The Sun.
London, England, 1845-09-04 00:00:00

B R 4 1845,

THE ANGLICAN CHURCH IN
r, 7 . IRELAND.
The.seConl number ot. t!e 0,7f)-(1 an,!. ("(!Aridge Re-
ft periodical in the "Young E-1;:nd"
a 1,-adin,!: article from which' ue make the f,llovving ex-
tract :

Th«, eeen's enacted even in fhb Se.-zicins Courts,
I,l:cre " Church and State' men‘! wore ranylant, wooli
scarcely be cr4di!ed. We recollect ourselves once wit-
nessing the manner in which jiditice was dealt out, some
years previous to 1830 :—The bench consisted of three
magistrates, two of whom were always at feud ; the
third, who was the chairman, being also the rectt r of the
parish. A man entered the room, he hid summoned
another for an assault, connected with that fruitful source
of litigation, the division of their land. The moment he
appeared, the gentleman who had granted the summons
opened his case. " Here," said he, addressing the par-
son, "is a poor, honest man, who has been very badly
treated by one of the greatest scoundrels in the parish.
" I would not," interposed the other lay lthadamanthus,
" believe one word he would say or swear; for," said he,
touring to the parson, " I have every reason to believe
hires to be the paramour of two sisters." This abominable
charge the poor fellow most vehemently denied, without
being able to make any impression upon his accuser.
" Ile voted the right way at the election," whispered his
protecter to the chairman ; " we must support him, take
his examinations." " Dismiss the case," sail the other.
nudging his reverence. The parson, who was a very droll
and humorous man, and had church preferment to the
tune of seine thousands a year, did not well know how
to act, as he was unwilling to dislodge either ; " I will
take the examinations," he said aloud, and, turning te
his dissentient brother, he whi.pered, " punish him
t) his heart's content for you." The complainant (harslet- d
their honours, and was about to depart in triumph, when
the chairman addressed him. " Easy. my lad, not -50
fast ; it is some time since I had the pleasure of seeing
you ; you oe •e me three years' tithe, and I have no
idea of allowing a man of your immorality to spend
my money in improper pursuits. Constable, put him
in the corner. Send for the proctor, until we
see exactly what he owes, and keep him until
he pays it." The man was taken, amidst roars
of laughter, from the spectators, who thought it
a capital joke ; he was put in the corner and kept
there too, until he paid every shilling which was de-
mended of him ; end we leave it to our readers to sup-
rose what opinion he must have formed of the justice of
the laws, and with what feelings towards the Church lit
must have quitted the Court, when he was so illegally
and perhaps so unjustly fleeced for its support ; he was
quite aware that he had been treated in a manner which
the law did not justify, but at that time he knew that it
was hopeless to expect redress. This anecdote is
Lternify true, and similar occurrences were by no
means rare at the period when it took place. But
at length reform did reach the Church, ten out of ii s
twenty-two bishoprics were abolished, twenty-five
per cent. was struck from - its rental, and its clergy
men were removed from the administration of Jus-
tice. And what has been the consequence of this re-
duction in her wealth ? in the diminution of her po-
litical power ? and in the number of
.her hierarchy ?
Why, that the duties of their station are at least as well
performed by the present limited number of her digni-
taries as they ever were by her more crowded bench ;
her livings have been divided, and, certainly, without
detriment to her efficacy, for the smallness of the in-
comes have not induced the scions of the aristocracy to
undertake duties fur which they were unfitted, as
her sinecures and fat pensions formerly did ; and men
of humbler birth and better dispositions have been ad-
mitted and promoted, to the manifest advantage of their
religion. Why, then, should we not persevere in a
course which has been productive of so much good ? Why
should we not still further reduce the unnecessary staff?
Lord Grey, when introducing the Church Tempora-
lities Bill in 1833, stated-" Before the Church
Temporalities Act, each Bishop in England super-
intended 370,000 members •of the Church, and
