The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-03 00:00:00

JOURNALS.

dral city who, in their hearts prefer the con
scientious advocate of the Established Church.
They feel, no doubt, as Protestant Churchmen must
feel, that a party which would add Lord Courteney.s
name to the compact which has been subscribed by
Irish Roman Catholics is not entitled to receive any
large measure of confidence at their hands. The in-
terests of the Church of England are scarcely ade-
quately represented in the House of Commons.
Men of the mental calibre of Mr. Gladstone, Sir
Roundell Palmer, and Mr. Walpole are, it is true,
a host in themselves; but their debating power is
neutralised by their numerical weakness. Few man,
too, who desire to enter Parliament have sufficient
moral intrepidity to profess their attachment to the
Church on principle. They ride away from the
point, which is every day becoming of more impor-
tance, on vague platitudes which convey no distinct
meaning, and their object is to reconcile views that
are wholly irreconcileable. The Conservatives es-
pecially take the name of the Church in vain for
party purposes; but they invariably round their
periods with some sonorous expressions which, if
they do not deceive Dissenters, serve to account to
Churchmen for factious alliances and latitudinarian
votes. All the while, however, the outworks of the
established religion are being insidiously undermined,
and the " Conservative Wednesdays," which were
really political- field days, have rather diminished
than increased the strength of the Church in the
House of Commons. In the session just ended the
Attorney-General had to withdraw a measure de-
signed to sustain the Church in deference to objec-
tions which, while withdrawing, he conclusively
answered. The church rate question, too, remains
unsettled because of the difficulty of dealing with it
in a manner consistent with the constitution of the
Establishment, and that difficulty plainly arises for
the most part from the political subservience of
those who arrogate to themselves the exclusive
right to defend the Church. They urge Church.
men to vote unhesitatingly for Conservative can-
didates; they do all that in them lies to throw the
Liberals into the arms of Dissent, for they rightly
enough see that the feelings and the convictions of
the country are on the side of the Church ; and this,
not on principle, not because they believe they can
avoid an equitable adjustment of differences, not as
being resolved to hold fast to any point they main-
tain, but only for the purpose of ultimately carrying
out the policy they prevent their opponents from
proposing. It is a political move, a party stratagem,
and, as the best friends of the Church apprehend,
its tendency is to impair and imperil the institution
it affects to uphold. This is a subject which demands
more attention than it is likely to meet with in the
strife and clamour of a contested election. But
there can be few constituencies better qualified 10
appreciate its importance than the one which is to-
day to be appealed to, and it is exceptionally mooted
by the candidature of Mr. Coleridge. We are quite
aware that for the purpose of supporting that gen:
tleman both parties must give up something of who
they have been taught to repeat as their political
belief. But the question is, whether that does not
in itself constitute a claim which independent Eng:
lishmen should recognise. We are inclined to thin*
that the Liberals at Exeter have set a good example
to the country in selecting for their candidate 21.
man whose main qualification in their eyes must he
that he is capable of representing the city in the
highest sense of the word. They know beforehat2
that he will be no delegate ; they cannot expect hlci
to always agree with them, or go as far as thel.
would go; and if they elect him he will undoub:l
edly owe his election to the weight of individtl.o
character, We take Mr. Coleridge to be in poll" if
very much what Lord Stanley once declared 1210Ae
to be a Liberal because he is a Conservative, anuch
Conservative because he is a Liberal. Now, sr'
men sit and vote with their party, and they are so
in
far party men. Bat they are more than a ullate,
a division, and more even than a voice in a deu,,
They exercise a healthful influence, they encouraekf
a feeling of independence, and, by the force of tlaW
talents and the breadth and substance of their fir! it,
mente, they make the representation of the Pelle
that which it is most desirable it should be- As
representation of enlightened public opininn%o of
was said by Canning, the power of the 1:10u°,00
Commons has been growing till it has almost,_
the rod of Aaron, absorbed all the functions o:
vernment ; and, without considering
is, or is not, as it ought to be, it is, at any sy
valid reason for regarding with peculiar je7,,,es
the composition of a body which actually pr 1""
over the destinies of the country. Whetheretel:l:l