The Sun.
London, England, 1868-05-13 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, MAY 13, 1868.

THE MINISTRY AND THE H?ISII

CHURCH.

Last night a very large meeting was held at St.
James's-hall, Piccadilly, called by the Reform
League in support of Mr. Gladstone's Resolutions,
and " to denounce the conduct of Air. Disraeli and
the present Government." The time fixed for the
proceedings to commence was half-past 8, and it
was fixed so much later than the usual time of
holding meetings in order to allow the Holborn
and Clerkenwell Leaguers to march with banners
and bands to the West-end. The hall, however,
was well filled long before 8, and the people com-
posing the assemblage were generally of a more
respectable class than ordinarily attend large " de-
monstrations." Mr. Beaks presided, and in ac-
cordance with the programme of the proceedings no
members of Parliament were present, but in their
place the platform was crowded with " advanced
Reformers."

The meeting closed in the usual manner.

The CHAIRMAN, who was very warmly cheered,
commenced the proceedings by saying he could give
the Queen's answer to Mr.. Gladstone's resolutions.
Ile thereupon read the Queu's message, and
directly the import of it was understood the people
arose and gave many hearty cheers for her Ma-
jesty. When silence was restored the speaker said
that he had intended to propose three cheers for
the Sovereign, but they had anticipated lain. He
then went on to say that it was not in his power
to entertain that gathering after the manner of the
attractions presented in that hall last week—(a
laugh)—when there was an unusual array of most
reverends, right reverends, right honourables, and
honourables, lords spiritual and temporal—(laugh-
ter) —the highly refined gentlemau in every rank in
and out of the Church, who were assembled there
to do battle on behalf of one of the most inexcus-
able things in existence—the Protestant State
Church ascendancy in Ireland. (Cheers.) On this
occasion there was "ho ritualistic bishop to be re-
ceived with a storm of hisses, and there was no
liberal dean to be hooted and yelled into silence—
(laughter)—neither was there any achiepisco-
pal club-stick to rap order on the table in case that
meeting should be disposed, like the select ticket
audience of last Wednesday, to be a little obstrepe-
rous. (A laugh.) So he had to trust td the good
feeling of the people to keep order, and they were
not to be led astray by bad examples even of the
highest classes.. (Laughter and cheers.) This
meeting was called together in discharge of a great
public duty—a duty thrust upon the people by the
conduct of the Ministers, who now held their
offices by the sufferance of their opponents, and
by doing the work their opponents desired
to be done. This Ministry has appealed
from the vote of the House of Commons to the
people, not by a dissolution, but by a public
statenient that the people's opinions were not in
accord with the vote given on Mr. Gladstone's re-
solutions. Assuming, as they might assume, that
this statement was not a miserable party cry, like
the "No-Popery "cry, and the " Maunday
day " letter, and that it was an honest opinion of
Mr. Disraeli's, this meeting was held to show that
the " conviction" of Mr. Disraeli and his friends was
wholly erroneous—at all events, as regarded the
working men of the metropolis (cheers), and it was
fair to assume that the people generally of the
empire would endorse the same views. (Loud
cheers.) The gathering had been called to
say, not only that the people were in per-
fectßesolutions, but
that athcceyorddeswiriethd Die.
the
dGisleasdntsathoiiseh'sment of the Irish
Church and the establishment of a perfect religious
equality, and they also protested against tit) con-
tinuance in office of any Ministry not prepared to
carry these Resolutions into full and immediate
The people, too, were
met that
eveningat(Loud cheers.)
to ers
declare that the meeting of
.
the previous Wednesday did not represent the
national feeling, and leaving the Lord Mayor of
London to settle with the citizens of London—
especially bow far he was entitled to represent
them or misrepresent them on the occasion referred
to—the other part of the meeting might be called a
meeting of Church shareholders merely, in whose
o-
pinions the majority of their countrymen did
not share. (Cheers.) He (Mr. Beales) as a conscien-
tious lay member of that Church—and he could
declare that out of the whole meeting hell in the
hall on the previous Wednesday there was not one
more honestly attached to the doctrines than
he—
wholly and entirely dissented from the objects of
that meeting held in support of the Protestant
State Church in Ireland. Ile concluded by reading
Mr. Gladstone's answer to the Queen's Message,
and upon hearing this the meeting again rose en
masse and lustily cheered.
Mr. ODGERS, one of the working men speakers,
moved this resolution :—" That this meeting cor-
dially approve the Resolutions introduced by Mr.
Gladstone, and passed by the House of Commons,
for the disestablishment of the State Church in Ire •
land ; and, on behalf of the working men of Eng-
land, claim for their Irish brethren the immediate
adoption of such further measures as shall secure to
them entire religious freedom and equality."
He pronounced the clergy to be very unwise in
their generation.
They called this a political ques-
tion, he said, and a political question they would
find it. The day had gone by when the bishops
could say what should be done, for the people with
their newly-found power would soon clear away a
few bishops. (a
•-- laugh) The Archbishop of Ar-
magh might well support the Primate of England
in protesting against the disestablishment of the
'ash Church, seeing that their family had taken
£8,000,000 out of the Irish Church, and he con-
cluded a long and somewhat violent speech by
declaring that the existence of the present Go.
vertu-ilea was unconstitutional, and was an usur.
pa t io n •

