The Sun.
London, England, 1869-06-14 00:00:00

MEIROPOLITAN GOSSlP—Saturday.

Great excitement prevails in political c les. The
Conservatives still confidently maintain that the bill will
be thrown out, but they admit that the majority will be
very small, for the Conservative Cave is far larger
than the Liberal party have any idea of. Lord
Derby is described as furious at the opposition which
has sprung up among his party with regard to the
proposed rejection of the bill, and it is expected that
he will make a most impasssioned speech winding
up the debate. Lord Cairns has been an
unwilling convert to the policy of. "No Surrender,"
He has been influenced by the overwhelming number
of letters from Conservative leaders in the provinces,
declaring that they will never support the party again if
the Lords do not now throw out the bill.

Up to Thursday night the Government did not believe
that the Conservative Peers would divide. It was
only when a circular by Lord Colville (in which the names
and the authority of Lord Cairns, Lord Derby, and Mr.
Disraeli were used in 'order to urge the Peers to vote
against the bill) fell into the hands of a Ministerialist,
that Ministers became convinced the opposition wts
serious. A third circular is to be issued I.y
Lord Col, ille on Tuesday. The Bishop of Oxford is
using all his influence to induce Conservative peers to
support the bill, and he has made a surprising number of
converts. On the other hand, a considerable number
cf Whig peers will, it is said, vote with the
Opposition. Lord Houghton, it is believed, will
at all events not support the bill. On Thursday
night Lord Colville and the Bishop of Oxford made up
their lists, and it was found that they agreed within two
as to the majority that there would be against the bill.
But as there were at that time seventy-eight peers who
voted against the Suspensory Bill last year, but who
had declined to pledge themselves on the present
occasion, these estimates are of comparatively
little value. So urgent is the " whip " on the
Conservative side that four peers who hare not been in
England for eleven years are coming over from Ireland
on Monday, sorely against their will, in order to oppose
the bill.

The debate is expected to last the whole of the week,
awl the division may even be postponed till Tuesday, 22nd,
so great is the number of peers intending to speak. One
of the most powerful speeches against the bill is expected
from Bishop Selwyn, who has had experience of free
churches. Bishop Magee will vote against the bill
reluctantly.

There is to be a deputation of Yorkshire Conservatives
on 'Wednesday, to protest against the bill. Letters from
Ireland de Clare that the Ulster Protestants are preparing
to resort to arms in the event of the bill passing.
The course which Mr. Gladstone will take in the event
of the bill being defeated is variously. announced, but
nothing definite is known, nor is likely to be until after
the Queen's return on Tuesday. It is quite under-
stood that if the bill be presented to the Lords
a second time it will be rejected again. The
Conservative peers affect to believe that an appeal to
the country, which must then follow, would show a strong
reaction in their favour. In the meanwhile the advanced
1 adicals are preparing for a formidable agitation, and a
well-known leader of the trades unions was heard to say
last night, in the lobby of the House of Commons, that be
had an organisation ready, so that in 24 hours after the
Lords rejected the bill a campaign against the Upper
House would be opened all over the country.
It is almost certain that Lord Ilussell's Life Peerages Bill
will be rejected, Lord Malmesbury having persuaded the
Conservative peers to oppose it.
The Queen's Messenger, a very scurrilous paper, started
apparently to worry Lord Stanley, has happily come to
an end, after a few weeks' discreditable existence. 'There
are placards on the wall announcing the publication of
another journal by the conductor of the deceased journal.
The cause of the death of the .211essen3er appears to be an
action of law which is now threatened.

.211ISCELLANE, US NEWS.