The Sun.
London, England, 1868-12-03 00:00:00

MR. DISRAELI'S ADMINISTRATION.

On the 25th February, 1868, Lord Stanley had the
unusual task of announcing to the House of Commons the
resignation of his father, the Earl of Derby. Lord Stanley
himself had been mentioned as a possible successor in the
Premiership, but on this occasion he informed Parliament
that Lord Derby had recommended her Majesty to
send for Mr. Disraeli. The House was adjourned
till the Friday, and on the evening of that day
was again adjourned to the sth March. The changes in
the Cabinet were the substitution of Lord Cairns for Lord
Chelmsford, and Mr. Ward Hunt for Mr. Disraeli
as Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Mr. Sclater-
Booth exchanged the Secretaryship to the Poor-law
Board for that vacant at the Treasury. On the
afternoon of the fifth Mr. Disraeli re-appeared in
the House, and took his place as Prime Minister.
He had not in the meantime undergone the trouble of a
re-election as member for Bucks, a recent statute relieving
him of that necessity, inasmuch as he had been only
transferred from one office to another, and no appeal to his
constituents was required. Mr. Disraeli announced to
the House, amidst some cheering and laughter,
that the Government would adopt a " truly
Liberal policy," and that he would follow in the
footsteps of his predecessor, Lord Derby. On this
occasion Mr. Bouverie made his celebrated speech about
the Liberal " rabble." The new Governmentwere speedily
attacked upon the question of Ireland, and a few nights
after their accession to power Mr. Maguire moved a reso-
lution that the House resolve itself into a committee on the
condition of Ireland. Then Lord Mayo, in a long speech,
set forth the policy of the Government, and made the
statement about " levelling up," which has since been the
subject of such angry controversy.
The Ministerial declaration of policy was shortly fol-
lowed up by Mr. Gladstone's resolutions. During the
debate he declared that " the Irish Church as an esta-
blishment must cease to exist." On the 21st March he
gave notice of the resolutions. On the 28th of that
month Lord Stanley gave notice of a dilatory amend-
ment, and on the 30th the debate on the resolutions
began, and concluded on the early morning of Saturday,
April 4, with a division on which the first was carried by
330 votes to 278, and the Ministry was thus signally defeated
by a majority of . 60. The subsequent events, including
the carrying of the resolutions, the introduction and passing
through the Commons of a Suspensory Bill by Mr. Glad-
stone, and its rejection by the Lords, need only to be
mentioned. One practical result was obtained by
the united action of the Liberal party in this matter, and
that was a pledge from the Government that as soon as the
project of Reform was completed an appeal would be made
to the new constituencies. Under these circumstances,
though not wholly without remonstrance, the Ministry
were permitted to carry on the necessary business of the
session. In order to secure the meeting of the new
Parliament before Christmas, a Registration Bill, by means
of which that object would be facilitated, was passed
through the Legislature with unusual speed, and on Friday,
July 31, Parliament was prorogued. The registrations
having been completed, on the 11th of November the Par-
liament of 1865 was dissolved by proclamation, and the
writs issued. After the second defeat upon the Irish
question, Mr. Disraeli tendered his resignation on the 3rd
of May to her Majesty, which her Majesty declined to
accept, and, in pursuance with the alternative advice
given by her Minister, resolved to dissolve Parliament
after the Reform Bills had been completed, and the
new constituency were in a position tobe appealed to. Since
then the Government have carried the Scotch and Irish
Reform Bills through alternate defeat and victory, and
the House of Lords has rejected the resolutions upon the
Irish Church by an enormous majority. The Government
declared they believed the feeling of the country was with
them, and the Lord Chancellor,amidst tremendous applause,
threw down his celebrated challenge as to a fair field and
no favour. The country has emphatically answered the
challenge. The constituency created by the Conservative
Reform Act has returned a majority of more than 100 in
favour of the Liberal party, and Mr. Disraeli has taken
the unusual course of anticipating the verdict of the House
of Commons, and has resigned. Thus ends the short but
eventful career of the "Young England Ministry."
Within the last few days the Conservatives would have
been in power for two years and a half. Earl Russell's Govern
ment was beaten on Lord Dunkellin's motion on the 18th of
June, 1866, and the third Government of the Earl of
Derby was formally sworn in on the 6th of July fol-
lowing. Orly three members of the Cabinet now
hold the offices which were entrusted to them when
Lord Derby came into power. These are the Earl
of Malmesbury, as Lord Privy Seal ; Lord John
Manners, as First Commissioner of Works ; and Lord
Stanley, as Foreign Secretary. The Premier of July
1866 withdrew from the cares of State early in the present
year ; Mr. Disraeli has exchanged the Chancellorship of
the Exchequer for the post of First Minister; Lord Cairns
has succeeded Lord Chelmsford on the woolsack ; the
Duke of Marlborough has been promoted to the office of
Lord President, leaving the position of Lord Steward;
Mr. Gathorne Hardy has gone from the Poor-law
Board to the Home Office ; the Duke of Bucking-
ham, from the post of Lord President to that of
Colonial Secretary ; Sir John Pakington, from the
Admiralty to the War Office; Mr. Ward Hunt, from the
Financial Secretaryship of the Treasury to the Exchequer;
Sir Stafford Northcote, from the Board of Trade to the
India Office ; Mr. Corry, from the Education Office to the
Admiralty ; and Colonel Wilson Patten, who had then no
place, has been appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland.
Five members of the Cabinet of 1866 have withdrawn from
the Government : Lord Chelmsford, the Marquis of Salis-
bury, the Earl of Carnarvon, General Peel, and Mr.
Walpole. The Earl of Mayo left the Cabinet for the
Indian Viceroyalty.

