A petition, inserted in t...
The Times, 1824-04-14T00:00:00

A petition, inserted in the Appendix to thea?tes of the House of Commons, of the 6th inst., is wor.fof serious attentiow. It comes from a Clergijman of the Established Church doing duty in Ireland, and describes a number of revolting circumstances in the administration of that imn mense establishment, wlhich have at length incorporated themselves with its frame and constitution. The Protest. ant Episcopal Church of Ireland is stated, and with jus.i tice, to be inordinately rich: the Bishopricks are princely ; and of the livings, a large proportion are equal to the rea venues of many English Bishops. So much for the debtor and creditor account, as it statids between the nation and the church; but that is not all, nor perhaps the worst part of the subject. The account as between the members of the establishment themselves, is marked by every feature of inconsistency, impolicy, and injustice. It would apoear to any reasonable mind, that a small society like that of the Irish Protestints, surrounded, and indeed overwhelmed, by multitudes of an adverse comrnunion, ought to be guarded in whatever relates to the purity and dlignity of their religion,-to the inicrease, if possible, but at all events to the constancy of its existing mcmbers,-by the un- ceasing care and vigilance of the Imperial Govern- ment. To these ends it would be indispensable that there should be a pastor to officiate wherever there stood a church-that parochial clergymen should be adequately paid, and decently enoouraged-and that the Bishops should be under some obligation to act justly by their clerical brethren, and thus to secure justice from them to their flocks. Now, as a specimen how far these great ob- jects are attended, read-and a thousand similar documents might be obtained-but read a few of the facts brought forward by the Rev. Mr. HAMILTON, a clergyman of the county of Tipperary. From this gentleman's representa- tion, we shall understand how it is, that with a church so magnificently endowed, its duties are so imperfectly per- formed, chiefly because, by the abuse of patronage, the good things of the church are divided with a total disregard of wisdom and equity by those who undertake the distribu- tion. Mr. HAMILTON says, that many parishes in Ireland being without churches, the clerical functions are there inadequately discharged by stipentliary curates of adjoining parishes, at a wretched salary. This is cruel towards the clergymen, and in the highest degree pernicious to the Pro- testant Church: hundreds of families, in whole districts of the country so left destitute, having begun by attending mass as the only service within reach of them, and finished by abjuring the Protestalt faith altogether. Mr. HAMIL- TON has been doing duty for twenty-seven years in one of those enormous unions of several parishes created by autho- rity of a bishop, which are almost unknown in the later ages of the church except in Ireland, at a stipend of 751. per annum, with 61. per annum addedfor the duty of an- other parish, containing 400 Protestant souls, 5,000 acres of land, and producing to an absentee proprietor 4361. per an- numn. But on another side, instead of service ill requited, we find large emoluments and no service at all. KNox, Bishop of Derry (brother of a Peer), when Bishop of Killaloe, is said by Mr. HAMII.TON to have bestowed upon his own re- lation a preferrment composed of what is termed an " Epis- " copal Union" of no less than four parishes, then first joined together for the purpose, producing a revenue of 1,3001. per annum, a large glebe house, out of all propor- tion to any of the said parishes separately, which, however, would each support a distinct incumbent. Now what can be- come of the parishioners of these parishes? Why, they must go to the nearest Catholic chapel! But the Lord's cousin, or brother, is provided for. Then we have, says Mr. HIA MILTON, Lord RoB;EaR TOTTENHAM, wh0 never, accord..~ ing to the petitioner, during 16 years, provided for %ny. one of the old stipendiary curates of his diocess of I.i~laloe, but gave three "unions," containing each three. parishes, among three of his own relatives, and a collective income of no less than 2,2001. a year ! After thez things can we wonder that the church of Ireland thrives in nothing but in ricbes? If the men who work are niot paid, who, at last, that might be so inclined, can afford to act as becomes a Christian clergyman? This Lord R. TOTTENHAM h1aS since been promoted to the see of Clogher, vacated by an- other Lord's son, whose uame or memory we have no de- sire to perpetuate. One thing is plain-thaM?uch a system cannot endure, the moral sense of mankihR ebels against it. The Church of England ought to take alarm, and save that of the sister country, while yet it can be rescued from its own unfortunate errors.