In the debate of Thursday night the Duke of Argyll
spoke very strongly and very ably against the Bishop of Peterborough's pro- posal to consider the tax on clerical incomes,—of which every clergyman who pays it has notice before he takes his benefice,— as part of the private property of the Irish Church, simply because the State has hitherto devoted it to the repair of the Churches. His speech reads, indeed, like a very stout repetition of Mr. Glad- stone's stiff protest against any sort of re-endowment, at the Mansion House, but one remark which subsequently dropped from the Duke of Argyll during a silly speech of the Marquis of Bath's rather diminished the general effect of its tone. The Marquis having said that it had been declared that no amendment would be accepted which "embraced the question of re-endowment,"—the noble Marquis apparently meant by "embracing the question of re-endowment," the same as embracing the principle of re-endow- ment, but he does not shine in lucidity of speech,—the Duke of Argyll interposed, "I do not say that,"—which suggests that the Cabinet is not yet quite united on that point. But whether a small grant for Roman Catholic and Presbyterian manses be admitted or not,—and we heartily hope it may be,—this prepos- terous claim to 1,19,000 a year of public money on behalf of the Disestablished Church, must be either balanced by equivalents given to the other Churches, or disagreed to in the House of Commons.
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