The Sun.
London, England, 1869-11-12 00:00:00

METROPOLI7 AN GOSSlP—Thursday.

The depression exhibited by Mr. Gladst sne a tLe
Guildhall has been the theme of general comment. It is
not altogether surprising. The Premier is not one c f

those men who think that, so long as they have a good
working majority, all is well. He feels that all is not well

while any portion of the Queen's subjects are disaffected.

_ .
It is for this cause—because the spouters of treason
are still listened to in Ireland, because one
measure intended to shew that England was

prepared to treat Ireland with justice has failed
to produce that effect, because Irishmen are still as they
were before, turbulent and treasonable, that Mr. Gladstone
had reason to be depressed. Nor is this all. Not only
has one "message of peace" failed to elicit any peaceful
response, but the knowledge that another is about to be
sent has only led to outrageous demands, which weaken
the hands of those who were preparedto grant all that was

just. Mr. Gladstone's chief difficulty in helping Irish
tenants is not opponents in the Cabinet, not the
Opposition in Parliament, not the Irish landlords, but the
Irish tenants themselves. In supposing that legislation is
to be extorted by terror these make the greatest possible
mistake. Treasonable mass-meetings and agrarian outrages
hinder legislation; render it necessary to apply to the
Executive rather than to the Legislature. It is quite
within the bounds of possibility—l fear of probability—
that there will be either a great increase of isolated crimes
during the coming winter, or another desperate movement.
The position is, in fact, very "strained." Threatening
letters are being constantly received by landlords, and they
are now told that if they attempt to evade danger by
leaving the country, as many of them are resolved to do,
they will be followed and punished. Clearly, the hostility
of seven centuries is not to be assuaged in half as many
months. Mr. Gladstone can hardly expect to see the result
of his own measures. They will need many years to pro-
duce their intended effect. _ _

Meanwhile Cabinet Councils are frequent; but as Mr.
Chichester Fortescue has not yet come over to attend
them, and the Government are waiting for some
statistics which they have ordered to be collected
in Ireland, it is probable that the land question is not the
topic which is uppermost at present. Some journalists had
ventured to predict that Mr. Gladstone would shadow
forth his land bill at the City banquet; but, of course,

he did nothing of the sort. On the other hand, his refer-
ence to foreign affairs and to our relations with the United
States, taken in connection with his recent visit to Lord
Clarendon, indicates that it is the Alabama question which
is just now most prominent. It is generally believed that
we are not far off from a settlement, and that before long
the Government will despatch a plenipotentiary to Wash-
ington with power to settle this long-standing dispute
Few men have laid themselves so open to attack as Mr.
Ayrton has just done. His speech on being re-elected was
as bad as bad could be, and amply deserved the stinging
leader which the Times published on Tuesday, and the
reprobation of Mr. Layard in his speech at Mr. Spurgeon's
Tabernacle on the evening of the same day. Mr. Ayrton's
remarks show that he is utterly unfit for a post which in-
volves such matters as the building of the New Law Courts,
the construction of new streets, and the beautifying of this
most ugly of capitals. If Mr. Ayrton had been First Com-
missioner during the past three years Hyde Park railings
would still be in the state of ruin to which they were
reduced on July 23, l 866; the Knightsbridge side of the
park would still be the hideous wilderness that it used
to be ; and Parliament-square would still be the
paviors' yard that it was, instead of the garden that
it is. It is really melancholy to think of the fate that
is in store for our lawyers and suitors now that a lawyer
has been made mdi'e. All the world knows that it was
not Mr. Layard's wish to take the New Law Courts into a
back street off the Strand, but that the idea was
Lowe's, started by him because he thought he could save a
few hundred thousand pounds. Mr. Layard had too much
artistic taste to throw away a splendid opportunity
of giving London a palace of justice worthy of
the empire. But Mr. Ayrton is of the same mind
as Mr. Lowe; economy is the first consideration even in
a work that is to endure for centuries. So we may be
sure that next year the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who
is the most obstinate man alive, will renew his proposal,
and, should he insist upon its being made a Ministerial
question, Parliament will, of course, support him, however
unwillingly. It may be asked what could have induced
Mr. Gladstone to put Mr. Ayrton in his present place.
The answer is certainly not (as certain critics of

