IT has been long a matter of deep regret that no clear and brief statement existed from which the exact bearing of the various legislative measures as to the Irish church or the clergy could be gathered. That regret is now obviated by the following paper, drawn up by one on whom the fullest reliance may be placed, and calculated by its clear, simple, and touching exposition of the shameful robbery of the Irish church to produce more effect than the most eloquent and highly-wrought appeal in their favour.

To the Editor of the British Magazine.

SIR,-It appears to me probable that it might not be uninteresting to the British public to learn what changes have been made in the nominal incomes of the parochial clergy in Ireland, and under that impression I have, as briefly as I could, put together the different enactments which have regulated their property.

It may be deemed unnecessary to mention the tithe of agistment, as it has not been enjoyed by the clergy for a century; yet, be it remembered, that the act depriving the Irish clergy of so large a portion of their income did not pass till the last session of the Irish parliament.

But there has been a gradual diminution of clerical incomes, for which I am sure the British public are wholly unprepared, and which has now been established by the joint effects of insolent assumption and open violence in every part of Ireland. No fees of any kind are paid to the clergy of the established church, except in the cities of Dublin and Cork. The fees for burials, marriages, registrations of baptisms, &c., have been, year after year, gradually withheld, and are now not even claimed; Easter dues are no longer heard of; and it is unnecessary for me to remark how considerable is the diminution of income thus effected. Let me now proceed to point out what legal changes have been effected.

When the insurrection in the south of Ireland, during the years 1821 and 1822, which had been excited entirely by the mismanagement of the extensive estates held by an absentee nobleman in the county of Limerick, had been turned, like all its predecessors, by the ingenuity of the ill-disposed, into an attack upon tithes, the government thought themselves obliged, in the spirit of conciliation, to legislate about this species of property, and in 1823 the first act for the composition of tithes passed. Whether it was wise to change the nature of that property need not now be discussed; but it should be remarked, that the fears so strongly expressed by a distinguished prelate, and echoed by others who knew Ireland well, have been fully justified. They warned the government that the real object was to deprive the protestant clergy of their incomes, and their predictions were but too true. The vexatious circumstances in the collection of tithes have been entirely removed, yet the opposition to the composition rent is as virulent, nay more virulent than that to tithes in their original form. But to return from this digression. It is unnecessary for me to enter into any details of the act of 1823, for scarcely any parishes availed themselves of it, as it imposed restrictions upon the commissioners which must have seemed to the incumbent a tolerable equivalent for his tithe incomes. Loud clamours were raised for an amendment of the act, as being too favorable to the clergy; and the act of 1824 was passed, under which two

By a misunderstanding, this letter has been put into small type.

thirds of the parishes in Ireland were compounded. This act gives a power to the incumbent and parishioners to make an agreement without any reference to the averages of the preceding years; and though a negative was still left to the bishop, yet the means of ascertaining the real value of the parish were taken away, as he lost his right of calling for a return of the averages. There was now ample room for working upon the fears of the incumbent, and threats were liberally held out to him, that if he did not accept the terms offered, he must abide the consequences of resistance. One claim universally set up by the parishioners was a deduction for the expenses of collection, which they never rated at less than twenty per cent., often at twenty-five per cent., and often much higher, when they thought fit to bring into the calculation the losses from bad debts, a demand of not unfrequent occurrence. Harassed by the difficulties and the vexation he had encountered, buoyed up with the hope that all disputes with his parishioners were now to be at an end, and that henceforward he should be considered as a landlord, the clergyman submitted to these disadvantageous terms; and it is but a moderate calculation to say, that the voluntary compositions diminished by twenty per cent. the average income of tithes. The case is still worse for the remaining parishes, which were compounded under the compulsory act of 1832. By this act all power of checking the amount of composition was taken from the bishop, and the clergyman could only oppose the decision by a tedious and expensive appeal. The years chosen for the average were peculiarly unfavorable, one of them a year of almost absolute famine. And what shall I say of the commissioners? Without intending to pass a general censure upon all, truth obliges me to say, that some were so illiterate as to give in returns incorrectly spelled; others totally ignorant of every thing connected with the value of land or of crops; one, at least, was actually taken from confinement for debt to be sent out on this commission; another was convicted before the Lord Chief Baron of having been the bearer from two landlords of a fraudulent offer to the rector of the parish he was arranging, that if the incumbent would allow one-third to be taken off the averages, the full amount should be secured to him during his incumbency. The rector, though a very old man, nobly resisted; and what was the consequence?-The rector of a small parish was put to the expense of £150 in exposing the transaction and vindicating the rights of his successors, and the commissioner, instead of being prosecuted for perjury, was rewarded with the arrangement of another parish. From such facts it will not be deemed an unreasonable conclusion that the compulsory compositions were not more favorable to the clergy than the voluntary agreements, and that twenty per cent. may be taken off all benefices.

