The Express.
London, England, 1868-08-06 00:00:00

dition of Ireland at this moment is a
subject of sincere congratulation, would be a
natior.al disgrace. A front of brass NOM needed
for the unabashed delivery of such a sentiment,
and a heart of stone for its conception ; or, if wo
may not think of it and its author so harshly as
this, it is a betrayal of political incapacity more
signal than has ever proceeded from any man oc-
cupying the high position to which fortune,
intrigue, and audacity have raised the present First
Minister of the Crown. We ought, according to
Mr. DISRAELI, to be supremely satisfied with the
condition of Ireland when rebellion smoulders
instead of bursting out into a fierce flame, when
sedition instead of noisily raving is sullenly silent,
when the sword of arbitrary government is held
threateningly over the land and does not actually
fall to smite. A statesman occupied with such an
ideal of what is satisfactory, and who can sincerely
congratulate himself upon the state of things
which it denotes, will certainly do nothing to im-
prove it. The physician who does not recognise
the disease is not likely to effect a radical cure.
Mr. DISRAELI'S present language with respect to
Ireland is simply an apology for doing nothing,
until the time shall come to give effect
to his suspended but not abandoned scheme
for taking the Roman Catholic hierarchy
into the counsels of the Government,
for placing the education of the people in
the hands of a priesthood directed from Rome, and
governing the country under the nominal vice-
royalty of an inoffensive English marquis or duke,
but really as a suzerainty of the POPE, admi-
nistered by Cardinal Cuizzis, or Cardinal Commits
successor. All this is the natural and inevitable
development of the policy of Mr. DISRAELI and
Lord MAYO, of making all churches equal, not by
confiscation but elevation, of improving the status
of the unondowed clergy, and of the estab-
lishing and paying an exclusively Roman
Catholic University, and an indefinite number of
Roman Catholic Colleges. For the sake of giving
effect to this precious scheme, tho promoters of
which have the boldness to appeal to
the Protestantism of England, and even
to raise the " No Popery" cry, the constituencies
are asked to delay, that is to deny, justice to Ire-
land, to continue to govern her by the suspension
of law, and to refuse to retire from that brink of
civil war on which, as Mr. GLADSTONE justly says,
the prolonged withdrawal of the guarantees of
personal liberty practically places us. To termi-
nate this evil state of things in the present, and
to prevent the weaving of that web of mis-
chief for the future of which Mr. Distuati
has thrown out the first linos, is the prime object
of liberal statesmanship. This end can be gained
only in one way ; and that is by the immedi-
ate and complete withdrawal by the
State: from all connection, by means
of endowment, with the several churches of
Ireland, Anglican, Roman Catholic, and Presby-
terian. This is the policy which Mr. GLADSTONE
has declared, which the House of Commons by
an overwhelming majority, and the Liberal party
with practical unanimity, has accepted ; and
which the country will adopt and enforce.

THE EXPRESS, THURSDAY E.

.
l'irr.ee briny. Death pheyßeg on a deellatlabr. • liehial
him,
• poor old woman with a rosary,
Follows the wad, and sow tottegswer diet
& Were swifter to oriole him Tin
The inscription reads, "Batter is Death them Life."
Elrie. Better is Death than Life! Ah, yes! to 'thousands
Death plays upon a dulcimer, and sings
That song of consolation, till the air
Rings with it, and they cannot choose but follow
IA hither he leads. And not the old alone,
But the young also hear it, and are still.
Prince Newry. Yes, in their sadder moments. "Fis the
sound
Of their own heats they hear, half full of tears,
Which are like crystal cups, half filled with water,
Responding to the pressure of a
With music sweet, and low, and=eholy.
Let us go forward, and no longer stay
In this great picture gallery of death!
I hate it! ay, the very thought of it!
Elsie. Why is it hateful to you?
Priori* Entry. For the reason
That life, and all that speaks of life, is lovely,
And death, and all that speaks of death, is hateful.
Elsie. The grave itself is but a emend
Leading from light to light, through a brief darks
_ _

The- exquisite " Golden I.egend " from which
the foregoing extract is taken, will, we may be
sure accompany the royal author of the " Diary"
in her visits in the vicinity of Lucerne. What
traveller fails to recognise this picture:
This bridge is called the Devil's Bridge.
With a single arch, from ridge to ridge,
It leaps across the terrible chasm
Yawning beneath us, black and deep,
• As if, in some oonvulsive spasm,
The summits of the hills had cracked,
And made a road for the cataract,
That raves and rages down the steep !
Never any bridge but this
Could stand across the wild abyss;
All the rest, of wood or stone,
re
to the Devil's band were overthrown.
crags from the precipice,
Andtidetfice'er was built by day
In the night was swept away ;
None could stand bit this alone.
Or this of the Pass of St. Omura, :
Prince Henry. This is the highest point. Two ways the
rivers
Leap down to different seas, and as they roll
Grow deep and still, and their majestic presence
Becomes a benefaction to the towns
They visit, wandering silently among them,
Like patriarchs old among their shining tents.

