no longer be recognised amongst the religious lights of the Christian world, in which, hitherto, the champions whom she furnished from the armoury of faith, have always been so highly distinguished.

In the third place, the dismantling of ten Sees must cause a frightful chasm in the Church of Ireland. In point of fact, every Irish Bishop had previously too much to do. In order to fill the measure of his duty, he must have been almost incessantly occupied. Those who are not conversant in such matters know but little what is implied in "the care of all the churches." Those to whom religion itself is a sinecure, may very well consider as sinecures the highest offices in the Church! The first effect of the proposed reduction in the number of the Irish Bishops must be, so to overwhelm those who are suffered to remain with a perplexing multiplicity of business, as to render it impossible that any portion of their duty could be discharged well. Where too much is imposed, but little can be expected.

The strangest feature in the conduct of his Majesty's Ministers, upon this occasion, is, that their measure has been adopted without enquiry. Yea, they seem to have eschewed enquiry as carefully as it would be prosecuted by almost any other men, previously to the propounding of a system which so materially affects the interests of the Church. Were they not bound to consult the Primate as to the extent of his present episcopal duties, before they proposed to saddle him, in addition, with the superintendence of the diocese of Clougher? Were they not bound to have examined the Archbishop of Dublin respecting the extent of his duties, before they resolved to superadd the superintendence of the diocese of Kildare to his present labours? We mistake much if they would not be informed, in both these instances, that the Prelates alluded to are already quite sufficiently occupied; and that the only effect of their undertaking more, must be that they can perform less.

Sir Robert Peel truly observed, that a real Church Reform ought to be something the very opposite of that which is at present about to be

adopted. It ought to consist in a separation of dioceses which are at present united, and a subdivision of such as are at present too large, rather than the contrary. And such would be the case, if there was any sincere disposition to raise the character, or to improve the circumstances of the Church; if the question which Ministers proposed to themselves was, how the present ecclesiastical property might be employed to most advantage,-not, upon how small a portion of their revenues the clergy might continue to subsist, retaining still the name of a Church Establishment. The reform proposed, therefore, is not one by which their interests are to be advanced, or their utility increased, but, a reform by which, while their mere existence is scantily provided for, their property may be abstracted for the benefit of another class of his Majesty's subjects. It is, simply, an experiment to ascer tain, upon how little they can live, while yet they may appear to go through the ordinary routine of their ministerial functions! Is it sur prising, therefore, that such a reform should be hailed with delight by O'Connell, and the whole faction, who must rejoice in the destruction of the Church! No. As that demagogue said in the House of Commons, it is perhaps a better measure than he would have himself propo sed, because it is more plausible; because it appears to aim at little, while yet it accomplishes much; and involves a principle which must complete the ruin that may be for a short time deferred, but cannot finally be averted!

That the reader may have an idea of how the measure must actually work, in the case of clergymen with moderate preferments, we subjoin an abstract of the incomings and outgoings of a gentleman who holds two livings, the gross value of which is L.648 a-year. They are situated, the one in the diocese of Meath; the other, in the diocese of Dublin. The account stands as follows; and, to put the matter beyond all doubt, we subjoin the name of the clergyman. He is the Rev. Mr Heppenstal; one well known for his zeal and efficiency in the Church of Ireland.

in the discharge of their ministerial duties. He possesses the power of rewarding those who are faithful to their trust; and the power of punishing those who may prove negli gent or unfaithful. It has, we believe, never happened that a Bishop cordially devoted himself to his high and holy calling, without conferring the highest degree of benefit upon the diocese over which he presided. And what must be the necessary effect of withdrawing ten Bishops from the Church of Ireland? That ten dioceses must be neglected! That, in ten dioceses, the clergy must feel " as sheep that have no shepherd!" And that, in the remaining twelve, such a degree of laxity and negligence must be introduced into the administration of Ecclesiastical affairs, (from the simple fact of more being required of the Bishops than they can possibly perform) that these, too, may be considered as deprived, in a great part, of Episcopal superintendence!