small imagination and large suspicion have affirmed)
to find a place for the Premier's son, but
to remove the member for the Tower Hamlets
from his former post of Secretary to the Treasury. For
that post he was even more unfit than for the one
which he now holds. The first requires tact in dealing
with men, the second requires only taste in dealing with
bricks and mortar. If Mr. Ayrton has little of this, he had
absolutely nothing of that. The whipper-in should be
as little like his name as possible ; the whip should
never be seen ; the whipper should be the blandest
and discreetest of confidential friends. He should
know exactly how far to argue seriously, how far to joke,
how far to hint at results satisfactory to an ➢I.P. who
gives his vote " for a consideration." But Mr. Ayrton
used to irritate instead of persuade, and instead of con-
tenting himself with " a word to the wise," he would pour
out a never ending torrent of talk. This being so, why
place him in office at all ? Mr. Gladstone would reply, in
the words of Horace,

"Nec tecum, nec sine te, vivere possum."

Mr. Ayrton may be an unsatisfactory colleague ; but to
have him for a foe, with his power of talk, would be some-
thing terrible to contemplate. No doubt the Premier
will look out for some colonial governorship in which
the Right Hon. Commissioner will be able to exercise his
talents, especially as it would seem to be the policy of the
Government just now to snub the colonies. But then the
post must be a first-class one in order to satisfy Mr.
Ayrton's opinion of Mr. Ayrton, and, unfortunately, the
occupants of first-class posts are not in the habit of
resigning their offices as frequently as colonial bishops do
It is said that Lord Cairns is about to resign the leader-
ship of the Conservative party in the Upper House, on
account of ill-health. I know nothing of this myself, but
see it mentioned in the London correspondence of a Con-
servative journal of high standing. The same authority says
that there is perfect agreement between Lord Cairns and Mr.
Disraeli, and that the Marquis of Salisbury is quite alone.
I doubt the last fact. Nevertheless, it is possible that the
new Lord Derby, rather than Lord Salisbury, will lead the
Conservative peers in future.
Twelve months ago to-day the severe battle of 1868,
which had been impending for such a lengthened period,
commenced in earnest by the publication of a supplement
to the London Gazette, dissolving the late Parliament, and
ordering the writs for a new one to be returnable on the
10th of December. To-day we again find ourselves in the
centre of electioneering strife, and although the coming
fights will not decide the fate of a Ministry, they never-
theless excite a great amount of interest. The first con-
test in importance is undoubtedly the one raging in Scot-
land, where Mr. Gordon endeavours to retrieve his
defeat of last year. Partly through the injudicious selec-
tion of Mr. Smith as the Liberal candidate, and partly
owing to the active exertions of the Conservative com-
mittee, it is generally anticipated that the Liberal party
will experience a defeat. To-day the Speaker will issue
his warrant for new writs for the county of Tipperary,
and for the boroughs of Waterford, Whitby, and Hastings.
The vacancy in Tipperary, which is caused by the death
of Mr. Moore, will probably be filled by Mr. Heron, who
" goes in" for fixity of tenure and for the release of the
Fenian prisoners. At Waterford, where Mr. Blake has
retired on his appointment as an inspector of
Irish fisheries, Mr. Bernal Osborne is competing
with two other Liberal candidates ; and, in spite
of this split on the Liberal sile, no Conservative
has yet come forward. Mr. W. H. Gladstone expects to
get re-elected at Whitby by a large majority, although
Major Woreley, who was defective by 376 votes last Nov.,
is in the field in opposition. A severe contest is antici
pated at Hastings, where there is a seat vacant
through the death of Mr. Frederick North. Mr
Kay-Shuttleworth, who fought a gallant fight in North
East Lancashire, being beaten by only 131 votes, is opposed
by Mr. Robertson, a former member. The battle last year
was an exceedingly hollow one, the Liberals polling several
hundreds more than their opponents; but the Conservatives
rely on the popularity of Mr. Robertson to reverse the
verdict then given with such decisiveness in favour of the
Liberals. The other seats at present vacant are Lynn and
Chester. At the former borough Lord Claud Hamilton is
opposed by Mr. Young, both gentlemen having lost their
seats last year—the former at Londonderry and the latter
in Cambridgeshire. Mr. Young is for some reason exceed-
ingly popular, r.nd his former constituents were very sore
when they found that owing to the minority clause their
old member had been distanced by young Mr. Ervid.
Young's qualifications for Parliament are not very
apparent, and the electors of Cambridgeshire re-
turned him formerly on the understanding that
the :never spoke. I believe that he always " voted
straight." If a Grosvenor comes for and for Chester, the
seat so long occupied by a member of that family will in.
all likelihood be retained. Mr. Layarcl's seat at
Southwark will not be vacated until February, when
Sir Sydney Waterlow, who so gallantly won, and after-
wards lost, Dumfriesshire, is expected to be the Liberal
candidate. The Conservatives threaten to contest the
seat, but with an united Liberal phalanx the fight cannot
be looked upon as a serious one. The rumoured elevation
of Mr. Robertson, the member for ,Berwickshire, to the

