On Wednesday night, the Nonconformist Unionist Associa- tion entertained Lord
Salisbury and Lord Hartington at the Hotel Ifetropole, Sir G. Hayter Chubb, the Vice-President of the Association, taking the chair. The great object of the banquet was that Lord Salisbury and Lord Ifartington should receive an address from the so-called Irish Nonconformists, —that is, from the bodies which before the Disestablishment of the Irish Church were so called,—the Irish Presbyterians, represented by the Moderator of their General Assembly, the Rev. R. J. Lynd ; the Methodists of the South of Ireland, represented by the Rev. Dr. Evans ; the Irish Congre- gationalists, represented by Rev. J. S. Cregan ; the Irish Baptists, represented by Rev. A. M`Caig ; and the other Presbyterian Church of Ireland, represented by Rev. Dr. Orr. Sir G. Hayter Chubb, in introducing these Irish ministers to Lord Salisbury and Lord Hartington, reminded them that even in England some of the most distinguished of the Nonconformist clergy are not in sympathy with Mr. Glad- stone, referring specially to Mr. Spurgeon, Dr. Allen, Dr. Dale, Dr. Stoughton, Dr. White, Dr. Bruce, and the Rev. William Arthur. But of the Irish Nonconformist clergy, 864 'out of 990 had signed the Unionist address; while only eight, it was said, of the minority of those who declined to sign it, had declined because they were in sympathy with Mr. Gladstone.
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