The Sun.
London, England, 1869-06-16 00:00:00

BIRMINGIIAM.

A town's meeting was held in the Town-ball, Dirmtng-
ham, on Monday evening, to consider the Irish Church Bill
now before Parliament. It was called by the Mayor, on
the requisition of 1,500 Liberals, but as it was supposed
to represent the feeling of the town a large number of Con-
servatives, including the Conservative candidates at the
late election, were present, and great confusion resulted.
The Mayor, in opening the proceedings, said that a resolu-
tion would be moved in favour of the Irish Church Bill, to
be followed by an amendment, and then there would be ono
speaker on each side. This announcement was received with
great uproar. Mr. Thomas Lloyd moved the first resolution,
declaring that the bill was wise in pol!ey and just in prin-
ciple. Ile said that the Parliament was elected specially to
try this case, and the bi.l was supported with unprecedented
unanimity. Mr. Chamberlain, who seconded the resolution,
ridiculed the shortsightedness of all who refused to acknow-
ledge the decision of the country. It reminded him or a farmer
who quarrelled with his 1 arometer. The instrument was
out of order, Arcl kel tat Set Fair" for three w, t days.
The farmer was so incensed that ho Lest it against
the doorway, exclaiming, "Won't you he:ievo your
own eyes?' When he heard such extra vajatit state-
ments about the people and the Lhh Church Bill
ho thought those who made them were in the position of the
barometer. The May. r then called upon Mr. 'Sampson
Lloyd to move the amendment, when a serions distutbanee
arose, and the meeting broke up amidst great uproar.

THE GREAT MEETING IN DUBLIN.

The demonstration against the Irish Church Bill, which
took place en Monday night at the Dublin Exhibition
Palace, was decidedly the largest Protestant meeting ever
held in the city of Dublin. One of its most prominent
promoters, the Hon. David Plunkett, estimated the
number present at 35,000. If we deduct 10,000 from
that number we shall probably be near the mark. The
committee of the Protestant Defence Association, under
whose auspices the meeting was held, say that up to the
morning of the day when the meeting was to be held
20,060 tickets had been issued, and a few thousands more
were distributed during the day. All classes of Protes-
tants, the upper, the middle, and the humbler ranks of
society, were represented on this occasion. There was a
large muster of the clergy, and amongst the audience were
lawyers, doctors, merchants, and traders of a highly
respectable position in the city. As the intention to hold
the meeting did not origirate until Friday last, the
demonstration was a very successful one in point of
numbers. The main audience was assembled in the
great concert•rcom, n hich was densely crowded. Here
Sir Edward Grogan, Bart., presided, and, in a brief
speech, urged the Protestants to stand firm in the cause
of their Church, and to support the House of Lords in
their rejection of Mr. Gladstone's unjust and iniquitous
bill.—The chairman was followed by il,•. Falkiner, Q.C.,
who moved the following resolution :—" That this meet.
ing sees in the proposed Irish Church Bill an abandon.
ment of the principles upon which our Constitution is
founded, and hereby solemnly protests against it as
irreligious and revolutionary." The learned gentleman
called on the House of Lords to do their duty in
rejecting the bill, assuring their lordships that, although
they were but five hundred, there were thousands behind
them to cheer them on their noble way. Mr. Falkiner
referred to the immense meetings in Manchester as proofs
of the reaction in England in favour of the Irish Church,
and in justification of the course about to be taken by the
Conservative peers.—The Rev. Dr. Griffin seconded the
resolution. Here are a few sentences from his speech.
He believed that the time had come when the peers of
England would again prove themselves the saviours of the
liberties of the nation. They bad reason to believe that a
reaction had set in that would hurl Mr. Gladstone from
power, and would prove him to be a convicted traitor—a
traitor to his former and better self, a traitor to his
country, a traitor to his Queen, a traitor to his Church,
and a traitor to his God. The question was not whether
the Church should be plundered, but whether the glorious
Constitution of England should remain ; whether that
noble Constitution that was established in 1688, and
which had stood quiet and unmoved while the tide
of revolution rocked the thrones of Europe to
their centres, should fall and perish. Let Eng.
lard be assured that if that measure passed it would
be only the first swell of a tide that would never cease to
roll until it had undermined the throne of Great Britain.
Their faith was dearer to them than their lives ; that
though the spirit of Protestantism might slumber for a
season it was not dead—the spirit that snapped the boom
at the Foyle, as if it were a rotten twig—the spirit that
closed the gates of Derry—and the spirit that chased the
craven champions of James, and drove them like flocks of
timid sheep into the Boyne—they would tell their Roman
Catholic countrymen that they would not permit them-
selves to be deprived of their dearly-bought liberties,
and that if one or other was to go to the wall it would not
be the Protestants.—The Rev. Mr. Foley, who had just
returned from two months' labour in England, gave a
glowing description of the great Manchester demonstra-
tion. They were going to stand by their liberties, ho
said, and he would like to see the man who would dare
to put a pickaxe into the churches that they had
built with their own money. The Queen, God
bless her, took a solemn oath at her coronation,
and the only parties who could absolve her from it as
regards this matter were the people of Ireland, on whose
behalf it was taken. But were they consenting parties to
her breaking this engagement ? Was God a consenting
party to her violating that oath? Could any man absolve
the Queen from that solemn oath ? They protested
against the insult that was offered to the Queen, to the
religion of the nation, by this conspiracy against Protes-
tantism, by this agent of Rome, who had absolution i
•
his pocket.
Another meeting was held in the transept of the build.,
nw. Thin was preaided over by Sir Richard Chao. an
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