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Tomahawk (1867-1870), 19th June 1869, Edition 1 of 1, Page unpag, The Lords have thrown down the gauntlet,...

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    • HOLD MY ZOXJDS/ AND HBAH ME.
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      The Tomahawk: A Saturday Journal Of Sati...

      THE TOMAHAWK : A SATURDAY JOURNAL OF SATIRE . : o tiitti bu & tt \ nx tfgttkttt " INVITAT CULPAM QUI PECCATUM PR ^ ETERIT . "

      No. In.] London, June 19, 1869. [Price T...

      No . in . ] LONDON , JUNE 19 , 1869 . [ Price Twopence .

      Hold My Zoxjds/ And Hbah Me.

      HOLD MY ZOXJDS / AND HBAH ME .

      The Lords Have Thrown Down The Gauntlet,...

      The Lords have thrown down the gauntlet , and Lord Harrowby has rushed forward to lead the attack against the House of Commons , for to that the proposal to reject the Irish Church Bill really amounts . Lord Harrowby is admirably fitted for the part he has undertaken ; he has upon him the seal of approval from many Protestant meetings over which he has presided . By the way , it seems that the word Protestant has regained all its former significance , for their main occupation now is " protesting " against the Irish Church Bill , which they do with a vigour that does honour to their name . Lord Harrowby , to judge from his motto , is a second Hannibal . " Servata fides cineri ; " on the ashes of his ancestors he has sworn to protect the Irish Church , and he will keep his oath . We suppose he has been selected as being a ' relic of Lord Palmerston ' sministry , who may represent the retrograde Whigs as well as the stationary Conservatives . However , it matters little who leads , the question is , who will follow ? Though before this reaches the public the fatal step will have been taken , and the bill may even have been rejected by the Lords ; we may yet be allowed to say something in depreciation of such an act of madness . What do the Lords want to do % To save the Irish Church .

      Are they so deaf to all the warnings of history as to think that they can procure the rejection of the Bill by the country , or its representatives , now , when it has been passed by such an overwhelming majority ? Do they not remember the case of the abolition of the paper duty , which was carried in the House of Commons by a majority of nine before , and of thirty-three subsequent to its rejection by the Peers ? These were but small majorities , and then the Upper House had the show of right on their side ; yet their opposition was worse than useless . What is it likely to be in the case of the Irish Church , when the country has unmistakeably declared against it , and the Bill comes to the Lords backed by a majority of 1271 Do the Lords wish to save more of its present property to the Church , and to modify its separation from the State ? We do not think there is much chance of effecting this , but , if there were , the rejection of the Bill would destroy it altogether . Is it not always the case that where the Government of a country is essentially ' popular , any rejection of the people ' s demands , by either House of Legislature , only strengthens their power , and doubles their resolution . There is no case in which the Lords have ever successfully resisted a measure of importance which the Commons had passed ; they have always had to yield in the end , when no choice was left them between that and civil war .

      But , say the opponents of the Bill , " It is our duty to reject this Bill ; it is an attack on Protestantism , it is only a preface to a spoliation of the Church of England , & c , & c . " We all know the jist of these arguments ; they have been answered over and over again . Of course , this anxiety to support the establishment and endowment of the Church has nothing to do with any self-interest , it only comes from an earnest sense of the duty of maintaining he Protestant religion in Ireland . What has the Established Church in Ireland done ? Has it converted the Irish Catholics 1 Has it increased its . members in proportion t © the population ? What has it done that it cannot do as well now , when , in lieu of the support of the State , it will have the zealous and generous support of its many defenders who will rally round it in the hour of its need , and pour their subscriptions into its episcopal lap ? As to the Church of England , if there be a party anxious to destroy that , do the Lords want to support that party ? Because if they do they are going the right way about it , by rejecting this Bill . So surely as they deliberately set themselves in opposition to the national will , expressed through the Commons , so surely will they call forth such indignation that moderate men will forget their moderation , and be hurried , in the excitement of the moment , into an alliance with the extremest revolutionists ,

      and a clamour will be raised throughout the land against all Ecclesiastical Establishments . We will not say that we wish to see the English Church destroyed , and therefore it is that we look with the utmost apprehension upon the resolve of the Lords to abandon all attempts at conciliatory policy , and to resist the Commons to the last upon this issue . As soon as the bill is rejected by the House of Lords , so surely will the hands of those who are opposed to all institutions , human and divine , be strengthened , and the fate of the English Church and the House of Lords itself will be in a great measure decided . " If this is the case , " say the supporters of the Irish Church , " we prefer to fight you at once . " But surely they court defeat by righting on such an issue . Let them pass the bill , modified if they like , with solemn protests if they like ; and then , if instead of devoting itself to the many necessary measures of legislation , which are all retarded by this question of the Irish Church , they evince nothing but a mischievous determination to promote revolutionary measures , merely because they are revolutionary , then , and not till then , let the Lords raise the standard of uncompromising resistance , and they will be supported by the country . But if now they listen to evil and selfish councils , and show themselves incapable of assisting in the concession of an act of justice to Ireland , they will alienate the

  • Citation
    • Tomahawk (1867-1870), June 19, 1869, page unpag, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/t/issues/ttw_19061869/page/3/