1832.] On what Principles is the Irish Church Establishment Founded. 425 



8th. That other text " The labourer is worthy of his hire/' is a mis- 

 construction of the original, which should be translated thus " The 

 rector is worthy of his tithe." The notion of labour and hire is incon- 

 sistent with the dignity of the church. 



9th. A clergyman may reside amongst his parishioners if he likes ; 

 but it is by no means incumbent on him to do so. He can take as good 

 care of their souls, living in Bath or Naples, as in his own glebe-house. 



10th. Pluralities are perfectly consistent with the spirit, though per- 

 haps no- where directly sanctioned by the letter of holy writ. 



llth. Union is good in all things ; especially union of parishes. 



12th. As the number of priests is not to be regulated by that of the 

 people, so is not the number of bishops to be regulated by that of the 

 priests. Although twenty-six mitres are enough in England for seven 

 thousand rectors, it by no means follows, that twenty-two mitres are 

 too much in Ireland for twelve hundred rectors. Bishoprics are great 

 blessings, they cannot abound too much. 



13th. The same holds good of deans, arch-deacons, and dignitaries of 

 every degree. 



14th. A bishop is " Episcopus" or Overlooker: he may therefore 

 overlook religion altogether. 



15th. A church never looks so comely as when she is literally a 

 " Church Militant," fenced in by thirty thousand bayonets, and a park 

 of artillery in every parish. 



16th. A minister of the gospel is never seen to such advantage as 

 when he is charging his flock at the head of a troop of dragoons, or a 

 strong body of the constabulary force. This is what is described by 

 the psalmist, as " the beauty of holiness/' 



17th. It is no objection to the establishment of a Protestant church, 

 that the people of the country where it is established are not Pro- 

 testants. 



18th. The more reluctant the people are to pay tithe, the more need- 

 ful it is to force them to do it. Their hatred to tithe springs from their 

 irreligion. 



19th. The argument for a church establishment gains strength the 

 more unpopular that institution becomes. Were it universally admired, 

 the people would be universally religious, and then there would be no 

 occasion for it at all. 



20th. The best way to bring the nation round to the religion is to 

 make them hate the clergy. The tithe-proctor is the best apostle of 

 Protestantism ; and the tithe-system, (or such substitute for it as is- 

 contemplated by the present government,) the most powerful instru- 

 ment for advancing the reformation. 



21st. Finally, it is never to be forgotten, that nations were made for 

 institutions, not institutions for nations. 



These principles, co-numerous with the Bench of Bishops, seem to 

 embrace what may be called the spirit or genius of the Irish Ecclesias- 

 tical Establishment. We frankly confess, that we think them open to 

 some objections; and that, in a church constituted on such grounds, 

 there should be persons who believe it would be possible to make some 

 improvements, it does not appear to us to be matter of astonishment. 



