IRELAND

I R E L A N D.

THE History of Ireland, down to the year 1789, is given in the article IRELAND in the Encyclopædia, and its subsequent history will be found under GREAT BRITAIN in this Supplement. In this article we shall confine our attention to the statistical and political state of the country.

CHAP. I.—STATISTICS.

Divisions.—Face of the Country.—Soil.—Productions.—Climate.—Population.—Agriculture.—Manufactures.—Commerce.—Revenue.—Expenditure.—Debt.—Public Education and Charities.

Ireland is situated between 6° and 10° 40' west longitude, and 51° 15' and 55° 13' north latitude. Its greatest length is 241 Irish, or 306 English

miles; and its greatest breadth 137 Irish, or 174 English miles. In consequence, however, of the deep indentations of the shore on the west coast, there is not a spot in the kingdom 50 miles distant from the sea.

From the latest accounts, it appears, that its superficial contents are 19,436,000 English acres, or 30,370 square miles. Mr Wakefield, however, makes it contain 32,201 square miles, or 20,437,974 English acres. (Beaufort, 14.) Mr Pinkerton assigns to it only 27,451 square miles (Pinkerton, i. 211); but it would rather appear that his estimate is below the truth. (Wakefield, i. 4.)

This country is divided into four provinces, Ulster, Leinster, Connaught, Munster. Ulster, which is the most northerly province, contains 8375 square

Ireland, miles English, and comprises the following counties:

Leinster is the most easterly province, and adjoins the Irish Channel. It contains 7360 English square miles, which are divided into the following counties:

Connaught, the most westerly province of Ireland, comprises 7191 square miles English, and comprehends the following counties:

Munster, the southern province of Ireland, contains 9276 English square miles, and is divided into the following counties:

Ireland, therefore, contains in its four provinces,

The most elevated ground is to be found in the Bog of Allan. Its height above the sea does not exceed 270 feet; yet, from this ridge, the waters of the rivers run to the different seas. This elevated ground is connected with the principal mountains of Ireland, diverging in the north from the hills of Tyrone, and leading in the south to those of Sleeve Bloom and the Galtees. The face of the country affords a pleasing variety of surface, consisting in some parts of rich and fertile plains, in others of little hills and acclivities, which succeed one another in frequent succession.

The chains of mountains are neither numerous nor considerable; the most remarkable are the Kerry Mountains, those of Wicklow, the Sleeve Bloom Chain between the King's and Queen's County, and the mountains of Mourne in the south of the province of Ulster. The following is a table of some of the most remarkable heights in the kingdom. (Wakefield, I. 10.)

The numerous rivers and deeply indented bays of Rivers. Ireland have given it greater facilities for internal navigation than almost any country in Europe. The Shannon is its largest stream, which rises in the northern part of Connaught, and after a course of 170 miles, during which it expands into six lakes, flows into the Atlantic Ocean between the counties of Clare and Kerry.—It is navigable by large vessels as far as Limerick.—The Bandon, another considerable river, rises in the mountains of Carberry, and running to the east, finally arrives at Kinsale, after many beautiful reaches of river scenery. The Lee rises in a lake to the west of Muskerry, and falls into the sea about 15 miles below Cork. The Blackwater rises in a bog near Castle Island, in the county of Kerry, and after a course of 60 miles, falls into the sea at Youghall. The Liffey rises about 10 miles to the south-west of Dublin, and after a winding course of 50 miles, falls into the bay of the same name. The Boyne rises in King's County, and after being joined by various streams, falls into the sea about two miles below Drogheda. The Sure rises at the foot of the Banduff Mountains, in the county of Tipperary, and falls into the sea at Waterford. The Barrow rises in King's County, and, uniting with the Sure, forms the right arm of Wa-

terford Haven. The Slane rises in the county of Wicklow, and falls into a bay a little below the town of Wexford; and the Bann rises in the mountains of Down, and flows with impetuous force into the sea a little below Coleraine.

The most considerable lakes of Ireland are Loch Neagh, Loch Earne, Loch Corrib, and the Lakes of Killarney. The first of these, Loch Neagh, is very extensive, covering 58,000 acres; but it exhibits no remarkable beauty in its shores, the adjacent country being, for the most part, flat, though well wooded. Many gentlemen's seats of great antiquity and beauty adorn its banks. Loch Earne, in the county of Fermanagh, consists, properly speaking, of two lakes, which unite in the vicinity of Inniskillen. The first, or uppermost, is 20, the second 15 miles long. Its greatest breadth is 12 miles. The banks of this lake, though sometimes rising to a considerable elevation, are rather distinguished by their amenity and softness, than by their sublime features. The adjacent country is covered with little knolls, or small hills, of 50 or 60 feet in height, which, being generally ornamented by wood, present a most agreeable appearance; and the numerous islands in the lakes themselves, amounting to 300 in number, are formed by the same prominences in the soil rising above the surface of the water. Loch Corrib, in the province of Connaught, is 20 miles long, but its medium breadth is only four miles.—Its banks exhibit nothing remarkable. The Lakes of Killarney form the glory of Irish scenery, and constitute one of the principal inducements to foreigners to visit that island.—They are three in number; the lower lake, consisting of 3000 acres, lies on the northern side of Macgilliscuddy's Reeks; the middle lake, consisting of 640 acres, lies at the foot of Turk Mountain, and from thence the traveller is led by a winding stream of exquisite beauty to the upper lake, which covers 720 acres, and lies in the very centre of the Kerry Mountains. To those who have visited the Swiss and Italian lakes, it is hardly necessary to observe, that no scenery here at all approaches what they have met with there; but the Lakes of Killarney may well bear a comparison with the finest of the Scotch and English lakes. The range of Macgilliscuddy's Reeks presents a splendid series of Alpine peaks, which form the back ground of almost all the scenery on the lakes; and the moist climate and mild winters of Ireland have given a verdure and richness to the arbutus and other shrubs which clothe the rocks and islands that rise out of the water, unlike any thing else in the British empire. Mucruss Abbey and Park form a most interesting addition to the lower lake, and the Island of Innisfallen, both from the luxuriance of the ivy with which it abounds, and the romantic forms of the aged trees with which it is shaded, excels any island that is to be met with in any lake in Europe.

