The Sun.
London, England, 1868-03-24 00:00:00

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SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

Of course the theme of the morning papers is Mr.
Gladstone's motion. The Times' first leader commences
thus :—The child of many prayers has been brought forth
to the light of day. Mr. Gladstone has submitted to the
Mouse of Commons the terms of his motion relative to the
Irish Church. He proposes to ask the House to assent to
three resolutions. The first declares that the Irish Church
as an Establishment must cease to exist, regard being had
to personal interests and the individual rights of property.
'The second resolution proposes to enforce the first by pre-
venting the creation of new interests, so far as the exer-
cise of public patronage is concerned. Mr. Gladstone asks
the House in the third resolution to assent to an address to
her Majesty praying heito place at the disposal of Parlia-
went her rights in the temporalities of the Irish Episcopate
so that they may be within the disposition of the Legislature
and await the final decision of Parliament on the general
question. Much criticism has been wasted, and more will be
wasted, on Mr. Gladstone's motion. It is inopportune. It
is obscure. It is too abstract. It is too detailed. It ought
to have been deferred until after Easter, or after Whitsun-
tide, or till the next session, or the Greek Kalends. These
and a thousand more observations of a similar character
may be heard at any hoUr within the charmed circles of
Parliamentary intelligence. But there is no man who
hears them—indeed, there is no man who propounds
them—who does not know perfectly well how valueless
they are. All critical motions are inopportune, and are
either too obscure or too plain, or both. It would be
much better if the cavillers at Mr. Gladstone's motion
were to imitate the conduct of Mr. Disraeli. He can-
not be supposed to appreciate the resolutions of
which notice was given last night. He has already
lamented his hard fate that the disaffection of seven
hundred years should culminate immediately upon
his becoming the head of a Ministry. But whatever
faults the enemies of Mr. Disraeli may impute to him, it
must be conceded that he understands his own position
and the feeling of the House of Commons. We shall be
surprised if he condescends to the weakness of complaint
that Mr. Gladstone has brought his Irish policy to the
test of a vote. Last night, at all events, he presented an
admirable contrast to such pusillanimity. He treated Mr.
Gladstone with frankness and dignity." In truth, it was
evident that if Mr. Gladstone meant to justify his
position as leader of the Opposition he was bound to pro-
voke the encounter. From all sections of his followers
from old Whigs, economic purists, Dissenting Radicals
and philosophers—Mr. Horsman, Mr. Lowe, Mr. Bright,
and Mr. Mill—there came one cry, and Mr. Glad-
stone had no choice but to put himself at the head
of the mavement, or to abdicate all claim to lead at all.
During the whole course of last session he was " like the
cat i' the adage," but the time had come when he was
forced to determine whether he would risk wetting his
feet or forego the prizes of the future. He spoke out,
and his doubts being done his course was clear. The
travail of hesitation wail past, and the future was plain.
There was nothing before him but to test the temper of
the House of Commons upon the next great issue of legis-
lation. The three resolutions are the result of his delibe-
ration, and Mr. Disraeli has virtually appropriated next
week to their discussion. On Monday the warfare will
begin, and on Friday night, the eve of the Easter holy-
clays, it will close.

