The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http ://www. arch i ve . o rg/detai Is/cu31 924029246705 »1^ 193 As? CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY THE CHUKCH IN lEELAND. A SECOND CHAPTER CONTEMPOEAEY HISTORY. THOMAS ANDKEWS, M.D., F.E.S. AUTHOR OP THE ' KTQlJIrM G ENERALIJ . SECOND EDITION. LONDON : LONGMAN>S, GEE EN, AND CO. 1869. \_Price Two Shillings.'] A SECOND CHAPTER CONTEMPORARY HISTORY. LO:SDOK : PlirNTED BT SP0mai700DE and co.„ kew-steset sq.tjare AjS"© PAELIAMEKT 81BEET THE CHUECH IN IRELAND. A SECOND CHAPTEE CONTEMPORARY HISTORY. THOMAS ANDEEWS, M.D., F.E.S. AUTHOE OF THE ' STUDIUM GENERALE.' SECOND EDITION. LONDON : LONGMANS, GEEEN, AND CO. 1869. The Property of the Church is the Propbett of the Natiok, to be used foe the spiritual benefit of the people AT LARGE. — Page 55. THE CHURCH IN IRELAND. Ecclesiastical History. — Religious Communions. — Their Present State. — Their Relations to Industry. — The Church Question. — Its Equitable Settlement. — The Social State of the Country. — Religious Antipathies. — Future Prospects of Ireland. The proposal, so unexpectedly brought forward in tlie late Parliament, and sanctioned by one branch of the Legislature, to sever the State from any form of religion in Ireland, has already stirred up feelings throughout the nation, which show that greater interests are at stake than those of the Irish Church. Even regarded as a local question, its magnitude gives to it imperial importance ; the fortunes of England being so interwoven with those of her less favoured sister, that any measure tending, on the one hand to elevate, or on the other to depress, the condition of Ireland, cannot faU. to produce a lasting influence upon the empire at large. Nor can it be doubted that the old endowments, which, with all then- faults, have conferred vast benefits on the English people, will be seriously imperilled, if this Irish question be turned adrift, and allowed to settle itself as best it may, according to the impulse of the moment, and with refer- ence to the temporary exigencies of party rather than to the permanent interests of the country.. It is with some hesitation that the writer of these pages ■ has ventured to enter upon the thorny field of Irish B politics and Irish polemics ; in treading over it, he will endeavour to avoid irrelevant topics, and to give the reader, who may favour him with his attention, a short, but impartial sketch of the past history, and present con- dition, of the great religious communities of Ireland, as being essential to a due consideration of the whole sub- ject. He will afterwards not slirink from stating, in plain and intelligible language, how this question of the Irish Church must, in his opinion, be eventually settled, if dis- content and turbulence are to be banished from the soil of Ireland, and the inhabitants of the British Islands knit into a compact and united people. The authentic history of Ireland can scarcely be traced farther back than the fifth century of our era. Unhap- pily for the future fortunes of the country, the Eoman legions were not carried across the Irish sea. Ireland escaped the yoke of the Empire ; but she lost the advan- tages of its civilisation and laws. While England was covered with Eoman villas, and traversed by Eoman causeways, Ireland was in a state of helpless barbarism. The arrival in 431 of Palladius, a bishop consecrated by Pope Celestine, is the first event, of which we have any clear record, in the ecclesiastical history of Ireland. He was succeeded, according to the Irish annals, by Patricius or Patrick, whose missionary labours have been cele- brated and claimed, with praiseworthy emulation, alike by Catholic and Protestant divines. The silence of the contemporary historian. Prosper of Aquitaine, and of Bede, in his ' Ecclesiastical History,' casts unfortunately a deep shade of doubt over the whole narrative.-^ ' The history of St. Patrick rests on the doubtful authority of the Irish annalists, and on two documents, of questionahle authenticity, attributed to the saint himself. I would not have referred either to the ' Confession of St. Patrick,' or to the ' Epistle to Coroticus,' had not a distinguished prelate lately made a statement, on the authority of the former, which, if imexplained, is likely to mislead. In order to prove an identity of practice, in one respect, between the Irish Church in the days of St. Patrick, and the existing The history of the early Irish Church, as far as it can be gleaned from imperfect and donbtful records, is the history of the planting of monastic institutions, among a savage and barbarous people. St. Bridgid, who died about the year 522, and is said to have been a contem- porary of St. Patrick, founded, according to her biogra- pher, a monastery at Kildare, which became the head of all the Irish churches, and ' a pinnacle towering above all the monasteries of the Scots.' By a singular arrange- ment, she associated in her labours a holy man, who governed the Church with her in episcopal dignity, so that ' her chair, both episcopal and virginal, established itself in the whole Hibernian Island,' ^ Protestant Churcii, the Bisiop of Oxford lately declared in the House of Lords, that St. Patrick was the son of one married clergyman, and the grandson of another. He ought in candour to have added, that the only authorities on the suhject are wholly at variance. In the 'Confession,' St. Patrick describes himself as the son of a deacon, who was himself the son of a presbyter; in the ' Epistle to Coroticus,' he says that he is of gentle birth according to the flesh, his father a deourion;. and that, for the sake of others, he sold his nobility. The name of Patrioius, as well as the popular legends, are favourable to the latter statement. I do not wish, at the same time, to attach any midue importance to either of these doclmients. A recent writer has attempted to alter the barbarous texts, so as to bring the language of the ' Confession ' into agreement with that of the ' Epistle ;' but with little success. The opinion of the learned Ledwich, that there is no evidence of such a person as St. Patrick having ever lived in Ireland, and that his history is one of the most contemptible of fictions, goes perhaps somewhat too far ; although a recent writer in Germany has also pronounced the writings ascribed to St. Patrick to be fictitious, and the accounts of his life fabulous. I am, at the same time, constrained to acknowledge, that the arguments adduced against the existence of the historical St. Patrick of the. fifth century are most cogent, and have never been satisfactorily answered. , The more, indeed, we attempt to obtain a distinct view of the saint and his achievements, the farther they recede from our sight ; and, in spite of the efforts of clerical and national admirers, the eventful life of St. Patrick must, it is to be feared, disappear sooner or later from the page of history, and his memory be enshrined, along with that of other heroes of the same order, among the grand, but shadowy, figures of a semi-legendary period. 1 Todd's Memoir of St. Patrick. Such was the Church from which the Protestant Church of Ireland claims succession and inheritance! It cannot refuse to accept, as part of this inheritance, the prodigies and miracles of the j-eputed founders of the same Church. The allegation that the ancient churches B 2 4 Witli St. Columba, the founder of the church of Ibna, or Hi, we touch firmer ground. This famous monk, a native of a wild district of Donegal, was born about the year 521, and the account of his early training, in different monasteries of Ireland, shows that monastic institutions were already scattered over the country, from the Lough of Strangford to the banks of the Liffey. St. Columba founded, in Ireland, the church of Derry and the monastery of Dairmag ; but it was on Scottish soil that he reared an imperishable monument to his name. With only twelve attendants he passed over, in the forty-second year of his age, to the West of Scotland ; and having obtained a grant of the island of Hi (lona), he founded there a monastery, of which he was the first abbot. By his labours, Christianity was first introduced among the Northern Picts of Scotland, and, amidst the dreary annals of these islands professed a purer form of Christianity, and one more resem- bling the existing Protestant Church, than the Church of Rome, at the same period, is not warranted by the ancient records. The Scots and Britons had, it is true, a dispute with the Church of Rome on two ceremonial points, the tonsure and the time of observing Easter. No one will maintain that the ancient Irish tonsure has been preserved in the modern church ; and with regard to the time of observing Easter, this church is unfor- tunately itself also on the wrong side. It observes Easter, according to the custom of the Church of Rome, and not according to the custom of the ancient Scots and Britons. To render this claim Valid, the Church of the Reformation ought to have reverted to the custom of the early Christian inhabitants of these islands, in which they claimed to follow the example of Jolin the Evangelist, and his disciple Polycarp. As regards the identity, in faith and doctrine, of the British churches, in the early part of the fifth century, with the rest of Christendom, the testimony of Chrysostom will be accepted as conclusive. ' "Whether thou joiu'neyest to the people of India,' exclaims the eloquent Father, ' whom the rising sun first beholds, or to the Ocean, or sailest to yonder British Isles, or to the Euxine Sea, or journeyest to the countries of the South ; everywhere shalt thou hear all men inquiring into the things contained in the Scripture; in diverse language, but not with diverse faith ; in varied tongue, but with an accordant mind.' KaV wpiig'lvdovg dTr't\9yQ oiig irpbiTOVQ aviax'>'v o f;Aioc opif, \cav slg rbv (oKEavov arlXS^f, icdv -wpbg Tag BperavviKag vJ)novg SKsivag, Kai' dg rbv Ei)|«i>oi' TrXtiatjg TrovToi', kuv Trpbg TO. voTia airiXByg jxipri, navT the modi- fications then introduced into the original scheme. 