The New York herald., 1879-07-07
THE IRISH UNIVERSITY BILL.
WHY THE PEOPLE OF IRELAND ARE ANXIOUS
FOR ANOTHER UNIVERSITY
Prom the Manchester Examiner ]

FOR ANOTHER UNIVERSITY.
From the Manchester Examiner
1t is impossible to judge fairly of the reasons
which lead the Catholics OF Ireland to make this de-
mand without looking back upon the Irish Church
and considering the character Of its endowments
well as the way in which they disposed OF
under the Irish Church act. The endowmcnts dealt
with by the act of ancient date, all gifts
made the Church since 1850. when the
Anglican establishment in England and Ireland
assumed its present form. being regarded as
private endowments. and left in its possession.
Hence the endowments dealt with by the irish
Church act dated for the most part. it may almost
be said wholly, from period earlier than the
Reformation, and were originally intended for
the religious instruction or the Irish people
when Ireland. likes the rest of Europe
wholly Catholic. The endowments OF the Church
sprang from the piety OF ancient times. There is
every reason to believe that the chiefs OF tile Irish
clans munitcent benefactors OF the mouasteres
ana the churches founded within III cir jurisdiction,
and though much OF these ancient benefactions
would no doubt be dissipated in times of violence
nucleus would remain around which the gem
erosity OF subsequent generations gathered.
In this way the property dealt with by tha
Irish Church act originated. IL represented the
old religious zeal of the Irish people. 1t was the
offspring OF the benehcencc of their ancestors.
After the Reformation these revenues reserved
for the exclusive of the Protestant Church At
a time when it penal to hear mass when any
priest who happened to be caught great risk OF
being hanged, and when the policy of the State
trample out the prpl lesson of the ancient faith
it seemed small affair that the ondowments Were
reserved for the sole of the Church of tie
victorious and tyrannicai minority. At length the
day OF Justice arrived. Catholic disabilities were
abolished in 1929, and forty years later Mr.. Glad
stone undertook to disestablish and dlsendow the
Church OF the wealthy Protestant minority, which
had hitherto arrogated to itself the national title
and monopolizsd the ecclesiastical revenues of the
nation Mr.. Gladstone performed this task
in the only way which the temper of the
times permitted He proposed to vindicate the prin
ciple religious equality not by evelling up. but
by levelling down. not by making to the Church
OF the many portion OF the spoils taken FROM the
Church of the few, but by taking possession of the
whole OF those spoils in the name OF the State aud
reservng them for national uses. The way in which
disendowment was effected hardly corresponded to
these impartial professions. The capital value of
the property Of the Irish Church estimated
at fle 900, 900. The life interests OF the bishops
and clergy reserved, but instead of each incum
bent being paid off, by one, till the whole body
died out Il which the corpus of the property
would have remained untouched they We're paid off
at once OH the basis liberal commutaticn and
the Outstanding that the compensation would
be so managed to become the nucleus of
endowment. Between fG00G.090 aud f7 900 900. of
the capital value of the endowments was thus left in
the hands of members of the Irish Church. that is,
between f6000 900 and ct 100000 out of 700 OO0
Besides this munihcent allowance all the parish
churches and all the glebe houses were made over
to the new Church body When the process of COM
peusation complete one-half of the capital value
of the property the Church had disappeared. The
other halt, about fS 100000. remained to bo dis
posed or and The O'Conor Don asks permission to
tighten the task of distribution by taking over
FL 800. 900 for endowing the proposed university.