BX 5550 B336v A A ucso JTHERN ,. / . 7 1 1 2 4 LIBRARY FACILITY b BAXTER THE VOICE OF THE COUNTRY UPON THE IRISH CHURCH THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES [FROM THE A UTHOR. THE VOICE OF THE COUNTRY UPON THE IELS1I CHUKCIi. ROBERT BAXTER, ESQ. LON HON : EDWARD STANFORD, 6 & 7, CHARING-CROSS, S.W. I860. [FliOM THE A UTIIOli. THE VOICE OF THE COUNTRY UPON THE XKISI! CHURCH. PA* ROBERT BAXTER, ESQ. LONDON: EDWARD STANFORD. G & 7. CHARING-CKOSS, S.W. 1869. PMCE SIXPENCE. The careful reading of a General Election is as neces- sary to the Politician, as the observation of the barometer to a Meteorologist. The latter does not draw his conclusions from the mere rise or fcdl of the mercury, but tales accoiud of its previous state of settled altitude or stormy variation, and guides his judgment by carefully weighing each one of the various influences which affect it. So must the Politician, if he would draw sound inferences of the bearing of public opinion upon any proposed measure from the returns of a General Election, carefully discriminate how much of these results is due to other and collateral causes, and eliminate these foreign matters before he can safely mark the national voice on the selected topic. As many unwarranted assump- tions have been drawn from the mere numerical returns, any attempt to point out and discuss the various public questions which have influenced the votes of the electors cannot be other- wise than welcome. 10, Queen Squaee, Westmixsier, Uh February, 1869. THE SSS'o VOICE OF THE COUNTRY UPON THE IRISH CHURCH. Cheat Britain is practically governed by public ^J 111 ' 011 of opinion — not the opinion of to-day, which may be ?"" 011 - varied to-morrow, but that pronounced opinion which, once clearly formed in the English mind, holds its own against all combatants — not the opinion of a class, nor of a party, nor of a district merely, nor even of one or two of the four great divisions of which the United Kingdom is composed, but the pre- dominant opinion of the Empire. The search after public opinion is often perplexing, and inquirers may lose themselves in their pursuit ; but, if patiently waited for, it in due time directs the political energy of the people, selects the Members of the House of Commons, predominates in the v< dee of that House, attracts the concurrence of the Peers, and makes its way to the Throne in the choice of the Executive Government. The framework of our Constitution is such as I^Jj, ,'',') 1 ,',''" readily to adapt itself to the varying phases oi itself to public J L j o ± opinion. public opinion. The executive control of the country is so far separated from the Crown that a change of the policy of our Government is accom- plished not, as in other countries, by the overthrow of a dynasty, but by the resignation of a Cabinet ; and the greatest constitutional changes merely re- sult in lifting the party which has inaugurated them into the place of executive officers of the Crown, without airy shock to the loyalty, either of the worsted or of the successful rivals. The British The slow growth and infrequent changes of the Constitution ^ . of slow growth British Constitution are indications of its strength but great _ ... permanence, and solidity, as the succulent plant, which springs up speedily only rapidly to wither, strikingly con- trasts with the slowly rising oak which centuries its character- Jo not weaken. It is equally true that if you mark istics indicate x ^ those of the the characteristics of a nations government you people. i A will readily learn the character of its people. A stable constitutional Government, ensuring freedom of thought and speech, liberty of action, protection of rights, and equal laws administered with impar- tiality, indicates a people not given to change, bold, self-confident whilst self-restrained, religiously sub- missive to law whilst unflinchingly maintaining liberty of action, of opinion, and of religious wor- ship. Such a people have all the elements of sound and successful energy, self-reliance, and national success. They can maintain among themselves a conflict of opinion and carry on a struggle for party superiority without descending into poisoned bitterness, or being goaded into violence or blood- shed. Government The Government by party, though not of necessity part of our Constitution, has yet been the habitual practice of our nation. Our Senate-house always finds within its walls Her Majesty's Ministers confronted by Her Majesty's Opposition. The first forming the executive, and clothed with the responsibility of governing, the other skirmish- ing on the flanks of the ruling body, or organizing an assault en masse, lives in the luxurious enjoy- ment of an Englishman's fond delight — to grumble and to find fault. It is to the credit of our country that this con- flict sinks into happy concord when the honour or safety of the nation is concerned, in analogy to the domestic platform where the unwise stranger step- ping in to allay an alarming contest, finds himself the subject of ir/iited attack from the erst antago- nistic