t this was thought to
make the clergy too dependant on the officers of government, and
they were, therefore, now allowed to collect it for themselves. The
provisions of former bills for the revising or reopening of compositions
were to be reserved. With respect to the regulation of the incomes of
the various benefices, Lord Morpeth proposed to adopt the scale of
last session, as recommended by Lord Stanley, with the exception of the
minimum of L300, which Lord Stanley had taken as the lowest point of
reduction to which the clerical income should be liable. The most
novel provision proposed was that which went to apply a portion of the
clergyman's income to the purposes of general education. Lord Morpeth
observed, that by a statute, the 15th of the 28th of Henry III., it was
enacted, that "every incumbent in each parish in Ireland should keep or
cause to be kept within his parish, a school to learn English; and that
every archbishop, bishop, &c., at the time of his induction should take
a corporal oath, that, being so admitted or inducted, he shall to his
best endeavour himself teach the English tongue to all that are under
his rule and governance." Penalties were laid both on the bishop and
clergyman for the breach of this statute; and the oath imposed by the
act was taken by all rectors and vicars. The question was, continued
Lord Morpeth, had this obligation been complied with? There were
2400 parishes in Ireland; and it appeared from the report of the
commissioners of inquiry into Irish education, there were only seven
hundred and eighty-two schools, the number of benefices being 1242, and
the amount of the contributions of the clergy L3299. It appeared from
that report, indeed, that, though there were many benefices in which
there was no school, yet the act of Henry VIII. was sufficiently
complied with by the annual payment of forty-shillings to a
schoolmaster. Attempts had been made to revise the act in 1767, and
again in the year 1806; but these were abandoned. Lord Morpeth now
proposed to raise a fixed rate of ten per cent, upon the ecclesiastical
revenues of Ireland, including the incomes of the dignitaries of the
church as well as of the parochial clergy; to take effect not on the
present holders, but on their successors. The plan of education which he
proposed was not to be confined to the teaching of the English language
only; it was to combine instruction in letters, lessons of morality and
religion, and that