The Sun.
London, England, 1869-03-26 00:00:00

MISCELLANEOUS NEWS.

THE NEW PTERSv

_
Mr. Gladstone has made his first peers. They are
Sir John Lawrence, henceforth to be known as Baron
Lawrence of the Punjab and of Grately in the county
of Hants ; and Sir James Wilde, whose title is not
yet announced. Indians will, we suspect, feel rather
aggrieved that only the lowest grade in the peerage
has been conferred upon their late Viceroy. Surely the
" saviour of India " was worthy of som e higher dignity
than that conferred upon men like Lord Kesteven, Lord
Ornathwaite, and the other no doubt highly respect-
able country gentlemen who were lately raised to
the peerage. Surely, too, if Sir Charles `Wood was
thought worthy of a viscounty for his not very
brilliant seven years' administration of India, Sir
John Lawrence, who has served in India for forty
years, and during a large portion of that time has
held the most important posts, deserved at least an
equal dignity. Sir James Wilde is raised to the
peerage on account of his high legal attainments.
He is not known as a politician nor as
a public speaker. Being the brother of the late
Lord Chancellor Truro, and the son-in-law of the
Earl of Radnor, and being also ennobled by a Libe-
ral Government, he is no doubt a Liberal. Ile is 53
years of age (six years the junior of Sir John Law-
rence), was educated at Winchester, and Trinity
College, Cambridge. He was called to the Ear at
the Inner Temple in 1832, and went the Northern
Circuit. In 1840 he was appointed junior counsel
to the Excise and Customs. He took silk in
1855, and became counsel to the Duchy of
Lancaster in 1859. In 18(0 he was made a Baron
of the Exchequer, Lord Campbell being then Lord
Chancellor. In 1863, on the death of Sir C. Cress-
well, he was transferred to the judgeship of the
Court of Probate and Divorce, where he has attained
the very highest reputation. We have yet to learn
if he will add to the debating power of the Govern-
ment in the House of Lords. It is probable that
he has been chosen less with this object than
with that of increasing the judicial element, which at
present is lamentably weak. It is well known that Mr.
Gladstone earnestly endeavoured, though in vain, to
induce the Lord Chief Justice to accept a peerage.
It is an unusual thing for two brothers to obtaih
peerages for legal attainments and services. We
believe that until now there has been no instance of
this since the two eminent sons of the Newcastle
pitman, Scott, became Lord Eldon and Lord
Stowell,

THE IRISH CHURCH.
The opponents of the Irish Church Dill have at
last found out a plan for plaguing, if not converting,
those who do not agree with them. They are pub-
lishing from the English Churchman a programme
for the clergy and others to act upon before the bill
goes into committee. Among other suggestions is
the following :—" Let all the pulpits in the United
Kingdom resound on the Sunday morning before
the day appointed for the consideration of the bill
with short and judicious sermons on some such text
as Acts v. 39, Lest ;haply he be found even to fight
against God.' Do the supporters of Church and
State wish to keep Liberal Churchmen away from
worship on that morning, or to drive them to Non-
conformist places of worship ?