The Sun.
London, England, 1868-11-14 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF TILE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

The Saturday Review says that Mr. Disraeli is very
fortunate in one respect. If he makes a joke, it is pro-
nounced, as a matter of course, to be a good one. What-
ever he likes to hazard is welcomed as a triumph of
audacity and art. That what he says should be constantly
accepted as a pleasing and outrageous extravagance, a
thing quite apart from real life and to be regarded onlyas a
part of the performance he is engaged to offer, does not in the
least injure him, lower his character, or weaken his position.
There is not the slightest use in being severe; or moral, or
indignant about him. There he is, successful in a peculiar
way as few men in any nation or any age have been suc-
cessful ; and as the world has crowned him with glory,
there is something of folly in harping on the audacious
manner in which he appeals to the passing credulitycf his
bearers. He had nothing to say on current politics that
would bear saying. Twice lately he has tried startling
effects as if he were serious in using them, and both times
he has failed. first thought that it would have an
excellent sensational qnccess if he asserted that the discs-
tablishment of the Irish Church would be a worse evil to
the country than a foreign conquest. But this would not
do at all. It was too absurd, and everybody laughed
at him, and not with him, for trying it. The "No Popery"
cry has equally disappointed him. It seemed as if simple.
honest, unreflecting people might be trusted to be a goof
deal agitated and alarmed by a Prime Minister declaring
that if the Irish Church were disestablished there would ne
more be any Protestantism anywhere. But the English
public, if not very wise, could not stand this. It was obvious
that a Prime Minister who spoke in this way must think
Protestantism a very poor, and even ridiculous thing. If it
would fade away directly like a dream in the morning
before the rising sun of Romanism unless the Irish bishops
.sat in the House of Lords, it must be one of the hollowestk
and most trumpery religions that ever deluded civilised men.
That Mr. Disraeli spoke merely in joke when he delighted
and bewildered his hearers by talking of an assured Con-
servative majority was assumed by all who listened to
him on Monday, and by most of those who criticised him
on Tuesday. But it is just possible that he really was in
earnest. It is whispered that, in the very highest Conser-
vative circles, a belief prevails even now that the Govern-
ment will have, if not an absolute majority, yet a follow-
ing short by a very small number of an equality of votes.
It was bad enough, if he meant the joke, that he should
have to make it, and that he should have thought auda-
cious jesting was the only road to the approval of his
hearers. But not to have meant a joke at all, and to have
been merely describing what he believed to be the real
position of the Conservatives and then to have been
greeted as a most successful bumourist telling an after-
dinner bouncer in his best style, must have been a mortifi-
cation even to a man who has learnt to bear all mortifica-
tions with the patience of his race.
The Imperial Review remarks that Mr. Disraeli is said
by his enemies to have studied of late years, not without
considerable success, the Palmerstonian method in the
treatment of political affairs ; and it may certainly be
admitted that since that sagacious Minister was borne to
his grave, just three years ago, there has been nobody
found to compete with Mr. Disraeli in that profound
knowledge of human nature, and more especially of the
nature of English politicians, by which his lordship con-
trived to keep in order the proudest and most independent li
body in the world—the British Parliament. Nor is Mr.
Disraeli merely the copyist of an example so well deserv-
ing the attention of English statesmen as that of his
departed rival. The singular felicity of language which
has always distinguished him, the exquisite grace with
which he contrives to express in one or two happy sen-
tences, thoughts which any of his contemporaries would
only be able to bring out in the space of three or four
lumbering paragraphs—and would even then mar in their
collocation; the consummate ease with which he marshals
all the considerations which tell in his favour, and the
poetic originality of his mind, ever ready to present to his,
listeners some new idea or some novel illustration likely t 9
modify their views on any particular controversy—al.
these traits of Mr. Disraeli's genius have combined to
make him the model of an orator for an occasion which,
without ,losing sight of its festive associations, has yet
something of a national significance.

