country. It was denounced as another instance of
"back-stairs government" by many; this phrase was intended to describe
the influence of the queen, and certain ladies of her suite, in
political matters. Many of the people, however, absolved the court from
all blame, and attributed what so much offended them to the despotic
opinions and dispositions of the cabinet, especially "the duke" and Sir
Robert Peel. This feeling was chiefly directed against his grace.

THE QUESTION OF THE APPROPRIATION OF THE SURPLUS OF THE REVENUES OF THE
IRISH CHURCH.

On the 20th of March Sir Henry Hardinge, the secretary for Ireland,
brought forward, in a committee of the whole house, the ministerial plan
for settling the Irish tithe question, and moved a resolution to this
effect:--"That it is expedient to abolish tithes in Ireland, and to
authorise a composition in lieu of it, charged upon the land, and
payment to the tithe-owner; that such rent-charge might be redeemed, and
the redemption money invested in land or otherwise, for the benefit of
the persons entitled to such composition; and that the arrears of
tithe due in the year 1834 should be made up from what remained of the
L1.000,000 advanced by parliament to the clergy of Ireland in 1833."
After a determined resistance from a large portion of the radical
members, the motion was carried by a majority of fifteen. This would
probably not have been the case, had not Lord John Russell given Sir
Robert Peel a qualified support.

Ministers had brought forward everything that could be done practically
to remove the evils attending the collection of tithes in Ireland; and
the opposition propounded no measure which would go further in the way
of securing or arranging the payment of tithe to the Protestant church;
they even complained that the new government was merely imitating the
conduct of its predecessors. Their only position now was to maintain
that it was not enough merely to place on a better and surer foundation
the collection of tithe for the Protestant church, but that, to some
extent at least, though to what extent nobody attempted to define, it
must cease to exist as tithe payable to the Protestant church, and be
applied to purposes in which Catholics might have an equal interest.
This ground was now taken by the opposition. On the 30th of March Lord
John Russell moved the following resolution:--"That this house resolve
itself into a committee of the whole house, in order t