Another new penny publication has been
stated, the Shamrock. As the name suggests, it is to be
the " Irish national " organ.

A priest of the Church of England has presented
Father Ignatius with an old monastic house and five acres
of land, near St. Albans.

It is reported that the statement of the Bishop of
Capetown, which the John Bull asserted was suppressed at
the instance of the Primo Minister, will shortly be pub-
lished.

The Queen has been graciously pleased to appoint
Colonel Henry Lowther, M.P., to the Lieutenancies of the
counties of Cumberland and Westmoreland, vacant by the
resignation of the Earl of Lonsdale.

A young man was charged at the Southwark Police
Court on Wednesday with stealing ninopence from the pocket
of a waterman, at the entrance to the Victoria Theatre, last
night. In the course of his evidence the complainant stated
that ho had lost ninopence, when the prisoner called out,
"That's a lie; you didn't lose ninepence, as all I took from
your pocket was fivep-once " lle was sentenced to a month's
hard labour.

A writer in the Leisure Hour calculates that a
copy of the Times, with its full supplement, contains
about 20,000 lines, or 200,000 words, and is equal to a
printed octavo volume of 500 pages. The most rapid
writing of a lawyer's clerk, if he wrote for ten hours a
day, would not be able to transcribe it in less than a
fortnight. An ordinary number of the Guardian contains
about 142,000 words,
TESTIMONIAL TO THE DEAN OF EXETER. —The
parishioners of St. James's, Paddington, have presented a
testimonial, worth 500 guineas, to the Very Rev. Dr.
Archibald Boyd, Dean of Exeter, who was for many
years vicar of that parish. It consists of a large orna-
mented piece of plate, with a pair of candelabra of
classical design with emblematical figures of Faith and
Charity.

THE SPEAKER AND LORD E. P. CLINTON.—
Lord E. P. Clinton has issued an address, in which he
refers to his retiring from the contest for the representation
of North Notts, and the part taken in it by Mr. Denison.
his lordship says : "At the time my farewell address
was written I was under the impression, formed upon
what I believed to be sufficient information, that I had
been unfairly treated by my late colleague, and my address
conveys that impression. I have since had occasion to
consider whether that impression was correct or not. I
have seen my late colleague in the presence of my proposer
and agent, and have fully gone into the whole subject ;
and I an\ satisfied that in all that my late colleague did
no want of faith towards myself or towards the Liberal
party can in any way be imputed." Mr. Denison, in his
address to the electors, says "he regrets very much to find
himself separated from his ate colleague, Lord Edward
Clinton, with whom he has acted during the late Parlia-
ment with perfect c)rdiality, and for whom he entertains
sincere feelings of esteem and regard."..