The interior of Ireland is intersected by a variety of canals. The Grand Canal, which was originally begun by individuals, and subsequently completed after the Union by government, unites Dublin with Shannon harbour, while another branch proceeds to Athy, where it joins the Barrow. This canal inter-

sects the Bog of Allan, and is of great service in supplying the capital with fuel. The Royal Canal begins at Glassmanogree, in the county of Dublin, and extends to Coolnahay, beyond Mullingar. It is of great service in the carriage of loam and turf. The Newry Canal runs along the southern boundary of the county of Down; it is cut from Carlingford Bay, and joining the Newry water, embraces the upper Banco at Porto Down. In this way the navigation is continued to Loch Neagh, while a branch leads off to the Tyrone coaleries. This canal admits vessels of sixty tons burden, and is one of the most useful in the kingdom. Generally speaking, however, the attempts which have been made to improve the internal navigation of Ireland have met with very bad success, and many companies, as well as individuals have been ruined in the attempt;—a fact which demonstrates that, to effect such undertakings, the interposition of government is, in the present circumstances of the country, indispensable. (Wakefield, I. 651; Young, II. 66.) The Grand and Royal Canals have cost £2,000,000 Sterling; and the only one which now yields a profitable return is the Newry Canal. (Ibid.) These facts lead to a suspicion, either that money laid out in such undertakings is misspent, until the state of the country leads to a much greater consumption of bulky articles, or that the vicinity of every part of the island to the sea, or some of its deep indentations, renders such undertakings less advantageous here than in other countries. This matter is well worthy of deliberate consideration, in determining upon the policy of continuing any farther grants of the public money to the improvement of the country in this particular. (Wakefield, I. 650.)

The harbours of Ireland are among its most remarkable natural advantages. Fourteen harbours for ships of the line, seventeen for frigates, and thirty-six for coasting vessels, besides twenty good roads, are to be found on the different coasts of the island. Bantry Bay is one of the most secure and capacious harbours in the world, being nine leagues long and two broad, surrounded by lofty rocky shores. In the middle of the haven is Bear Island, six miles long; and between it and the northern shore is Bear Haven, fit for the largest fleets. The Cove of Cork is celebrated in the naval world for the extent and depth of its water. The entrance is about a mile in breadth, after passing which the sea expands into a fine basin, capable of containing the whole navy of England. In the centre are three islands, which break the force of the sea, and serve as a shelter to the shipping. Crookhaven, in the county of Cork, is also an admirable harbour, landlocked on every side, with a spacious bay, an easy outlet, and good anchorage in three fathoms at low water. Dingle Harbour, on the west coast, is a most eligible shelter for shipping, six leagues in length, and four in breadth, sheltered from all winds, and with 30 feet water. In Lough Carlingford is to be found a large anchorage, with depth of water sufficient for the largest ships; but, unfortunately, several dangerous rocks obstruct the entrance to the harbour. Belfast Loch, also, is of great utility in a commercial

Ireland. point of view; and, on the west coast of the island, Galway Bay, Butterby Bay, Comichin Bay, and Sligo Bay, all afford most remarkable facilities for commerce. Lough Swilly, in the county of Donegal, is one of the noblest natural harbours in Europe, twenty miles long and two broad, with good anchorage, and deep water, fit for the reception of the largest fleets. Lough Foyle is a large haven, with twelve fathom water, and capable of affording shelter to vessels of any description. Besides these, the island possesses a vast number of other natural harbours, which would be eagerly improved in other countries, less bountifully supplied by nature.

Giant's Causeway. The Giant's Causeway is one of the greatest natural curiosities of Ireland. It is situated on the north-eastern extremity of the island, where the coast rises to the height of 700 or 800 feet above the sea. The cliffs there are upwards of 400 feet in height; and at their feet lies the causeway, composed of the summits of basaltic columns, so nicely wedged, as to form a solid impervious mass of natural masonry, with an irregular and broken surface. This extraordinary pavement extends for above a mile along the coast. The sublime features of this spot rival its geological interest; and in no part of the empire is a nobler cliff to be seen than is presented by Cape Pleskin, which overhangs the ocean with a precipice 374 feet in height. Adjoining to this natural curiosity is Fairhead, the north-east promontory of Ireland, and elevated above 500 feet above the sea. It presents a vast mass of rude columnary stones, many of them exceeding 200 feet in length; and at the feet of these gigantic columns lies a wild waste of natural ruins, of an enormous size, which, in the course of ages, have been tumbled down from their foundations by storms, or other convulsions of nature. A savage wildness characterizes this great promontory, at the foot of which the ocean rages with uncommon fury.

