The Sun.
London, England, 1869-06-28 00:00:00

ME2ROPOLITAN GOSSlP—Saturday.

The publication of Lor d• Cairns's notices of amendments
to the Irish Church Bill has given great satisfaction to
the Government. These amendments chew that for the
present, at all events, there is no alliance between the
Conservative party and the old Whigs. Such an alliance
would have been a serious matter. The concurrent endow-
ment idea has made wonderful progress during the last
week. Your readers may remember that last year
when the Irish Church question was first mooted
about 200 clergymen, mostly notable men, and belonging to
the Broad Church party, drew up a petition in favour of
disestablishment. Some of these, Mr. Llewellyn Daviei
and Mr. Harry Jones being the most prominent of them,
have sent to the Times the copy of a petition which they
have addressed to the House of Lords in support of Earl
Grey's amendment,which proposes to omit that portion of the

preamble forbiddingthe appropriation of the surplus funds to
the maintenance of the clergy of any other Church. That the
idea should find favour with the Times and the Saturday
Review was to be expected. But that the Morning Star
should keep silence while such a proposition is being
gravely urged by men of influence is nothing less than
portentous. Remember that this journal has until now
been considered to represent the straitest of the Noncon-
formists. Remember that until now it has always denounced
State Churches, always upheld the voluntary system.
What is the cause of its silence now? Is it that its
new editor, Mr. John Morley, one of the philosophic
Radicals who are generally enamoured of the concurrent
idea, has been allowed to have his way? Or is it that
Mr. Bright, who has openly advocated the g►ving of
glebes and parsonages to all the three Churches, has given
the word of command? In the meanwhile the Noncon-
formists are, with one exception, without any organ of
their opinions. The Daily .News, which belongs
chiefly to Mr. Samuel Morley (no relation to the
new editor of the Star), protests in behalf of that influen-
tial section of the constituencies, which, if it were repre-
sented in proportion to its numbers would have half the
daily press upon its side. The position for them is rather
critical. I believe that Mr. Gladstone has no intention of
deviating from the linewhich he laid downon the hustings.
But-if he is not to-be overborne,(andAt4q4e—possible
that at the last moment the Conservatives. may coalesce
with the old Whigs, if they see their way thereby to inflict
a blow upon the Government), the Nonconformists must
lose no time in speaking out.

There are many other schemes afloat, but most of them
are very wild. There has been some talk of proposing that
the surplus funds shall be handed over to aboard, similar to
that which administers Queen Anne's Bounty, and that
this board shall expend the money in building churches,
parsonages, and schools. In other words, that the Church
shall not be disendowed at all. This was the Bishop of
Gloucester's idea, but he has abandoned it to-day, finding
no support from the Conservative party for so hopeless a
proposal. He, however, still vows that he'will divide the
House on the principle that the Church funds shall not be
secularised ; and he has hopes of the support of Lord
Cairns and Lord Salisbury should he do so. These two
noblemen have for the present made up their
difference, and are likely to act together. Lord Harrowby
had a meeting of his Protestant friends on Thursday at
his own house. There was much talking, but no resolu-
tion. In fact, the Protestant party are by no means at
unity. Lord Shaftesbury is at the antipodes to his friend
Lord narrowly,
.and boldly proposes a seieme which
is secularisation with a vengeance. He suggests that the
surplus Church funds shall bw lent out to farm tenants,
fishermen, and other persons in small trades and occupa-
tions. This plan will not be without attraction to tEe
Government, since it offers great assistance in dealing
with the land question. But then it is such a complete
diversion of the Church funds from their original purpose,
that Mr. Gladstone, who hitherto has (as I prophesied last
year that be would) acted on the cy prea principle, is
hardly likely to submit to the alteration.
Meanwhile all the papers seem to have overlooked one
very important amendment proposed by Lord Cairns. Its
importance is not apparent on the surface, for it simply
proposes to omit a few words from the end of one of Mr
Gladstone's clauses. But it involves nothing lees than
the repeal of the Statute of Mortmain, and will allow the
Church to become possessed of land to any extent, and
without the limitation which now exists, compelling all
bequests to be made twelve months before the death of the
testator. This, your readers will remember, I stated
to be the object which the Bishop of Oxford ardently
desired. The amendment will carry out the idea on which
his heart is set, that of establishing a free and opulent
Church, with power to hold any amount of property with-
out the control of the State.

