The Sun.
London, England, 1831-06-24 00:00:00

THE IRISH CHURCH.

(From the Dublin Freeman's Journal.)
The extraordinary document respecting the dispo-
sition of Irish church revenue, will not require our
drawing the reader's attention to it. The most in-
dolent, the most inattentive, cannot pass by without
notice this stupendous mass of corruption. It rears
its head far above all the enormous evils of civil or
ecclesiastical policy in the empire. There is a diffi-
culty in approaching it, for one fears he will not use
words sufficiently copious, indignant, and compre-
hensive to equal this gigantic abuse, aitd the emo-
tions:of the reader on the bare perusal.
Those vast revenues are wrung, by a most op-
pressive system, from one of the poorest populations
in Europe, and for what purpose—to promote learn-
ing or piety ? Far from it. To pamper a few fa-
milies into unmerited wealth and arrogance, to cor-
rupt religion by corrupting its ministers, and to shock
justice by lavishing on unworthy objects the reward
of merit. Cast your eye over the list of names, and
with two or three exceptions amidst that number,
show one of high character for great or useful qua-
lities. Show one by whom any branch of science
has been explored, any department of literature
graced, or any great public principle has been sup-
ported. On the contrary, you will find in evil
plenty the names of men who have been connected
with every oppression of Ireland, who have not only
instruments
of every wrong, but been the active
of calamity, and who have been a reproach to hu-
manity as they were a ruin to their country.
The present return is quite inaccurate, and inten•
tionally so. The Clergy are adepts in the art of
concealing the real amount of their revenues. This
is particularly apparent in the assigned value of the
Bishoprics. For instance, the quantity of see lands
Armaghi
in is 63,270 acres; n Derry, 94,836 : in
Elphin, 31,832 ! But even this does not convey a
just idea of the value of a Bishopric. The Arch-
bishop of Dublin, in his examination before the
Lords, feelingly lamented the misrepresentations on
the subject of his own revenue. He said it had
been grossly overrated at fourteen thousand pounds
a year, whereas it did not exceed between seven and
eight thousand pounds. Now even this was no
trifle. It was nearly as much as the Chief Justice
of the English King's Bench receives for the heavy
labours and harassing responsibility of his station.
It is as much as the Lord Chancellor of Ireland
receives. It is nearly double the salary of an Irish
Chief Justice. Need we institute any comparison
between the services rendered ! But indeed the
Archbishop was not wronged. In forming an esti-
mate of his revenue, why should not his patronage
be considered ? Why should riot the livings, the
vicarages, rectories, prebends, and so forth, he gives
all the Magees be taken into account ? Why should
the fortune he is able to give his daughters, or the
munificent provisions for his sons be omitted ? Are
not these a part of his salary ? In stating a Judge's
salary, the expense of providing for his children is not
deducted and the residue stated as the sum of his
salary, yet this is what is done in the case ()I
Bishops. One would imagine that their children
are supported out of the specified revenue, thought
this notoriously is not the case, for the first object
of a Bishop is to provide for his sons, sons-in-law,
brothers-in-law, &c. &c. Why should they not
follow the example of the late Archbishop of Can-
terbury, who had eleven daughters, most of whom
married clergymen, and who were of course pro-
vided for ? One of his sons-in-law, Hugh Percy,
obtained eight different preferments worth 10,000/
a year, four of them being in one year. Another
son-in-law, James Crofts, is archdeacon of Canter-
bury, Prebendary of Canterbury, Curate of Hythe,
Rector of Cliffe-at-Hone, and Rector of &Atwood:
all these preferments being the gift of his father-in-
law. A brother-in-law, Richard Lockwood, ob-
tained from the Archbishop three Vicarages, and a
prebendal stall in Peterborough. A son obtained
a Chaplaincy to the House of Commons, and a
nephew several livings. In short, with every
Bishop comes a cloud of locusts and settlers on the
diocese. This is the honest mode of estimating a
andit will then be seen that
BthieshAopr'es revenue,hbishops revenue was not under-stated at
14,0001. a year.