Search the Catalogue

CSO/RP/1831/1437

Letter from A Stewart, 36 Marlboro [Marlborough] Street, [Dublin], to Lieutenant Colonel Sir William Gosset, Under Secretary, enclosing the memorial of Rev William D Stewart, Presbyterian minister of the congregation of Downpatrick [County Down], to Henry William Paget, Lord Lieutenant, seeking advance of a portion of the royal bounty or regium donum; stating that he was ordained minister of the congregation 1827, a body which has 100 families and an annual stipend of £70; with certificate overleaf indicating the minister has ‘taken the oath of allegiance’, signed by Alexander Miller and James Maxwell, magistrates; and co-signed by James Seaton Reid, moderator, and William Porter, clerk of the General Synod.

24 Feb 1831

1831

CSO/RP/1831/1440

Two memorials from Rev Andrew McCulloch, minister of the Presbyterian [seceding] congregation of Caledon, County Tyrone, to Henry William Paget, Lord Lieutenant, requesting that his congregation be ranked at the highest class rather than the current lowest one for payment of regium donum; appealing on grounds of the increased number of families which has raised the necessity of building a new place of worship, and caused an intensification of his own labour; alluding also to an application in 1828 through the medium of the Earl of Caledon [Du Pré Alexander, 2nd Earl of Caledon]. Also letter from McCulloch to [Alexander] Mangin, [first clerk in civil department of Chief Secretary’s Office], reiterating his claim that his congregation at Caledon is ‘underrated’ with respect to the payment of the royal bounty; referring to a submission by Rev Robert McMahon, moderator, to government listing a number of underrated congregations and noting the intention of Parliament to provide £500 for the Presbyterians of Ireland.

Jan 1831-4 Jul 1831

1831

CSO/RP/1831/1532

Letter from Sir Edmund Samuel Hayes [3rd baronet], Drumboe Castle, [County Donegal], to an unnamed recipient [but likely the Chief Secretary’s Office], expressing the support of the parishioners of Ray [Raymoghy] for their former Presbyterian minister, Rev Francis Dill, who is involved in some contention in Seaford, [County Down] over receipt of the regium donum; stating that Dill is held ‘in the highest esteem’ by the people of Ray but has met with a degree of opposition in Seaford owing to the claims of another minister.

24 May 1831

1831

CSO/RP/1831/1917

Letter from David Hutcheson [Hutchinson], Tandragee, County Armagh, to Alexander Mangin, [first clerk in civil department of Chief Secretary’s Office], referring to an application by Mrs Mary Reed of County Tyrone for aid; stating that he will call in person at Dublin Castle to give further information on her case if necessary. Enclosing memorial of Mrs Reed, widow, Dungannon, [County Tyrone], to Henry William Paget, Lord Lieutenant, seeking the intervention of government with the Synod of Seceders to secure release of a widows’ allowance; stating her late husband, Rev John Reed, was Presbyterian minister of Drumbanagher in County Armagh for 32 years, but the synod refuses her aid; emphasising her willingness to contribute to the fund and claiming that other widows were granted assistance without making any contributions. Also second letter from Hutcheson to Paget, rejecting Mrs Reed’s application on grounds that it contravenes the regulations.

27 Jun 1831-24 Jul 1831

1831

CSO/RP/1831/1927

Précis on the case of the Presbyterian congregation of Clough in County Down who are in dispute over choice of minister and use of meeting house: sequence of events presented in chronological style; stating that the minority party have separated themselves from the majority and attached themselves to the Presbytery of Antrim, who are thought to be ‘Arian’ in profession; adding the minority party have ordained a minister in opposition to the wishes of the majority of the congregation who wish to ‘elect’ a clergyman and seek the royal bounty or regium donum.

c24 Sep 1830

1830

CSO/RP/1831/2514

File of documents containing various applications for assistance from the fund for the education of poor children. Includes letter from William Clear, secretary to congregation, Cork Presbyterian Church, [County Cork], to Edward Geoffrey Smith Stanley, Chief Secretary, seeking the sum of £30 to pay a school master’s salary; outlining his church’s struggles to educate about 40 male and female children against a background of a ‘failure of the weaving trade’; also mentioning the erection of a new school house. Also includes memorial of Rev John Spratt, Carmelite Convent, 57 Aungier Street, [Dublin], to Henry William Paget, Lord Lieutenant, seeking a contribution from the education fund to enable the survival of a school for poor female children at Redmond’s Hill, St Peter’s Parish, which has 150 pupils. Also includes letter from Richard Ryan, vicar of parish of Rathcore, Enfield, County Meath, to Lieutenant Colonel Sir William Gosset, Under Secretary, seeking aid to build a new parish school. Also includes applications from the parish of Rahan, King's County [County Offaly], from the parish of Monkstown, Passage West, [County Cork], and from the parish of Kilcummin, Killarney, [County Kerry].

12 Sep 1831-21 Oct 1831

1831

CSO/RP/1831/2635

Letter from [Rev] James Crawford, agent to the Presbyterian Seceders [Seceding Synod], Londonderry, [County Londonderry; Derry], to Edward Geoffrey Smith Stanley, Chief Secretary, expressing his disapproval of a motion to bring about an equalisation of the royal bounty or regium donum, on grounds that such a course of action would cause a reduction in the living of pastors in the urban places, that the issue was proposed without appropriate consultation, and that below one-fourth of members were present at synod when the motion was passed.

27 Nov 1831

1831

CSO/RP/1831/2956

Memorial of the members of the Presbyterian congregation of Newry [General Synod of Ulster], County Down, to Henry William Paget, Lord Lieutenant, seeking payment of the first class royal bounty or regium donum in support of their minster, Rev James Shields; regretting their minister was not amongst the nine new congregations selected for that honour. Letter from W Armstrong, Portarlington, Queen’s County [County Laois; Leix], to Lieutenant Colonel Sir William Gosset, Under Secretary, acknowledging receipt of a communication from government advising he discourage the Presbyterians of Newry, attached to the General Synod of Ulster, from making further application to the Lord Lieutenant; seeking advice on the matter of their claim and noting a particular ‘delicacy’ attached to the issue since ‘a considerable portion of the members of the Congregations…are tenants residing on His Excellency’s Estate’.

14 Nov 1831-8 Dec 1831

1831

CSO/RP/1831/3065

Memorial of Rev James Alexander, Presbyterian minister of Douglas Bridge, County Tyrone, to Henry William Paget, Lord Lieutenant, requesting issue of a portion of the royal bounty or regium donum to support oversight of his congregation; remarking that his meeting house was separated from that of Clady by the General Synod of Ulster and that he receives an income of just £56 per year; with certificate beneath signed by Rev James Morgan, Moderator of the Synod of Ulster, and James Seaton Reid, clerk of Synod; also additional certificate from John A Smyth and John Dysart, magistrates of County Londonderry [Derry].

9 Nov 1831

1831

CSO/RP/1831/3066

Letter from Rev James Morgan, Moderator of the Synod of Ulster, Belfast, [County Antrim], to Edward Geoffrey Smith Stanley, Chief Secretary, acknowledging a call from the Lord Lieutenant for a return of ministers and congregations in connection with the General Synod of Ulster, together with the total stipends paid to each minister; explaining that members of Presbyterian congregations in Ulster consist of two classes of persons, those who are owners of pews and those who are not; adding the former class contribute to the support of the minister, the latter class do not; requesting to learn if a census of the whole of Presbyterian numbers is what is envisaged by government and asking that adequate time be given to collect such statistics.

21 Nov 1831

1831