The Daily News observes that the three resolutions hancr
together. No true Liberal can refuse to vote for the first
of them ; and practically it carries the second and the
third with it. The last two are indeed the necessary
translation into practice of the abstract principle affirmed
in the first. They are pledges and proofs of sincerity.
After what Mr. Disraeli said, it is scarcely possible that
he should seek to influence the division on Mr. Gladstone's
motion by the threat of dissolving. The only inferenCe of
which his language admits is that he will provisionally
acquiesce in Mr. Gladstone's resolutions, should they be
carried against him, and reserve his appeal for the general
election and the new Parliament. Until Mr. Disraeli
compels us to abandon this interpretation of the statement
made by him, we shall gladly give him credit for a course
of conduct which, in being sensible and business-like, is to
that extent patriotic. If the imbecility of the Ministerial
proposals should compel the House of Commons to act as
a sort of Provisional Government, and to enunciate, on
the invitation of the Opposition leader, a policy of its own,
pending the election and decision of its successor, the
blame does not rest with it or him. It is imperative that
the great issue should be placed fairly before the country,
and that the two parties and the individual members of
each should have the opportunity of showing beyond
reach of mistake on which side they are ranged.
Mr. Gladstone's resolutions, if adopted by the House of
Commons, will, in the opinion of the Post, strike the death-
blow to the Irish Church. If exception be taken to them
it most assuredly will not be on the ground of being equi-
vocal or vague. They embody, in the clearest and most
distinct language, the opinion that it is expedient for the
interests of the empire that the Irish Church Establish-
ment should be abolished. The Rubicon is now definitely
passed, and it only remains to be seen whether those who
are nominally ranged under the banner of the Liberal
chief will have the courage to follow the leader. Mr.
Gladstbne can only point the way. It would he premature
to speculate on the precise manner in which Mr. Grad-
stone will propose to carry his resolutions into effect.
Although, for the purpose of obtaining an expression
of opinion from Parliament, it may not be necessary
to point out the nature of the ultimate measures which
must be taken, satin it is apparent that in order to secure
the acceptance of the resolutions their practicability must
be demonstrated. The first resolution, for example,
affirms that the disestablishment of the Irish Church
should be effected with a due regard to personal interests
and private rights. The announcement of this proviso
was received with laughter by the occupants of the Con-
servative benches. It is, of course, impossible that personal
interests and private rights shall be entirely unaffected by
such a measure as that proposed, but it will rest with Mr.
Gladstone to shew that such interference may be reduced
to a minimum. The forthcoming battle will, however, in
the main be fought on very broad grounds. Is the endowed
Church in Ireland essential to the well-being of the em.
pire? This is virtually the question which the House of
Commons will be called upon to answer.
To move that the Irish Church should cease to exist as
an Establishment is, the Herald says, the cheapest of all
ways of bidding for office. It entails the minimum of
responsibility upon the movers, and inflicts the maximum
Of inconvenience upon the Government. To rob the
Church is generally the first step in every revolution. It
is a sort of confiscation which involves the least political
loss upon the "party of progress," and is the most popular
'with those who are not among the victims of spoliation.
It is the most inexpensive way of gaining a character for
liberality. Moreover, Church endowments are always
more difficult to defend than to attack. The Liberal
party, having been recently educated by the philosophers
and guides to believe that no good can be done for Ireland
sinless we follow once more the old native precedents, and
despoil or dismiss every one in possession, have naturally
commenced their course of Irish reform by threatening
the landlords with evictions and the Church with rapine.
The rapidity with which Mr. Gladstone himself has com-
pleted his education upon the question of the Irish Ciiureh
is not the least of the marvels with which posterity will
have to credit that profound and plastic genius. We have
heard a good deal lately of the education of the Conserva-
tive party in the true principles of Reform ; but when has
there ever been witnessed in English politics a conversion
so rapid and so thorough as that of Mr. Gladstone on the
Irish Establishment ? The enthusiastic cheers of the
Liberals have proclaimed the fact that at last they have
contrived, by throwing a net with very large meshes and
of a convenient elasticity, to catch some who will lead and
some who will follow. As a political device, the raising
of the Irish Church question has a certain value. It may
give a semblance of discipline to the Liberal ranks ; and
this is all probably that it was intended to do. As a
measure of relief for the Irish discontent Mr. Gladstone's
resolutions are worse than useless.
The Stancla;-d complains that Mr. Gladstone has inter.
rupted public business and the passing of social measures
by his resolutions. It almost questions the policy of Mr.
Disraeli in granting the chief of the Opposition a week for
discussing a question which has already been discussed
very extensively. Mr. Disraeli, however, possesses a con-
fidence. which disdains to take account of the possibility of
defeat, and therefore grants the time. We fully believe
the result will justify this tone ; that the House will not
consent to waste a year and interrupt in the midst a work
to whose principles it has already agreed, and which is
now, after years of trouble and strife, in a fair way to be
accomplished, for the mere purpose of gratifying the rest-
less ambition of a leader who is disliked by none so heartily
as by the elite of his own party. We do not believe that
the Liberals will allow their votes to be forced ; that
because many or them are committed on the subject of
Irish endowments they will consider themselves bound to
vote for a motion which, nowise really affecting that ques-
tion, has and a real purpose which is not theirs: in
a word, we do not believe that they will feel compelled to
assent to a motion for the ejectment of a Ministry merely
because it is couched in terms which formally coincide with
their political professions.

The resolutions of Mr. Gladstone seem to the Star
almirahly- adapted, not merely to raise the general ques-
tion, but to raise it in such a way that the prucent Parlia-
ment may properly take action in it. Mr. Gladstone had
to choose between two difficulties. For the present Parlia-
ment to do nothing would be disgraceful ; to do anything
comprehensive, practical, and final, would be impossible.
A re olution merely declaring that the House disapproved
of the principle of the Irish Establishment would not be
enough ; a resolution calling on the present Parliament to
proceed at once to sweep away the Establishment would
be too much. The resolutions, of which notice was given
last night, are more than an abstract declaration ; they
recommend the first step towards
.practical action, and
that just such a step as an expiring Parliament would
properly and naturally take in dealing with such 'a griev-
ance as the 94 tence of the Irish Chute.
. .