The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-04-27
THE IRISH CHURCH BILL OF lsaa

From tho London Saturday Repiew
II is impossible to follow the course of the
present measure by which the Irish Church
is to be swept away as a State Church and to
be stripped of property given II by the State,
without feeling an interest revived in the his
tory OF its predecessor six-and thirty years
ego. The Irish Church Temporalitiss act of
1883 was very small piece of legislation oom-
pared with MIR. Gladstone's bill, but 1t paved
the way for what has now come to pass, and
many OF the passions 1t excited, and Of the
arguments by which IL was attacked and de-
tended, are being resuscitsted aud repeated at
the present moment. A sketch, therefore,
OF its nature and history may not De without
interest; and II II is safe to assume anything
rs to the general knowledge of the past, 1t is
safe TO assume that no portion OF history is so
little known as that which lies j9st beyond
the memory of each generation. The day
will come when examination papers will bs
set In the history of William Tvs reign; but
until that day comes, probably no part of
English history will be SO universally IN
known.
Then, as now, It was at the outset of the
proceedings Of q newly-reformed Parliament,
when there was in power Liberal Ministry
with a large majority in the Commons, that
the Irish Church bill was brought in. Parlia-
ment was opened on the 10Th of January, 1888,
and on the 9Th Of February the King made his
speech, in which, after stating that the atten-
tion Of Parliament would be directed to the
better distribution Of the property Of the
Church, the King went on to say that,
"although the Established Church Of Ireland
Is by law permanently united with that of
England, the peculisrities of their respective
circumstances will require separate consid-
Grafton" He also referred to the disturbances
then going in Ireland, which had greatly in
creased since the end of the preceding session:
IA spirit Of insubordinstion and violence
has risen to the most fearful height, rendering
life and property insecure, defying the autho-
rity of the law, and threatening the most fatal
consequences IL not promptly and effectually
repressed.'' 30 closely does history some
times repeat itself; and we might almost think
It was the present Queen describing the
brutal outrages Of the last few weeks,
and the appeals of released rebels at
Mayors dinner-table to the "logic of the
SABRE" The address of course echoed the
speech, and elected warm discussion. Mr..
O'Conpell at once characterized il as q bloody
and brutal address in answer to a brutal and
bloody speech. This was, in fact, the begin
ming of O'Connell's long and violent hatred Of
the Wings, and he was at once answered by
his own special antagonist, Mr. Stanley (Lord
Derby, who laid down the proposition that
ga government, to be loved must first be
feared" On the 18th of February the bill
for the reform of the Church of Ireland was
introduced by Lord Althorp, who began by
explaining that it was because the bill was
one to which the Government attached great
Importance that he, as leader OF the House,
and not as Mr.. Stanley, the Irish Secretary,
had been charged with its introduction. Lord
Althorp said that although, looking at the
proportion of the population attached to the
Protestant Church, the people certainly had
occasion to complain Of the greatness Of the
revenues of the Established Church
in Ireland, yet the amount OF those revenues
had been greatly exaggerated. The House,
he thought, would be surprised to hear that
the net revenue of the Irish bishops was only
f130,000 year; for, although vast tracts Of
lands belonged to the bishops, fvesixths of
the yearly value went to the tenants. The
annual income Of the Church did not exceed
2SOO, 600. The first proposal of the Govern
ment was to do away with the whole system
of First Fruits, and, in lieu Of it, to tax bene-
foes on a scale which, starting with an exemp-
tion of all benefces of f200 year or under,
rose in an increasing ratio according to the
value of the benefces, and was estimated to
produce, on the whole, an income Of t42, 600.
The bishops were to be taxed on scale some
thing similar, and this new taxation
was to begin at once, without regard to
vested interests. A Board of Commissioners
was to be appointed to administer the fund,
and as Church rates were to be forthwith
abolished entirely, the fund was to be applied
70 those purposes to which Church rates were
OF some archbishops and bishops, by abolish
ing all sinecure seats in cathedrals, additional
funds were to be placed at the disposal of the
Commissioners. Out Of twenty-five bishoprics
ten were to be swept away, and two arch
bishoprics out of four; 80 that, out of the
f130,000 q year previously belonging to the
Irish Episcopate, ECO, 900 year would be a
the disposal of Parliament in the sense thai
Parliament was to hand this sum over to tn,
Commissioners for church purposes, an(
especially for the augmentation of small
livipgs. But the next proposal stood on
very different footing. The bishops hat
large landed estates, but they could only
leases were In practice annually renewed, an
the fine, together with the rent, formed tn
revenue OF the bishop. The value of sucl
whether the bishop would renew the lease
and by the chance of the fine being augmente
if the tenant made the property more valuabl
by improvements, was only twelve and ha
years purchase. The Government propose
that any tenant who chose to tender q sur
equal TO six years. purchase might have
lease in perpetuity at a fixed corn rent. Tn
sum thus gained was, 1t was said, mere Gre
alton OF the Legislature, and therefore be
lopQed to the State. BY passing an act {
Parliament the State instantly gave value
ak years purchase to the land, and the Stat'
which created this value, might reasonabl
keep 1t for itself.
This was the essence OF the ministerial mel
sure of 1888. 1t did not profess to apply an
of the revenues of the Church to secular pu
poses. The Government most oaretull
Ii. inv nf