the reduction in price of articles consumed in his own county of Norfolk, that, though the wages of the
agricultural labourer were less, his comforts were considerably more, than they had been for many years past.
Finally, he earnestly warned the tenant-farmer class not to be led away by any such delusion and snare as
the least prospect of a return to Protection.

These truths are of the last importance at present, as probably Lord Stanley felt at the time, and since
has had stronger assurance of. He cannot take office either on Mr. Disraeli's cautious pretence, or Lord
Granby's more frank avowal. He cannot, on behalf of a section of the community alleged to be suffering,
and never known within living memory to have been doing anything else, demand the reversal of a policy
from which, to all other sections of the community, increased trade, increased commerce, increased employment,
increased consumption, decreased expenditure, general tranquillity, and a large financial surplus, have
confessedly arisen. He knows perfectly well that the very importation of foreign corn and flour so bitterly
complained about, implies a consumption paid for by increased employment of the people; and that he might
as well seek to restore the heptarchy as to bring back restriction. It is not necessary that what passed
between the Queen and himself should be explicitly stated, events satisfy Mr. Disraeli's insolent questionings.
It is enough that office has been within his grasp, and that, as yet, neither a party nor a policy has enabled
him to take it. It will probably turn out that he really possesses neither; and that there will be imposed
upon him and his followers much castigation, exercise devout, humbler indulgence of extravagant speech,
and a posture recumbent for a considerable time longer, before either he or they can hope to resume any
permanent share in a government which must henceforth be carried on for the general welfare of every class,
and without exclusive regard to the particular interests of any.

Should the reconstruction of a Free-trade Ministry, by junction of the Whigs with Sir James Graham and
his friends, lead to the reconstruction of the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill into a measure better justifying, by
effective provisions, the hostility inseparable from legislating on the subject at all, it will not be matter for
regret. If, indeed, the explanation of the effect of the bill by the Attorney-General had turned out to be
correct, a better measure could hardly have been devised. It would, in that case, not simply have made
amenable to punishment and fine the assumption of territorial titles, and the assignment or conveyance of
property to trusts under such titles; but would have secured the nullity of all such temporal interference, in
the usurped characters expressed by those titles, as that of Synods protesting against education, and obstructing
the ordinary course of civil government. But the bill itself fails to bear out Sir John Romilly's construction
of it. "I attack the territorial title," said Sir John, "because the present constitution of the Roman Church
makes such a title necessary to the Ecclesiastical exercise of the Episcopal office: by prohibiting the former,
therefore, I effectually stop every evil that can follow on the latter." This is not so clear. For what are the
provisions of the bill? The first clause prohibits the assumption of ecclesiastical titles taken from the name of
any place or district within the United Kingdom, and subjects offenders to a penalty of £100. The second clause
declares all acts done or documents signed under any such territorial title to be null and void. The third
clause substitutes the Crown, in place of the bearer of any such titles, as administrator of property conveyed
in trust to the latter. And the fourth compels offenders against the act to give evidence on oath of their
own share in any of the prohibited proceedings. Of these clauses, it is obvious that the Attorney-General
had hoped to check what is called the Synodical action of the Roman Catholic church by means of the
second. But surely a clause so easy of evasion generally, could not be made stringent against Synods
particularly. Suppose Dr. MacHale to have flung all his virus into the proceedings of a Synod, and to be
afterwards content to sign the decree, diffusing and giving effect to the poison, with the name of "John,
Archbishop of the Roman Catholics in Tuam," it is just as certain that the decree would lose nothing of its
potency as that Archbishop John would escape the mulct and penalty.

The error arises from the supposition that Romish bishops cannot be constituted without territorial
titles; whereas in every circumstance and particular of authority within their church, they are independent
of the territorial part of their title. Assuming, then, that the bill fails in this very important respect, it seems
to us unwise to have extended its provisions to Ireland so far as the mere interdiction of usurped titles
forms part of it. There will be continual difficulty, and unceasing exasperation, in resolving to proscribe
by the external agencies of law what cannot be proscribed in the minds of the great body of the population.
On the other hand, it is perfectly within the province of the legislature to apply to both countries the
precautions framed by this bill against the endowment in either kingdom of any branch of the Romish church.
Here the design of the Pope is fairly confronted and thrust back. One of the great uses of a hierarchy
is to facilitate the acquisition of property. As his Holiness has chosen to ignore the law in creating his
bishops, the law returns him but a compliment in kind when it demands, as its condition of intercourse
with the holy men, that they should put off the titles so defiantly usurped. But this fair and reasonable
restriction is at once an effective bar to the retention of property for the uses desired; and thus one of the
greatest uses of the hierarchy is at once estopped. Supposing this bill, then, to give place to any other attempt
to legislate on the part of the new administration, it might yet be desirable, in retaining that part of its
disqualifying effect, to attempt to extend it also to such abuses of authority on the part of the bishops, as might
be held interferences with the province of temporal legislation and the policy of the State. With any such
precaution, the mere assumption of titles would have no alarm for us; and with the power of the Synod, or
of any other organisation which may seem needful to the Catholic church for management of its own affairs,
we should not dream of meddling.

One thing is quite certain, that it will not do to evade this question by way of smoothing the difficulties
of a ministerial crisis. It will have to be fairly met, and so disposed of as to satisfy the English people.
The measure as it stands is denounced by the organ of the Romish priests as the most absolute delusion
and trick that ever was tried to be palmed upon the gullible and unsuspecting; but that kind of pretence
is too stale to pass for a reality. When the Tablet, with a quite amazing assumption of philosophical
indifference, protests that Lord John's bill fills it with concern only because it is inefficient, and denounces
protestant feeling that can declare itself contented with such an abortion, as "the most contemptible,
ludicrous, rotten, asinine, weak, paltry, blind, wretched, miserable humbug that ever disgraced
humanity," its calmness is too like Sir Anthony Absolute's to reveal anything but secret rage. We
may be sure that a part of the bill has been well aimed, or the cry of assumed indifference would not
be so piercing. Nay, it is not difficult to gather, from what this journal says of the possibility of even