The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-03-31
TIE IRISH CHURCH SCHEME Ex-
planned.
N'om Che paA Mau Goze,te

his proposals, they are, from the necessity OF
the case, sufficiently complicated to make it
useful to state their main features.
First, Then, as to disestablishment This will
be total but not immediate. 1t will take effect
finally on day TO be named in the act aud
wD1ch 1t Is at present proposed to FIX for the Isl
OF January, 1871. On that day the ecclesiastical
courts Will be abolished, the ecclesiastical laws
Will cease TO have any authority, the bishops
Will be no longer Peere of Parliament and all
the ecclesiastical corporations in the country
Will be dissolved. During the interval between
the passing of the bill and the date of disesta-
blishment certain provisional arrangements will
De in force. Vacancies in the clerical staff
of the Irish Church will be filled up as
they arise, but the appointments will
confer no vested interests. In the case of
bishoprcs these appointments will only be
made on the prayer of the bishops of the
province for the conservation of a particular
person; in the case of Gro wn lIvings the recem.
mendation of the ecclesiastical authorities will,
as far as possible, be attended to. The Crown
will exercise its powers ministerially, and with
the sole view of facilitating the winding up of
the existrg establishment.
Secondly, as to disendowment. Technically
and legally this will be total and immediate.
A commission Will be appointed, the members
of which will be named in the bill; and in this
commission the entire property of the Irish
Church will vest from the day on which the
measure receives the Royal assent. When,
however, the property comes to be dealt with
by this commission distinction will be made
between public and private endowments. The
former, including everything in the nature of
State grant or State reserve, will be
resumed by the State; the latter, which Mr..
Gladstone defines as money contributed from
private sources since the year 1860, will be
restored to the disestabliahed Churoh. The
value of the public endowments is estimated
at f15 500, 900; the value Of the private en-
dowments is put at 9500,000.
Thiidly, what Is to be done with the public
endo Wmeuts? First of all com pensation has to
be made to vested interests, including those
connec ed with Maynooth College and the
variols communities OF PresbyteFians in receipt
OF the reqtuln donunl. Among vested interests,
OF course, the largest is that OF incumbents.
The amount of income to which each is
entitled, deduc,ing what he may have paid for
curates, Will be secured TO hlm during his life,
provided lie continues to discharge the duties
of hts benedce. Under ceran circumstances,
this interest may upon his own application be
coWmuted for u life annuity. AS regards his
glebe his position will not b. interfered with
during his lie, except in the case of commuta
tons The 1.-THE rent charge, however,
will vest in the commissioners, at
once once ard without any any life interest
being pledged' 10 the payment of the whole
proceeds TO the clergy. Ca its passing into the
hands OF the commissioners, the 1.-THE reut
charge will be sold to the landowners at
twenty-five and half years purchase, it being
left TO their option whether to pay the money
down or by forty-hve annual tDstalments. The
next class OF interests is that of curates In the
case Of permanent curates the dedcctions al
ready made in calculating the income of incum-
bents will be calculated for heir benefit, on the
same principle aud subject to similar conditions.
70 no pr4rv wi atTIifi
sustained from the act. Next Will
come >, lay & &GGmnpe1hsaSSns mp the srgest
and sections. These payments, together with
those due to the Presby terian community and
Maynooth College, and one or two smaller
tion to about Gs, 900, 600. In this way about
1880 O0O will be lett at the disposal of Paria-
ment. This. will be appropriated mainly to
ine Tene' OF nnavoiaaoiie Calamity ana suffer,
not interfere with the obligation imposed upon
property by the poor law. There is particu ar
class of unavoidable calamity and suffering, u
which in Ireland is relieved not out of the poor
rate, but out OF the county cess, that IL, out OF
a tax paid By the occnper alone, and levied
upon tenements OF even The lowest rental.
and am I'd IDIOTS, sA'' and d peTsops who H"fs afe
deaf, dan b. or blind. OF the 9311 900 which is
estimated to be the annual value of the endo W.
mepts at the disposal OF Parliament, 9235, 900
suffering. The remainder will be appropria' ed
to county in6rmaries, reiormatories, and the
provision of skilled nurses for the poor. When
the affairs OF the Established Church have been
wound up, the commissioners will report to the
Queen tnat the objects Immediately contem-
plated by the act have all been provided for,
and that such aud such surplus is available
for these ulerior charitable purposes.
Fourthly, as to private endowments. These
are to be handed over to the dlsestablished d
Church, and the question at once arises who is
TO take them. Mr.. Gladstone proposes to leave
In order 10 enable it to tind one, all those lega
disabilities under which IL now labor
in regard to synodlcaI meetings will be at once
removed. Ibe Government "presume" that al
soon tins is done the bishops, clergy, anC
laity will proceed to constitute for them selve
something 10 the Eatu1e OF governing bod "
and power will be given to the Queen IN Coun
ell mo. to create such bo ly, but TO recognize
il when created" This recognition VIII be ma II
to depend on one condi ion only-that the gov
erning booy shall fairly represent the bishops
clergy and laity of the dlses'ablished Church
So long as this condition is fulfilled the Crow
will not concern itseif with the question
whether the governing body is we'll OF i'll de
.vsed. 1t must honestly represent the IrisI
EpjscopaliaLs. and that is all. Thls goVeInn
body II be incorporated ior the conduct OF a
the necessary negotiations with the Commission
and Ior the fu ure management of the affairs c
the religious community of whicn 1t is the repre-
sentative. In this last respect 1T VIII be lei
abfoiuteIy free; but until the ecclesiastica
laws now in force shall be altered by tn
voluntary act OF the governing Dog
thew Wal be held to subslst in the nature OF
yol1niart contract, and to be binding ou clere
and lait,. In this way the members of the d,i
established ChuIcb will he st1rted In lie VIII
the same provisions as TO docnlne ana disc
pline which thty have hitherto llged uhaef;