The Sun.
London, England, 1869-05-08 00:00:00

THE WEEKLY PRESS.

The Saturday Review asks what is to be done with the
Irish land question? And, in order to answer this, we
must first ask, whether we are to legislate in a panic or
not? Many speakers, especially in the Lords, during the
debate of last week, seemed to have been possessed by the
idea that there was some one definite course which was
startling and strong and unusual, but which, if the
Government could but resolve to take it, would put down
all these murders at once. This was, we believe, a mere
dream. None of those who advocated recourse to a
gigantic remedy gave the slightest clue to what they
meant, and the obvious conclusion is that they meant
nothing. There is• this difference between dealing with
the Irish Church and the Irish land. If it is right or
wise to touch the Irish Church at all, it must be wise and
right to deal with it in a sweeping and severe measure
which goes to the root of the matter at once.
But with regard to the Irish land everything
is a question of degree. There are no grand
principles which explain everything, Experience,
and not logic, alone must chew what compensations are to
be given, and whether anything and what can be done to
increase in a legitimate manner the number of Itibh pro-
prietors. A supporter of Mr. Gladstone dosed the dis-
cussion last week by saying that a Government which had
dealt so widely and comprehensively with the Church
might be trusted to do the same with the land. But the
hopes thus raised may be falsified ; not that the Govern-
ment will not have done as much as could be fairy
expected, but because there may be nothing possible to
do with regard to the Irish land, except to introduce ten-
tative, imperfect, and unheroic measures. The Govern.
ment can but do its best, but it may turn out that this best
will be pronounced by eager Ministerialists to be rather
disappointing.

The Spectator says that the root of all this trouble in
Cork is the root of all other trouble in Ireland, the per-
verse habit of applying English ideas of government and
administration to a people of different tendencies, who,
wader widely different circumstances, are seeking very
different ends. To a country distracted with historical,
religious, and agrarian feuds, which, more than any
country in the world, requires scientific administration—
administration from above, by men intent only on justice
—we apply a system under which every magistrate is
either a partisan, or, what is nearly as bad, is suspected
of partisanship, under which he must be either a member
0! a distrusted class, or one elected by a populace so
divided amongst themselves by impassable chasms of feel-
in; and opinion that the passport to their favour is party
violence. In the rural districts, where the grand contest
is between peasant and landlord, we confine the bench to
landlords ; and in the cities, where the populace live on the
verge of civil war, we confide the magistracy to their nomi-
nees. The passport to civic office is, in an Irish city, to be
Orange or Fenian, and then we wonder because the suc-
cessful candidates display Orange or Fenian proclivities ; do
not, in a single year of office, manifest qualities rare even
in the best judges, and, above all, freedom from the parti-
sanship through which alone the coveted positions can be
made secure. We abuse the Americans for their folly in
making the judiciary elective, and then leave a population
like that of Cork to elect an officer who is, in their own
eyes, at all events, and for the cases they care about, a
judge, and improve the position by seating by his side men
who, if they were all Hales or Somers, would be con-
sidered by a populace which detests their class unjust
judges. It is the French, or at all events the Indian,
system which Ireland requires, in Ulster as well as in
Cork, and we give it the one which of all others is furthest
in principles and action from that ideal. Even when
ascendancy has been abandoned and the tenure reformed,
this great blunder will still remain to be corrected before
we shall have in Ireland a people contented with and con-
fident in the law.

The Examiner and London Review says that a curious
variety of answers would seem to have been given in reply
to the Duke of Somerset's question, whether any arrange-
ment has been made to replace the three right rev. prelates
in the southern counties, who for acme time have been
incapacitated from active service in the field against the
Archenemy. The Primate, warned by the fate that has
come upon the easy-,going Church in Ireland, promises a
bill to make provision for compelling the crutch to give
place to the crozier. Fired with the zeal of competition,
Lord Lyttelton offers his Grace the use of any of the
clauses in the bill which he found it impracticable to
carry. lie would give anything to see some of his addled
eggs hatched into chickens, or, let us say, doves—for that
is the most appropriate fowl. He thinks they might yet
come out if only put carefully under the episcopal wing.
Our Most Reverend Lord of Canterbury does not seem as
grateful as he might be for the offer ; but he reads a
letter from his brother of Winchester to prove that,
dividing the Apostolate into three parts—taking care only
to keep the real thing one and undivided—you may do all
the duties of a bishop by deputy, and keep all the stipend
to yourself. The Winchester faith is this. There is an
ar3hdeacon for the confirmations, a colonial bishop for the
consecrations, and a chaplain for the correspondence ;
but there are not three archdeacons, or three chaplains,
or three p)or cousins of a bishop without pay, but
one fine old bishop who receives all the money, and
by the affluence and effluence of whose indefeasible right
all goes well for the souls of the faithful. With a cruel
candour, the Archbishop adds that he cannot say he thinks
this version of episcopal responsibility and duty quite
satisfactory. We should think not. The Duke of Cleve-
land, with his characteristic good sense, warned the
Government that the public would not be satisfied with
any bill which facilitated or encouraged the delegation of
episcopal duties to subordinate dignitaries. If the Augurs
expect to be believed in, they must look and act as if they
were, or, at least, as if they thought they were, indis-
pensable to the safety of the State. Commissions
in the army are no longer given by anticipation to
young hopefuls in the nursery ; and commanders in the
Church can no longer be suffered to toddle about at
watering-places or to doze in easy chairs. The Church is
on its trial. Though not dr:4 en out of Paradise, the fences
of its Elysian field of sunny torpor are broken down.
Nonconformity, Popery, and incredulity are pressing
round on every side ; and if those who claim prelatical