combatant \. It does, however, sometimes happen that in the struggle for place and power the good of the country is overlooked, and the danger arising to the Con- stitution from a party move is disregarded if only the effort will ensure a party triumph. The election of 18G8, resulting from one of our Crisis in the . r , ... .. , , p ... elections of infrequent constitutional changes, lorms a crisis m is68. the history of the country to which there is but one parallel within the present century. That parallel was in 1832, the first election after the passing of Lord Grey's Reform Bill of 1831-2. The modification of the Constitution then made Effect of ,lu? Keiorm Bills. by the lowering of the franchise, nearly doubled the oreviously existing Constituencies of the kingdom, ind raised them from about 500,000 to nearly 1,000,000. The Reform Bills of 1867-8 again nearly loubled the number of votes, raising it from 1,357,000 to 2,476,000. In each period the enlargement of the franchise was such as to transfer one-half of the electoral power of the kingdom into new hands, and the voters thus created, as they were new so their opinions were unknown, and only to he ascertained by the result of the elections. Liberal ten- We entered upon the elections of 1868 with clency of „ ip tit newly enfran- the experience ol 1832 before us. It has always been estimated by politicians, of whatever class, that voters newly admitted to the franchise will naturally vote in favour of the party of movement to which they deem themselves indebted for the privilege long withheld, and now for the first time conceded ; and that it is only after a continued enjoyment of their votes that they turn towards the party of conservation, in the desire to maintain their electoral status against the body of claimants who might neutralize or destroy their influence. Experience of In 1832 these principles received an emphatic new voters in _. . 1832. realization. Ike party oi Conservatism wkick m the preceding Parliament had run so nearly upon an equality with their opponents as to be only beaten by a majority of one,* was so totally over- thrown as to have arrayed against it an over- whelming majority of 364.+ This issue was * On 21st March, 1831, on the second reading of the Reform Bill, the numbers were — for the Bill, 812 ; against it, 311. f "Upon the whole, it was calculated when the returns were all made, that the Liberals had a majority of at least 5 to 1 in the Ibmse of Commons : there being- scarcely 100 Tories in a House of 658 Members " (Alison, vol. 5, 358). " Altogether it was estimated that 511 Ministerialists and Reformers were attained by the new voters siding in the elections with the liberals of the old Parliament, and by the power acquired in their union crushing the Con- servative electors, and handing over the govern- ment of the country without check to the move- ment party. Under a similar increase of the constituencies in 18G8 it was natural to anticipate a somewhat similar result. Besides this predominant element the state f *<•><<"[' H'"- r ral parties in political parties was itself peculiar. 1868 - The Liberals under Lord Palmerston had, except- ing one single year, been in possession of power for ten years up to the period of that able states- man's death in 18G5. At his demise the Premier- ship devolved upon Earl Russell, with Mr. Glad- stone as his parliamentary leader in the Commons. Lord Russell, neither taught by his own ex- perience nor by the wisdom of Lord Palmerston, plunged into a Reform Bill . Bewildered in the conflict of parties which such a measure was cal- culated to provoke, whilst his leader in the Com- mons threw down his arms at the spectres of " the Cave" and "the Tea Room," Lord Russell resigned office in 18GG, and made way for the accession of the Conservative party, who, under the leadership, first of Lord Derby and next of Mr. Disraeli, maintained themselves in office till the close of the session and the passing of the Reform Bill of 1868. returned, and 147 (majority 364) who now designated us Conservatives, were Anti-Ministerialists" (Knight's Popular History, vol. 8, 310). strength of The innate strength of the Liberal party was the Liberal . . . . party- manifest in the division which took place upon the Irish Church, where they commanded a majority of 65 ; and of the 058 members con- stituting the dissolved Parliament, no less than :3GG were ranged on the Liberal benches against 292 on the Conservative, giving a total majority of 74. The fact of the Liberal party having been thus, notwithstanding their majority in the House, two years out of power would naturally quicken their energies for the election contest, and bring them into the field upon mere party politics with a keener zest, as they w T ere in greater number than their opponents. The Irish But a third element of influence was also cast Church ques- tion, into the cauldron of the elections of 1808. This was the proposal to disestablish and disendow the branch of the Protestant Established Church in Ireland. This question was made the rallying cry of the