The Composition for Tithes Act of 1823, also known as the Tithe Composition Act, was an act of the British Parliament

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

 requiring all citizens of Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 to pay monetary tithe

Tithe

A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...

s to support the Anglican Church in Ireland

Church of Ireland

The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...

, instead of a percentage of agricultural yield. The act also allowed for those who paid a large tithe to be able to negotiate the composition of the tithes for their parish

Parish

A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

; that is to decide on what monetary basis the tithes would be based, so that the tithes would be reasonable in comparison to income for the tithe-payers and sufficient for the subsistence of the parishes. It was thought by some members of Parliament to be a conciliatory measure that would reduce the oppressive nature of the present tithe system.

Controversy

Controversy rose up quickly, even in Parliament itself. Some Members of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 felt that the Irish clergy

Clergy

Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....

 were already grossly overpaid when compared to clergy in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. Catholics

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 and Dissenter

Dissenter

The term dissenter , labels one who disagrees in matters of opinion, belief, etc. In the social and religious history of England and Wales, however, it refers particularly to a member of a religious body who has, for one reason or another, separated from the Established Church.Originally, the term...

s did not feel that the Composition Act reduced the oppression of the tithe system, in light of the fact that the six million Catholics in Ireland were still forced to pay the tithes for churches they did not attend or use. They saw this as persecution by the English Anglicans

Anglicanism

Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...

 towards people who were not members of the established Church.

It also seemed to critics that the Act did nothing to reform the problems in the Irish clergy – that they were often absent from their parishes and that they held enormous wealth. A change in the composition of tithes would have no affect on the level of clergymens' wealth. While the Irish clergy and their supporters refuted these claims, popular opinion seemed to overshadow their arguments. Specifically, non-resident clergy were resident elsewhere and thus could not be considered absentee. In support of the clergy's point of view, however, their income had also diminished due to a reduction in tithe-rates. In this way, the Act would help the clergy, as currency is much more versatile in helping the church than raw goods.

Reform and War

Attempts at reform came as early as 1828 when Thomas Greene, a Member of Parliament, introduced a bill that would replace the tithes with corn rents, a proposal that failed.Lord Althorp

John Spencer, 3rd Earl Spencer

John Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl Spencer PC, FRS , styled Viscount Althorp from 1783 to 1834, was a British statesman...

 attempted the same measure in 1833, which also failed. His bill the following year also did not pass, despite severe emendation. Many reforms were lost among other bills in Parliament and never came to fruition.

During the period from 1831 to 1836, Irish peasants rebelled and refused to pay the tithes, sometimes violently persecuting those who did pay the tithes. The government found it hard to enforce the law, due to the popularity of the rebels' cause. The Irish believed the tithes were simply another form of English abuse, and the rebellion took on an apparent aura of nationalism

Nationalism

Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...

, or at least the feeling of a religious war against the persecution of the faithful.

Outcome

Finally, in 1838, a commutation bill was issued that applied the tithe-tax to landlords instead of peasants. This created a new system where peasants paid an increase in rent instead of a direct tithe, but it simultaneously enabled peasants to no longer feel that the Anglican Church in Ireland took advantage of them. The Bill did not solve all of the problems in Ireland, but allowed for some respite in the ongoing conflict in Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

.