The Sun.
London, England, 1869-11-05 00:00:00

WETROPOLI7AN GOSSlP—Thursday.

The Ministry s once more complete ; and, as in the
. I penultimate, so in the present Ministry, a Premier and his
' son hold office together. Mr.:William Henry Gladstone
has not, however, yet attained the position held by:Lord
Stanley in Lord Derby's Administration. The new Lord
of the Treasury must bide his time before entering the
charmed circle of the Cabinet. There is plenty of time for him
to get there. He is but 29, fourteen years the junior of
the late Foreign Secretary, and fourteen years between
30 and 44 count for a good deal in political life. His
father was four years younger when he first took service
under the Crown, and he then took the same office which
the member for Whitby is now taking.
The ecclesiastical appointments are likewise all but
completed. The Bishopric of Winchester will be de-
clared vacant on Saturday, and will be filled up by
Advent. The cove d'ilire for Exeter and Carlisle has been
gazetted. The reason why there has been so much delay
in its reaching the former chapter is partly because it was
thought decorous to allow time for the consideration of
the memorial against Dr. Temple, partly because the roads
in the neighbourhood of Balmoral have been prematurely
snowed up, and the mails have been delayed. The
deanery of Ely, vacant by the preferment of Dean
Harvey Goodwin to the Bishopric of Ely has been given to
Canon Dale, who has held several livings successively in
London, is known as the writer of many sermons, and
some rather good religious poetry, including a volume
called " The Widow of Nain; and has been a translator of
Sophocles. He holds at the present time the
rectory of Therfield, Herts, which is worth £994,
and though in the diocese of Rochester, was in the gift of
the Bishop of London ; and a canonry in St. Paul's worth
£l,OOO. This latter preferment he will have to vacate,
and as the deanery of Ely is worth only £717, he will
suffer pecuniarily, although he gains in dignity. It is not
easy to understand the motives which have prompted
this appointment. Canon Dale is about 70 years
of age, surely too old to fill so important
a post as that of principal clergyman, next to
the bishop, in the university town of Cambridge. This
appointment, together with that of Dr. M'Neile to the
deanery of Ripon, seems to shew that deaneries are looked
upon rather in the light of rewards for past work than as a
sphere for future work. The canonry of St. Paul's, which
has now become vacant, falls to Mr. Gladstone's gift. I have
no knowledge as to whom he will appoint, but I should not
be surprised if he were to select Professor Maurice.
Everyone will regret to learn that this accomplished theo-
logian has been obliged to give up parochial duty in con-
sequence of failing health. The outside of his church in
Vere-street is well known to all frequenters of Marshall
and Snelgrove's, and I believe no small proportion of the
emplayos in that famous shop used to be found
on Sundays in the church. There was scarcely any
parish attached to it, and Mr. Maurice's congregation used
to be drawn from far and wide, and consisted entirely of
persons who admired the man and profited by his earnest
teaching. It is greatly to the credit of Mr. IV.
F. Cowper that when he was First Commis-
sioner of Works he presented Mr. Maurice to
this living. It is worth only £450 a year,
but a scanty reward to one who has done so much to
influence public thought. Mr. Layard has now presented
Mr. Ashley, who, I believe, was Mr. Maurice's curate. It
is just possible that Mr. Gladstone may not feel at liberty
to offer a canonry to an invalid clergyman. Canon
Gregory has set such an example of vigour by
frequent preaching and by outspoken rebukes to
irreverent choristers, that Mr. Maurice himself
may not like to be placed in juxtaposition and
contrast with so energetic a colleague. Mr. Maurice,
John Sterling, and Professor Plumptre married sisters ; and
Mr. Maurice's sister was the wife of Archdeacon Hare. Mr.
Maurice himself was brought up as a Unitarian, but became a
Trinitarian from conviction. King's College, London, and
Queen's College (for ladies) owe much of their success to his
teaching, albeit he was chased from his professorship in the
first mentioned college by the bigotry chiefly of its
principal, Dr. Jelf, in spite of the fact that the Bishop of
Oxford supported Mr. Maurice. There still remains the