Liberal party. Its influence upon three sections of the Empire and upon an influential class within the fourth was notably great. In Ireland it presented itself to four millions and a half of Roman Catholics as an opportunity of annihilating their antagonist the Protestant Esta- blished Church, numbering only 700,000 followers ; and as Ireland returned 105 out of the 058 Members, it seemed to be the field of a certain and im- portant victory. In Scotland too, which returned in the old Parliament 53 Members, increased in the new Parliament to 60, a proposal to disestablish the Church was likely to be popular. Within lr\ m< mory a majority of the population of Scotland had come out from the Presbyterian Established Church in order to maintain the right of the members of the congregation to a voice in the election of their incumbents, and those main- taining themselves under the name of the Free Church joined to the United Presbyterians were ready to do battle with a high hand against all establishments. In Wales also the proposition for disestablish- ment was flattering. The majority of the inhabi- tants dissented from the Established Church, and were adverse to all establishments. In England the whole body of Nonconformists, comprising more than one-third of the population, trained and organized by an active political band, might be expected to welcome disestablishment in Ireland in order to form a basis on which to stand here- after to propose disestablishment in England. From these circumstances the Irish Church question bound as firm allies to the Liberal Party, Poman Catholics, and Padical Members ; conceding as it did to the Poman Catholics the overthrow of their Protestant rivals, and conceding to the Radicals the first step in the path of revolution, by dissociating Church and State, confiscating property for centuries appropriated for reli- gious purposes, and making an inroad on the House of Lords in the withdrawal of the Irish bishops. Thus stood the array on the political battle Arra - V °» , J l election batu field : — field of 1868. 10 i. Pawm of First. Mere party politics. The Liberal against party politics. 1 J 1 O the Conservative. The first seeking to gain power — the last to hold it. Apart from the other influences of the Reform Bill and the Irish Church, there was no ground for assuming that the Liberal influence had waned, or that the party was not able to deliver themselves bravely in the fight, and maintain their ground. Refo^ e Bm° f Second. The influence of the Reform Bills under an <* new which, according to all known political principles and experience, a great advantage would accrue to the Liberal Party, as in 1832 they so triumphed as absolutely to be left without a rival, gaining in that single election a majority of 364 votes. 3. impulse Thirdly. The Revolutionary Proposal to clis- irom attack J *r i on the Irish establish and disendow the Irish Church, by which Church, the Roman Catholic element in Ireland, and the Anti-Establishment elements in England, Scotland, and Wales were lashed into unwonted energy in support of the Liberal cause. Results of the And now, what were the results of the elec- election # presented by tion % We wul take them from the Times news- the "Times," r> -r\ i 1 mi r> n Dec. 2,1858. paper of December 2nd, 1868. Ihe following is their summary : — " The general results of the election may be thus stated : — Liberal. Conservative. "Gain on old seats . . . . 64 51 " Gain on new seats .... 27 24 " Deduct loss by disfranchised "^ ,_ 91 7o seats J 64 49 11 "The net Liberal gain is thus 15, which is 'equivalent on a divi > 30 vot< " Tb.e three seats not yet filled up are of course not included in the above summary." These three seats were Edinburgh and Glasgow Universities (new seats), and Orkney and Shetland (Liberal in the last Parliament), and all three were returned. Liberals, which would make the L5 into 17, but as the two University seats were new, would only raise the gain on a division to 32. Thus then we find from the party organ of the LiI ' ,! . . of on'... L7 Liberals the total main on the United Kingdom isseatsshowa ° & Reform influ- stated to be 17 seats, equal to 32 votes.upon a divi- ence neutra- sion. lhis is a result which might have accrued unpopularity simply from the struggle of party politics. But what question. has become of the influence of the Reform Bill ? Comparing this gain of 32 votes with the gain of 3G 4 upon the Reform Bill of 1831, when the increase to the constituency was not proportionately larger but was numerically many times inferior, it is evident some strong counteracting current had turned back the flood of Liberal influences which have always before followed the extension of the suffrage, and we must sedulously inquire what was this counteracting force ? We believe it to be nothing more or less than the unpopularity a especially in England, of Mr. Gladstone's propo- sitions on the Irish Church. It will be well, however, to look more in detail at the results of the election as reported by Mr. Dudley Baxter in his statistical tables, Results in