The Express.
London, England, 1868-06-26 00:00:00

Tins LOADS' nrarrE.

The Times speaks of Lord Granville's speodt as
one of singularly well sustained pewee. Lord Grey must
have caused dismay among the opponents of the bill by
his declaration that if the question lay between
the disestablishment and the maintenance of the
Irish church as it is, he would unhesitatingly sup-
port its dise•tabliehmcnt. The ablet speech again- t tho
disestablishment was Lord Derby's, though the argument
he employed was essentially erroneous, for it is a mere
matter of fact that what is called church property is par.
liamentary property. It is understood that the debate
will not be concluded before Monday, when the rejection
of the bill is sufficiently certain. Next session, however,
the opponents of the bill, as they seem oven now
to be aware, must encounter disastrous defeat.
In vain may archbishops prophesy evil and conservative
peers denounce revolution. There is not a member of the
House of Lords who is not ton familiar with such prophe-
cies and denunciation,. Religien departed, or ought to
have departed, from the land forty years ago. It was im-
possible that the throne could survive 1ic.12. When tho
Municipal Corporations Act was passed the Fecur..ty of
pr petty received a death-blow. The abolition of the
Coin Laws destroyed our aristocracy. Thu secularisation
of the clergy reserves in Canada alienated for ever this bast
of the Canadian loyalists. And yet there is some religious
activity left among us, the throne wan never more -ecure,
property is twitted with the same respect, our aristecraey
is richer than ever, and the loyalty of Canada is almo•t
troublesome.

The //oily ..V.IrA fail, to trar.• any counterpart in the
House of Lords of the influence ex..rcistsl upon the Com-
mons by the pro.ptet of contact with the 11CW consti-
tuency. Earl Gtanville put it to their lordships whether
it was possible for them to ..ioain the Irish Etablish-
milt against the wish of the people of this country, and
reminded thou that the oft rejert.,l ine.i.tire of n fornt
had come back ahumt iu the ehnpe of revolution. 'Choir
ItaMhips have power to 'eject this bill, but they ii v.: not
power to pn vent its rctuni iu more derisive form and
will; ve t louder v. ie• behind it. T.. the Daily
Hole is nnncflr,, melancholy in tho obstructiVO
attitude of tic House of Lords. The iwetacle 1.1 the
gocd toms struggling against a Iverse fate has always
exeitad the mind, ation of mankind ; hut unhappily wry-
vei ant carketlite has invented a companion picture in
Mis. l'artington : u I her mop t. ing to keep out the
1 .ccan. 11,, spectacle which tlecir lorships have deter.
mined to pm,. tit to the wo: I I is of cone., the sublime
one but to the distorted visioa of an unbelieving ago
tiny appear in the ridiculous aspect. It is a rising tide
against which tie y are c nth tiding, not one of the -torms
of fate; and it is not the isaciit wand of omnipotent
justke with which they hid it deli:me but Mrs. Part-
ingtou's mop.

The Post OSSIIIIII, that their for have already
made up their minds on the subject, and except that Din
speeches delivered indicate to the nation the opinion of
the tipper House on the subject, those opinion. might
just as well never be spoken. In the irdimation of
special pleader Earl Grey would probably be considered to
have made out a strong case against the hill, but the fact
is that the measure, founded as it was by a series
of resolutions yawed by the House of Commons, ought
to be measured solely as the animation of a particular
policy.' and it was so regarded by the House of Coiamon..
It was, however, strange that so eminent a statesman as
the ex-Premier should seriously rely upon the prescriptive
right of the church to the property it possesses, and
should discover a fancied anclogy letweett that right and
the light of landowners of the preszut day to property
conferred on their ancestors centuries ago as the fruit. of
most unrighteous confiscation. If the Earl of Derby can
FCC no difference between public iuel private property, and
can detect no distinction between impoverishing
indi-
vidual and diverting into other channels revenues which
undoubtedly belong to the state, the Post cannot pretend
to be able to cure him of his misconception.
The Herald admits that Lord Grey's address was as
masterly in its way as his lordship's speeches generally
are; but it nevertheless regrets that the motion hail not
been left in other hands. Of those who approved it not
one in twenty approved it for the reasons given by Lord
Grey ; and it would have been better, more just both to
the Lonbi themselves and to the subject of the contest,
that the spokesman of the opposition to the bill should
have represented the views which really animated his
supporten. In Lord Haluiesbury's and nut in Lord Grey's
speech must we seek the real expression of the sense of the
bowie, the true meaning of the impending rejection of the
bill. And though that rejection be not actuated by the
motives that governed his own action, the herald believes
that it will receive the approval and support of the
country, and that it will strengthen the position and
authority of the House of Lords.