The Express.
London, England, 1852-10-28 00:00:00

. DISTRIBUTION OF TIM IRISH CHURCH. 1
' REV E N UES.
- ... .
The following important letter hem Mr. J. Bright,,
M.l'., laying down in detail his views on the . iteli•
`ions Equality" question, was received in Dublin on
Friday. It is addressed to Dr. Gray, one of the
secretaries of the preparatory committee of the
forthcoming conference:
Mr Dean Da. Gariv—l observe from the newspapers
that the friends of " religious equality" in Ireland are about
to hold a Conference in the City of Dublin, with a view to
consider the ea sting ealesiastieal arrangements of your 1
country. My engagements will not permit me to be pre-
sent at your deliberation. and, indeed, lam not sure that
your invitations allied ioniser thee to Irishmen and Irish
represeutatives ; but I feel strongly disposed to address you
on the great question you are about to discuss—a question
affecting the policy and interests of the United Kingdom,
but of vital importance to Ireland.
Let me say, in the grit place, that I am heartily glad
that any number of the Irish representatives should have
resolved to grapple with a question which, in my opinion,
must be settled on tome just basis, if Ireland is ever to be
tranquil and content. The cam of the catholic population
of Ireland, and, in truth, it is scarcely more their cue than
that of every istelligent and just protestant in the three
kingdoms, is so strong, se unanswerable, and so generally
admitted, that nothing is wanting to insure its complete
success but the combination of a few able and honest men ,
to coucentrato and direct the opinion which elicits. If such
men are to be found among you—resolute, persevering, sal
disiuterestcd—a great work is before them, and SI tor:lndy
a great result. 'They will meet with insult and calumny in
abundance ; every engine of the "supremacy " party witl
be in motion against them ; they will be denounced as "con-
spirators" against the institutions of the country, when, in
fact, they combine only whist a 'Temente which it is hard
to say whether it is more humiliating in Ireland to endure,
or disgraceful in England to inflict; bet against all this,
having • right cause, and working it by right means, they
will certainly succeed.
It would be to insult your understanding were I to line-
gine that you demand and thing more or less then a perfect
" equality " before the law for the religious sects which
rout in Ireland —that is, for the members or adherents of
the protestant episcopalian, the presbe tenon, and the Roman
catholic churches. 8u entirely is it felt that you are in the
right in making this demand, that, with regard to it, your
oppoaeats dare not attempt an argument with you ; they
prefer to say that you claim something ilse,—namely, a su-
premacy ns hiveful as their own, and then they hod it easy
to contact the matter with you, writing and speaking, as
they do chiefly, to a protestant audience. On this point there
should be no possibility of mistake ; and not only should the
demand for " equality " be unequivocal, but it appears to mo
moat desirable that some mode of attaining it should be dis-
tinctly pointed out. We may, perhaps, imagine an " equa-
lity" which would allow the protestant establishment to r.-
main as it is, or, at lout, to continue to be a st.ve church,
building up at its aide a catholic establishment, and, to com-
plete the scheme, a presbyterian establishment also, having
a botch of catholic prelates sad of presbyterian divines in
the House of Lords ; but, in my opinion, any scheme of
" equality " of this description would be', and must nett's.:
rily be, altogether impracticable. Lord John Russell, I
think in 1813, 'termed as opinion that the protestant
church in Ireland should not be subverted, " hut that the
Roman Catholic church, with its bishops and clergy, should
be placed by the state on a footing of equality with that
church." He adopted the term " equality, " and said
that any plan he should propose would be "to follow out
that principle of equality, with all its consequences." Lord
Grey, in 180, was, if possible, still more explici•, for he
said, after expressing his opinion that " the esthetics have
the first claim" on the funds applied to ecclesiastical
purposes in [Mind, " you must give the catholic clergy
an equality also in social rank and position," end he went
even further than this and said, ss I carry my view
on the subject so far as to with to see the prelates
of the Roman catholic church take their places in the bombs
on the episcopal bench." From this it appears that Lord
John Russell and Lord Grey, seeing the enormous evil of
the "misting system, were ready to justify almost any mea-
sure that promised political and ecclesiastical equality to the
Irish °scholia ; but they wished that equality to he obtain, d
without the subversion of the peek stunt established church
in Ireland. Of course, if all parties among the statesinin
and the public of the United Kingdom were agreed, funds
might be provided for the perpetual eudewment, and sub-
jection to state control, of the Irish catholic and pre,byterian
churches, and some plan might be devised to secure them a
representation in the House of Lords; but, happily for
mound principles in civil government, and happily far reli-
gion itself, all parties are not agreed to do this, but are
rather agreed that it shall not be done. The " equate,"
which Lord John Russell would " follow out with ,
all its consequences " is a dream, and Lord
Grey's hold idea of giving the Irish catholic' ,
" the first claim to the funds," and of placing
their bishops in the House of Lords, is not less impractic.
able. To have two established churches in Ireland, the one
protestant and the other catholic; to have in the House of
Lords protestant and catholic bishops elbowing each other
011 the " righst rev. beach," guarding the temporal and api- 1
ritual interests of two churches which denounce each other',
as idolatrous or heretical, would be an incoosisteney so
glaring, that it would go far to overthrow all reverence fir
governments and churches, if not for Christianity itself.
The scheme it surely too absurd to be seriously thought of;
and if there be a statesman bold enough to propose it, he
will find no support in the opinion of the English public,
except from that small section with whom religion goes fur
nothing, and churches and priests are tolerated as ma-
chinery in the pay and service of the government.
