
Lord-Lieutenant of Gloucestershire, and the Bishop 01
Gloucester and Bristol. Earl Bathurst, who re,ides doe
to the town, is the president, and there is a list of thirty-
Eldon,presis, including the Earls of Effingham.
Mar, and Suffolk, Lord Boston, Lora Ileughten,
D.C.L., Viscount Andover, M.P., Sir Michad kiwis
Beach, Bert, M.P., Sir C. H. Rome Boughton. got-
Sir Gilbert East, Bart., Sir J. Gardner Wilkie s• But..
• D.C.L., F.R.S., the Right Hon. T. Sotherea.E-teeatt.
Mr. R. S. Hotiord, M.P., Mr. A. A. Bathurst. M.P., Mr.
R. H. Dutton, M.P., Mr. Godwin, F.R.S., F.S.A., Th.
Jeut
inaugural address was delivered by the noble pren
half-mat three in the afternoon. Half an hour was d"
voted to an examination of the church and town-hall. ant
at seven o'clock the dinner took place, at the Assembly
Rooms. To-day will be devoted to an inspection of the
antiquities of the town. The three suoceedingdays 'b-
./Med to excursions:—l. To Trewsbury Camp. Akeisii..
street, Crudwell Church, Malmesbury Abbey, Church.
and Cross, Athelstane Hall, Charlton-park ancient stone,
at Xemble. 2. To Banbury Rings, Mairseyhantl'br'
Church, Fairford Church, and Bibury Church. 3. T,
Daglingworth Church, Dunstbourne Rouse, Elkstone
Church, Brimpaftekl Church and Castle, and Edgworth.
ice. The excursion wind up with a clueing one on Satur-
day to the newly-discovered Roman villa at Chedwortb.
of which the visitors arc promised a description by a
competent archeologist. Chedworth Church, Celmsclen
Wayside Cross, and North Amry Church will else
be included in the last day's programme. These will be
' meetings every evening for the reading of papers and dis-
cussions. Among the papers promised aro the following •
—" Rev. W. F. Powell, M.A., andJ. D. T. Niblett,
F.S.A., 'On Cirencester Church;' T. Wright, MA..
F.S.A., ' On the early history of Cirencester and on the
nature and influence of the Roman municipalities in
Britain;' H. F. Holt,. 'On the remarkable paint"! glass
in Fairford Church; J. D. T. Niblett, BEA., ESA..
• Fairford Church ;' J. R. Manche •On the Earl of
Gloucester;' E. Roberta, F.S.A., ' On Bibury and Mer-
se=ton Churches;' E. Levien, M.A., F.S.A., 'On
of Cirencester and his writings .}orlon 14'
Hills, 4On Malmeebury Abbey Church end other eett:
Kitties at M ;T. Blaalull, Oa the Chutttas of
lingworth, Mints arm Rouse, and FJkstone.
RYSTAL Rurcz. ONI SKlLLlitft
MONDAY. Ammer 10.—Admissicas by season tickets, 1,011;
4832 ; total visitor. 6.873.

- Ito 011 payment, 4,632 ; total Melton, 0,07 ii.