35 The connection between tlie industries of Ireland and the religious communities may be described in a few brief sentences. The linen manufacture is the only one in Ireland of tiational importance. The cotton manu- facture has established itself in a few isolated spots ; but the cotton factories gave employment, in 1862, only to 2,700 persons, and since that time this number has pro- bably duninished. The woollen manufacture, once very flourishing, has so dwindled into insignificance, that in the same year, the woollen factories of Ireland did not employ 400 operatives. The poplin, or tabinet weaving of Dublin, represents the silk manufactures of Ireland ; and the paper trade has 21 mUls in operation. An important employment for females, the embroidery of muslin, sprang up a few years ago, chiefly in Ulster ; but the change of fashion has of late greatly contracted this branch of industry. It is to the linen trade that the eastern side of Ulster owes its comparatively thriving condition. It is a very old industry in that part of Ireland ; the mildness of the winters and moisture of the climate preserving the fields in perpetual verdure, and adapting them admirably to the purposes of the bleacher. It was greatly improved by the skill of some French emigrants, who took refuge there after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The failure of the cotton supply, during the civil war in America, gave this manufacture an extraordinary im- pulse ; and the annual value of the linen cloth and yarns, now exported from Ulster, is estimated at a sum exceed- ing 10,000,000/. sterling. The traveller through Ulster is surprised at the unusual spectacle, in the British isles, of fields waving with the graceful flax plant ; but he will often be grieved to remark with how httle care this important culture is conducted. The admirable ,;flax fields of Belgium, where industry and skill have given a D 2 3^ double value to the produce of the land, will recur to him ; and he may perhaps be tempted to retort the lan- guage of the Orange Ulsterman, and ask whether the inferiority in this, as in many other things, of Protestant Ulster : to Catholic Belgium, is due to the difference of religion in the two countries. " The linen trade of Ireland, with the exception of five or six factories in Kildare, Louth, and Dublin, is confined to the province of Ulster, and, in that province, chiefly to the Presbyterian districts. The Anglican Church is, how- ever, fairly represented among the manufacturers and employers of labour, principally, as has already been stated, in consequence of its having been largely recruited from Presbyterian families, when they had acquired wealth, and became anxious for social position. It would be ungenerous not to acknowledge that the Established Church has done good service, by afibrding to the wealthier classes, a more refined and less severe form of worship, than that formerly used in the Presbyterian ' meeting- houses ' of Ulster. But it has done little in other respects to promote the industry of Ireland. An institution, having many excellent qualities in itself, has been utterly marred, by the false position in which it has been placed, and by the unwise and unjustifiable efforts it has made to Crush the other religions of the country. To suppress Presbyterianism in Ulster was even a more darling object of its ambition, than to get rid of Catholicism throughout Ireland ; and it almost succeeded, at one time, in driving the Scottish settlers from the district. Its attitude- to the Catholics has been as unconciliatory as that of the sternest Nonconformist ; while, unlike the Nonconformist, it has done little useful work in its own sphere. Nor has its conduct, in recent times, been ' guided by wiser counsels than those which led Archbishop Bramhall, in the seven- 'teenth ^century, to persecute the Presbyterians,, or Arch- 31 bisHop Boulter, in tlie succeeding centuiy, to found the Charter scliools. The great measure of national educa- tion, one of the principal achievements of Lord Derby's political life, has always been bitterly opposed by the Established Church. Its influence has . been sufficient to deprive large numbers of the Protestant cliildren of the advantages of the national school ; but it has not been sufficient to provide them with competent teachers and proper appliances in schools of its own. A serious injury has thus been inflicted on an important section of the Irish population ; and the most lamentable consequences -would have ensued, if the Presbyterian ministers had not acted with more discretion, and refused to follow in the train of their episcopal brethren. Of late, too, the laity have in many cases interfered, wisely deeming the educa- tion of the people to be of paramount importance to the liturgical scruples of the clergy. The amount of injury already inflicted on the rising generation . of Anglican Protestants is far from inconsiderable, and the influence of the clergy has been seriously weakened.' The Church in Ireland has, for many years, occupied the ambigiTOus position of an establishment tolerated, on account of its wealth, its respectable age, its connection with the Church of England, and the social position of its members. The opinion at one time held, even by high authorities, that it is an advanced outwork of the Protes- ' The wiiter is far from objecting to the establishment of schools, scrip- ■tural or other, unconnected with the State, for the education of the poor. On the contrary, he is of opinion that any stereotyped system of education, however well contrived, is unfavourable to the development of the higher qualities of a free people ; and he therefore considers individuals or societies, who support good schools independent of the State, to be public benefactors. But it is a very different thing recklessly to interfere, . as the Church in Ire- land has done, with the education and material' vv'ell-being of- a large portion of the community; and to make the pulpits and platforms resound with violent denunciations, against the antiscriptural character of the state educa- tion, even after the contrary has been proved by the example of the* Presby- terian and Methodist Churches; j8 tant faith, has long been abandoned by all thoughtful men ; and no living statesman of any position would venture to declare that, if the ecclesiastical arrangements of Ireland were to be recast, such an establishment would now be proposed. The forcible retention, by one-eighth of the population, of the portion of the fruits of the land, originally set apart for the spiritual benefit of the whole, .is; a clear and indisputable proof, that the social and political state of the country has been essentially unsound, and that the bulk of the people have been kept in a state of extreme subjection. But, however great may have been the injustice involved in the ecclesiastical arrange- ments of Ireland, few men, even among those who felt the evil most acutely, Were prepared to encounter the risk of disturbing them. To overturn a great national institution is always an operation of danger, and should never be attempted, except, on the strongest grounds of necessity. A singular combination of events, which it would be foreign to my purpose to describe, has placed the Irish Church on her trial ; but, in whatever way the present struggle among parties shall end, it may safely ;be predicted, without laying claim to any large share of political sagacity, that the State Church in Ireland, like the old hill-roads of the country, is already condemned, and must be prepared to see at no distant day the pubhc -property, hitherto exclusively devoted to her use, diverted, partially or wholly, into other channels. The passions and prejudices of mankind are, unfortu- nately, nowhere more freely appealed to, than in the fierce struggles for ascendency, which so often occur in constitutional states ; and the habit of evading questions of difficulty, when a party is in power, and of pressing the same questions as of extreme urgency, when the party is • in opposition, has grown into an evil of great magnitude, ' and threatens to strain to the utmost, even the British 39 constitution. Tlie defenders of the Irisli Church may justly complain that the artifices of party have never been more freely used than on this occasion. The Church of England has been assured, that living in tlie affections of the Englislx people, and commanding a majority of the inhabitants, she has nothing to fear from the removal of such an excrescence as the Irish Church. No one can value more highly than the writer, the services rendered by the Church in England, to the highest pur- poses of humanity ; nor is any one less anxious to disturb so grand and noble an edifice. But the course of events is inexorable, and the equality of all men in the eye of the law, irrespective of religious belief, is manifestly in- compatible with the existence of a privileged caste. A few years wiU probably see the Church in a minority in England, as the United Church is already in England and Ireland ; but, whether the popular balance inclines a little to one side or the other, is surely not to decide the momentous question of the maintenance of a State church. It may be convenient, for the objects of party, to assume that the Dissenters and Eoman Catholics of England are pleased to carry a double burden, in order that others may march without encumbrance ; but such forbearance proceeds usually from necessity rather than choice, and it would be hazardous to rely upon its continuance, if the church were 'in distress. The established Church of Scot- land is, in some respects, scarcely more defensible than that of Ireland. It is the churcli of a minority ; and it would puzzle an able casuist to discover its claims to superior privileges over either of its Presbyterian rivals. Its doctrines are not purer, its constitution is not more apostolical, its practice not more perfect than theirs ; and no one, who has mixed in Scottish society, will venture to say that it lives in the affections of its Free Church brother, or is an object of love and admiration to its United Pres- 40 byteriian sister. When the Irish Church falls, the days of the Scottish establishment may easily be numbered. Having already lost all the privileges of a State church, except the modest manses and teinds of the clergy, and a royal pageant remarkable only for insignificance, its fall .would scarcely be felt beyond the limits of the ancient realm of Scotland. The grant to Maynooth has been strangely mixed up with the question of the Irish Church ; and the admission ,„of the leader of the opposition, that the disendowment of that church would involve the withdrawal of State sup- port from the Eoman Catholic college, was made with ill- - concealed reluctance. This admission has, however, floated into, popularity a measure, otherwise of doubtful accept- ,ance, with any large section of Protestants in the United Kingdom ; and the withdrawal of the Maynooth grant has become, much more than the question of the Irish Church, •the rallying point of a party. The sincere and anxious Protestant concurs in. this opinion, if in no other, with the sincere and zealous Eationalist, that Catholicism and Catholics are to be regarded with distrust, and at best to be tolerated with reluctance. The admission of the Par- liamentary leader soon called forth an expression of this feeling, in the form of a resolution emanating from a Scotch member, which was aptly described by another member, on the same side of tlie House, as an apple of discord thrown among the ranks of the party. The reso- lution was lost on a division ; but another resolution, scarcely differing in principle, was subsequently caiTied. The College of Maynooth derives its origin from an act of the Irish parliament, passed five years before the union, which authorised an academy to be founded and endowed in Ireland, for the education of persons professing the Eoman Catholic religion. In the original act, no allu- sion is made to the education of the Catholic priesthood; 41 and, although, the college was chiefly intended for their use, -it was also designed for the education of the lay members of the Catholic Church.