entitled " The Results of the General Election." He Mr. Dudley there, at page 8, states — L2 •■ The 658 stats of the new Parliament, counting- Horsham on both sides, gives 385 Liberals and 27! Conservatives, or a Libera] majority of 111, being- a gain on a division of 37. " These majorities were divided between the four countries of the United Kingdom, as follows: — Gain of Members. Liberal Majority. Gain on a Division. Old Par- liament. New Par- liament. Conser- vative. Liberal. England Wales Scotland 31 31 7 26 14 44 27 5 9 13 20 United King-dom 74 111 42 Net gains on a division •• •• •• 37 He also, at page 1 0, gives the gain in popula- tion by the two parties as follows :— Gain in Populaton Represented. Liberal Majority. Gain on a Division. Old Parlia- ment. New Par- liament. Conserva- tive. Liberal. England Wales Scotland Ireland 3,092,900 190,700 1,894,900 41,300 (minority) 926,100 516,900 2,479,300 782,800 2,166,800 326,200 584,400 824,100 United King-dom . 5,137,200 4,705,100 2,106.800 1.734,700 Net g-ain on a di- vision •• •• 432,100 13 He stato in this table (although he does This caicuia- ill' not consider it strictly justifiable) he has excluded >untiee . i • m • • ''"' '" ,v "''-'' from the counties all b population. Lnis is pojraiai manifestly erroneous, fo:r the following reasons: — (1.) The borough freehold voting power in the c tunties, and bh ■ boroughs form part of the comity area. (2.) The county votes possessed in the boroughs are independent of the borough votes, and the county Member rep] the people in the borough, although this representation is supple- mented by borough Members elected on another franchise. (3.) The borough county vot< ■ known to exercise a great, and in many eases a pre lominating influence in the return of county Members. It is clear, therefore, that when measuring the influence of the elections in the ratio of population, we should deal with the counties including the borough population, and though the borough popu- lation will be twice counted it equally applies bo both parties, and no other plan will fairly show the ratio of population represented by tl ic mem- bers of each party. The following' Summary will show, on this basis, the gain in population represented as well by the county Members as by the borough Members. The details are given in the Table printed in the Appendix : — 14 Gain in Population Represented. * <>iT( cted table of gain inpopulatio] . Liberal Maj ority. Gain on a Division;. Old Parlia- New Par- Conserva- Liberal. ment. li anient. tive. ENGLAND. Bqroughs 4,561,400 5,032.800 .. 471,400 Counties 256,400 (minority) 6,900,800 (minority) 6,644,400 WALES. Boroughs 278,600 320,800 42,200 Counties 26,200 406,400 380,200 SCOTLAND. Boroughs 1,244,100 1,264,600 20,500 Counties 1,015,700 2,337,900 1,322,200 IRELAND. Boroughs 124.700 328,000 203,300 Counties 415,800 361,300 m m 777,100 UNITED KING- (minority) .. DOM. Boroughs, 6,208,800 6,946,200 737', 400 Counties 369,700 3,795,200 4,164J900 Net gain < )n a di- (minority ) vision . . 3,427,500 Effect of cor- rected tables. Thu s combii ling the ^ vhole po vitiation € jmbra ,cecl in the area of the counties, z .s represented by county Members, and the p opulation of the boroug hs repeated, as also repref rented by borough Membt 3rs, each party is given ^ die full value of its repres' 3ntation. The Conservat ive gain on popula- tion h i England is found to be 6,644,400, and the Conse ;rvative gain upon the wlic >le United Kingdom 3,427 ',500, and the gross" rat io of population in England is Conservative 14, 885,050, to Liberal 13,0,17,050. Ii3 The results of the election, as thus presented, Libera f &™ 1 on Beats and shew for the United Kingdom a gain by the Liberal lo88 on p°p u " \ t ■' •' lation. party of 37 votes iii a division, but a loss by them of 3,427,500 in population; representing propor- tionately a gain in party votes of under G per cent. of the whole House, and a loss of population of 8-j per cent, on the whole population, which, dupli- cating the borough population, is represented by 40,282,119. But these tables furnish materials for more minute and important investigation. Taking England alone, there is a gain to the ^/j 11 ,^.'.',', 1 . Conservatives of five votes, and 6,044,400, or lMe M weU in Beats as popu- nearly one-fourth of the population, which, by the lation. duplication of the borough population, stands represented at 27,902,500. Now England contains 19,000,000 out of our England pos- ° Besses fros oJ actual 29,000,000, or, speaking in round numbers, population, ± §rds oi Beafs, two parts out of three of our entire population. and double t- i * the wealth. England also possesses 463 members out of the 658, being more than two-thirds of the House, and in point of wealth certainly more than twice that repre- sented by the remainder of the United Kingdom. If England thus contains two-thirds of the population, two-thirds of the members, and twice the wealth, it is entitled to sjDeak emphatieally upon every great constitutional question. It is undoubt- fairi ^ field on J & 1 which to tesl edly also the fairest field on which to test the result the Irish 1 • i x • i /-yi question. of the election in regard to the Irish Church. (1.) Political parties are nearly equal. In the last Parliament the English members were 251 Liberals to 220 Conservatives, a tolerably equal division. 