LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
THE BISHOP OF PETERBOROUGH.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE SPECTATOR.")
SIR,—I desire to thank you very earnestly for the truly kind and liberal words with which you have rebuked the writer in the last British Quarterly, who assailed the Bishop of Peterborough. An "episcopal, attorney" means, if it means anything, a bishop who is feed to support a particular cause, and is ready to use any argu- ment in its defence.
Now, I sat next to the Bishop of Peterbourogh night after night during the late memorable debate, and I can bear witness that there was one moral quality in my friend which I admired as much as an eloquence unrivalled since the days when there were "giants in the land." Deeply attached to the IrishEstablishment,and pleading its cause with an earnestness which never seemed to fail, he invariably refrained from using any argument which he was not convinced to be sound and true. Thus, in his famous speech he disclaimed the arguments in defence of the Irish Church which are drawn from the Coronation Oath and from the fifth article of the Act of Union.
We all know that the temptation of rhetoricians, from Cicero downwards, has been to use freely arguments which they felt to be unsound, but to which they could give an attractive appearance for a temporary purpose. I confess that I was somewhat disap- pointed at the short shrift which the Bishop of Peterborough gave to two defences, to one of which, at least, I attached con- siderable importance. But my disappointment was compensated by the deep conviction of honesty which was forced upon my mind when the great orator told me simply that "he thought the arguments unsound, and could not help saying so."
Let me, in conclusion, thank you for the spirit in which you have dealt with the Irish Establishment and its defenders. You were a strong and a consistent enemy. But your fairness in the contest, and your chivalrous kindness when it is over, have made a very deep impression upon myself and many others. You, at least, never told men upon whom was imposed the painful task of striving to make terms in which they had no selfish interest what- ever, that "they held out a menacing palm for more cash," and exhibited "quite the most disgusting spectacle of modern history." For this, and for your just appreciation of one of the most sincere as well as most gifted friends of our unfortunate Establishment, I thank you with all my heart. True Liberals will think no worse of you for having been thanked even by an Irish Bishop.-1 am,
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