The Sun.
London, England, 1854-06-24 00:00:00

blundering absurdity called the Treaty of Adri-
anople ! Moreover, be it obsexved, my Lord
ABERDEEN proposes, on Monday, to remove some
great misapprehensions, existing, he says,
in reference to some remarks recently ad-
dressed by him to the hereditary branch
of the Imperial Legislature. An acknowledgment,
that is, we take it, an avowal sufficiently clear and
explicit that there are some words of his really
requiring explanation. Not a doubt about it—
my Lord ABERDEEN. And an explanation that,
notwithstanding all its past apathy, the country
will have--whatever the result, and no matter

what the sacrifice.
day of reckoning appears to be ap-
proaching last, thank HEAVEN. The thunder-
boltvirtual impeachment is about to descend
oe Nell—the
l a — th
at
e

upon. the " forty years' friend" of the Emperor
NwnoLAs--upon the Statesman among all States-

men living, the very least qualified by his past pro.

eeedings and his known principles to preside with
honour to the country and with advantage to the
Crown—during the period of a war with Russia
—over the councils of the British Administration.
And the effects of this thunderbolt the sagaci-
ous Premier actually dreams of warding off by
lifting deprecatively above his head the tat-
tered rags of a yellow, old, half-mouldered,
nearly forgotten despatch, relating—to the Treaty
of Adrianople 1
The straw to be thrown up on Monday will
only indicate the more clearly the direction in
which, towards Thursday next, the political hur-
ricane will be blowing in the Lower House of
Parliament.
Already the Hon. Gentleman the member for
Aylesbury has the credit justly due to him of
having delivered some of the most brilliant
and effective orations yet heard within the walls
of the British Legislature, in reference to the
Eastern Question—the Question which gradually
became complicated from a squabble between the
CZAR and the SULTAN to a terrible and stupendous
warfare between Russia and the chief naticns of
Christendom. If Mr. LAYARD only acquit him-
self, as we confidently believe he will acquit him-
` self, on Thursday evening, of the responsible
duty which he has chivalrouay voluntesred to
discharge, he will enhance his already distinguished
popularity as an Oriental traveller, as a profound
Biblical scholar, and as the illustrious discoverer
of the ruins of Nineveh, by the contrasting
and auspicious promise of an elevated and endur-
ing political reputation. Beyond which, suppos-
ing the Hon. Alember for Aylesbury to be success-
ful in his projected enterprise, he will have de-
served well of his country by ridding its Councils,
at a moment of supreme emerge ncy, of the pre-
sence of a Minister so blind in ragard to the Past,
the Present, and the Future, as to dream of
the Solution of our European difficulties being
effected at the suggestion—of all men in the
world—of Prince METTERNICIL 1

Sir WILLIAM CLAY and Mr. BERKELEY may
well rejoice in their defeats, compared with those

sustained by Lord JOHN Russr.T.T.and the Cabinet.
The Government have lost ground with their mea-
sures, while ground has been as unquestionably

gained both for the Ballot and Church-rate Abo-

lition. Lord JOHN'S half-and-half measures com-

pelled their own withdrawal, because, even with-
out a war, they had not enough. in them to arouse
public interest ; and, had he persisted, he would
doubtless have been left in a smaller minority
than the Honourable Members just mentioned.
On the other hand, the splendid debate on the
Ballot, with all the argwnent on one side, and,
compared with 1853, the ]ergo proportional

minority, have assured its advocates of a not very
distant triumph ; while in regard to Church-rate
Abolition, the whole force of Government, aided

by all the old-school Toryism, could not muster
more than a paltry majority of twenty-seven to

defeat Sir WILLTA.M CLAY.

Not to speak of the

distressed condition of all the hostile speakers,

such a minority was, of coarse, substantially a

victory.

The uncertain and confused fire of the enemy,
however, for military figuref; must be excused
just now, was very obvious. B' very shot fel] short,
and even Ihe few which seemed to reach the mark
missed their aim. The poi rder, indeed, was

damp. No set of speakers avoising, as all did, in
terms more or less strong, the: it conviction that
the present law was too bad to be retained, could
use their oratory with much effect. Even Mr.
GOULBURN, who thought " abolition unjust in
principle, and opposed to every dictate of Chris-
tian charity!"—who characterised the bill as one
which would " deprive us of the privileges of reli-

gious liberty I"—even he, really did think tha
" the law of Church bates required amendments.'

The most curious production of the evening un•

doubtedly was that of the Chancellor of the Ex.
chequer ; he found himself in a perfect labyrinth
of perplexities, till, as Mr. BRIGHT observed, it
was very difficult to see which side of the argu-
ment he took. lie confessed to speaking with
reserve. It was, we think, clear that he would not
dislike the increased independence the Church
would gain by relinquishing a tribute to her
sovereignty which enables Dissenters very fre-
quently to trample it in the dust ; but he seemed
haunted by a singular and a most absurd fear,
that if a rate were a voluntary contribution, per-
sons who bad not contributed would step in and
share the administration of the money I We can
assure Mr. GLADSTONE that if such would, as
ecclesiastical laws stand, be in that case a legal
right, the Englishman who should dare to exer-
cise it must be the object of parish contempt, and
would indeed be powerless. His concluding
words, however, sufficiently show his real con-
victions. He thought it " possible, in the enor-
mous difficulty of the question, they might be
driven to the total abolition of Church Rates ;"
indeed he seemed only anxious to show that " to
make the measure just, it ought to include pro-
visions to enable the ratepayers, who were willing
to contribute as private individuals, to take into
their own hands, subject to the law, the manage-
ment and application of their own funds." We
cannot doubt that Sir W. CLAY and the Dis-
senters would willingly aid in releasing Churchmen
from all laws opposed to this suggestion. No one
hitherto has imagined that abolishing Church
Rates would not leave Churchmen masters of
their own contributions. Mr. GLADSTONE ought
to know, but the supposition seems incredible.
As to the Dissenters' quondam friend, Lord J.
RUSSELL, he asked for no such securities merely
for Churchmen, but contended out and out, in
the best style of Sir HARRY INGLIS, for hard-held
morsels of Church tyranny. He sees in his old
friends nothing but a pack of hungry animals,
who are eager to swallow up the whole Establish-•
ment, and who, if what honestly belongs to them
be given up, will only fly upon all the rest as soon
as they can. He disapproves of Voluntaryism,
and supports a National Church ; therefore he will
not encourage Voluntaries by demolishing wholly
an outwork, as he deems it, of the Establishment,
which is already more than half taken, and its
strength turned against the Establishment itself.
Not having
he will get up a eo ll
to while a -
raents in theNo th
enough of foreign war on our hands,
0 ot y number of parish battles,
%ay the tedium of blockades and encamp-
some of the most learned
shrowa,nwdiEtaast t. His Lordship thought
well also to read
As. if Nonconformists, of p.
extracts from the early Noncon-
formists, to
every one knew, that
"len werenot Voluntaries !
a People in Vie world,
professed to be " finality" men, and to adopt their
well forefathers' ecclesiastical views, as '
as the sub-
stance of their theology 1 The most pathetic part
of his speech was, doubtless,
his appeal to loves
of the antique to preserve the fine old palish struc-
tures, though many of their were much too large
for the
preserved too,
population of the parish. We wish them
to b
but not by Church Rates. If
not want these relics, and anti-
the parish does n
e