The Sun.
London, England, 1852-10-29 00:00:00

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LONDON, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1852.

Mr. BRIGHT has taken full advantage of his Irish
experience. Like many former travellers in that
country, he has fancied that he could, during a tour
u: a few weeks' duration, make himself thoroughly
acquainted with the various evils and abuses by which
that unhappy land is afflicted, and solve the problem
that had puzzled the natives, aye, and would-be legis-
lators, for centuries. The Honourable Gentleman is,
however, resolved that be will not " hide his light."
He has conceived a plan for the satisfactory settle-
ment of the Irish Church question, that fertile source
of dissenbion and discord—the establishment of per-
tact " religious equality "—and the removal of all
future disputes on the subject of " the loaves and
ashes." This he has published in the form of a letter
—to which we gave insertion in our impression of
yesterday—which is to be laid before the Conference
about to be held on the subject of " the existing ec-
clesiastical arrangements of the country," and for it
he apparently hopes to have the concurrence of all
parties engaged in the contest.
His scheme has at least the merit of simplicity. He
jets out by assuming that the most perfect" equality "
before the law for the different religious sects that
exist in Ireland—which singularly enough he limits to
the Protestant Episcopalian—the Presbyterians and the
Roman Catholic Churches—is indispensable. It is not
enough that there should be universal toleration—that
every man should be allowed to worship his Creator
in the manner which in his soul and conscience
be believes to be most acceptable to the Deity; and
that without incurring any disability or disqualifica-
tion on account of his opinions. No, that would be
rejected with scorn, unless every honour or emolu-
ment aecorded to the one were participated in by the
other,
oland the rival Churches were made like the
Kings of Brentford " smelling at the one nose-
gay." How then is this desideratum to be attained ?
Is it by elevating the Roman Catholics and Presby-
terians to the same position as' the Episcopalians,—by
allowing the "Protestant"—the word is Mr. BRIGHT'S
at
--" to remain as it is, or, least, to continue to be a
State Church, building pat its side a Catholic Es-
tablishment ; and to complete the scheme, a Presby-
terian II 3tablishment also, havinga baitnchthof
HouseC atholicf
equality,
Prelates and Presbytererian Divines
Lords ? " No,—this scheme of ewbieb beo
seems to think would meet the views of Lord JOHN
RUSSELL and Earl GREY—he declares would, in his
opinion, be, and must necessarily be, altogether im-
practicable,--3 matter on which we suspect there
will be the most complete unanimity throughout the
length and breadth of the land. It requires no subtle
reasoning or prolonged argument to prove the absur-
dity of having "two Established Churches in Ireland
—the one Protestant, and the other Catholic ;" or of
having in the House of Lords " Protestant and' Ca-
tholic Bishops elbowing each other on the right
reverend bench, guarding the temporal and spiritual
interests of two Churches which denounce each other
as idolatrous or heretical." That point may, there-
fore, safely be dismissed without further discussion.
But if it be impossible to elevate the Roman Ca-
tholics and Presbyterians, it is comparatively easy to