400 benefices ; in Ireland, 45,000, and 66 benefices. At
present each Bishop in Ireland has 83,000 persons, and
121 benefices ; less than one-fourth the amount of pope-
a,tion each English bishop has to attend te, and one-
fourth of the benefices. Suppose the Irish bishops re-
duced to four, there would still be a smaller number of
ersons and benefices under the charge of each than
in England ; each Irish bishop would then have
250,000 persons, and 364 benefices. The see of Lin-
coln contained as many benefices as were in the
whole of Ireland." Now, may we not ask,
why this further reduction should not be carried into
effect ? Wby should an overpaid Irish bishop be only
required to attend to the spiritual instruction of 83,000
persons and 131 benefices, while an English bishop
has 370,000 members of the Church and 400 he-
lices subject to his charge ? Things are at least as well
ordered since the duties of the Irish prelates have been
increased ; why not promote a still further amendment,
by giving them still more with which to occupy them-
selves. A reduction to the number of four would
ininish the absurd disproportion of the Establishment to
the amount of the duties its hierarchy are expected to
perform, and would allow the Church to be stripped
withtizt detriment to its efficacy of a portion of those
temporalities, the possession of which have entailed
so much of odium and scandal upon it. But sup-
posing," an excuse can be found for employment of the
number of bishops at the present moment belonging t
the Irish brunch of the Establishment, in fact, that how
ever limited the number subject to their Jurisdiction, still
there are in reality persons whose religious instruction
hey are called on to superintend, what justification can
be adduced for the payment of the members of the subor
diorite grades of the clergy in whose favour no such pre.
r_ext can be pleaded ? To pay a large sum to a bishop
lOr lending his aid to the salvation of a select few, may
be justifiable, for in Ireland a high value has always been
placed upon orthodox principles ; but to pay men for do
;ng nothing, to tolerate the employment of parsons where
there are neither churches for them to preach in, nor con-
gregations to avail themselves of their teaching, is a piece
of folly surpassing our comprehension. And to attempt
to continue this, too, in a country ruled over by an al
most democratic form of government, in the face of a
population professing a different religious belief; of a mi-
serable peasantry from whose very vitals the support of
.uch an extravagance is wrung,* of able and influential
demagogues, who are capable of turning to their own
account every mistake made by their adversaries, and of
a Church which, though it has been pronounced to be
" without a religion," still manages to include within its
pale nine-tenths of the population which has struggled
with, and triumphed over adversity, and now stands
forth in the strength which persecution and poverty have
lent to its principles, willing and able, and eventually
destined, no matter what obstacles it may encounter, to
assume and maintain supremacy in the real sense of the
word, over any other form of belief with which it may
be brought into competition : not the ascendancy of
pounds, shillings, and pence, but that which can be alone,
with truth entitled ascendancy—the prevalence of its
principles amongst men, the influence of its doctrines
over the opinions of others.
But let us see what the present condition is of what
we think is rather facetiously called " the reduced Es-
tablishment" of that Church in whose temporalities so
many reforms have been already effected, reforms which,
even in the opinion of a not very friendly statesman,
were admitted to be " a heavy blow, and a great dis-
couragement to her principles." What proportion does
her wealth bear to her duties ? What the price which
the country pays for the instruction of each person
whose spiritual welfare she superintends. The follow-
ing summary of both is taken from the Daily Reporter,
May 23, and is, we believe, in all its statements per-
fectly correct. As regards its wealth and its duties, the
income of—
Archbishops and Bishoprics £151,127 12 4
Deans and Chapters
Glebe lands
Tithe composition
Ministers' money

