The Express.
London, England, 1868-10-30 00:00:00

SIR JOHN PAEMOTON, M.P., ON PUBLIC
AFFAIRS.

Last night, Fir John
'l .°ll, M.P. 860111"
tary of state for the war department. :."W rir foll-
stitututs at the George Hotel, Dmitwieu`. The
ona
baronet entered into lengthy details of the 1,4-
mieistiaticn of the army and admiralty departments,
with the object of rebutting the charges of Mr. Gladstone.
He next proceeded to ray that there was one other subject
which be could not pass over in silence, and that was the
attack which was to be made by Mr. Gladstone, his
I arty, and his allies upon the protestant institutions
of England. (Hear, hear.) lie did not know how their
jedgments might be influenced by Mr. Gladstone's policy;
but, for himself, he would Pay that he would be no party
to an attack upon the protestant institutions of England.
(thews.) As an Englishman, and with • feeling ir-
respective of party, be deplored and lamented the
unworthy manner in which the great subject of
which he was speaking had been brought before
the country. (Hear, hear.) It was a subject which ought
to be approached in a calm, dm' paseionate, and patriotic
spirit ; and it was • subject which ought not to be made
that which it had been made by Mr. Gladstone—ono of
Linty manceuvre. (Hear, hear.) He was at a loss to un-
derstand what could have influenced Mr. Gladstone to go
about the country, as be had lately done, declaiming in
the most intolerant language, and without regard to the
real and important facts, upon the Irish church. Speak-
ing o: !I:ft cburcb• Mr. Olattftnit hi! 1",.74711i!t7iiii,
said:—"lt is still there, like a tall tree of noxious
growth, lifting its head to Heaven, and darkening and
poisoning
the land so far is its shadow can extend.
ow at length the day has arrived when, as we hope, the
ass has been laid at the root of the tree, and it nods and
quivers from its top to its base. It wants one stroke more
—the stroke of this election : it will then, once for all,
totter to its fall." He was perfectly at a loss to under-
stand how Mr. Gladstone could indulge in such extrava-
gances ; but on the other hand, Mr. Gladstone, remarkable
in many respects, was pre-eminent in this—he stood alone
in the powers of tergiversation. Thus, in his ad-
dress, he stated that he was in favour of those
principles of education which bad been laid
down by Earl Russell, when he was a member
of the House of Commons, in • series of resolutions ; but
he remembered that, when those resolution were debated,
Mr. Gladstone described them as unconstitutional and fatal
in principle. (Applause.) Mr. Gladstone was • man of
great but very unequal parts. He was • man of great ability,
with a copious flow of words; but, in the speedier's opinion,
be was one of the most dangerous public men that had
over occupied a high position in this country. (Hear,
hear.) That was his opinion, and he had no hesi-
tation in openly avow' it before the public. He had a
firm belief that Mr. 0 ne's plan of dealing with
the Irish Church would never be carried. (Cheers.) He
did not believe that the British public were as yet
prepared to give such an immense ascendancy to the
Roman Catholic Church as would be the result of
that plan, or to strike such • blow at their Pro-
testant interests as must be its inevitable result.
He was, and had always been, an advocate of toter-
Con to Raman catholic.; but he would not give his sup-
port to any man who, for the sake of promoting the
ephemeral interests of a political party, would be willing
to strike a blow at the protestant religion, which, in his
opinion, lay at the root of the freedom, the prosperity, and
the happiness of the country. (Loud cheers.)
A vote of confidence in Sir John was unanimously
passed, and the proceedings concluded with a vote of thanks
to the chairman.

The Brighton Gazette is authorised to state that
Mr. W. C. L. Bashford, of Brunswick-square, "an in-
fluential resident conservative," is prepared to contest
Brighton on thoroughly conservative principles. Mr.
Eathford advocates the maintenance of the e•itablished
church in Ireland, and would give a cordial support to
the existing admieioration.

A match at football will be played between the
gentlemen cadets of the two Military Colleges of Wool-
wich and Sandhurst, by permission of the Commander-in-
Chief, on the 11th of next month. The game will be
contested on the barraek-field in front of the Royal Artil-
lery Barracks.
LIFEBOAT SEMI( E. PORTLIDIELLAEN, N.
Wham, TWIMBDAT. —During a hard gale and in cloudy wea-
ther this morning (states the Rev. Hughes). a vessel at
anchor outside the roadstead was seen to show a signal
of distress. The "Cotton Sheppard" Lifeboat, belonging
to the National Lifeboat Institution, was launched to her
amittance. and on arriving alongside found that she was
the tat William, of Carnavon, bound to that port from
Cardiff, with one of the crew ill in bed. Four of the
lifeboatznen were put on board, and they succeeded in
getting the flat safely into harbour. But for this valu-
able assistance the vessel and the crew of three men would
probably have been lost. The lifeboat is reported to
have behaved admirably in the very heavy seas she en-
countered.

FATAL GIG ACCIDENT.—A melancholy accident
occurred to Mr. Frederick Hitchcock, of Chittorne, as he
was returning from Warminster Market on Saturday
evening last. Mr. Hitchcock passed through the Heytes-
bury tollrgate, about 7 o'clock with his horse and gig, and
when about a mile and a half beyond the gate towards
Cbitterne, on passing a pond at the bottom of a hill called
't Anstey-bill," it is supposed the horse (which was a
lather sphited one) shied-at the reflection of the moon in
the water, for on an examination of the place ono of the
wheels of the gig appears to have gone on to the bank,
opporite the pond, and to have run along it for a con-
sulerable distance. Then it was upset, and Mr. Hitch-
cock was thrown into the road, where he was afterwards
found, with his skull very much fractured, and quite
died. A few hundred yard. beyond where the accident
happened the bone and gig were found, both very con-
siefetably damaged, but the horse still attached to the gig
by the traces.-14thes (lanll,.
INInA, CHINA, AND ArsTRALIAN MAIM%
Manta run, OCr. 30.—The Peninsular and Oriental Com-
pauy's steamer Pangalore a-rived at 7 cm. this morning.
The mails leave by the 11.30 cm. Lain. Letters may be
expected in London on Satuelay evening.