Disraeli."

SPORTING IN rELLIGENCE.

YORK SPRING MEETING.-TUESDAY.

mile.

_
Mr. CREMER seconded the resolution, and said
doubtless some of the papers would declare that
resolutions were spoken to by nobodies, but the no-
bodies who were speaking there had been in the past
strong enough to wring a lodger and household
franchise from a Tory Government, and would
compel the Government to do justice to Ireland by
disestablishing the Irish Church. Ile went on to
draw comparisons between the meeting of the pre-
vious week and that meeting, and, calling one the
meeting of the shepherds and the other of the
witlhrish Reform L2agne,
the shepherds.
sheep, declared that the sheep were now showing
they i
1.1: bad.
onwo concernATT,
of
the
sup-
ported the resolution, and said, as an Irish Dis-
senting Protestant,
do
ngreyltly the wrong which
bad been
ny of tlan e e
Ihim
rish h
s and
ss in the grinding
yr
isChurch,ca not only to the
population, but to all others out-
side the pale of the State Church. It was all very
well to say that it was a "sentimental grievance ;"tet
s, feltl
e b
Roman Catholic
cheers, but the Irish State Church was only a good thing
to those who liked it, and there were not many who
did that. (Loud cheers.) lie declared, amid warm
jaunsdtiec
en enthusiastic
Ireland,
laic d,
this great wrong,
the Irish would rise up as one man to go hand in
eastn b y extinguishing
that if England would do
hand with their English brethren.

The resolution Nvas further supported by Mr.
MOTHERHED, and beiug put Was carried amid accla-

oration.

Mr. CoNNoLLY, the stonemason, moved the second
resolution :—" That this meeting denounce the con-
duct of Mr. Disraeli and the present Government,
with regard to the Irish Church, as subversive of
public honour and morality, tending to place the
Crown in antagonism with the convictions of the
people, calculated to produce the most mischievousresults in Ireland, and such as should induce the
country to insist upon their immediate retirement
from office." He said he could hardly find words
to express his contempt for the Government which
would remain in office after the majorities which
had decided against them, and still more difficult

was it to speak about a man who would dare to
interpose Ministry a tnhde
then peamcopol. of the
thie did notelQaeen between the
believe that
Mr. Disraeli would have remained in office except
Ntionide" in conjunction with
opery'! cry, in which
in secret obedience to the House of Lords, some of
the
ocs lee rl ng
ye
which they would sever succeed. The speaker pro-
,mtboerrsaisdeesai re,d,
ceeded at some length to speak upon the general
question of the Irish Church, and Warmly de-

nounced the party that dared to uphold what he
termed so monstrous a wrong.
The resolution, which was seconded, was spoken
to by several persons, and carried at an advanced
hour.