The Atlantic Ocean breaks with inconceivable violence upon the western shores of Ireland; and, to this cause, the extraordinary indented line of the coast is to be attributed. Along the greater part of this coast, the sea appears to be gaining on the land; and, in many places, particularly in the peninsula of Rossgall, in the county of Donegal, large tracts have been overwhelmed by sand. (Hamilton's Memoir, Vol. VI. Irish Trans.)

The soil of Ireland is, generally speaking, a fertile loam, with a rocky substratum; although there are many exceptions to this description, and many varieties. Generally speaking, it is rather shallow; to which cause the frequent appearance of rocks near the surface, or at no considerable depth, is to be attributed. It possesses a much greater proportion of fertile land, in proportion to its extent, than either England or Scotland, as will be seen from the following table. (Parliamentary Reports, 1813-14.)

Not only is the island blessed, with this extent of arable ground, but it is almost all of such a quality as to yield luxuriant crops, with little or no cultivation. Sand does not exist except on the seashore. Tenacious clay is unknown, at least near the surface. Great part of the land of Ireland throws up a luxuriant herbage, without any depth of soil, or any skill on the part of the husbandman. The county of Meath, in particular, is distinguished by the richness and fertility of its soil; and, in Limerick and Tipperary, there is a dark friable sandy loam, which, if preserved in a clean state, will yield crops of corn several years in succession. It is equally well adapted for grazing as for arable crops, and seldom experiences either a winter too wet, or a summer too dry. The vales, in many of the bleakest parts of the kingdom, as Donegal and Tyrone, are remarkable for their richness of soil and luxuriance of vegetation, which may be often accounted for by the deposition of the calcareous soil, washed down by the rains of winter, which spreads the richest manure over the soil below, without subjecting the farmer to any labour. (Wakefield, I. 79, 80.)

The bogs, or peat mosses, of Ireland, form a remarkable feature of the country, and have been proved by the Parliamentary Commissioners to be of great extent. They estimate the whole bogs of the kingdom at

These bogs, for the most part, lie together. In form, they resemble a great broad belt, drawn across the centre of Ireland, with its narrowest end nearest to the capital, and gradually extending in breadth as it approaches the Western Ocean. The Bog of Allan is not one contiguous morass, but this name is indiscriminately applied to a great number of bogs, detached from each other, and often divided by ridges of dry country. These bogs are not, in general, level, but most commonly of an uneven surface, swelling into hills, and divided by valleys, which affords the greatest facility to their being drained and improved. In many places, particularly in the district of Allan, the rivulets which these inequalities of surface produce have worn their channels through the substance of the bog down to the clay or limestone gravel beneath; dividing the bog into distinct masses, and presenting, in themselves, the most proper situations for the main drains, and which, with the assistance of art, may be rendered effectual for that purpose. (Fourth Report of the Parliamentary Commissioners, 1812-14.)

The two circumstances which the Commissioners point out, as affording the principal inducements to attempt the improvement of the Irish bogs, are the elevation at which they are all placed above the sea, and the uneven surface which they almost uniformly exhibit. The following table will show, in one view, the elevation above the sea of the principal bogs to which their attention has been directed:

From these data, the practicability of draining the bogs of Ireland is very obvious; and, as far as the estimate of the engineers can be depended on, the expense will be amply repaid by the quantity of useful land recovered. The estimate for draining the eastern district of the Bog of Allan is £147,052, and the quantity of land which would be gained is 36,430 English acres; the outlay upon which would be more than covered by the first year's produce.

Like all other countries of Europe, this island was formerly clothed with extensive forests, which are now no longer to be met with. Fermanagh is better clothed with timber than any other county in the kingdom; and oak abounds upon the mountains of Killarney, and in the glens of Wicklow. One remarkable feature of the country, however, strongly indicative of the effects of a non-resident body of landed proprietors, is, that new plantations are hardly ever to be met with. In the county of Clare, there are only 780 acres of plantation, and in Kilkenny 1800; quantities much inferior to what many Scotch proprietors possess on their own estates. (Wakefield, I. 561.) A traveller may go from the Giant's Causeway to Killarney, and from Cork to Londonderry, without meeting as many young woods as there are counties on his road.

This island rests for the most part on a bed of granite. It abounds in the neighbourhood of Dublin, and in some parts of the county of Kilkenny. It is also found emerging from beneath the basalt of Sleeve Gallen in the county of Derry.

Limestone is met with in great abundance in various parts of Ireland; indeed, in all the counties except Wexford, Wicklow, Tyrone, and Antrim. The rivers Barrow, Lee, Bride, Kenmare, and Blackwater, form the boundary of the limestone districts in their respective counties. The varieties of this mineral which are found in Kilkenny and in the county of Derry are susceptible of a very high polish, and hence well adapted for the purposes of building and ornamental architecture. In the Cave of Dunmore, in the former county, alabaster is found in large quantities. The basalt district of country is very extensive, reaching from the estuary of Carrickfergus to Loch Foyle, and extending inland to the

northern shore of Loch Neagh. It rises to a great height at the north-western extremity of the island, forming the lofty headlands of Pleskin, Fairhead, and Bengore, already noticed.