peerage, has not been confirmed, but the retirement of Mr.
Corry from the representation of Tyrone is much talked
of. The right hon. gentleman has sat for this county
forty-three years, and will resign on account of ill-health.
Newspaper proprietors are just now up in arms against
the Lord Chancellor because he has refused to appoint a
gentleman of their profession to the magistrates' bench.
Lord Hatherley says that it is not desirable to appoint as
magistrates men who have to criticise in the press the
doings of their colleagues, and that journalists have no
reason to complain of being excluded from the
magistracy, because lawyers, brewers, and clergy-
men are' excluded. It is strange that so zealous
a Churchman as Lord Hatherley should be ignorant
of the fact that the clergy form a very large proportion of
the rural magistracy. It is still more strange that he
should not see that if the exercise of criticism disqualifies
a man from holding one ()Mee, it must do so for all, and
that Mr. Baines, Sir John Gray, and all the other M.P.
journalists ought to be prevented from entering Parlia-
ment. It is strangest of all that, having laid down
this rule of exclusion, Lord Hatherley should be
the first to set it aside ; that having refused to
sanction the appointment of a Conservative journalist
in Kent, he should sanction that of two Liberal journalists
in Yorkshire. The absurdity of any exclusion at all is
apparent when I add that Lord Hatherley makes an excep-
tion in favour of journalists who have already served the
office of mayor. Of course journalists are far too powerful
a body of men to let this matter rest where it is ; and so
thanks to the intervention of Mr. Stansfeld, himself a
member of the Government, a deputation is to wait upon
the Chancellor and represent the whole matter to him.
The now Lord Derby is making great changes at Knows-
ley. Under his father's regime there must have been a
vast amount of extravagance. The beer bill was £5,000
a-year, and the sum spent, or rather charged, for corn given
to the game was £250 a week. Somebody ought to have had
a nice picking off these amounts. The Lord Stanley,
whom we all know, is not the man to allow this style of
things to go on, and he is entirely rearranging his house-
hold staff.

The Poet Laureate is building for himself " a lordly
pleasure house," as the man who is making £4,000 a year
by poetry can well afford to do. He has cleared some
fine forest land on the Surrey hills, not far from God-
aiming, and is erecting there a spacious dwelling, sur-
rounded by extensive grounds. It has already received
the name of Tennyson House. It is at a short distance
from Blackdown House, a fine old place, once the abode of
Oliver Cromwell. It is to be hoped that Mr. Tennyson may
be able to secure for himself the privacy whichhe could not
obtain in the Isle of Wight, although it is questionable if
any part of England, if even Dartmoor itself, would com-
pletely meet the wishes of the Laureate in this respect.
The Divorce Court is now once more in full operation.
The suit brought by Sir Charles Mordaunt against
Viscount Cole and Sir F. Johnstone will in all probability
not come on this term. Lady Mordaunt's insanity
has led to this delay. It is hoped that she
may recover sufficiently to be able to traverse the charge:.
Certain professional habitues of the Court state that they
have copies of letters to Lady Mordaunt from a still more
distinguished person than either of the two co-respondents
above mentioned, letters which the world would very much
like to see, but will not see at present—perhaps not
at all. I have been allowed to see the signature
only, and prefer to say nothing more. This
same savoury court was fast falling into discredit by
reason of the increasing number of unopposed suits. It be-
came clear that these were matters of arrangement between
husbands and wives tired of each other. At last the
Queen's Proctor has been stirred up to intervene in behalf
of public morals. Another case beside the Mordaunt one
is likely to come off shortly. A well-known actress is one
of the principals.
Actions for libel are threatened, and, I believe, have been
commenced against the publishers of certain insurance papers
by the directors of the Albert Company. Another item of
insurance news is that in all probability the action against

