The Sun.
London, England, 1869-05-21 00:00:00

ME] ROPOLITAN GOSSlP—Thursday.

It may, I think, be taken for granted that the Conserva-
tive party have not made up their minds to move the
rejection of the Irish Church Bill in the House of Lords,
nor have they made up their minds as to any course
at present. Mr. Holt, who beat Mr. W. J. Kay
Shuttleworth, as candidate for North• East Lancashire at
the general election, means to move the rejection of the
bill on its third reading in the House of Commons. But that
is a very different matter from moving the rejection in the
House of Lords. The Conservatives know that they will
he beaten in the first, •and that, therefore, they run no
danger of bringing about a popular agitation and a civil
war in Ireland by going to a division ; but they know
that they will win the second, and that if they determine
to win they must be prepared to face a political
storm compared with which the Hyde Park riots of three
years ago were mere play. It is rather hard upon them
that they should not venture to put forth their strength in
the assembly where they are strongest, and should have
to display their weakness where they are weakest. But
that is the inevitable result of Mr. Disraeli's Reform Bill,
Which has given the people so much political power that
when they once pronounce decisively for a certain policy
that policy must be adopted. The risk of rejecting the
bill is too great for even Lord Derby lightly to incur it.
It is no secret that Mr. Gladstone has full power from the
Queen to make sufficient new peers to carry the bill over
the heads of the Conservative peers, and the fear that this
power will be exercised is likely to have the same deter-
rent effect that it had this time.thirty-seven years. The
Conservative peers will hope rather to profit by Liberal
dissensions, and to get rid of the bill on a side issue. In
fact, the policy adopted by the Adullamites in the House
of Commons with regard to Reform in 1866 is to be
adopted now in the House of Lords with regard to the
Irish Church. Just as Mr. Lowe, Earl Grosvenor, and
the rest said that Ministers ought not to bring in a fran-
chise without a redistribution bill, so Lords Russell and
Westbury will, it is expected, contend that Ministers ought
not to bring in a Church without a Land bill. This
will avoid a direct rejection of the former
measure, and will, it is supposed, give the people time to
cool down. Past experience leads to the opposite pre-
sumption—leads to the belief that the people will rather
warm up. In that case the land question, awkward as it
is now, will be very much more serious, and we must look
for nothing less than an agrarian revolution. I may add,
while on this matter, that the third reading of the Church
bill is fixed for the 31st inst, the division, in all
probability, taking place the same night, and that the
second reading in the Lords will probably be moved by
Earl Granville on June 14. The debate will very likely
occupy four nights.

The Government have taken a very wise step in appeal-
ing to the good offices of the Papal Government on behalf
of Ireland. Between the Irish bishops and that Govern.
ment the relations are intimate, the communications are
frequent, and there is probably no country in Europe
where the Pope and his counsellors have more personal
influence than in Ireland. The Roman Catholic clergy
dread Ribaudism as much as the Irish landlords.
The first are as much interested as the second
in putting down the dangerous communistic doctrines of
the Reds. Hence our Government had good reason
to ask the assistance of the Roman hierarchy ; hence it has
been granted, and there is little doubt that Archbishop
Leahy's recent pastoral is due to the influence of Cardinal
Antonelli, exerted in reply to communications made from
our Government through Mr. Odo Russell. This circum-
stance chews, as much as anything can do, the absurdity
of our objection to the same diplomatic intercourse with
the Court of Rome which is carried on by other States,
Protestant as well as Catholic.

The American question has somewhat improved since
my last. All the letters from the other side confirm the
idea that the States have no intention of going to war. In
fact, they are, as the Times points out to-day, like our-
selves, bound over in a very substantial amount to
keep the peace. It costs them thirty millions a year to

pay the interest on their national debt, and we
have to pay not very much less. I suspect, if the
truth were told, that the Clarendon-Johnson treaty would
have been accepted as fully satisfactory if it had not been
that the Americans were thoroughly disgusted with the
fulsome way in which Mr. Johnson flattered us. They
had intended him to assume an air of offended dignity
and reserve, and straightway he was so effusive that even
we thought the thing overdone. Mr. Motley will now
adopt the tone which Mr. Johnson shduld have
adopted, and we may hope that after American
dignity has been satisfied by keeping . the
Alabama question open a sufficiently long time,
the matter will at length be settled peaceably, as it
might be now, but for a rather foolish piece of sentiment.
By the way, Mr. Sumner, in a conversation which he
is said to have had with the reporter of the New York
Herald, complained that the Times of the 15th, 16th, or
17th of April did not announce the fact of the rejection
of the Alabama Treaty. This is perfectly true ; but if
Mr. Sumner had gone back a little farther, he would
have found the statement in the Times of the 14th of
April. If Mr. Sumner will examine his claims against
England a little farther, he will find them to be as un-
founded as his charge against the Times.
Private letters from India tell me that Lord Mayo is
carrying ceremonial to an extreme. In this respect he is
the very opposite to his predecessor, who was just as
extremely neglectful of viceregal etiquette. Lord Mayo
is personally unlike Lord Lawrence, being a fine, hand-
some man. Ins style of living is magnificent. Describing
one of his State dinners, my informant says every-
thing, even the plates from which the guests ate,
Wei solid silver, and in the middle of the table stood
a magnificent gold centre-piece. The food was worthy of
the material upon which it was served, and of the
French cooks who prepared it. Lady Mayo is stately,
and does not condescend to do much of the talking, and the
aides de cimp do not atone for her lack of conversational
power. Lord Mayo, however, is a very agreeable talker.
As the Viceroy 'lnd all his principal secretaries are new to