house of lords, where the
resolutions had been agreed to, the bill was passed without opposition.

The tithe-committees still continued their investigations, and on the
25th of June Mr. Stanley stated to the house of commons the measures
which ministers intended to recommend for the final settlement of the
questions connected with tithes. Three bills were to be introduced:
the first, to make the composition act permanent and compulsory, and to
render it at the same time more equitable and effective in some of its
details; the second, constituting the bishop and beneficed clergy of
each diocese into a corporation for the purpose of receiving the tithes
for the whole body, and dividing them for their common benefit in the
proportion to which the respective parties would be entitled: and the
third, providing for a commutation of the tithe on the same principle as
the land-tax redemption in England, or the redemption of quit-rents in
Ireland--that is, that the party liable to the charge might redeem
it, and the money thus paid for redemption would go to a fund as
a provision for the clergy in the proportions to which they were at
present entitled. Mr. Stanley explained the principles of these three
bills at great length; but stated that it was not intended to carry all
of them through the house at so late a period of the session. And
this, he continued, was not necessary, as the first and second were
independent of the third. He moved therefore for leave to bring in
a bill for making the tithe-composition act compulsory, and the
composition permanent, and another for establishing the ecclesiastical
corporations. Subsequently the latter of these was delayed, and the
composition bill only pressed on. The motion for this was opposed by Mr.
J. Grattan, who moved as an amendment the following resolutions:--"That
it is essential to the peace of Ireland that the system of tithes in
that country should be extinguished, not in name only, but in substance,
and unequivocally: That in coming to this resolution we recognise the
rights of persons having vested interests, and declare that it is the
duty of parliament to provide for those persons by making them a just
compensation: That we also recognise the liability of property in
Ireland to contribute to a fund for supporting and promoting religion
and charity; but that such may and ought to be quite different in the
mode of collection, and much lighter in effect than that raised by the