The Sun.
London, England, 1837-11-11 00:00:00

DUBLIN.-TORYISM.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
The tide circulation of The Sun, and the value and effi-
ciency of its attention to Irish subjects for some years past,
have procered for me the following statement, which I trans-
mit for publication at your earliest convenience. It is power-
fully illustrative of the spirit and practices of Toryism, and
of the effects of the Ascendancy regime. It will also tend
to elucidate the reasons why the Church Establishment,
accompanied by its monopolies and impositions, as contra-
distinguished from a reformed religion, has become ob-
noxious to the majority of the people of Ireland. In no other
country in the world could such laws have been enacted ;
or, having been enacted, would they be submitted to, or
allowed to be enforced, except in this long-neglected por-
tion of the empire, where the 'habitual domination of the
jiev, and subjection of the many, have rendered boils insen-
sible to those just principles of justice and virtue which
ought to prevail in the institutions of every community.
The gentleman who furnished me with the facts of the case,
believing the laws adverted to not binding upon all, if any
of the parishioners, thinks this a fit and proper opportunity,
at the commencement of an auspicious reign and a new Par-
liament, to submit them to the test of common sense and
public opinion.
In the year 1793, when the elective franchise was granted
to Roman Catholics, and after a century of oppression, that
class of Christians began to hope that all penal laws against
them would soon be abrogated, a district adjoining this city,
which had become populous, and in which several new
streets had been recently built, was constituted by Act of
Parliament into a new parish, named the parish of St.
George. Provision was also made for the erection of a
parish church, with suitable appurtenances ; and for rating
and assessing all the inhabitants of the district towards the
payment of the expenses of said church. See s3d Geo.
111. c. 53. Irish Statutes.
In the year 1806, it being found that the erection of said
church under the authority of the preceding Act, had not
been completed, it was deemed necessary to apply to the
Imperial Parliament for another Act. Accordingly, we find
amongst the local and personal Acts of that year, "an Act
for altering and enlarging the provisions of an Act passed in
the Parliament of Ireland in the 33d year of his present
Majesty, for making and constituting a new parish, by the
name of the parish of St. George, and for erecting and
building a parish church therein." (See 46 Geo. 111., c.
123, loc. et pers.) This is, properly speaking, the St.
George's Act, as it contains all the extraordinary provi-
sions and powers, er supposed powers, hereafter referred to.
It recites that the parishioners had proceeded to carry into
effect the powers vested in them, and had applied the mo-
nio, received from grants, voluntary subscriptions, and the
cesses felted and assessed by them for the building of the
church, btu; that the same was " not yet completed "—that
it might, however, he so, if the parishioners were enabled
to bo'row a certain sua2 of money—namely 14,0001., on
the c:ed t of the rates and cesses to be made there-
under. It then repealed all the previsions of the for-
mer Act relative to rating and assessment, and enacted
new ones. These new ones were to the effect, that up-
wards of thirty persons therein named as trustees should
be appointed for completing the erection of the church ;
that seven of these trustees might constitute a meeting, at
which any act agreed to by a majority of the seven, or of
those present, should be valid ; that such meeting of
trustees should be deemed a vestry for the purposes of the
Act (see sections 7, 10, and 20), and of the Acts 3d Geo.
11., c. 11, and 21st and 22d Gco. 111., c. 52, Irish. (The
importance of these two last-mentioned Acts shall be
pointed out hereafter.) That they should have the power
of appointing officers, making contracts, and have vested
in them all monies received, and materials bought for build-
ing the church—and should have power, in each and every
year, until all the monies to be borrowed shall be paid off
(sec. 17) to rate and assess, "the several houses, offices,
and ;rounds in said parish with such sum or sums of money
as they shall think sufficient," not exceeding double the
amount of Minister's money that, " shall from time to
time be allotted," under 17th and 18th, c. 2, c. 7, and
13th and 14th Geo. 111., e. 19, Irish. It further enacted
that the churchwardens should raiso and levy such cess,
and be subject to such rules, fines, and penalties, and be
accountable as under the public Acts already mentioned,
namely, the 3d Geo. 11. c. 11, and 21st and 22d Geo. 111 ,
c. 52. And it directs how the rates are to be recovered, and
how money on the credit of said rates was to be borrowed
and secured to the lenders ; but in no part of the Act do
words of the future tense, implying that houses THERE-
AFTER To BE BUILT should be rated, occur,—unless these
