The Sun.
London, England, 1869-02-06 00:00:00

THE MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.

Mr. Disraeli, following in the wake of Mr. Glad-
stone, has issued a circular note, calling upon his
followers to form their ranks, and to be ready to do
battle when Parliament meets. The letter of the
leader of the Opposition runs thus : " I have to
remind you that Parliament will meet on Tuesday,
the IGth February, and to express my hope that you
may find it convenient to be in your place on that
day, as business of importance may be expected."
The dull season will soon be over, and we shall be
amidst the excitement of party rivalry. Who that
has read for so long the arguments on the Irish
Church question does not wish that the preliminary
talkee-talkee was over ?

-- -
But the first part of the session will be notable
in that it will hear " Mr. Gladstone's secret " divulged.
We shall then know what the Premier intends doing
with the funds of the Irish Church, the machinery
he will use to accomplish disestablishment and dis-
endowment, and the position which he intends the
Church to take after those operations have been com-
pleted. Indeed, Mr. Gladstone has revelations to
make, sensational enough to call the House together
without any " circular notes " whatever.

THE MINISTERIAL PLANS.
The
aLonedl
oienveseetrrhaets there is
of the Manchester
Gu
respecting
plan
of Irishtriple
endow_ Church.
s a good deal in the
reported compromise
Ile says that Lord Russell's
entertained, in the
p policy is strongly
highmente 3 has as
quarters. revived
Theh o pieesv,
eilloinngg_u
advocated at Court, at clubs
Cabinet. The section of Li
ndhae, above all, in the
opinion that "it is not too late torale who hold the
of re-distribute the
Church property of Ireland among the three deno-
minations," embraces some
party,
ablest and
truest men of the Liberal Pe
English owners of Irish estates, nervousy. The great
of
f respect-
ing the effect of the confiscation
ecclesiastical
rents, are for the same solution of the problem iesiaso far
stical
as Lord Grey'P
s proposal with respect to glebee
Mouses
and glebe lands is concerned. There is
a strong
current setting in among the Conservatives in the
same direction. Even the Irish bishops admit the
present pcsition to be untenable, and the 1
c ergy are
awakening to the unwisdom of insisting upon such an
unreality as the identity of the Irish with the English
Church. The Low Church party, however,are resolutely
setagainst anyconcesLion toPopery,andit is likely that
this usually high Tory party will unite with the Non-
conformist Radicals to prevent it; and that there
will be other political complications of a very curious
sort. 1...`-_,e Pope is seid to desire such a compromise
es this rafilier than smetion the secularisation of
Church revenues, 1
c, which would have a bad effect
elsewhere. They
man Catholic bishops and
..
2,1.1):, will not give
:open sanction to any
scheme of redistribution ceause the mass of,
their people prcPer the other ,'lternative. The
Presbyterians would gladly receive a 5..-nig parsonage
and farm in exchange for the Regium Doi.'gm, which
they
think impairs their independence. The ccirre-
spondent thus concludes -- interestingt'r
a vary let,.
" From all these considerations, I am led to think
that the coming session will be marked by a collective
attempt to bring about a compromise of the Irish
Church question,
the
discussion of which will unavoid-
ably prove not a little embarrassing to many of our
friends."