REGIUM DONUM

(Latin: royal gift), annual grant made from public funds to Presbyterian ministers in Ireland and to Nonconformist ministers (those not part of the Church of England) in Great Britain. It originated in Ireland in 1690, when the English king William III made a grant to Presbyterian ministers in Ulster as a reward for their services during his struggles with former king James II. The grant was discontinued in 1869. In England the regium donum was begun in 1723 with an annual grant paid to nine Nonconformists who divided it among needy Presbyterian, Baptist, and Independent ministers and widows of ministers. Each individual received only a small sum, but some dissenters from the Church of England believed political implications were attached to this royal charity, which they attacked. It was finally discontinued in 1851.