The Sun.
London, England, 1869-06-07 00:00:00

TFIE SUN, LON 1

because the last appeal to the country was made
upon this very question of the Irish Church
by the Conservative party themselves—suppos-
ing it were necessary for the now Prime
Minister to appeal once more to the country
for its decision because of the rejection of the Bill
by the House of Lords in spite of its having been
carried through the House of Commons by a series of
overwhelming majorities, the result would, in all
human probability, be this, that after one of the
stormiest General Elections that has ever taken
place in the United Kingdom, the Liberal Party at
Mr. GLADSTONE'S back would be more numerous even
than it is at present. Such au appeal to the consti-
tuencies, however, is altogether superfluous. The
appeal has been made already—it was made, as it
were, but yesterday—it was made upon this very
question of the Irish Church and it was
made by the Conservative Party themselves, then
in power, under Mr. DISRAELI'S Premiership. The
Government, as it is, therefore, has a perfectly con-
stitutional right to act, as it is declared to have
the intention of acting immediately after the Irish
Church Bill has been thrown out of the House of
Lords by the Conservative Opposition—namely'
without appealing to the country to do with the
Bill precisely as if tha country had been appealed to
on it. That is to say, Mr. GLans-rosz and his col-
leagues will in that conjuncture have a perfectly con-
stitutional right to cause the Houses to be prorogued
as soon after that as possible, simply for the purpose
of their being convened again immediately after-
wards, so that the Irish Church Bill may, in the
second Parliamentary Session of 1869 be passed
anew rapidly and silently through the House of
Commons, and thereupon taken anew up
to the House of Lords with thaw suffi-
ciently familiar threat (not hinted at now for
the first time in our Constitutional History) of
transferring the Liberal Minority in that House into
a Liberal Majority by means of a wholesale addition
to the number of our Hereditary Legislators. A
threat of that kind was muttered ominously, it can-
not but be remembered, at the period of the stormy dis-
elusion which took place a very few years ago in refer-
ence to the remission of the Paper Duties. At the crisis
of the History of the First Reform Bill it was held—
thatsatne threat—in terrorem over the House of Lords,
and worked its way, as it will probably work its way
even now, that is to say, by inducing the
Conservative Peers when the time comes to
absent themselves from the House, and thereby
deprive the Liberal Government, in regard to
their threat, of any plea for carrying it into execu-
tion. One fact ought not to be lost sight of at this
critical juncture, one truth ought to be especially
borne in mind, that the determination of the Conser-
vative majority of the House of Lords is perfectly
constitutional. Their lordships have a full and
an undoubted right to resolve upon acting as they
have now intimated their intention to act. It is a
case of diamond cut diamond. It is the action of one
" tyrant majority," if you may please to call either
so, against another—the hereditary majority of the
Conservatives in the Lards as opposed to the
Liberal majority at the back of Mr. GLADSTONE
and his Irish Church policy in the Commons. Be-
tween the two that policy of the Liberal Party in
regard to the disestablishment and disendowment of
the Irish Church Bill is certain to triumph, though
it may for a brief interval be delayed. Our one
earnest hope at this juncture, as Consti-
tutional Liberals, is that in the delay the
dignity, and the power, and the influence of the
House of Lords as one of the three great component
parts of our admirably-balanced and wonderfully-
liiisted system of Government, may not be in any
way wantonly or needlessly jeopardised.

No true Englishman will make merry over the
dilemma in which the Conservative Peers found
themselves last week; for no true Englishman wishes
t see any important party in the State distracted and
divided. The Constitution, in the widest sense of that
word, works best when every part of it is performing
its proper function. But sometimes the great
difficulty is to be sure what that function is.
Let even the most Liberal of our readers put
himself for a moment in the place of the
noblemen who met in St. James's-square on Satur-
day, and, if he be not devoured by partizanship, he
will feel keen sympathy with those illustrious men. It
is easy enough to do one's duty when one is quite
sure what that duty is ; but all is anxiety when
one has to decide between two courses, for each of
which there arc powerful arguments. It is just in
this position that the Peers found themselves. On
the one hand, they were told that if they allowed the
Irish Church Bill to pass they would estrange the
Irish Protestants and that important class through
whose efforts they carried the English counties last
I autumn—the country clergy; that they would break
up their party; that they would prepare the way for
the destruction of the English Church ; that they
would abdicate their functions as a legislative
assembly : and that they would be indirectly
the authors of a civil war in Ireland.
All these arguments were urged upon them
with a vehemence and a clamour whereof the
newspapers give no idea. Day after day deputations
waited upon this great nobleman and upon that ; day
after day floods of angry letters came pouring down
upon them in a resistless stream. It seemed impos-
sible that such tremendous pressure could be
resisted. On the other hand, the Peers
having among them such a man of genius and
foresight as the Marquis of SALISBURY, the dangers
of yielding to clamour were sure to be vividly
represented. Granted that the bill were thrown
out, what next ? The Conservative peers could not
complain that they were left in the dark as to the
intentions of the Government. The course was plain
enough. A Conservative Ministry had appealed to
the nation with special reference to the Irish Church
question. The nation replied to that appeal in so
unmistakeable a manner that they who made it
did not venture to meet the Parliament which they
had summoned. The majority which passed the
Suspensory Bill last year was almost doubled this
year. There was not the smallest sign that the nation
had regretted its decision ; on the contrary, the
Liberals have gained a majority in the House
of Commons by the elections. Clearly, there-
fore, if the bill were rejected by the Lords, Mr.
GLADSTONE would neither resign nor appeal
to the country. The country has not lost confidence
in him ; the country has by anticipatimn answered
that very appeal. The only course to take would be
to wind up the present session immediately, to begin
a new session as shortly afterwards as possible, to
pass the bill through the Commons sub silentio, and
to ensure its passage through the Lords by the
creation of sufficient Liberal peers. Thus the rejec-
tion of the bill would save neither the Conservative
party, the Church, nor the country from all those
terrible calamities which the Irish deputation
threatened. It was not a question of will, therefore,
which the Conservative peers had to discuss, but a
question of power.
Beyond doubt all these considerations have been
well weighed by their lordships before arriving at
the grave decision which was the result of
the meeting in St. James's-square. They have
had every opportunity of appreciating the
difficulties of either course, for the duty of the
Lords with respect to the bill has been discussed
almost as exhaustively as the bill itself. Never-
theless, with the consciousness that the country so
anxiously awaits their decision—that this is
one of the most momeL tons • crise3 in their
history as a legislative body, the Conservative
peers have decided that the second reading
must be opposed. We regret this det,:rmination.
Of two evils the peers have chosen the greater.