LORD RUSSELL AND THE IRISH CHURCH.

West Coast Times, Issue 652, 26 October 1867, Page 3

LORD RUSSELL AND THE IRISH CHURCH.

A corrected report of Earl Russell's speech on the Irish Church on the 24th June has been published in a pamphlet form, containing the following preface by the noble earl : — In publishing a corrected report of my speech on the Church of Ireland, I ■wish to call the serious attention of thoughtful men to the present state of affairs. If we say at once that all Roman Catholics are idolators, and, therefore, we can give them no State support, we ought in the first place to go back \ipon what we have done at Maynooth, at Malta, and in Canada; and, in the next place, to resolve that for the future we will govern Ireland by force alone. The tenantry of the Irish counties would have a far better prospect of good treatment from their landlords, if they were subjected to absolute government, and had not nominally the choice of members to represent in Parliament. They cannot have leases, it is argued, while they have votes ; they must be kept in subjection to the landlord, in order that they may not give a majority to the nominee of the priests. The next alternative is to have free government, but to abolish all support to religion, whether Protestant or Roman Catholic. The immediate consequence 'would be an irresistable demand for the abolition I of the Established Church of England ( and the, Established Church of Scotland. But are either England or Scotland prepared for such measures ? I believe not. There are, however, two preliminary objections to a change which would give to Roman Catholics and Presbyterians any part of the revenues of the Established Chuich. The first is that stated by Lord Derby — namely, that the Church established in Ireland has as much right to its property as the Duke of Bedford has to Covent-Garden and Woburn Abbey. If this objection is meant to place the right of the present Archbishop of Dublin, during his life, and that of the present Duke of Bedford, during his life, to property formerly held by the Roman Catholic Church, on the same footing, I fully admit that right. But who are their " heirs ? The heir of the Duke of Bedford is known to the law, and will succeed as a matter of course. The heir of the bishops and clergy of the Church established in Ireland is the State. If the State chooses to dispose of the property in a manner different from its present appropriation, it lias a full right to do so. If the State maintains the present appropriation, the heir of the Archbishop of Dublin is the man who, after a careful education, has embraced the clerical profession, and has so distinguished himself by his morals, his orthodoxy, and his learning, as to attract the preference of the First Lord of the Treasury and obtain the favor of the Crown. But every man in Ireland, nay, every man in England, and in Scotland, may upon these terms look forward to be the heir of the Archbishop of Dublin — in other words, the nation at large are the heirs of the present holders of Church property in Ireland. But it is said by Lord Cairns, that, if Presbyterians and Roman Catholics are admitted to partake in the benefits to be derived from Church property, eveiy religious sect is entitled to its share. This, however, is a mere captious objection. To omit four millions and a half of Roman Catholics in your State distribution is a palpable and glaring inequality; to omit 10,000 Baptists, or 20,000 of the Society of Friends, is only to make your distribution harmonise with the policy of the State and the general welfare of the community. These, however, are but screens to hide an obvious and shining truth. The great majority of the people of Ireland belong to the Roman Catholic Church. If the State adheres to the principle of a Church Establishment, the repair of Roman Catholic churches and the purchase of glebes for the Roman Catholic clergy by the State cannot justly be refused. _If the State adopts the voluntary principle, the religion of oneseventh of the people of Ireland can no longer be endowed. It is for the British nation to choose. I have mentioned in my speech, without at all binding myself to the details of his scheme, the proposal of a Roman Catholic judge,Mr Justice Shee, as the one which I conceive likely to promote peace and content in Ireland with the least disturbance and personal suffering. But at all events the people of Ireland are fully justified in asking for justice from Parliament of the session of 1868.