was followed by the ascendency of the more radical Young Ireland party, which did not, like O'Connell, court an alliance with the Catholic Church, but preferred to it an outspoken sympathy with the radical Republic- ans of France, and is on that account not so much inter- woven with tlie ecclesiastical history of Ireland as the movements of O'Connell.
The ultramontane doctrines taught in the seminary of Maynooth called forth an agitation in Protestant England for a repeal of the annual subsidy which that seminary received from the British government. New offence was given to the bishops and the idtramontanc party by the establishment of three nndenominational "Queen's Colleges." The bishops luianimously de- nounced the colleges as " godless," and warned all Cath- olic parents against them ; they could, however, not prevent that ever from the beginning the majority of the students in these colleges were children of Catholic parents. The disregard of the episcopal orders showed a decline of ])riestly influence upon a considerable por- tion of the Cathohc Irishmen. This decline of priestly influence became still more apparent when, during the civil war in the United States, the Fenian organization was formed for the express purpose of making Ireland an indejiendent republic. As it was chiefly directed against English rule in Ireland, the new organization, like all its predecessors, had to direct its attacks promi- nently against the Established Church of Ireland, and thus appeared to have to some extent an anti-Protes- tant character; but, being a secret society, it was ex- communicated by the pope, and denounced by all the Irish bishops. The general sympathy with which it nevertheless met among the Catholic Irishmen both of Ireland and the United States is therefore a clear ]iroof that the Catholics of Ireland no longer obey the orders of their bishops as blindly as formerly. I The Established Church of Ireland, regarding itself I as the legitimate successor of the medieval Catholic j Chm-ch, and taking possession of all her dioceses, par- ishes, and Church ]iroperty, retained for a long time the same diocesan and parochial divisions as the Roman Catholic Church. As late as 1833. the Church, notwith- standing its small membership, had 4 archliishoprics and 18 bishoprics: namely, Armagh, Avith 5 bishopries; Dub- lin, with 4 bishoprics; Tuani, with 4 bishopries; and Cash el, with 5 bishoprics. The income of these 22 arch- bishops and bishops was estimated at from £130,000 to £185,000. In 1833 the first decisive step was taken to- \vards reducing the odious prerogatives of the Estab- lished Church, The number of archbishoprics was re- duced to two, Armagh and Dublin, and the number of bishoprics to ten, five for each archbishopric. As the income was very unequally distributed, all the benefices yielding more than £200 had a tax of from ten to fifteen per cent, imposed upon them, the proceeds of -(vhich were employed for church building, raising the income of poor clergymen, and other ecclesiastical purposes. In 18G8, the English House of Commons, on motion of Mr. Gladstone, resolved to disestablish the Church of Ire- land. The proposition was rejected by the House of Lords. Public opinion expressed itself, however, so strongly against the continuance of the privileges of the Irish Church, that the report of the royal commissionere on the revenues and condition of the Church of Ireland (dated July 27, 18G8) recommended important reduc- tions as to the benefices of the Irish Church. This re- port, a volume of more than COO pages, is replete with interesting information, and is one of the best sources of information concerning the condition of the Church at this time. It states that the total revenue of the Church from all sources was at this time £013.984; 1319 benefices had a Church population of over forty persons, and extending to 5000 and upwards. Foiur bishoprics were suggested for abolition, namely, JNIeath, Killaloe, Cashel, and Kilmore. The commissioners were in favor of leaving one archbishopric only, that of Ar- magh. All bishops were to receive £3000 a year in-
IRELAND
644
IRELAND
come, an<l an additional i:500 Avhen attending Parlia- ment. The primate was to get £6000, and the archbish- op of Dublin, ifcontiniied,. £5000. The abolition of all ca- thedrals and deaneries except eight was recommended. With a view to rearrangement of benefices, it was pro- posed that ecclesiastical commissioners should have ex- tended [lowers to suppress or unite benefices. AU benefices not having a Protestant population of forty were to be suppressed. Tiie estates of all capitular bodies and of the bishoprics abolished were to be vested in ecclesias- tical commissioners, and the surplus of all property vest- ed in them to be applicable at their discretion to aug- mentation of benefices. The ecclesiastical commission was to be modified by the introduction of three unpaid laymen and two paid commissioners, one a|)pointed by the crown, the other by the primate. The management of all lands ^^'as to be taken out of the hanils of eccle- siastical persons and placed in those of the ecclesiastical commissioners. Mr. (iladstone having become, towards the close of the year i8G8, prime minister, introduced in March, 186!), a new bill fur the disestablishment and disendowment of the Irish Church. It passed a second reading in the House of Commons, after a long and ex- cited debate, by a vote of 368 to 250, showing a major- ity in favor of the passage of 118 ; and in the House of Lords by a majority of 33 in a house of 300 members. The amendments adopted by the House of Lords were nearly all rejecteil by the Commons, and on July 26 it received the royal assent. The bill, which contains sixty clauses, is entitled "A bill to put an end to the es- tablishment of the Church of Ireland, and to make pro- vision in respect to the temporalities thereof, and in respect to the royal College of Maynooth." The dises- tablishment Avas to be total, but was not to talje place until Jan. 1, 1870, when the ecclesiastical courts were to be abolished, the ecclesiastical laws to cease to have any authority, the bishops to be no longer peers of Par- liament, and all ecclesiastical corporations in the coun- try to be dissolved. The disendowment was technically and legally to be total and immediate. Provision was made for winding up the ecclesiastical commission, and the constitution of a new commission, composed of ten members, in which tlie whole property of the Irish Church was to be vested from the day the measure re- ceived the royal assent. A distinction was made be- tween public endowments (valued at £15,500,000), in- cluding everything in the nature of a state grant or revenue, which were to be resumetl by the state, and private endowments (valued at £500,000), which were defined as money contributed from private sources since 1660, which were to be restored to the disestablished Cliurch. Provision Avas made for compensation to vest- ed interests, including tliose connected with jMaynooth College and the Presbyterians who were in receipt of the ret/iwii donurn. Among these interests, the largest ill tlie aggregate were those of incumbents, to each of whom was secured during his life, provided he contin- ued to discharge the duties of his benefice, the amount to which he was entitled, deducting the amount he might have paid for curates, or the interest might, un- der certain circumstances, be commuted, ujion his appli- cation for a life annuity. Other personal interests pro- vided for were tliose of curates, permanent and tempo- rary, and lay compensations, including claims of parish clerks ami sextons. The amount of the :\Iavnooth grant and the r,';,inm doniim was to be valued' at fourteen years' purchase, and a capital sum equal to it handed over to the respective representatives of the Presbyte- rians and of the Koman Catholics. The aggregate of the i.ayments -onld amount to about £8,000,000, leav- ing about £7,.j00.000, placing an annual income of about £30,000,000 at the disposal of Parliament. This was to be appropriated " mainly to the relief of unavoidable calamity and suffering, kit in such a way as not to in- terfere with the obligation imposed upon property bv the poor laws." A constitution for the disestablished Church was adopted by a General Coiiventi.jii, held in