Coal is met with in various parts of the island. In Coal Ulster there are two coal mines worked, one in Antrim at Ballywater, and the other near Dungannon in Tyrone. Coaleries are wrought near Arigna, in the county of Leitrim. The province of Leinster is abundantly supplied with this mineral. The coalery which is worked near Castle Coomer, at Doonane, in Queen's County, produces annually 40,000 tons. It costs 10s. a ton to extract it, and gives employment to 600 persons. At Kilkenny also coal is worked. A continuation of the Castle Coomer coal is wrought in Tipperary; and in the barony of Duhalow, and the county of Cork, it has been discovered. With this exception, however, the southern parts of the island are destitute of this valuable mineral.

Pieces of native gold have been discovered in the bed of a stream flowing down from Crowbane, in the county of Wicklow; but it does not bear the expense of working. Silver was formerly extracted to a considerable extent from the lead mines in Antrim, Sligo, and Tipperary, but the works were destroyed in the insurrection in the time of Charles I. Copper is found at Ross Island in Killarney, at Mucruss, Crowbase, and Ballymustaglo, in the county of Wicklow, and in some parts of the counties of Cork, Meath, Waterford, and Dublin; but at present no mine of this mineral is wrought in the island. Lead is found at Enniscorthy in Wexford; near Glendalough in Wicklow; and in the county of Donnegal, but not above one or two of these various mines are wrought. The most valuable of these metals, iron, is very plentiful in various parts of the island, and, in the seventeenth century, it was wrought to a great extent; but at present they are neglected. Grey ore of manganese has been found in the peninsula of Howth, and in various parts of Kilkenny, Mayo, and other counties. Fragments of tin-stone occur in the gold mine of Wicklow; and porcelain earth, equal to the finest in Cornwall, has been found in the same county.

The climate of Ireland is considerably more mild than that of England, and the southern and western part of the island greatly more so than the northern. The difference in this respect, indeed, is greater than can be explained by the difference of latitude, and is probably owing to the immediate vicinity of the Western Ocean. On the mountains of Kerry, and in Bantry Bay, the arbutus and some other shrubs grow in great luxuriance, which are not to be met with again till the traveller reaches the south of the Alps. The snow in these parts of the island seldom lies for any time, and frost hardly ever continues beyond a few days, and while it lasts it is by no means intense. The mildness and humidity of the atmosphere produce a luxuriance and rapidity of growth in vegetation, to which no other part of the empire can afford any parallel; and this appears in the most remarkable manner in the ivy and other evergreens, with which the kingdom abounds. These are not

Ireland. only much more plentiful, but far more luxuriant, and of much quicker growth, than in the most favoured parts of Great Britain. To those who are accustomed to the dry weather of this island, the continued rains of the south and west of Ireland are extremely disagreeable; but it is to this peculiarity in their climate, that the Irish have to attribute the richness of their pasturage, an advantage which, coupled with the remarkable dryness and friability of the soil, points, in an unequivocal manner, to a rotation of crops, in which grazing should occupy a principal place.

The following table exhibits the mean temperature of different places in Ireland, in the interior and on the sea coast, taken from very accurate observations. (Wakefield, I. 193, 199, 206, 218.)

It would appear, that the climate of Ireland has for some years past undergone a progressive alteration for the better. (Ibid. I. 214.) The following table exhibits the changes in this respect, which have taken place within the last twenty years:

State of the Thermometer at Dublin and Belfast, from 1792 to 1804.

The following table shows the Quantity of Rain Rains, which fell in a period of eighteen years, at Dublin;

At Cork, and generally over the south of Ireland, it appears that the winds blow three-fourths of the year from the west and south-west. (Smiles's Survey of Cork.)

An account of the actual population of Ireland, drawn from a survey by Government, is a great desideratum in the statistics of the country. The following table will show with what rapidity the numbers of the people have increased within the last 50 years. (Wakefield, II. 712.)

Since that period a very great increase has unquestionably taken place. The present population does not probably fall much short of 5,500,000. (Newenham, 41.)

Without pretending to any accuracy of detail, the following may be considered as an approximation to the population of its principal cities, according to the most authentic accounts which can be collected. (Wakefield, II. 712-20.)

The number of freeholders in Ireland is very great. They are, for the most part, tenants of the landed proprietors, possessing a life interest in their little farm, so as to entitle them to vote at elections. The following table * of the number of freeholders, most of whom are not worth L. 10, will be not a little surprising to the English reader:

* This table shows an aggregate of 184,492 freeholders voting on freeholds of 40s. value.

The Agriculture of Ireland is, generally speaking, in a very backward state. With a few exceptions, such as the county of Meath, and some other well cultivated districts, the farmers are destitute of capital, and labour small crofts, which they hold of middlemen interposed between them and the landlord. The fact that the landlord never, in Ireland, lays out any thing upon repairs or buildings, coupled with the general inability of the farmer to do either in a substantial manner, is very significant as to the state of agriculture. (Tighe's Survey of Kilkenny, 412; Wakefield, I. 244.) The leases are generally of long endurance; three lives or 31 years is a common rate. But the worst features of the rural economy of this island are the entire want of capital in the farmers, and the complete indifference of the landlord to the character, wealth, or industry, of his tenant. "Capital," says Mr Wakefield, "is considered of so little importance in Ireland, that advertisements constantly appear in the newspapers, in which it is stated, that the preference will certainly be given to the highest bidder. Bargains are constantly made with a beggar, as a new tenant, if he offers more rent, invariably turns out the old one, however industrious. Even if the unfortunate wretch has a little ready cash to begin with, it only serves, in 99 cases out of 100, as a temptation to the landlord, who, when the fact becomes known to him, finds means to obtain it under the name of a fine for possession." (Vol. I. p. 587.) Regard to present gain, without the least attention to the future, constitutes the principal object of the Irish landlord. (Ibid. I. 304.)