words of the 17th section, " shall from time to time be
allotted," can have that meaning. But, besides that the
Legislature, as can be proved, never grants such powers by
pl :ate Act of Parliament as against Fa rangers, it is respect-
fully submitted that these words refer to ministers' money
only, which at the time had 'not been assessed on all houses
then built ; commissions for such allotments not being by
law allowed to issue oftener than every three years, and in
fact seldom being issuad once in seven years. The Legis-
lature intended, in fact, by the words quoted, that when
the new houses then built should, under the periodical
Commissions, be rated for ministers' money, they should
also become liable to the Church-rate, or new cess. In
every part of tine Act, where minister's money is mentioned,
we find those words ; but where the Church-cess alone is
mentioned, they do not occur!
Again, in the year 1814, we find the 54 Geo. 111., c. 78,
Loc. and Pers.—another private Act—which, after reciting
the titles and object of the two preceding Acts, and that
the sum of 14,0001. had been raised and expended-in build.
ing the church, &e., and in part completing the other pur-
poses mentioned, goes on to say, that the said 14,0001. was
found insufficient, and that a further sum of 8,500/. would
he required ; and that therefore the trustees should be
empowered "to rats and assess the several houses, &c., in
said parish of St. Ccorge with such sum or sums of money
as they shall think sufficient fur the discharge of' the inte-
rest of tine money so to be borrowed under the authority of
this Act, and of the necessary expenses of obtaining and
carrying this present Act into execution, and such further
sum as may be deemed expedient towards discharging the
debt that may be incurred under this Act ; but no such
rate or cess shall in any one year exceed the amount of the
sum or sums of money as shall from time to time be so
allotted, ascertained, and charged for the rector of said
parish, as in the said recited Act of tine 46th year of the
reign of his present Majesty is mentioned. And such addi-
tional rate or cess, over and above the rates or ceases HERE-
TOFORE laid on, under and by virtue of said last recited Act,
shall first be made after the expiration of one calendar
month after the passing of this Act."—(Sec. 1.) It then
ap
ir,cr cl
iceedr: s
atno pdoi
host point
to u ho n
et
s ,3s the new
0v
01.istoebl
eraaubtsoeer is to be
borrowed, and
%I,eev levied and
or
d s
im-
plicative the former Act, without a single
of the purview of the Statute, or tine intention of
tine Legislature to be to render houses hereafter to be built
liable to this Church-cess. On the contrary the latter part
of the clause just mentioned—namely, " And such addi-
tional rate or cess, over and
prove
aildadt. otehattilteheraptaeratieasndappcieysisnegs
heretiiliwe laid on," c
for that Act, and the Legislature in passing it, intended
and expressly declared, that the additional rate was only to
be imposed oa tine houses theretofore assessed. And this
express deelera!ion on tine face of the last of the St.
George's Acts, as to a cess " heretofore laid on," implies
that the Legislature and the parties to these Aets at that
time—that is, inn 1814, and at tine former period, 1806—
never contemplated the liability of any houses to the first
rates, than thou) built in 1806 ; nor to the last rate, than
those actually rated in Ifs'l4. This clause, I repeat, clearly
demonstrates that no house, not mated to this CCS3 in 1814,
was to be liable to the additional rate ; and it as explicitly
construes the former Act by implication, and shots thet
the houses built in 1806, were alone contemplated by the
Legieleture as liable to the assessment authorised by the
Act passed in that year.
But the trustees, immediately after the passing of that
Act, imposed a rate, amounting to double the Minister's
money, on all the
or
enpi,:yrriastwheia,ostni:aer
therefore—say
ftoaisrett—h
pesyearyil
0, ad: a right to do.
arl:3.l,neea
r. Minister'she
clmm
,laotolle.aastyesasro.l.
amounted, during the eight years previous to 1814, to

8,8001. In the latter year the trustees were authorized to
treble the Minister's money, which was then about 6001.
a-year, and they did so on all houses rated, whether or not
built in 1806. The assessment so increased to 1,8001,
during the fifteen years intervening between that year and
1529, amounted to 27,0001. About the year 1829 the
Minister's money had increased, and is still 7501. a-year, or
thereabouts. Treble this sum, namely, 2,2501. yearly, fur
the last eight years, gives 18,0001. I take average periods,
and am sure I don't over calculate the gross assessments
actually made since 1806. The sums of monies raised
therefore are as fullows:—

Double the Minister's money, £sso—say £l,lOO,
from 1806 to ISI4, a period of eight years XB,BOO
Treble ditto, £6oo—say £l,BOO yearly, from
IAI 4 till 1829, a period of fifteen years
Treble ditto, £7so—say £2,250, from 1829 to
the present time, a period of eight years

27,000

18,000

Total..