of Middleton, in the county of Cork, when held by Mr. Berkley in 1785, yielded scarcely 8001. per annum; at present it produces upwards of 2800l. A living of 5001. is but a middling one in Ireland, and any thing beneath it is considered as very low.

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"These incomes of the bishoprics arise partly from tithe, as at Killaloe, but generally from grants of land, over which there is a restraining clause to prevent the incumbent, if I may apply. that term to a bishop, from letting them for longer than 21 years. As the bishops hitherto have generally been old men, the chance of their surviving that period is not great; they therefore. renew the lease every third or seventh year upon receiving a fine, and the tenant pays the old rent. This is done under a special act of parliament, otherwise such renewals would be contrary to the decisions of the English court of chancery. In lay possessions a life-holder cannot annihilate a lease by which his estate is let, and grant a new one upon receiving a fine for the longest term which his settlements would allow, because this would keep his successor out of his income when he came to his estate. Such, however, is the law in Ireland; but if a lease be suffered to expire the land must be let at two-thirds of the full improved value, or the lease becomes void. But lately, since some young men have been appointed bishops, they have, as it is termed, " run their lives against their leases;" that is, they have made no renewal, en

suring a large sum at the public offices, to be re ceived by their families in the event of their death. It would therefore be desirable to know the real value of the estates belonging to the bishoprics, were they now out of lease.

"I must observe, that this is not a common case. It is, however, certain, that the late Bishop of Derry realized above 4000l. a year by leases under the see. It appears that his mode was to purchase the interest of the tenants with whoi many years of lease had expired; to some of these he had refused a renewal, and others, per haps, were unable to raise the money to pay the fine, and thus sold the remaining term at a cheap rate. This, however, makes no more difference to his successor than if these leases had been purchased by any other person. A friend of mine remarks, that Lord Bristol was so eccentric a character that no conclusions of importance can be drawn from his conduct. This may readily be granted, but the policy ought to be considered by. which the law allows an eccentric or any other man to acquire an enormous fortune without performing his ecclesiastical duty; and whether while such facilities are left in the power of any individual, many may not be tempted to neglect their sacred functions while they are seeking often for temporal riches and splendour; and whether the same person who has it in his power to determine the fine or refuse the renewal should be permitted to purchase.

"It would therefore be desirable to ascertain the real value of the estates belonging to the bishoprics, if they were now out of lease. A few that I have heard estimated, from the conjecture of well-informed persons, are as follows:

t

Bishops who outlive their leases might let the estates in trust, for the benefit of the devisors to their wills. By this proceeding would Church property increase? As the bishops are obliged to let at two-thirds of the real value, it would remove the property of the present tenant into other hands, and probably convert it into lay property, from the immediate connexions of the bishops: or, in the event of receiving the greater part of the benefits himself, he might leave his property among the branches of his family who are not in the Church. I am inclined to believe that the letting to himself, through trustees, to act under his will, at the old rent, which would only be a nominal one, would never be permitted: and that in dioceses where bishops do not renew leases, it would end in creating great and enormous incomes.

"In the event of insanity or imbecility from age, the leases can be renewed by the metropoli

tan for his suffragan; but the law, I am of opinion, has not provided for the case of a metropolitan so situated, although I understand that in the case of the Archbishop of Dublin the chancellor appointed, in March 1811, a committee to manage his temporalities, as in other instances of lunacy, and made the Bishop of Killala, who had been long acquainted with the diocese ast Dean of St. Patrick's, guardian to the spiritualities, reserving the patronage to himself.

"The patronage of the Irish bishoprics is very extensive, as will appear from the following table, which, declining the task of forming a new one, for the reason already assigned, I have extracted from Dr. Beaufort's Memoir.