the Albert directors will fall through for the same reason
as the action against the Overend and Gurney directors
probably will—want of means on the part of the prose-
cutor. Another item of journal news is, that an old esta-
blished Sunday paper is believed to he moribund, all the
hands engaged on it having received notice. Since the
death of its proprietor, about a dozen years ago, it has
ceased to contain much original news, and has been going
down the hill rapidly.
We Londoners are all full of humiliation at the terrible
Holborn Viaduct fiasco. We dare not walk through
Leicester-square, for we cannot venture to look a foreigner
in the face. However, there is still the hope that the
mischief is more apparent than real. Another great public
work is just about to be commenced—the new Money Order
Post-office. A large number of houses have been cleated
away just opposite to the General Post Office, at St.
Martin's-le-Grand, and on this site the new structure will
be erected. The façade will be 860 feet in length, with
an elevation of 89 feet. It will be of classical
design, in order to match the General Post Office, and will
present four architectural fronts, with interior arrange-
ments of sufficient capacity to meet, in every Particular,
the increasing requirements of this important branch of
the public service.
Last night there were torrents of rain for a short time,
followed by a sky so clear that the stars seemed close to
the earth, and by an intense frost. This morning the

parks were as white with hoar frost as though there had
been a heavy fall of snow. If experience is any guide in
meteorology, we shall have a warm winter after this
premature cold.

MISCELLANEOUS NEWS.

88. TEMPLE, BISHOP OF EXETER.

The Dean and Chapter of Exeter have obeyed the
law, and refrained from doing an injustice to an
individual; they yesterday—as we thought from the
first they would—elected Dr. Temple as Bishop. The
opposition would seem to have fallen through,
at any rate there was no very long discussion.
After the first lesson had been read the Dean and
his Canons retired. They were absent only half an
hour, so there could not have been either long
speeches or many of them. When they returned it
was announced that they had complied with the man-
date of the Crown. The course they have taken is
satisfactory on every side.

FROM THE PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE TO THE
ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY.

The Association for Promoting. the Union of
Christendom will hail with delight a letter from the
Archbishop of Constantinople, the " (Ecumenical
Patriarch, to the Primate of all England. The Guar-
dian publishes such a one. It is full of expressions of
love, and conveys to the Archbishop of Canterbury,
"brotherly salutation in Christ." Apparently it is a
reply to two communications from the English Metro-
politan—the first.being the Encyclicalletter of the Pan-
Anglican Synod, the second a copy of the English
Prayer-book. The Eastern Patriarch says he has
deferred the answer to the former letter that
he might study the " sacred ecclesiastical
work." The result of his study of the Articles
and Liturgy of the Church of England is not
at all complimentary to our orthodoxy. When
his Holiness received the Prayer-book he "rejoiced
greatly in his soul" for joy that the dawn was come
of the gathering together in one fold. As he read,
however, his joy was moderated. With the state-
ment that the Prayer-book was founded on the Word
of God he was pleased ; but thereafter came enuncia-
tions of the eternal existence of the Holy Spirit ;
suspicious doctrines he found of the Eucharist, the
number of the Sacraments was reduced, the saints not
spoken of as they should have been, and the Eastern
Church in Article 19 was said to have erred. The
Patriarch, finding his own communion thus accused,
is in suspense ; and prays for more light from above.
His letter closes with the same expressions of love in
Christ unto Dr. Tait as marks its commencement.