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

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS,

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
letter-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
sight to complain, provided his statements were ac-
narate and his conclusions just. Now, on this point
be is sufficiently justified. His letter has given mortal
offence to the Government, because he has persisted in
affixing to their declarations at the beginning of the
session a meaning which they have since repudiated, and
because he holds them to all the consequences or expres-
sions they have laboured to explain away. They desire
cow 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 en" 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,
tfter 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,
written fifteen months ago, which letter, being in answer
to the one received by the then Premier, asking for
an increase of the Ilegium 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 die
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
they expressed themselves in the most unfortunate
manner. 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
that people 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 anyone else for sharing in what they must admit to
have been a universal delusion. The fact that they
have been, as they assert, so grossly misunderstood should
rather teach them, and especially their leader, to deal less
in the ambiguous and obscure, and to cultivate distinct
and detailed statement. The 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 introduction of chaplains into prisons,
and other arrangements of that kind," as explained by
Mr. Disraeli yesterday evening.
The Standard 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 never made. The right lion. gentleman asserted in
his letter that the Government were willing to endow the
Roman Catholic Church, and, by way of earnest, pro-
tiosed 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 one—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-
possible to do anything that year to increase the amount
of the Regium Donum, into a promise to endow all
Churches this year. Mr. Gladstone quoted again the
speech of Lord Mayo, a speech quoted by Radical speakers
and writers cid nauseam, but which, after the noble earl's

statement last night, they will be very shy of
touching. There is nothing in Lord Mayo's
words to justify the assumption that the Govern-
ment were willing to endow the Roman Catholic
Church, a measure of which Mr. Gladstone said last
night—and the Standard invites particular attention to his
language—" far be it from roe to condemn ;" and had his
words 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 or of endowing a Catholic University.
There 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 add, 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 corn-
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 establishnient, 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
hearers at Liverpool, has been only too often told. It may
be summarised almost in a single sentence. The poppla-
Con 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
Chum.. The revenues of that Church amount, however,
to between £700,000 and £BOO,OOO per annum, being the
produce of national property valued at between £13,000,000
and £14,000,000. These facts being practically undisputed,
the question necessarily arises whether it is just and expf,;*
dient 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
4 the North to incite a gathering of Welshmen at Liverpool
to labour for the strengthening of their Liberal represen-
tation in the House of Commons, by parading before them
the alleged iniquities of the Irish Church and the reasons
why it should be plundered and degraded ? Is it possible
that the member for Birmingham had a secret motive in
bringing this question before an assembly which he himself
described as composed of " Nonconformists in Church
/natters and Liberals in politics ?" Not to put too fine a
point upon it, does Mr. Bright hope to bribe the Dissenters
of Wales to throw the:r weight into the scale against the '
Church of England in Ireland by the promise that the
turn of the Church of England in Wales shall come
afterwards? He sedulously disclaims any such intention.
He insists that this is " not a question of State Establish-
ments." But lie protests too much. He disclaims the
analogy of the two cases with a kind of " aside," a per-
ceptible wink. Over and over again he tells his audience
of Welsh Nonconformists, within a few minutes after the
close of a speech from one of the most able and uncompro-
mising denouncers of the Church Establishment in the
Principality, that " the question before the country is
really not one of State Establishments; but he_ goes on to
remind them a few sentences later that the Christian
Church in the United Kingdom is composed of many
Churches, and clearly the establishment of any one of
them must be an offence to the other." The member for
Biro s. ,11, affects to be very guarded, but no one can
.111,,
nu.iappreliend his meaning.. He desired to encourage the
11/6!sh Dissenters to join in the crusade against the Irish
Establishment by something like a pledge that their little
milmosities should next be indulged. and at the same time
he was anxious not to compromise the disingenuous posi-
tiwi of Mr. Gladstone, that his policy against the Irish
Cht.irch must not be construed as a menace to establish-
meats in general.

Foiry Xers protests against the " explanation "
l",lin:sters of their proposals for endowment, and
calls upon the country to bear in mind the real facts. A
gear-al election (it continues) is in all probability near at
Mr. hardy announced that next Thursday he
would move for leave 0 bring in a bill relating to the
registration, and probably intended to hasten it. But
whom can we trust? The bill itself may be part of the
tactics of delay. Mr. Childers would take the matter out
of the hands of Ministers, and enforce an early dissolution
by ,granting the supplies for a term of nine months only,
Against this course the Chancellor of the Exchequer pro-
teAs. 'There is no necessity for it, he says, the Govern-
ment fully intending to hasten the dissolution as much as
possible. But no one can be sure that the Government
will'remain of this mind, or that Mr. Hunt's words, like
those of Mr. Disraeli and Lord Mayo, do not really mean
the reverse of that which they seem plainly to state. Is he
speaking 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
askimr for more solid security.

matte by

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 £741,190,328 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,
1867 ; 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,
40.581 b. of raw sugar, 3.681 b. of tea, 1.351 b. of tobacco,
4.191 b. of butter, 3'321b. of cheese, 1.921 b. of bacon and
hams, 5.101 b. of potatoes, 0.45 gallons of wine, 13.19
eggs, 0.27 gallons of spirits, and 011 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
1866, and more than• 8,000,000 qrs. fewer than in 1865.
The capital in the hands 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 shew-
ing an increase in the year, but of course the
post - office banks increasing most largely. The
December average of banknotes in circulation reached
£,1106,120: Bank of England, £24,447,000 ; English
country banks, £5,187,025 ; Scotland, £5,055,794 ; Bank of
Ireland, £'2,713,400; Irish private banks, £3,702,901. The
Bank rate of discount averaged only 2i 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
Majest3's inspectors, 1,391,100 children were found pre-
sent ; the educational statist cs shou'd include Ireland. The
number of paupers in receipt of relief in England on the
Ist of January, 1868, 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 to 18,971
in England, 3,305 in Scotland, and 4,561 in Ireland. The
emigrants of the year were 195,953.

