The Sun.
London, England, 1868-06-05 00:00:00

SARI i OE THE PUBLIC JOIMNALS,

The Times does not think the personal and acrimonious
squabbles which take place now and then in. the House of
Commons at all likely to add to the dignity of the House.
The discussion which took place on Thursday night was not
very dignified. Public men have taken wonderfully to
lettei-writing of late, but the Times does.not think the
new custom has proved very salutary. Mr. Gladstone, as
leader of the Opposition, would, perhaps, have acted with
more dignity if he had refrained from an electioneering
letter, but, as he chose to write one, no one has a
Night to complain, provided his statements were ac-
:trate and his conclusions just. Now, on this point
be is sufficiently justified. His letter has given mortal
silence to the Government, because he has persisted in
affixing to their declarations at the beginnine of the
cession a meaning which they have since repudiated, and
bee-apse, he holds them to all the consequences or expres-
issis they have laboured to explain away. They desire
now that the world shall believe that they did not quite
mean to pay the priests, and did not exactly mean to
endow the university. The skirmishing was accordingly
begun by Sir Thomas Bateson, who asked the Premier
whether his attention had been directed to a letter
" purporting to be writ' oi" by Mr. Gladstone, and
how far . its statements were correct. Mr. Disraeli
answered in his happiest vein of provocation. It
was true his attention had been called to it, but his honour
able friend had fallen into a trap, for the letter was with-
out doubt one of those effusions which, in election lan-
guage, are sometimes called squibs, and sometimes hoaxes.
It appeared to him a gross caricature of Mr. Gladstone's
least happy style, and, as it contained assertions which
could not be proved, and which nothing but the excite-
ment of an election could justify, he had given no further
consideration to it. We may judge of the strength the
forms of the House possess from the fact that Mr.
Gladstone was obliged to restrain himself till the
House went into committee. Then he rose, and,
'titer declaring himself the author of the letter,
proceeded to justify it. On some points his speech appears
forced—as where he attributes to the Government a scheme
for the " endowment " of the Presbyterian Church on the'
strength of a letter from Lord Derby's private secretary,
tvritten fifteen months ago, which letter, being in answer
to the one received by the then Premier, asking for
an increase of the Regium Donum, stated that the
" subject should be borne in mind" before the next
year's estimates were prepared. Surely never was
so small a matter made to bear so portentous an
interpretation Even Lord Derby's Government was
not bound by so vague a promise; and if it had been so
bound, the present Government, as Mr. Disraeli very
justly observed, is not Lord Derby's. But though Mr.
Gladstone may have over-laboured his proofs, he has, we
think, a general justification for what he wrote. If
the Government in the early part of the session did
not intend "to endow the other Churches, including
the .Roman," if they did not intend " to create a Roman
Catholic University and to pay its expenses out of
the taxes of the country," according to the terms
of Mr. Gladstone's letter, then we' can only say
thcy expressed themselves in the most unfortunate
Never did any body of men so fail to commu-
nicate their meaning to those who heard them speak and
to those who read their speeches. Whatever their inten-
tions really were, it will be in the recollection of our readers
thatpeople of all classes and politics did believe them to
propose pretty much what Mr. Gladstone attributes to
them. They must, therefore, not complain of Mr. Gladstone
or an. else for sharing in what they must admit to
have-been a universal delusion. The fact that they
have teen, as they assert, so grossly misunderstood should
rather teach them, and especially their leader, to deal less
in tae ambiguous and obscure, and to cultivate distinct
and detailed statement. 7 lie country would not then fall
into so gross an error as to believe that the Government
was about to pay the priests, when, in fact, it was only a
question of " the introdection of chaplains into prisons,
and other arrangements of that kind," as explained by
Mr. Disraeli yesterday evening.

manner.

