Disestablishment and Disendowment of the Irish Church.

On January 1st, 1871, the Episcopal Church in Ireland ceased to be a State Church through the operation of the Act 32 and 33 Vict., c. 42. Prior to that date its income from public sources was £618,984, and its endowments from the State about £14,000,000 in value. With all this wealth at its command, the following state of things was found to exist in 1861. Out of 2,428 parishes there were 199 where the Church drew total revenues of over £13,400 per annum, but had not one single adherent, although in these parishes the population was over 98,000. Out of 1,510 benefices there were 107 drawing a revenue of £20,000 yearly, and with the following average population: one Dissenter, thirteen Anglicans, and 1,156 Roman Catholics. In none of these 107 cases were there more than 24 Anglicans in the parish. The average of all the benefices of Ireland showed 459 Anglicans, 395 Dissenters, and 2,983 Roman Catholic inhabitants. By Mr. Gladstone's measure, above alluded to, the Ecclesiastical corporations, sole and aggregate, were dissolved, the Ecclesiastical Courts were abolished, and with them their code of laws, the Bishops were withdrawn from the House of Lords, Crown rights of patronage and appointment were surrendered, owners of advowsons were compensated; an incorporated Church Body was formed by election of the bishops, clergy, and laity, to which the custody of 1,628 churches, with their school houses and burial grounds was transferred, with all liabilities on the same from 1871, save that for 14 or 15 years they had no necessity to pay bishops, clergy, clerks, or sextons. Building charges and a debt of £198,704 on the Glebe Houses had to be paid by the Church Body, also 10 to 12 years' purchase for these residences themselves (carrying with them the garden and curtilage in each case). About £8,000,000 were paid by the State to such clergy as desired to page 155 commute, and £500,000 were handed to the Church Body in lieu of private endowments. Some £819,000 went in compensations, &c., to officials, and £780,000 to lay patrons, 137 ecclesiastical structures were vested in the Commissioners of Public Works for safe custody, and £30,000 handed to them by Government for maintenance. £765,813 were paid to Presbyterian ministers and their college in Belfast, as compensation for the Regium Donum; £372,331 to the Maynooth College, for extinction of the Parliamentary Grant. After all these and many other payments, a surplus of some £6,500,000 is estimated to accrue ultimately to the State, which became the beneficiary owner of immense areas of land, considerable house and mining properties, and some £9,000,000 of capitalized tithe charge. A portion of the latter has been re-sold to land-owners at 22½ years' purchase, and £4,716,747 realized thereby. Much land and other property has also been sold, realising thus far about £2,200,000. Tenants had the first right of purchase of their holdings, and more than 6,000 availed themselves of the opportunity. Lastly, up to 1882, some 900 of the Glebe Houses had been paid for by the Church Body, realising about £500,000 to the surplus funds.

The entire property and management of the Church Fund was in 1881 vested in the Irish Land Commissioners.

This article would be incomplete without mention of the facts that since 1871 the Freed Church of Ireland has received nearly £3,000,000 in voluntary endowments, and with £4,500,000 of the funds paid for dis-endowment still in hand, her poverty may be said to be particularly "genteel."