^ The original grant, for the support of this college, dates as far back as 1796, and amounted to nearly 8,000^. After several fluctuations, it was fixed by the Imperial Parliament, in 1813, at 9,700/. ; and in 1845, during the administration of Sir E. Peel, it was made a charge on the consolidated fund, and augmented to 26,360/. This small grant is the only act of grace ever conferred upon the Catholic population of Ireland, either by the Irish or Imperial Parliament. It originated with an Irish parliament, in which no Eoman Catholic had a seat ; it was continued and augmented by the Imperial parliament, when exclusively Protestant ; and it was placed on its present footing of permanence by the ablest and farthest-seeing minister England has produced in recent times. The importance he attached to the main- tenance of this grant, was evinced by the large augmenta- tion he obtained for it, and the exertions he used to give it stability, and to remove it from the arena of party strife. Yet it is now proposed to scatter to the winds, without even a formal discussion, all these thoughtful arrangements, on what I do not hesitate to call a flimsy and unworthy pretext. The other measures of Sir E. Peel have firmly stood the test of time, and we may venture with little hesitation to predict, that the increased endowment he obtained for Maynooth will also be maintained ; nor will the grass be suffered in our day to grow in its halls. The British tax- payer may indeed complain, with some show of justice, that the burden should be local and not imperial ; and in -the new arrangements, this charge might, with great pro- priety, be removed from the consolidated fund, and placed upon the church lands of Ireland.^ ' Studium Generale, p. 74 et seq. ^ If this provision for the education of the Koman Catholic clergy of 42 Those who watch over Eomau Catholic interests in Ire- land have probably little of the extraordinary sagacity commonly attributed to them ; but they must be lamentably unfit for the position they occupy, if they submit to so serious a loss, in order to acquire what would then be truly a sentimental gain. They ought to know that if they show due forbearance and proper firmness, the British public will, in the end, be ready to grant the fullest measure of justice to the Catholics of Ireland ; while in return, it will expect them to banish the harsh feelings of the past, and to emulate their coreligionists in England and Scotland, of British extraction, in devotion and loyalty to the common country, of which they have the good fortune to be citizens. Whether the time has arrived for the permanent set- tlement of the church question in Ireland, it is difficult to affirm ; but a hasty settlement of so great and momentous a question is to be earnestly deprecated, and crude legis- lation anxiously avoided. The financial ability and rhetorical powers of the leader of the movement are undoubted ; but he has exhibited, in the new position he has taken up, all the impetuosity of a neophyte, and those who, like the writer, have read his once celebrated work, will pause before they place full confidence in so uncertain a guide. He is the only layman of any repute in Europe, who has ever ventured to maintain the infallibility of the Church of England, in regard to fundamental truths ; who Ireland be done away, the Divinity School of Tiinity College, Dublin, will have some difficulty in preserving any of its privileges ; and even Oxford and Cambridge will find their strongholds sensibly weakened. This fresh demand upon the slender resources of the Roman Catholics of Ireland, notwithstanduag the jaunty remarks of some of their representatives in Parliament, will be felt by them to be a new and unfair burden, and the attempt to levy it cannot fail to augment the discontent of the country. A rate in aid from the Catholic world, or rather from our Gallic neighbours, might no doubt be easily obtained for this object; but would such a result conduce to the honour or safety of the British Empire ? 43 lias objected to the exercise of private judgment, unless it coincide with and confirm catholic truth ; who has described the modern practice of free thought among Protestants, as the fruitful parent of laxity in religion ; and who has not hesitated to defend the maintenance of the Protestant establishment in Ireland, on the astounding assumption, that the ' Imperial Legislature has been quali- fied to take, and has taken in point of fact, a sounder view of religious truth than the majority of the people of Ireland, in their destitute and uninstructed state.' ^ ' The State in its Selaiions with the Church, vol. ii. p. 14. ' Upon us of this day has fallen (and we shrink not from it, hut welcome it as a high and glo- rious, though an arduous, duty) the defence of the reformed Catholic Church in Ireland as the religious estahlishment of the countrj' ' (p. 13). The question is one ' of spiritual truth in Ireland, arrayed against a Church which we sorrowfully hold to have hidden the light that is in her amidst the darkness of her false traditions, and which adds to the evils of false doctrine those of schism.' (Ibid. p. 17.) To describe the doctiines of the Roman Catholic Church as false, and darkened hy false traditions, may perhaps he excused in a polemical work ; but to say that to the evils of false doctrine she adds the evils of schism, although doubtless the habitual language of an extravagant school, is wholly without excuse in a serious writer. Such language stands . in painful contrast with the references to the same church in the writings of the great retired statesman of FrancOj the earnestness of whose Protestant ■ feelings no one will venture to dispute. The new idol set up hy the same author (for the old divines of the Church of England would never have acknowledged it) has been proclaimed to the world in language which, I confess, I was not prepared to find in any thoughtful work. In the separa- tion of religion from government, we are told, that we see a change which seems to indicate the ripening of a harvest of divine vengeance : ' firstly, because it asserts practical atheism, that is, a great and moral human agency, knowingly, deliberately, and permanently divested of regard to God j secondly, because it asserts that atheism in the most authentic form, namely, by casting out its antagonist, religion, from what are most permanent and most authoritative among men, their public politics ; thirdly, because the assertion is made not by individuals alone, but by masses, invested with political power, and, under the most wretched infatuation, claiming it as a right of freedom thus to banish themselves from the Divine protection and regard.' (Ibid. p. 886.) — While these pages were passing through the press, an exposition of his present opinions on this subject has been published by Mr. Gladstone. The timid legislator will perhaps be reassiu'ed, when he learns, on unquestionable authority, that the appalling statement, just quoted, of the sin of compassing the separation of Church and State, may now be safely disregarded ; and that when the State is changed^ ' either by some Revolution of institutions from their summit to their base, or by a '44 The extreme, I had ahiiost said indecent, haste which characterized the proceedings of the late House of Com- mons in deahng with so grave a question, Avill, it is to be hoped, be avoided by the new Parhament. In consider- .ing the subject, I will venture to view it under aspects, assumed to be impossible, by certain exponents of pubhc -opinion in England. The question at issue is imperial in importance, and as a precedent ; but, in its immediate -operation, it is local and Irish. The opinions of the Irish nation have therefore a claim to special consideration, in the same way and to the same extent as those of the Scottish nation on a question mainly . affecting Scottisli interests. The Eoman Catholic, tlie Episcopal Protestant, the Presbyterian, the Methodist have all a right to be heard and to put forth their views as strongly as they think propel'. But the English Dissenter, or Scottish Presbyterian, mistakes his position in the empire, when he presumes from an affected eminence to look down upon the Eoman Catholics of Ireland, and to refuse them their fidl rights as citizens, on the ground, forsooth, that their faith is erroneous and their worship idolatrous. The wealthy Unitarian or the avowed infidel, however hete- rodox his opinions, escapes with impunity, while the Catholic is hunted to death with a zeal which savours strongly of carnal hatred. The fruits of this intemperance among the evangelical members of the Protestant churches are to be seen in the growth of a counter-feeling in favour of Catholicity, a retrograde movement for which the feeble violence of ultra-Protestantism is largely responsi- ble. The Protestant zealot of England or Scotland has silent and surer process,' and ' the communitj' itself is split and severed into opinions and communions, which, whatever their concurrence in the basis of Christian belief, are hostile in regard to the point at issue,' then 'the attempt to maintain an Established Church becomes an error fatal to the peace, dangerous perhaps even to the life, of civil society.' — A Chapter of Aulohiography, pp. CO, UL 45 no riglit to intervene with a spiritual interdict in tliis Irish issue, nor to assume the position of an autocrat, where questions of religious belief are involved. The endowment of the Eoman Catholic Church has been the cherished wish of almost every English statesman since the end of the last century ; and if it does not soon, take place, at least to a partial extent, the cause will be found in the unwillingness of that church to receive aid from the State, and not in the unseemly violence of the extreme Protestant. In considering the possible solutions of this church question, I wiU presume to treat the as- sumption of absolute truth, on the part of any individual, or of any collective number of individuals, even if they assume the imposing appellation of a church, as simply an expression of strong opinion from fallible men, and liable, like other expressions of strong opinion, to be set aside, if unsupported by sufficient proofs.