NEWS OF THE WEEK.
As the sleeping Richard was haunted by the ghosts of the old companions he had murdered, so Ministers, slumbering on the Treasury bench of the House of Commons, have -been doomed this week to hear the ghosts of their old speeches on the "mon- ster grievance" of the Irish Church. In moving for a Commit- tee of the whole House on the present state of Church Temporal- ities in Ireland, Mr. Osborne supported his motion by a speech whiih in great part consisted of extracts from the speeches of the leading men now in office. His arguments to exMhie the useless- ness or even mischief causeclAy maintaining the branch of the Established Church in Ireland, might be contested by any set of men rather than these Ministers, who had employed similar argu- ments, onlee_supported with less industry and expressed with less force. Ministers could not gainsay those arguments. They could net even use the new plea against a bigoted adher- ence to ° consistency," since they are not in a position to justify the change by any essential change of circum- stances, or by an avewed conversion to other opinions on the* own" parts. It ii true that the Established clergy are * more meritorious order of resident gentry ; true t theChurch is no longer a meney, burden N e:.m the Pepi population-: these felts eiAre equally true when some of The speeches now resuscitated by Mr. Osborne were delivered ; but the Church "by law, established " remains just the same badge of ancient 4:entreat and sectarian ascendancy—the embodiment of an alien claim to spiritual superiority over the bulk of the na- tion. It is a sentimental grievance, if. you please ; but that is precisely the most galling sort of grievance. The principal ex- cuse of Ministers is, that Ireland is at present quiet on the score of religious difference, and there is no present necessity for re- viving the discussion. Yet a tranquil time is the season most favourable for the settlement of so difficult a question. There is one way in which the question may be postponed—by setting it down at once in a list of measures to be completed seriatim. The present apathy of the Whig Ministers is a bitter commentary on the zeal which they used to profess in Opposition; the defence of Sir George Grey clinched Mr. Osborne's damaging exposure of the manner in which they formerly traded on the monster griev- ance." That the motion should be negatived by only 170 to 103, was no very triumphant result for Ministers ; especially seeing how largely they were beholden to "Protectionist" and 'Tory " votes, to counterbalance the desertions from the "Liberal" ranks.
In another Irish matter Ministers have made a precious display of "consistency," in the advance of 500,000/. on loan to complete the Railway from Dublin to Galway,—a tardy scrap of Lord George Bentinck's great scheme, which they so strenuously resisted.
The position of the Scotch bills on the subject of Marriage and Registration exposes them in another point of view. The bills we believe to be good enough in their general scope for rounding off certain English measures ; but they are unpopular in Scotland, and would have been opposed by the Scotch Members. Through the procrastination of feebleness, Ministers have suffered the session to slip away without bringing these bills to the test Of a decisive debate : the Scotch Members go out of town, and then, at the fag-end of the session, Ministers endeavour to pass the unpopular measures. It may be no more than the effect of weakness, but undoubtedly it looks very like an evasive mean- ness.
Mr. Tennyson D'Eyncourt's bill to repeal the Septennial Act W as a fresh occasion for exposing the Ministerial weakness. The subject is not much before the public just now ; nevertheless, Mi- nisters were conscious of danger, and so they resorted, it is said, to a "whip," not only of their own adherents or of their allies the Liberal Conservatives, but even of the Protectionists.
The bungling about the Ordnance Estimates fairly broke the waning patience of Joseph Hume, who was roused on Thursday to the "factious opposition" of repeated motions to "report pro- gress." The report of the Select Committee had been presented on the same day ; and Ministers wanted to vote the money now, leaving the details of the report for more deliberate examination "next session." The report advises considerable reductions ; but Ministers wished to be let off this once. And accommodating Sir James Graham backed their request. There is some truth in the representation, that suggestions supported by evidence which extends over 10,000 questions are not to be adopted off-hand, and that the House was already pledged to the bulk of the expendi- ture by having voted a certain number of men—the staple of all military force and cost. Unfortunately, Ministers make so many mistakes, the fruits of conscious weakness and evasiveness, that they could not obtain the licence which might have been allowed to a stronger and more straightforward Cabinet : sturdy Hume persevered, and the voting was put off till Monday. Mr. Bernal has called Ministers to account, not undeservedly, for the disgusting and unwholesome state of London in these hot days, with the cholera increasing. Much had been said about sanatory reform, bills were passed and the Board of Health was appointed ; and yet the " gulleyhides " of our leading thorough- fares send forth palpable pestilence, and Si. Margaret's Church- yard breathes noisome death into the very nostrils of Parliament! Ministers knew little, and said little, but would "inquire." Lord Ashley explained the reason : the Board of Health has not the requisite powers, especially in the metropolis. The country may have the benefit of such a department., but London is debarred • becausiii as Mr. Henley called to mind, Lord John was lifemb4 for London, and the City made its old sewers a point of honour. The death of Mr. Justice Coltman reminds Members that persons of distinction may be cut off by a drain or slain by the frowsiness of a court. But Lord John is not only Member for London—he is a Premier with a faultering will; and poor Lord Carlisle is—a geadnatured gentleman, who rounds periods ore somewhat more than rotund°.
Ministers, however, have something to show for the week: Mr. uchere has produced a schema of measures for the improve- oft the, Meraantile Menne ; a few items of present relief from special. bieriltns, to compensate the removal of protcetion with the altered Navigation-laws; and some plans for next-session," to improve the character of masters and mates, the discipline of the mercantile navy, and the sanatory condition of the men. The portion which goes to teat the qualifications of the captains, gives them recognized rank, responsibility, power, and the prospective chance of ' good service pensions," promises well. We miss any distinct account of the plan which is to prevent the enormous de- sertion from the English to the American marine, by rendering ours more attractive.
Mr. Monckton Milnes has obtained leave to bring in a bill for the better regulation of Juvenile Criminals ; the object., appa- rently, being to authorize their detention for purposes of reforma- tion. But Mr. Milnes has not yet brought in his bill ; and he did not explicitly contradict the allegation of Sir George Grey, that he had no bill ready to produce. The debate on Mr. Mackinnon's bill for the consumption of Smoke curiously illustrates our method of legislation. The mea- sure is aimed at preventing the emission of thick, offensive, and noxious smoke, or, as it was termed in the bill, "opaque" smoke: a serious opposition was made to rest on the difficulty of' defining what is " opaque " smoke ; and so alarming was the obstruction, that Mr. Mackinnon followed the advice given him, by suffering the debate to be adjourned for a fortnight, in order to consider whether he should withdraw the bill or not. Now the nuisance is as palpable and intelligible as tobacco-smoking, the effluvium from a knacker's yard, or any other nuisance. But if the objec- tion be affirmed, we shall see the Imperial Parliament estopped in the duty of suppressing a palpable nuisance, by the difficulty of defining a word. The attempt to deal with a material and ob- trusive grievance yields before a philological difficulty!
