3 RETURNS RELATING TO THEOLOGICAL AND OTHER RETURN of the several SUMS Received by or Paid to the MINISTERS before mentioned or referred to, or by or to the several Funds for the Benefit of WIDOAVS of MINISTERS, from the PARLIAMENTARY or GOVERNMENT GRANT of 1860, and of the Expenses of distributing the said Sum, and to whom Paid, and the Amount of each Payment, and for what Services, and on what Scale; and also the Amount paid to Clerks of Synod, and the Names of such Clerks, and whether for any and what Services, or for Pensions or Grants; and the Particulars of all Expenses of the Assembly and otherwise which are defrayed by the Government; and the Number of Public Services at each Place of Worship receiving Government Aid on Census Sunday 1861, and the Number of Attendants at each Service, exclusive of Sunday School Children. NOTES. 1. The sums paid to the several ministers appear in the preceding return. 2. The annual sum of 366 I. is paid to the Widows' Fund of the Synod of Ulster. The portion of the grant belonging to a vacant congregation is paid to the Widows' Fund of the Synod, & c. to which it belongs for the four quarters next following that in which the vacancy commences; the payment for that quarter being made to the former minister, or to his widow, or his legal representative, and the first payment to the new minister being for the quarter commencing next after his ordination or installation. 3. The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland comprises two bodies ( united on the 10th of July 1840 under one ecclesiastical judicature), viz., the " General Synod of Ulster" and the " Secession Synod," except a few congregations which now form the Secession Synod above mentioned. The Rev. Henry Cooke, D. D., is the agent for the General Synod of Ulster, numbering, in 1860, 347 ministers. The ministers distinguished as seceders, whether connected with the General Assembly or with the separate Secession Synod, and also those forming the Synod of Munster, are paid by the Paymaster General. 4. The services for which the salaries are paid to the agents are as follows :— Before the termination of each quarter, the agent transmits to the Chief Secretary's Office an estimate of the sum required for the ensuing quarter, with a statement of any changes that may have occurred in the list of recipients of the grant, by deaths or other vacancies, new appointments, & c.; and in case of the death of a minister during the quarter, he is expected to state the name of the widow or representative of the deceased to whom the payment for the quarter is to be made ; a list of the parties to be paid, and the amount to be paid to each, is then prepared, signed by the Chief or Under Secretary, and trans- mitted to the agent; and the amount being lodged to his account by the Paymaster General, he makes the payments accordingly. He finally transmits to the Commissioners of Audit an account of the sums received and paid by him, with vouchers and the above- mentioned list as his authority. In addition to this quarterly duty, cases occasionally occur on which correspondence is required between the Government and the agent. With respect to the ministers who are not paid through an agent, the information required by the Government is obtained from the clerks of Presbyteries. 5. The salaries of the agents have not been fixed with reference to any general scale. 6. The salaries of the clerks of the several Synods are not paid in consideration of any services rendered by them to the Government, The following letters from the clerks of the Synods state their services to their respective Synods. Rev. Henry Cooke, D. D., LL. D. Rev. Robert Park, A. M. Rev. Thomas Mayne Reid. Rev. David Maginnis. Rev. Wm. Hunter. Rev. Henry Mont- gomery, LL. D.