The Sun.
London, England, 1858-07-03 00:00:00

LONDON, SATURDAY, JULY 2, 1858.

Some years ago, at the Oxford Commemoration,
the undergraduates gave Lord RADNOR and the
Dissenters three groans ! and immediately after-
-Lord RADNOR and his foxhounds three cheers !
Some of our contemporaries, and a goodly num-
ber of their Tory and of their High Church
readers, if not too much advanced in years, have
already groaned or cheered iu like manner for
Lord DERBY and the Jews on Thursday, and Lord
DERBY and Church Rates on Friday. Wu wish
Lord DERBY joy of his numerous supporters on
Friday night. He ought to know bc,,t tho poli-
tical advantages of the course he has taken ; but
he must be prepared for some disadvantages also.
Two courses lay open to him. He might have
supported the second reading, proffering some
clauses in Committee to which the Abolitionists
in the Commons would not object—what in fact,
though in a little different form, he has done in
regard to the Jews ; or he could move that
the present bill be rejected. He pre-
ferred the latter course. Mistakenly we
think. Any bill on Church-rates must begin
by abolishing them, though it might provide other
means, such as pew rents, for raising the amount
&ceded. Nyo, Ur:lord:del Can see no reason for

Lord DERBY'S adopting the course ho did, but
that of a determination to show his power on a
Tory and High Church question. He has shewn
it abundantly. The man who could bid the Lords
turn round and give him a majority on the Jew
question one day, and next day command a majo-
rity of one hundred and fifty-one against a Liberal
proposal, is, beyond doubt, the leader of the
House of the Lords.
This is the first time the abolition of Church-
rates has been proposed to their Lordships. So
far from being surprised at the majority, we must
.:onfcss that we are rather surprised and en-
couraged by the number of the ithuority. When
once the Premier gave the intimation that no con-
sideration for the interest of the Ministry required
any of the Lords Spiritual or Temporal to check
their anti-Liberal instincts, why, of course, they
rushed to the division, or posted up their proxies
with heart and good will. Scores of the rustic
rubbish of the Peerage, whose names are wholly
unknown to the public, except by poring over di-
vision lists on such occasions as these, gladly
enough expressed their antipathy to Dissenters
and Radicals by recording their vote on a bill
which they know to be a favourite with the former,
The 187 non-contents indicate the temperament of
the normal "lord." No one doubts, if asked, which
way the Lords will vote on any liberal question,
doubts how it will be, unless prudential circum-
stances modify their instincts ; then indeed they
may emancipate Catholics or negroes, and abolish
Corn Laws, or Property Qualifications for mem-
bers, or even admit a Jew to Parliament. That
a lord would vote for Church-rates and against
their abolition, unless Lord,DERBY told them they
had better not, was as certain as that they
had always, at first, voted against every
liberal measure within the recollection of
the oldest of us. But that thirty-sic should be
prepared at once to vote for so thoroughly liberal
a measure as releasing Dissenters from paying
tribute to their Lordships' Church, and for com-
pelling Churchmen to keep their owu places of
worship in repair, is really more than we looked
for.

The arguments were, it may be, new to their
Lordships ; to us and to our readers they are, of
course, old enough. We must give the Upper
House time, however, to learn its Church-rate
alphabet, and are glad it has so many as thirty-
six successful scholars ; but we need not again go
over the old ground. The only question now
with us is the practical one—what is to be done ?
And there can be little doubt on that point.
Lord DERBY himself was obliged on Thursday to
concede that the Lords may always be beaten by
time and the country ; and in this case the country
has the matter more than usually in its own hands .
Commonly not a step can be gained till a majority
is actually secured in the Lords ; in this case it is
enough to secure a majority in any parish vestry.
If the parishes cannot persuade the Lords to
abolish the rate everywhere, each parish, if at all
independent, can, as hundreds of parishes have
done, abolish it for itself. We may surely hope
that, with the decision of the House of Commons
in their favour, and the perversity of the Lords to
arouse them, hundreds of parishes will refuse
rates now which have been passive hitherto.

But the power of abolitionists does not termi-
nate with a majority in vestry. That of course is
conclusive, and wherever it can be obtained, it is
cligraceful to Dissenters and liberal Churchmen to
submit to compulsion. But their Lordships and
Dissenters ought to know that a small and
determined minority can prevent a rate
being laid, or reduce its amount so much
that it will not be worth levying ; and
after the decision of the people's representatives
on a question of taxation they are authorised in
doing it. It is always possible and proper to object
to the amount of a rate or to the items, or to the
charge for each particular item. On these points
au amendment can be moved; if rejected, a poll
can be taken, and cannot be refused, for a decision
the other day has completely settled that point.
If the supporters of a rate beat on the poll, the
rate in not thereby carried ; they must call
another meeting, when again amendments to ex-
punge items, or to reduce the amount, may be
again made, and polls again demanded.. This is
the law of Church-rates ; let the opponents of
them but use their powers, and what with majo-
rities in vestry, and polling on amendments by
minorities, they may abolish the rate locally, and
make the Bishops and the House of Lords glad to
abolish Church-rates everywhere, even by next
session.

We must remind our anti-Church-rate friends,
however, that they are no worse off under Lord
DEBBY than they would have been under Lord
PALMERSTON. He would not only have done no
more for thew, but would have done worse, for
he would have persuaded many Liberals not to
support them in the Commons. He would have
given a little joke and banter perhaps; but we prefer
of the two, Lord DERBY' S straightforward opposi-
tion. We know better how to deal with it. The
country must rely, not on a change of Ministry, but
on itself. It must render the existence of any
Ministry impracticable which will not concede its
just demands. In East Norfolk, on this very
point, it compelled Mr. COKE to inscribe Church-
rate abolition on his card, and we have
strong reason for believing that this
had much to do with obtaining him his
small majority. At the next general election this
course has but to be repeated, and increased
majorities will soon tell the Lords that the time
for further resistance is gone.
As to our Tory friends, we admonish them not
to be over-confident too soon. They have done
better than the Whigs hitherto. This alone has,
:13 tiTy know, prolunged their term of office, and
enabled them—with the aid or TinimPs
also—to get pretty well through the session,
and to secure a certain amount of popu-
larity. But they must not be frightened be-
cause obsolete Toryism in the rural districts
clamours against their liberality. As soon as they
yield to that cry their days are numbered. The
country may care little whether DERBY, or Pa Lit"-
STUN, or RISSELL be at the head of affairs ; but
it does care to get on with liberal measures. If
the Whigs cheat them of these, they have to go
out. If the Conservatives follow the Whig game,
they will find that they must turn out too—and
"sarce thew right !"

The Government of India Bill, as originally
framed, passed through committee last night.
There are, however, some additional clauses to be
proposed, and therefore progress was again re-
ported, and the committee will sit once more on
Monday next.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, with a laud-
able anxiety to save public time, suggested that
the clauses should be then read, so that the bill
might be printed, and the additional matter dis-
cussed cn the bringing up of the report. By
that means Noble Lords and Right Honourable
and Honourable Gentlemen would have full
opportuaity of "freeing their minds," by deliver-
ing carefully prepared. speeches on each clause.
But, unfortunately, Lord PALMERSTON remarked
there could be only one speech on the rerort: