oposed, wherever they were unconnected with
the cure of souls, to abolish them altogether, or to unite them to such
cure; and with regard to livings, where no duty had been done for the
last three years, it was further proposed to suspend the appointment of
ministers at the discretion of the commissioners. Ten bishoprics were
to be abolished, and the vacated sees were to be annexed to those
preserved. With reference to the lands attached to bishoprics the
chancellor of the exchequer laid down this principle, namely, that if
by the act of parliament to be introduced any new value was given to
benefices, that new value not belonging properly to the church might be
appropriated to the exigencies of the state. He believed, he said, that
L500,000 per annum was the value of all Irish episcopal lands to
the lessees or tenants, though the bishops did not receive more than
L100,000. By a different mode of granting leases, his lordship showed
that a sum of near L3,000,000 might be acquired for the state without
any diminution of income to the bishops. His lordship concluded by
moving for leave to bring in a bill to alter and amend the laws relating
to the established church in Ireland. The plan thus unfolded by
Lord Althorp was calculated to produce hostility from two opposite
quarters,--from the conservative opposition, who thought its principles
destructive to the Irish church; and from the economists, repealers, and
radicals, who thought that it left too much of the church untouched.
At the same time it was clear that these different kinds of opposition
would not endanger the success of the bill in the commons, as ministers
were sure of being joined by one of the parties in resisting any
amendment proposed by the other. Moreover, most of the Irish members
approved of tire plan so far as it went, although Mr. O'Connell
denounced the estimate of the Irish church revenues as "a base
delusion," and the design of government as one which tended to "relieve
no grievance except church-cess, not even suspending the war against the
poor man's pig and tenth potato."

Leave was given to bring in the bill; but it was not brought in before
the 1st of March. It was read a first time on the same evening; but the
proposal to take the second reading on the 13th was successfully opposed
by Sir Robert Peel, Sir R. Inglis, and others, ministers consenting to
let it stand for the 14th. On the 14th, when the motion was made for
reading the order of