The annual commemoration ceremonies were observed
yesterday at Eton.

The Marquis of Worcester has been appointed deputy-
lieutena.nt for Gloucestershire.

George Keene, the man who shot a poacher at Leicester
on Sunda y morning, has been committed for trial.
A town's meeting is about to be held in Derby to petition
in favour of the Government Telegraph Bill.

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

A new and Latidsome building, erected as an institution for
the blind, was formally opened at Bradford on Wednesday.
Mr. Samuel Morley has subscribed £5OO towards defray-
ing, the expensys of the South Wales Electoral Association.

It is stated that the Irish Church Commissioners will not
be able to present their report before the end of June, or
early in July.
The Bath and West of England Society, and the Southern
Counties Association have combined. Their next meeting
is to be held at 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. He
kicked her brutally on the lower portion of the body, from
the cffects 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 week- 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
becn rganised in tint town, under the title cf the Rrotes-
hut Conservative Association. A considerable number of
working men have already joined the association.

Bilt little changi, 2,7,,t,2d is tho ~puct of the sttfro in
Sun L Stafford. The meeting that was expeted to talco
place for the adjustment of differences between the masters
and men has not yet been held.

At a meeting of Libetals,ll on Wednesday night at
Darlington, it was decided to Lave the election of a canal-
date for the new ncy to a connittoe, such candi-
date to bold in the main the views of Mr. Gladstone and the
Liberal party.

A great fire occurred at ~!outli Shiel 7s yesterday, by
which the new Elizabethan mansion of Mr. Stevenson, the
mayor, was destroyed. The family had a narrow escape.
The fire broke out in they upper part of the house, and
its progress was ace lerated by a gale which was blowing
at the thr.e.

Another case of rationing in the notor:ous saw trade io
reperted. Three Lauds have been stolen because as many
men would not submit to a piece of tyranny. When they
were off work at Christmas they claimed the usual allow-
ance, but the " box " would not allow the claim. The men
therefore refused to pay, and consequently the 'ands with{
which they were working l ave been stolen, and the pre-
mises of the employer broken into before the theft could be
accomplished.

Lord Elcho, M.P., one of the Trades Union Commis-
sioners, iusp:-•eted sense collieries at Whitwood on Wed-
nesday, for the purpos3 of becoming acquainted with the
co-partnery principle upon which they are conducted. He
expressed his great admiration of the system, and hoped that
it might be extended throughout the country, being con-
vinced that if masters combined as much as the men the
latter won be the losers in the suicidal war between capi-
tal and 1 . hour which would follow.

A man named Kay, residing at Ecclesfield, has been sub-
jected to Lynch law. His characteristics aro spoken of as
"hard working and hard drinking," and on the day just
named ho took it into his head to destroy his children's
clothing—the product of their mother's industry—together
with the household furniture: The neighbours became
indignant, and, having caught KAy, they trundled him
through the streets on a barrow, and subsequently blackened
his face and drenched him at a pump.

Mr. Adderley, true to the promise he made last year to
Mr. Remiugton Mills, has introduced a bill to stop all fur-
ther payments out of the Consolidated Fund to the West

Indian clergy. Life interests are, however, to be respected.
Ultimately the country will save £20,300 a year now paid to
"divers bishops, archdeacons, ministers, catechists, and
schoolmasters."—A Conservative Government thinks that
the colonists ought to pay their own clergy, and, while
making such an ado about the dis-establishment of the Irish
Church, disendows the Colonial Church with perfect sang-
froid.— Envlial 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 1667) might be taken earlier than their position on
the paper might warrant. The case raised a very
important question as to how 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 would also have considerable
influence in other large towns.

A meeting has been held in Gloucester to promote
a movement for the restoration of the Cathedral in that
city. It was stated that the Ecclesiastical Commis-
sioners had offered to give £10;000 for the pur-
pose, that another £IO,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. H. Gladstone,
ALP., Lord Egerton of Tatton, Earl Grosvenor, and other
gentlemen were present. About 00 was promised in
letters read at the meeting,

The eighty-sixth assembling of the charity children of
the metropolis at St. Paul's Cathedral took place yester-
day, when it was calculates that there couldnot have been
less than 15,000 people present, including 5,000 children.
Under the dome of the Cathedral seats were ranged,
rising to an immense height. Upon these the children
were seated, while the congregation occupied the floor and
the whole extent of the choir. The Lordliayor attended
la State. Before prayers, the 150th Psalm was sung by the
children, assisted by the choir. Afterthe Ist ancl2nd 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
liandel's " Hallelujah Chorus." by the choir and children.