The Express.
London, England, 1868-05-13 00:00:00

coufiden co which oharacterises a egl

careless and desperate can affici*lllitlieve
the verdict of the existing House gfaCeinnorui will
be certainly reversed by the nifty conitituesslei.
Suppose it to be only an even thence that "en-
dowment will come in 18W, there are Aeolis rea-
leons in favour of not extending in the interval the
field to which it must be applied. Compensation to
yeated interests is s proper act of justice, but no
one except the persons to be compensated can be
anxious to make the number of these interests
greater than is absolutely needful. A Tory
Peer may fairly say .—" In the certain prospect of
disendowment being discussed before twelve months
are over, in the possible prospect of its being sane-
! tioned before twelve months are over, I sin ready
Ito vote for the Suspensory Bill. By doing so I
only recognise that it is desirable to effect
diasnolownient, if it is effected at all, at
as cheap a rate as possible. The principle of an
Established Church will gain nothing from the fact
that its overthrow has been effected at an addi-
tional cost to the country. My assent to the bill
leaves me free to maintain by every means in
my power, the integrity of the Irish Church 1
Establishment. By itself, indeed, the mea-
sure in no way affects that Establishment. If
the new Parliament declines to confirm the action
of its predecessor, the Suspensory Act will expire
by the mere lapse of time, the vacancies to
which it applies will be filled up after a
few months' delay, and everything will go
on as before. My vote pledges me to nothing
beyond a desire not to place the House of Lords
and the House of Commons in premature and
perhaps needless antagonism."
Such a tone as this might, we my, be adopted
with perfect consistency by an ardent supporter of
the Irish Church as it is. It may be too much,
however, to expect such a display of caution and
moderation from the House of Lords. They will
be more likely to catch at the first opportunity that
is offered them of throwing embarrassments in the
path of the Opposition and snatching an
apparent though unreal triumph for a
Government of nominai Conservatives. Even
Mr. DMItA2I.I may be so far sensible to
human weakness as to welcome a support which
will make up in enthusiasm for what it wants
in substantial value, and the Minister who has
dispensed with the confidence of the House of
Commons will probably accept with ostentatious
gratitude the superduOus support of the House of
Lords. That Lord DSRBV will urge the Peers to
reject the bill cannot be doubted. The caution
imposed on him by the accident of position has
already been thrown to the winds, and in the
unchartered freedom of an independent supporter
of the Government he apparently finds ample
consolation for the fettered dignity of
office. Whether he will retain all his old influence
in the House of Lords remains, indeed, to be seen.
All that is certain is that this influence, what-
ever it is, will be recklessly used to precipi-
tate • conflict which must be deprecated by
every statesman who desires to preserve the
balance of the constitution. From Lord Sams-
soar, the natural leader of the true Conservatives
it. the Upper House, a more prudent and come-
q u. intly a more patriotic course may perhaps be looked
fur. Certainly he will not be actuated by any
misplaced tenderness for a Cabinet which has
shown itself as insensible to personal credit as it had
already shown itself to party traditions. It
is too soon, however, to estimate the power
which he will exercise in his new sphere. We may
be pretty sure that, when once the Conservative
party finds that it has thrown its principles
overboard and yet failed to ride out the storm, it
will turn from those who counselled the sacrifice
with a dislike which will only be embittered
by the consciousness that it has been a
willing dupe. But whether the conviction that
Mr. DUIRARL :'s preternatural cleverness has only
made defeat more inevitable has yet dawned upon
his supporters in the Lords is not so certain, and till it
does, their instincts will probably lead them to
catch at every twig which seems to offer a chance
of serest-nig their descent into the abyss of oppo- '
sition.

THI? Cd-71?-41N 1T ST. THOMAS'S HOSPITAL.

Tits ceremony in which the Qrass took part
to-day seemed to gain in interest from recant dis-
cussions. To ass her Masseur once more quietly
performing an act of public charity and grace, re-
minded those present of the steadfastness and
consistency of her career; and the presence of peers
and comps mere of every shade of politics, their
common loyalty, and the impartial smiles they re-
ceived, seemed a living testimony—were any
needed—to her Masssrv's serene and con-
stitutional elevation above party strife.
Every member of her blooming family there, re-
minded the looker-on of the long years of affec-
tionate and respectful familiarity enjoyed by the
QUEEN and the nation since the fair young girl
Vtemitra cried, "Let my people see me."
The mere sight of the Quasi, the mare sound
of her clear ringing voice, even the business
like precision with which she dabbed the mortar
and patted the stone did people good. Moralise
upon it as we will, the living presets& of royalty
is a mighty stimulant to public demonstrations
and festivity : and the governors of St. Thomas's
Hospital are to be congratulated upon both
their shrewdness and good fortune in se-
curing this splendidly royal inauguration for
their new site. Everywhere was the old
enthusiasm, the old loyalty, the old dignity
and sweetness, the old precious charm of
sympathetic accord between the sovereign and the
country and there were few present who did not
feel their heart softened, and it may be fairly
hoped their purse-strings loosened, by the happy,
joyous brightness with which the first step towards
relieving the afflicted and the suffering was gone
through. It needed no mention of the racks and
pains which will be left behind when the substan-
tial pageant of this morning has shared the inevit-
able fat. of all earthly pageants, and faded into
a thing of the dim past ; no spoken contrast
between the rank, beauty, and fashion, the lust of
the eye and the pride of life, assembled about the
Court, and the anguish and misery the new build-
ing is designed to assuage. These asserted them-
selves with silent eloquence through the prayer
and prides ; sad the smiling enthusiasm and con-
gratulations, the lusty cheers, and the irrepres-
sible loyalty, seemed to be so many harbingers of
love mercy to the sick, the sorrowing, and the
needy.