But there is an "equality " which is attaivable without
ioconsisieney, which would meet with favour among large
classes in every part o' Great Britain, and which, I think,
if fairly proposed, would he well received by many of the
more enlightened and just protestant' in Ireland. It is an
"equality" which must start from this point, that henceforth
there must be no church in Ireland in connexion with the
state. The whole body of English diameters, the United Pres-
byterian church of Scotland, sad the relation of
the United Kingdont,taiAht be y to welcome
each a proposition; and it is ID wadentand how the
presbyterians of the north of Ireland, ee the free church of
Scotland, or the adherents of the W an conference in
England, could, with as ecesistemay ee decency, oppose it;
and I am eoziLlent Melt • Imp smatter of persons con-
nected with the setabilhed ellogebel ha drabs,. kingdoms,
who are enlightened eassak to see what is right and just
enough to wish it to be dere, would give their support to
any minister who had the Immo to make such a measure
the great distingalabing Ile Of isle sehainistration. Bat, if
this principle were adeptadl—that is, Oa principle that hence-
forth there must be me dwelt in Ireland in connexion
with the state, there would still he a quetion as to the
appropriation of the Mtge funds now in the hands of
the Irish established church. There are two modes
of dealing with time funds, either of which may
be defended, but me a them teems to offer fa-
eUities white de net beim to the other. The most
simple plan wield be to elbewb the revenues of the 'stele,
limbed chunk ea the Heap beseme vacant, and to apply
them la same chasm' lase endeelistioal, Is which the whole
pomslatioa of Ireland oda prOdeme. The objections to
this plan axe that it wadi be bad -epistle Protestant Epis-
copalians, after having pampered Sea mhos with a mini.
Scent support, to throw then ell el IMO IS Ull*lllloll/0116
and that to withdraw the reptlm deans heft the to-
eless of the sera, what they haw as Mar provisiea made
for Imir sumo woate, would bete ele•le a just diem-
eme mews Sea. Tame is sem wets to ale, inasmuch as
epee sae isaseallas would assess the burden of the
erealim ma se of a aeganisation which, in
vastriasy is lb work or iseseemive re-
asestleaear Sok thelqweasut amp be ma-
. 1418
Mend alma kmarible lt hawed leapseesemeut
which does eisufspagisis, but rather eboriass, tie principle
of a state dumb. DA whatever may be the Inconveni-
ences of tide Plea Sop me, is
_ray estimetlea. infinitely less
than thee, whisk ems Issepseable teem a continuance of the
masa%
Themertoorstart, offiedier suede of settlement which,
IMllapes M wee 'ldeation, is probably more likely to
• gell•IIROMPO of °pinks ha its favour in Ire-
!and, be willsb. I think, • (me amount of consent
ml ht beserstela k lastand and Sciatlaad. Your present
eeilesiamisal anumpemeal an badly these : The protestant
Episcopal elms* liss akimet. per wan entrusted to it, or
a principal um, at 10 years' panhase, of ten millions ster-
ling. The Pieehyteriaa eht.reberchuriebes have 40,0001. per
annum, or, estimated at the MEN rate, • principal sum of
eight hundred talented peetads. The Roman catholic church
has 26,0001. sammat • prise.ipal sum of five hundred
and twenty pmeds. I will my nothing about the
exact proportions of population belonging to each church, for
I do not wish to give opportunity Mr dispute about figures.
It is sufficient to say, what every knows to he true, that
the Irish populatis• tertalkabe, and that the protestant., whe-
ther of the EpisespiEna at of the Presbyterian church, or
of both united, am • MBA Minority of the Irish people. I
will admit the tesspeesey lordship of at once withdrawing
hem the peeteleut etas all the resources which the state
hes hitherto provided At Sew but, at the same time, so
semen deny, and I emma Otreet, the hardship to which
thei easkelias bare been ids Inasmuch u that they,
tie poem* pendia of the pimple. ad by many times the
meet maereea, have bees eat out front almost all parti-
dpatiou In the public famb applied to ecclesiastical pnr•
poses in Ireland. Is IS net possible to make an arrange-
ment by which the nismtsoll 'hardship to the protestant'
may he avoided, and thee se isme *adored by the catholic.,
in part, at least, red:ma 11 AM ran this be done without
departing from the peisidgie, " that henceforth there must
be no church is Ire to seeneuion with the state ?"
Let an set be puma _to establish a " Church Property
Comminian" lior Inked. sod let this commission hold in
Milk he gertaim all the tithes and other property
sew eked by Ift sets (abed church ; let it, in fact,
beeememmesed of the ten millions 'telling, the income
wfrom new forms the revenues of that church, as the
livings and bentrikes become vacant. It would be desirable
to offer facilities to the landed proprietors to purchase the
tithes, at an rosy rate, in order that funds might be in
hand to entry out the other arrangements of the scheme.
I have estimated the total value at ten millions; it might
not reach that sum if the tithes were sold at a low rate; but
whether it were ten millions, or only eight millions, would
not affect the practicability or the joshes of this proposition.
Let this commission be empowered and directed to appro-
priate certain portions of this fund as a free gift to curb of
the three churches in Ireland—to the protestant episcope-
Han, the presbyteries, and the Roman catholic church.
Whatever is thus given mast be a free gift, and heroine
as much the private property of the respective "acts or
churches, as is the property of the Free Church in Scot-
land, or that of the Wesleyan methodists in England. It
must no longer be a trust from the state, liable to interfer-
ence or rend by the state, or the " equality" and inde-
pandemic* et the ilia seem will not be seemed.