The Sun.
London, England, 1869-03-01 00:00:00

THE HUSH CHTJECH.

The Dublin Mail, having seen the inference drawn
from its article on the Irish Church, has been
frightened by it. Our contemporary urged the
Church authorities to take steps to meet disestablish-
ment, and declared that when once the Church was
free it would be able to act as a mission to the
people, and would be more powerful because of its
freedom from State interference and control. What
c mild this mean but that disestablishment was, if not
inevitable, very probable ? if not probable why not
take steps to meet it? And if the Church has not been
successful as a missionary Church, what is its raison
(retro? The .21Tall protests that it has never acquiesced
in Mr. Gladstone's policy. Theoretically no—prac-
tically yes. Irish Churchmen, treating disestablish-
ment as an enemy, have wisely enough relinquished
diplomacy, and are now preparing to meet him in
open warfare. They have given up discussing the
question of the justice of Mr. Gladstone's proposals,
and are turning their thoughts to the alterations
needful among themselves .for the coming change.

The Advertiser now quiets the fears of its readers
by the statement that all is right. Mr. Gladstone
has come to himself at last, and is to deal with both
disestablishment and disendowment in one measure.
The difficulty now shifts to Mr. Disraeli's shoulders.
He himself has a great horror of a division. He
will not do anything, if he can help it, to shew in
plain figures the majority against him. But it is
said that several of his supporters—amongst others
Mr. Newdegate—are very anxious to record their
protest against the measure. He has, however,
lone what he could to prevent their views from being
carried out, by informing those of his party who aro
out of town that they need not inconvenience them-
selves to attend. A. long speech is expected from
Mr. Gladstone, but Mr. Disraeli is only set down for
a few words, and the debate, under present circum-
stances, is likely to be over on the same evening that
it commences,

Dr. W. Maziere Brady writes to the papers on the
classification of Irish Church property. Colonel
Adair, in his pamphlet, divides the endowments into
three classes—namely, into property " bestowed"
previously to the Reformation, property given
subsequently to that event by way of Royal or Parlia-
mentary grants, and private endowments. This
classification Dr. Brady refuses to accept. " The Irish
Church " he says, " was imported through conquest,
and to it was granted by the Reformation Princes; at
—not previously to—the Reformation, part of the
ancient ecclesiastical property of the Roman
Catholic Church, the other portion being then
confiscated into lay hands. The Church pro-
kerty transfered to the Reformed Church by
Ilizabeth was as much a " Royal or Parliamentary
grant "as any given by subsequent princes, for the
Act of 2nd Elizabeth and other penal acts were an
endowment of the Reformed, and a disendowment
of the Roman Catholic Church, through the will and
pleasure of the sovereign who changed the State
religion from Catholic to Protestant. There is,
then, no difference, so far as regards the donors,
between the first two classes of Church property,
for the donors in both cases were Reformed and
Protestant princes:"

LADY CAN IN s Twin.

We are glad to see that the Marquis of Clan-
ricarde has been stirred into action respecting his
relative's tomb. Ile says that there was not the
smallest occasion for "A Pilgrim" to make his
appeal to the public. 1 o doubt the Marquis or his
son, Viscount Burke, will now see to the repair of
the structure, which should never have been per-
mitted to fall into its present ruinous state.

PENNSYLVANIA CENTRAL RAILROAD.

(From the Anglo-American Times.)

Our late files of the New York and Chicago papers,
together with the correspondence of the London
Times of the past week, dwells largely on the struggle
for railway supremacy which is exciting so much
interest in the United States. The competitors are
the Pennsylvania Central, under J. EDGAR THOM-
SON, the New York Central under CORNELIUS
VANDERBILT, and the Erie, under JAY GOULD. Of
these the Pennsylvania Central has by good ma-
nagement obtained the foremost place, and is now
considered the greatest railway corporation in
America, if not in the world, occupying the relative
position in the United States, that the London
and North Western does in England. It was early
and skilfully planned, being carried through the only
passes of the Alleghany mountains in Pennsylvania,
to connect rich and populous districts. Mr. TllomsoN,
the chairman, bred a civil engineer and the son of a
civil engineer in planning, had the guiding control in
projecting, and building the line ; and as his own
fortune is therein invested, as well as his reputa-
tion, his interest is sufficient to ensure for it his
undivided attention. The steady way in which this
property has risen to so much importance is due
to there being no departure from the original plan,
which has been consistently pursued by one mind.
Its capital was subscribed mainly by local, but also
by English capital, and the road was built for ready
money. There was no financing, stock-watering,
and jobbing ; no spurious dividends or contractors'
rings, the property has paid a regular and fair
return from the hour the first instalment was paid in
on the capital invested, and its surplus earnings have
been putiuto the road, or expended in increasing its
communications. This system, steadily pursued for
years, has placed the company at the head of A me-
rican Railway Corporations, and enabled it to
compete for the through traffic to San Francisco
against such great combinations as those con-