The Spectator pronounces it the greatest of mistakes to
imagine or believe that the main issue before the country
in this election is the fate of the Anglican Establishment
in Ireland. The removal of that injustice is only the first
of a series of measures intended to bind Ireland to the
empire, to end for ever the civil war which, under more
or less patent disguises, has raged been the two islands for
six hundred years, to weld the three kingdoms for the
first time into one united, contented, and therefore
powerful realm, presenting to the world, to America no
less than to Europe, one unbroken front. If the Tories
triumph, if the Liberal majority is even decreased, if the
majority is not great enough to cow all opposing forces
and pulverise all opposing interests, the last hope of
reconciliation will have passed away ; for Great Britain,
solemnly summoned to do justice to Ireland, will as
solemnly have refused. To refuse to sweep away the
Irish Church is to dismiss the Irish suit, to declare once
for all, in the presence of the whole world, that Irishmen
are not equal members of the family, not partners
in the concern, not even allies, but dependants, who
may he kindly treated, but must wear the livery of
their masters, go to church as they are bid, live on
all essential points a life regulated by wills other
than their own. It is to bid five millions of men,
possessed of every natural, moral, and legal right that we
possess ; men who have died for us in heaps ; who at this
moment, in every quarter of the world, uphold not only
our rights, but more than our rights--our claims, sometimesl
far in excess of right—whom we trust everywhere with
power, and who in the long history of the empire have
never yet betrayed the trust ; whom we should send to-
morrow against any foe on earth, never doubting their
fidelity—it is to bid them, we say, see once for all that
their solitary hope is in rebellion ; that while they main-
tain their fidelity their will can never be respected, their
consciences never honoured, their idea of social order
never allowed free play, that they will not be even welcome
guests in the house they have helped to build. This
election will determine the drift of British policy for years;
and if the Tories win, for years Great Britian will remain
unaltered, a land ruled by a tolerant feudalism, in which
all are happy except the multitude, all claims are
acknowledged save those of manhood, all rights are
respected save those of free thought, all aspirations are
welcomed save those which tend towards equality.
There is a leader in the London Review upon the letters
of Mr. Ratbbone Greg. Our contemporary remarks that
pure Erastianism is out of date. The Irish Church is de-
fended by three classes of persons—those who are fanati-
cally in dread of the Pope; those who believe in Protes-
tant domination in Ireland ; those who with religious and
social zeal treasure the existence of the English Establish-
ment as essential to the welfare of this country. Mr
Greg is utterly an outsider from all these classes of Church
defenders, and an outsider who defends orthodox
institutions from amidst sceptics does more harm
than good to the objects of his unnatural solicitude.
An Erastian such as Bolingbroke or Disraeli is tolerated
because it is part of his hooour to make tools of sacred
things ; but we shall never see another Hobbes ; and Mr.
Greg, even if he had the strength of that Ulysses, would
bend his bow in vain. Amongst a few whimsical minds
there lurks a disposition to maintain religious establish-
ments without religion ; but the real tendency of the age
is towards the maintenance of religion without religious
establishments. The Established Church of England is in
no danger, because it does not contradict or hamper the
religious life of any section of the community, and because
every day lessens the social disabilities of Nonconformity ;
but its worst enemy could not prejudice this age more dis-
tinctly and bitterly against it than by identifying its
character and fortunes with those of a sister establish-
ment which is neither missionary nor national—which is
condemned to be pruned away wherever it has any chance
of doing active good, and which is maintained wholly
without reference to any spiritual purpose.
The John Bell thinks it was not till after the elderly
remade of tradition had exhausted all her energies in a
fruitless chase after the recalcitrant ducks that she hit
upon the milder method of appealing to their feelings in
the well-known formula, " Duekie, duckie, duckie, come
and be killed." And so the " leading journal "—we are
Conservative enough to adhere to an old-fashioned title,
though it has long ceased to be applicable—after writing
on Thursday as if disestablishment was a (lire punishment
to be drasn down upon the devoted heads of the clergy
by their folly and obstinacy in opposing its mandates and
rejecting its favourite, devotes a leading article on Friday
to convince them that if they did but know their true
interests, it would he the best thing in the world for them
to be robbed " of all they most prize as ministering to their
pride and exaltation." There is something refreshingly

Cool in the whole tone of the article. The most feeble-
minded duck could hardly he taken in by such
an invitation to proffer itself for the slaughter. The
lino of argument is, that it is better to fly to
ills you lau.w not of than endure those you Lave.
The testimony of Mr. Spurgeon to the starvation :system
of Giant Voluntaryism has niparent!y been forgotten by
the Times when it snakes the reckless assertion that it is
an evident and conspicuous fact that every poor clergyman
46 would under a voluntary system have done bettor for
himself, and would even now be able to do better for him-
self." It is the less strange that Mr. Spurgeon's unwilLng
confession should have been forgotten, when even the
oracle's own words of wisdom pass so soon from its memory.
The echoes of its remarkable article on the rectory of
Donnington must have died away, when we find that the
scandal of the low rate of payment of the majority of our
clergy is " not redeemed, bust rather aggravated, by the
existence of rich preferments and high dignities, distributed
by private and political patrons."

