The Express.
London, England, 1868-06-27 00:00:00

THE WEEKLY PRESS.

The Saturday Review says the first evening of
the debate in the Lords on the Irish Church fully justified
the opinion of those who expected that the great issues
involved would be discussed in a spirit and with a force
worthy of the occasion. Lord Derby made a speech full
of his old fire and vigour, and calculated in some measure
to repair the strange and prejudicial effect of leaving the
main opposition to the bill in the hands of a peer who, like
Lord Grey, thought that it would be better to do any-
thing with the Irish Church than let it remain in
possession of its present property and position.
Lord Derby spoke like a great party leader.
But, effective as his speech was as a means of rallying and
animating his followers, and as redeeming the conservative
party from the embarrassment of being led in its defence
of the Irish Church by a leader whose defence of it is
merely accidental, the amount of solid argument in this
speech was not very great. With respect to the merits of
the question, the mere legal title of the Irish Church is,
the Saturday Review contends, unassailable, and may be
safely rested on prescription alone. But the real question
whether this corporation, if it can be accurately called
or, is ems that fulfils a good purpose or doss
not fulfil a very noxious purpose.
Referring to the debate on the government of India, the
Saturday Review says that it was far too hasty, and was
oonducted by men of too subordinate a political position
to do justice to the question which it raised. But
enough was said to show what are the real issues
to be decided when it is asked whether the English
council shall have any effective control over
the Secretary of State for India. No one proposes to
do away with the Council altogether, but its enemies urge
that it should be made a purely consultative body. The
Secretary of State for the time being might send for a
councillor, as he might send for any other clerk, and get
primed a little before he sat down to write a despatch
affecting the fortunes of millions of human beings, but
this would be no check upon him at all. The
control which the Indian Council possess over the finances
does something more than enable them to check the ex-
travagance of the secretary ; it gives them a status and
position as regards him which is most valuable in the
discussion of all questions whatever, and not merely on
those directly connected with finance. The time for
which the members of the council are appointed, which
is the main question, is • matter very easily settled;
and it is an advantage that seats therein should be coveted
as prizes worth having by the best men.
Commenting upon the clerical petition to the House of
Lords against the Irish establishment, the Saturday Review
remarks that when the opinions of these two hundred and
sixty gentlemen are quoted with so much deference, it can
no longer be pretended that there is the slightest justifica-
tion for that odious regulation which excludes men in holy
orders from the House of Commons; and one result of
the present interference of the clergy in polities must's" a
wish that Professors Jowett and Maurice should have,
like all other British citizens, an opportunity of saying in
parliament what parliament rates so highly.
The first impression produced on the mind of the Spec-
tator by a great debate in the Lords, especially on a
church question, is that of the " accomplished non-
chalance" of that distinguished assembly. The first even-
ing's debate on the Irish Church question was rather of
the nature of a distinguished and elaborate chat over
matters perceived by their lordships to be of great
moment, but so perceived a little in the way in which the
Epicurean gods perceived the intensity of human interests
beneath them :
But they smile, they end a music centred in • doleful song,
Steaming up, a lamentation, and an ancient tale of wrong,
Late • tale of little meaning, the' the words are strong.

With respect to the merits of the question the simple truth
is that the Irish establishment is not a bulwark against
Romanian', but an irritant to Romanian, and that is a
position which Dr. Tait should have tried to break down.
Thursday's debate in the Lords shows with almost extra-
ordinary force the weakness of the position occupied by
the ablest friends of the Irish ecclesiastical monopoly.
The London Review observes that in these days of rapid
advance towards a democratic condition of society, it is
surely injudicious on the part of the House of Lords to
put itself in a posture of antagonism to a measure which
has received so large a degree of support from the Lower
House as Mr. Gladstone's Suspensory Bill. The right of
the peers to throw out that bill, or any other, is of course
indisputable; but there are some rights which it is
advisible to hold in abeyance, and this, our
contemporary argues, is one of them. The fact is that the
so-called Irish Church was tried and found guilty long be-
fore any of us were born ; and it cannot, therefore, be
said that the condemnation is premature ; although the
peers in opposing the Suspensory Bill are acting as if the
question were not ripe for legislation, or as if no case for
amendment had been made out.
The Examiner thinks the debate in the Lords on the
Suspensory Bill will lose little of its interest by reason of
its foregone conclusion. But the issue is not immaterial.
The largeness of the majority against the bill, while it
widens the breach between parties, will stimulate
the friends of sectarian equality to greater and
more definite efforts. Toleration, free trade, and
reform have each eventually overcome opposition and been
carried with the murmured acquiescence of the Lords, and
so it will be with the question of the Irish Church sooner
or later : sooner if the liberal party act with spirit and
act together—later if dissensions are suffered to divide
their ranks and to weaken their counsels.

FOREIGIN-OFFICE, Juin 23.—The Queen has been
pleura to aptence of Mr. Th. Kramer as consul at Co-
lombo, and in the jurisdiction of that port, for his
Majesty the Xing et the lietharlanals.--tiasetu.