The Sun.
London, England, 1868-04-04 00:00:00

The House of Lords has sufficient leisure to
spare from the consideration of domestic politica
to discuss the affairs of other nations, and Lord
STRATHEDEN last evening brought under the
notice of their lordships the correspondence re-
specting the disturbances in Crete. The note of
Russia and France communicated to the Turkish
Government at the end of October last was dis-
approved of by the English Government, and it
was spoken off by FJAD PASHA as a direct in-
centive to rebellion. The Duke of ARGYLL
censured the GoVernment very strongly for not
having assisted in removing the non-combatants
from Crete, but his view of the case was not sup-
ported by Earl RUSSELL, who fully approved of
the conduct of Lord STANLEY. The removal of
these persons had, he said, been a very question-
able benefit to them, and many of them were now
starving in Greece instead of earning a living in
their own country. The removal of non-combatants
too could hardly be said to be altogether a neutral
act, inasmuch as it afforded great relief to the com-
batants, and assisted them to prolong the contest.
Lord MALMESBURY, indeed, stated that the Go-
vernment had received a copy of a petition signed
by many hundreds of the fugitives, praying that
they might be allowed to return quietly to the
island, so that they evidently had not bettered their
condition by removing elsewhere. The ill-usage or
oppression of the Christians in Crete is said to have
been altogether overrated. ALL PASHA, who was com-
manding the island when the insurrection broke
out, appears by all accounts to be an amiable and
enlightened though somewhat weak Governor, who
willingly sanctioned the erection of schools, hospi-
tals, and churches. The real point at issue is not
the autonomy of Crete, but the integrity of the
Turkish empire ; and so long as we are prepared to
support the Turkish Government in Europe we can
hardly sanction the alienation of any past of it
through the interference of other Powers. Lord
RUSSELL said that if we had joined in the identical
Note and counsels given to the Porte by other
European Powers we could not have shut our eyes
to the ultimate views of those Powers, and to the
fact that they meant, however courteously they
might express themselves, to aim a blow at the in-
tegrity of the Turkish empire. "If that blow is
given," added the noble lord, "if Crete is sepa-
rated from Turkey because there is an insurrec-
tion there, who will tell me that there will not be
persons who will be skilful in getting up insurrec-
tions in other Christian provinces of Turkey, and
that the same advice may not be repeated next year
and the year after in order to separate one pro-
vince after another from the dominion of the Turk-
sh Government." The presence of the Turks in
Europe may be an anomaly, but it is not easy for
England to sanction the dismemberment of an ex-
isting State by the great Powers. We have seen
mischief enough follow the partition of Denmark in
our time to make us careful how we sanction the
repetition of so hazardous and tyrannical an expe-
riment.

The detailed account of the War in the River
Plate, which bas now reached us, would seem to
indicate that the triumph of the Allies is not so con-
clusive as was supposed. The loss on each side,
after the encounter on land, was great, being about
600 men. The Brazilian account, indeed, says that
the losses in killed, wounded, and prisoners
amounted to 1,600 men, but we must accept their
estimate cum grano sails. At the same time the
capture of Humaita is, of course, a great success to
the Allies, and a heavy loss to the Paraguayans,
and the capture of the redoubt on the same day is
another disadvantage. The accounts which are as
yet given state that on the 17th of February three
Monitors passed Curupaity, and on the 19th six
ironclads succeeded in forcing e passage:of Humaita,
the ships being much battered, but none lost, and
that ten men were wounded. On the same day the
Marquis of CALIA.s stormed a redoubt to the north
of Humaita, taking 15 cannon and a quantity of
stores. Two days later three ironclads steamed on
to Assuncion, and found that place and all river
towns abandoned. Eleven thousand men were to
march thither. We hear nothing of the movements

of the Paraguayan, who will certainly not sur-
I render their independence without a struggle, and
it is possible that LOPEZ may yet make a sudden
move to the discomfiture of his opponents. Mean-
while, whatever the successes of the Allies, die-
affection is rife throughout the country :generally.
The other day we received news of discontent in
Buenos Ayres. Now we have the account of a
revolution at Monte Video. The BLANCO party
rose under BERRO; General FLORES wasmurdered by
eleven stabs. MANUEL FLORES and twenty of his
friends died suddenly under suspicion of poison.
Reprisals were made by the population and by the
troops which remained faithful. BERRO was shot,
General BATTLE elected President, and order re-
stored. The occurrence, however, is significant,
and shows that all the States of South America are
in a disturbed and unsettled condition. Brazil her-
self may well take heed, for should the flames of
disaffection once be kindled, the Imperial Govern-
ment may find it a harder matter to retain her
supremacy than Paraguay does to resist the imposi-
tion of a foreign yoke.

