Scotland has been long noted for its excellent system of education for all ranks of society. It was enacted during the reign of William and Mary that "there shall be a school and schoolmaster in every parish in Scotland." The salary of the schoolmaster, in 1803, was from £16. 13s. 4d. to £22. 4s. 5d., together with a dwelling-house with at least two apart ments, and a quarter of an acre of land for a garden. The fees in the country parishes vary from 1s. 6d. to 5s. a quarter. From returns made in 1825, from 764 parishes in 10 synods, it appeared that these parishes were well supplied with the means of education, and that there was scarcely an individual who had not been taught to read; but in the other synods, situated chiefly among the Highlands and the islands, there was a great want of schools. The number of Sunday Schools, in 1831, was 1,350; scholars, 66,116. Mr. Stanley, the secretary for Ireland, stated in the House of Commons, Jan. 19, 1832, "that the returns of the population [for 1831],would not be ready for some time; but the whole amount was 7,734,000, being an increase of 13 1-2 per cent. on the census of 1821." REPRESENTATION IN PARLIAMENT. Since the legislative union with England in 1801, Ireland has heretofore sent 100 members to the British Parliament; 64 for the 32 counties, 2 each; for the cities of Dublin and Cork, 2 each; for 31 other cities and boroughs, 1 each; and 1 for the university of Dublin. By the late Reform Act, 5 members have been added to the representation; 1 to each of the towns of Belfast, Galway, Limerick, and Waterford; and 1 to the University of Dublin. The following table exhibits the Irish cities and boroughs, which return members, together with their population, the former number of voters, and the present number under the Reform Act. The first 6 cities send 2 members each; the rest, 1 each. The University of Dublin is a well endowed Protestant institution, with 18 professorships; students in 1828, 1,254. The Royal Catholic College of Maynooth, partly supported by the government, has 10 professors; and the College of Carlow, 4 professors. The means of education possessed by the great mass of the people, are very limited; yet instruction is sought after by the poor with great avidity. Schools in Ireland according to the Returns in 1824. Total Protest.Rel. not Schools. Scholars. Catholics Estab.Ch. Presbyte. Dissent. stated. Ulster 3,449 141,882 57,025 35.977 44,383 2,476 2,023 3,565 119 451 1,909 Connaugh 1,523 71,721 59,788 9,003 Total 11,823 560,549 408,285 93,452 45,304 3,412 10,096 218 113 2,599 Scholars supported by Catholic funds, 46,119 12,769 2,210 The sees are above given according to the Protestant establishment. - The Bishops of Meath and Kildare take precedence of all other Bishops; the rest according to priority of consecration. In the Protestant establishment, Ardagh is annexed to the archbishopric of Tuam; and in the Catholic hierarchy, Leighlin is united to Kildare instead of Ferns, and Ross to Cloyne, instead of Cork. A statement of the income of the Irish Protestant Archbishops and Bishops was given in the American Almanac for 1831; according to which the average of each would be between eight and nine thousand pounds a year. Some accounts make it considerably less. Mr. Leslie Foster stated to the Par liamentary Committee on Irish Affairs, "that the Bishops' incomes, would not, if divided, amount to more than £5,000 a year each." There are 2,500 parishes, which have been united into 1,200 benefices. Far the greater number of the people are Catholics; and in many parishes where tithes are exacted, there are no Protestants. The poor are mostly Catholics; the rich chiefly Protestants. Sir Henry Hardinge, the late secretary of state for Ireland, stated that "five sixths of the property were Protestant, while five sixths of the population were Catholic." The income of the established clergy is derived from tithes, church rates, and the rent of glebe and bishops' lands. The amount of tithes is stated by Bryan at £600,000. The tithe system has long been regarded as a great grievance, and extensive combinations, embracing many Protestants as well as Catholics, have lately been formed to set it aside. "The fixed resources of the clergy," says the author of " Commentaries on Ireland," "are abundantly sufficient for the church without either tithes or church rates. According to a return made to parliament on the 30th of March, 1830, the lands held by the several bishops (excepting the bishop's of Down, Raphoe, and Dromore) amount to 489,141 Irish acres; and adding to that quantity, for the three bishops, who have not made returns of their lands, 30,000 acres (being less than the quantity of lands annexed to three sees certified to be of equal value), and 82,645 acres (being the amount of glebe lands returned), the church appears to possess 602,645 acres. Valuing the land, on an average, at £1 an acre [per annum], which is making an ample allowance for wastes, the rents would be more than sufficient to provide incomes for the bishops and clergy on the following scale: -4 archbishops, £4,000 each; 18 bishops, £3,000 each: 1,200 beneficed clergymen, on average, £300 each; 670 curates, (the number returned in 1828) £150 each." The number of the Catholic clergy was stated, in 1821, at 1,994, Their support is derived from voluntary contributions, and from fees; and their provision is truly surprising, considering the poverty of the people, and how much is drawn from them in rent by the landlords, and in tithes. for the support of the Protestant clergy. The average stipend of a priest together with his curate, is stated at £150 per annum. Bishop Doyle stated his own income to be generally between £450 and £500 a year, and that many other bishops received more. The Presbyterians are numerous in the province of Ulster. The number of their ministers, in 1821, was stated at 239; that of other Protestant Dissenters, at 145. |