1G (2.) It possesses a Church Establish merit which has been long tried, and with the advantages and disadvantages of which its people have been long conversant. (3.) The Xod -conformist element within it is highly organized and inured to the conflict. (4.) The question does not directly concern England, but is confined to Ireland, although the friends of the English Establishment would natu- rally oppose, and the Non-conformists support, the disestablishment in Ireland. E ..and pro- The result of the election of 1868 shews public nounces em- phaticaiiy opinion in England so strongly set against overthrow of Mr. Gladstone's attack on the Irish Church, as not cwh. only to neutralize the effect of the Reform Bill, but actually to reduce the Liberal majority of members, and bring over a majority of population to the Conservative side.* Ireland not a J n Ireland the result of the election was a fair test on , 1 ri this question, gain of only 10 members irom the old Conserva- oniy gained' tive total of 49, and out of the 105 members returned by Ireland to leave, ranged now 39 Con- servatives compared with GG Liberals, increasing the majority of 7 which existed in 1865 to a majority of 27. This, it must be remembered, was the effect of * The following extract from the Times' leader of November 28, 18G8, marks their sense of the popular voice in England:— "It cannot be denied, that if there is one thing more evident than another as the result of the Elections, it is that the Irish Establishment has been maintained by the superior force, rather unenlightened, we hope, than unjust, of English opinion against the judgment of Scotland and the resentment of the Irish people." • 17 arraying 4,500,000 of Roman Catholics against 700,000 Protestants. The gain is certainly not such as to shew an overwhelming feeling even in Ireland in favour of the disestahlishment of tin- Irish Protestant Church. In Scotland the Liberals sained over from the ' s ''" tIa l ni ] a1 ', o ways Libeml, Conservative ranks 3 seats, and appropriated the h . ut,, " i '-J ' ,, whole of the 7 new members transferred to that >^»tsand»p- propriated the country. 7 «ww seats. This appropriation was perfectly natural with- out reference to the Establishment question. In the old Parliament every representative of every borough in Scotland was a Liberal, and as four new members were given to the Scotch boroughs these would necessarily fall into the same gulf. Of the counties of Scotland, out of 30 in the old Parliament, the Conservatives oniy held 11 seats, and the :3 new members added to the counties went there under the probability of two to one that they would be returned Liberals. Of the 53 members returned under the old Parliament the Conservatives only held 11 seats, and of the 60 members returned to the new Parlia- ment the Conservative element was reduced to 8 seats. Under the political circumstances of Scotland, the Conservatives could expect nothing from the new members. The Establishment cry may be held to have deprived them of three of the old members, and although Scotland, in the eye of a ( Conservative, presents a most melancholy picture, the gloomy tints were sufficiently deep in the old Parliament to prevent the additional dark streaks c 18 In Wales the Liberals gained 4 old seats and 1 new scat. in i lie loss of three seats being regarded as any remarkable exaggeration of the cloudy landscape. The Liberal gain of 3 old seats, and of the 7 new seats gave them a gain, on division, of 13 in respect of Scotland. In. Wales, the Conservatives lost 3 seats in the counties, and 1 in the boroughs, besides 1 new member, which was given to raise the total members for Wales to 30. The 4 old seats and the 1 new seat give to the Liberals a gain on a division of 1 3. Liberal gains The gains thus made in Ireland, Scotland, and in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales were certainly not such as to express any no very very emphatic feeling even in those divisions of the opinion. United Kingdom. If there were any truth in the cry of " Justice to Ireland/' that truth would com- mend itself so emphatically to the Irish mind — in at least its Roman Catholic element — as to lead them to return every member in support of the cause. As it was, only 10 members out of 105, or 10 per cent, of the representation, was affected by the cry ; but miserable as was the response in Ireland of 10 seats, if we take away the Irish majority from the total, it leaves only a majority on a division of 17 occurring from the other divi- sions. The Liberal gain in seats only ~ part or 2\ per cent. of the whole House. Liberal loss in population -^, or 84 per cent. of whole population. Viewed in another aspect, the Times claims a gain of 1 7 seats for the United Kingdom, and this number is yg- part, or about 2j per