The Sun.
London, England, 1869-03-04 00:00:00

THE IRISH PAPERS ON THE CHURCH BILL.

The Liberal papers of Ireland seem to be quite
satisfied, the Roman Catholic papers are in ecstasies,
with the measure which Mr. Gladstone has
prepared. The Freeman says it is just, equi-
table, and moderate. The Mail, on the
other hand, seems to be plunged into a gulf of
dark despair." The measure is so " thorough"
that the Mail stands aghast. There is then, it cries,
no moderation to be shewn. There is no hope.
Even if we escape Mr. Gladstone and disestablish-
ment. we shall fall into the hands of Mr. Disraeli
and levelling up. bo our contemporary contents
itself with an appeal to the Irish as to the destina-
tion of the rent charge. " There is but one equitable
way of dealing with the rent-charge, and that is, to
remit it to the Irish landowners. The rent-charge is
not a property but a tax. It was, in its orgin, a
voluntary contribution. Parliament has from time
to time interposed to modify its form, and aid
the facilities of collection. But this could affect
neither its origin nor the distinct consideration
which the State had undertaken. A public worship
and ministration was yearly furnished in considera-
tion of the yearly tax. If the State refuses any
longer to pay the consideration, it has no
right to impound the money." "Is it not
rather hard," our contemporary goes on
to ask, " that the abolition of the Church
should afford the Roman Catholic proprietor abso-
lutely no relief, and that the tax which was levied
for the express object of furnishing the Protestant
with a public worship should still be levied by
absentees or by English purchasers when that wor-
ship is withdrawn ?"

DEAN SWIFT AND THE IRISH CHURCH.

Dean Swift is rather unceremoniously dragged into
the discussion on the Irish Church. Mr. Gladstone
in his speech called attention to the contemplation of,
and provision for, the possibility of the dissolution of
the Irish Establishment in the great humourist's will.
This does not seem to have been a provision inserted
on the impulse of the moment, for the same is
repeated in the will of Stella, written under his
diction, and dated December 30, 1727. Esther John-
son here desires £l,OOO to be laid out in the purchase
of lands in Leinster, Munster, or Ulster, or in any good
living equal to such legacy and the interest thereof,
after certain uses to be applied to the maintenance
of a chaplain in " Stevens's Hospital, St. James's-
street, Dublin." After an accurate specification of
the duties and mode of life of this person, she con-
cludes : "And if it shall happen (which God forbid)
that at any time hereafter the present Established
Episcopal Church of this kingdom shall come to be
abolished, and be no longer the national Established
Church of the said kingdom, I do, in that case,
declare wholly null and void the bequest above made
of the said £l,OOO, or the said land purchased, as far
as it relates to the said hospital and chaplain, and do
hereby absolutely divest the governor of the said
hospital of the principal and interest of the said
£l,OOO. And my will is that in the case aforesaid it
devolves to my nearest relation then living." It is
not improbable that litigation may be caused by these
bequests. It is curious to note that the Dean appears
to have associated the dissolution of the Establish-
ment with the destruction of the Church itself ; or
at least it never seems to have occurred to him that
if the bond between Church and State were severed,
the more need there would be for help both in money
and work to aid the freed Church still to carry --
its operations.
In another instance, a correspondent of the
Standard quotes the celebrated epitaph composed by
the one time Dean St. Patrick's, being reminded of it
by Mr. Gladstone's disendowment measure—

" He left the little wealth he had
To build a house for fools and mad
To shew by one satiric touch
No nation wanted it so much."

ELECTION PETITIONS.

The Youghal election petition is the first in which
a judge has found himself unable to decide.
Mr. Justice O'Brien, has indeed declared that the
charge of bribery against Mr. Weguelin, the sitting
member, was not sustained ; but he has reserved for
the Court of Common Pleas the question whether
the treating proved was of a corrupt character. A
journal, opposed in politics to Mr. Weguelin, sees no
difficulty in deciding the point which the judge has
reserved for the higher court, and says that the
election will certainly be declared void.
In the Salford case, Baron Martin seems to have
adopted a different principle from that laid down
elsewhere. Another judge had declared that if a
single act of bribery could be proved, it would be
sufficient to void the election. But Baron Martin
admitted that three cases of bribery had been proved,
yet, as the amounts were so small, it would bring
the law into contempt to unseat two members
of Parliament on that account. It would be well
if the judges would decide upon the maximum bribe
which it is legal to offer. It would be rather hard
for one man to be unseated because he paid Es.,
while another retained his seat because he paid only
4s. for a vote. Moreover it would be well for the
judges to determinq, if they recognised cumulative
bribing. If they db' not, it will be easy enough to
pay bribes in small and legal instalments.