Archdeaconry of Sudbury to fill up. But I presume no
appointment will be made until the post is actually
vacated by the Bishop designate of Bath and Wells. The
living-of Brightstone, vacant by the promotion of Dr.
Moberlylto the Bishopric of Salisbury was offered by Mr.
Gladstone originally to the Rev. 31. F. Sadler, of Bedford.
The Premier, in writing to him, said he was personally
unacquainted with Mr. Sadler, and no influence had been
used on his behalf, but that he (the Premier) was so much
pleased with his writings that he could not do better than
offer Mr. Sadler the vacant living. For family reasons the
offer was declined, and the living was thus given to Mr.
Heygate. Why was not Mr. Sadler made Dean of Ely?
The election of Dr. Temple is still exciting great inte-
rest. It is expected to take place next Thursday.
The Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol, who was formerly
Dean of Exeter, has written to Canon Cook, giving his
reasons why the election should not take place. At the
last meeting of the Ritual Commission, the Archbishop
of Canterbury expressed his surprise at the strength of the
opposition, and said that if the Dean and Chapter
should take upon themselves the responsibility
of refusing to elect, it would be a matter
for the bishops to consider very seriously if they
should consecrate. The chief promoters of the opposition
in the Chapter do not expect to win, but they believe that
the voting will be very close, and the most sanguine of
them even say that it will be necessary for Dean Boyd to
give his casting vote. I believe that the Solicitor-General,
in praising the new Bishop so highly on Tuesday before
the Earl of Devon, had reason to know that what he said
was not distasteful to his noble fellow - guest.
It was mainly owing to the influence of the
Earl and his son-in-law, the Hon. C. L. Wood, President
of the English Church Union, that the Union declined to
take any cognisance of the appointment. I should not be
surprised if, in the course of two or three years, Lord
Devon and Lord Nelson came out as Liberals, and Free
Churchmen. Canon Courtenay, in advocating the exclusion
of bishops from the House of Lords would seem to be tending
in the same direction as his brother. By the way, Lord
Nelson has made up his quarrel with the Church Institu-
tion, and has rejoined that body.
The committee of the Society for the Propagation of
Christian Knowledge have just shewn a remarkable degree
of bigotry. They have refused even to consider the
making a grant towards the new cathedral at Inverness.
The objection was that the Episcopal Church in Scotland
is not established.

It is not improbable that a new daily paper will appear
in London next spring. The proprietors of the Morning
Star refuse to let their valuable premises, on which they
have a lease of nearly ninety years, and they retain their
machinery untouched. They are under an agreement -not
to publish a new journal at the Star office I.May,
but it is quite possible that when
she necessary
interval has expired they may be f.,,and reappearing in
another form. The only circ--_instance which seems to
militate against this sur:position is that Mr. Rawson, the
chief proprietor of Star, has joined the proprietary of
the Daily News. Mr. Bright ceased to be a Star proprietor
at the tirlie when he became a Minister. Strictly
spealc4_,z- z he was not a proprietor ; he merely
t".,ok the shares which were held by his late brother-
in-law, Mr. Lucas, who was one of the principal projectors
of the concern. lam assured that it is a mistake to
suppose that the Star was largely unprofitable. At one
time it paid a profit, and the total loss upon it was not
more than at the rate of £l,OOO a year. It is, therefore,
the more to be regretted that the literary staff have not
been treated with more consideration than has been shewn
them under the circumstances of a sudden and unexpected
discontinuance of the paper. At the time that the Star
stopped, the circulation of the morning edition was about
16,000, that of the evening was much smaller, and was for
a time diminished by the reduction of the price of the Pall
Mall Gazette to a penny, but this diminution had been reco-
vered. The money sunk in the Daily News is probably
six or seven times that sunk in the Star, and cannot be
reckoned in less than six figures. I believe that the
appointment of editor of the Daily News has not yet been
determined. Mr. Edward Dicey has declined it. Not
improbably Mr. Rill, the chief leader-writer, may
have it.

Still on newspaper matters, I may mention that
Sir Charles Dilke has purchased from Mr. Holmes
the small share which the latter gentleman had in the
Athenaum; and the paper is now the sole property of the
young baronet and M.P. for Chelsea. It is to be enlarged
with the new year, and the shape of it will be altered
to that of the Saturday Review. The paper has
lost one of its most valuable contributors in
Professor Conington. Mr. Sutherland Edwards is
to be the editor of the new illustrated journal.
The Birmingham one has proved only partially
successful. The circulation began at 20,000 and has now
dropped to 12,000. The Echo is now about paying its way.
The Gentleman's Magazine, rehabilitated, has not been a
success. Victor Hugo's story, although well translated by
Mr. Hubert Jerningham, has proved a great mistake. ➢lr.
Blanchard Jerrold is now about to write some papers,
under the title of the " Christian Vagabond." Still on
magazine matters, let me commend to the notice of your
readers Dean Stanley's article in the new number of
Macmillan.

Of forthcoming new books the most important are
Sir William Denison's " Viceregal Life," which will give
much information about India; Mr. Gladstone's work,
"On the Functions of Laymen in Synod ;" Earl Russell's
Speeches from 1817 to 1811 ; Lady Herbert's new tale of
" The Two Sisters ;" and Mrs. Bray's " Good St. Louis."
_ _

The last-named lady is still in good health, although she
has reached an advanced age.
It is greatly to be wished that the new First Commis
aioner of Works would take in hand the Metropolitan Board
of Works. Every year its members deteriorate in social

position and moral influence, and those who have had

to do with the Board speak in the strongest

terms of its i=competence and the jobbery of certain

of its vae=tberz. This body has tho levying and spend-
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