^ ' It is idle to proclaim the right of private judgment and to impose, directl)', or indireotlj', a pecuniary or civil disability on those who dissent I'rom the prevalent opinions of a country. The Roman Catholic and Uni- tarian contribute to the revenues of the State, and have as unquestionable a right to their share of the expenditure as the most orthodox Protestant. Is the soldier who has risked his life in defence of his country to be deprived, at his last solemn moments, of the consolations of his pastor, because a certain number of his countrymen consider the religious views of that pastor to be erroneous ? Are these confident men so sure that they may not, even now, be themselves grievously mistaken on many points P The Jloman Catholic, they commonly allege, holds all the essentials of the Christian faith, but has overlaid them with error. Have the most orthodox churches of Protestantism not held, at certain periods of their history, opinions now Universally acknowledged to be erroneous, and acted upon them ? After the lapse of above two thousand years, Europe witnessed the revival of human sacrifices, in a darker and, if possible, more repulsive form than before, in order to avert the supposed influence of malignant beings upon man. The youthful virgin — ' Casta inceste nubendi tempore in ipso ' — was anew to perish by a miserable death, the victim of these sad delusions. Let any one read the ordinances passed by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, scarcely two hundred years ago, on the subject of witch- craft and pactions with the devil, and venture to assert that the ministers and elders of that church did not then fall into grievous error^ and mix the 46 The disestablishment of the Irish Church, whenever the legislature shall determine upon it, involves, as a legitimate consequence, its immediate and absolute dis- endowment. lu conformity vsrith the desire always manifested of late years by parliament, to avoid even the semblance of individual hardship, the rights of the clergy to the incomes of the offices they hold will, no doubt, be scrupulously respected ; but their prospective losses will scarcely be taken into consideration. Farther than this, they have no special claim to the property hitherto held by them, as the clergy of the State church ; neither to the revenues, nor to the buildings, nor to any of their other privileges ; and I am on this point reluctantly forced to differ from the ablest living authority on this subject. In his memorable speech last summer in the House of Lords, Earl Grey, while advocating a large reduction of the revenues of the Established Church, and the application of the saving effected to the use of the Eoman, Catholic and Presbyterian churches in Ireland, intimated that the Church should be tenderly dealt with, and that the case was one eminently fitted for compro- mise. It appears to me, on the contrary, to be a case where a compromise, in favour of the wealthy portion of the community, would be only a new form of injustice, and would leave behind the sting of a fresh wrong. The error -with religion. Nor were other orthodox cliurches free from the same taint. Yet the Fathers of that day appealed to the same standards as their successors do now, and laid claim to the same exclusive possession of pure and unalloyed truth. Has any event since occurred to warrant the latter in claiming absolute immunity from error, and in setting up themselves and their opinions on a pinnacle of surpassing height, and insisting that the State shall refuse to endow what they deem to he error ? la not this indirectly to impose a religious disability ? Are these churches all so unanimous in their opinions, and have not some of them shifted ground, and made an alliance with principles and practices once held in abhorrence? "What would the early divines of some of the churches of the Evangelical Alliance have said, if tliey had lived to see light and darkness entering into com-r munion, the prelatist and anti-prektist kissing hands? 47 members of the present Establishment in Ireland have ample means to pravide for their own spiritual wants ; and they cannot, with any show of truth, sue for special favour on the plea of poverty. An incomplete settle- ment of this kind, not built upon the firm foundation of equity, would fail to conciliate the Protestant, and could not be expected to satisfy the Catholic. No measure, indeed, could be devised more fatal to the character or interest of any portion of the Protestant community, than to allow them to carry off, as public spoil, that to which, in strict justice, they are not entitled. The church question in Ireland may be dealt with in either of two ways without violating the principles of justice. The property of the Church may be devoted to secular objects, and the support of religion left entirely to the so-called voluntary system, each religious body providing for the spiritual wants of its own members ; or, the revenues of the Church, as they become year by year available, may be divided among the rehgious commu- nities, for spiritual purposes, in proportion to their numerical strength in the country. The former scheme has, of late, grown surprisingly in favour, even amongst those who, a short time ago, were strongly opposed to voluntaryism. The key to this rapid change in popular feehng is not, I am afraid, to be found in the progTess of enlightened principle, or in the spread of kindly and brotherly sentiments among the great Christian com- munions. It is rather to be found in the revival of the old anti-papal spirit, under a new phase, and in a form unworthy of a free and candid people. To tolerate the Eoman Catholic is now admitted to be a duty ; but the admission was not made, till toleration became a neces- sity of the State. To treat the Eoman Catholic as an equal is, even now, only admitted with large reservation ; - and the present form this reservation assumes, is the non- 48 endowment of error. An active and energetic party, in modern phrase, a party of action, composed partly of zealous Protestants who dissent from the Church, partly of zealous unbelievers who dissent from Christianity, has long, it is true, been opposed to all State endowments for religion ; and the opinions consistently maintained by the members of this party are fully entitled to respect and consideration. But, till lately, it was in a small minority throughout the United Kingdom, more especially in Scotland and the North of Ireland, where, among Dis- senters, its principles were stoutly opposed by the ad- herents of the Free Church and of the General Assembly. A sudden change of opinion has, however, recently occurred; and the old opponents of State aid to religion have received a large accession of recruits, but a doubt- ful augmentation of strength. The opponents of to-day to State aid, were willing yesterday to accept aid from" the State, provided it could be obtained on their own- terms ; and in Ireland, they were even importunately asking for an increase of the Eegium Donum. But they never have had any scruple in requiring Eoman Catholics to contribute to the support of Protestant opinions ; and they have long been quiet spectators of the endowment of the Arian heresy in Ulster. That the smallest dole should be proposed for the Eoman Catholic Church has, however, suddenly awakened all their susceptibilities; and they now protest, in the most solemn terms, against any portion of the old church property of Ireland being used for the support of what they deem to be error.- Never has any body of men, claiming to stand in the front ranks of enlightenment and intelligence, exhibited a more deplorable example of inconsistency and unfairness ; never has the sacred precept, to do unto all men in like manner as you would that they should do unto you, been more recklessly set at naught ; and never, I will venture to 49 add, has a more fatal mistake been committed by any large and responsible section of a community. A tender con- science is always to be treated with respect, even when its suggestions proceed from weakness rather than sound principle ; but the scrupulous conscience, which has borne with placid equanimity, for many long years, a Protestant estabhshment and a Presbyterian endowment in Ireland, and has never complained, although Cathohcs have had to contribute to both, but now stands aghast, on the alleged ground of high principle, at the possi- bility of like privileges being extended to others, is entitled to no respect whatever. The portion of the fruits of the land, originally set apart for the support of Divine worship in Ireland, has suffered a steady diminution, from the time of the Eefor- mation almost to the present day. Many of the early holders of ecclesiastical preferments appropriated to their own use, by fraudulent exchanges and other means, the possessions of their sees and benefices, and alienated irrevocably large portions of the church property.