The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1868-03-24 00:00:00

floret emit! aims.

TUMIDLY, MARCH 24, DM

NOTES OF THE WEEK.

The deliberate declaration of Mr. Gladstone, on
the closing night of the recent Irish dohs* that
'the Irish Church mitt OMNI to Grist," is followed
this week by a formal SODOWIOSMIItiI on the pert of
tha right bow gentleman of • resolution for the
endowment of that establishment. Considerable
care hos been exercissd in phrasing the motion, and
it is evidently intended m a rallying point for the
Liberal party. The issue it raises between the
Ministry and the Opposition is clear and distinct;
yet it seem' to us that a qusetion of such difficulty
and gravity, esoonfe.edly is the lrish Church,
would be more likely to receive an equitable solution
if approached in any other manner than os now—
with the bitterness of • sectarian controversy, and
in the bent of party strife. The onnouposinent of
the motion has called forth violent declarations
showing the extremes to which the differences
on the subject may be pushed In partisan sag
The liberal Prim see in the proposal to abolish the
Irish Church as • Stets establishment nothing but
"mere justice," while the Ministerial prints regard
it as rank conascatios i" but for ourssion,
viewing ths matter in the purer light of
Independent journalists, it hal another Aspect.
The Stan church in the Miter isle aware
to us as • dilloulty equally for its imp-
porters and for its opponents. It is a Wad
thing to justify theoretically the appropriation of
the eadesisitiod property of • country osetaidiuu
nearly six millions if inhabitants for Abu benefit 01
only • tooth of their number. Nobody in these
days would, indeed, Wimp, fin justify such an
appropriation, if it had now kr be made for the first
he,; but those who attack the existing slate of
things ought never to forget that it has existed sub-
stantially for throe centuries. We do not lay that
even such • durotn as this can remove • sense of in-
I alike among tbs majority who are excluded from the
nonaltiot errassisstioal endowments ; bat it certainly
Otoss.eN•7ascriptirre title to those who we in paneled.
"GA°. the Church property of Ireland stash as was
perhaps swear b.f.* essetirsisei tasey enuntrY•
Allowing that there are only hslf-winillion of
Anglicans in baked, and even leaving out of
sight the fact that another half-a-million of Presby-
terians and Protestant dissenters desire the
nasionnanos of the establishment almost as
strongly as the Anglicans themselves, upon
what principle can them churchmen be
entirely denuded of all ecclesiastical endowment.?
In England and in Scotland the Sado thinks
it right to maks provision for the churches of the
majority in those opantaies respectively; in Ireland
the State makes, and has made for ages, • like
provision foe the minority, in the hope of turning it
Into • majority. But even this minority is •
majority in two senses; it forms part of the
majority of the whole United Kingdom as
sewed by the Church of England and that or
flootland, and ills in many separate parts of Ireland
locally as much a majority as are the adherents of
the two Established Churches of Groot Britain.
Hers is a noteworthy distinction between the case
of Ireland and that of Great Britain. In !Ise latter
the adherents of the Established Church are
pretty evenly diffused, forming im most plane •
local majority; in the former they are very un-
evenly diflospd, forming the majority of laMbitonts
to many plans, and an insigniffoont minority in
many others. Why, then, 4b0u14 a majority of
'Anglicans is the districts of Ulster or Lasater be
' deprived of right" anogolms to those which
majorities Anglicans enjoy in every district of
England? Tin title of the former to their church
=ty is every way as good as that of English or
churchmen, and is old enough, in all con.
eligas" to be respected. It sorely cannot mode
the Injustice from which • majority sulfa in
one part of Ireland, to deprive the majority
In another of their long-established rights.
Roman Catholios may have an equal claim with
Protestants for State support to their religion • but
this claim cannot be satisfied by the disestablish.
moat and diandowment of the Protestant establish-
ment. This woorostem method of producing
equality might be silvery well if Ireland were on
independent country, and the question had merely
Ile be esmidered as regards Ireland; but we must
rensimber that Ireland is an integral pert of the
United Kingdom. Why, then, should the people
of England and Sootbad have part of their land vet
apart to make provision far religious worship, while
In Ireland no such reooguition of religion should be
made' It is all very weU for voluntaryist', whose
ultimate object it is to do away with all religion
endowments, to attack the Irish Church Establish-
ment; but people who reeogniss that it is well to
have • part of the bind of the 000ntry devoted to
religions purposes, ought to perceive that to destroy
the wimple in Ireland must greatly endanger it
in Groat Britain. And what does the whole matter
amount to after all? Whether onnant donations of
land for eoolssiosticel porpoise—that it is to say for
the common benefit of ths people, or a oonsidamble
portion of thiam—,ire to be respected, or whether
the Church property is to pais to private
proprietors. For this most be the end of diem.
dowmait. The British Exchequer would be
enriched at the 'sponse of • portion of the
Irish people, by the amount of tire purchase many
of the soclesiestiod edam ; and these would become
private properties. What good would this do the
Irish people at large? As much good as it would do
the inhabitants of • village to have their common.
land enclosed by the lonlof the manor, because only
portion of the Inhabitants had a right to use it.
Surely, before such • disposition is made of church
property even in those parts of Ireland where there
are practically no persons to claim sad enjoy it" ass,
it might be worth wondering whether it might not
In applied for the Monk of the local majority,
either in • religious or secular way. The difficulty
of disposing of it in the latter mode, is that its
revenues would merely take the *es of • Govern-
ment grant, union it were applied in relief of lora-
Non, as for the minuteman of the poor ; and men
then it would rather be devoted to the benefit of the
well-to-do (in reducing the rotas they paid) than for
the actual good of the poor themselves. The
difficulties we have this poistnd out in dealing with
the property of the Irish Selablishmant should be
well wandered both by the people of Great Britain
sod of Ireland; aad the Roman Catholic portion of
the latter should Meilen before, in blind resentment
against the. establisiinemt, they at the .me time
aid in depoving their Protestant fellow•oounternen
of their rights, and give op to Wee Stets their own
reversion to estates properly applicedde for the
ammo@ benefit of the people.
That Mr. Gladness may is relegation for
the disendownasut of the them
aidetabie room' to heirs,,, and quits as =me to
i.
°°a.
„lugs that in such ease the Premier would dissolve
parliament. This is the inte
put uatersmarks, oonols="1.1:: r
Cul
on
s motion, n•Psoting the "mord in-
Mr.
competence" of the present Parliament to settle the
Church qusslion without an appeal to the psopk.
But, even in such oess a dissolution may he possibly
the end of the riensiou, in order te get
ill's=to
and the Irish Reform Bill paned, as there
IWO prandants for such a course after • crucial
Ministerial defeat, when urgent Parliamentary
hunasse requires lobe dom.

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