The Standard is opposed to the attempt to raise a
subscription for, the Irish Clergy at the Bible festival on the 4th of October. It ap- pears to us that the Tonics, who to suit their own party purposes re- jected the offer to secure to the Irish Clergy 77A per cent. last year and 7-21 per rent. this year of their legal claims, Call do no less than raise money suflivient for the support of the unfortunate parsons and their ffinailies. But the Standard says, that this would reduce the Irish lergy to the condition of mendicants ; true—but it would save them from starvation. Again, says our contemporary shrewdly enough- " Repeated importunity for relief is fatal to respect, and too often fatal to affiwtion. There is nothing of which men sooner get weary Man giving, when giving seems to hare no limits." Alas tOr the Irish Clergy ! Horse, foot, and artillery cannot collect tithe sufficient for their own pay. The " friends of the Church" think that no bread is better than three quarters of a loaf, and starve the Clergy out of pure fondness and regard for their honour and glory. A subscription is proposed ; but this is rejected as infra dig. : besides, as there would lw no limit to giving, men, even Orange Tories, would "get weary " of it. What then is to be done ?—the tithes cannot be collected. The Standardadvises that the money-lenders be applied to for the means of supporting the Irish Church. " These means are a loan to be, if it is thought desirable, guaranteed ; but which can be raised at 5 per cent. to-morrow, without any guarantee. In this there will be nothing degrading, nothing importunate, nothing to en- courage laziness on one side, or to suggest proud desertions on the other." This is a most unexceptionable proposal ; but as it is evidently a matter of indifference to the friends of theChurch, we should recommend the loan-contractor to be furnished with the guarantee before be enters the Money-market. A guarantee would certainly be "thought de- sirable." Let us see : a loan for three years' support of the Clergy, and for the repayment of the 640,000/. already advanced, would probably be negotiated; and this would amount to rather more than two mawis. sterling. There cotad be no difficulty : there are doubtless Many Tories eager to come forward, and to " come down " with the requisite security. It strikes us, however, that there niight be some little difficulty after all, as the most zealous friends of the Irish Church Establishment are pen- sioners,—such RS LYNDHURST, ELLENBOROUGH, KENYON, and RODEN ; and sinecure pensions are not worth three years' purchase in the pre- sent state of feeling among the paymasters of those noble lords : in. deed there might be some difficulty here, those hard-hearted loan- mongers do stickle so about "security."
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