(1868)
I am one of those who do not believe that the Established Church of
Ireland--of which I am not a member--would go to absolute ruin, in the
manner of which many of its friends are now so fearful. There was a
paper sent to me this morning, called 'An Address from the Protestants
of Ireland to their Protestant Brethren of Great Britain.' It is dated
"5, Dawson Street," and is signed by "John Trant Hamilton, T.A. Lefroy,
and R.W. Gamble." The paper is written in a fair and mild, and I would
even say,--for persons who have these opinions,--in a kindly and just
spirit. But they have been alarmed, and I would wish, if I can, to offer
them consolation. They say they have no interest in protecting any
abuses of the Established Church, but they protest against their being
now deprived of the Church of their fathers. Now, I am quite of opinion
that it would be a most monstrous thing to deprive the Protestants of
the Church of their fathers; and there is no man in the world who would
more strenuously resist even any step in that direction than I would,
unless it were Mr. Gladstone, the author of the famous resolutions. The
next sentence goes on to say, "We ask for no ascendancy." Having read
that sentence, I think that we must come to the conclusion that these
gentlemen are in a better frame of mind than we thought them to be in. I
can understand easily that these gentlemen are very sorry and doubtful
as to the depths into which they are to be plunged; but I disagree with
them in this--that I think there would still be a Protestant Church in
Ireland when all is done that Parliament has proposed to do. The only
difference will be, that it will not then be an establishment--that it
will have no special favor or grant from the State--that it will stand
in relation to the State just as your Church does, and just as the
churches of the majority of the people of Great Britain at this moment
stand. There will then be no Protestant bishops from Ireland to sit in
the House of Lords; but he must be the most enthusiastic Protestant and
Churchman who believes that there can be any advantage to his Church and
to Protestantism generally in Ireland from such a phenomenon.