The Norfolk post. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 1865-1866, 1866-04-05
THE IRISH ESTABLISHED CHURCH.

THE IRISH ESTABLISHED CHURCH
The two principal grievances COM
planned of by the Irish people are the
Protestant Established Church and the
general tenure of land only by suffer-
ance; but the insurmountable difficulty
in reforming either is the influence
which concession in Ireland would ma
turally have upon the much greater con-
troversies of the same nature in Eng
land. 1t would be comparatively small
matter TO concede either or both OF these
points to the popular clamor in ireland,
If the thing would stop there. But 1t
will not, as every English churchman
and every English landlord knows very
WELL
AS to the church grievance, one of
the English prelates DIR. Knox, Bishop
of Down and Conner, has justpublished
q synoptical table by which its extent is
made quite apparent. In his own do
oese, which is the most favorable, the
Episcopal population is twenty-five per
cent. of the whole. AT the other ex.
IRENE is the diocese of Cashel, where the
church adherents are only two-thirds OF
one per cent. of the population. The
tot, number of benefices in Ireland IL
1910; of members of the Established
Church, 69S,357; average 10 each bene
fice 400; net value of benefices. G390, 500;
average to each member, lis. 3d., nearly
So. There are ia benefces, containing
each not over twenty-five members; to-
tai of members, 1850; total revenue,
G19,735; average of members, IA; average
of revenue, GI64, about SS20--revenue
for each member Ell los. 3D., nearly
$50. These revenues are drawn from
people who do not worship in thu,
church, mostly Romanists.
One of the methods which the Eng
hsh have under consideration for the
permanent pacif,cation of Ireland is the
endowment of the Irish Catholic church.
by paying their clergy out of the ne
tional treasury. 1t is plain that English
ehurchmen, as a body, are willing to
terms as they get pay for their own
church. The Irish church Is In such a
critical position that they seek to bolster
1t up by buying off its formidable rival.
They have no principle that would
forbid them. But here they have to
meet the whole body Of English OLSEN
tiers, now comprising about one-half of
the people of England And in addi-
ton, the church people themselves
would insist that If the Catholic church
is endowed by the state, it shall become
responsible to the state, to the same ex-
tent as their own, including both congo
d'elire as to bishops, and the clerical
oath of allegiance, And to this the
Romanists declare they cannot possibly
submit.
The London Tablet, Roman Catholic
newspaper, says:
1--WE should like an endowment; we
think the state might gracefully give up
some of the property stolen from the
church and people of Ireland. OF course,
the state must take care to arrange the
terms OF restitution so as to please the
clergy and the people, and, above all,
the Pope"
But he does not think any such offer
will be made. And he rebnkes the other
newspapers for commencing the volun-
tary system: "Voluntaryism is anti
Catholic, and even in non Catholic
states the practice of the church is op-
pos ed to it. We take all we can get
from government in Holland, England
and Prussia. Heretical dssenters are
the only people who have any business
with the voluntary principle and we
are sorry they should have deluded any
Catholics into thinking they can believe |
In it."
Ii must be admitted that the prospect
Is not hopeful of any settlement on this
subject which will give peace TO Ire |
land-unless, indeed, the Church of !
England herself will follow DIR. Pusey I
back to Rome. Then there will be an
Irish peace.