the year of our Lord 1730, giving all allowance poffibfe to the arguments on the other fide of the queftion: and the account will stand thus: Disposed of preferments and employments to Tories, or reputed Tories, by his Excellency John Lord Carteret, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, in about the space of fix years: To Doctor Thomas Sheridan, in a rectory GIVE me leave now to compute in grofs the value of the favours done by his Excellency to the true friends of their King and country, and of the Proteftant religion. Ir is to be remembered, that, altho' his Excellency cannot be properly faid to bestow bishoprics, commands in the army, the place of a judge, or commiffioner in the revenue, and fome others; yet they are for the most part difpofed upon his recommendation, except where the perfons are immediately fent from England by their intereft at court; for which I have allowed great defalcations in the following accounts. And it is remarkable, that the only confiderable station conferred on a Tory fince his prefent Excellency's government was of this latter kind. AND indeed it is but too notorious, that in a neighbouring nation (where this dangerous denomination of men is incomparably more numerous, more powerful, and of confequence more formidable) real Tories can often with much lefs difficulty obtain very high favours from the government, than their reputed brethren can arrive to the lowest in 'ours. I obferve this with all poffible fubmiffion to the wifdom of their policy; which however will not, I believe, difpute the praife of vigilance with ours. WHIG Account. To perfons promoted to bishoprics, or removed to more beneficial ones, com 10,050 0 0 9030 0 0 8436 0 0 27,516 0 0 I fhall conclude with this obfervation, that, as I think the Tories have fufficient reason to be fully fatisfied with the fhare of truft, power, and employments, which they poffefs under the lenity of the prefent government, fo, I do not find how his Excellency can be juftly cenfured for favouring none but "high-church, high-flyers, ter"magants, Laudifts, Sacheverellians, tip-top-gallon"men, Jacobites, tantivys, anti-hanoverians, friends to popery and the Pretender and to arbitrary power, difobligers of England, breakers of DEPENDENCY, "inflamers of quarrels between the two nations, public "incendiaries, enemies to the King and kingdoms, ha"ters of TRUE proteftants, laurel-men, Annifts, com"plainers of the nation's poverty, Ormondians, icono"clafts, anti-glorious-memorifts, anti-revolutioners, "white-rofalifts, tenth-a-junians," and the like, when by a fair state of the account, the balance, I conceive, feems to lie on the other fide. CONSI CONSIDERATIONS upon two BILLS fent down from the right honour able the Houfe of LORDS to the honourable the Houfe of COMMONS in IRELAND, relating to the CLERGY †. [Written in the year 1731.] I Have often for above a month past defired fome few clergymen, who are pleased to vifit me, that they would procure an extract of two BILLS brought into the council by fome of the bishops, and both of them fince paffed in the house of Lords: but I could never obtain what I defired, whether by the forgetfulness or negligence of those whom I employed, or the difficulty of the thing itself. Therefore, if I fhall happen to miftake in any fact of confequence, I defire my remarks upon it may pafs for nothing for my information is no better, than what I received in words from several di vines, who seemed to agree with each other. I have not the honour to be acquainted with any one fingle Prelate of the kingdom; and am a ftranger to their chara&ters, further than as common fame reports them, which In the year 1731, a bill was brought into the house of Lords, by a great majority of the right reverend the Bishops, for enabling them to divide the livings of the inferior clergy; which bill was approved of in the privy council of Ireland, and palled by the Lords in parliament. It was afterwards fent to the houfe of Commons for their approbation; but was rejected by them with a great majority. The author of the following confiderations, who hath always been the best friend to the inferior clergy of the church of England, as may be feen by many parts of his wri tings, oppofed this pernicious project with great fuccefs; which, if it had paffed into a law, would have been of the worft confe quence to this nation. Dub. edit. 1738. which is not to be depended on; therefore I cannot be fuppofed to act upon a principle of refentment. I esteem their functions (if I may be allowed to say so without offence) as truly apoftolical, and abfolutely neceffary to the perfection of a Christian church. THERE are no qualities more incident to the frailty and corruptions of human kind, than an indifference or infenfibility for other men's fufferings, and a fudden forgetfulness of their own former humble ftate, when they rife in the world. These two difpofitions have not, I think, any where fo ftrongly exerted themselves, as in the order of bishops with regard to the inferior clergy; for which I can find no reasons, but fuch as naturally fhould feem to operate a quite contrary way. The maintenance of the clergy throughout the kingdom is precarious and uncertain, collected from a most miserable race of beggarly farmers; at whofe mercy every minifter lies to be defrauded. His office as rector, or vicar, if it be duly executed, is very laborious. As foon as he is promoted to a bishopric, the fcene is entirely and happily changed; his revenues are large, and as furely paid as thofe of the king; his whole bufinefs is once a year to receive the attendance, the fubmiffion, and the proxymoney of all his clergy, in whatever part of the diocefe he fhall please to think moft convenient for himself. Neither is his perfonal prefence neceffary, for the business may be done by a vicar general. The fatigue of ordination is just what the bishops please to make it ; and as matters have been for fome time, and may probably remain, the fewer ordinations the better. The rest of their vifible office confifts in the honour of attending parliaments and councils, and beftowing preferments in their own gift; in which laft employment, and in their spiritual and temporal courts, the labour falls to their vicarsgeneral, fecretaries, proctors, apparitors, fenefchals, and the like. Now, I fay, in fo quick a change, whereby their brethren in a few days are become their fubjects, it would be reasonable at least to hope that the labour, confinement, and fubjection, from which they have fo lately escaped, like a bird out of the fnare of the fowler. might a little incline them to remember the condition of those who were but last week their equals, probably their companions companions or their friends, and poffibly as reasonable expectants. There is a known ftory of colonel Tidcomb, who, while he continued a fubaltern officer, was every day complaining against the pride, oppreffion, and hard treatment of colonels towards their officers; yet in a very few minutes after he had received his commiffion for a regiment, walking with a friend on the Mall, he confeffed that the spirit of colonelfhip was coming faft upon him, which spirit is faid to have daily increased to the hour of his death. It is true, the clergy of this kingdom, who are promoted to bishoprics, have always fome great advantages; either that of rich deaneries, opulent and multiplied rectories and dignities, ftrong alliances by birth or marriage, fortified by a fuperlative degree of zeal and loyalty: but however, they were all at firft no more than young beginners; and before their great promotion were known by their plain chriftian names among their old companions, the middling rate of clergymen; nor could therefore be ftrangers to their condition, or with any good grace forget it fo foon, as it hath too often happened. I confefs, I do not remember to have obferved any body of men acting with fo little concert, as our clergy have done in a point, where there opinions appeared to be unanimous a point wherein their whole temporal fupport was concerned, as well as their power of ferving God and his church in their spiritual functions. This hath been imputed to their fear of difobliging, or hopes of further favours upon compliance; because it was obferved, that fome who appeared at firft with the greateft zeal, thought fit fuddenly to abfent themselves from the ufual meetings: yet we know, what expert folicitors the Quakers, the Diffenters, and even the Papists have fometimes found to drive a point of advantage, or prevent an impending evil. I have not seen any extract from the two bills introduced by the bishops into the privy council; where the clergy, upon fome failure in favour, or through the timoroufnels of many among their brethren, were refused to be heard by the council. It seems, thefe bills were both returned, agreed to by the King and council in England, and the houfe of Lords hath with great expedition paffed |