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

. .
selves. A reduction to the number of fonr aY,Wtd at
minish the absurd disproportion of the Establishment to
the amount of the duties its hierarchy are expected to
tirrforrn, awl would allow the Church to be stripped
without detriment to its efficacy of a portion of those
temporaliQes, the possession of which have entailed
so much of odium and acandal upon it. Bat sup'
posing an excuse can he found for employment of the
number of bishops at the present moment belonging in
the Irish branch of the Establishment, in fact, that how,.
ever limited the number subject to their jurisdiction, still
there are in reality persons whose religions instruction
they are called on to superintend, what justification can
be, adduced for the payment of the members of the subor-
dinate graeles of the cler,!y in whose favour no such pre-
text can be pleaded ? To pay a large sum to a bishop
for lending his aid to the salvation of a select few, may
be justifiable, for in Ireland a high value has alwaysbeen
placed upon orthodox principles = but to pay men for do-
ing nothing, to tolerate the employment of parsons where
there are neither churches fur them to preach in, nor con-
gregs.ti,ns to avail themselves or their teacnin(r. is a piece
of folly surpassing our comprehension. Anal to attempt
to continue this, too, in a country ruled over by an al,.
most democratic form of gov.rnrnent in the t. ce of a
population professing a different religious belief; o.'s mi-
serable peasantry from whose very vitals the suppo.'t of
such :to extravagance is wrung,* of able and influenOstl
dernaaogues, who are capable of turning to their owit
account every mistake made by their adversaries, and of
a Church whi,2ll, though it has been pronounced to be
wilhout a religion," still manages to include within its
pale nine-tenths of the population which has struggled
'with, and triumphed ever adversity, and ROW 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 reduce] Es-
tablishment" of that Church in whose temporaities 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 dia..
conragement 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 Repo) ter,
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

10,000 0 0 Ministers'.money

• £807,533 12 4
Of the 2,348 parishes, 155 have no church, clergytup.„.
or Protestant Episcopalian ; 496 parishes have uni.er 20
Protestant Episcopalians ; and 895 parishes Ir.,ve under
50 Protestant Episcopalians, including men, women, anti
children. As so many parishes
.are without either It
church or a clergyman, 87 unions have been formed
In Kilcooly, ten parishes are thrown together. Ir.
Ballymahill, there are nine parishes, one of whit}; is
27 miles from the church. In the union of Ilurnr:nurch
there are fourteen parishes, three of them at the
opposite extremities of the county of Kilir_„)..
In the 1,385 benefices, there are 99 iP. which them are
not 20 Protestant EpiscopaliaPs ; -194 benefices, with
between 20 and 50 in etseal. "The following table of
seven benefices may idea of the state of things
in different parts of N.:Land

Itaql)EN T.

ProtestP:,ts. Tithes.
£440 0 0
slle°,..a:eliiii7aune(union)... 43
335 0 0
Clenne
Una
Gilberstowa 8
Mahoonah 8
Killeedy

£2,889 11 0

In the bishopric of Cloyne there are 8 parishes, in
which the cost of each Protestant Episcopalian, adult
and infant, is 281. per head, as below :
Members of the
Established Church.

Tithe
Composition.
.£4OO
400
498
500
GOO
784
809
869

Killatty
Ballyhea
Templeracarigy ... 27 ..
Ballyvourney
Ardagh l4 ... •
Whitechurch
Mogeesha, l9
Clunfriest 35

173 .£4,860
Of the somewhat more than 300 dignities and pre-
ber.ds, the returns state that there are 75 in Vl hich there
are no duties whatever to perform, 94 are mere sinecures,
except the duty of an occasional sermon in the cathe-
drals. The Dean of Raphoe receives 1,4911., the Precen-
tor of Lismore 4481., the Archdeacon of Meuth 7311.,
without any duty to perform. In the eight parishes
above mentioned in the bishopric of Cloyne, the cost per
head of the members of the Eitablishment, aduits and
infants, is 281. In the union of l'aleroan, it is 671. 10s.
per head ; and throughout the Established Church it is
11. Is. sd. In Scotland it is 3s. 4d.

Now we will fearlessly put it to any man of common
sense, is this a state of things which can with safety be
allowed to continue; is this such an Establishment as, if
it u ere about to be instituted, even for the purpose of
effecting the conversion of Ireland, would be thought of
for a moment by its most devoted supporters? We must
be answered in the negative ; neither an Inglis nor
Plumptre would venture to propose such an absurdity;
why, then, after it has proved its utter inability to
enforce its views—its utter inefficiency as a promoter
of Protestantism—should it be allowed to continue ;
why should that which has turned out a religious failure
be tolerated now that it has become a political nuisance?
" Preserve the rights of the Church," shouts the hypo-
crite and fanatic. The man of sense and the statesman
will reply, "That in those days it is more important to
conciliate the affections of the people."
1 There can be no doubt that, in every instance in which a
lease expires, the tithe composition is added to the rent in the
new contract.

