The Sun.
London, England, 1869-04-14 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

The Times asks, What kind of opposition is it that 10
Disraeli is prepared to offer to the Irish Church Bill?
has given notice of a series of amendments conceived 1111
spirit which can scarcely be characterised in respectful
terms. It is as if some astute practitioner in an inferior
court had been instructed to frame as many petty amend:
ments to the Government Bill as his ingenuity conlo
devise, without regard to the chance of their success or to
their effect upon the minds of the client on whose behalf
they are nominally advanced. These amendrnalts
must prove useless for any purpose of the OpPY
sition, unless their object be to assist in passing the bill'
They will weaken their forco in the House of Cl°'
mons ; they will, as a necessary consequence, weakentho.if
force in .the House of Lords. The end is certain. A-
ll
withstood by such fatal expedients becomes more assure'
than ever of success ; the Opposition will not merely be
beaten—they will be broken up. To determine the proper
mode of conducting the opposition to the Irish Churelj,
Bill was doubtless a difficult question, but it could 11°,!
have received a more incomplete answer than Mr. Disrso
has chosen to make his own. Look at it in whatever iv3l
we will, it is impossible to avoid the conclusion that Mr.
Disraeli has made a new starting-point of error.
must occasionally ask himself the secret of the
Ministerial majority -- how it has come to P 359
that the nation has pronounced so absolutely on tlie
question of the day—and yet we find him seeking t°
bind the national will with wisps of straw. We 1115/:
suppose that he wishes to snake his party in the House
Commons serve as a breakwater to the waves of poPtll°,r
opinion, yet it is certain the course he now adopts 1
divide his own following, withcut diminishing in the
slightest degree the progress of the Ministry. The fricntl/
of the Government may, indeed, rejoice at the prospect
before them. There is no amendment of more than
nominal character proposed by Mr. Disraeli which Vi°
seduce a single man from their ranks. The bill will be
carried by increasing majorities to the House of liortl„'
where it will be received with submission to that national
judgment the strength and clearness of which will 110°
been demonstrated more and more unquestionably as tie
has passed onwards.

The Standard considers that the amendments are CO
ceived in the interests of the Church ; are brought forward
in order that the influence of the powerful party throe
out the country which reveres her altars, loves her sef:,
vices, and would fain defend her rights, may not be unfei"
in the framing of the arrangements, even if it must 43,
to defeat them altogether. Their moderation is ilacbf
niable ; their justice appears to us obvious, and will, 14.°
think, be equally obvious to a great portion of tll6
Ministerial phalanx ; and they are perfectly 0913 Y
patible with the main principles of the measure. IVhethet
they are accepted or rejected will depend less upon 00
individual opinions of Liberal members than on the
temper of the Prime Minister, who, for the present, care
the votes and consciences of his party in his pocket. Tll3.
temper is very bitter towards the Church and the CO
,Ir
servative party. But one consideratior may possill
serve to check its petulance, and secure a fair hearing 311 j.
candid discussion for the amendments—namely, that:,
they are rejected there is very little probability that tP"
bill will pass into law during the year 1869.