uP
pretensions would maintain their order, they must give
the notion of appropriating the profits and privileges ct
their office while they do their duty by deputy.
The John Bull remarks : When we last week drew
attention to the land question in Ireland as looming in the
distance, we did not calculate on its itctual presence
amongst us. At the moment, however, when our paper
was passing through the press, the second and hardly the
second member of her Majesty's Government announced
to an astonished House of CoMmons that he had alreaclP
bill prepared for the settlement of the land question, O,
that next session it would be pressed by all the power 43
the majority of those who command the votes of the
Lower House of Parliament. He has never been reticent
on this point, and his bill will no doubt be more or less an
embodiment of that idea. He would compel the non-resi"
dent landowners of Ireland—that is, almost all Engli3ll:
men who have Irish property—to Fell their estates, and,
by some machinery not yet declared, he would vest these
estates, broken up into small pJrt;cns, in the present
tenantry. Whether he contemplates a like measure With
reference to England, and would con pel Irish landowners
to part with their Engl t h estates, we hay yet to learn.
Nor does he inform uswhetLer .coltish landlords who bare
English property, or English landowners who posseesSo*
tish estates, are to be-dealt with the same as Irish landlord''
What does concern us is the fact that a law cannot Ue
made which will be confined in its operations to Ireland:
The principle when adopted by the House of Parliarnel6
will be applied to other cases than that for which it 1,33
been invented. Such a bill, for instance, as Mr. Bright
has shadowed forth strikes at the root of all propertY'
Already the bare suspicion of the possibility of such s
proposal has introduced distrust into all the relations
between man and man. The John Bull further attributes
the series of catastrophes in Ireland to the recent measures
in Parliament, and says that it is not always that even.°
connected by sequence can be fairly linked in relationsl4
one to the other, but in the present instance it is inaP°::
Bible for any thoughtful man to disbelieve that the Irish
Church Disendowment Bill is the parent of the murder°
which disgrace Ireland, and have carried sorrow into the
bosom of peaceful and confiding families. What more ife
may expect to result from this fatal source we dare Ot
indicate.

THE PRINCE AND THE PRINCESS 01

WALES.

A correspondent writes from Athens to the Times giving'
an account of the visit of the Prince and the Princess °'
Wales to Greece.

THE ATHENS OF TO-DAY.
Athena has certainly improved very much since the
period of the " occupation " during the war with Russia
What the increase in the population may be I cannot Pit
but in streets and in houses Athens is enlarged sed
beautified. Nevertheless, it is a city which is like.
a mistletoe on a ruined oak—it clings to, and grolr"
from, decay. Take away the Acropolis and the TenWles
of Jupiter and Theseus, and what have you but glorious
sites and memories that haunt them ? I cannot but think It
was a mistake to build up the new city round the grand °la
monuments of a civilisation which is not dead, but liveg
every day of our lives. The present new buildings hinder
the reconstruction of the old, and forbid or impede exPle;
rations. Still, there they are, " with gas and water laid
on." The Palace of the King stands in a fine position en,
a slope of Mount Lycabettul, and rears a bi-( al front 0'
marble, quarried from Pentelicus, towards the city, frl
which it is separated by a broad stretch of shrubbery an
lawn open to the public, prettily laid out and planteu.
The eastern side of the palace abuts on a chartiii"g
and extensive garden, also open to the people, and much
frequented in the afternoon. All the walls of the Palace
and the internal courts are of fine marble, and the Vide
magnificent state rooms, worthy of Imperial banquets 913
balls, are supported on rich columns of the same material'
with gilded capitals. The views from the windows on ell
sides are extremely beautiful and interesting. The rot
of the palace are large, lofty, and well furnished ; thoe°
of the King and Queen are elegant, rich, and comfortable'
All the appointments are very good, and there is
an
excellent library, where a learned and cosmopolitan Dane'
Dr. Kiippen, familiar with many lands and manY
guages, works away in old-world volumes, and shroilu°
himself in the dust of the Middle Ages.