SZandard thinks Mr. Gladstone would have been
well advised to let judgment go against him by default in
the matter of the endowment of the Catholic Church. A
lamer attempt to justify a malevolent misrepresentation
was Dever made. The right hon. gentleman asserted in
his letter that the Government were willing to endow the
Roman Catholic Church, and, by way of earnest, pro-
tic:sod to endow a Roman Catholic University. Well,
vhat were the grounds upon which he last night
justified himself for attributing to them such an
intention ? There was, as Mr. Disraeli well said,
but oue—the forced interpretation of a letter written by
Lord Derby's private secretary last year, in which he said
that, the estimates having been already passed, it was im-
positle to do anything that year to increase 'the amount
of the Regium Donum, into a promise to endow
Churches this year. Mr. Gladstone quoted again the
speech of Lord Mayo, a speech quoted by Radical speakers
and w:iters ad 'nauseam, but which, after the noble earl's
meat Inst night, they will be very shy of
There is nothing in Lord Mayo's
ustify the alsumption • that the Govern-
willing to endow the Roman Catholic
11, a measure of which Mr. Gladstone said last
t--and the Standard invites particular attention to his
`far be it from me to
,condemn ;" and had his

tt)`tcluno,

v-cr,1,3 tv

inetit wcr

wcrls lent themselves to such an interpretation the speech
of the Prime Minister would have immediately rectified
the error. - But the fact is that nobody ever supposed
that the Government entertained the idea of endowing
the Catholic Church cr of endowing a Catholic University.
1.-here is conclusive proof, as Lord Mayo pointed out,
that his language- was not susceptible of that interpreta-
tion, in the fact that the Catholic prelates made the
want of an endowment one of their principal objections to
the Government proposals. The whole charge of an
intention to endow Church and University, resting, as it
does, upon nothing more than words of Lord Mayo,
pointing to the establishment in Ireland of a religious
equality such as exists in England, in spite of an Esta-
blished Church, is, as Mr. Disraeli said, a frivoloUs one—
we will acid, a false one—which is seen through by
the country, and will cover those who make it with con-
fusion.

There are few subjects, says the Post, which furnish such
rich materials to an orator addressing a popular assembly
for making a striking and impressive speech as the anoma-
lies and the inconsistencies of the Irish Church Establish-
ment. It is therefore unnecessary to say that when that
orator was Mr. Bright, and when his audience was com-
posed of such as thought proper to visit the Amphitheatre
in Liverpool on Wednesday night, the occasion was
turned to the best possible account. The Irish Church, as
an establishment, is, and always has been, most cordially
hated by Mr. Bright, and, unlike some who have recently
declared themselves its opponents, he is not open to
the taunt of having ever entertained different opinions
in respect to the question of its disestablishment.
The story, though probably new to many of Mr. Bright's
bearers at Liverpool, has been only too often told. It may
be summarised almost in a single sentence. The popula-
tion of Ireland amounts to nearly six millions, of whom
four millions and a half are Roman Catholics. Of the
residue perhaps 750,000 are members of the Established
Chute.. The revenues of that Church amount, however,
to between 2700,000 and £BOO,OOO per annum, being the
produce of national property valued atbetween £13,000,000
and 1'14,030,000. These facts being practically undisputed,
the question necessarily arises whether it is just and exp.::
client for the State to appropriate this enormous sum for
the religious uses of a small minority of the Irish popula-
tion, leaving the majority to provide as best they can for
their -own religious culture.