The act of 1832 gives to the landlord an allowance of 15 per cent. for taking upon himself the tithes of his estates, so that if all the landlords of Ireland should take upon themselves the payment of tithes, which is the great object proposed, the income of the clergy would be still further diminished by 15 per cent., that is, on the whole, diminished 35 per cent. But, besides, a tax is fixed upon all benefices as they become vacant, varying from £2 10s. to 15 per cent.; let this be averaged at 8 per cent., and every benefice in Ireland is reduced, or is in the course of being reduced, 43 per cent. It was from such a diminished income that the bill of 1834 proceeded to make further deductions; and by it 15 per cent. additional was the lowest sum* that could be struck off; and the

The reductions of the bill were three in number:-(1) Not less than 10 nor more than 25 per cent. for the expences of collection; (2) 20 per cent. on the sale of tithes and commutation for land; and (3) a further reduction, not exceeding 10 per cent., where peculiar difficulties occurred in collecting. Thus the smallest reduction was 30 per cent., and the largest 55 per cent. ; but a deduction of 15 per cent. has already been allowed for the landlords; therefore the lowest additional deduction by this bill would have been 15 per cent., the highest 40 per cent.

reductions might amount to 40 per cent, thus reducing the original income from 50 to 65 per cent.; and it should be remarked that small vicarages were the benefices from which the greatest deductions would be necessarily made.

This bill was rejected as too favorable to the clergy, and another substituted, which made the first reduction £22 10s. per cent., and finally even this was, in Mr. Littleton's condescension to the superior wisdom of Mr. O'Connell, abandoned, as giving too much to the Protestant church, and a third bill introduced, the injustice of which is now so universally acknowledged that any comment is unnecessary.

By this brief statement it will appear, that, from the first enactment of the tithe composition-rent down to the last church temporalities bill, a continual diminution has been made in the income of the parochial clergy, and that these various diminutions now amount to the enormous sum of 43 per cent. It is to be hoped that in any future enactments the imperial parliament may be pleased to make, this important fact may be kept in view, and that it may be remembered that the incomes of the working clergymen have already been reduced nearly one-half.

Such is the state of the nominal income of the Irish clergy. As to their real income, the account is indeed lamentable. When fraud and violence had deprived them of their incomes for three years, what was their relief? One fourth of what they had a just right to demand was taken away from them! In ordinary cases, when money is illegally withheld, the offending party is compelled to pay interest for the time they have defrauded their creditors, but a novel proceeding was adopted with respect to the Irish clergy, who were fined because their income had been unjustly withheld from them. This certainly was an Irish proceeding of the imperial parliament. A fourth year has now passed, and, with few exceptions, the clergy are in as great difficulties as ever. Upon the justice of the English nation the clergy of Ireland rely that this system shall not be allowed to continue. That justice has never been appealed to in vain. That justice will never sanction the "seizing on the property of men, unaccused, unheard, untried, by whole descriptions, by hundreds and thousands together." That justice will never patiently hear "of casting down men of exalted rank and sacred function, some of them of an age to call at once for reverence and compassion, of casting them down from the highest situation in the commonwealth, wherein they were maintained by their own landed property, to a state of indigence, depression, and contempt."+ I am, sir, your obedient servant,

AN IRISH CLERGYMAN.

PART II.-ENGLAND.

The last few days have brought forth a shoal of pamphlets on church reform. They have been hibernating for three years, and the warmth of a new ministry, a new parliament, and a church commission has called them forth from their winter quarters. As far as report goes, the birds have come forth with just their old plumage and their old note, and are just as ready to undertake the building of

No mention is here made of the diminution of church property by this bill, which has swept away ten bishoprics, diminished the incomes of the remaining sees, and appropriated this revenue, not to church purposes, but to the advantage of the laity, by taking off the land the church cess, a charge to which it was liable when granted to the original patentees and by which it is now rendered more valuable. It is to be remarked that there is scarcely any part of Ireland that has not been forfeited and in which the present possessors do not hold from the crown.

† Burke on the French Revolution: works, vol. v. p. 198.

