The Sun.
London, England, 1849-07-11 00:00:00

TEE SUN, LONDON. WEDNESDAY'

of the country. Some of the parishes were ;itch ex- i
tri mely Erni ed cxtent—cer ins:aece, one in Cork was
entirely occupied by a disteLery, and another consisted
of only 40 square yards—that if they were not united
there would be no provision whatever for.the clergyman.
Another ground of convlaint was the non-rosideuce of
the clergy; tut this defect was fast disappearing. In
1819 the number of beneficed clergymen in the diocese
of Armagh was 82, of whom 15 were non-resident; in
1849 the number of beneficed clergymen had increased
to 102, whilst the number of those non-resi lent was
reduced to five, two of whom were non-resident on
acceunt of illness. In 1819 the number of benefice
clergymen in the diocese of Meath was 94, of whom 20
were non-resident; in 1849 the number of beneficed
clergymen had increased to 107, atil the number non-
resident was reduced to seven. In 1819 the number of
beneficed clergymen in the diocese of Ossory and Ferns
was 147, of whom 45 were non-resident; in 1349 the
number of beueficed clergymen had increased to 244,
and the nonresidents were reduced to nine. In 1819
there were 109 beneficed clergymen in the diocese of
Cashel and Waterford, of whom 52 were non-resident;
in 1849 the number of clergymen had increased to 121,
whilst that of non-resident was reduced to nine.--
(Hear.) Had he been able to procure returns from the
other dioceses in Ireland, they would have exhibited
similar results.—(Hear, hear.) The alleged excessive
wealth of the Church in Ireland had long furnished a
toeic for declamation against the establishment. In
1833 Lord Althorp was obliged to acknowledge that on
no subject had such exaggerated statements been put
forth as with respect to the revenues of the Irish Church,
and he (Mr. Hamilton) must he allowed to say that a
little of the old spirit of exaggeration was apparent in
the remarks of the Hon. Member for Middlesex upon
this tepic. The Hon. Member stated that the income of
the Irish clergy amounted to 680,8361, and that of the
Church altogether to 852.000/. The property of the
Church was divided amongst the parochial clergy, dig-
nitaries, and bishops. It appeared from the evidence of
Mr. Quin, one of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners that
the gross income of the Irish clergy was 453.0941., and
their net income 369,3601., without deducting the poor-
rates. The amount of rates struck during the year
ending the 31st of December, 1848, througout Ireland,
was 2a. 9id. in the pound; and it was truly stated in
that House, a few evenings since, that the moment a
rate was struck in Ireland landlords deducted the
amount, as they were empowered to do by the Church
Temporalities Act, from the clergyman's rent-
charge. It was therefore necessary to deduct from the
net income of the clergy, namely, 369,3601., the amount
taken from it by the landlords for poor-rate, which was
63.2441, and would reduce the net income of the clergy
to 306,116/.—(Hear.) Bat there was still another de-
duction to be made from the income of the clergy,
namely, the sum which they paid to their curates, which
thee Ecclesiastical Commissioners returned at 56,7081.
That deduction being made, the net income of the clergy
of the Irish Churoh stood at 249 4081., which divided
amongst them, independently of curates, would give an
average of 1721. 16s. 2d. for each clergyman.—(Hear,
hear.) According to the last census, and making no
allowance for the subsequent increase of population,
there was a congregation of 590 members of the Church
of England for each clergyman. Now, the Hon. Mem-
ber for Middlesex wou d not think of offering a clergy-
man with such a congregation less than 1721: a year,
and, therefore, it was evident that if he succeeded in
establishing his congregational principle he would be
unable to effect any saving. —(Elear ) The net income
ee twee!), of the largest benefices in Ireland was 14,1291.,
being an average of 7081. for each, which could not be
deemed very extravagant.—(Cries of " Hear, hear.")
The large,t benefice in Ireland was that of Temple-
more, attacked to the deanery of. Derry. It contained 8
churches. 15 schools, in which LOCO children were edu-
cete 1, and the incumbent kept nine curates. The present
ieeeme of this, the largest benefiee in Ireland, was only
1,552/—(Elear.) He would admit that the smallness of
particular congregations was an evil incident to the pa-
e-ochi ii system. and it was one from which Enela'd was
not exempt. The Commissioners of Public Instruction
reported that there were in 1834 forty-four benefices in
Irel nal in which there were no congregations belonging
'to the Established Church. Teenty of these livings
had lapsed to the general fund, and twenty-one still
existed, of which several would shortly lapse. But if' the
Rouse were to abolish at once these twenty-one bene•
flees in which there was ne congregation belonging to
'the Established Church, the net income derivable there-
from would be 1,2351. If they took the revenues of the
'lOO parishes in which there were the smallest congre-
gations they would derive a yearly sum of 9.049/. The
gross income of the dignitaries of the Established Church
in Ireland—deans, archdeacons, prebendaries, &c., excite,
slusive of bishops arid archbishops—was 23,000/, or
21,000/. net. The next class was the bishops, a reasonable
income for whom had been held to be about 4.000/. The
gross income of the English bishops was 6,683/., and their
net income 5,931/. The gross total income of the Irish
Bishops was 40,5331., giving an average income to each
,Bishop of 4,055/. The Archbishops received 15,808/.,
and the total income of Irish Archbishops and Bishops
'was 56,3811. There were 814 glebe-houses to 1,450 be-
eiefices, and there were great numbers of applications of
'pressing necessity for the building of new and the repair
of old churches, which it was impossible to meet, from
the want of funds. He trusted that he had stated suffi•
cient to correct the errors and gross exaggerations pre-
valent respecting the wealth of the Irish Church.—
(Rear, hear.) The Honourable Member for Mayo (Nir.
