The Sun.
London, England, 1835-09-26 00:00:00

THE IRISH CHURCH.

(FROM Watt OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
l3ishop Kyle (of Cork), who succeeds to the admi-
nistration and patronage of the Diocese of Cloyne, is
one of the legacies saddled upon us by the Govern-
ment of Lord Anglesey. The poor curates and work-
ing Clergy of Cloyne will long have reason to deplore
the loss of the excellent Prelate of whom they have
been lately deprived. He was a man of rare know-
ledge and abilities, and of simplicity and benevolence,
still more uncommon. His successor is best known as
the father of a numerous family, whom he cannot be
be accused of forgetting in the division of gifts and
graces which it has fallen to his lot to distribute. In
his political capacity he has never omitted a single op-
portunity to ,oive his vote in Parliament, and his in-
terest everywhere else, against the party which raised
him to the mitre.

The grand objection against the Bill intmiluced by
Lord Morpeth, and passed by the lizmse of Com-
mons, for giving repose to Ireland and securino, a
competency to the Protestant Church, has stated
over and over again to lie in the dreads rziitertained on
behalf ;Ir. the Protestant laity by their friends in the
Upper House, lest they should be deprived of a re-
sident incumbent in any one parish. The measure
did not contemplate the removal of a resident Clergy-
man from any district inhabited by Protestants ; but
would have secured the services of a Curate, ade-
quately paid and lodged, even' for the smallest con-
gregations. There was not the slightest danger,
therefore, of a lack of spiritual instruction. All the
terror and anxiety was on account of those much-
prized individuals, the Rectors and Vicars. Of the
sincerity of such zeal after resident incumbents, in
those who desire to leave the Church as it is, I shall
now afford you a very simple illustration. A Rural
Ride from Carlow (in Leinster) to Roscrea (in Mun-
ster) may be performed through parts of four coun-
ties, by any gentleman who wishes to try the experi-
ment, without passing through a single benefice blessed
with a resident incumbent.

CARLOW, itself, a large and populous town, with
a rural district of ccalsiderable extent attached to it, in-
cluding the residence of Colonel Bruen, the Tory
Member—Carlow, the head-quarters of Romanist»,
the See of a Catholic Bishop, the seat of a Catholic
College and lay Seminary, is without a resident in-
cumbent.

The adjoining parish of KILLEBAN, of which the
annual income considerably exceeds 1,0001., belongs
to a gentleman, the Hon. and Rev. Archdeacon
Stopford, a brother of the Earl of Courtoun, tvho is
non-resident. He never slept a night within its con-
fines.

ATHY is the next parish. The incumbent, who is
Dean of Elphiu, resides in the county of Roscom-
mon. Athy is the assize town of the County of
Kildare, as Carlow is of the county which goes by
its name, and has a large Protestant congregation.
BA LLYADAMS is the next parish with a church
and congregation, but no resident incumbent.
Then FOSSEY, and TIMA HO ; but these two 'be-
ing what are called sinecures, the absence o,', resident
incumbents is of less consequence.
BALLYROAN next. The Re'ftor of this parish got
up a petition among his Inrishioners, lately, against
the Church Bill, in 'which it was expressly set forth
that the peut.K;ners objected to the Bill, because it
might have the effect of diminishing the number of
non-resident Clergymen ! This Rector, the author of
that petition, is the Rev. Sir Erasmus Burroughs,
Bart., and is, incurably, non-resident ! !
CLONENAGH, containing the town of Montrath,
and upwards of thirty thousand acres of land, with
three churches and two thousand Protestant inhabi-
tants, has not known the benefit of a resident incum-
bent these thirty years.
UPPERWOODS, the adjoining parish, with up-
wards of a thousand. Protestant inhabitants—the in-
cumbent non•resident.

AUGHABOE—The next parish, with a Church and
Chapel of Ease ; the Incumbent non-resident.
KYLE—The Incumbent (I believe) non-resident.
The ride I have proposed through these parishes,
cannot fall short of fifty miles. The number of
churches and chapels they contain are about thirteen.
The Protestant population probably five thousand ;
and yet the duty wholly devolves upon Curates ! The
gross income exceeds Five Thousand Five Hundred
Pounds a-year ; out of which the Curates receive about
One Thousand.

These arc facts, and " facts are stubborn things."
The Irish Clergy are beginning, now that the ardour
of political excitement has somewhat cooled, to feel the
destitute condition in which their friends, the Lords,
have left them. All the fine flourishes about dying a
thousand deaths rather than consent to the spoliation
of the Church have done nothing for the poor Clergy,
who are sore pressed with want, notwithstanding the
vapouring sympathy of their noble patrons and elo-
quent defenders. They now perceive the real humanity
of Lord Brougham's intercession for them. The land-
lords, who last year, in their eagerness to embarrass
and eject a Liberal Government, volunteered to take
payment of tithes upon themselves, are, in many places
backing out of their pledge in the shabbiest possill:ie
manner. Some of them, including certain TQTy Se-
nators, allege that they did not make themselves re-
sponsible for the tithes of those tenants who hold
under-leases, of a date previous to t!tie Tithe Composi-
tion Act But the law bolds, them accountable for all
compositions on lands subsequent to that Act ;
and thus their pare of munificence comes to this—
that they wltnowledged their obligation to pay what
they we-ie legally bound to pay, whether they would
fj,'.,e their consent to it or not. This is a very edifying
sample, both of the intent and .the extent of factious
generosity.