The Sun.
London, England, 1852-10-29 00:00:00

pull down the Episcopaihns, and thus to achieve the
required equality. The condition of the squire and
the labourtr would he assimilated, ;is well by stripping
the former of his wide-spread Lmaiiis, and compell-
ing hiin to earn his daily bread by the sweat of his •
brow, as wall as by endowing the latter with man-
si,:ns, packs, and all the 4ppliances for a ii' e Ot luxu-
rious indolence. Mr. BRIGHT adopts this course.
His equality starts from this point, that " henceforth
there is to be no Church in Iceland in connexion
with the State." This is so simple and satisfactory
a proposition that the Hon. Gentleman anticipates from
it a very general and cordial welcome, not only from
all outside the pile of the Establishment, but from
many of its members, who are enlightened enough
to see wheat is right and just enough to wish it to be
done, so that but little doubt cen remain of the suc-
cessful termination of the onslaught about to be com-
menced on the devoted victim.
Another question, however, remains to be disposed
of—What is to be done with the spoil ? How are
the funds now in the hands of the Irish Church to be
appropriated ? Here, too, there are two modes of
arrangement. " The first and most simple plan would
be

to absorb"—convey, the wise call it—" the revenues
of the Established Church, as the livings become vacant,
and to apply them in some channel not Ecclesiastical,in
which the whole population of Ireland could partici-
pate. There are, however, objections to this plan
which Mr. BRIGHT admits to be " of some force,"
viz., " that it would be hard on the Protestant Epis-
copalians, after having so long pampered them with a
munificent support, to throw them all at once on their
resources; and that to withdraw the Regium Donum
from the Presbyterians of the North when they have
no other provision made for their religious wants,
would be to create a just discontent among them."
Another and more complicated arrangement is con-
sequently necessary, and that the Hon. Gentleman
has "ready cut and dry" in a form for which he an-
ticipates " a general concurrence of opinion in its
favour in Ireland, and a great amount of consent in
England and Scotland."
He first assumes that Church property in Ireland
is worth 500,0001. per annum, which on a sale would
realize 20 years' purchase, or 10,000,0001. sterling.
This assumption is, we fear, not very well founded.
Even if 500,0001. per annum were realized at the
present day, which, under the existing circumstances
of the country, we greatly doubt, it would not, if
offered for public competition, produce anything like
20 years' purchase—indeed, scarcely half that amount.
It must be borne in mind, that well-circumstanced,
real estates are now selling, with rare exceptions,
at 14 or 15 years' purchase, and that they have
even recently changed hands at a much lower
figure. Could it then for a moment be supposed
that "tithes"—at all times a very objectionable descrip-
tion of property, and peculiarly so when a scramble
was going on for the appropriation and general con-
fiscation of every kind of Church property—more espe-
cially of anything savouring of an ecclesiastical origin,
would bring twenty or even fifteen years' purchase.
The notion is perfectly ridiculous. It shows that
Mr. BRIGHT'S Irish experiences are not quite so ex-
tensive, or his information so accurate as he fancies.
But putting the amount out of the question, as the
principle does not depend thereon, let us see what he
proposes. We shall adopt his own language. He
says :
" Let an Act be passed to establish a Church Pro-
perty Commission' for Ireland, and let this commission
hold in rust, for certain purposes, all the tithes and other
property now enjoyed by the Established Church ; let it,
in fact, become possessed of the 10,000,0001. sterling,
the income from which now forms the revenues of that
Church, as the livings and benefices become vacant. It
would be desirable to offer facilities to the landed pro-
priotors to purchase the tithes at an easy rate, in order
that funds might be in hand to carry ont the other
arrangements of the scheme. I ha►e estimated the total
value at 10,000,0001.; it might not reach that sum if the
tithes were sold at a low rate ; but, whether it were
10,000,0001. or only 8,000,0001., would not affect the
practicability or the justice of this proposition. Let this
commission be empowered and directed to appropriate
certain portions of this fund as a free gift to each of the
three Churches in Ireland—to the Protestant Episcopa-
lian, the Presbyterian, and the Roman Catholic Church.
Whatever is thus given must be a free gift, and become
as much the private property of the respective sects or
Churches as is the property of the Free Church in
Scotland, or that of the Wesleyan Methodists in Eng-
land. It must no longer be a trust from the State,
liable to interference or renal by the State, or the
'equality' and independence of the Irish sects will not
be secured."
What then is to be the amount of these gifts ? As
there is to be "equality," Mr. BRIEHT assumes them
at equal sums, or about 1,000,0001. to each, without
reference to the numbers or exigencies of the parties.
We cannot help thinking that the Regium Donum,
which was no longer to be granted by Parliament,
was the matter which the Hon. Gentleman had in his
eye when fixing the amount. One million sterling
might be considered a fair equivalent for the 40,000/.
per annum now bestowed on the Presbyterian clergy.
The same sum given to the Roman Catholics, would
purchase—allowing 1,0001. for each of one thousand
parishes—a house with from ten to twenty acres of
land for the clergyman ; but, in return for this
boon, the grant to Maynooth, 26,000/. per annum,
should be withdrawn. One million more should be
given to the Protestant Episcopalians on constituting
themselves into a free Churbh. And in the plenitude
of his bounty he would, " BO long as they undertook
to keep the churches in repair," permit them to re-
tain possession thereof at a nominal rent, for their own
use only; but when unable to keep them in repair,
that they should be at the disposal of the Commis-
sioners to let or sell as they might think proper ! The
balance of the fund, the 5,000,0001. or 7,000,0001, as
the case might be, to be reserved for purposes strictly
Irish, and directed to the educational and moral im-
provement of the people, without respect to class or
creed.