The Telegraph says that the Conservative peogrararc
would reverse the decision of Parliament and the countrli;
and would render the disendowment of the Irish Chace.
a mere fiction. The immoderate nature of the demandsP'
the aggregate is probably to be explained by the considir
ration that the amendments have been collected frail.
number of persons without mutual consultation. DSc.
Disraeli is somewhat in the position of a Chancellor
the Exchequer who should invite the several heads
departments to place before him their notions of tb
amount of money wanted for their particular branch
t
and should then present the demands to Parliament 1111,7,
a heap, without taking the pains to analyse and check 0'
details, or even to ascertain the dimensions of his a°
grown total. There can be no " policy "in standing 1-11/°„!
unlimited demands thus compiled ac random, no stat°',,
manship in committing a party to a course so rnanifestu
impracticable, so certainly ending in defeat. Othefil
parts of the amendments are conceived in no
mercenary spirit. Suggestions for preserving l';' )
continuity of the Church, and facilitating lt
transition from an establishment to a voluntary orgaeifi
tion, are to be found in this formidable compilation.
transfers the initiative, in various dealings with the Statc:i
from the individual clergyman to the future ecclesiasti
corporation. These are proposals which deserve, 11
doubtless, will receive, earnest consideration ; and Cull;
servatives who really desire to carry out of the deb°3
some substantial gain, will approach the task in the sPill,O
befitting the higher and larger purpose included in •NL '
Disraeli's too diversified programme.
The Daily News declares that "the bill, the whole bill'
and nothing but the hill" is the answer which ,
Liberal party in the House of Commons and the couetrib
must return to the long string of amendments in the 11i:„
Church Bill laid on Monday night by Mr. Disraeli 00 tb
table of the House of Commoas. If he is allowed to 011
this thread and that out of the texture, the web will fa
into tangled disorder. The edifice will crunible;
if one stone after another is removed. Chners,
produces change in manifold degree ; and till
scheme 'which Mr. Gladstone has laid before Parliaint
and the country as a whole, and which they have hearto,
welcomed, will be marred, and will forfeit its essentiyi
character, if it is tampered with in its several parts. 513,
Conservative scheme is a plan for levelling up. In Pr'
posing it Mr. Disraeli is the worst enemy of the Anglic/
Church in Ireland. The mere suggestion that Mr. °(O4
stone's measure contains the germs of such a project 3
this, or can be modified into anything like it, will causelo
to be severely scrutinised, with a view to the reno. 4),
of these hitherto unnoticed seeds of evil. rv'ci
bably the conclusion at which Parliament 11°1
the nation, under Mr. Disraeli's tuition,
arrive will be, that no settlement can be 01? 0
which does more than make strictly equitable provi°ol
for the life interests of incumbents and other holder° ,
ecclesiastical office in Ireland. If Mr. Disraeli's PrO°o
sals were adopted, it would be necessary in 1782 to °A
about disestablishing and disendowing the re-establislls
and re•endowed Church of Ireland. The consequence ci
his conduct will probably be that the Irish Church,inste°,
of having something more, will he obliged to contlf
itself with something less than Mr. Gladstone 11°
offers it.
(I
The Star considers that the formidable list of antea-
ments which Mr. Disraeli has propounded as the resultf o,
the deliberations of his party at Lord Lonsdale's on Al°cio
day afternoon will not discourage any Liberal as regtr
the issue of the pending conflict. The Conservol3
caucus has sanctioned the adoption of a policy irll/1.,
cannot in any material point defeat the operation of 14ty
Gladstone's great measure, but must cast upon the Vt'reio
which has chosen it the discredit of political morn of
and chicanery. A more audacious attempt was nevoi
made to achieve the degradation of a stirri 01
controversy of principles down to the level elf
a base struggle for pence. Practically, Mr. Diellio
surrenders the eternal and indestructible sanctities a "op
union of Church and State, about which he mouthed
fantastic and histrionic a strain in moving the amendle`
to the second reading of the bill. With one exceptiot;it
though that, indeed,- is one of the first importance, 11:10
requires to be vigilantly looked after by .Liberalr-----;0(
amendments are directed altogether to the paltry eot. d
",,
obtaining, on one false pretence or another, as much
the House of Commons may be soft enough to give eV of
the endowments of the Irish Church, with the design #0
endowing the Church again almost as richly and quit°4ol
much to the satisfaction of the Irish people as the exist
state of things.

The Herald thinks that it is not a little significant, t,,jorti'''
-only forty-eight hours before the House of Commons I,
into committee upon the Irish Church Bill it should Mr
been occupied in discussing a proposition for what thOfti
ticularly frank and courageous member for Londondli
describes as the disestablishment and disendowment ff,
secular corporation. Mr. Gladstone demands the dr of
tablishment of the Irish Church and the sequestratiiiio
its revenues. What Mr. Maguire sought to effect 13.9
motion is the abolition of the Irish Society and the al-9
priation of its revenues. The proposal was met bYthic)
Government in a spirit of fairness and moderation, iv,
was no doubt considerably influenced by the ciretee
stances of the hour. They could hardly fail to Pioo'
especially after the speech of the member for Lora pi
derry, that their position on Thursday rnigWtli
seriously affected if they recorded too warm a suppai
a motion so suspiciously like their own. Mr. Forto-00
referred to certain obvious anomalies in the constitlfrit
of the society, and said that it was impossible it sou xfe
permitted to remain on its present footing. He adro
that hitherto the society had acted within the four colsi
of its charter ; but the evidence given before the 1401°
commission in 1854 established the conclusion that'll):
fluctuating character of the governing body is a f3e404;
hindrance to the efficient working of the society. 1-t','..ter
generally admitted on both' sides of the House that
has been a considerable improvement of late years ilefcl
general management of the corporation estates, brit
was an equally strong manifestation of feeling on the pf
of the advocates as well as of the opponents of the so I
that its administrative system needs revision. j'o
The Post remarks that branding soldiers in the ariil of
a subject certain to attract attention in the Hoyt 08,
Commons, as it did on Monday night. The desire (f tl!!
Legislature is evidently in the direction of renderiot
service of the country attractive and not repulsive. , 01`
anxious, too, in all cases, that unnecessary cruelty s' Poe
be avoided, and customs savouring of barbarisl,o,
abolished. The mere mention, therefore, of " brana4
of the existence of which perhaps many members 'lrtio,
unaware xntil recently, naturally excited disapprokV
of it. The position which Mr. Cardwell has t;i191:
up is reasonable and satisfactory. He has intimate -s$
opinion that the marking should not be considered; i4l
punishment but as a preventive of fraud. That wit",i'jst's
bably be sufficient to prevent the second inflictioo_ol)o,.
the Act is altered by Parliament, and then it (.1%,r,P.;
seem at all improbable that the system of marking T.-sr Li
entirely abolished. The objections to the system Oo
sentimental, and certain reasons for its retention 131910
be devoid of strength. But in view of the changed te„
expected in the personnel of the army, we appreheP“:„,,viv
no great difficulty would eventually be felt in dealinm
des 'on i Ut ai ot • Pro •on •