Year: 1868

not obviate the necessity of another dissolution
and another appeal TO the constituencies early
in 1869. A compromise, therefore, is the
result Mr.. Gladstone permits Mr.. Disraeli to
hold Office and Mr. Disraeli does not object
that Mr.. Gladstone should lead the House Of
Commons and legislate at will Such is the
situation and such are the reasons why Mr..
Disraeli, in spite of the adverse vote of Friday
evening, continues to be Prime Minister OF
England.


AS to the debate of Friday evening, interest
centres chiefly in the amendment. By whom
soever conceived or introduced it is impossible
TO refuse to admit that it was q flank move
ment of very skilful and very dangerous
kind. A suspensory bill in regard to May
nOoth and in regard to the Regiuw Donum is
a proper logical sequence of the Suspensory
bill for the Irish Church Establishment. But
the same might be said of the Scottish Church
Establishment and of the English Church
Establishment. If the Irish Church is to
go by the board, why should not the grant
to Maynooth and the grant to the Presby-
terians? If the endowment of religion is
to be discontinued in Ireland, why should it
be continued in Scotland or in England? If
the principle of State endowment is wrong at
one place, it is wrong always and every
where. If it is indefensible in Ireland it is
equally indefensible in England and in Scot
land. This is the issue which the amendment
has brought distinctly before the mind of the
entire British people. II was not convenient
to Mr.. Gladstone and his friends to encourage
such view of the case. 1t was too broad
too sweeping, too rapidly revolutionary. The
amendment was therefore voted down. 1t will
not surprise us, however if it be found to have
worked world of mischief, to have set the
nation by the ears and to have given the ''No
Popery" cry tremendous impulse all over the
three Kingdoms.


Looking at the State Church from our own
favored standpoint as a free people we can
have no difficulty in arriving at a conclusion as
to whittier events are drifting all over the Old
World. Our system is the only true and
correct one. We tolerate all forms of Chris
tianity-we favor none. Our system will
sooner or later be everywhere adopted. The
State Church system may have had its ex-
cellences, and may have been the best pos
sible for other times and other circumstances ;
but the times and circumstances have changed !;
we live under new conditions and new require
ments, and the excellences, whatever they have
been, are less apparent than formerly. The
Irish Church movement is but the entering in
of the wedge which will ultimately break up
the Church Establishment system of Great
Britain. The movement will receive a power
full impulse from the new constituencies. The
movements now going on in Italy, where Victor
Emanuel sells Church property, and in Austria,
where Francis Joseph disregards concordats
and politely informs the Pope that much as he
values the blessing of His Holiness he values
the throne of the Hapsburgs more-these move
ments have a similar significance, and they
will have similar result. On the voluntary
offerings Of the people, and not on the benef-
cence of monarchs or on the grants of legisla-
lures the Church of the future must be
dependent, and it is not future which is dark
or cheerless to any of the sections into which
that Church is now divided.