Mr. O'Connellpresented a Petition from the parish of Newtown, in the county of Tipperary, against the Tythe System. As an instance of the hardships of the system, he begged leave to state, that a case had come to his knowledge of a poor man whose tithe was 12s. offering 6s. which was refused. The case was carried into the Court of Exchequer, and a charge of 8l. thus incurred.
§ Mr. Shawsaid, he knew something of the case, and he could assert that the rev. Gentleman alluded to, had recourse ineffectually to every other legal proceeding to recover his tithe. And it was only on the failure of all ordinary methods that he had had recourse to the Superior Court.
Mr. O'Connellsaid, he must deny that any proceeding had been had recourse to prior to the case coming before the Court of Exchequer. The poor man's offer was refused, and he was singled out for prosecution, although at the same time there were many wealthy men who resisted the payment.
§ Mr. Henry Grattanwas surprised at the observations of the hon. member the Recorder of Dublin. There were undoubtedly Acts by which tithes could be recovered without having recourse to so expensive a Court as the Exchequer.
§ Mr. Shawwas quite aware of the existence of the means to recover tithes alluded to by the hon. Gentleman, but the reason why the course had been adopted in the case referred to, was, that local measures could not be enforced, from the general resistance to the payments that prevailed, nor could any clergyman obtain redress except by the course which this Gentleman had reluctantly had recourse to.
§ Petition to be printed.