16 JULY 1836, Page 14

"BIG BEGGARMEN," LAY AND CLERICAL.

" Tut Million Loan" was voted by the House of Commons to re- lieve the pressing necessities of the pauperized clergy of Ireland. Affecting pictures set forth the distress to which these pious men and their families were subjected by the refusal of tithes : the spiritual gentry reduced to the condition of mere peasants, deli- cate females compelled to work in potato-grounds, and the parson himself to turn pig-feeder. Touched by these representations of misery, Parliament put a million at the disimal of Government for the aid of the distressed. Whatever may have Veit the terms of the vote, the money was intended—nobody can dispute it—for this purpose only; and not as an advance to the wealthy, or the relatives of the wealthy, clerical or lay.

An account of the mode in which 633,7121. ont of this Million Loan has been disposed of, with the names and residences of the recipients, has been laid before Parliament ; and it proves that the public charity has been grossly abused. To satisfy t he reader on this point, it sill only be necessary to extract from the return the names of some of the principal " beggartnen." First let us take the Clergy. When a parson is non-resident— when he can afford to live in Dublin, or Bath, or Chester, or to roam about the country as a clerical agitator—he is surely not to be reckoned among those entitled to receive public alms. But we find among the clerical recipients,

Forty residents in Dublin, exclusive of the Reverend CHARLES BC/1170N, who is put down as living in Dovea, in Leith:leanly. Mr. BOYTON'S tithes were in arrear for one year only, to the amount of 10891.; and he bad an advance of 912/. Was Mr. Burrox one of the distressed? We have not the least doubt that many are entered as resident clergymen who are not so really; for we observe in repeated instances, that the duty of small livings is done by curates, when the rectors are said to be on the spot. The famous MORTIMER O'SULLIVAN is said to reside at Killeman, Moy : but it does nut appear that any body has done the duty of his parish, while he has been notoriously tramping through Eng- land on his mission of bigotry. Several avowedly live in Eng- land; and among them we note the Reverend I1ANS HAMILTON, of Maida Hill, London, who had 27931. 19s. Id.; and the Ho- nourable and Reverend JAMES ST. LEGER, of the Circus, Bath, who was assisted to the =aunt of 21941. 118. 9d.

So much as a specimen of' the non-resident claimants for relief. Let us now turn to some of the numerous aristocratic clergy, the relatives of the wealthy, who have not disdained to encroach on the fund destined for the really distressed.

There are fifteen ARMSTRONGS, principally of the diocese of Cashel, who shared 88111. 15s. 3d. among them.

The Reverend Dr. BEAUFORT

.£2463 4

5

The Honourable and Reverend GEORGE DE LA

POER BERESFORD

167

0 4 The Same 350 16 6

The Reverend G. D. BERESFORD

215 18 4

The Reverend Marcus GERVASE BERESFORD

1053 14 4

The BOURKES—threeof them Honourable as

well as Reverend 8027 6 7

The BURGHS

1193 16 8

The BUTLERS

6755 1

9

The CHICHESTERS

3772

19 8

Dr. COTTON, of Dublin (three advances)

4080 19 3

The CROKERS

2265 0 10 The DAWSONS 1537 11 9

The ELRIN&TONS

3612 7

0

Thirteen HAMILTONS

10,446 17 0

Six KNOXES

5 2,181 4

Sir HARCOURT LEES

428 7

Ten MooaEs . 5329 17 5

Four Honourable and Very Reverend IIIAtioNs

3812 16 8

Two RYDERS, of Rathcormac

557 19 4

The SrzvessoNs (one of them living in Chester)

5072 5

3

Five Honourable, Venerable, and Reverend

STOPFORDS

7776 1 1

The ST. LAWRENCES (one of thew a Venerable)

3114 6 6

Five TOWNSENDS

2681 10 3

Nine TRENCHES—Honourable and Venerable

7710 1:3 7

Three Malys

121)7

11 6 The Archbishop of Cashel

2063 4 1 The Dean and Chapter of Cashel 795 17 5 The Lord Bishop of Clonfert 1291 10

3 The Lord Bishop of Cloyne 3:190 0 10 The Dean and Chapter of Cloyne 455 14 11 The Dean and Chapter of Cork 613 10 6

The Lord Bishop of Ferns 2198 4 4 The Lord Bishop of Kildare 1892 3 0 The Dean and Chapter of Kildare 11 14 8 !

The Dean and Chapter of Killaloe

999 9 9 The Dean and Chapterof St. Canice, Kilkenny

.588 13 6

The Vicars Choral of ditto

48 7 8 The Vicars Choral of St. Finnbars, Cork 1552 15 4 The Dean and Chapter and Vicars Choral of

Lismore 1012 8 6 The Dean and Chapter of St. Patrick's ...... 910 2 10

The above will give an idea of the extent to which the aristo- cratic portion of the Irish Clergy have benefited by the liberality of the British Parliament. The money was intended for suffering clergymen, not for the BUTLERS, BERESFORDS, DAWSONS, TRENCHES, and KNOXES; nor for Archbishops, Bishops, Deans, and Vicars Choral; but they, as usual, have griped the lion's share.

We now come to the most discreditable part of the job. Well

might Lord STANLEY say that there are names in the list of men who ought sooner to have cut off their right hands than have applied for alms out of the Clergy Fund.

The Duke of DEvoNsuntE (!) had .£3444 17 8

Viscount DE VESCI

1019 3 2

Viscount DILLON 202 19 4 The Earl of DONOUGHMORE 327 9 8 The Dowager Marchioness and the Marquis of

Dews:swim 2697 4 8 The Earl of Essex 82 13 11

Viscount FERRARI)

784 0 0

The Marquis of HEADFORT 118 15 8.

Sir FRANCIS HOLYOAKE GOODRICKE 327 6 2 Viscount LISMORE 529 10 11 The Earl of NORBURY 287 6 3 The Marquis of ORMONDE 2426 7 9 The Earl of SHANNON 288 2 2 Viscount SOUTHWELL 35 '2 10 The Marquis of WESTMEATH 751 7 9

Here we close, for the present; but we niast add, that these lists give by no means an adequate idea of the sums' appropriated by men of rank, lay and clerical. " Honourables" and " Very Reve- rends" swarm in every page. The property of the Church is indeed parcelled out among lords and gentlemen. No document we have ever perused impressed us so strongly with the conviction, that to attempt to reform the Church in Ireland, is mere waste of labour and patience; it must be done away with altogether.

In the mean while, let it be remembered, that the Irish Tithe Bill is not yet pwsed, and that the country has still a hold on the per- sons to whom advances have been made out of the Million Loan. The really necessitous should be spared; but let such men as the Duke of DEVONSHIRE and the Archbishop of CASIIEL be com- pelled to refund the money which never was intended to save them from loss by the failure of their tithe-income.

The Pension-list is not inure disgraceful to the aristocracy than this Church Loan-list. Whenever public money is to be got for nothing, nobles and gentlemen are the most greedy and shame- less applicants. They are the true "sturdy beggars "—and some- thing more. Thq live upon plunder, and fatten upon abuses.