VISIT TO THE ACROPOLIS.
On the 19th of April, when the royal party arrived, 59
was damp and gloomy, but on the 20th, the weather
being finer, they visited the Acropolis. The royal C3r„
ria.ges, preceded by an outrider in light blue and silver °-1
a white horse, passed from the portico with the lon
honours of a guard, with presented arms and a flourish °
trumpets, and so through streets lined with people b°o
bowed and took of their hats very generally as the CO)
went by), till they emerged on the open ground an
ascended to the arch before the Propylna, where theY g°o
out and walked over into the interior and stood behLgf
the Parthenon. Dr. Klippen, charged with multitudio°';
information,- and ready to let it off in any language, Wia,,
ready to illustrate every stone with a story from t';
earliest period to the present time; and, wandering fr°ll:i
the Parthenon to the Erectheum, the tourists saunter'
at their will on the Pelasgic rocks, locked down on °a`
spot where Demosthenes thundered against Philip,
where St. Paul preached of "the Unknown God," A°
admired all that the rage of heathen Turk and Christie:
has left of statuary and temples. In the evening theiii,
was a State banquet in the Palace, to which all t'it,
diplomatic body were invited, and at which the Greca
Ministers and the Patriarch and the most distinguished
men in Athens were present. All the guests were in itito
uniform, and the effect of the scene in the noble room Iv
very striking, for nowhere could the eye rest 011. 0
greater variety of colour, set off by the picturesque liveried
of the attendants, and by a mixture of Oriental
European finery.

ILLUMINATIONS.
That night there was, after dinner, a very
spectacle. We had a very beautiful illumination of a erg
`)t
fine pile of public buildings and a display of fireworks '
the city folk who could not get tickets of admission to Oa
inner show. lam not quite sure that the Acropolis i°
fair subject for blue lights, red lights, green lights, re.,l
works, and dazzling displays 4 la Cremorne 3,/3
Rosherville ; but, at any rate, it is a veil 1':
sight to see, and if the proprieties and unities we'
dishevelled it was to some purpose that this'
most venerable and sacred locality in the classical Nor'
was for once turned into a fairy transformation seeije.
" No one is hurt." Athens was pleased, and so mast
been all who beheld, as we did, an exhibition of vet
great skill, turning to the best account in its way a Frsht
admirable collection of architectural beauties. The'l
was calm, the sky clear, and a moon in the third 0°,70
cast from her high throne her own glorious light wmeed
the fiery rockets and the devices of the pyrotechniste
out.

The Town Council of Darlington have adoPtt
by a majority of 9 to 3, a petition to Parliament inf3l4l

of the Permissive Bill. e St.
EVANGELICA.L ZEAL.—At the church 01 p
Anne's, Manchester, of which the Rev. James Bard8:0
the notorious Church Associationist, is vicar, it -Ally
announced by advertisement that the usual Wedries:s
morning service would not take place, because there, !urnto be an evening service on Ascension Day.-611'''
Times.
;gg
ANOTHER COLONIAL KNIGHTHOOD.—There us
announcement in the Gazette that another proniilloti.e
colonial politician has received a knighthood. The
is now conferred upon Mr. Terence Aubrey 310.urriee.
President of the Legislative Council of New South "I'td
Mr. L. H. Bayley and Mr. F. Lloyd, of the Dligh
the
Civil Service, have been appointed Judges of

Court of Judicature in that Presidency. f.'ew
PRINCE ARTRIIR.—His Royal Highness
tenant Prince Arthur, whose leave of absence fro° -0
military duties extends to the Ist of July, rejoineci.ociii
Friday the Royal Artillery at Woolwich, here be "t
remain for a short time, and then accompany the C°ll,rt 0
Scotland. The Prince has resumed his residence 0" 110
Ranger's House, Greenwich Park, and was Presert toof
parade on Friday, and appeared to be in the enjoYinew- 'tl
the most robust health and excellent spirits. alert.- ce
return to Woolwich was unexpected.
MEMORIAL TO LORD PALMERSTON.
parks
,--,th
oath'
ampton Town Council have decided that thestatue ef"."-
Palmerston should be erected in the public arks oe3rnl
entrance to the town. The insciption on the
will be as follows:—" Palmerston, K.G., borncl_7B_4e;rkTeeet
18G5. Erected by public subscription. Frederi'lc
3ac, to
mayor." It was stated that an effort was being 233 ato
induce the Prince of Wales to inaugurate the statue all .0
pay a visit to the Bath and West of England Show, blob
will be held at Southampton the first week in Jone• 00
T lIE PRINCE OF WALES AS A FB,EEMASOIf•,_
o'6
z
ceant Times observes that during the Prince of Wre,.'l,ell,t
recent visit to Constantinople, the fact was verified L' beg
his Royal Highness had become a brother, though
not yet joined an English lodge. It is understood thata
the Prince will do so soon after his return todog
stem
and that then he will accept the office of Grand lias`o
ett
of
or the position of patron of the order. Various lodg:'c:t
under the English constitution have received j
from the acting secretary of the District Grand Lodge of
Turkey, stating that "Brother H.E.H. the pri
cy
Wales" had desired him to communicate the gratificat id
it had afforded him to learn the progress of reas°ilito
in this empire, and to express his good wishes for_re,
continued prosperity, adding that in whatever future
position he might be placed he should always vievi
interest the proceedings of the craft in that district, 94
that it would have afforded him much pleasure to
bov4
had an opportunity of meeting the brethren if he
had 0.:0,
been prevented by his numerous engagements, -
circumstances,