The Sun.
London, England, 1868-08-24 00:00:00

SIR ROUNDELL PALMER ON THE IRISH

CHURCH.

Sir Roundell Palmer addressed his constituents
at Richmond on Friday night.
Sir Roundell met with an enthusiastic reception,
and was introduced to the meeting by the chair-
man (Mr. Leonard Cooke) as one of the greatest
living lawyers.

Sir Roundell, in the course of a speech which
occupied nearly two hours in delivery, reviewed
the course of legislation on the Reform question,
stating that so long back as 1865 he pronounced
in favour of household suffrage, on church rates,
and legal reforms. I think those who have been
newly admitted to the franchise may pardon me
if, on an occasion like the present, when
a man is inevitably compelled to speak for
himself—a thing which to me is very dis-
tasteful—if on such an occasion I refer you,
as evidence at all events that I was perfectly sincere
in the support which I afterwards gave to the some-
what larger extension of the suffrage proposed by
the present Government—if I refer you to an occa-
sion which occurred in the year 1867, when Mr.
Bright, who on that occasion was the mark of
every man's obloquy and scorn, as be is now of
every man's praise—(hear, hear)—when Mr. Bright
declared that he was in favour of a measure of
household suffrage, that he thought that the right
point to proceed to, and the right point at which to
stop. For my own part, I thought that such a
step might even at that time be- taken with
safety, and, holding that opinion, I should even
then personally have preferred taking that step
at once to leaving it to be taken at two diffe-
rent stages with the uncertainty of what might
happen between, or under what circumstances the
second step might have to be taken. You know,
therefore, that lam at all events not one of the
more modern converts to the doctrine of household
suffrage. I was certainly not an advocate of preci
pating the time of bringing the matter forward until
I saw it was practicable, yet that was the opinion I
had formed. With the exception of Mr. Bright, I
believe I was the first person to give utterance to
that opinion in Parliament. The essence of Go-
vernment is that those that govern shall make the
laws, and those for whom the laws are made enjoy
in this case the inestimable value of living in a land
of liberty. We have more to do in the government
of ourselves. That is a blessing England enjoys
above all other countries in the world, and I
wish to see it increasedmore and more—those things
which are wrong in our institutions changtA,
and those things which are good made better.
I believe there can be no life without progress, and
without growth in societies or states, but most as-
suredly I trust to the evidence of progress under
former reforms, and to the present the evidence of
the conduct and the general morality of the people
is satisfying me that they have no evil designs ;
that we may express with our hearts the sentiment
for which Mr. Gladstone was for a time vilified and
ridiculed, that they are fellow creatures, our flesh
and blood, having the same interest with ourselves,
and in the sight of God as good as any one of our-
selves. (Cheers and slight disturbance.) Coming
to the Irish Church question, the learned gentleman
said he was anxious at the outset to make one cor-
rection regarding a matter in which Mr. Gladstone
bad frequently been misrepresented. It had been
said that nothing would have been heard of
the Irish Church had not the Tories been in
power, and had not Mr. Gladstone wanted office.
To his certain knowledge that was not the truth.
In the year 1863, at a time when no one was bring-
ing forward the question, or seemed particularly
likely to do so, Mr. Gladstone told him privately
that he had made up his mind on the Irish Church
subject, and that he did not know how long he
could be able to keep himself from giving expression
to his mind. It certainly took him by surprise at
the time, but Mr. Gladstone's mind being made
up so long ago, it would be the most extravagant
absurdity and injustice in the world to say that
when he saw a favourable tine for giving prac-
tical expression to the opinion he entertained he was
not right in taking advantage of that opportunity.
He believed from the bottom of his heart
that Mr. Gladstone was actuated by no other
feeling than that of an honest and sincere desire
to promote the best objects of the country.
(Applause.) With regard to his own views on the
subject, he shared, of course, in the common wish
to reconcile difficulties in Ireland, and to restore
peace, contentment, and harmony to all parts of the
United Kingdom. But be must be satisfied the
remedies proposed for effecting this should be, in
the first place, intelligible ; in the second place just;
in the third place likely to answer their purpose ;
and, in the fourth place, safe for the general inte-
rests of the country. (Applause.) After vindi-
cating his claim to be considered an uncompro-
mising supporter upon all occasions of religious
liberty and of political equality, he proceeded to
apply the principles he had laid down to the Irish
Church question. The arguments in the way of
disendowment based upon the Coronation Oath
and the Act of Union, and upon the
supremacy of the Crown, he dismissed as
not for one moment to be entertained by
sensible men. Nor did he agree with those who
argued that it was the abstract duty of the State to
have an Established Church:everywhere. Establish-
ments must be considered on their merits, and not
on any question of abstract rights. (Applause.)
He distinguished altogether, however, between the
political establishment of religion and the rights of
property, which are expressed by the term endo mo-
ment; but for the restoring peace, contentment,
and harmony in Ireland, he should not feel himself
bound in principle to object to the appropriation of
any surplus revenues now enjoyed by the Irish
Church in places where they were disproportioned
to the wants of the Protestant population to
purposes of general public utility. That ap-
peared to him an extremely difficult thing, for
disendowment assumed that the revenues were
not wanted for the purposes for which they
were intended ; that they did not practically do
the good which they were meant to do in those
places. No doubt many places in Ireland were in
this condition, and it seemed to be pretty gene-
rally believed that the Irish Church Commission
would recommend Parliament to take the revenues
from those places and give them to the Protestants
I Of the Established Churches in other parts of Ire-