The rent of land in Ireland from these causes, coupled with the excessive competition of the peasantry for small farms, as their only means of subsistence, has risen to a great height. (Townsend's Cork, 218; Wakefield, I. 582.)

The following table exhibits the average rent in the different counties, as they were taken by Mr Wakefield in 1810, distinguishing the rent for cultivated area from that of the total area:

And calculating the difference between the green acres and total area at one-fourth (according to Mr Arrowsmith's opinion), this will give L. 1, 7s. 1d. as the average rent of the total area of the island. This, upon 12,722,615 Irish acres, gives L. 17,228,540, as the total rental of the island, in Irish money (Wakefield, I. 305); or, upon 20,437,974 English acres, yields an average of about 17s. per English acre.

The capital laid out in the improvement of the soil is extremely small when compared with that employed in the neighbouring kingdoms of England and Scotland. In 1799, Mr Young calculated that, converting Irish acres into English, it would require an outlay of L. 5 an acre to place Ireland on a footing with England in this respect. The whole amount, therefore, of the sum required would be L. 88,341,136. (Young's Irish Tour, II. 9.) From the change in the value of money, Mr Wakefield has since calculated that the sum required to effect such a change would be L. 120,000,000, independently altogether of the capital which the British agriculturist brings to his farm in order to carry on the cultivation of the land. When it is considered how little capital is thus sunk in the Irish soil, and recollected that the average rent of England is only 20s. an acre, even under the superior mode of cultivation which

is there pursued, it is obvious how much the proportion of the produce of the soil in Ireland, which goes to the landlord, has encroached on what should be left as a remuneration to the farmer. (Wakefield, I. 585.)

The price of land varies in different parts of Ireland. In the neighbourhood of Belfast, and thence to Armagh, it brings thirty years' purchase; in the greatest part of the island, it does not exceed twenty, and, in the richest districts, it may often be bought for sixteen or eighteen. The exposure of landed estates to public sale takes place very seldom, which is perhaps one cause of their not bringing so high a price as they would otherwise do. (Ibid. I. 307.)

The whole country is classed by Mr Wakefield into nine agricultural divisions, in each of which the mode of culture is somewhat different from what it is in the others. The first district comprehends the flat parts of Antrim; the eastern side of Tyrone, Down, Armagh, Monaghan, and Cavan. Throughout this district, the farms are extremely small, and the land is generally dug with the spade. Potatoes, flax, and oats, are the crops usually cultivated, and these are grown till the land is exhausted, and suffered to "lie at rest," as they term it, till its strength is recruited by the cow, the goat, two or three sheep, and the poultry lying upon it, for some years. The ploughs used in this district are of the rudest structure, and perform their work in the most slovenly manner. Three or four neighbours unite their strength to each plough, every one bringing his horse, his bullock, or his cow. All the other operations of agriculture are performed in an equally slovenly manner. The little wheat that is raised is "lashed," as they call it, that is, the grain is knocked out by striking the sheaf across a beam placed above a cloth, which, however, is afterwards thrashed with a flail. This operation of thrashing usually takes place in the highway, and it is dressed by letting it fall from a kind of sieve which, during a pretty strong wind, is held breast high by a woman. Many cottars in this district have a cabin with no land attached to it. They hire an acre or two, for grass or potatoe land, from some cottar in their vicinity. The custom of hiring labourers is unknown, the neighbours all assisting each other in their more considerable occupations, such as sowing, reaping. The dwellings here are miserably small; often too small to contain the numerous families that issue from their doors. Land is everywhere divided into the most minute portions. (Wakefield, I. 363; Dubourdieu's Down, 39.)

Under the second district may be comprised the northern part of Antrim, Londonderry, the north and west of Tyrone, and the whole of Donegal. Agriculture here is in a worse state than in the preceding district. There is no clover, and hardly any wheat. Clover is unknown, and the only mill for the preparation of grain is in Derry. (Ibid. I. 372.)

The third district comprehends the northern parts of Fermanagh. Here the farms are much larger than in the former, and the agricultural system pursued far superior. They plant potatoes on

Ireland: a lea, twice reversing the lands, and the course is flax, oats, and weeds. Some wheat is grown, but oats is still the prevalent crop. In the neighbourhood of Enniskillen, the farmers are so rich as to be able to eat butcher meat daily and drink wine. (Wakefield, I. 379.)

The fourth district comprehends Sligo, Mayo, Galway, Clare, and parts of Roscommon, and Longford. In some parts of this district the spade culture is pursued; but, in general, the land is cultivated by a plough drawn by four horses abreast. In Roscommon, the old custom of yoking the horses by the tail is still continued, although, so early as 1634, an act of Parliament was passed against this absurd practice. (Life of the Duke of Ormond, I. 79.) Oats are chiefly raised in this district, and, along the coast, barley is cultivated. A large portion of the rent depends on the illegal distilleries, and much of the district is let on lease to several persons jointly, according to the village system. (Wakefield, I. 381.)

