NEWS OF THE WEEK.
THE Commons have agreed to most of the Lords' amendments in the Irish Poor Bill. Although Mr. Speaker, as in duty bound, pointed out sundry invasions of the Commons' privileges in altera- tions of money-clauses, Lord JOHN RUSSELL did not think it ex- pedient on this occasion to insist upon the strict letter of their constitutional rights. Indeed, that ohl practice is becoming as unfashionable as inconvenient. The farce of a conference respect- ing some minor amendments, from which the Lower House dis- sents, has been gone through. At the time we write, the result is not known ; but the Lords will scarcely relinquish their point, especially as they know that the Commons will yield. If the MELBOURNE Ministers fefuse to stand by large measures and principles to which they are deeply pledged, it is not to be pre- sumed that they will wage battle with the Peers fur small matters.
The Irish Tithe Bill has passed the Commons. It is exactly what Sir ROBERT PEEL approves of, except in two points: instead of 260,000/., the balance of the famous Million, Sir ROBERT would give the tithe-owners 500,0001.; and he wishes also to preserve for the claimants of arrears the power of prosecuting their de- mands in the courts of law. On both points lie seems to expect that the Lords will agree with him, and that the bill will be re-
turned to the Commons such as the "e al representatives of the Irish Church" desire to make it. Will the Commons ac- cept the measure so modified ? Mr. O'CoNNELL professes that Ministers should rather abandon the bill : but such is not their cue-even if it be his own. Their grand aim being to get rid, for the time, of a question which threatens to remove theta front office, the manner how is of secondary importance.
The reasons against passing the bill have been strengthened, Rot diminished, by two additional discussions which it has under- gone this week. Lord Howtot having been taken to task for his evil prophecies of the fate of the Irish Chuich, reiterated his for- mer opinions. Lord JOHN RUSSELL, professedly as the organ of the Government, declared his resolution to support the Irish abo- mination ; though, as he delicately expressed it, an ecclesiasti- cilestablishment, supported by the majority for the exclusive be- nefit of a fraction of the people, is an "anomalous" institution. With this Government manifesto Sir ROBERT PEEL professed to be satisfied ; and contented himself with a cutting exposure of the important difference between the Home Secretary and the Secre- tary at War. Let it be remetnbered, that Lord JOHN RUSsELL, now that he acknowledges his inability to reform the Church of Ireland—that he has no hopes of lessening the enormous in- justice it produces—after the repeated demonstration by himself and his colleagues of the perpetual mischief it create,, has come to the resolution that this mass of iniquity shall remain upon tile shoulders of the Irish people till they can shake it off. Ve..■ indig- nant, to be sure, was he when Mr. GROTE charged him with " tergi- versation" in making the Appropriation principle a stepping.stooe to power, and abandoning it to retain otlice. I was an lush Church Reformer, says Lord JOHN, in Earl GREY s Cabinet; and tlieretore did not take up the Appropriation principle for a party purpose. Then let the charge be altered, and stand thus—You insisted upon the Appropriation principle being embodied in the Irish Tithe Bill, and turned Sir ROBERT PEEL out because lie would not yield to that requisition : Sir ROBERT cared not for the mere "resolu- tions, but when you and your majority went further, and voted that no settlement of the Tithe question could be satis fat: t ory which did not embrace the Appropriation principle, then he resigned. That was your position, Lord JOHN, in 1835; and your tergiversa- tion in 1838 consists in relinquishing it, and retaining ullice in preference to consistency, by doing that yourself which you would not suffer PEEL to do—doing it rather than quit otlice, which PEEL sacrificed for his principles. Mr. GROTB S charge is sub- stantially correct, and absolutely unanswerable. Lord IIIBRINGTON and Sir WILLIAM SOMERVILLE exhibited two precious specimens of modern Whig morality. Lord Erceisra- SON thinks the bill will raise up more formidable enemies to the Church in the landowners, who will hereafter be the paymasters of the clergy, than the tenants and peasantry have been ; and Sir WILLIAM SOMERVILLE advertised his determination to aid the Catholics in future efforts for the overthrow of the Church: yet both support a measure professedly brought forward to tran- quillize Ireland and strengthen the Establishment! Mr. Rosiest DILLON BROWNE, in a very clever and manly speech, quite re- freshing in these days from an Irish Member, showed that to tranquillize would not be the effect of the bill, but that on the contrary it was viewed with disgust and anger by the Irish people; and then, instead of recording his vote in favour of the odious measure, he moved its postponement for three months—that is, its rtjection. There was something like consistency and honesty in this course.
Against the Municipal Bill as altered by Lord LYNDHURST, a shout of clamour is at last raised in Ireland; which, if it had come in time, and in earnest, might have been more regarded than is likely to be the case at this stage of the performance. A thoroughgoing Government paper, the Dublin Evening Post, ad- milling that it " went as near the wind as possible" in advocat- ing the adoption of a. higher qualification for Ireland than for England, now pretests against the measure, as one which will " perpetuate Orange ascendancy in towns, and give the Orange- men not only the appointment of Town-Councillors, but, through the Council, and in virtue of the rights created by the bill, ope- rate injuriously on Me Parliamentary franchise of every city and town in Ireland." A long list of mischief's to follow from the measure is given; and the people are vehemently called upon to exert themselves for the rejection of the three Irish bills, rather than take this one.
We have ourselves conversed with a respectable Irish gentle- man, accurately informed and entirely honest; who assures us that nothing can be further from truth than the assumption of some of the Whig journalists, especially the Morning Chronicle, that the Irish Tithe and Corpolation Bills will be well received by any portion of the Liberals in Ireland. The propositiot., rejected two years ago, for abolishing the Corporations au.: vesting the local government in Commissioners elected under Inc 3tts of Gsoaox the Fount), would, our informant atfirms of his own knowledge, be far preferable to the new LYNDHURST Bill. But that offer was made when the Tories bad no hope of securing Tory Corporations. Times are changed. Lord LYNDHURST, instead of being, as an unscrupulous Downing Street journal asserted the other day, downcast and reasonable, is confident and triumphant. He no longer insists upon abolishing Corporations. "There's a conces- sion !" exclaim the Whigs ; " what a victory' we've gained !.. But why is Lord LYNDHURsT ready to establish Corporations now ? Only beeanse, as the Dublin paper has found out, they will be Tory; elected by a small number of the wealthier Protestant inhabitants, to the exclusion of the Catholic many. That this was the object of the Tories, and that the W hies were helping theta to gain it, we showed several weeks ago. It is now preterided that the swami batch of Loot LYNDHURST'S amend- tnents have dune the mischief: a mere afterthought—the high franchise was at the bottom of the injustice, and between Lord. Jots N It u SSE LL's eight-pouird qualificatiou wall rating, and Lord LYNDHURST'S ten-pound, there is little indeed to choose. The Itliaise:rs invited the Tories to raise the qualification, and the result is a Tory bill. Perhaps the Government would like to retain the Corporation Bill till next session, "hen it might be put i.i a more popular form—for rejection by the Peers. But they will scarcely be per- mitted to violate the cornpact, by which the three Irish measures are to pass, or none. They canna get rid of the Tithes arid Ap- propriation tailless they also coasent to an Orange-Tory Municipal Rel. St ■ve are prepared Co see them passively submitting to the Lyme"' VEST iniquity for Ireland. Itailwaysand prisons, schools and copyright, profligacy and plu- ralism iii the Chuich, and promotion in the Navy, idolatry in Hitillostan and war in Persia, are unly some of the other multi- farious subjects which have been behire Parliament this week ; but the proceedings thereon have been brief or dull, and require nu special mute here.
