The Bee-Hive. — 1876-05-13 (London, England)

THE BEE-HIVE.  and consideration towards the elective councils, and to respect scrupulously the rights of every one. M. Ricardo adds :—" We must afford the country facilities for resuming possession of its own affairs, while we at the same time retain the part belonging to the central power. The prefeots must resist, though without pre-occupation or jealousy, any tendency towards encroachment on the part of the constituted bodies which have been newly emancipated. The Administration must henceforth accustom the nation to make use of the liberties it has acquired. The duty of the prefects is one of friendly impartiality:: for the Government of the Republic m.ust be of no party." The circular concludes by Pointing out the advantages France ought to derive from a Republican Government, in the promotion of which the prefects are to labour for the sake of their country.  Senor Castelar has fired another election speech in the Cortes of BPaltl. It met the expectation of his admirers. The ground of argument he took was that what is styled "Catholic unity" never existed in its entirety, there being at all past times a leaven of freedom of religious thought in the country, which, at the present time, is believed by the impartial to contain as many as eleven thousand decided Protestants, besides an uncounted multitude of those who have no particular religion, least of all any sympathy with. Rome. One thing the orator seems to have decided, and that is, that the present Ministry have allowed liberty of instruction. The approaching return to Spain of the young King's mother and grandmother bodes no good to the Spanish nation, and the Church Patty are full of thd old fire. When Senor Ortez publicly asked he whether they would shut up the forty places of Protestant Worship and drive the worshippers out of the country, one of their old leaders replied that they certainly would.  he parochial clergy of this country are responsible officers; and, if they really willnot perform the functions which they have underlaicen, they ought to resign their duties, and place themselves in a position of independence. But here is another burial scandal, more scandalous, if possible; than any that went before it. A. man at liarychuroh, Torquay, had the misfortune to break his occasioning an amount of severe suffering, which affected his 'id, during the aberrations of which he hanged himself. The cause of death was made subject of inquest, the verdict of the jilty being that he committed suicide in a fit of temporary 111811414 Y. Now, there is no doubt that it is the duty of the clergyman, as a public functionary, to bury such a corpse with all the usual formalities. In this case, however, ;the rites were mutilated in a manner oven more injurious to the feelings of the mourners than utter refusal of them would have been. The curate left in charge by the vicar, would have denied them altogether; but the churchwardens entreated him to officiate as usual, and the vicar, by telegraph, directed him to do so. His compliance, however, was most markedly reluctant and defective. Instead of surplice, he appeared In a black garb, probably the cassock, reading only the former Part of the service, and refusing to complete it at the grave side. 48 matter of fact against him, he did not complete the office, a Mutilation which, we suppose, might be made the foundation of a !ego. charge against him. The man, perhaps, Was in humble life: !lilt what if he had been a peer of the realm, who, in a sudden ,impulse, entirely at variance with his known nature and disposition, had thrown himself from a great height and died under the effects iof. tho ? Would the same or any other clergyman have treated his remains and, those who followed them to the grave in this manner? And yet; we say that the grave levels all distinctions, and SO it does except in the minds of insolent or obsequious Priests,  The Merchant Shipping Bill has passed through committee amid cheers from both sides of' the House of Commons, a sign that it h" undergone material improvement, but also that the opponents °f a thorough reform have had considerable success in thflUiilnisingeir efforts. For example, by the mere force of majority, a clause was rejected by which Mr. Plimsoll proposed that disclassed ships shouldbe deemed unseaworthy until resurveyed under the Board of Trade. On the other hand, Mr. Secretary Cross, the %13t among his colleagues to yield under reasonable pressure, pronext session to bring in a Bill to amend the disciplinary clauses of the Shipping Act, Sir Charles Adderley, on whom wise