The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1868-04-07
CHANGE OF ENGLISH foLtCY TOWARDS

indicates the approach Of still more impor-
tant change in British imperial policy. What
is called the Irish Church, or State Church in
Ireland, is merely the English Church projec-
ted by extraneous force into that country, and
maintained there as symbol Of domination
alien alike to the religion, the traditions, and
the affections Of the Irish people. Less than
one-ffth of them are commitments Of this
church, and of the remaining four-6fths
nearly the whole are Catholics. There is more
tenable ground for preserving the church es-
adjustment in England, inasmuch as it has in
that country the adhesion Of large majority
Of the people. But in Ireland it is simply an
institution of a conquering power, formal
and visible memento to remind the Irish that
they are a subject people who are not admit
ted to footing of equality with other COM
munities included under tie same imperial
rule. The argument of the Tory opponents
of the disendowment of the established
church in Ireland, is that this church is
bound up, indirectly, but inextricsbly, with
the established church in England, and that
the abolition Of the one will be fatal blow to
the stability Of the other. And Mr.. Disraeli,
constrained by the logic of his position as the
ministerial representative and organ of the
Tory party, has been compelled to take his
stand on this argument in resisting the Bright
and Gladstone proposition for disestablishing
the Irish Church. But in doing so, he has,
with Characteristic tact and foresight, alb
stained from defending the policy of church
endowment within any sectarian limit He
advocates the policy on the broad ground that.
without some sort of ecclesiastical endow
ment, political authority must be divorced
from the principle of religion, and that whole
some and stable government is impossible
unless it is in some way associated with this
principle This aspect of the question is adj
mirably presented in Mr.. Disraeli's own
words-thus:
think there is nothing that we should be more
deeply impressed with than the importance OF
connecting the principle OF religion with govern.
ment II you do not connect the principle OF
religion with the principle OF government. you
must reduce the power aud degrade the character
of government. III you once divorce political au-
hority from the principle Of religion, do not see
what you can come to but mere anair OF ponce.
(Cheers.) IL you admit that t Is wise to connect
| mind Is naturally brought 10 endowment. 1t Is
the practical mode Of carrying the system into
operation. II gives corporate character 10 the
religious principles which inflnt nee men. A
| church-an ecclesiastical endowment-a church,
whatever its Characterization when use the word
church. speak not only OF the church OF this
| country or evensof the Roman Catholic Church,
but of any body Of religions men who have any
| orgsnizauon-snch church s'esdies faith. II Is
bulwark alike against incredibly and fsnaticism,
and do not myself practically see how snch a
state of things can be carried on, unless you
adopt the principle OF endowments. .,r
There is ample room in this declaration for
Mr.. Disraeli, as premier, to adopt a strategy
similar to that with which, as leader of the
Tory opposition, he COMPOUNDED and defeated
| the Russell Gladstone ministry on the suffrage
reform question. If he resigns without try
| ing such a strategy, the omission will be
caused by restraints imposed upon him by
the ecclesiastical prejudices of his Tory sup
porters, and not by any want of holiness and
dash on his part. His stand on the general
| principle of church endowment was doubt
less taken as a preparatory step for cutting
under the Liberals in this emergency, as he
| did when Parliament was wavering between
the two parties on the question of enlarging
the, electoral franchise, by proposing to
include all orthodox churches on equal terms
in a common system of endowment Thus
he would outbid the Liberals both with the
Irish Catholics and the English nonconformi-
lists, while the adherents of the English
| Church and the Scottish Kirk might see in
the measure, liberal and yet conservative, q
prudent expedient for battling the schemes Of
the destructive liberalism represented by
Bright and Gladstone, which logically tends
if it does not expressly aim, to sweep away
church endowments of every character,
whether in England, Ireland or Scotland
As far as general policy towards Ireland is
concerned, Mr.. Gladstone can claim no credi
for an advanced spirit of reform.
No part of Mr. Disraeli's late remarkable
speech was so unanswerabls and overwhelm
ing as that in which he tainted Mr.. Glad
stone with having been in power, from tins
to time, for nearly quarter of a century, anC
vet having only Just found out that something
must be done for Ireland; and in which TIL
minister reminded Parliament that Liberia
ministry first suspended hdbeds corpus; that
under Liberal ministry, Fenianism hat
grown up, and that not until it was displaced
on account of its vacillating and ambiguou
policy, by the present Tory ministry, hat
Messrs. Gladstone and Bright, and other Lib
eral leaders, given single thought to the sub
ject of Irish reform.
We recount these developments of the con
test in Parliament which has just resulted il
the defeat of the present ministry on the mo
ton to postpone the Irish Church bill t
the next session. in order to show the i'm
mense stride which English public opinion
reflected in both the Tory party and tn
Liberal party. has taken with reference to Ire
land as an integrant of the British empire
Enough is revealed to make it clear that
whether Gladstone or Disraeli is to be prin
minister, the Irish Church, as an exclusiv
establishment. is doomed. And this fact
not SO much triumph for Fenianism, or 70
Irish Catholicism, as it is a triumph for th