CALCUTTA CATHEDRAL ORGAN.
A magnificent organ for the new cathedral at Calcutta
having just been completed by Messrs. Gray and Davi-
son, a public performance on it took place yesterday in
Guildhall, by permission of the Lord Mayor, the pro-
ceeds of which are to be applied to augment the build-
ing fund, the cathedral being not yet completed ; and
there is to be, this evening, another performance of
sacred vocal music, to be accompanied on the organ, in,
the same place and for the same purpose. The -distill.
guished organist, Mr. Adams, yesterday displayed to
great advantage the powers of this noble instrument,
which is of great magnitude, contains a great variety
of stops, and is remarkable for the fullness, richness,
and variety of its tones. He exhibited his learning
and fancy in several masterly extemporaneous per-
formances, and captivated the less scientific part of
the audience by his sweet and expressive manner of
playing several vocal pieces of Handel, Mozart,
and other great composers. The hall was full, and the
performer was much applauded, several pieces (par-
ticularly Mozart's charming air " Ah, perdona") being
encored. A beautiful model of the cathedral, carved in
white marble, was placed in the hall for the inspection
of the company. That building is 248 feet long, 116
feet wide at the transept, and 206 feet high. The choir,
where divine service will be usually performed, is 131
feet by 61 feet internally, and 47 feet high. It will seat
a thousand persons. It is in the Gothic style, and the
design is chaste and beautiful. The erection of the ca-
thedral was commenced in October, 1839. The whole
body of the edifice, with the tower and spire, is erected.
Some of the pinnacles, however, are not yet finished,
nor are the small corner turrets of the tower completed.
The works are expected to be finished, and the sacred
building consecrated, by the end of next year ; but it is
expected that 4,000/. to 5,000/, may be yet wanted fbr
that purpose.

ROYAL ARTILLERY, WOOLIVIC7, SEPT. 3.—The
Master-General has been pleased to sanction an interchange of
companies between the following officers !—Captain the Hon.
Handcock from Captain Goatling's company, at present sta.
tioned at Malta, with Captain Airey, of Major Andrew's com-
pany, at present at Pigeon-house Fort, Dublin. A court of
inquiry sat at the barracks, on Thursday and Friday last, to
inquire into the circumstances connected with the late charge
against Captain William Payne. who was fined by Mr. Grove,
at the Woolwich Police-court, in the penalty of 5/., for rode..
cently assaulting a female in an omnibus. The Court, which
consisted of Colonel Cleaveland, R.H.A., Colonel Gore Brown.
and Lieut.-Colonel Grant, R. A., has terminated its sitting ;
but though the result has not yet transpired, it is understood
that the circumstances do not warrant a court-martial, medical
evidence having been adduced to show that the prosecutrix wags
liable to fits of insanity.

DOVER, SEPT. 3.—This day, at one o'clock, Eis
Grace the Duke of Wellington and the Commissioners. of
Dover Harbour held a special meeting at the Harbour-house,
no doubt connected with the present and the vast contem-
plated improvements at this port. The engineers for the
North Kent Dover Direct Line have been engaged. in this
neighbourhood during the past week, and the line appears
to be much in favour with the leading gentleman sad autho-
rities of this town, as well as the members connected with the
district it passes. The continental traffic to Ostend, Calais,
and Boulogne has been much increased during the past week.
DEATHS IVY DROWNlNG.—Yesterday Mr. Baker
held an inquest at the Queen's Head, Iligh-street, Poplar.
on the body of Aizah Hene Nanee, aged 40e years. Patrick
Donovan deposed that deceased was a ship-carpenter, in
the employ of Messrs. Green, the extensive ship-builders
of Blackwall. On Monday afternoon the witness was stand-
' ing on the shore of the dockyard, in which lay the Windsor
East Indiaman, when he observed the deceased in the act of
falling from the fore-chains of the vessel. In descent he struck
his head against the shores or props and fell into the water.
Witness immediately divested himself of the greater part of his
I apparel, and plunged into the dock after him, but, although he
I dived to the bottom, a depth of twenty feet, could not succeed
in laying hold of deceased, who was ultimately got out by
means of a boathook. Several medical gentlemen were in at-
I tendance, but all efforts to restore animation were fruitless.
PIGEON FLYING MATCH FROM GRAVESY,ND.--Yes-
I terday forenoon a pigeon flying match came off between Mr.
IBenjamin Bates, of the Southwark-bridge-road, and Mr. Ed-
-1 ward Hall, of the George Tavern, Gravel-lane, Southwark, for
51. a side. The match was made a fortnight since, to fly five
birds each from the Terrace Pier, Gravesend, to their res pee-
tivo houses. The bird, were duly marked and thrown -up at
the time appointed, and those of Mr. E. Hall arrived Lome in
twenty-four minutes and a half, and the five belonging to Mr.
G. Bates occupied exactly thirty minutes. The muney was
given up to the winner at Mr. E. Hall's at night, in the pre-
sence of a large number of friends of both parties.