This is apparently a pleasing partition. The Stats
would get off all payments to Presbyterians or Roman
Catholics,and pocket soma five or seven millions,—the
Presbyterians would exchange an annual grant of
40,0001., subject to a yearly discussion and division
for a million sterling in hard cash. The Roman
Catholics would touch the like sum in consideration
of surrendering the provision for the maintenance of
r,laynooth, with whom, we suppose, Trinity College
would, on a like principle of "equality," be required to
divide its estates,—while the Episcopalians would get
the same amount as compensation for that cf which
they were deprived.
No provision is by this projects made for the life
estates of the present incumbents. Nor is it said into
whose hands the million is to be paid, or what secu-
rity would be taken for the appropriation of the funds
to the required purposes. Nor is it necessary, for the
retention of the churches by the Episcopalians at
once violates the principle cf equality, and renders the
measure unjust and oppressive, so that it will of course
be at once repudiated by the " conference."
It is unnecessary for Mr. BRIGHT to declare that
he is neither Roman Catholic, Episcopalian, nor Pres-
by teriar. The lengthy document he has just pub-
lished contains intrinsic evidence of the fact. The
Irish as well as the English Church requires, urgently
requires, extensive reforms ; but Mr. BRIGHT has not
indicated the character of the reforms that would be
acceptable to the people of "the United Kingdom."
He has not discovered the solution of the Irish riddle,
and may on that point justly exclaim, " Davus, non
(Edipus sum."

Happily for the people of England there are visible
at the present moment, in various directions, the most
strenuous endeavours to aid in the more general diffu-
sion of enlightenment. An educational movement
has been so long talked of, that at last it has been ac-
tually, though almost imperceptibly, commenced. At
first the experiment was tried in Ireland, and, after
some bickerings between the opponents and the sup-
porters of the enterprize, it was found to work toler-
ably to the satisfaction of the unprejudiced. Addi-
tional attempts have recently been made to impart
yet greater advantages of a similar character to
different schools at present existing in that part of the
United Kingdom called Great Britain. The nationel
schoolmaster having stepped across St. George's
Channel for a time, has returned to the grander task, it
would seem, in a great measure, almost, one may say,
re-invigorated. Very recently a series of novel ar-
rangements have been adventured upon by the autho-
rities of the Educational Baard, and under the par-
ticular sanction of ber MAJESTY'S Government,
through the anticipated efficacy of which numerous
and considerable benefits may be extended to the
poorer scholars of all denominations. Allusion is
here made, of course, to the regulations affecting the