The Sun.
London, England, 1869-12-30 00:00:00

PROBABLE EFFECT OF THE OPPOSITION

TO DR. TEMPLE.

Apropos of the protests entered against Dr. Temple, the
Guardian says it is no use disguising it that we are within a
few steps of a serious schism. If men, says our contemporary,
mean what they say, especially if men in high place and
with great responsibilities mean all that they have said,
words have been spoken and acts done which seem to in-
volve very grave consequences. When eight bishops of
the province of Canterbury, four of them in the
most formal manner under hand and seal, have at
the last moment signified their solemn protest against
a consecration which has every outward and legal
character of regularity, and when we are told, in what
is, we suppose, to be taken as a communique," on the
best authority," that " the gravest doubts rest, in the
opinion of many best able to judge, as to the canonicity
of Dr. Temple's consecration, and the validity of the
orders which he may confer," that "no lapse of
time can make him a rightful bishop," and that
"nothing but a public and solemn retractationof the essay
will enable orthodox bishops to hold communion with
him"—it is impossible to deny that the foundations
have been laid for as dangerous an internal division
as ever threatened the unity of the English Church
since the Reformation. No one would wish to over-
state or to make the worst of acts which even open the
possibility of such a catastrophe. No one would wish to
bind the authors of these protests to what will seem to
many, and what many will call for, as the natural and
even inevitable consequences of them. But when excom-
munication or refusal of communion shews itself not
obscurely in the background, and the question is
opened about the validity of the orders which
the Bishop of Exeter will probably have to confer in the
course of the next fortnight, it becomes of high importance
that we should all know where we are, on what ground we
are standing, what we seriously and in earnest intend by
our words, and whether we have looked forward to what
they commit us to. Is it too much to ask those (concludes
the Guardian) who can influence the fortunes of the
English Church whether they are prepared to carry out
what is implied in the protests ; and if they are not, was
ise to present them?

I'AUPERISM IN LONDON.—Last week there were
8,563 more paupers in London than in the corresponding
period of last year. The total number was 152,543, in the
proportion of 115,608 out-door to 36,815 in-door poor. In
the corresponding week of 1867 there were 147,753 pau-
pers in the metropolis, and in the third week of December
ISC6 the number was 123,961.

Dr. Merivale, the new Dean of Ely, was on Wed-
nesday installed by Dr. Kennedy, Canon of Ely and Pro-
fessor cf Creek at the University of Cambridge, assisted
by Canon Hopkins and the other resident canons. The
installation took place in connection with the morning
service at the Cathedral Church of Ely.
TILE HALFPENNY POSTAGE QUESTION.—At the
meeting of the Council of the Liverpool Chamber of Com-
merce, on Wednesday, a letter was read from Mr. Graves,
M.P., urging the Council to memorialise the Government
in favour of the scheme fur a halfpenny postage for 2oz.
packages of printed matter. Mr. Graves said Mr. Glad-
stone and the Postmaster were favourable to the scheme,
but the Chancellor of the Exchequer was not. The Council
resolved to memorialise the Government in favour of the
proposal.
ANOTHER AGRARIAN OUTRAGE IN IRELAND.—
The Freeman's Journal reports an agrarian outrage on a
lady in Mayo. The lady, Miss Harriet Gardiner, having
some property near Ballycastlo, has been fired at while
sitting in her kitchen. She received seven or eight grains
in the head. The crime is of an agrarian nature, as she
e :icted several of her tenants during the past six months,
and has processes of ejectments served on others at present.
The Ballyeastle constabulary are exerting themselves ac-
tively to find out the perpetrator, but no clue has been
discovered as yet.

TIIE CONDEMNED CULPRIT IN KIRXDALE GAOL.
—John Gregson, a collier, who was found guilty at the
recent Liverpool Assizes of feloniously and wilfully mur-
dering his wife, Ellen Gregson, will in all probability be
executed on Monday week next. It will be recollected
that the jury in finding the prisoner guilty added a strong
recommendation to mercy, but Mr. Baron Martin, who
tried the case, in no way coincided with the recommenda-
tion. Tho prisoner, who is a Protestant, is daily visited
by the Rev. Mr. Pigott, and pays great attention to that
gentleman's spiritual ministrations. The prisoner says he
had not the smallest intention when he kicked his wife of
taking her life. Ho expresses great penitence, and does
not appear to entertain the slightest hope that his life will
be spared. Should the execution take place it will be the
first that has been conducted in private within the walls
of Kirkdale gaol.

ENGLISH AND FRENCH SOLDIERS.—An article in
the Pall Mall Gazette, entitled "How I made war on
you," describing, from a Russian point of view, the opera-
tions before Sebastopol, has the following interesting
remarks :—"War is a good field in which to study national
characters and temperament for anyone caring about such
matters. The difference presented by the captive
English and French soldiers was alone worth notice.
The former were almost shockingly wounded before
being taken prisoners; the latter often quite sound,
and only sometimes bearing a few insignificant,
scratches. And even if so wounded, the English soldier
would not give up his animosity to the Russians, while
the Frenchman immediately fraternised with them. 1
remember one day having seen an English soldier brought
to the hospital with a fractured leg and a broken jaw.
The man could not articulate, and hardly respired; he
only groaned, and when put on his death-bed and
surrounded by Russian surgeons, closed his fist and
shook it at them. Amputation of his log was resolved
on, . but as the surgeons could not make themselves
understood, they found somewhere a Oerrnan medical mu;
supposing that he would be more intelligible, and the
learned doctor apparently (lid suppose it too, for he wil-
lingly undertook the negotiation as well as the operation.
The wounded man was lletiiiedly opposed to the opera-
tion, but chloroform I ein ati daistere d, the amputAtion was
performed. t3carcely had the ps.dint recovered his senses
and seen tbc absence of his leg, than he took a leaden
water-jug standing by side, and threw it at the
German,. groaning most iirc,afany. irappilY for
the learned doctor, the man appears to have
been a bad marksman, and the jug only smashed
a window and flew out into the street. Around
contrary, r apiolliv thereely
wase alwaysb ofwounded
coFrliTiltlebroennv,e onr itiloine
an entertainment of laughter and jokes. The Freminnen
often deserted, because, as they themselves said, their pro
visions were so bad. People fighting with the French must,
I think, unavoidably conic to the conclusion that acting ea
masse French soldiers are irreproachable, but taken each of
them separately, and especially when young, they noiva-
days seldom present any of those qualifications which are
proitiered to fad a rood soldier."