^ In recent times, the payment of tithes, by the Catholic occupiers of the soil to a Protestant clergy, became so intolerable a grievance, that a large portion of the tithes had to be surrendered, in order to make the residue a first charge on the property of the landlord. Although purchased on rather lavish terms, the security is the best the country can offer, and the public trustee can scarcely ■' As an illustration, I may refer to tie case of the see of Kildare : — Alex- ander Craik was appointed, in tlie second year of tlie reign of Elizabeth, to that see, then of considerable value, and also to the deanery of St. Patrick's, The revenues of the bishopric and deanery did not, however, suffice for tliis unscrupulous bishop. ' He exchanged,' says Ware, ' all the manors and lands of the bishopric for some tithes of little value. By this exchange the ancient see of Kildare was reduced to a most shameful poverty. Having sat only three years and some months, he died in 1564; but in that short time he did more mischief to his see than his successors have ever been able to repair.'—Harris's Ware., i. .391. 5° desire a better. Tlie whole revenues of the Estabhshed Church in Ireland amount nearly to six hundred thousand pounds ; a large sum it is true, but insufficient for the support of all the clergy of the country. Those who regard public aid to religion in any form, as an evil, will clamour for converting the Church property into money, knowing that, in that form, it will be easily dissipated ; but thoughtful men will hesitate, before they throw aAvay so large a revenue, belonging to a poor and distressed country like Ireland. No operation will be easier than to absorb the property of the Irish Church, without making anyone apparently the richer. There are everywhere harpies ready to pounce on such prey ; and nowhere are they more numerous or voracious than in Ireland. If the income of the Church be capitalized, the residue, after meeting all demands, will be slender enough ; and it is scarce worth while discussing to what uses it should be applied. The reclamation of the bogs of Ireland, the excavation of harbours in the rocks of her iron-bound shores, the removal of obstructions from her great rivers, the construction of public works in her decaying towns, the extension of railways to her wild western districts, and other similar schemes, will be urged by a host of crafty speculators and hungry projectors. The results may easily be described : disturbance of regular industry, disappointment, turbulence, and heavy engagements, above the value of the Church property, to be in the end paid by the British tax-payer. It is easy to discover the master- spirit of this scheme, which would sweep away every old endowment in Ireland, and leave her social condition, like her treeless hills and plains, naked and bare beyond that of any other country in Europe. The experiment is a novel one in the Old World, and, if attempted anywhere, ought not in the first instance to be tried in Ireland. It has perhaps been suggested by the old adage, that new experiments are to be made on a wortli- less body; but this principle naust always be accepted with reserve, and Ireland is not the country a prudent man would select for the field of his first operations. But, before coming to a conclusion on this momentous question, it is needful to extend our view for a little be- yond the shores of Ireland, and to consider the influence its settlement may have on the great country with, which Ireland is united. Ireland, it must never be forgotten, is a portion of the British Empire, and very close to its heart. A torrent of passionate language may, for tlie luoment, persuade those who are in the habit of being guided by the accredited leaders and organs of a party, bu.t it will not alter the real condition of things ; nor will it save a nation, any more than an individual, from the serious consequences of hearkening to partial state- ments and unwise counsels. To declare that the fall of the Irish branch will not affect the stability of the Church of England is manifestly absurd. The arguments, adduced in support of this paradoxical assertion, will carry weiglit with none, except those who are willing to be deceived. No one, we are assured, now ;proposes to meddle with the Church in England. The monstrous injustice of the Irish Establishment has so dazzled the eyes of the English reformer, that he no longer sees any flaws even in the principle of the great Establishment at home. It is a most serious grievance, we are told, that one man in Ire- land should have his clerical bill paid by the pubhc ; an- other, a part of his bill ; while six other men have to pay their own. It is no grievance whatever, we are assured, and nobody complains of it, that five men in England are so lucky as to have their bills paid, while three others are left to shift for themselves. But there are stratagems in political, as well as in actual warfare ; and to lull the defenders of an ancient stronghold into false secm-ity, by E 2 52 pacific assurances, is the usual precursor of an intended attack. The party of action find it, moreover, con- venient to suspend operations in England, while their new allies require aid in the campaign they have opened in Ireland. Let us, however, assume that the reassuring language, addressed of late, with so much earnestness, to the Church of England, is used in good faith, and let us briefly in- quire to what consequences it will lead. England is to be governed, we are informed, according to the old ideas ; Ireland, according to the new. England is to enjoy the inestimable advantage of a State church ; Ireland, the ■great privilege of having none. England is to preserve, Tor a favoured portion of her population, the rich endow- ments she values so highly, and especially those derived from the old Catholic times ; Ireland is to be gladdened "with beholding the tiny residue of her old endowments dispersed for ever, so that her people may escape the snares of wealth and riches. In England, Europe Avill behold a Protestant population richly endowed ; in Ire- land, she will see a Catholic population, very numerous and very poor, without any provision whatever ; and she will, perhaps, ask. Why is this so ? The Irish colleges in Paris and Eome will be crowded with poverty-stricken students ; and Europe will again ask, Why is this so ? But the opinion of Europe may safely be disregarded, provided the Catholics of Ireland are satisfied, when they find that the Church of Ireland has been pulled down, that the old endowments of the country have been scat- tered, that the College of Maynooth has been disendowed, and the Church of England made stronger than ever ! It is almost dangerous to pursue this discussion further. No one can mean seriously to defend such an arrange- ment. The Church of England knows well she must be prepared to '«hare the fortunes of the Irish branch. The S3 struggle may come a little later, but the issue is certain. The party of action, largely reinforced, will not be slow to take advantage of the anomalous arrangements in the two islands, and wiU demand, with irresistible force, the establishment of rehgious equality throughout the empire. The current of public opinion is setting so strongly against all privileges, founded on the assumed superiority of one man over his fellow, in matters of religious behef, that, the Church of England must consider well how to con- form herself to the new order of things, or even her strength will prove unavailing against the coming tempest,. Nor let her confide in her wealth and rich possessions, sources of power and security in quiet times, but of weakness and danger in times of rapid change. A demo- cratic government, towards which England has lately made such large advances, will have new and expensive wants to gratify ; and the tide of commercial prosperity, which has of late years enabled the State vessel to float so freely, may not always continue to flow in the same direction, A rich and exclusive ecclesiastical corporation will find itself powerless to resist the demands of the masses, unless the future history of England be wholly inconsistent with the past, and with the history of every other nation of Europe. It may not be possible eventually to save the valuable institutions of England ; but it is certainly pos- sible, in the meantime, to strengthen them by a frank act of justice, by admitting to their advantages, without favour or affection, every subject of the realm. This object may be partially attained by removing religious tests and observances where they are merely obstructive, and keep conscientious men out, without conferring any benefit upon others. But it will not be fully attained, till a part of the ample revenues of the Church is distributed among the other religious bodies of the country. A satisfactory settlement of this question in Ireland 54 presents a difficulty, wMch does not occur in England, arising from the serious dilapidation of the ecclesiastical property of Ireland during the last three hundred years. ■"■ The church property, even when the present life interests have expired, wiU be insufficient for the entire support of Divine worship in all the churches of Ireland. I am not ashamed to defend the retention of this property for its original purpose, the maintenance of the worship of God throughout the whole country. But the change in the social condition of the people, and the growth of a large middle class, suggest and justify an important modification in the old plan. The upper and middle classes of society, now a large portion of the population, are able to pay their own clergy, and to provide for their own spiritual as well as temporal wants. But the poor and humbler classes can iU afford to meet any such demand upon their slender resources ; and where it has been exacted for any long period of time, as in the case of the Catholic popula- tion of Ireland, the result has not been encouraging. Dissenters will, doubtless, point triumphantly to the success in their case of the voluntary system ; but, on inquiry, it will be found that few of the indigent belong to their society, and that the system presses with great severity upon their humbler adherents.