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tithes of the parishes where they collected their flocks . Many eminent ministers of the General Assembly were deputed by that body , or invited by the Scotch settlers , to become the stated pastors of the Presbyterians in Ireland . In the number of these ministers we are proud to reckon Josiah Welch , the grandson of John
Knox , the immortal Reformer of Scotland ; who , about the year 1618 , was ordained the pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Templepatrick in the county of Antrim- The zealous and indefatigable labours of the Scotch Presbyterian clergy , were eminently useful in the culture of a rude and ignorant people , in promoting public tranquillity , and the general diffusion of moral and religious principles .
In this excellent and truly Christian work , the General Assembly of Scotland took a most active and zealous part . They not only recognized the Presbyterian Church of Ireland as an emanation from themselves , but entered with affectionate ardour into her interests , admitting her
deputed ministers and elders to a share in their deliberations , and acknowledging her as a child worthy of their parental regard . Nor was the kindness of the General Assembly without its reciprocal advantages . In the times of severe persecution in the Church of Scotland , many of her pastors and of her people found a safe asylum among their brethren in Ireland : aud several individuals , who were
afterwards her brightest ornaments and her ablest advocates , have been the ministers of Presbyterian congregations in this kingdom . Under such auspices , and while maintaining such a connexion , the Presbyterian interest in this island has been , generally considered , for two cen * tures , in a progressive state . Although
it suffered severely in the dreadful massacre and rebellion , in the year 1641 , and although , during the government of Cromwell , it was depriyed of its parochial emoluments , on account of its attachment to the royal cause , it revived speedily after the Restoration . Charles 1 JE . though an enemy to Presbyterians iu Scotland , was
a friend to Presbyterians in Ireland . Under his government , they not only enjoyed toleratio n aud protections but their ministers obtained pecuniary support from the crown . This support was modified ai enlarged under various succeeding monarchs ; till , in the reign of our , late g racious Sovereignah arrangement was
* made , by which the ministers of : our Uiurch receive from government & < liberal and permanent stipend ; which , together w the contributions of their respective co ngregatiQiw ; vp ^ es them on a fo oting ° * coin foirt atiA respectability . A he P ^ bytjerian jdonnexion in Ireland
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comprehends the . Synod of Ulster , the Synod of Munster , and the Presbytery of Antrim , which are equally recognized by government , and are eligible to e&elk other ' s churches . There is besides a large and respectable Synod in comTeitlon with the Associate Synod or Seceders in Scotland , who also receive encouragement and support from government , but who are unconnected with the three other bodies
enumerated . The Synod of Ulster is gradually increasing , and has at present about 200 churches under its care . The Synod of Munster , ^ including some scat - tered congregations in Leinster and Connaught ) which , like the Synod of Ulster , was formed of Presbyterian settlers from Scotland and England , and supplied In many instances with ministers from the
General Assembly , has been for many years on the decline . At one period it comprehended no fewer than forty-five congregations ; of those we have to state , with feelings of unfeigned regret , that only nine now remain . The causes that have led to this decay of the Presbyterian interest , within the bounds of the Synod of Munster , are too tedious to be dwelt
upon here ; but we have every reason to believe the decline is not hopeless . Under the influence of this feeling , several individual ministers connected with the Synods of Munster and Ulster , visited various pans of the South of Ireland for the purpose of preaching the
gospel to many Presbyterians , whom they knew to be destitute of religious ordinances , according to the form to which they had been accustomed : and also of endeavouring to revive or establish regular Presbyterian congregations among them . The ministers who engaged in this service met with the most
encouraging success . They found Presbyterians disposed every where to listen to them with attention . They succeeded in establishing a congregation at Carlow , which has been united to the Synod of Ulster . The circumstances attending the revival of this congregation were highly satisfactory . A new and commodious place of worship has been erected , the
foundation-stone of which was laid by the chief magistrate of the town , in the presence , and with the concurrence , of the most distinguished inhabitants of the neigh * bourhood ; and a respectable congregation now enjoy therein the -stated ministrations of the word , according to ttoe simple and edifying forms of the Presbyterian Church .
After these operations had been carried on for some time by the spontaneous zeal of individuals , the subject was "at length , brought before the two Synods of Munster and Ulster .
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Register of Ecclesiastical Documents . &t&
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* vb . XVI . 4 M
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1821, page 625, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2505/page/57/
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