The Sun.
London, England, 1869-02-06 00:00:00

TUE MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.

Mr. Disraeli, following in the wake of Mr. Glad-
stone, has issued a circular note, calling upon his
followers to form their ranks, and to be ready to do
battle when Parliament meets. The letter of the
leader of the Opposition runs thus : " I have to
remind you that Parliament will meet on Tuesday,
the 16th February, and to express my hope that you
may find it convenient to be in your place on that
day, as business of importance may be expected."
The dull season will soon be over, and we shall be
amidst the excitement of party rivalry. Who that
has read for so long the arguments on the Irish
Church question does not wish that the preliminary
talkee-talkee was over ?
But the first part of the session will be notable
in that it will hear " Mr. Gladstone's secret " divulged.
We shall then know what the Premier intends doing
with the funds of the Irish Church, the machinery
he will use to accomplish disestablishment and dis-
endowment, and the position which he intends the
Church to take after those operations have been com-
pleted. Indeed, Mr. Gladstone has revelations to
make, sensational enough to call the House together
-without any " circular notes " whatever.

TUE MINISTERIAL PLANS.
The London correspondent of the Manchester
rGopuoartrdeidan
oboemlipeLesmistheat threspeeec mg the Irish Church.
isagoodideal
el iri
he
He says that Lord Ptuss
enr,:
plan of triple has revived
hopes, long entertained, in the
highest quarters. The levelling-tip elr ul
advocated at Court, at clubs, and, above all, in the
g-up policy is strongly
Cabinet. The section of Liberals
opinion that "it is not too late t who hold the
o re-distribute the
Church property of Ireland a
deno-
minations," embraces some mofong the three
the ablest and
truest men of the Liberal party. The great
English owners of Irish estates
respect-
ing the effect of the • confiscation nervous
ecclesiastical.so
rents, are for the same solution of the problem f
as Lord Grey'
s proposal with respect to glebe bar
and glebe lands is concerned. There a stroll"
is ouses,
current setting in among the Conservatives ip. ' the
same direction. Even the Irish bishops admit the
present position to be untenable, and the clergy are
awakening to the unwisdom of insisting upon such an
unreality as the identity of the Irish with the English
Church. The Low Church party, however, are resolutely
set against any c oncession to Popery, and it is likely that
this usually high Tory party will unite with the Non-
conformist Radicals to prevent it; and that there
will be other political complications of a very curious
sort. The Pope is said to desire such a compromise
as this rather than sanction the secularisation of
Church revenues, which would have a bad effect
elsewhere. The Roman C:itholic bishops and
M.P.'s will not give open sanction to any
scheme of redistribution, because the mass of
their people prefer the other alternative. The
Presbyterians would gladly receive a snug parsonage
and farm in e::.cliauge for the Regium Dontun, which
they think impairs their independence. The corre-
spondent thus concludes a very interesting letter:
" From all these considerations, I am led to think
that the coming session will be marked by a collective
attempt to bring about a compromise of the Irish
Church question, the discussion of which will unavoid-
ably bly prove not a little embarrassing to many of our
frieuds."

THE RIGHT HON. W. F. COWPER.
The Right Hui. W. F. Cowper has been.speaking
La his aullooljars in South liantat. Iteklaiug