In the fifth district, which comprehends Limerick, Kerry, the south side and northern part of Cork, and the county of Waterford, cultivation is in a very rude state; little corn is grown here, with the exception of the southern part of Cork. Land is extremely divided, and the farms very small. The greater part is a grazing country. (Ibid. I. 387.)

The sixth district includes the southern parts of Cork. The spade culture is here almost universal, and the farms unusually small. Hogs constitute the main support of the poor. (Townsend's Cork, 194.)

Ireland: The seventh district includes part of Tipperary, with Queen's County and King's County. The best farming in Ireland is observable in this district; a systematic course of husbandry being pursued, by which the land is kept in good heart. Oxen and horses are used in the plough, and hedge-rows and good wheat fallows are to be seen. Near Rossera the cultivation of turnips is followed, and they succeed well. Ninety acres is considered a large farm. Leases are generally for three lives. (Wakefield, I. 398.)

The eighth district comprises Wexford and a part of Wicklow. Beans are here sometimes introduced into cultivation, but they are sown broadcast, and never hoed. The mode of ploughing is very awkward; one man holds the plough, another leads the horse, and a third sits on it to keep it down. Notwithstanding this rude culture, however, the rents are enormous. (Ibid. I. 407.)

The ninth district comprehends the northern part of Kilkenny, Kildare, the cultivated parts of West Meath, Meath, and Louth. Wheat here enters into the system of culture, but the preparatory fallows are very bad. Clover has been introduced into the district, but under the bad system of sowing it upon land exhausted, and covered by weeds. Farms are large, and the mode of culture similar to what is pursued in England, though the details are executed in a much more slovenly manner. (Ibid. I. 413.)

The following table exhibits, at one view, the produce of these different districts, according to the mode of cultivation at present adopted. The seed and produce is given in pounds Avoirdupois:

General Observations on the Husbandry.

The implements of husbandry used in Ireland are all of the rudest construction. The plough, the spade, the flail, the carr, all equally partake of imperfections and defects. The fallows are not well attended to; three ploughings are usually deemed sufficient, and, from the imperfection of the plough the ground at the end is generally full of weeds. Trenching land is very general; they form it into beds, and shovel out a deep trench between them, throwing up the earth. The expence of this

operation is about 8s. an acre. Wheat, as will be seen from the preceding details, is not by any means generally cultivated. It is unknown in Monaghan, Tyrone, Derry, Donegal, Sligo, Mayo, Leitrim, and Cavan, though it is grown to a considerable extent in Kilkenny, Carlow, Dublin, Meath, Louth, and parts of Limerick, Tipperary, Clare, and Cork. It is generally sown after potatoes or fallow. The Irish wheat is, for the most part, coarse and of inferior quality, and does not yield so much saccha-

Ireland. rine matter by 20 per cent. as the English. (Wakefield, I. 429, 442.)

Barley is more generally cultivated than wheat, and it is generally sown after potatoes. Oats, however, constitute the species of grain most extensively raised; it is calculated, that throughout the whole kingdom, there are ten acres of oats sown for one of any other species of corn. The Irish oats, however, are decidedly inferior to the English. The potatoes of Ireland have long been celebrated, both on account of their quantity and excellent qualities. They are cultivated on every species of soil, either in drills or lazy beds. Potatoe land lets from L. 6, 6s. to L. 10, 10s. per acre; and the expence of culture, including rent, varies from L. 13 to L. 16 per acre. The produce is from 800 stone to 1000 stone the acre, at twenty-one pounds to the stone; that is, from 16,800 to 21,000 pounds. (Ibid. I. 450.)

The indigenous grasses of Ireland are not of any peculiar excellence. Notwithstanding all that has been said of the fiorin grass, its excellence and utility may be called in question. Their hay is seldom from seed, generally consisting of the spontaneous produce of the soil. Clover is almost unknown. Mr Newenham calculates that there are not 5000 acres under this crop in the whole island. (Newenham, 314; Wakefield, I. 467.) There are few living hedges in Ireland; in the level stone districts, stone walls, and, in other places, turf-banks are the usual fences.

The dairy is the most extensive and the best managed part of Irish husbandry. Kerry, Cork, Waterford, Carlow, Meath, West Meath, Longford, and Fermanagh, as well as the mountains of Leitrim and Sligo, are principally occupied by dairy farms. Butter is the chief produce. The average number of cows on a dairy farm is thirty or forty; three acres of land, of middling quality, are deemed necessary for the subsistence of each cow. The average produce of a cow is eight quarts in twenty-four hours in summer, and five in winter; four good milkers will yield half a cwt. of butter in a week. The best butter is made in Carlow; the worst in Limerick and Meath. Generally speaking, the Irish are very clean in making this article, and it is exported to England, the East and West Indies, and Portugal. (Wakefield, I. 325, et seq.) The grazing of Ireland is not, as in England, a part of the regular rotation of crops, but is carried on in a country exclusively devoted to the breeding of cattle like the Highlands of Scotland. Great tracts of the country also are devoted to the grazing of sheep. Roscommon, Galway, Clare, Limerick, and Tipperary, are the chief breeding countries for sheep; and Galway, Clare, Roscommon, Tipperary, and Meath, are the places where they are fattened. The sheep are of the longwoolled kind, and very large; they are never kept in sheep-folds, and hardly ever fed on turnips; which is chiefly owing to the very limited demand for mutton among the labouring people. (Ibid. I. 341.)