MI?. GLADSTON.E.2I2I BOOTLE.

Mr. Gladstone's speech at Bootle referred, in short, to
two subjects—the calumnies which have been uttered
against him, and the position of the Church of England.
On the former subject he shewed at great length that
people had been telling a great many lies about him. In
one case—in nearly all the cases—the facts might have been
got by a little trouble. On the calumny that he was the
executor of the will of Mr. Blundell of Ince, who had left
£200,000 for Roman Catholic purposes, Mr. Gladstone
exclaimed : "There is not a word of truth in it. But
what I want ycu to observe is this—the condition of the
minds of our adversaries. Now, the love of truth is a
great security to us as we walk through a wicked world.
A man ought to be able and desirous to sacrifice
everything for truth. How much, gentlemen, do you
think that any 'one of us ought to sacrifice for the
truth? Well, £lOO perhaps? No. I bid you down £5O.
£2O? No. £10? No. £5? No. One shilling? No. A shilling!
There, now, what do you think of a party who won't
sacrifice a shilling for the truth ? Well, gentlemen, you
probably are all aware that all executors are constituted
by will, and that all bills are deposited in
registries, and that by paying the fee of a shilling
it will be open to any one of these gentlemen
to ascertain whether I was the executor or not;
and yet, strange to say, the very men who grudged a
shilling for the sake of ascertaining the truth have spent
hundreds of pounds in printing and circulating placards
all over the country to disturb the minds of her Majesty's
lieges, by assuring them that this Mr. Gladstone was no
better than, some say a Papist and some say an atheist
in disguise, and that he had himself been executor to the
will of Mr. Charles Blundell of Ince." Mi. Gladstone
reserved his opinion on the subject of female franchise.
Passing to the position of the Church of England as regards
lay agency, ritualism, Sze., the right hon. gentleman
said: "The first question put to me is whether I am
favourable to an extension of popular privilege in the
Established Church of England, with regard either to the
appointment of the clergy, which is a very difficult sub-
ject, or with regard to the position of the laity as members
of the congregation in general. On that subject, gentle-
men. I have no difficulty in replying. Mr. Grenfell stated
at Wigan that he, looking to the state of the Church of
England, could not help being impressed with the idea
that in some way or other it was required to give
some greater development to its energies from within—
meaning, of course, not from within the mere body of the
clergy, but from within the body of the Church, in which
the laity are included, and of which they form the greatest
part. That, I own, is an idea to which lam very greatly
inclined, and I may, perhaps, point out to you that within
the last two sessions of Parliament I have been instru-
mental in passing a bill introduced by me into the House
of Commons, in conjunction with my hon. friends
Sir R. Palmer and Sir G. Grey, for the settlement
of the question of church rates—the whole prin.
ciple of which has been this, that the granting
of the rate out of which, as you know,
the cost of service is usually defrayed, shall be
dependent upon the voluntary votes of the laity, and not
upon any obligation of the law. I considered it a great
recommendation of that bill that it would bring the laity
forward in the concerns of the Church on the one hand,
that it would render them more effective supporters
of the clergyman and more liberal co-operators
with him in works of mercy— a matter which is
very greatly wanted ; and that, on the other hand,
it would give a much more effective control upon the
clergyman—a matter which is also, in my opinion,
greatly wanted—with respect to the conduct of services of
the Church, and with respect especially to the introduc-
tion of alterations in those services. Now, gentlemen, I
am a Churchman by birth, by education, and by
conviction ; and I am not about to purchase, either here or
elsewhere, any one of the weak brethren, or of the doubt-
ful votes, or any other description of support, by conceal-
ing or qualifying that fact ; but my belief is, that the wel-
fare of the Church of England, which, upon the whole, is,
I think, most happily at this moment in the possession
of a very zealous, active, and devoted clergy, depends
to a very great degree, with reference to the dangers
that surround it in the present, and that menace it in the
future, upon the sound and healthful development of the
energies of the laity. Stating that general principle,
gentlemen, you will perceive that it is susceptible of a
wide application." Mr. Gladstone went on to consider
the question of legislation on Ritualism. " Now I must
beg of you to observe that in the case of a subject of this
kind it is one thing to state opinions and another thing to
promise action. No conscientious or intelligent person, in
my opinion, should promise to support a particular mea-
sure for a particular purpose until he is satisfied that the
time has arrived when he can support that measure with
a prospect of attaining or furthering the end in view.
must therefore beg leave to reserve, with regarl to every