Those who believe the office of a Bishop to be of Apostolical origin, must feel, with still deeper pungency, the evils of the present system. We have regarded it, simply, as a serious injury done to the discipline of the Church; they must regard it as trenching upon spiritual authority and privileges, with which no lay-government has any business to interfere. One of the offices which a Bishop has to perform is confirmation. For this purpose, at stated periods, he finds it necessary to visit every part of his diocese; a work requiring much time and considerable fabour; insomuch, that if it were increased in the manner meditated by the proposed arrangement, he could, in some instances, scarcely perform any other duty, it must necessarily engross almost the whole of his attention! Is not this a matter that should be taken into account by those who profess an attachment to the doctrine of the Church of England? And could such a measure be proposed by any who did not secretly desire to degrade the office, as well as to diminish the number of the Bishops; -a measure which, at the same time, lessens their influence, and paralyses their functions!

mothy to "lay hands suddenly on no man. ." And Bishops have always considered it their duty to make a strict enquiry into the lives and qualifications of those who present themselves for holy orders. This, at present, is no very easy matter; the extent of every diocese being, already, sufficiently great, to render it impossible that it could be, by any one man, more than adequately superintended. But what must be the difficulties of ascertaining all that may be necessary to be known respecting those who present themselves for ordination, when the Episcopal labour in this respect is doubled, and the means of becoming personally acquainted with their characters and pretensions diminished in the same proportion! It follows, that the Apostolical injunction cannot be complied with, in the spirit in which it was given ;-and that individuals may be introduced into the ministry, from whom the Church may suffer more injury than it can reap advantage!

Nor is it to be forgotten, by Church of England Protestants, that, by another provision of the present Bill, a Lay Board of Commissioners is to be erected, who are to exercise very extensive powers, not merely as respects the property, but, also, as respects the spiritualities of the Church of Ireland. They are to be invested with an authority which will enable them to forbid the appointment of any clergyman to a parish, in which divine service has not been performed for a certain time; thus, making it the interest of the payers of tithe to throw difficulties in the way of such performance; and pronouncing, with what appears to us a degree of awful impiety, that, because no religious improvement has hitherto taken place, no religious improvement shall, for the future, be permitted to take place in such parish! That, because it had been abandoned to wickedness, it shall have no opportunity of repenting, and turning to God! A body of lay Commissioners, to watch over the lapses of ministerial duty, or the declension of parochial godliness, not that these lapses might be corrected, or that lack of godliness supplied, but that those who have been neglected may be left altogether without religious aid, and that those

Another of the offices of a Bishop is ordination. St Paul enjoins Ti

who have neglected themselves may be deprived of even a chance of amendment! A goodly expedient, truly, for supplying that lack of care which must be occasioned by the withdrawal of the Bishops! Thus it is that the established religion is to be "Burked" in Ireland! The Ministers first deprive it of its natural protectors, by whose wise and well directed attention, even in its greatest weakness, it would be cherished and supported ;-and it is to be handed over to unnatural guardians, who can have no professional sympathy which would lead them to take care of its interests; and who must, naturally, be more desirous of coming in for the disposal of its property, than of preserving itself! There is something in the whole scheme most monstrously and unnaturally consistent! We have called it ill digested; but, considering what may not unfairly be presumed to be its real object, it is not. At least, it wonderfully conspires with the views of those who seem bent upon pulling down the Church, and circumscribing the influence of true religion. For this purpose, Ministers did not need much enquiry. They knew that the Bishops were regarded as the pillars of the Church, which must fall if not thus supported. They could not, therefore, err in their dealing with them. And, what was thus so hope fully begun, must be completed by the appointment of the lay Commis sioners! Indeed, this latter feature of the Bill seems almost a work of supererogation. When the Bishop was removed, whose duty it would be to see that certain clerical duties were performed, it could scarcely be necessary to appoint a Board of laymen, to see that they were not. All that the most decided enemies to religion could desire, must necessarily follow, and that speedily, from the defect of episcopal superintendence. The body of the clergy would be uncheered, dispirited, neglected, scattered abroad, to a degree that must render any unity or energy of operation, on their part, wholly impossible; and make them altogether unable to bear up against the formidable and well directed hostility to which Protestantism is exposed in Ireland.

What would the Church of Scot

land, what would the people of Scotland say, if the functions of any of their Presbyteries were thus interfered with and suspended? History has already answered that question. They would indignantly resist such an encroachment upon their rights, and make the Minister feel that he could not at will abrogate their dearest privileges. What would the Methodists say if their Conference were thus assailed? What would the Moravians,-what would any other church or sect say or do, if the same arbitrary usurpation upon their acknowledged rights were attempted? We believe the whole dissenting interest of England, Ireland, and Scotland, would unite to resist it, and a force of opposition would be arrayed against his Majesty's Ministers, which would compel them either to abandon their design, or to quit their places. They could not carry into effect the same measure against any other the most insignificant of the subdivisions of dissent in the Protestant community, which they have so boldly undertaken against the Established Church!

