The Sun.
London, England, 1861-03-05 00:00:00

more than half the strength of the Empire. It
surely needs no prophet to foretel that the people
who have stood so firmly to their legal rights
under twelve years of wanton and cruel oppression,
will not be cajoled out of them now. Besides their
own strength, they will see in the Poles demand-
ing resuscitation of their nationality at Warsaw,
in the Italians having already as good as secured
theirs, in the encouragement held forth to " na-
tionalities " in Prince NAPOLEON'S speech,—in all
these they will see that the hour has come for
nationalities to reassert their existence and their
rights. Would that our Court and Cabinet would
back France in her noblest work, and represent
the genuine feelings of the country to which they
belong !

We are not in the secret of the Opposition,
and do not know whether they mean to prevent,
if they can, ',Sir JOHN TRELAWNEY'S bill from
going into committee to-morrow. Of course, if
they see fit to talk it over. that day they can,
but we beg to remind them that the country
is tired of such shabby practices, and will be
disgusted with anything short of a "good stand-
up fight." That, Englishmen respect; but
Irishmen must pardon us if we say
that we prefer to leave to them all
clever tricks and evasions for defeating
an adversary who is willing to meet you face to
face. As there is nothing to make the subject of
discussion in committee, as it is a simple abolition
bill with no clauses, and as this has been fairly
divided on the second reading, the straightforward
course now is to let it go through its formal stagesf
up to the third reading—to give ample notice o
that, and to have another good division, if another
is wished for, then.

Several amendments are proposed, but the old
crotchets have not a shadow of a chance, every one
knows they are not intended t 2 pass. The only
amendment worth the slightest notice is that which
proposes to set. the house, instead of passing an abo-
lition bill, the task of devising means to support the
fabric of the churches. We may surely rely on the
Liberals not to be caught by such a Tory bait as
this. Reform having been shelved; the Church-
rate battle has become the party battle of the
country ; and now more than ever, the Liberal party
are committed to Sir JOIEN TRELAWNY'S Bill, as
the opposition are to its defeat. As we said ou the
second reading, so we say even more confidently
since the Liberal victory of last Wednesday, that
the Liberals must go in to win. They cannot
afford a defeat on what has become the
testing question of the session. We speak
from knowledge when we say that to be beaten in
the Commons on a Church-Rate division, or even
to have a smaller majority, will imperil seriously
the Government itself. The interest felt by Libe-
rals all over the country is out of all proportion to
the pecuniary merits of the matter ; it has plainly
become a question of party zeal. Dissenters, and
by far the larger half of Churchmen feel strongly
that the vexatious badge of the supremacy
of a dominant faith ought to be done away with.
There is no getting rid of this feeling but by yield-
ing to it. Liberal Churchmen are ashamed of
Church rates, because their Dissenting neighbours
resent the impost, and these together constitute the
strength of the Liberal party. They must not
therefore be trifled with if the Government is to be
safe—every Liberal member must see this battle
fought out this session—he must be in his place at
every expected division.