£807,533 12 4

Of the 2,348 parishes, 155 have no church, clergyman,
or Protestant Episcopalian ; 496 parishes have under 20
Protestant Episcopalians ; and 895 parishes have under
50 Protestant Episcopalians, including men, women, and
children. As so many parishes are without either a
church or a clergyman, 87 unions have been formed.
In Kilcooly, ten parishes are thrown together. In
Ballymahill, there are nine parishes, one of which is
27 miles from the church. In the union of Burnchurch
there are fourteen parishes, three of them are at the
opposite extremities of the county of Kilkenny.
In the 1,385 benefices, there are 99 in which there are
not 20 Protestant Episcopalians ; 124 benefices, with
between 20 and 50 in each. The following table of
seven benefices may give some idea of the state of things
in different parts of Ireland :

4 Protestantism—slioill,l it be allowed to co tins ; 1 iNt
n h :Amnia that which hlys LI:r•-:-.-d o)Tt a r(11;-j.ii!arlixif 141,r,,e7v:rv-7—,,,/
bt, wierat d r.,)n- that it -h-t, br.,-,L);r:, a r ,!it:,,,,! nur64o??F,L,_ i j.--.. 11: '
" Preserve the ri!ili,s of th: Cilual,, ,:;houts Ilirt*l), :.- : ,_•,..-;l',>
-----"\\
crito tz.-Ct far. vic. 'Fb,, 1.-..,1 r). ;:c7,e to' 01 Li, i.. S 14.14( .._
_-, - 7'..,7%* i
tt, ..„)
will reply., " That in tlio,c Li.e.; it is mo:e irr.p r ii.lK--.-.. ~
S-: —, ,-, -
coo,!eihate the nt-E,ctio n, ~t' Ji,.• p,:0i.1,..." '
Thee can he no doubt that, in (very it -I": -htanco in mL,.-14 \--V.):'-
k
lease expires, the tithe coalpo.ition is added to the rent
new contract. 'Rad Vat; Willi
______

THE NEW MERCHANT SEAMEN'S

ACT.

A letter received at 'Lloyd's, from their agent at the
Cape of Good Hope, mentions that masters or vessel
had been tined several hundred pounds at Cape Town,
f.r an informality in the ship's articles under the New
Merchant Seamen's Act. By clause 53, it is required
that the Christian- names of each party signing be written
in full. In case:. where they had been abbreviated, in-
formation of such informality has been given to the
colhotor of customs at that place, and lines imposed in
every instance. Captain Hight, of the City of Poona'.
had been condemned in penalties amounting to 801.,
in a letter addressed t, I,loyo's agrit, there c;on-
plains of the harsh construction put on the Act in his
and other eases., mentions the fact, that in many cases
the men are incapable of writing any more th in the
Abbreviation, and .inquires whether a man's signature,
different from his ordit.ary m0,b,,, would be recognised to
a bill of exchange, r wet- of .attorrwy, or any othk4
authority er agreement? And, if the tit cessity of the tyx-
Ample be recognised, why should p,?nallies be laid in
each individul CASO in the talkies ? As one moiety of
the tines, however, is awarded to the informer, the
reason is sufficiently clear.
r these cireuins'ancs, the shipp:ng interest, and
prirticularly ship raster:, will do v',-1l to t x,reist,
tr,me caution, and observe the rules of the Act in the
strictest seine.

