The Sun.
London, England, 1868-09-22 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC 30'01MLLO,

The Report of the Commission on the Irish Church, says
the Time; presents itself with all the solemnity of a funeral,
not to say the silence of a spectre. Observing the strictest
rules of decorum, and shaping itself to common imagina-
tions, it is exactly what was expected, and irreproachably
what it was to be. The reduction of scale is perfectly
uniform, only " fine by degrees and beautifully less." In
all its prominent features, it is simply to Lord Derby's
Irish Church Reform what that was to the previous state

of things. There is not the slightest attempt to surprise,
to put the public on a new scent, to alter the aspect of
affairs, or even to compromise. The last, indeed, was not
. . . .

within the instructions of the commission, but commis-
sioners, before this, have made exceedingly good use of
their opportunities to represent the state of things as they
'visited it to appear. There is something like a bid for
support to the holders of Church leases and to the payers
of tithe rcntcharge, but otherwise the Church of Ireland,
as seen in this picture, exhibits only that mixture of obsti-
nacy and humility which makes up into vulgar resignation.
It is drawing its robe about its limbs. It proposes to cast
a somewhat smaller shadow over the land, and so leave its
enemies less excuse. Snch areport is not even an addition

to the materials of the question. Its value has not even
been discounted ; it has been simply anticipated, and

taken for what it is worth— which is, indeed, very little.
It neither helps towards the general decision, nor yet
towards the disposal of the numerous difficulties confes-

sedly in the way of any settlement.
The Standard considers it a significant fact that the

changes recommended by the commissioners are so few

and on the whole so limited in their character. Such are

not the changes which would be counselled by a commis-
sion investigating the arrangements of a Church deserving
the description given of it by Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Lowe,

and their adherents—a Church without work and barren

of fruits, " whose cure of souls was a sinecure," and whose
emoluments were out of all proportion to her duties.
Such were not even the changes made in 1833 by a

Minister not less attached to the Church than

those now struggling to save her from threatened
spoliation. The vast difference between the sweeping
revolution of that year and the moderate and almost

trivial reforms now suggested is the measure of the
difference between the condition of the Church then and

now, and proves both bow complete and sufficient was the

correction of anomalies and the redress of abuses effected
under the auspices of Mr. Stanley, and how earnestly the
Church has since exerted herself to fulfil the trust reposed
in her. It cannot be supposed that the commission would
be inclined to do their work imperfectly ; to pass over
proved injustice, or permit lucrative sinecures or mon-
strous disproportion between work and emolument to
remain untouched. Their very tenderness for the Church

world induce them to deal boldly with such dis•
orders as they could detect, and to make their scheme of
reform as thorough and as attractive as possible, knowing

that it must form the basis of the alternative measures to

be offered to Parliament and to the country as a substitute
for Mr. Gladstone's scheme of confiscation and disestablish-

znent. They would be tempted to err, if at all, rather on
the side of severity than of leniency, in order to produce
a counter•proposition which might satisfy wavering minds,
and perhaps win over some of the more moderate and