question, and especially with reference to those questions
which bear upon religious feeling and conviction and
fashion, freedom of action and judgment under the respon-
sibility which I ask you to commit to me. If we were to
quibble its to the meaning of th. word Ritual' and
Ritualism,' we should find that it is a word that bears a
hundred significations, and, generally speaking, by
Ritualism ' each man means something that the indi-
vidual man, happens to disapprove of. But I lay down
these two principles as sound : first, that this is not the
place where I am to pronounce any censure or disapproval
of anything in the religious profession or practice of any
portion of the Christian world. But I cannot hesitate
to say that the deliberate imitation of the professions
and practices of another religious communion in the
Church of England, contrary to the law and
spirit of the Church of England, is a grave
and serious evil, to which it is quite right that
the attention of the public and of the State should be
directed, and which it is desirable to put down by persua-
sion and moral means, if it he possible ; but if it be not
possible, then, in the last resort, by the unbending autho-
rity of the law. Now, with respect to Ritualism, it
appears to me that that word does in point of
fact, grammatically considered, include every kind
of external religious observance other than the
mere simple expression of the feelings of the mind.
If you take the word in its strictest sense, you can't go
into a Dissenting chapel without finding what may be
called Ritualism. 'There is a great controversy about
Ritualism at this moment, and there has been for many
years past, among the Presbyterians of Scotland. There is
evidently arising many bodies of Christians, and
particularly Protestant Christians other than those of the
Church of England, a desire—l know not whether it be
legitimate or not ; I will give no opinion upon that— a
desire for a greater amount of ritualistic observance than
their fathers were contented with. You know the controver-
sies about organs. In some Dissenting chapels lam told there
are surplices ; and a highly respected 'Dissenting minister
lately published in his lifetime a fixed form of prayer.
All these are matters a wise man will watch and observe,
and not be too precipitate in giving his opinion
about. What I understand of Ritualism in a
bad sense is this. Whatever in the sacred and solemn
worship of God comes between the soul of man and his
Almighty Father and his Redeemer in heaven, in such a
way as not to elevate and raise his feeble faculties
`towards the contemplation of the eternal ar.d supreme,
but to bar him from it that, in my opinion, is
Ritualism. There may be many things that are good in
the way of external observance ; but even with regard to
some of those things which are good, great care and
caution ought to be observed in introducing them to the
use of those who have not given their consent to them,
and who are nut prepared to use them for a beneficial pur-
pose. The apostle says : ' Let all things be done to edifi-
cation ; let all things be done which build up the
Christian man.' Let us take that for our rule. There
's an opinion that in many cases the introduction of music
.n churches, and other things that probably may be
very simple, very innocent, and very beneficial in them-
selves, may have a very bad effect when introduced either
contrary to the will of the congregation or when the con-
gregation are not in a state to turn them to spiri-
tual account, and therefore I confess my great
anxiety is that congregations in these matters should
learn to recognise and admit their responsibility,
so that they should be able to defend themselves

against that sole and autocratic act of the clergy-
inan, which very often may be due to the
best, the highest, and the holiest motives on his
part, but which at the same time ought not to be
attempted except with the concurrence of the Christian
congregation. And now, gentlemen, having said that, I
think I have given an explanation of my general opinions,
and I am bound to look to the views of the existing
Government, whatever they may be. This certainly is no
question of party. It would be a terrible misfortune
fit became one—if questions concerning the internal
ioctrine and discipline of the Church of England ever
became questions of party. Rely on it. the day they
become so will be the day you may bid farewell to any
hope of a satisfactory settlement. We insist watch for
opportunities of time and circumstance, and must
have the opinions of the Government and of the heads
of the Church. I have endeavoured to describe to

you the general circumstances under which my conduct
will be guided, and I venture to think it is your belief
that I should, as far as I could, endeavour to ensure
a faithful application of that principle." The right
hon. gentleman concluded by claiming fur the Liberal
party that they had done the work which had led to leg;is-

The opposite party had first denounced 111 r.

Bright, and then accepted his policy. "If the resistance
of 1866 has been followed up by the resistance of 1868,
why are not the odd numbers to agree with one another
like the even, and why is not the tergiversation of 1867 to
be followed by a like tergiversation in 1869 ?"