THE TASMANIA CONVICT, SHIP.
SOLEMN SCENE.
As it was expected thet the above vessel would sail
on Saturday from Kingstown Harbour, a nurele r of
persons proceed( d to the pier to e itnces the imprr s uive
and melancholy sight. The day Has b,autiful, the sky
was serene, the sea unruffled and renooth as a mirror—
all nature was hu-lied ii, hallowed repose, and every-
thing indicated peacefultiees and happint ss ; but win n
the eye turned to the gloomy nem of the convict ship
as it lay upon those calm blue waters, a fleeting
dungeon, the prison-home of the felen exile, a sadness
came over the mind from the reflection that, however
bright, and lovely, and joyous all things around it
seemed to be, within its dark and tomb-like bosom
were enclosed many suffering spirits, whose crimes
had expatriated theta from their native laud, and to
whom the beauties of " the firmament above and the
earth beneath" were but as " a foul and pestilent con-
gregation of vapours." At three o'clock, through the
kindness of the commander, Wm. Black, &q., and Sur-
geon Jason Lardner, a few visitors were allowed on
board. The convicts, altogether c insisting of females,
amounting in number to 137 women and 37 children,
were at this time arranged at the mess table, and heti
just eaten a plain substantial dinrer. The visineas de-
scended one or two ladders which led to the telson, as
the place in which the convicts eat their Meals and sleep
is called, and entered, by stooping, through a great door-
say, very much resembling that of an ordinary cell,
This prison is situated under decks, and the mess-;-u're,e;,
which are constructed at each side, extend. about two-
thirds the ship's length. Each table 'hs sufficiently large
with ease, and at night
to accommodate eight per.!_ais
can be converte:: into a bedstead, or receptacle
for a mattress ; it is railed or boarded in like a
sheep-pen, and separated from similar tables which at
either side adjoin it. To reach these tables or leave
them it is, therefore, necessary to climb over the wooden
railings. At the time to which we allude all the con-
victs were penned in—some were occupied sewing, some
winding thread or cotton into balls ; some read.log
prayers from small time and thumb-worn books--some
endeavouring " to make out" the last letter froee home,
while ethers were lulling their sick-looking infants to
slumber, or sitting silently and motions _ss in a state of
mot bid, moping melancholy. The 'flour for recreation
upon deck having arrived, t'ee convicts prepared to '
proceed there, end a few bad done so when the shrieks
of a woman were heard " above," together with the
rapid steps of a female, who was apparently running about
the deal:, chasing and beating every person whom she
:net. Then resounded from all quarters exclamations such
is " The mad -woman has broken loose"—" She is
coming down stairs"—" Shut the door." Some of the
women ran and hid under the tables or in the little hos-
pital which adjoins the prison ; and others, more cou-
rageous, hastened upon deck to see what .t was that was
listurbing the vessel. It was sore:, ascertained that a
woman named Mary Kelly, wha was mad, or feigned
tiredness. was pursuing all ono were within her reach.
She had, it appeared, exhibited symptoms of violent insa-
nity, or assumed them, from the time that she was
brought on board, in consequence of which it was
considered necessary by those who had the care
if her to take means to prevent the possibi-
lity of her injurint, any one. Her hands were
accordingly fastened behind her back, her feet were tied
'ogether by leathern rings, and she was kept down in a
recumbent position by a fehow-prisoner who was selected
to guard her. The surgeon was unwilling to take
ner on board as he was at raid she would disturb the
peace and order of the vessel, and he objected to leaving
..her harbour and sailing until he heard further upon tho
subject from the Executive. A communication was
therefore made to the Castle, and an intimation received
therefrom, that on Monday a medical investigation to
test the state of the convict's mind would take place.
On the receipt of this reply the surgeon gave directions
liberate the prisoner. Her fetters were then re-
noved, and when she found herself free, she, as has
leen already stated, rushed furiously upon all whom she
met, tearing the clothes, caps, and hair of the wolnen,
striking the commander, surgeon, and sailors, and
!reeling the consternation and dismay which has
been but faintly described. The Reverend Ber-
nard Kirby, chaplain of the Grangegorman depot
for female covicts, who paid a visit to the vessel
to give his parting and prayerful admonitions
to the unfortunate prisoners to conduct themselves
peaceably during tho voyage, and virtuously for the
remainder of their lives, was in the cabin of the com-
mander at this period, and went forward to restrain the
infuriated woman. He spoke to her, reasoned with her,
and succeeded in bringing her mind to a condition of
temporary composure. He then collected the Roman
