The Sun.
London, England, 1870-02-16 00:00:00

THE EXCISE

A. writer, " having an intimate knowledge of the
Excise department," proposes a reform in the mode
of collecting licences. A.t present the collectors
assess the excise dues themselves, and thus there is
no safeguard whatever against collusion between
those functionaries and their subordinates. Surely
the two duties of receiver and assessor ought to
be distinct. The mode of transacting the business,
too, is wasteful, for the. collector travels about
from one place to another, sitting first at this village
and then at that town, this roving expedition being
conducted, of course, at the public expense,
though the receipts often do not equal the
cost. The writer suggests that taxpayers
sqould pay .the money for their licences to the
postmaster of their respective towns. This plan
would, he says, secure divers advantages. It would
save £20,000 a year. People would not, as now,
travel from three to ten miles for their licenses.
The charging of duties and issuing licences and
the receipt of public money would be kept wholly
distinct, and therefore collusion would be impossible.
33y this plan, too, officers of the Government, instead
of roaming about the country, would be engaged at
home in the performance of their duties, detecting
those who were committing frauds on the revenue..
The reformer sums up by declaring the Excise De-
partment to be a disgrace to the age in which we
live. .•

THE BISHOP OF EXETER, UNITY AND CHARITY.
Two letters which appeared yesterday—the one in
the Pall Mall Gazstte, and the other in the Times—
shew how differently those who agree in the main
are divided about Bishop Temple's most recent
act. Both the writers are clergymen ; they
both belong to the " Broad" school ; yet they
look with very different eyes upon the bishop's
speech in Convocation. To the Pall Mall's corre-
spondent it is a blow to both liberty and unity; it is
a misfortune to the Church ; and it does not support
its arguments. The Times writer "A Member of Con-
vocation," regards it as a preparation to enlarged Chris-
tian charity. The one observes in " Dr. Temple's recan-
tation" great damage done to the Liberal clergy
with whom, before he became Bishop, the right
rev, prelate did not object to associate. The
other, in the reception given to Dr. Temple's speech
by Dr. Pusey, Archdeacon Denison, and others,
finds a means by which those who were opponents
cin be renonciled. Dr. Pusey shakes hands with an
Essayist and Reviewer, who does not confess that
he has done wrong ; so the High and the Broad are
brought together. The correspondent of the .Gazette
bewails the "fiasco." "There are hundreds, '
exclaims the Times' correspondent in ecstasy, "who
will hail such a long-delayed acknowledgment of
truth and justice as the triumph of the cause for
which they have struggled, and as the beat and most
truly Christian Eirenicon."

TUE IRISH citrnba:
A meeting of the parishioners of Enniskillen has
been held, to consider the draft of the Act of Con-
stitution for the future government of the Irish
Episcopal Church. The decision of the meeting on
the subject declares itself in the form of a pe-
tition, which is said to embody the general
sentiments of the churchgoing community in
the centre of Ulster. It is adverse to the
investing of the clergy with more than ordinary
ministerial powers. The petition is addressed to the
archbishops, bishops, and others in Convocation
assembled, and strongly protests against the draft of
the Act of Constitution, as depriving the parishioners
of their existing rights and privileges. It expresses
regret that all power is to be placed in the hands of
bishops and of the clergy who have promised
to obey them. The election of parochial
ministers should be the right of the laity,
this right being historical, as well as the
right of voting on matters of ritual and doctrine.
The petition further states that many more clauses
of the draft contain objectionable propositions,
which it trusts will be carefully changed in Convoca-
tion, and that all proceedings connected with the re-
organisation of the Church of Ireland will be
conducted with a view to its freedom, independence,
and purity.