What then remains for the Church to do? Why, to evince that she is A CHURCH; and not a mere engine of State policy, to be used or abused for mere political purposes, and to be employed, or not employed, as may best suit the Ministers' convenience. Her property may be seized upon. Against that she can merely protest. When might prevails against right, her Christian duty is quite clear;-those who have taken her cloak, may have her coat also. BUT IT WILL BE HER OWN ACT AND DEED IF HER FUNCTIONS ARE SUSPENDED. She may be reduced to beggary by the arbitrary will of the Government; but, unless she herself be a consenting party to their ini quity, sHE CANNOT BE PARALYSED! Let her, therefore, lose no time in filling up the number of her Bishops. It is not essential that those who fill that office should always be endowed with large possessions. But those who receive the creed, and who adopt the ritual of the Church of England, must hold that the office of the Bishop is essential to the being of the Church. Whenever a vacancy occurs, therefore, let that office be supplied. Able and learned men cannot

be wanting, by whom it will be undertaken with cheerfulness, notwithstanding the privations that may accompany it; and executed with ability, notwithstanding the difficulties by which it may be surrounded. If this be done, the worst effects to be apprehended from the present measure, will be obviated. The Church may suffer in worldly estimation from the loss of its temporalities; but its spiritual functions will not cease. Its candlestick will not be removed. The fire will still continue to burn upon its altars-and although the flame may, at first, be feeble and flickering, it will, gradually, wax stronger and brighter; and the very attempt to extinguish an enlightened religion in that benighted land, may be only the providential means of causing it to shine forth, until the whole country is irradiated with its brightness, and it is recognised, by all classes, as a source of blessedness and illumination.

If what we have proposed be not done, the contrary of all this must take place. The Established Church will appear to be a mere State religion-a mere thing created by act of Parliament! The Bishops will be consenting parties to the act by which not only its property will have been confiscated, but its functions paralysed. Nay, they will furnish the best excuse for the confiscation of its property, by tacitly consenting to the suspension of its functions! For, as it was for the efficient and dignified discharge of the latter, that the former was conferred, it does not carry the appearance of great injustice to say, that the property of a Bishop may be withdrawn, and applied to other purposes, when the functions of a Bishop are no longer needed. By the conduct of the present Episcopal Bench in Ireland, therefore, the proceedings of the Government will be either condemned or justified-condemned, if they act as we advise, and fill the office whenever a vacancy occurs, in all those cases where it is at present proposed by Ministers to be abolished. By so doing, they will record their solemn judgment, that the office ought not to be suspended, and, consequently, that the property ought not to be taken away;-justified, if they adopt a different course,

and make the wrong which they have suffered in one respect, an excuse for a neglect of duty in another. In this latter case, it would appear as if they only valued the Bishopric for the sake of the property; which would be to afford direct confirmation to the vilest calumny of their most inveterate enemies.

And here we cannot avoid recording a tribute of admiration to the conduct, in this respect, of the Church of Rome. When proscribed and persecuted, when outlawed and stigmatized, when deprived of property and consideration; and not only without worldly estimation, but covered with reproach and contumely, she never suffered the functions of her Bishops to be suspended in Ireland! Their places were always filled, although in many cases attended with danger. And, what has been the consequence? That this Church, such as it is, has been preservedthat the blessing of the Rechabites seems to have attended them, to whom, notwithstanding the grossness of their errors, the Divine Being was pleased to say, that, because they were faithful even to the feeble and imperfect light which they had, and evinced a superstitious adherence to what they believed to be their religious duty," Jonadab, the son of Rechab, should never want a man to stand before him for ever!"

Now, shall the professors of idolatry outdo the professors of true religion, in their obedience to the Divine commands? Shall the powers of darkness be worshipped with a perseverance and devotedness which is not to be found amongst the worshippers of the powers of light? If this be so, melancholy are the anticipations which must be entertained for the moral and religious condition of Ireland! Her doom would seem to be sealed! She would appear to be given over, bound hand and foot, to the apostles of error and infidelity! But, we have better hopes. The character of their present Primate is a pledge to us that the best interests of the Church of Ireland will not thus be abandoned. There are others also to whom we look with confidence:-The Bishop of Ferns, resolute and energetic:-the Bishop of Cork, honest, straightforward and persevering: the Bishop of Down