The Sun.
London, England, 1869-04-16 00:00:00

DISABLED DISIIOPS.

The Guardian, which is, we believe, neither a very
Radical nor very Dissenting paper, remarking
upon Sir Massey Lopes s question and Mr.
Gladstone's reply about incapable bishops, says,
Mr. Gladstone, answering Sir Massey Lopes, very
much regrets' that a considerable number of dioceses
are at present deprived of responsible episcopal
superintendence ' by the illness or infirmity of their
respective bishops ; but he believes and hopes
that the Episcopal Bench are considering the matter,
and that they will be prepared within a reasonable
time to advise the Government respecting it. We
hope so too. It is evident that, with or without the
advice of the bishops, means must be provided for
preventing the recurrence of so great an evil." We
fear that there is small chalice of the first alterna-
tive coming to pass. It is to Parliament, not to
Convocation, that Churchmen must look for relief.
' The Bishop of Winchester appears to be in a very
zritical state. It is said that although there is some
slight improvement in his health yet he remains in a
serious and alarming condition at Farnham Park,
Surrey, and very slight hopes of his recovery are
entertained by his friends and medical advisers.
Bishop Ryan, late Bishop of Mauritius, is assisting
in the duties connected with the diocese of Winches-
ter. Bishop Sumner is 70 years old, and has been
longer bishop than any other prelate now living. lle
was consecrated to the see of Llandaff in 1826 (being
then only 30 years old), and was translated to Win-
chester in 1827. The annual value of the see is now
£10,417, but it will be considerably reduced on the
next vacancy. Bishop Sumner was the founder and
the first minister of the English Church at Geneva,
no less than fifty-five years ago.

DITUALISM OUTSIDE THE CHURCH.
Even if the Church Association should succeed in
putting down Ritualism in the English Church, there
is no likelihood that it will die out altogether so long
as Freemasonry survives. In this institution the
ritual is both elaborate and gorgeous. A very
grand ceremony took place at the Freemasons' Hall
in London on Wednesday. The occasion was the
dedication of the new building. The Grand Master,
the Earl of Zetland, was seated on a throne, and sur-
rounded by a thousand of the officers of lodges from
various parts of the country, and in full attire.
There was a sermon, and singing by a large choir,
and the dedication was performed according to the
ancient rites, with corn, wine, and oil. It would be
interesting to know how many Masons there are in
the Church Association, and presuming there to be
any, one would like to know how they explain their
love for ritualism in the " Lodge" and their dislike
of it in the Church, the first being, in their opinion,
a religious building, even as the second is.

GRANTS TO SCOTLAND.
It does really seem that it is an evil thing for
England that it is not Ireland or Scotland just now.
Mr. Lowe has been closing his fist very tightly when
money has been asked forany English institu-
tion. Compare this with Scotland. The amount to
be voted this year for the new Glasgow University
Buildings is £20,000; and for the Industrial Museum,
Edinburgh, £lO,OOO. The Aberdeen Court-houses
also are to get £10,000; and the total estimate for
Court-houses in Scotland is £29,048.
SCOTCH GAME LAws,
The Scotch game laws, as they now stand, have
found a very warm advocate in Mr. Horatio Ross, who
writes to the Times at great length on the grie-
vances of landowners and sportsmen. Ile has not,
he tells us, missed a season on the moors of Scotland
for the last fifty-five years, and for forty-five years
he has rented either a grouse moor or a deer forest,
so that he claims to be well informed on the matter.
He considers that if any of the bills now before Par-
liament for the reform of the Scotch game laws
should be carried, a " healthful, charming recreation "
will be destroyed, and a serious injury inflicted on the
owners of property. Mr. Locke's bill, which he admits
to be the most popular of the three bills introduced
on this subject, is also, in his estimation, the most
objectionable. :The arguments which he adduces
against it are likely, however, to have more weight
with sportsmen than with the general public.
The clause which cancels in existing leases
the agreement made by the landowners with
their tenants with regard to game, he holds to be
a " monstrous case of breach of covenant,"an d the
power given to farmers to claim damages for injury to
their crops from neighbouring proprietors would, he
thinks, lead to endless litigation. He reminds the
farmers that the rural districts of Scotland have been
greatly benefited by the annual influx of sportsmen,
and assures them that, if they push matters too far,
landlords will farm their own lands, or grant yearly
leases.

THE PARADISE OF DRUNKARDS.
The following advertisement (omitting the address)
appears in one of the morning papers :—" Intemper-
ance.-1 clergyman, residing in ono of the Orkney
Islands, offers a home for a gentleman given to the
above. There is no temptation within reach.
Climate mild and healthy. Highest references.
Communications considered confidential." The
Orcadians • seem to be in the same happy condition
as their brethren in race the rural Norwegians, free
from the temptations of the beershop and the gin
palace. It is, in fact, a paradise of drunkards, a
place in which they regain lost soberness, health)
and happiness.