Why, asks the Herald, does Mr. Bright post down to
the North to incite a gathering of Welshmen at Liverpool
to labour for the strengthening of their Liberal represen-
attouin the House of Commons, by parading before them
the
alleged iniquities of the Irish Church and the reasons
degraded?
why it should be plundered and
that the member for llirpinghamhad a seret motive in
bringing this question before an assembly which he himself
described as composed of " Nonconformists in Church
matters and Liberals in politics?" Not to put too fine a
point upon it, does Mr. Bright to bribe the Dissenters
ofWales to throw the r weight into the scale 0, inst the
Church of England in Irelandb
promise that the
turn of the Church of Englandy in shall come
afterwards? lie sedulously disclaims any such intention.
Ile insists that this is "not a question of s
meld:Es." lint he protests too much. He disclaims
Establish-
claims the
analogy of the two cases with a kind of "aside," a per-
ceptible wink. Over and over again he tells his audience
of We!sh Nonconformists, within a few minutes after the
close of a speech from one of the most able and nue();
mising denouncers of the Church Establishment in- ti7e.
rr:ncipftliiy, that "talc question before the country is
really not one of State listablishments;" but he goes on to
remind them a few sentences later that " the Christian
Church in the United Kingdom is composed of many.
Cl.ureheg, and clearly the establishment of any one of
the ei must be arm offelmco to the, other."ember fur
,-,lllughain strLscts to be very guadd, but nmo
one can
atHappr,lieri,l his meaning. He desired to encourage the
1,Ve!,1 1)1:;A:ulters to join in the crusade against the Irish
ll.L.!,iishment by something like a pledge that their little
:in.11,,i:;:e5 should neNt be indulged, and at the Louie time
, not to compr,mlse the disingenuous posi-
Gla,lstone, that Lis policy against the Irish
nal,t not be construed as -a menace to establish-
;il general.

I.Cci prote:As against the " explaliation "
I OUster.4 of their proposals for endowment, and
th::, country to bear in mind the real Las. A

~; ,~, ,
i,.. ~.

; ,•!•, .•1.(,:;,:t, (it; co.Linues) is in all probability near at
IN:r. Ibody .Innounced that next Thursday he
iv(,uld mov,2 for leave t) brin:; in a bill relating to the
IN;P:istur.tion, and 'nob:Ably intended to hasten it. But
l';nt we trust? Tie bill itself may be part of the
t;tw.ies e,f delay. Arr. Childers would take the matter out
thr hands (f Ministers, and enforce an early dissolution
g-antlng the supplies for a term of nine months only,
A-g,:nst this course the Chancellor of the Exchequer pro-
te,,ts. 1 here is no necessity for it, he says, the Govern-
nelq., fully intending to hasten the dissolution as much as
But no (me can be sure, that the Government
remain of this mind, or that Mr. Hunt's words, like
tloie of Mr. Disraeli and Lord Mayo, do not really mean
tni3 reverse of that which they seem pla'inly to state. Is he
spelking in a natural or non-natural sense? The trust of
the -House of Commons in the statements of Ministers is
pretty nearly exhausted. • Mr. Childers is well-advised in
askinv for more solid security.

STATISTICS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM.