cent, of the House of Commons, whilst the loss in popula- tion is 3,427,500 out of a total (duplicating the boroughs) of 40,311,900, or more than y^, or 8^ per cent. If we were justified in saying that these 19 17 seats represented the voice of the country upon the Irish Church question, we can only add the voice is very feeble, and the cause must be very weak, winch finds itself endorsed by only -J% part of the representation of the Kingdom, and dis- honoured by -^ part of the population. We are not, however, authorized so to read, Even the &** cannot be even the asserted majority. The occurrence of the reckoned ae Reform Bill gave to the Liberal party the right to Irish Church expect a majority of hundreds to be added to them as the result of the enlargement of the franchise, and the effect of the Irish Church question was to cancel this majority, or reduce it to the minimum of 1 7. The voice of the country therefore heard with reference to the circumstances of the elec- tion has pronounced against Mr. Gladstone's measure. Perhaps, however, it will be said, " we care The Liberal nothing for your analysis, we will not inquire of what the hS elements, or from what circumstances our majority relied upon has arisen, but the stern fact is, we have a majority iS C'luurh. of more than 100 in the House, and that will enable us to carry Mr. Gladstones measure of disesta- blishing and disendowing the Irish Church." Tliis would be true, if the majority alluded to could be relied on for such a purpose, but — besidt the actual result of the election counted by seats gained or won — there has been observable an im- portant feature, which must be borne in mind when we come to deal with the question of the value of Mr. Gladstone's majority. The feature to which we refer, is the marked A,v;u,ion in re-action within the Liberal Party caused by the party in the 20 country pro-Romish and revolutionary tendency of the against that l measure. proposed disestablishment. From the Duke of Portland downwards, noble- men, gentlemen, and clergy of great influence have left the party, some distinctly passing over to the Conservatives, but more disconnecting themselves from their own political friends without in the late struggle acting with the opponents ; and to those who have the opportunity of knowing the local feeling throughout the country, the reaction within the old Liberal party has been the striking feature of the day. The proverbial slowness with which English- men, once fully committed, are accustomed to change sides, has prevented this reaction operating largely upon the late election. The first step hi distrust is to stand aloof from your party — it is another, and much more advanced position to join the ranks of their opponents. Mr. Gladstone's per- sonal experience, and the experience of many other leading members of his party, will endorse the fact to which we are alluding. Disaffection in There is great disaffection in the Liberal camp, the Liberal n i i camp. even among those who have not actually deserted. Many wlio loyally fight and yote with their party complain of the measures their party zeal compels them to support. The ground for discontent is that they consider their Chief has set himself to take to pieces the British Constitution in the disestab- lishment of the Church, in taking side with Romanism against Protestantism, and in hounding on the Revolutionists by the taste of blood in 21 disendowment, confiscation, and banishing the I cish Bishops from the House of Peers. And not only is this reaction manifesl in the higher ranks, but popular constituencies have in a very marked manner entered upon it. South Lan- Eeac,10n 1U J ■*• populous cashire may be quoted, and the whole of Lancashire oonstitnenoieB, has followed suit. This county, which contains a^o th part of the population of the United Kingdom, and more than Jth part of our English population, having in the old Parliament returned, upon the whole of its members, a majority of ] Liberal, lias in the present Parliament returned a majority of 11 Conservatives out of the total of its 33 members. The reaction has been manifest in some of the most populous boroughs. Manchester, with its 358,000 of population, which never before returned a Conservative, has sent one to this Parliament at the head of the poll. Salford, with 102,000 population, having before returned Liberals has now returned two Conserva- tives. Westminster, with 254,000 population, which never returned a Conservative, has this year returned one at the head of the poll. London, with its 112,000 population, lias also returned one Conservative, having for years past been a close borough in the hands of the Liberals. The county of Middlesex, also long ruled over by Liberal influence, has returned a Conservative at the head of the poll. Liverpool, with a population of 444,000 main- tains its return of 2 Conservatives to 1 Liberal. These are signs of rapid and solid reaction not Maaylnberak ° L will not vote c 2 22 for the ^ ] 3e disregarded. There are also within the ranks measure. c of the Liberal party many county