The Sun.
London, England, 1869-02-11 00:00:00

CUMBERLAND.

Mr. Disraeli's Government did not forget to reward
its supporters, and the late Premier exercited his
power up to, and even after, his resignation. 'There
were, it is currently reported, a very large number
of lesser appointments made after " the inter-
view " with her Majesty, and while prepara-
tions were being made to "turn out." But the one
which attracted the most notice was the appointment
of Mr. llenry Lowther to the Lord-Lieutenancy of
Westmoreland and Cumberland. The union of two
counties is unusual and objectionable. Mr. Lowther's
great zeal in the Conservative cause has made him
objectionable to his political opponents, and a stand-
ing resolution of thellouse of Coannons rules that "It
' is a high infringement of the liberties and privileges
of the Commons of Great Britain for any lord of
Parliament, or any lord-lieutenant of any county, to
concern themselves in the election of members to
serve for the Commons in Parliament." Moreover,
the appointment had. all the savour of a private
arrangement between the Earl of Lonsdale, who
suddenly resigned, and the late Government ; the
Earl wishing to keep the Lord-Lieutenancy in his
family. A petition setting forth these facts has been
presented to Parliament asking for inquiry into.the
matter.

DOCKYARD ECONOMY.
The spirit which led the Admiralty to sell old ships
for an extraordinary low price, and then to buy
back the copper got from them for about double the
money, seems to animate all our dockyard "bar-
gains." At Portsmouth recently there was sold for
6:1:d. per sack a large quantity of sawdust. The sacks
in which the said sawdust was packed cost ls, a piece,
and several days were spent by the labourers in filling
them. But those who laugh at the quill-pen
economy would probably think such matters beneath
notice. It should be added that the announcement
annears in the papers of the adoption in the dockyards
of Mr. Seely's system of accounts. Under the new
system the true cost of every article made and every
ship built at each will be ascertained, and
soit
com-
parisoncyariAe threenceiceorne(olipnoyssainbclle.efficiency of a
different
sin, JOHN ACTON ON ROMAN CATHOLIC POLITICS.
Sir John Acton has made a remarkable speech on
the politics of the Roman Catholic party. He pointed
to the fact that there were forty Roman Catholics
fewer in the present than in any previous Parliament
since Emancipation; but that fact did not discourage
him. It was only transitory. The Conservtltives
at the late election called in the aid of a very
P powerful auxiliary in the shape of the "
opery " cry, which served as a mask by which bad
Christians might appear good Churchmen, and a
watchword which reconciled for the moment the
clergy of the Establishment with the worst of the
population. The very serious loss which the Liberal
cause sustained in Lancashire was partly due to the
great dread of Fenianism and the artifice by which.
the Conservatives endeavoured to confound all Irish-
men and Catholics with Fenians. He thought they
had, consolation for the small number of Catholics in
Parliament in the consideration that it was not desir-
Ale for them to take an active part in the unquestion-
ably invidious work which the present Parliament
had before it in the despoiling of the Protestant
Church in Ireland. So far from being disappointed
at athe result of the elections, he believed the Act
which had thrown open the franchise -to the great
mass of the population, instead of an injury to
Catholics to be a greater benefit to them even than
the Emancipation Act. It had put an end to the
domination of one class over another, which had
been the great obstacle to civil and religious
liberty, and must inevitably be followed by
the downfall of the domination of race over
race, and religion over religion, in Ireland. Ile
regarded this as a certain and not remote conse-
quence of the Reform Act. He thought that the
Ballot was most necessary to quiet Ireland, because
the tenants' vote was the root of the enmity existing
between him and the landlord. He considered the
disestablishment of the Irish Church certain to be
effected; but he did not
they
his co-religionists to
have any portion of the revenues of that Church;
rather they should be prepared to make a sacrifice
by surrendering the Maynooth grant. He added
an interesting incident by way of skewing
how differently Mr. Gladstone's policy was viewed
even by those who thought alike on many other
topics. Shortly before his death the late Mr. Keble
met Dr. Newman for the first time for twenty years,
and in the course of conversation on the proposal to
throw out Mr. Gladstone for Oxford, Dr. Newman
said, "If I were in Oxford I should be obliged to
vote against him, for he is going to put down the
Irish Church." 31r. Keble said, "Well; but is it not
just ?" This story sets at rest the dispute raised a few
weeks ago as to Mr. Keble 's opinion on the Irish
Church question.

THE MARQUIS OF 'WESTMINSTER.
The Marquis of Westminster is lying at Eaton
Hall seriously out of health. His lordship, who is
probably the richest man in England, is in his 7th
year. His eldest son is Earl Grosvenor, M.P. for
Chester, who was one of the leaders of the Adul-
lamites three years ago.

MANCHESTER PROTECTIONISTS.
The secretary of the Manchester Chamber of
.commerce writes denying that the Manchester men
are lapsing into the " heresy " of protection. If
there are a few backsliders, the Chamber knows
nothing of them. The great mass of the manufac-
turers believe that the commercial treaty with France
has been a great boon, and they desire to have it
renewed at the expiration of the trial decade.

THE TAXATION OF THE CLERGY.
"An Essex Rector" points out in the Times the ex-
cessive taxation with which the clergy are burdened.
He urges that the dwellers in towns really know
ring of f the poor-rate, since it is levied only on
the ird
re, while the dwellers in villages have it
assesse on their whole incomes. Further, while
other ratepayers are allowed large deductions before
the assessment is made, the clergyman is taxed to
the very last shilling- of his income. Nbd is
expected to give so liberally as a clergyman;o nobo ydy
is so heavily taxed. In the "Essex
Rector's " own
case he has to pay one-third of his income in rates
and taxes for the village school and parochial
charities.

UTILISATION OF PAUPERISM.
A West-end London Poor-law Guardian suggests
that paupers should made to produce all requisites
for pauper maintenance. awl pauper use. lie would
open workshops at which the paupers should be
employed at the various trades to which they have
been brought up. These shops might be provided
by obtaining the use of sonic of the vacant railway
arches with which London abounds. "At
these shops let there be produced the neces-
saries required for carrying on the workhouses, and
let there be at hand also such labour, skilled
and other, as may be requisite to do the necessary
repairs of workhouses. It may happen ono union
would occasionally suffer from a dearth of labourers
of some sort, while a neighbouring workhouse would
have a superfluity; an interchange of such labour
could easily be arranged and be Paid_for upon a 4Cille