TOPICS OF. THE DAY.
" The King has been pleased to grant to the, Right Reverend Father in Cod, Edward Bishop of Hereford, the place and dignity of a Prebendary of the Col- legiate Church of St. Peter, Westrr, 'aster, void by the death of Dr. William Tournay."—London Gazette.
We are sorry for this. Surely Earl GREY might have been con- tent with the emoluMents in Church and State which his family and connexions were already in possession of, without conferring this Prebendal stall on his brother,—that brother being at the same time the enemy of the Reform Ministry. The defence set up for the Premier is, that he does no more and no worse than his predecessors. But we have a right to expect better things from Earl GREY, who for the last forty years has been held up as the purest of modern statesmen, than from the professors in the old Tory school of politics. Should Earl GREY unfortunately deem it right to oppose certain measures of Church Reform which will, we believe, be strongly pressed upon Parliament next session,—such as the abolition of pluralities, for example,—he has, in this appointment, furnished an argument against the sincerity of his conduct, which will not fail to be used with bitterness and effect.
In pursuance of the Premier's example, and therefore in safety from his censure, Lord PLUNKETT feathers his own family-nest. It is stated in the Dublin Opposition papers, and we have not seen the statement contradicted, that the appointment of Law Agent to the new Church Commissioners is to be given to a Mr. FETHERSTON, the partner of Mr. NrCALTSL AND, Lord PLUNKETT'S brother-in-law ; whose name is already fa- miliar to the public as the recipient of a comfortable portion of their money. For the conduct of Lord PLUNKETT, as for that of Earl GREY, the only apology offered is, thathis predecessors—Lord ELDON and others—gave numerous appointments to their rela- tions and intimates. Such men as Mr. SPRING RICE think the apology sound and sufficient; but the nation thinks differently, and will not allow what was highly censured in Tories to be ex- cusable in the Whigs.
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