as well as borough Members, who have avowed they will not support the Irish measure, whilst other Liberal Members, returned without opposition, through courtesy or neighbourly feeling, or returned by small majorities, know so well the feeling of a vast body of their constituents in favour of the Irish Church as to be conscious that it will be at the peril of their re- election if they support its confiscation. Even such a j$ u ^ — even supposing Mr. Gladstone to be able majority in x x o the Commons, to bring up the whole of his Members, and carry with unpopu- ox larity in the through a Bill for effecting his measure with a country, can- . , . not carry the majority of 100 — what is the force of tins majority in the face of the general feeling of the country, and the overwhelming majority against it in the House of Lords ? It has been our habit to expect that — upon measures backed by the general feeling of the country, and where we are conscious the demand for them is growing — the House of Lords, under a sense of what is necessary in a constitutional country, may defer to that feeling against what would have been their own convictions, if such feelings did not exist ; but it is obvious in the present case the feeling of the country is against the measure, and the majority gained by the Liberals is a mere party majority pressing a measure which is unpopular. sriStfonai n " -^ a great constitutional change is to be sub- change should m {tted to, we expect that there should be some- only be made x on a clearly thing like unanimity, or at all events an over- pronouncecl ° ^ public opinion, whelming popular feeling in its favour, but here 23 the reverse is the ease. The popular v.. ice in England by a majority of eme-fourth, and in the United Kingdom by a smaller majority of* one- twelfth of the entire population, has declared against the measure, and the very serious reaction to which we have pointed safely indicates thai as time goes on, the unpopularity thus marked is increasing. Under such circumstances can it be anticipated that the House of Lords will feel itself called to act upon any other principle than its own judgment of the expediency or inexpediency of the measure? and what this judgment is can be no matter of doubt. The history of the Appropriation Clause ofj^jgj - 1835 is very instructive, and well worth perusal in ggJJJg^ the present position of affairs. furnishes i a i i jn-eoedont for In 1835, March 30th, Lord John Russell abandoning fcne Insn moved for a Committee of the whole House to Church consider the temporalities of the Established Church in Ireland, with a view to apply any surplus to education. The division on this motion was 'A 2-2 against 289, leaving Sir Eobert Peel's Ministry in ;i minority of 33, and upon this Sir Robert Peel resigned. The observations of the historian Alison upon this question, vol. 6, p. 142, are very apposite : — "The Irish Catholics, ascertained by experience to hold the balance in the House of Commons in their hands, were sure to give it their unanimous ami zealous support ; the Dissenters would join their ranks from hostility to the common enemy — the Church of England ; the Radicals, from enmity to any Government, and a desire to get the point of the 24 revolutionary wedge into the weakest part of our national institutions. Thus, from different motives, all classes of the opposition might be expected to join in support of this motion, and the great problem which ambition is ever ready to solve in representative States was solved, viz., to find a question upon which parties the most at variance can unite without compromising their own consistency." On the 2 6 th June, 1835, the Government brought forward their Bill, and put in the Appro- priation Clause, and the Bill was carried on a division by 319 to 282, presenting a majority of 37. It was sent to the House of Lords, where the Appropriation Clause was thrown out on a division by 138 to 41, giving a majority of 97. Again, in April, 1836, the Government intro- duced the Irish Church Bill, being the same in substance as that last presented to the House. It was passed by a vote of 290 to 264, giving a majority of 26, but again when the Bill reached the House of Lords it was rejected by a vote of 138 to 47, being a majority of 91. On this occasion the present stock cry of " Justice to Ireland " was raised, and flourished in the face of the two Houses of Parliament by Mr. O'Connell. In June, 1837, on the demise of the King, a general election ensued, which left the state of political parties much in the same condition as before, and continued the Whigs in possession of power. The historian of this period records : — " On the 27th March, 1838, Sir Robert Peel enquired of Lord John Russell what course he intended to pursue with regard to the Irish Tithe Bill, and whether he meant to intro- duce it with the Appropriation Clause in terms of the reso- 25 lution of 1835. Lord John Russell staled, in reply, that the Ministers intended to place the Tithe question on a footing altogether now, as it appeared useless and irritating to