The Sun.
London, England, 1869-06-30 00:00:00

THE AMENDMENTS.

There seems to be much bewilderment about the
amendments to the Irish Church Bill, which the
Lords have proposed, and in the confusion hardly
any party finds satisfaction. The opponents of the
bill, its principle, and its detail, give the matter up.
Like Archdeacon Denison, they are in despair. The
Dublin Evening Mail points .out that Lord
Cairns has not attacked the principle of the
bill ; he regards it as defective, not as wholly
bad, and he is trying to make it less inconsistent,
more perfect, not to destroy it. "This," exclaims our
contemporary, " This is not opposition : it is assist-
ance. Lord Cairns is the auxiliary, not the foe."
The Mail goes on to complain bitterly that
this is finding food for amusement to England.
But the Irish Protestant is bitterly feeling it.
He is fast settling down into the conviction that he
must henceforth lay this account with finding no
English party ready to do the simplest justice. He
feels how fatal has been his relit ice for years on
men equally without tact and courage, who never
had a bold game to play that they did not at the
critical moment sacrifice their friends and strengthen
their enemies.
The Liberationists are equally indignant at
the amendments—those especially which are in
favour of levelling up. The Liberation Society
has passed resolutions distinctly condemning the
nioposals for building churches and parsonages,
and providing glebe lands for the Roman Catholics
and Presbyterians, which are declared to be in direct
antagonism to the deliberate decision of the people,
as expressed at the election, and since affirmed by
their representatives in the House of Commons.
The last resolution of the society is to the following
effect :

" That the committee advises the friends of religious
equality throughout the three kingdoms immediately to
take such steps as will make it evident that the mind of
the nation has undergone no change in regard to the
principles on which the disestablishment and disendow-
ment of the Irish Church should be effected, and that it
desires that the measure introduced by her Majesty's
Government, and sanctioned by unprecedented majo-
rities in the Lower House of Parliament, should, so far
as concerns all its essential provisions, pass into law."

Other bodies are stated to be preparing for similar
action. The Advertiser states that "Earl Grey's
attempt to prevent the preamble being postponed,
all the concurrent endowment amendments, whether
they point to ' thirty' or ten' acres for Roman
Catholic and Presbyterian glebe lands, and the
Archbishop of York's proposal on the question of
commuting life interests, will be opposed by the
Government." The Star, which has hitherto kept
silence, now condemns concurrent endowment.
Of the amendments which were issued yesterday,
the most important are the proposals of the Duke
of Rutland and the Earl of Bandon who intend to
move that the second elause=which,' in reality,
is the clause of the bill—be left out. As it at
present stands, it provides that " on and after the
Ist of January, 1871, the union created by Act of
Parliament between the Churches of England and
Ireland shall be dissolved, and the said Church shall
cease to be established by law."