^ The rich may be ap- ' The Archbisliop of Armagli stated lately in the House of Lords, that the Church of Ireland has now just one-eighth of the tithes granted by HenTy II. at the council of Oashel ; and as the same fraction happens also to express the proportion of the church population of Ireland to the -whole population of the country, he defended, on this ground, the retention of the present tithes hy the members of the Chiuch. Is the Archbishop prepared to support a measure for the recovery, from the lay impropriators and others, of the remaining seven-eighths of the original tithes, for the benefit of the Roman Catholics and Non-conformists ? Such a settlement vrould doubtless be most welcome to the Catholic Church ; and even the Presbyte- rian could hardly resist so large a bribe, however deeply he might grieve to see the ancient church restored to more than its pristine splendour. ^ '1 have always believed,' says Earl Grey, ' and I still believe, that in an old country like ours, the voluntary system cannot adequately provide for its spiritual requirements, I also hold that it is not for the true interest, either 55 pealed to, but iu later times they have failed to provide education for the masses of the people without aid from the State ; and private benevolence, even in the great centres of wealth, is already strained to its limit. In Eng- land, individual effort might, perhaps, do something ; in Ireland, except in one or two favoured spots, it wiU do nothing. Nor can I approve of a system, which will make the poor dependent on the charity of their wealthy neighbours, for that which they are entitled to claim as their right and inheritance. The property of the Church is, in reahty, the property of the nation, to be used for the spiritual benefit of the people at large. When the Church of the Eeformation failed to enforce conformity, and to establish herself as the church of the whole na- tion, she ought, in common fairness, to have resigned a portion of the Church property. The arrangements of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland suggest a simple and complete solution of the difficult question we are now considering. The State makes a free gift to the ministers of that church, but does not in any way interfere with its teaching or discipline. It not only expects, but requires, the lay members of the church to aid in the support of their ministers. Although not so stated in express terms, the Eegium Donum may be regarded as a payment by the State to the Presbyterian Church, on behalf of the poorer Presbyterians, who are unable to pay for themselves. The State takes no cogni-. zance of the dogmatic views held by the recipients of this bounty ; among whom, as is well known, are to be found persons holding widely diverse opinions, on some of the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith. Neither does the State interfere in the appointment of the of the clergy or of the laity of any church, that the pastors should he solely and exclusively dependent on the pecuniary contributions of their flocks.' — Speech iii the House of Lords, Times, June 26, 1868, ■56 ministers, nor with the proceedings of the church courts. As the condition of endowing a new congregation, the State only asks for proof that the application is made in good faith, and therefore requires, that the congregation shaU have been formed for a certain time, that it shall be composed of not less than a speciiied number of families, and that a fixed stipend, in addition to the government allowance, shall be secured to the minister. , According to the proposal of the writer, the revenues arising from the titlies and other ecclesiastical property of Ireland, as they gradually accrue, on the expiration of the present life interests, should be divided among the religious bodies of the country, in proportion to the re- spective numbers of their members. A readjustment should be made, to meet any changes in the religious census, at certain fixed, but long intervals of time, such, for example, as every twenty-five or fifty years. The conditions now attached to the Eegium Donum, in order to prevent abuse, would no longer be necessary, as the sum available for each church would be fixed. The ap- plication of the funds should be left entirely to the re- spective churches, or rehgious communities, without any interference on the part of the State ; but, with this con- dition, that they are to be strictly applied to the spiritual benefit of the people, and particularly of the humbler classes. The Divinity School of the University of Dublin, the College of Maynooth, and the Theological College at Belfast, would very properly be provided for, out of the funds assigned to the churches with which they are con- nected. Whether the churches adopted this course or jiQt, the two latter colleges should certainly cease to be a charge on the general taxes of the country. With the new provision for the Presbyterian clergy, the Eegium Donum would, as a matter of course, disappear from the 57 annual votes of the House of Commons. It will, probably, not be considered unreasonable to ask for the continuance of a portion of these grants, till the Irish funds become available. The executive government and the legislature, while not interfering, in any respect, with the arrangements of the churches, ought, nevertheless, to take the strictest pre- cautions, in order to prevent further waste of the property. The collection of the revenues and the management of the property should not, on any account, be entrusted to a Board of Commissioners, but should be made the busi- ness of a department of the government, and kept under the supervision of parliament. A large portion of the Church property has, unfortunately, been made a fixed charge, and cannot be augmented ; but there are consider- able estates remaining which, by judicious management, may be greatly increased in value. The Eoman Cathohc hierarchy of Ireland have more than once declared that they will not become dependents of the State, nor consent to a State payment for the Cathohc clergy ; and I can appreciate the motives which have rendered them unwilling to accept a reluctant allow- ance from the British Treasury. But it would be a very different thing to receive a portion of the tithes of the country, in order to devote them to the spiritual relief of the poor. Such an arrangement, as I have ventured to propose, would not, in any way, compromise the inde- pendence of the Church, nor lower^ its clergy in the estimation of the people. The available income, after providing for the College of Maynooth, would be very considerable, and would relieve many a poor man's family from payments which now press heavily upon them. A large sum would still require to be raised from private sources ; and, even with the relief I recommend, the Eoman Cathohc population of Ireland would have 58 very heavy burdens to bear. The poor of that communion are so many, and the rich so few, that the struggle of the middle class to acquire a moderate competency, after the claims of religion and charity have been settled, will always be very great. But let no one venture to say, that the condition of the humbler classes would not be sensibly improved, by removing so large a portion of one of their heavy burdens. The new arrangement would make the Presbyterian Church in Ireland even more independent than at present, and would relieve it from the unpleasant and anomalous position of being a stipendiary of the State. This church has always asserted, that the terms of the plantation of Ulster gave it a claim to, at least, a part of the tithes of that district of Ireland ; and unquestionably some of the Presbyterian ministers, who came over with the first Scotch settlers, were allowed to receive the tithes of the parishes in which they ministered. The proposed ar- rangement would restore this church to its proper position in the North of Ireland. The substantial gain would also be considerable ; as its share of the ecclesiastical revenues of the country would, at least, be double the present amount of the Eegium Donum. The Anglican Church would receive about the same sum annually as the Presbyterian Church ; and, consider- ing the wealth of its members, it should have no difficulty in maintaining itself in a state of efficiency, and in making- ample provision for the different orders of its clergy. The Methodists, the Covenanters, and smaller rehgious bodies have hitherto declined to accept aid from the State. Some of them might, perhaps, take their share of the ecclesiastical property of the country, if unshackled by any condition which could interfere with their independ- ence ; others woidd probably refuse. The latter could, in that case, scarcely complain of any great hardship. 59 I deem it to be scarcely relevant to my purpose, to discuss the probable influence of a general division of the tithes, upon the future prospects of Protestantism and Catholicism in Ireland ; but a few remarks on this subject may not be altogether out of place. Eehgious move- ments are rare events in history, and the most sagacious observer can seldom foresee their occurrence, or trace beforehand their course. The arrangement, I have at- tempted to advocate, would probably neither aid the progress of Catholicism on the one hand, nor of Pro- testantism on the other ; nor is it Hkely to act as a drag upon either of them. It would leave each religion free, while it would secure a provision for the spiritual wants of the poorer classes. The statement often put forth that, unless the Established Church be maintained,Protestantism must succumb before Popery in Ireland, is somewhat startling, accompanied, as it usually is, by the counter- statement, that Protestantism is as remarkable for its purity, as Popery for its corruption. Things pure are commonly found, in this world, to be strong and vigorous ; things corrupt, to be weak and unhealthy. The downfall of the papacy, we are assured, is imminent ; and the vision of ancient as well as modern seers, the dethronement of the spiritual despot of the west, is to be realized in our day ; whUe we are, at the same time, solemnly warned of the urgent danger to Protestant liberty and Protestant truth, from the machinations of the Pope and his coun- sellors at Eome. The laws of England, it is maintained, cannot be applied, without favour or affection, to all the inhabitants of the realm, so long as a portion of those inhabitants acknowledge a foreign bishop to be the spiritual head of their church, and recognize his authority in religious questions and in ecclesiastical appointments. If such sentiments and arguments are to influence the legislature, the case is hopeless indeed ; and the conso^ 6o lidation of the British Empire must be abaodoned as a vain dream. It is the old argument against admitting Eoman Catholics to civil offices, and the other privileges of citizens, in a free State ; but, when those privileges have been conceded, the argument falls to the ground. The bishops