COMMITTEE. (Hansard, 18 June 1860)

EARL POWIS
said, that this clause contained an extraordinary provision relative to the removal of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners by the two Archbishops of Ireland. By Clause 1, it was enacted that there should be two Ecclesiastical Commissioners receiving a salary,—one to be appointed by the Crown, in order that the Government might be properly represented, and the other by the Primate and 553 Archbishop of Dublin, jointly, to protect the interests of the Church; but the 6th clause provided that the latter Commissioner should be removable, not by the authorities who appointed him, but by the Crown. In the analogous case of the English Church a directly contrary course was adopted, they were appointed during good behaviour, and he thought that the English precedent was the one to be observed in this case. He would, therefore, move as an Amendment that the Commissioners appointed b y Her Majesty should be removable by the Crown, and that those appointed by the Lord Primate and the Archbishop of Dublin should be removable by those Prelates.

§ THE EARL OF ST. GERMANS
said, that this was no new provision created for the first time by this Bill. The 3 and 4 William IV. already gave to the Crown the power sought for in the Bill, which merely sought to continue that power. Moreover, the Act in question had been originally framed by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners themselves, and had been passed with their concurrence.

THE BISHOP OF DERRY
said, he thought the matter of little importance, but preferred that the clause should stand as it did.

THE MARQUESS OF CLANRICARDE
said, that if any alteration or Amendment were made, it should consist in the reduction of the two Commissioners to one, and he believed that was the general impression in Ireland. One Commissioner, he believed, had recently transacted the business.

§ THE EARL OF ST. GERMANS
said, he understood the work was more than one Commissioner could transact, although it was true that during the illness of Sir Henry Meredith, Mr. Quin had transacted the business of the Department.

The EARL OF DONOUGHMORE
proposed an Amendment to Omit ('as the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for Ireland now pay to such Officers respectively, or such other Salaries as the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for Ireland shall from time to time hereafter, with the approbation and consent of the Lord Lieutenant, testified in writing under his hand, think fit to allow") and insert in lieu thereof ('the several Salaries set forth in the Schedule to this Act annexed, such Salaries to be payable from and after the passing of this Act, due credit being given to each of such Officers for his past service').

§ THE EARL OF ST. GERMANS
objected that it was very unusual to fix such salaries in a Bill. The more desirable course would be to leave the matter in the hands of the Commissioners, as was usually done in regard to similar departments.

THE BISHOP OF DERRY
stated that it was the intention of the Commissioners to re-arrange the salaries of their officers.