Moore) declared that the Irish Church had not fulfilled
the object for which it had been established, but he
should have thought that the sacrifices made by the
clergy of the Established Church during the late dis-
'tress sufficiently disproved the assertion that no social
'advantages had resulted from the existence of that
'Church. He had always held that the Irish Church
ought to be sustained and upheld as a missionary
land aggressive Church.—(Hear, bear.) Thei Noble
Lord the Member for Arundel said that he
(would not give a farthing for a Church that
'was not a missionary church and aggressive in its cha-
racter. Truth could only be promoted by the collision
of opinions, and he considered it to be the duty equally
:of Protestants and Roman Catholics to propogate their
views, provided that in doing so they did not violate
.Christian charity. The Noble Lord at the head of the
'Government said on the 16th of July, 1846, in reference
to this subject, that the destruction of the Protestant
'Church in Ireland would be a fatal measure in a political
.point of view, as it would alienate the feelings of many of
'the most loyal inhabitants of Ireland; and in a religious
,point of view, because it would be the commencement
of a religious war, in which the most violent attack
'would be made on the Roman Catholic Church ; and
that he believed the Roman Catholics themselves would
'he the first to complain of the destruction of the Protes-
tant Church. He (Mr. H emilton) believed that the Noble
:Lord had not in the slight-st degree exaggerated the
feelings of the great mass of the Roman Cath4dies in that
lhiweicovehudi:t,ihnsa,t:tohe great body
thatresP tht He
;b.;
I,:vngelldecalculatedHto o promoteus e
on
a
peace and civilisation.—(Hear,)
question an which he had so fr qu-ntl b f
tits opinions. The Elon. Condone ore expressed
down had called the attention of the Hwoi bad
sat
'se to the plu-
r dtties and other features of the
Established
Church is
I-elend, not one of which
ev is mentionee in the m ition
of the Hon. M-mher, tor Middlesex. He (Mr. Hume)
had rise!) to complain that the Right Hon. Baronet had
not grappled in any fair way with the multi et of his
Hon. Friend. 'Cho injury, morally and socially, which
the Church in Ireland inflicted on the people was de-
'plorahle, an I it would he sound policy to put a stop to
the evil—an evil which inflicted degradation on every
Catholic in the country —(Rear.) He had only to say
that he considered the motion of his Ron. Friend in a
financial point of view, as of great importance, and, as
effecting the morals of the people, as of the greatest
weight. The Right Hon. Baronet, in opposing the
motion, went off on the plea that the Church had been
rooted 300 years; but it had, be (Mr. Hume) was sorry
to say, grown very badly—(Leughter)—and while it
increased but little, if at all, the Catholic Church in-
creased twelvefold. The price of supporting the Church
of Ireland, as it was now supported, cost the people of
England 50,000 armed men. He felt that every Irishman
must rise daily and feel himself in relation to the state and
operation of the Church, a degraded mortal ; and
what was more, he had the additional mortification of
hearing the minority on every Sunday, railing against
the majority who paid for the support of their Church,
keeping up a state of antagonistic feeling in the country.
Was it not too bad to find the minority thus abusive of
the majority who were compelled to support them? The
time, however, he would tell the House, was come, when
they must deal with the people of Ireland on a very
different footing in respect to that Church.—(Hear, hear.)
Let them look to Scotland. If the Government had suc-
ceeded in planting in that country, as was done in Ire-
land, a Church which was alien to the feelings of its
people, would Scotland be the country which it was
now? No; It would be in the same state that Ireland
was now.—(Hear, hear.) It was admitted that while in
England the people enjoyed their own religion, and
while in Scotland the people enjoyed their own religion,
Ireland was placed in the anomalous situation of seeing
the majority of her people taxed, in order that the mi-
nority might exist. Was it any wonder, then. that dis•
content existed in that country ?—(Hear, hear.)
Let them assign any other cause. He admitted
that bad laws prevailed in the country. forming a source
of discontent; but the great cause of discontent was the
state of the Established Church in that country—a
cause which his Hon. Friend male as clear as
anything could be. The Church was the foundation on
which " Repeal " and every other association was based,
He could never forget the speech of the Right Hon.
Baronet (Sir Robert Peel) when he was leaving office,
and surrendering 'sewer into the hands of the present
Ministers, in relation to the Irish Church. The Right
Run, Baronet said on that occasion that he should sup
port the Ministers in their efforts to remove those causes
of discontent arising from one class of religion being
place-I in the ascendant over another. The Right Hon.
Baronet knew that the men who now occupied the Minis-
terial benches had been railing for forty years against
the abuse, and he thought that they would be the party
to remove that grievance; bat he (Mr. Hume) regretted
that the Right Honourable Baronet and the public were
disappointed in that opinion. The clinging of the
Church party to the money—he meant the revenues of
the Church—convinced him that they were doubtful of
their own Church, and that they felt that without those
means the Cnurch of England would fall. It was impos-
sible that any pe pie (unless they were slaves) could
submit to such a state of injustice and degradation. The
revenues of the Church of E tgl oid were public money—
they were public property taken by Parliament from
one sect, and given by P trliatnent to another sect.
-;-(Cries of " Hear hear.") He only rose to express
,
his reeret that the Government were not prepared to
favour the ea akin of his Hon. Friend for tlae aPpoint merit
of' a Committee to take into consideration the state of
the Irish Church, with a view to a correction of its
abuses.—:(llear, hear.)
Mr. P. WOOD was anxious on this occasion to ex-