I announced some days ago that the Chancellor of the
Exchequer was preparing the money bill for the purchase of
the telegraphs. This bill will be introduced in a few
days. The amount is £600,000. It is not pro-
bable that the Government will take possession of the
telegraphs before next January. The preparations which
must be made for carrying out the improved service which
the Post-office authorities have in contemplation involve so
large an amount of work that it cannot be completed under
six months. The Marquis of Hartington was purposely
absent from the House last night, when Mr. Graham
meant to ask the intentions of the Government, but it is
expected that by Monday the necessary information will
be forthcoming, and that the Marquis will then be in his
place. _

The new Control scheme at the War Office is expected
to come into operation on Thursday next, July Ist. For
some time past the office has been in a state of
perpetual committee, nearly every other room being occu-
pied by some gentlemen who were sitting upon something
or other beside their chairs. The new system has been in
operation in Ireland for some time with good results. It
would have been extended to England before now probably
had it not been that Mr. Lowe called for the production
of all the papers that he might go through them.
A great step in advance towards compulsory education
has been made during the last few days. Early in the
week the reports of the inspectors of schools were pub-
lished. Nearly all these inspectors complain of the jrre-
gular attendance of the scholars, and of the early age at
which they are withdrawn from school, and nearly all
recommerd that education should in some way be made
compulsory. Those persons who are acquainted with the
views of the schoolmasters know well that the same feel-
ing prevails among them.
The weather is superb to-day, and the review at
Windsor ought to be a splendid spectacle. For some
weeks past the Coldstreams have been exercising daily in
Hyde Park, and they were inspected this week. The
Pasha, or rather the Khedive of Egypt, is said to have
been much hurt by the absence of the escort on his
arrival ; and so every effort is being made to atone for
that grievous indiscretion. The Prince of Wales has been
unmercifully chaffed for his unlucky miss at Charing-
cross station. He is reminded that the Khedive was on
the qui vire for two days and two nights when the
Prince and the Princess were expected, and he is
asked if he could not have been just ten
minutes earlier when returning the courtesy
of his generous host, There was last night a dinner
given to him at Marlborough House by the Prince of
Wales. (By the way, why did the Turkish Ambassador
give his reception the same night ?) The review
to-day is in his Highness's honour. On Tuesday
he goes to the Crystal Palace and will witness the fireworks.
On Thursday he will be at the Society of Arts conver-
sazione in South Kensington, which will be one of the
most brilliant events of the season. Unfortunately the
Institute of British Architects have fixed the same night
for their conversazione, so I shall have to find out how
to solve the problem of being in two places at once.
The great scandal of the day is the quarrel between
Lord Carrington and Mr. Grenville Murray. The latter
person was formerly our Consul at Odessa, and was
recalled. Since then he has been persistently attacking
Lord Stanley and other gentlemen of the Foreign Office in
that scurrilous print the Queen's Messenger. He has not
confined himself to the diplomatic service, but has attacked,
among other gentlemen, the late Lord Carrington. His
son, the hero of the Four-in-band Club, being too
impatient to seek redress by the tedious process of
an action for libel, has taken the law into his own
hand, and being an experienced whip, has proved the fact
in a manner that Mr. Murray does not approve, and in
the presence of all Clubland. There is nowa chance, though
not a certainty, I believe, of an action for assault and
battery. Meanwhile, the public sympathy is not with the
assailed.

Yale has permitted Harvard to fill a vacancy
the crew of the latter college in the coming boat race be-
tween these Universities out of the Harvard Law School ;
the custom being that undergraduates only were permitted
to pull. Mr. Fay, who is to go to England as one of two to
fill any vacancy that might arise in the race on the side of
Harvard against the English Universities, will be detained
a fortnight to pull in the match between Harvard and Yale.
In granting this concession Yale stipulated that it should
never be used as a precedent for future action in the selec-
tion of crews, and only under the necessity that has arisen
for the best men of Harvard to be sent to pull at the inter-
national race with England.

An understanding has been reached with the
Dominion authorities as to the terms on which New-
foundland will enter the Confederation, and they are to be
submitted to the people of Newfoundland for ratification.
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