MR. GLADSTONE AND HIS IRISH
CHURCH MOTION.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Sint,—Well! the Opposition are true and faithful
to their principles, and these principles are death-
bed repentances and dernier resorts. They must
certainly have a strong craving for what is called in
the legal profession the fag end of an old lease.
Just this time two
years ago they brought in a Re-
form Bill, when, as I have oftentimes remarked to
you, they were actually in the struggle between
life and death, having shelved the cause of reform
for nearly seven years. All people saw, during the
last nine months of the existence of the late Minis-
try—i.e., between October, 1865, when the late
Lord Palmerston died and Lord Russell became
Prime Minister, and July, 1866, when they were
actually driven from office—that the Whig Minis-
try was on its last legs, and in fact was in a dying
state. All people and all parties saw that
its days were numbered, and that it could
not long survive. During this hopeless
struggle the Whig party brought in their
Reform Bill, just as an invalid or dying person en-
deavours to restore his health and appetite by a
dose of quinine, gentian, orange peel, or some other
good and powerful tonic. Alas! alas ! however, for
the poor, old, worn-out, time-worn concern of a
Ministry, its system and whole constitution was too
far gone, and was by far too much impaired by the
ravages of time for any medicines to be of any avail.
It had lived more than its time, and I fear was not
about to sleep in blessings. Itis oftentimes adangerous
and hazardous thing for a man to attempt to be his
own doctor. And so it:proved in this case. The lonely
Whig Ministry, which had governed the country so
beautifully for nearly seven years, was defeated, and
had to resign. People must indeed be silly who
allow others to doctor them who are and have
evinced an utter incapacity to doctor themselves.
And I candidly avow that within the whole range
of political history there is not to be found upon
record such an instance of unscrupulous factious.
ness or daring profligacy as the motions of Mr.
Gladstone's now in debate before the House.
I put the same question I have so often put with
regard to the Reform Bill. Why, if the Established
Protestant Church in Ireland was such a real stand-
ing grievance, why, I ask, has no Whig Ministry
ever proposed its abolition ? The Whigs, or Libe-
rals, as they now, and for many years, have been in
the habit of designating themselves, have for nearly
40 years, with but, comparatively speaking, a few
years' intermission, held the reins of office, and
never once during the whole of that long period did
they ever seriously propose the abolition of the
Irish Protestant State Church. No, they waited
until the fag end of a moribund doomed Parlia-
ment, which all parties know has not, and cannot,
have another year's existence. It is altogether of
apiece with the rest of their conduct now and for
the last 25 or 30 years. They never bring any
really good and useful measure forward until they
are actually on their death-bed, or waited until their
Parliament is in this position. I will just give you a
proof of this during the last 30 years. In 1841,
just before they were so ignominiously hurlel
from office by the late Sir Robert Peel, Lords
Melbourne and John Russell proposed to throw
open all the ports, and Lord John Russell
proposed an Bs. fixed duty on corn, both, in many
respects, very good measures no doubt. But why,
pray, when the Melbourne-Russell Bedchamber
Ministry had been for upwards of six years in office,
had they never thought of or even attempted such
a reform before ? Again, once more, to go over my
oft-travelled and traversed ground, why was a Re-
form Bill never even so much as mentioned or heard
of until 1866, when the Russell-Gladstone Admi-
nistration had thought proper, when in opposition,
to turn out the Ministry of Lord Derby in the
summer of 1859, on a most sensible Reform
Bill, because, in their eyes and estima-
tion, it was not sufficiently Democratic and
revolutionary ? And now last, not least, there is the
Irish Church question brought forward at the fag
end of an old Parliament, and by a worthless,
reckless, factious, and most disgraceful Op-
position, who, having tried every dirty trick
and subterfuge in their power, and when one
manoeuvre after another has failed, have now
pounced upon poor old, ill-used, and irritated
Pat to fly to their rescue. But I shall hope and
trust Pat has too much sense and sagacity to be
gulled by such miserable sophistry. Roman
Catholics of Great Britain, England, Ireland, and
Scotland, aristocracy, gentry, and people ! be not
deceived, put not your trust again in Whiggery,
and be not betrayed for the second time within half
brief period,
ait may be for
haiscteonrtiunaryll,yfnoprehakalifnga,cnenowtuervyeris
lbountg
other purposes. Forty years ago the Whigs were
fighting hard for Catholic Emancipation, in order
to suit their own party purposes. They then
stormed and raved at all the wrongs and evils the
Catholic party had had to endure for a long series
of years ; and now please let us turn over the
leaf, and see what was their subsequent
conduct towards this (according to their
own showing) ill-used and persecuted body.
I must get you and your readers to travel back to
the years 1833 and 1834, the days of the late Earl
Grey's Ministry, the so-called Father of Reform,
now much more generally speaking.
As I admire
that Government, and think it deserves the thanks
and admiration of posterity for the useful reforms
which it carried, and their name is
legion ; never-
theless it is not to be denied that its language
towards Ireland and the Irish generally was per-
fectly disgusting, and I freely forgive the late
Daniel O'Connell, when he called them " The base,
brutal, and bloody Whigs." And who I should be
glad to know joined O'Connell in his cry against
the then Whig Government, and was the pet of
Daniel O'Connell, and was regarded as part of his
party ? Why no one more nor less than Benjamin
Disraeli, Esq., our present Premier, who stood in
this very year 1833, thirty-five
years ago, for Mary-
lebone, in favour of annual Parliaments, vote by
ballot, and universal suffrage. And who was it in
the same Ministry, and in the same last-named
year, who proved himself the best friend of
Ireland and the Irish Roman Catholics ?
Why no one more nor less than our late
Prime Minister Lord Derby, then Mr. Secretary
Stanley, Secretary for Ireland, who, as I have
often reminded you, terrified and alarmed the High-
Church Anglican party of those days by supress-
ing no fewer than 10 Irish Protestant bishoprics.
Now can any sane person entertain the least doubt
that had Lord Derby (then Mr. Stanley) remained
Irish Secretary (after such a sweeping mea-
sure of Reform as he carried in 1833) that the
Irish Protestant Church would have been re-
formed or else abolished long, long ago ? I will
now travel into more modern times, and show what
has been the conduct of the Whigs towards their
Roman Catholic fellow subjects during the last 21
years. In 1847 Lord Russell, who had just become
Prime Minister, expressly excluded and excepted the
Roman Catholics from haying any participation in