It is pleasant to think of the exquisite scenery
being thus allied to the exquisite verse, and the
refining, soothing influences of both stealing softly
over the heart and mind. It is pleasant to think of
our QUEEN and her daughters, freed for the time
from the worry and turmoil of state, and pomp,
and fuss, gazing upon
The Lake of the Four Forest Towns apparelled
In light, and lingering, like a village maiden,
Rid in the bosom of her native mountains,
Then pouring all her life into another's,
Changing her name and being! Overhead,
Shaking his cloudy tresses loose in air,
Rises hiatus, with his windy pines;
and then to picture them riding or driving through
one of the fairest landscapes in Europe, with its
whitewashed cottages glistening in the sun, and
the green pendants of the overhanging branches
giving shade to the tired wayfarer. In short, the
CtrEzze a holiday is full of bright and happy pro-
mise, and it rests with her faithful subjects travel-
ling abroad to see that neither curiosity nor mis-
taken loyalty interfere with its enjoyment.

THE Liberal party have every reason to be en-
couraged by the character of the lists published and
posted on the church-doors by the parochial offi-
cers during the last few days. We learn that these
papers not only show a vast increase of voters,
but that the additions are mainly on the Liberal
side. These lists, moreover, are independent of
the lodgers, who have till the 23th to make good
their claims. The abundance of candidates of
Liberal professions indicates pretty clearly the
general expectation of the result. Lodger-voters
in the metropolitan districts will be numerous,
the City of London showing a considerable
proportion. Mr. BzuonT's letter, which we
printed yesterday, relative to the policy of
electors in the three-cornered constituencies, is
much to the point. If the advice there contained
is attended to, the minority clause will fail to realise
the object of its promoters.

LORD STANLEY will be in Paris to-morrow, and
in the course of his stay will have an interview
with the Marquis DE MOLTSTIER, the Minister of
Foreign Affairs.

Loin) Jonx Max:czas is spoken of as likely to
succeed the Earl of MAYO as Chief Secretary of
Ireland.

SOUTH LANCASHIRE. —lt ie understood that
Mr. Henry Yates Thompson will stand as one of the
candidates for South-East Lancashire. He is now on
his way from India, and may be expected in a few days.
For the second seat, a gentleman is now being communi-
cated with who stands high as • politician and a con-
sistent liberal and supporter of Mr. Gladstone. His de-
cision is expected very shortly.
THE LIGHT OP THE "LANTERN."—The Liberal
Berninas informs it, readers that they must not expect
to read any more extracts from La Lanterns in its columns,
its manager having been informed by the prefect that if
they were continued the sale of his paper in the public
streets would be prohibited. IL H. Bochefort is in a
sad situation ; for, while the people of Bayonne are shut
out by government authority from reading extracts from
his Lantern be has just been fined 21. by the celebrated
" Sixth Chamber " of Paris for not immediately inserting
• government communique of nineteen columns in its
pages. Paul Louis Courier used to say, " L'antortte,
messieurs, voila le grand mot en France!"
" Between 12 and 1 " is the title of a work
by M. Gustave Claudia, in which he shows the moral de-
pravation which has been wrought in the character of the
French people of late years.

Mn. C,onar.—We learn that Mr. Corry will be
prevented from accompanying his colleagues in the ap-
proaching visitation to the dockyards, as his medical
advisers consider it necessary to the more complete re-
storation of his health that he should spend some time at
one of the Spas in Germany. We understand it is his
intention to visit the dockyards privately later in the year.
—.Herald,

Ma. DIY CAE.—The announcement that Mr.
Du Cane has left England for Tasmania is quite errone-
ous. The report originated in a mistake of an Essex
paper. Mr. Du Cane has no intention of darting until
the first week in October, when he will be accompanied
by Mn. Du Cane and his family. The new governor has
determined to go by way of the Cape to Syiy, whither
be will proceed in the &brown, the same sailing-clipper
that took out Lord Belmore last year to New South
Wales. —roar.

Da ELLIOTSON.—Tbe mortal remains of this
eminent physician ware on Tuesday interred in the family
vault at Kensal-green. He was followed to his last rest-
ing place by a few of his old and attached friends. The
funeral, at his own express desire, was conducted in the
quietest manner possible. Had any public intimation been
given, hundreds of those who had been the recipients of
his benevolence and the subjects of his skill would have
flocked to pay their last tribute of regard to one so noble,
great, and good.—Tisses.
Tna linen CHURCH COMMISSION.—" As many
incoherent statements have been put into circulation re-
garding the report of the Irish Church Commission," the
Dublin .lioneing Mail thinks it right to say that " there is
no likelihood of the document being published sooner than
at least a month from this date. The laying of
the report upon the table of the House of Com-
mons was a mere form necessary in order to
admit of its being printed and published during
the recess. Some of the intimations regarding the
contents have a certain foundation, but they are imperfect,
and neither the recommendations nor the reasons for them

can be understood without an examination of the entire
document. Any speculation upon their character or value
is. therefore, premature and unadviaable. From the
nature of the details, comprising a large amount of
figures, which would be valueless unless accurate, the
work of printing is necessarily tedious. The commission
is still in full work, one of the commissioners attending
daily at the Milos to superintend the work."
NATIONAL EXHIBITION OP WORKS OP AZT AT
Lamm 1868.—Return of IaSIIIIIiOIII Wednesday Au.
gust 6.—By season tickets, 786 ; by payment of 2s. 6d.
each, 8413. Total, 1,434.