The Sun.
London, England, 1869-07-21 00:00:00

THE IRISH CHURCH BILL.

A special meeting of the Free Church Presbytery of
Edinburgh has been held, for the purpose of considering
the Lords' amendments on the Irish Church Bill ;
Mr. William Balfour, Holyrood, moderator. Sir Henry
Wellwood Moncreiff moved the following resolution :
" That this Presbytery, taking into consideration the
clause introduced ,into the Irish Church Bill by
the House of Lords, in favour of concurrent
endowment in Ireland, and the resistance by the
House of Commons to this clause, and taking further into
consideration the principle always held by this Church,
that the endowment of a Church can be justified only as
a testimony to religious truth, hereby resolve to petition
both Houses of Parliament against the clause referred to."
Mr. A. Mackenzie seconded the motion, which was, after
some conversation, agreed to. It was resolved that a
petition, signed by the moderator, in terms of the resolu-
tion, be forwarded to Earl Granville for presentation
in the House of Lords, and that another be sent to
the Lord Advocate for presentation in the House of
Commons.

A crowded meeting assembled on Tuesday at the Insti-
tute, Plymouth, under the presidency of Mr. H. Brown,
chairman of the Liberal Association, for the purpose of
supporting Mr. Gladstone's Irish Church Bill, when three
resolutions were carried unanimously. The first was pro-
posed by Mr. F. Ilicks, and seconded by Mr. Rooker ; the
second was proposed by Mr. J. N. Bennett, secom'e I by Mr.
F.W. Collier, and supported by Messrs. Balkwill, Freckle-
ton, and Williamson ; and the third was proposed by Mr.
Eldred Brown, seconded by Mr. R. Rundle, and supported
by Mr. M'Carthy. One of the resolutions was as fol-
lows :—" That this meeting affirms its entire approval
of the action of her Majesty's Government with reference
to the Irish Church Bill, and expresses its desire that the
measure approved of by the House of Commons, involving
the immediate application of the surplus funds of that
Church, may be adopted by Parliament in its integrity."
Petitions to both Houses of Parliament will be forwarded.

SALMON FISHERIES.

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The select committee of the House of Commons
appointed to inquire into the operations of the present
Salmon Fisheries Laws resumed its sitting on Tuesday,
Mr. Joseph Dodds in the chair.
Mr. James Patterson, one of the Commissioners on
Salmon Fisheries, was examined. He thought that power
for the removal of natural obstacles in contributory
streams at the upper end of the main streams should be
vested by the Legislature in the Board of Conservators.
He did not see how they could injure the millowners. He
should in every such case give proper damages. He
would leave the control of the engines to be used in close
time to Conservancy Boards, subject to some restrictions.
No doubt it was much more important to clear
away obstacles and allow the fish to pass through
the dams in the larger streams than to attend to the
smaller streams. He certainly held that no legal rights
should be taken from the owners unless they were paid
for. With regard to the making of bye-laws
for the regulation of dams, inquiry should be made
by commissioners, who should go into every district and
consider what regulations were best suited to each. He
adhered to the statement Viat his representations
to the Home Office were not attended to.
There ought to be an appeal to a higher tribunal than at
present. In the event of such an appeal being granted,
it would tend greatly to the advantage of this question of
salmon fisheries. Some of his recommendations related
to the pollution of rivers.
The committee adjourned.