The Protestants of Ulster held a grand open-air meeting at
Hillsborough on Monday, to protest against any interference with "the endowed Protestant Churches of Ireland, which," says the second resolution, in a somewhat Irish fashion, "have a pre- scriptive title to their rights and revenues." Clearly a man has a title to all his rights, the usual difficulty being to define them, but the meaning is none the less clear,—the Orangemen intend to resist the secularization of the Church revenue. The meeting was attended by some 20,000 residents of the province, including the Marquis of Downshire, the Earl of Erne, Lord Roden, Sir '1`. Bateson, some 400 magistrates and men of influence, and thousands of farmers, yeomen, and mechanics of the best class. No party banners or emblems were allowed, and the speeches made were masculine and earnest ; but the single argument employed, as far as we can see, is that the property of a Church ought to be as sacred as any other. Clearly, but what is a national "Church" if it is not the nation? Are the, clerics the Church, or the populus fidelium ?
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