of the Catholic Church are now eligible to high office in the State, and, in Ireland, some of them have al- ready filled offices of great trust and importance. Those offices, it is true, have not carried emolument ; but they are not, on that account, the less offices of trust. Is England then to recognize the position, and avail herself of the services, of the Eoman Catholic bishop, whose nomination must be sanctioned by the Pope, and at the same time to declare, that to relieve the poverty of four millions of poor Eoman Catholics in Ireland, by allowing a portion of the old tithes of the country to be paid to their pastors, would be a violation of principle and an act of impiety ? But the most satisfactory settlement of this chiu'ch qu.estion, or of any other question affecting the interests of Ireland, wih do little to improve the country, or give it a healthier tone, unless the people of all classes and oi every creed assume kindlier feelings towards one another. The dislike and contempt of the native Irish, which pre- vailed among the English settlers before the Eeformation, survive to this day, and have had the natural effect of lowering the moral character of the dominant, as well as of the subject race. The poor Irish Catholic, descended with little admixture from the old Celtic inhabitants of the island, has had few opportunities at home of mingling, or holding intercourse with others. We have seen how he was held at bay by the English conqueror ; how his apparel, his language, his religion were successively pro- scribed in later times. The turbulent and almost savage native chiefs were gradually subdued, but only to be re- 6i placed by strangers, who had little sytopathy with the people, and abhorred their rehgion. No one can claim for the old Irish race the character of a high people, and their inferiority to their Anglo-Norman conquerors, to- gether with the harsh treatment they received, led, as might be expected, to feelings of hatred and acts of tur^ bulence. But, although in some respects inferior to the inhabitants of the neighbouring countries, the Irish have exhibited many fine qualities ; and they may yet per- form, under happier conditions, an important part in the history of the human family. They have always displayed a fine artistic taste, and their skill in the use of musical instruments, at the time of the English conquest, is de- scribed by Giraldus, whose testimony, when in their fa- vour, may be received without reserve, as incomparably superior to that of any other nation with which he was acquainted/ They have also given abundant proof, during the last three hundred years, of military genius ; and Irish exiles, or their descendants, have risen to the highest commands in almost every army of Europe. Nor has the Irish soldier failed in his duty when serving in the ranks of the British army ; and in steady discipline, undaunted bravery, and cheerful endurance of hardship, he has not been excelled even by the hardy sons of North Britain. In the struggle with a civilisation greatly in ad- vance of its own, the Celtic race of Ireland has not fallen a prey, like the inferior races of man, to sensual vices, and gradually melted away ; on the contrary, it has multiplied exceedingly, and the centres of British industry, the Australian colonies, and, above all, the United States of America, swarm with a population of Irish descent. ^ ' In musicis instrumentis commendabilem invenio gentis istius diligen- tiam. In quiljus, prse omni natione quam vidimus, incomparaHliter in- structa est. Non enim in his, sicut in Britannicia quibus assueti siimus instrumentis, tarda et morosa est modulatio, verum velox et praaoeps, suavis tamen et jocunda sonoritas.' — Giraldus, Tojoographia Ilihermca, iii. cap. xi. 62 The consequences of the ill-usage of centuries cannot be removed in a clay, especially when a new form of petty torture, almost as intolerable as the old tyranny, has been brought into play, and has given little rest to its victim. The contemptuous tone habitually used by the vulgar-minded Protestant, and such are unhappily too common among all classes of society in Ireland, when referring to ' papists ' and ' priests,' must be heard, in order that its mischievous effects upon a great population may be understood. The real or affected assumption of piety, which often accompanies the most uncharitable insinuations, and not unfrequently positive misstatements, serves to heighten the effect of the platform oration, but does incalculable mischief to the cause of order and good government. No one can object to the use of legitimate means to enlighten those who are deemed to be in error, and to give them juster vicAvs of their religious and moral duties ; but the systematic efforts to convert the Eoman Catholics of Ireland, by the skilful application of capital, begun 150 years ago by Primate Boulter, and continued, in one form or another, to the present day, admits of no defence. After the Irish famine, a new impulse was given to this peculiar traffic ; and an organized attempt was made to change the religious faith of a nation, by the free, and somewhat unscrupulous, use of an almost exhaustless purse. But there are things which money will not purchase ; and the Irish Catholic has not sub- mitted to the degradation of bartering his principles for a mess of pottage. Had these efforts been confined to this one occasion, they would have been comparatively harmless ; but they are, even now, continued in almost every village in Ireland where a zealous Protestant resides. The duty of bringing the Scriptures home to every hearth is deemed sufficient to justify the use of the most objection- ^2 able means, and a constant in-itation is kept up in tlie minds of the Catholic population, without any good result. A few of the less scrupulous accept the tracts, and read occasionally a chapter in the Protestant version of the Bible, in order to obtain the substantial rewards ; and an occasional young convert is withdrawn from the paternal roof, and estranged from her natural protectors. In the west of Ireland, a vast missionary work was begun some years ago, and, if the elaborate reports of its success could be relied on, a movement, second only in import- ance to the introduction of Christianity into the island, was in progress. Twenty thousand converts to the Pro- testant faith were alleged to have been made in the diocese of Tuam alone ; the public mind of England was thoroughly stirred ; large sums of money were subscribed ; and many began to think that Ireland was at last to be the scene of a great event. But the stern figures of the census rudely tore off the mask, and showed that, where 20,000 converts had been claimed, the whole Protestant population was less by some thousands than that number."^ A high authority on this subject in Ireland has lately had the effrontery, to compare this suspicious transaction, with the history of the early Christian converts, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles ; and, without offering one tittle of proof or evidence, he has gravely asked the assembled Church Congress at Dublin to assume, that of the 20,000 alleged converts, 5,000 have relapsed ; 10,000 have emigrated ; and 5,000, ' say one-fourth,' remain to this day witnesses to the truth. As the natural result of these ill- directed efforts, the jealousy of the Catholic priest is ' ' The census returns describe the whole church population of the diocese of Tuam in 1861 as 17,000. Where are these 20,000 con-verts ? ' The ex- planation giyen by the speaker is referred to in the text. — Address by the Hon. and Rev. W. 0. Plunket. Report of Proceedings of the Ohurch Congress : Duhlin Evminrj Mail, Oct. 1, 1868. 64 aroused, his interference is reeented as a crime, and a class antagonism of the worst possible kind is produced.^ But the evil is not confined within the narrow limits of these isolated attempts ; it ramifies through the relations of social life, and interferes with the fair employment of labour. The Catholic female servant is now admitted into few Protestant families, especially in the JSTorth of Ireland; and the cruel Wrong thus inflicted, although submitted to in silence, sinks deeply into the soul, and is carried in many cases to the shores of America, where it helps to foster, among the Irish emigrants, the remem- brance of the old wrongs inflicted by the mother-country. Fifty years ago, a better state of feehng existed ; and no distinction was made between Catholic and Protestant, when they tendered their services. The assembling of the whole household at family prayers has been the excuse, the dislike to the Eoman Catholic the cause, of the new practice. The injury inflicted has been most unmerited, as the finest examples of scrupulous integrity, and devoted attachment to the famihes with whom they lived, were found among the Eoman Catholic domestics of Ireland. I will not deny that the Ultramontane spirit, of late so prevalent, has had some influence in augment- ing the repulsion on the Catholic side ; and that the poor ^ Let us imagine a country in whicli the wealthy inhabitants are chiefly Unitarians ; the poor, Evangelical Protestants. If the former were to publish in such a country a new translation of the Scriptures, in accordance with the readings of the best manuscripts, and with the latest conclusions of the ablest critics, noting particularly the passages in the common version of doubtful authenticity, and omitting those which are acknowledged to be spurious; if thej' were industriously to distribute cheap editions of this version, together with tracts, in which the doctrine of the Trinity was held up to contempt and contumely; and if they were further to use active means to induce young children to read these publications, even without the knowledge of their parents, and to reward them for so doing ; what, we may aslr, would be the probable result ? Would the Protestant parent or pastor submit tamely to this interference ? Or would such a procedure , be likely to promote good will among men, or to improve, either the tem>' pnral, or spiritual condition of a people? 