The Sun.
London, England, 1869-07-01 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, JULY 1, 1869.

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

The Times, in discussing Mr. Gladstone's speech at the
Mansion House, reminds him that the beginning and end
of all the'main propositions of last year was the message
of religious equality to the religious communions of Ire-
land. But if we are to observe equality—and from this
there can be no departure--we must either deprive the
disestablished Church of its parsonages and glebes, or we
must counterbalance these gifts by similar gifts to other
communions. If the Episcopal Church be allowed to retain
their parsonages and glebes, the Presbyterians will demand
the same. There is no question about their accepting
these gifts. They will insist upon them. Every hour
adds to the conviction that the feeling of the Roman
Catholics, laity and clergy, is the same. And what stands
in the way of this statesmanlike result? A prejudice so
feeble that it is the shadow of a shade, to be dissipated
the first moment the light of thought is brought to bear
upon it. The House of Lords, avoiding the falsehood of
extremes, will reconcile the promises of her Majesty's
Ministers with themselves, rejecting all proposals
for redistributing the funds of the Irish Church,
or for permanently endowing the servants of re-
ligion in Ireland, but balancing the modest resi-
dences left to Protestant Episcopal clergymen by the
proffer of similar advantages to Presbyterians and Roman
Catholics. More than this the House of Lords may not
do ; less than this they will not do. And our confidence
is increased by the language of the Prime Minister at the
Mansion House on Wednesday night, that when this
modification of the bill comes before the House of Com-
mons, supported by the votes of three-fourths, or, it may
be, four-fifths, of the Peers, and approved by the acquies-
cence of the country, it will be sanctioned as a judicious
and laudable settlement of the great question before
Parliament.

THE PROSECUTION OF THE VICAR OF
FROME FOR HERESEY.

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (the
Lord Chancellor, the Archbishop of York, Sir William
Erle, and Sir J. Napier) have given their decision in the
case of " Sheppard v. Phillimore and Bennett," an appeal
from the Arches' Court. The question was whether the
Dean of Arches was bound, under the Church Discipline
Act, to accept letters of request from the Bishop of Bath
and Wells, without any reason being assigned why certain
charges against the Rev. Mr. Bennett, vicar of Frome,
were not heard in his own court before they were sent to
the Appeal Court of the Province of Canterbury.
The Lord Chancellor pronounced the judgment of their
lordships, and, after dwelling on the facts and referring
to the argument on the part of the Dean, said the case
had been ably argued on the part of the learned judge:
The point was as to the construction of the 13th section of
the Church Discipline Act, which empowered the Bishop of
a diocese
.to send a case to the Arches' Court to be, as stated,
" heard and determined according to the law and •practice
of the court." Their lordships were i• 'mat it was
obligatory on the Dean of Arches to accept such letters
of request when sent to him by a bishop, without the case
being heard in his own court in the first instance. Their
lordships would recommend to her Majesty that the
appeal be allowed and the case remitted to the Court of
Arches, to be heard and determined according to the law
and practice of the court. No costs would follow the
appeal.
Mr. Walter Phillimore craved permiision to say one
word on the part of the Dean of Arches. The Dean had
no other desire than that right and justice should be done,
and, after the intimation of their lordships on the impor-
tant question which had been raised, he would proceed to
hear and determine the case on the letters of request sent
to him.

The Lord Chancellor said their lordships were quite sure
on that point. They had inquired into the practice
whether it was necessary that the judgment should be
formally given, and finding it was so, the judgment now
given would be submitted to4ier Majesty, in order that
the case might be remitted to the Arches' Court.

The case will now be heard in the Arches' Court.