The Agricultural Exports of Ireland have increased at a very rapid rate within the last forty

years, owing chiefly to the great demand and near vicinity of England.—We have given a view of the Irish exports of oats and oatmeal, wheat and wheat flour, and of all other kinds of grain, in the tables contained in our article on the CORN LAWS AND TRADE, particularly table eleventh, to which we beg to refer the reader.

The export of butter to England and Scotland has, of late years, been very great.

Of these, upwards of 50,000 cwts. were annually exported to Portugal.

The export of beef and pork has increased in the same striking manner.

Pork Exported from Ireland.

To these tables we shall subjoin a statement of the agricultural exports of Ireland to Great Britain, during the year 1819, which shows equally its progressive increase and the invaluable importance of the British market to Irish industry.

Exports of Ireland to Great Britain during the year 1819.

Linen Ma-
nufacture.
The manufactures of Ireland are now very considerable, particularly the linen manufacture. This great and staple branch of Irish industry was established by the Duke of Ormond, in 1669; and, in the beginning of the following century, Parliament took it under its protection, and voted considerable sums of money for its support. At the same period, a Board was established, which has since exerted itself most vigorously for its encouragement. It enhances the value of this manufacture to the Irish population, that the raw material of which it is composed is raised almost entirely within the island. It would appear that the number of acres under flax in 1810 was little short of 100,000, which, at 30 stone an acre, and 10s. 6d. the stone, will give an annual produce of the raw material worth L.1,500,000. (Wakefield, I. 683.)

Spinning by the hand was universal till the commencement of the present century; and, though the use of machinery has since been introduced, yet it is by no means invariably followed, in consequence of the very low rate of wages at which the manufacturers can get spinning performed by the wives and daughters of the labouring population. The Irish women have long been celebrated for their skill in this department. The earnings of the weavers depend on their industry, and the fineness of the materials on which they work. The average earnings of a linen weaver may be estimated at 7s. a-week. Their looms cost from four to five guineas, but many houses will hold three looms. The weavers estimate that, when working themselves, they can make a web a-week, and a web is, at an average, worth 10s.

The principal seat of the linen manufacture is in Ulster; but, with the exception of Wexford and Wicklow, where it is unknown, it flourishes all over Ireland. In the neighbourhood of Belfast, at Leith, at Londonderry, in Donegal and Tyrone, in Cavan, Louth, Meath, and Dublin, it flourishes in a remarkable degree. The quantity sold in Dublin, during the year ending March 1, 1809, appears from the following statement. (Reports of Linen Board, VI.; App. 18.)

The pieces of linen bleached in the county of Londonderry may amount to 250,000; and estimating the value of each piece at L. 2, 5s. 8d., the actual value of the linen bleached in this county alone may be estimated at L. 562,500. On the river Bann there are twenty bleachfields, which bleach annually, at an average, 8000 pieces, giving 160,000 pieces in all, the value of which is certainly above L. 500,000. (Wakefield, I. 694.)

In the neighbourhood of Belfast and Leith, this manufacture has diffused happiness and prosperity; but in the remote districts of Mayo and Sligo, the effect upon the labouring poor has been just the reverse. So strongly does this appear, that Mr Wakefield gives it as his decided opinion, that the extension of the linen manufacture over the whole island, would bring with it an extension of poverty and famine, and would, if continued for any length of time, be the greatest curse which could be entailed on the country. (Ibid. I. 699.) It is remarkable, too, that this manufacture is solely the growth of artificial encouragement; for such is either the national aversion to industry in general, or to this branch of it in particular, that nothing is done without the assistance of government. A spinner, to be industrious, must be presented with a wheel; a weaver, before he will work, must be supplied with a loom; a bleacher, to carry on his work, must be presented with a house in Dublin, for the purpose of selling his commodity. (Ibid. 698.) The following is a table of the sums expended in bounties by the trustees during the undermentioned years.

The Cotton manufacture was introduced into Ireland by Messrs Joly and McCabe in 1785, and seems, from the following table, to have taken a pretty strong root.

This manufacture is principally carried on in the neighbourhood of Belfast, where, in the year 1809, it appeared, that in a circle of 10 miles it employed 27,000 persons. It has also spread to Dublin, Kil-

Ireland. dare, Wicklow, Wexford, and Louth. At Coulon in Louth, there are 1300 looms employed in calico weaving. Upon the whole, this branch of industry is spreading rapidly in Ireland, and promises, at no distant period, to become a staple article of manufacture. (Wakefield, I. 705.)

Woollen Cloths. The woollen manufacture does not exist to any considerable extent. It was formerly depressed and checked by the jealous commercial policy of England; and, though the Union has placed the two countries on an equal footing in this respect, the superior wealth and commercial enterprise of England have prevented all successful competition. Between 1794 and 1809, the total number of pieces exposed to sale, in the Woollen Hall of Rathdrum, did not exceed 55,000. The manufacture of woollen, however, in a coarse way, for their own consumption, is carried on to a great extent by the people. In many parts of the country the great mass of the labouring poor manufacture their own woollen cloths. In some places the women not only make stockings, petticoats, &c. for their children, but some coarse woollen articles for sale. (Wakefield, I. 710; Survey of Clare, 179; of Kilkenny, 523.)