Catholics (upwards of 100 in number) into groups ut
each side of the vessel, and prevailed upon Mary Kelly
to kneel near him. The scene at this period was very
imposing. Here were a number of human beings, vary-
ing from ten year s old to seventy—the black glossy
curls of girlhood, contrasting with the hoary locks of
wintry age; the bright beaming eye and rosy cheek of
dawning womanhood, with the sunken tearful eye and
withered cheek of " three score years and ten"—all
kneeling to supplicate mercy from an offended God for
crimes different in complexion and kind, ascending in
the scale of criminalty from the felony of a riband to the
murder of a husband or a child ; and in duration of
punishment from seven to ten years, to perpetual tran-
sportation. Side by side knelt the miserable creature
who poisoned her husband in Kilkenny, and she who
drowned her infant in Wicklow when driven from the
door of her seducer ; and near them sported, in happy
innocence, unconscious of their degradation, unobservant
of the misery around them, happy and playful as if they
were gathering flowers in the field, two little girls
the children of the convict mothers. The Rev. Mr.
Kirby having gone through a portion of the
evening service, usual upon such an occa-
sion, Mary Kelly, being under the impression
that an old woman behind her, who was saying
her prayers in a very loud tone, had approached too
near her, turned round, and with a heavy blow laid the
poor penitent prostrate upon the deck. A panic spread
through the crowd, several ruse from their kneeling po-
sitions, and ran towards the forepart of the vessel ; in
their flight two women fell over a wet coil of ropes,
which in no small degree disturbed the solemnity of the
scene ; but the service, notwithstanding this ludicrous
episode, was continued to the close. The influence which
religion had over the mind of Mary Kelly was but tran-
sient, fur she broke out again in a manner equally violent
ss before, and it became a second time necessary to hand-
cuff her. The authorities of the vessel stated that they
never had a better conducted class of convicts entrusted
to their care, or persons more disposed to submit to dis-
cipline and observe the regulations which they had made.
The vessel will, it is thought, sail on Monday,
evening for Van Diemen's Land, where it will in ail
probability arrive about the month of January next. A
plentiful supply of provisions has been laid in,
comprising pigs, sheep, and all descriptions of fowl ;
and this fine vessel, one of the largest, most cleanly,- and
most expeditious in the service of the Governinent,in-
tended for the transmission of convicts, has been fitted
up in every way that could ensure the comfort of those
whom it is destined to convey to exile. The convicts
will
Lfb,esutoseekfuinllgys,eamnpdlkorytehderdaurriateigietsheofvocya
iotghe ii!gn.maki making
Theyr
shir
retire to rest and rise, eat their meals and amuse them-
selves upon deck at certain hours, the rules in these
respects being very rigid. The 'children who accompany
tinh
ettni I t
eh
ne a
er ed tewe
aot aerts ot
e,
t. The Rev. B. Kirby
expense of the Goveraillen
B
tthheeyir maroethtehresnaretelkefetnwiftrhetetb(
re-
turned to "Olivemount at six o clock. The Rev.
Gentleman ran some risk in visiting the vessel, for he
had only a day or two recovered from a dangerous
fever, in which his life was despaired of by his phy-
sicians, and which originated in exposure to cold and
over-exertion in his untiring labour to support the
interests of the benevolent institution which he has
founded. The assiduity and the anxiety evinced by
Mrs. Rawlins, the matron of the Grangegorman
Prison, in preparing each convict for the voyage,
and seeing that everything was provided for
her which necessity required, is beyond all
praise. A number of attendants have been appointed
from among the convicts themselves, the mest active and
intelligt nt being selected to wait upon the rest during
their meals ; and to prevent confusion, all the articles
belonging to each convict have been numbered, the num-
ber which they bear corresponding with that affixed to
a plate worn by her. In conclusion, it may be said that
a scene such as is here feebly depicted reads a whole-
some and solemn moral lesson ; it was one which deeply
interested all the visitors, who were indebted to the
courtesy of the commander and surgeon for an opportu-
nity of witnessing it.—Saunders.
en rind Ih

lIAvnE, SEPT. 2.-1. ord George an._ .enry
Loftus and Sir Henry Hunloke landed here yesterday, from
the General Steam Navigation Company's steam-ship Rain-
bow which left London the previous afternoon, arid performed
the passage against a strong head-wind under 18 hours.
lIERTIORDSIIIRE.—Sir Edward l3ulwer Lytton,
Bart., has recently taken up his residence at Knehworih, his
family estate in this county. The Hon. Baronet has acce➢ted
an invitation to preside at the Agricultural Society, which
takes place on the 24th of September.— Cgmbridge Advtrtiser.