6s Eoman Catholic owes little either to Protestant, or Catholic zealot ; but finds, to her sorrow, that the extravagant efforts of both, for her spiritual welfare, have left her no alternative but to starve, or to fly from her native land. Nor let it be supposed that the Protestant population is alone to blame. The Roman Catholics, freed from the operation of the penal laws, are gradually growing in number and importance among the middle classes of society ; but, I regret to say, without exhibiting as a body the higher quahties, which distinguish the middle classes of England and France. The parish priest, too, assumes frequently an unbecoming tone of authority over his flock, which reduces them for the moment to submis- sion, but under which the more energetic minds fret. As one result of this overbearing conduct, I may refer to the indifference to his old religious habits, usually exhibited by the Irish emigrant, when he lands on the continent of America. 4-mong the many inducements to abandon the old country for that land of promise, the prospect of escaping from his spiritual taskmaster at home is not the least considerable. The remedy for this state of things is not to be found, in the dangerous experiment of casting a new burden on the poverty of Ireland, for the education of the priests ; but in improving their means of education, and in assigning to them the position in the country to which they are entitled, as the spiritual guides of so large a portion of the population. A higher class of men would thus be induced to prepare for the priesthood ; and the intercourse between the people and their pastors would be placed on a better and more dignified footing than now. The gloomy picture I have unfortunately had to place before the reader, of the social state of Ireland, and of the conditions of its rehgious parties, is, I regret to say, not greatly enlivened, when we turn oiu" view to its 66 agricultural and industrial prospects. In the keen discus-" sions, to which the land question in Ireland has, of late years, given rise, the interests, real or suppbsed, of landlord' and tenant have received their full share of attention ;: but those of the bountiful mother, on whom both land- lord and tenant depend for support, have not been treated with the same consideration. The drain on the resources of the soil of Ireland, from the enormous and unceasing- export of stock and produce, without any adequate return of the precious materials carried off, is probably without example in modem history ; and, unless vigorous mea- sures be taken to check the evil, Ireland will, at no remote period, have to contend with a greater difficulty than any recorded even in her sad annals. To the eye of the close observer, ominous signs of the land becoming sterile are, in many places, only too visible ; and the continuous flight of the population, from every part of the country, to the distant plains of America, is a clear proof that the tillers of the soil have already arrived at the same conclusion. The proximity of the north-east of Ireland, to the western coal-fields of Scotland and England, has allowed steam power to be profitably employed, in that part of the country, for manufacturing purposes ; and the climate, as I have before remarked, is highly propitious to the opera- tions of the bleacher. The south, and especially the west, of Ireland are, on the . other hand, unfavourably situated for the establishment of manufactures, having no coal- fields of any value of their own, and a long and difficult sea-carriage from England. The drain of emigration, and the facihties for passing over to England, are steadily raising the value of labour, a result most desirable in itself, but which, in the meantime, takes away the only special inducement to the investment of capital. But- there is no cause for despair. Her great neigh- bour has admitted Ireland to a full participation, in all the advantages afibrded by her boundless empire, and is 67 ready to pour hi capital, to any extent, into Ireland itself, if only there is a prospect of a moderate return. For can the resources of the country be known, till rehgious animosity, and agrarian outrage, give way to intelligent enterprise, and steady industry. The heart of the English nation, rising superior to the selfish motives of political leaders, and the narrow views of religious sectaries, is now animated ■■ by the best spirit towards the poor people of Ireland, and is willing to make more than ample atonement for all the harsh acts of former times. The increasing power and wealth of the great Continental States, and of the vast American republic, have indeed made a hearty union of ah the inhabitants of the British islands, not merely a question- of expediency or duty, but one of vital moment to the empire. That modern industry is no longer an heirloom of the Protestant faith, has been clearly proved by the extraordinary progress, in every branch of trade, and manufacture, witnessed of late years in France aiid Belgium. Nor let any one suppose. that this progress has been accompanied by indifference to the old religious opinions of those countries. If Lancashire and the ancient cathedral city of Glasgow , dispute the ])alm in Britain, both for industry and Protestant zeal ; Belgium and the bishopric of Lyons claim, with equal justice, the foremost place on the continent of Europe, for manufacturing activity and Catholic spirit. The re- ligious sentiment in all these places, however differing in form, cannot be essentially unsound, coexisting as it does with steady and' untiring habits of industry, and the honourable ingathering of its fruits. We may, there- fore, indulge the hope of better days even for the Eoman Catholic people of Ireland. If they are a Cekic race, so are the inhabitants of many provinces of France ; and a grander nation than any now living in Europe was either of Celtic blood, or closely allied to it. If they are zealous Catholics, so are the Belgians ; if their bishops are Ultra- 68 montane, so are, if possible, even more conspicuously, the bishops of Belgium. To hear the busy hum of in- dustry resounding throughout all Ireland, will hardly fall to the lot of any man now living ; but many of the exist- ing conditions are favourable, and point to this state of things. The example oi the humble bee must, however, be followed, and all drones removed from the hive. An army of idle ecclesiastics has been too long maintained, and, like other idle armies, it has been both costly and irritating. If the church grievance were removed, the feehngs of animosity among the religious communities would gradually become softened, and the clerical agita- tor would find his vocation at an end. It is not too much to hope that a religious truce might then be pro- claimed, and that those, who have so long held sway in Ireland, would take advantage of it to look calmly into themselves, and, beholding their former sins against a poor and down-trodden race, endeavour to make amends for the errors of the past, by cultivating in the future the virtues of kindness, gentleness, and forbearance. The poor Irish themselves are a hardworking people, and, if gently treated, would doubtless prove as orderly and efficient in civil, as they have shown themselves to be in military, life. It is the duty of aU to work hopefully in this great undertaking, and not to expect the evil passions of centuries to be at once subdued, as by a magician's wand. There are many faults in Ireland, which lie beyond the reach of the legislature ; there are none which justify a departure from the sound principles of political science. But the Irish Church is a real and substantial grievance, the greatest ecclesiastical abuse now existing in Europe ; and its removal, at no distant day, is imperatively called for, in the interest of Ireland, of the Empire, and of Eeligion itself SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE THE SECOND EDITION. I HAVE NOT ATTEMPTED in the limits of this short essay to give an account of the various schemes proposed of late to settle the Church question in Ireland ; but I would certaialy have referred to a re- markable letter addressed in 1867 by Bishop Moriarty to the clergy of his diocese if I had seen that document before pubhshing the first edition. The practical conclusions at vs^hich this able prelate had arrived are almost the same as those I have endeavoured to estab- lish in the foregoing pages. ' The only thing,' he remarks, ' the legislature can consistently do, is to apply the ecclesiastical revenues to the service of all the Churches that minister to the Irish people, and in the proportion in which the Irish people accept their minis- trations. An assembly composed of men of every Christian sect, and of men who are not Christians at all, cannot in their award go beyond the general rule that the Church property and income are to be used for the spiritual benefit of Ireland, and in whatever manner the Irish people may deem raost serviceable to their souls. The most obvious application of this principle would be realised if the whole Church income were paid into the Imperial treasury, and thence disbursed to the different bodies requiring Church ministers or ministrations, and in proportion to their numerical strength, as ascertained by the decennial census. This proposal meets the objec- tion raised against the justice and expediency of the transfer of property; and, inasmuch as it is a partial restitution to the Catholic Church, we could, with due subjection to superior authority, not only assent to it but demand it. But will the Catholic body in this country accept their share of the Church revenue ? ' In the subse- quent pages of the letter Bishop Moriarty endeavours to prove that 7° there would be less difficulty on tlie part of the Catiiolic body in, accepting a portion of the ecclesiastical revenues for the mainte- nance of the Church edifices, and of the ceremonial of 'worship, than for the payment of the clergy. The distinction is a refined one, and somewhat diificult to grasp, particularly as the principle of endow- ments, in the fullest sense of the term, has always been upheld by the Catholic Church. But this is a question, according to the pro- posal I have presumed to make, for the Church itself to decide. The object I have had in view will be accomplished if a portion of the old revenues be so applied as to relieve from a part of its heavy burden the gTinding poverty of the poor Roman Catholics of Ireland rand to secure an equitable distribution, for spiritual purposes, of the ■Church property among the whole population of the island. LONDON : PKINTED BT SPOTIISWOODE AND CO., METV-HTEJiKT SQUARE AND PAELIAWEKI STItJIEr Cornell University Library BR793 .A57 1869 Church in Ireland. A second chapter of c olin 3 1924 029 246 705