Nephelococcygia as they were before. An account of one of these Rechauffés is given in the Notices and Reviews, and with that the writer has said his longum vale to pamphlets for church reform, and entered (on the terms however of a certain celebrated oath) into a very solemn compact with himself not to waste one minute more of good time in reading any more such bad stuff as these pamphlets are quite sure to contain. Time, which takes away so much good and brings so much harm in these days, has at least brought this good, that inasmuch as church reform is begun practically, and the meddlers have, consequently, done all the harm they can, (in other and sounder times, theirs would have been a little all!) there can be no earthly reason-except in some very particular case-for any human being to give himself the trouble of reading a word which they write. There were half a dozen letters one day in the "Times,"-of which an ac count is given in Miscellanea,-which are a sort of concentration of all the pamphlets published three years ago, giving the pith of all the plans, with all the good sense, modesty, accuracy, and clearness of views which distinguished the great writers of that Augustan period of church reform, and, as is the usual course of things with the sort of Tacitus brevity which succeeds an Augustan period, and which is, in this case, so highly desirable. They were wise and good men-those same meddlers,-and have done service, for which we cannot be too grateful to them, as every day to come will shew!

So much for writers on church reform. As for church reform itself, it must be allowed, as has been said in a former number, that the reformers—a motley crew, as divided in opinion, as different in views, as wild in hopes, as ill-informed, and as inaccurate, as political reformers have accomplished their object in part. The question is now no longer whether there shall be what is called church reform, but what is to be the extent of the changes. Not only is a church commissior. appointed for the purpose of looking to this great subject, but one principle on which they will proceed is already declared by the appropriation of two stalls at Westminster to providing for the great spiritual wants of the two great parishes in Westminster belonging to the chapter, without however violating any right, but simply by annexing the stall, as is the case with certain headships of houses and professorships already. It is a vain thing, therefore, to inquire whether that shall be which actually is; and they who firmly believe that the church was going on well, and that her prelates had already shewn their earnest wish to improve and reform what could be done safely by many measures carried-many offered, but rejected-many projected and long talked of; who as firmly believe that such reforms would have been the best, and perhaps the only safe ones; and who have, therefore, strenuously resisted larger changes, will rejoice heartily, in one respect at least, viz. that a point so difficult as the question whether more must be done has been decided without the necessity of their giving a vote, voice, thought, or suggestion. But this being so, they must not think that they may calmly throw up the matter, fold their arms, and see what is done, done in apathy or displeasure. They have a most momentous duty yet to discharge. Their spiritual

calling remains the same; and, what is more to the present purpose, it is their duty to transmit to the next generation the means of carrying those spiritual purposes into effect in a state as little impaired as possible. If they cannot do what they would, and what in their consciences they think would be best-if their honest wish to reform real abuses and evils, and to endure such lesser evils as cannot be cured, except at the risque of causing greater, is rejected, and if happily for their own sakes, they have not been called on to decide on the new course adopted, still they must, in the new state of things, do what they can. They must give their earnest and cheerful endeavours to make such measures as may be proposed as little evil and as really useful as they can. The course far pleasanter to feeling would be to renounce all concern with what is against one's opinions, and to refuse all assistance towards lessening any probable evils or securing any promised advantages. But could that course be defended? Would it be consistent with the duty we owe to future generations, or to that Providence which has assigned us our lot in this? If good can be done, shall we not do it? If evil can be lessened or avoided, is it not our duty to do all in our power to effect these great objects? We cannot know what are the designs of Divine Providence for our church, whether to preserve it for the good of a country becoming more prosperous and religious, or totally to withdraw its light from a land sinking farther and farther into godlessness. But if it is to be preserved, it is to be preserved by means, and it must be at our peril that we refuse to become such means, and as efficient ones as our abilities enable us to be. Such, at least, are the conclusions at which the writer has come, after long, bitter, and painful reflexions. They who think with him must turn their thoughts from the past, as they would from the grave, and look with earnest hope, and yet more earnest prayer, to the future. They may believe, indeed, that the promise of the past was fairer, its good more certain, its danger less. They may see some certain disadvantages, and some fearful risques in what is to come. But they did not call up the storm round their vessel, or whistle for the wind; they know that the helm is in the wisest and the safest hands which could be found to guide it, and that they are in the keeping of the same Providence which has guarded their church so long, and which, whether, as a national church, it stand or fall,-whether, as a branch of the church catholic, its light be left to shine here, or be taken away— will still give his blessing to those who, in firm faith and unhesitating obedience, endeavour to do their duty to the best of their power, whatever may be the fearful chances or unwelcome changes to which they are exposed.

It would be painful and difficult at this moment to go into discussion of particulars; but a very able letter, just received from a friend of truly conservative principles in church as well as state politics, is added, as it will interest those who expect such a discussion. It should have been placed in Correspondence, but may find a more appropriate place here. It is obviously written under the conviction that change is come; and, while it recognises that fact, deprecates much change which many of the reformers ardently desire-taxation, and