The Sun.
London, England, 1869-09-03 00:00:00

His health s ddenly failed, and he was ordered abroad.
Travelling about Europe, he seemed to have recovered
his strength, and went to Munich in order to criticise the
pictures in the exhibition held there this year. He re-
turned to England about a month ago slightly indisposed,
but lie attributed his disposition entirely to his long journey.
[n a few days he took to his bed, and never rose again.
He was but 30 at his death.

The season for announcing new books is scarcely arrived
yet. I have, however, a few announcements to make.
Miss Jolly, author of that perfect novel, " Pearl,"
has in the press a new work, " which, I under-
stand, she considers her chef d'ccuvre. Mr. John
Saunders looks upon his recently-published " Hirell" in
the same light, and it is a work of considerable beauty and
power. Mr. William Howitt is writing a History of the
Society of Friends—a work for which his connection with
that body peculiarly fits him. Miss Meteyard, author
of the sumptuous " Life of Wedgwood," has published a
little volume, called " Give Bread, Gain Love." Mr. Dante
Gabriel Rossetti, known best as an artist and an art-critic
of the Pre-Raphaelite school, but who has also written
some charming poetry, has a volume of poems in pre-
paration. It will, I hope, meet with a happier
Fate than his " Dante at Verona," which, after

being announced, was destroyed by its author
under very melancholy circumstances. The author
of the most interesting article in Cassell'd Popular
Educator on the London University is Mr. Rollitt, LL.D.,
of Hull, himself a distinguished member of that univer-
sity. The Broadway is to have a new editor. Mr.
Norman Lockyer is to edit Mr. Macmillan's new journal
of science, Nature, and will be assisted by Professors
Huxley, Kingsley, Darwin, and other eminent scientists.
Last, and by no means least, it is understood that Dr.
Newman is writing a work on Rationalism, which will be
published shortly.
The London Free and Open Church Association have
drawn up a bill for the purpose of declaring and enacting
the law as to the rights of parishioners in respect of their
churches. The preamble states that whereas according
to the ancient law the entire area of any parish church is

intended for the equal use of all the parishioners ; and
whereas for many years the law has been disregarded
or misinterpreted in many parishes by the appro-
priation of seats, to the injury of the poorer
parishioners and the great hindrance of religion, it
is expedient that the ancient law should be declared and
enacted with a view to its future observance. The clauses
go on to declare churches to he for the equal use of all
parishioners, to impose upon bishops and other ordinaries
and all churchwardens the duty of seeing that the law is
carried out ; to declare all appropriations of seats unlaw-
ful, except in the case of churches built under certain
special acts ; to render void all claims and faculties by
prescription ; to forbid the granting of future faculties ;
and to empower the Ecclesiastical Commissioners to accept
a site for a church which the majority of the managing
committee desire to be free. The bill will not interfere
with the rights of the clergy to use the chancels for the
officiating ministers and other persons assisting in the
conduct of Divine worship, nor with any rights to private
aisles, chapels, or chantries.
There is one person in England who has the " courage
of his convictions." It is the Rev. Charles Stirling, Vicar
of New Malden and Combe. He has a letter in this day's
Daily Telegraph in which he ascribes all the misfortunes
of England to the Roman Catholic Emancipation Act and
subsequent legislation of a similar character. Mr. Stir-
ling cites his proofs. Unfortunately for him he can find
none for sixteen years. From 1829 to 1845 there
is no record of disaster. But in the latter year the
Royal Standard was blown down at Windsor, and some-
body let the Queen's crown fall. These terrible calamities
occurred on the very clay that the Queen gave her assent
to the Maynooth Bill. Then came the famine as an
additional punishment for the same offence ; and, though
it did visit the wrong persons, though it was not we
that had done the wicked deed, who were punished, but
other persons altogether, that does not shake Mr.
Stirling's faith in his theory of an avenging Deity, who,
according to him, strikes out wildly, hitting no
matter whom, provided some one be hit. The
next punishment was the Crimean expedition,
in which, for the first time, Popish priests were sent out
for the benefit of Popish soldiers. Of course, all the dis-
asters that attended that expedition were intended as a
chastisement for this offence. No matter that in the end
we succeeded ; no matter that some fifty years before
a certain ultra-Protestant Royal Duke, who declared that
if lie ever wore the crown he would sooner put
it off than sanction Catholic emancipation, com-
manded an expedition still more disastrous ; no
matter that the Duke of York returned from
Walcheren defeated and disgraced, instead of
a conqueror bearing trophies of captured flags and guns.
Mr. Stirling is perfectly confident as to his interpreta-
tions of history, and expects everyone else to be. Then
look at the crowning punishment of England. She no
longer subsidises half the armies of Europe; she no longer
is engaged in constant wars, but is fond of peace and of
minding her own business. " There were giants in
those days," says Mr. Stirling, looking back
to the times of Walcheren and Austerlitz.
There was Pitt, for instance, who gave us a
gigantic debt ; Pitt, who, by the way, most earnestly
desired to emancipate Roman Catholics, but who sup-
pressed his convictions in order to curry favour with his
his King.

MIOELLANEOUS NEWS.

RECONSTRUCTION OF THE IRISH CHURCH.

The meeting at Dublin, which resulted in the
choice of the Irish Archbishops as the leaders of the
laity, was convened for a different purpose. it was
at first intended to address a requisition to the Dukes
of Leinster and Abercorn,requestingthem to assemble
an aggregate public meeting of lay Churchmen to
consult as to the proper course to be followed. But
no sooner had the proceedings commenced than the
audience set themselves to consider the inexpediency
of calling upon the Dukes to hetid the laity, and
finally it was determined to have recourse to the
Archbishops instead.. The meeting was large and
influential. Eleven peers were present. A
laudable disposition was manifested to lay
aside party differences, and to co-operate for the
welfare of the Church. A lively discussion took
place, but the speakers were generally of opinion that
the Archbishops were the most fitting leaders that
could be chosen, though the claims of the laity to a
a full share in the government of the Church were
strongly insisted upon. the resolution finally adopted
was that the Archbishops be requested to convene a
lay conference, to be held in Dublin on the 21st of
September, and in order that the representation
at the conference may be complete, their
lordships are to do what is necessary "to
secure the election of delegates for such con-
ference from the several parishes and con-
gregations throughout Ireland, on a basis of repre-
sentation similar' to that adopted at the election of
lay delegates to the diocesan meetings which pre-
ceded the recent Church Conference."
The Bishop of Cork has just held a local con-
ference at Bandon. A numerous assembly of ladies
and gentlemen passed a resolution that a synod be
held in the diocese, and that lay representatives be
elected in each parish and congregation equal to the
, number of the clergy,