A proposal to reform the Church of England in Ireland, which was enormously wealthy, and in which more than one third of its incumbents were in fact non-resident. The proposals were to reduce the number of Bishoprics, tax some of the income, augment the incomes of those paid little, and use the money saved from abolishing the church rate for social and charitable purposes. The proposals were seen as a confiscation of church funds for secular purposes and aroused bitter opposition. The government was forced to abandon the clause diverting money to social and charitable purposes and the bill eventually passed, but it was not a popular measure.

See The Times, 13 February 1833 and Boyd Hilton, A Mad, Bad, and Dangerous People: England 1783-1846 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), p. 496.