The Statistical Abstract for 1867 shows that the gross
revenue of the last financial year amounted to £2 6s. 2d.
per head of population ; only once in the last twelve years
—viz., in the year 1865-66—has the ratio of taxation been
lower than this, and only once has it been so low—viz., in
1858-59. The expenditure, however, exceeded the income,
and amounted to £2 7s. 3d. per head ; but that ratio has
been exceeded in six of the last twelve years. This state-
ment does not include the expenditure upon fortifications,
which amounts to about half a million a year, but
which is not taken from the year's income, but bor-
rowed on terminable annuities (1885), the annual pay-
ment of which goes to swell the charge for the
National Debt. The unredeemed funded debt had been
reduced to 2741,190,328 on the 31st of March last, the
reduction in the year being due to the conversion of stock
into terminable annuities ; the terminable annuities
at that date, £3,447,270, represented a capital of
£47,930,222, or double the amount on the 31st of March,
18.67 ; the unfunded debt in March last was £7,911,100.
In 1867 there were imported and retained for home
consumption 1411 b. of corn per head of our population,
40.551 b. of raw sugar, 3.68113. of tea, 1.351 b. of tobacco,
4.191 b. of butter, 3.321 b. of cheese, 1'921b. of bacon and
hams, 5.101 b. of potatoes, 0'45 gallons of wine, 13'19
eggs, 0'27 gallons of spirits, and 0.71 gallons of home-
made spirits paid excise duty. The number of vessels
registered as belonging to the United Kingdom at the end
of 1867 was 28,773, of 5,753,063 tons, whereof 2,931, of
901,062 tons, were steamers. 1,210 vessels, of 282,990 tons,
were built and first registered in the United Kingdom in
1867. The quantity of British wheat sold in 150 market
towns was only 2,724,673 qrs., 400,000 qrs. fewer than in
18436, and more than 8,000,000 qrs. fewer than in 1865.
The capital in the Lands of savings banks at the end of
the year 1867 was £36,476,408 in the trustee banks,
and £9,749,929 in the post-office banks, both skew-
ing an increase in the year, but of course the
post - office banks increasing most largely. The
December average of banknotes in circulation reached
£4,1106,120: Bank of England, £24,447,000 ; English
country banks, £5,187,025 ; Scotland, £5,055,794 ; Bank of
Ireland, £2,713,4:0; Irish pr:vate banks, £3,702,901. The
Bank rate of discount averaged only 21 per cent. for the
year ; in only one of the last fifteen years, 1862, has the
average been so low. The average price of Consols was 93.
The population in the middle of the year was 30,157,473,
exclusive of army, navy, and seamen abroad. At the in-
spection of elementary schools in Great Britain by her
Majesty's inspectors, 1,391,100 children were found pre-
sent ; the eatcational statist es sliou'd include Ireland. The
number of paupers in receipt of relief in England on,ihe
Ist of January, 1863, is stated at 1,034,823, but the return
does not include vagrants ; in Ireland, 72,925; in Scot-
land, on the 14th of May, 1867, 121,169. The year's
expenditure for the relief of the poor reached £6,959,840
in England ; £807,631 in Scotland ; £797,134 in Ireland.
The committals for indictable offences advanced t 0.18,971
in England, 3,305 in Scotland, and 4,561 in Ireland. The
emigrants of the year were 195,9c3.

The annual commemoration ceremonies were observed
yesterday at Eton.
The 17arquis of Worcester has been appointed deputy-
lieutenant for Gloucestershire.

George Recne, the man who shot a poacher at Leicester
on Sunday morning, bus been committed for trial.

A town's meeting is about to bo held in Derby to petition
in favour of the Government Telegraph Bill.

TLe Liberals of North Durham propose to bring forward
Mr. Isaac Lowthian Bell, of Washington Hall.

A new ar.d haadsorne building, erected as an institution for
tLe blind, was formally opened at Bradford on Wednesday.

Mr. Samuel Motley has subscribed £5OO towards defray-
ing tho expensos of the South Wales Electoral Association.

It is st:.ted that the Irish Church Commissioners will not
be able to present their report before the end of Jnne, or
early iu July.

The Bath and West of England Society, and the Southern
Counti; s AsFeciation have combined. Their next meeting
is to be held a: Southampton.

Robert Chambers, ex-champion of the Tyne, died
yesterday morning at Newcastle of consumption, after
lingering some weeks. His age was 37.

A boiler-maker has murdered his wife at Wigan. Ire
kicked her brutally on the lower portion of the body, from
the c ffects of which she died in a few seconds. They had
lived unhappily together.
A strike of boiler-makers at St. Helen's began on Wed-
nesday in consequence of their wages having been reduced
2s. per wetk. Two of the men have been taken into cus-
tody for a breach of the peace.

A new society for the working men of Grantham has just
been • rganised in ti.at town, under tho title cf the Protes-
tant ConseiVative AFsociaVun. A considerable number of
working inert have tdre:idy joined the asscciation.

flit little change is roro: ted in the aspoct of the stake in
Sou:h St“flo:d. The meeting that was expi3cted to tako
place for the adjustment or differeuees betwtma the maters
and men Las not yet been held.

At a rn.?etiog of Liber,ls, lip 11 on Wednesday night at
Darlington, !t was &cid. d to l-ave tho election of a candi-
date for no new censti.urney to a (3outtniitee, scat candi-
date to hold iu tLe maiu the views of Mr. Gladstone and the
Libertil paty.

A great fire occurred at south Shiers yos!erday, by
which the new Elizabethan mansi,in of Mr. Stevenson, the
mayor, was destroyed. The family Lad a narrow escape.
The fire broke out in thy upp r part of the house, and
its progress was ace lerated by a gale which was blowing
at the time.

