The Sun.
London, England, 1868-12-09 00:00:00

A STRONG ARGUMENT.

The process of "bottling " has attained to the
dignity of a science during the recent elections. The
evidence taken in the mse of the Bolton election
riots revealed the steps adopted by some enthusiastic
pohtLcians to nfia-e a convert. A man was dr:nhing
with sonic Liberals at a hotel, and when he got into
then dreet. Ys senses left him, and after a time 116
oud Imuself in a mill. A numi,er of Irishmen
surreunded him, and eNecting to his leaving, they
took the precaution of knocking him down upon some
h:iy. They then brought somerain in a gill-pt, held his
hands, and poured it down his throat. Ile was not
allowed to leave the building until he had promised
to vote for the Liberal candidate, and two
or three
men escorted him to the booth. Other evidence of a
similar kind was given, one witness stating that rum
was poured down his throat to such an extent that
his voice had been injured ever since, while another
said he was knocked down in the street as lin
was on his way home, and carried into the mill.
The much-desired peascssion of the franchise has in
some cases proved anything but a boon, and the malt
who, according to a comic contemporary, had a vote
for the first time during sixty years, and announced
his intention of " keening it." was wise in his way_

44 SOFT REBUKES IN BLESSINGS ENDED." 01
A Rev. Dr. Moss has been drinking tea at a Con-
servative meeting at Christchurch. He made a
speech, and in the course of it remarked that he had
lately been to town on business, and passing the
Reform Club, saw there an illuminated legend. II
was " God save the Queen." He again looked and
saw another "illumination," "Gladstone and Bright?
The reverend gentleman was much moved thereat.
and his heart was hot within him." He said to him-:
self, " God save the Queen when she has got into
such company. She requires to be saved, because I
am quite sure she is in danger. I want you all to go
home to-night, and pray' God save the Queen.' And
I may say God save Bright 'and Gladstone, because
I believe they are running into much danger. I
have such an affection for them that lam quite ready to
say, God save John Bright and William Ewart Glad-
stone." Doctor Moss isevidently under theimpression
that these statesmen are going down a very broad road,
and are anxious to take her Majesty for company.
As a loyal subject, his first thought is for the Queen ;
as a Christian, he next prays for these wicked men.
rather than give them a kick to accelerate them. We
can well imagine the scene at the tea-fight : the
women under nervous emotion, generated partly by
a hot room, partly by strong tea, and partly by the
doctor's oratory, shedding sympathetic tears ; the
Conservative working men listening with open mouth
and eyes of horror. To complete the picture, we can
imagine the rev, gentleman taking refuge behind his
pocket-handkerchief, not to weep, but to repress a
choking tendency to burst out into laughter.
AN EX-MINISTER, ON THE NATAL DIFFICULTY.
The Duke of Buckingham appears to have been
supported by his under-secretary in resisting the
consecration of Mr. Macrorie. Mr. Adderley writes
to the Times—on the eve of the S. P. C. K. meeting
—protesting against the proposed grant. The letter
is very strongly worded, and if it had appeared before
the elections, the clergy would scarcely have worked
so hard for the late Government as they did work,
Mr. Adderley says : "It is the special folly of certain
Churchmen to suppose that Convocation, or any body
they may institute among themselves, has any legal
authority or power beyond their own internal
relations. Dr. Colenso is de facto Bishop of Natal.
His letters patent remain uncancelled, and
no valid decision has been judicially given
either against his doctrine or authority. For
the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge to
grant out funds entrusted to it for that purpose to
enable a rival bishop to exercise episcopal functions
within an unoccupied see is either to ignore and
usurp authority, or to treat Christian knowledge as
synonymous with schism." He adds that under
whatever name Mr. Macrorie may disguise himself,
it is his intention to trespass episcopally on the occu-
pied see of Natal, and that if this is to be done
at all it had better be done openly, for
" the mask will not even hide, still less excuse,
the violence done to Constitutional authority and
Church principles, nor mitigate the injury caused to
the permanent interests of the Christian religion. The
condition of the Church in Natal is deplorable, but its
wounds will not be healed by precipitate remedies -of-
violence to its very life. authorities, Church
committees, and hostile congregations are not the
best means of arriving at a condemnation and
extirpation of heresy."