MEETING AT PRESTON.
PRESTON, Tuesday Night.
To-night a '%rand and enthusiastic meeting has
been held in the Corn Exchange for the purpose of
considering the disestablishment of the Irish Church.
Mr. Councillor Dobson occupied the chair. Speeches
were delivered by various gentlemen absolutely
condemnatory of the Irish Church Establishment.
Among the speakers were Mr. Mason Jones, who
delivered a most able and conclusive speech,
which was received with cheers. He earnestly
called upon the entire country to declare indig-
nantly its want of confidence in her Majesty's pre-
sent Ministers, and its desire to see Mr. Gladstone
restored to power. He denounced in the most
emphatic terms, the spurious attempts to raise a
" No-Popery" cry, characterised it as an act of in-
cendiarism, and called upon all who had the wel-
fare of the country and its progress at heart to he
prepared for the next election, whether they came
early or late, and to send into power men of free-
dom and lovers of religious equality. Mr. Jones
called for three cheers for Mr. Gladstone, which
were given with great enthusiasm, and followed by
three for Mr. Bright. He argued, amid applause,
that bishops and archbishops should attend to reli-
gious and not legislative duties, and not only con-
demned the Irish but the English Church. Mr.
Jones said there was no course left open for the
present Ministry except to resign. The following
resolutions were carried amid applause :

" 1. That this meeting rejoices at the triumphant
majorities by which the House of Commons has re-
solved that.,' it is necessary that the Established
Church of Ireland should cease to exist as au esta-
blishment, due regard being had to all personal in-
terests and to all individual rights of property.' It
desires to express its warm admiration of the spirit
and ability displayed by Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Bright,
and other Liberal members of the house in realising
this important result ;
.and also the hope that the
policy thus initiated will be strenuously supported
by all the friends of religious equality, not only at
the present time, but when the question is remitted
to the country at the approaching general election.

" 2d. That this meeting regards the conduct of
the present Government, and especially of the Prime
Minister, Mr. Disraeli, in refusing to resign, in
obedience to the overwhelming and repeated ad-
verse decisions of the House of Commons, with
profound indignation ; and hereby protests against
such conduct, as being contrary to constitutional
usage and without precedent in the history of this
country, as debasing to political morality, as expos-
ing the Government to general distrust and con-
tempt, and as an insulting defiance of the power
and authority of the House of Commons, and there
fore imperilling the rights and liberties of the Eng
lish people.

" 3d. A copy of the above resolutions to be
forwarded to Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Bright, and Mr.

The interest attached to the Great Northern Handicap
appeared to be more than usually extended on the present
occasion, a fact that was abundantly proved by the large
attendance both of Northern and Southern sportsmen.
Blinkhoolie maintained the premiership almost unshaken
up to the last, until the support awarded to Fortunio, on
the strength of a high trial at home with Lord Hastings,
caused the Middleham horse tobe equally fancied. Beauty,
in consequence of the advance of Fortunio, was sent back
in the betting, but Westwick maintained the position ho
has held for some time back with much firmness. Between
this quartet and the others of the thirteen runners there
was a wide gap in the market, the outsider division being
headed by Geant des Batailles. Fortunio won cleverly,
beating Westwick by three-quarters of a length; while

third place was obtained by a rank outsider in Ploughboy.
Both Blinkhoolie and Beauty cut up indifferently, and
Glut des Batailles and Stratbconan, who have for some
time back figured prominently in the quotations, likewise
greatly disappointed their backers. The remainder of the
day's racing, which was of average interest, will be found
fully detailed below :

The Craven Stakes of 5 sous each, with 50 added. One

Mr Mackenzie 's Rampart, by Defender, darn by Rifle-
man, 3 yrs, 7st Glb (inc. 61b ex.) (Canierou) I
Mr Plummer's Caprera, 3 yrs, 7st 10lb (iuc. 101 b ex.)
MT wen) 2
Betting-13 to Bon Rampart, who, pulling hard, waited
to the half distance, when he healed Cap rera, and woti
easily by a length.
The Zetland Stakes of 5 soya each, with 80 added.