Another case of ratteuing in the notor7ous saw trade is
reported. Three lands have beet, stolen la cause as many
men would not submit to a piece of tyranny. When they
were off work at Christmas they claimed the usual allow-
ance, hut the " box " would not allow the claim. The mcn,
there-foie refused to lay, and consequently the ' awls wish'
which they were working l ave been stolen, and the pro-
mises of the employer broken into before the theft could be
accemplisht.d.
Lord Echo, M.P., one of the Trades Union Commis-
sioners, inspr'ctk d some collieries at Whitwood on Wed-
nesday', fur the purPes) of becoming acquainted with the
co-partnery principle upon which they are conducted. He
expressed his great admix Lion of the system, and hoped that
it might b.) ( atended throughout the country, being con-
vinced that if masters combined as mucli as the men the
latter won d be the losers in the suicidal war between capi-
ta and Lbour which would follow.

A man named Kay, residing at Ecelesfield, has been sub-
jected to Lynch law. His cha,racteristies are spoken of as
"Lard working and hard drinking," and on the day just
named ha took it into his head to destroy his childreu's
clothing-- tho product of their mother's industry—togethor
with the household furniture. The neighbours became
indignant, and, having caught KAy, they trundled Lim
through the streets on a barrow, and sub...equently blackened
his face and drenched him at a pump.

Mr. Adderh y, true to the promise he made last year to
Mr. Remington Mills, has introduced a bill to stop all fur-
ther payments out of the Consolidated Fund to the West
Indiax clergy. Life interests aro, however, to be respected.
Ultimately the country will save £20,300 a year now paid to
"divers bishops, archdeacons, ministers, catechists, and
f,,choolmaiters."—A Conservative Government thinks that
the colonists ought to p:.y their own clergy, and, while
making such an ado about the die-establishment of the Irish
Church, disenilows the Colonial Church with perfect sang-
froid.— English Independent.

The Court of Common Pleas yesterday refused an appli-
cation made by the Solicitor. General, asking that certain
cases as to the rating of apartments (under the Reform
Bill of 1.,61) might be taken earlier than their position on
the paper might warrant. The case raised a very
important question as to liow large houses let in separate
apartments, and in which houses the landlords did not
reside, should be rated. Three thousand cases of rating,
it was said, in Sunderland depended upon the decision of
the court, and the decision WC uld also have considerable
influence in other large towns.

A Inc eting has been held in Gloucester to promote
a movement for the restoration of the Cathedral in that
It Was stated that the Ecclesiastical Commis-
sloners had Offered to give £10;000 for the pur-
pose, that another £lO,OOO had been promised in
response to circulars, and that the Dean and Chapter
would devote £2,000 to the object. Mr. Antrobus, high
sheriff of the county, presided, and Mr. W. 11. Gladstone,
M.P., Lord Egerton of 'Patton, Earl Grosvenor, and other
gentlemen were present. About £OO was promised in
lettcr.3 read a► the meeting.

The eighty-sixth assembling of the charity children of
the metropoli.-; at St. Paul's Cathedral took place yester-
day, when it was calculate i tha' there could not have been
less than 15,000 people Resent, including 5,000 children.
Under the dome of the Cathedral seats were ranged,
riAng to an immense he'ght. Upon these the children
were seated, while the congregation occupied the floor and
the whole extent of the choir. The Lord Mayor attended
i I State. Before prayers, the 150th Psalm was sung by the
children, assisted by the choir. After the Ist and 2nd lessons
the " Te Deum" and " Jubilate" were given also by the choir.
Before the prayer for the Queen, the Coronation Anthem,
" Zadock the Priest," was sung by the choir, the children
joining in the words " God save the King, long live the
King," and the effect, as may readily be imagined, was
very fine. The sermon was preached by Dr. Harold
Browne, Bishop of Ely. The service concluded with
31 anders "Hallelujah Chorus," by the choir and children.