prolong", after a conflict of four years, an argument which produced nothing. It was generally felt at the time, what was the truth, that this was an announcement of the aban- donment of the Appropriation Clause. ***** The Bill was brought forward on July 2nd, without the Ap- propriation Clause, and a motion made by Mr. Ward fur the restoration of that clause was lost by a majority of 270 to 46, the Ministers themselves voting against it." — (Alison, vol. vi, p. 232). We have thus the precedent of a measure for appropriating to education a portion of the income of the Irish Church, carried by the House of Com- mons three times — first on a resolution, and twice on Bills introduced for effecting it. We see it twice rejected by the House of Lords, and finally abandoned by the Ministry that proposed it. The Liberal Government having found the measure so little satisfactory to their own influential friends, and so little popular in the country, felt compelled to remit it to be embalmed in history as a party move which effectually transferred to them the seats of power, but which was cast aside after it had answered its purpose. This is the mummy which, after eleven years of embalmed rest, has now its swathing bands unrolled to present it anew in its party beauty to the Empire. The question now before us is not one between ^JJSa 1 *! the rich and the poor, nor between the privileged P olitical P art J x x o question. and the working classes, nor even between a party of movement and a party of reaction. It is simply a question (only accidentally assuming a political garb) of Romanism against Protestantism, and of 26 Non-conformity against Church Establishments. Revolution seizes the occasion to make war against as well the moderate Liberals as the Conservatives. The great body of the people of the Empire are Protestant, in the proportion of about 24,000,000 to 0,000,000, and those who are not Conservative are also moderate in their Liberalism. The section of extreme Liberals or revolutionists is numerically very small. We may also add that the great body of the people of the Empire do not desire the over- throw of Establishments, whatever the unanimity with which they sustain perfect freedom of religious opinion and of worship. Public opinion Casting; aside all party views, and enquiring: is against it. ° . . after that general feeling of the country, which, superior to party, will always aim to sustain a peaceable Government and the solid prosperity of the Empire, and which we are accustomed to regard as public opinion, can we hesitate to discern that public opinion condemns the measures against the Irish Church to which Mr. Gladstone and his party stand committed ? \ ■27 APPENDIX. The following Table is constructed on the principle of counting the Population of the Boroughs with the Coual to which they belong, to show the whole Population actually represented by each County Member, and counting the Borough Population again, to show its representation by the Borough Member. Members. Population represented. C. L. Total. By Con- servatives. .By Liberals. ENGLAND. Conn ties. New Parliament. . Old Parliament . . Borough*. New Parliament-. . Old Parliament . . Total. New Parliament. . Old Parliament . . 125 96 94 124 17 51 198 200 18,945,300 13,945, SOO 8,956,800 S,290,GOO 12,923,050 9,GOO,850 1,9(52,000 l,SG4,GOO 6,022,250 9,344,450 0,994,800 0.42G,OOO 219 220 21.") 251 27,902,1 o<> 27,235,900 14,885,050 11,405,450 13,017,050 15. 770,450 WALES. ( '(unities. New Parliament. Old Parliament . Boroughs. New Parliament. Old Parliament . Total. New Parliament. Old Parliament . 6 9 1,111,500 352,550 758,950 9 G 1,111,500 542,050 B88,8BO 2 13 879,000 29,100 349,900 3 n 345,200 SS,300 311,900 8 22 1,490,500 381,650 1,108,850 12 17 1,45G.700 575,950 SS0.750 28 Members. Population represented. C. L. Total. By Con- servatives. .By Liberals. SCOTLAND. Counties. New Parliament . . 8 24 3,062,100 362,100 2,700,000 Old Parliament . . 11 19 3,062,100 1,023,200 2,038,900 Boroughs. New Parliament. . 27 1,264,600 1,264,600 Old Parliament . . 23 1,244,100 1,244,100 Total New Parliament. . 8 51 4,326,700 362,100 3,964,600 Old Parliament . . n 42 4,306,200 1,023,200 3,283,000 IRELAND. Counties. New Parliament. . 27 37 5,798,400 2,718,550 3,079,850 Old Parliament . . SO 34 5,798,400 3,107,100 2,691,300 Boroughs. New Parliament. . 13 28 794,200 233,100 561,100 Old Parliament . . 19 22 794,200 334,750 459,450 Total. New Parliament. . 40 65 6,592,600 2,951,650 3,640,950 Old Parliament . . 49 56 6,592,600 3,441,850 3,150,750 UNITED KINGDOM Counties. New Parliament . . 166 117 28,917,300 16,356,250 12,561,050 Old Parliament . . 146 no 28,917,30© 14,273,800 14,643,500 Boroughs. New Parliament . . 109 266 11,394,600 2,224,200 9,170,400 Old Parliament . . 146 256 10,674,100 2,232,650 8,441.450 Total. New Parliament . . 275 383 40,311,900 18,580,450 21,731,450 Old Parliament . . 292 366 39,591,400 16,506,450 23,084,950 HARRISON AND SONS, PRINTERS IN ORDINARY TO HER MAJESTY, ST. MARTIN'S LANE. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. UC SOUTHERN RE( AA 000 771 124 !