The Irish standard., 1912-07-20
A CHAPTER FROM
IRISH HISTORY
Swift MacNeill Recalls How Pro-
testant Bishops Dreaded
Disestablishment.
Subsequently Many of Them Tes-
titled to the Benefits They
Derived From it.
History Shows the Orangemen to
have been Unduly Afraid Of
Tyranny of Catholics.

That the Protestants of Ireland are
prone to be unduly alarmed at any
move tending to favor the Catholic
population is evidenced by the attitude
which many of them are taking to-
ward the Home Rule bill and which
they took in the past toward other
measures, particularly the Disestab-
lishment of the Irish Church. To
occasion Swift MacNeil has written
the following letter to the London
Daily Chronicles:
AS | listened to Premier .Asquth's
quotation from n speech of DR..
Trench, Protestant Archbishop Of
Dublin on the eve of the Disestab-
lishment of the Irish Church, in which
he predicted that the Overthrow Of
the Irish Curch would put to the Irish
Protestants the choice between apost-
asy and expatriation," l was led to
contrast the gloomy forebodings of
the Archbishop before the Disestab-
lishment with the experience OF the
Irish Episcopatc of the results to the
Irish Church of severahce from the
State. Lord Plunket, who was the
immediate successor in the Archbish-
opric of DIR. Trench, addressing his
clergy on November 8. 1892. said:
Archbishop Plunkd rs Testimony.
when l count uE the advantages
which have followed the Disestabish-
energy and vitality which our Church
has derived from the admission OF
the laity to an active and responsible
participation in her councils, in the
disposition of her patronage. in the
financial departments of her work,
when l observe the spirit of unity and
mutual respect which has been en-
gendered by the ordeal OF our COM
mon adversely, and the increased 10y
atty and love which are being clearly
shown to their Church by those who
have had to make some sacrifices on
her behalf. when l remember, too, the
freedom from agrarian complications
which our disconnection with all
| questions of tithe and 1.-THE rent
| charge has brought about. and the
more favorable attitude as regards
| our influence upon the surrounding
population which we occupy because
Of our severance from any State as
sociations, when I remember all this
counterpoisc Of advantage which we
! enjoy in our new and Independent
position. and when l try to hold the
balance evenly and weigh the losses
and gains of the whole, ] say boldly
and without reserve that, in my opin-
ion at least, the gain outweighs the
loss"
In the same year DR.. Meade, then
Archdeacon of Armagh and now
Bishop of Cork, said ."'Discstabish-
ment has brought with it these adj
vantages. 1t has drawn us all close
F! together. The very fact of having to
work and make sacrifices for the
| Church has made her members love
her more. The giving of their time
and abilities to her support has made
| them more earnest and jealous for
her service"
Before and After.
The present Lord Primate of Ire
land DR.. Crozier when Treasurer OF
Down Cathedral and Precentor OF
Hollywood thus expressed himself in
1892: "In the ten years that fol-
lowed 1s60-that is the ten years i'm
mediately preceding the carrying into
effect of the Act of Disestablshment
the total subscriptions from Ireland
to the Church Missionary Society
were $21S,930. In the last ten years
with the full burden Of self-support
upon Irish Churchmen the subscrip-
tions to the same society reached the
0,OO0 and all this in spite of, OF
rather let me say side by side with
increased zeal at home in spiritua'
and financial matters and an enor.
nous increase in church and cathed.
raj restoration"
Dr.. orpen, Bishop Of Limerick, in