The Sun.
London, England, 1868-12-28 00:00:00

THE IRISH CHURCH DIFFICULTY.

There is a noteame article in the Daily News on the
Irish Church difficulty. Our contemporary remarks on
the speculation which is afloat as to the ultimate destina-
tion of that part of the revenues now belonging to the
Established Church in Ireland which it will seem just and
wise to leave with its present owners. The difficulties
foreseen by some writers on this subject will, the Daily
News believes, be found to disappear whenever the Irish
Episcopalians are fully persuaded that Parliament means
disestablishment. But there are questions of moment
notwithstanding. There is the great question whether the
trusts are to be defined by Parliament without reference
to the Churchmen of Ireland, or by the Churchmen of
Ireland themselves. It is often urged that the latter
scheme would be found quite impracticable. Why it
should be so we must confess ourselves unable to see. If
these 700,000 Episcopalians had no customary organisa-
tion whatever, there might be a good deal of pre-
liminary awkwardness. But inasmuch as they
are distributed into dioceses and parishes, there is
at least a nucleus which may easily be developed
into something that will meet the case. Parliament could
hardly go far wrung, for example, if it declared that it
would regard a convention composed of clergy and laity as
a fair representative of the Church of Ireland. If it is
objected that it would have to define what is meant by
such a convention, even this task does not transcend
legislative ability. The principle of three Houses---one
of bishops, one of clerical deputies, and one of lay deputies
—has become familiar from American and colonial
examples ; and if it were further declared that
nothing should be included in the trust which had not
received the sanction of all three Houses, we cannot see
that any one of the 700,000 would have any reasonable
cause of complaint. The other alternative is, that Parlia-
ment itself should define the trusts ; and if it is to under-
take this duty at all, it may be at once admitted that it
can only do so by a reference to the Established Church
in England. In this case the temporal courts, before
whom all questions connected with property must neces-
sarily come in the last resort, would only have to inquire
what is the law of the Church of England on this point.
Upon this system, if an Irish bishop punished a
clergyman for teaching heresy, or for practising some
ritual peculiarity, the sufferer would apply to
the Irish Court of Chancery for an injunction against his
ecclesiastical superior, and the latter would have to prove
that the particular doctrine or practice had been forbidden
by the English Ecclesiastical Courts. Suppose that an
Irish bishop deprives one of his clergy for teaching
the sacrifice of the mass. The clergyman applies to the
Court of Chancery to stay the proceedings. He alleges
that a large number of clergymen in England are teaching
the same doctrine, and that no proceedings have been
taken against them. Is the Court of Chancery to tell the
bishop to wait until a similar case has arisen and been
decided in England, or is it to constitute itself an
Ecclesiastical Court for the occasion, and proceed to decide
the question on the merits? If the members of the Irish
Church like such a settlement as this, there
would be no objection to their having their wish
in the matter. All that need be stipulated for
them is, that the scheme shall not be imposed on
them without their own consent. But on the assumption
that it is their wish to have the restraints of an Establish-
ment without its privileges, Parliament can probably
devise some means of gratifying it. All that we care for
is that the gold shall be washed off the fetters. If when
that is, accomplished and the iron 's seen in ti ve
ugliness, the Irish Church still bugs its c'lai, s' her
Irishmen nor Englishmen will wish to say it nay. , ier
it will shew this &ngular preference is a matter •
the event can determine.

The Sultan does not seem to be a . man who
entertains sanguine views of life, or of things in general.
He is sad even when he dances, or at any rate when he
composes music, or as he sometimes does, for others to
dance to. A Milan publisher, we are informed, has for
sale " a waltz of Sultan Abdul-Aziz," entitled " Melan-
choly."

CHANGES IN THE NEW HOUSE OF COMMONS. -
During the brief time that has elapsed since the general
election many alterations have taken place in the House
of Commons. In consequence of the resignation of
Ministers, thirteen elections have taken place, and others
are shortly expected to occur. As many as sixty seats are
imperilled by the election petitions that are pending, and
the House will scarcely have settled down until the mouth
of May or June, by which time a number of new elections
will have taken place.

A THOUGHTFUL BOY.—A certain Sunday-schoo
teacher was in the habit of making a collection in his
juvenile class for missionary objects. He was not a little
surprised one day to find a counterfeit shilling among the
coppers, and on asking the class who put it there, the
donor was pointed out by one who had seen him
deposit it. " Didn't you know that this was good for
nothing ?" said the teacher. " Yes," answered the boy;
" I didn't s'pose the little heathens would know the
difference, so I thought it would be just as good for
them."

A QUALIFIED SCHOOLMASTER.—A. schoolmaster
..aving been advertised for for the Somerset county prison
at Taunton, the governor has received the following appli-
cation :—" Sir, I have taken the pleasure of tighten to
you Sir for the Situation as I sean on the paper i chold be
very happey to embrase the Situation if think fit Sir i can
have a good caricter frome of any of the geanteary of the
Neberhood for the Last 20 years not a spot in my caricter.
Sir i never tried for any offis be fore but bean 3.llways to
hard to work i am a married man and my age is 36 years.
Sir I be Long to a respectfell familey my father is leaving
in Winsham parish a carpinter Somerset i am your abbea•
dent servant. W. B. With my own hand."
THE QEEEN AND MR. BRIGHT.—Rumour says
that there was something more than approbation of his
being invited to join the Cabinet, and that the Queen took
occasion to say a few words of gratitude to him for the
kind expressions he had used in her defence when she was
accused of indulging in an excess of sorrow. Whether the
rumour is true or not we do not pretend to know, but it
is exceedingly probable that among her new Ministers the
Queen—who naturally regards minute differences of social
rank with the equal eyes of royalty—might have felt a
marked degree of friendliness for a man whose pride in
England as opposed to pride in the English upper classes,
whose deep sense of family affection, whose tender memory
of family sorrows, and whose passionate love for the poor
are not without echoes in her own bosom.—Saturday
Review.

AN IMPORTANT DECISION. --A 11 important deei-
ion was rendered in the Sup e :e Court at Richmond,
Va., by Judge Underwood, on SAFI. day. A woman
named Sally Anderson was brought before the court on a
habeas corpus, she having received the death sentence for
the crime of arson. It was contended in her behalf that
one of the magistrates before whom she was tried was
disqualified from holding office by the 14th amendment to
t'ie Constitution, he having been in the rebel service, and
that consequently the court which sentenced her was
Regally constituted. The judge sustained the plea and
released the prisoner. One hundred and fifty-nine con-
victs, now in prison, and who were tried by courts simi-
larly constituted, will doubtless take Advantage of thifi
atsC.doArnAreW PriZimo. Dec. 14.