Gloves and other Articles. The manufacture of gloves, especially those called "Limerick gloves," is carried on to a considerable extent. Iron was formerly wrought to good profit and in great quantities: but all the foundries are now in disuse. Hardware articles, however, are manufactured at Dublin, and coarse implements of husbandry at Carlow. (Ibid. I. 724.)

Distilleries. The Distilleries of Ireland are very extensive, and the quantity of spirits made at the unlicensed stills, in all probability, still more considerable. In five years, from 1802 to 1806, 13,439 unlicensed stills were seized in Ireland, and 11,098 heads, and 9732 worms. The principal licensed distilleries are established at Limerick, Cork, Ross, Dublin, and Drogheda. In the year 1808, the greatest licensed distiller in the kingdom made 17,000 gallons a-week, and kept his distillery working between nine and ten months in the year. The following table exhibits the quantity of corn spirits for which duty has been paid in Ireland for ten years previous to January 5, 1813.

During the greater part of 1810 distillation was prohibited. From September 29, 1816, to February 5, 1817, there were 235,347 barrels of corn of 12 stone each used in distilling.

It is but of late years that public breweries have been established in Ireland, but they have spread to a great extent. The principal breweries are at

VOL. V. PART I.

Cork, Fermanagh, Limerick, Waterford, Roscommon, Dublin, Belfast, Cavan, Armagh, Donoughmore, and Dungarrow; one of the largest breweries in the island brews upwards of 100,000 barrels per annum. The following table shows the quantity of malt used in the breweries and distilleries from 1804 to 1817.

The Export of Manufactures has increased very greatly within the last 40 years. The following table shows the progressive increase in the export of linen, the staple commodity of the kingdom, during the last, and that part of the present century which has elapsed.

And in the year 1819, there was exported to Great Britain alone 38,038,182 yards of plain, and 1837 of damask linen.

The following table shows the official value of the linen exported from Ireland in different years, from 1809 to 1820:

Of this quantity it is computed that upwards of L. 2,000,000 annually comes to Great Britain. Spain takes nearly L. 100,000 annually; the West Indies, in 1815, received upwards of L. 100,000, and the United States, in 1811, no less than L. 180,000.

Export of Spirits. The export of Spirits was, on an average of seven years, ending

The great export of Irish spirits is to foreign states. The quantity exported to Great Britain, in 1819, was only 107,026 gallons.

Immense numbers of goose quills are annually sent from Ireland to this country. Those exported to Great Britain, in 1819, amounted to 9,541,320.

COMMERCE AND SHIPPING.

The following tables exhibit a general view of the

COMMERCE of Ireland from the year 1777 to the year 1815:

Official Value of Imports.

Official Value of Exports.

Imports into, and Exports from, Ireland for three Years, ending 5th January 1820.

The real value of the produce and manufactures of the united kingdom, exported from Ireland in the year ending 5th January 1820, computed at the average prices current, amounted to L. 9,747,206, 1s. 14d.

Irish Shipping. The following tables show the present state of the Shipping of Ireland:

That the trade of Ireland has not decreased since the peace of 1814, is evident from the following table:

REVENUE, EXPENDITURE, DEBT.

Revenue of Ireland. The REVENUE of Ireland is principally derived from customs, excise, stamps, and post-office duties; and from assessed taxes on hearths, windows, houses, carriages, servants, and horses. The income-tax was never introduced into Ireland.

By the treaty of Union between Great Britain and Ireland, the latter was bound, besides paying the interest of the debt contracted before that period, and other separate charges, to make good $\backslash frac\{2\}\{3\}$ths of the public expenditure of the empire. This proportion was soon found to be much too great for her means. Notwithstanding a very great increase of taxation, the debt of Ireland increased so fast, that its interest generally amounted to about as much as, and frequently exceeded, the total revenue of the country. In this situation, and as the only means of avoiding a public bankruptcy, a proposition was submitted to Parliament for the consolidation of the English and Irish Exchequers. This measure was carried into effect in 1816. The debt of Ireland was incorporated with that of Great Britain; and, since the 5th of January 1817, the incumbrances, revenues, and expences of the two countries have been blended together in one mass. The produce of taxation in Ireland is now considered merely as making a part of the general income of the empire, without any regard to the arbitrary proportion fixed in the treaty of Union.

The following is a View of the Revenue and Expenditure of Ireland in different Years.

The total gross Revenue for the Year ending 5th January 1817, the year previous to the Consolidation of the Exchequers, derived from the following branches, amounted to

The total expence of collecting the various branches of the revenue of Ireland for the same year amounted to L. 1,014,342. The following is a statement of the rate per cent. at which this expence was incurred, viz. for every L. 100 paid into the Treasury under the heads of

Separate Expenditure for the same Year.

Joint Expenditure along with Great Britain.

Ireland.
Debt. The debt of Ireland, which, in 1800, amounted to about 25 millions, had increased in 1817 to about 152 millions, of which L. 141,441,180 was funded.

Oppressiveness of Taxation. Perhaps no country has suffered so much as Ireland from the oppressiveness of taxation. Since 1808 taxes have been imposed in that country, which our finance ministers estimated would produce three and a half millions. In point of fact, however, they have not produced a single shilling. The nett revenue of Ireland in 1808 amounted to L. 4,417,990, while, in 1820, it only amounted to L. 3,605,446, being a decrease of L. 812,544. This fact affords a striking illustration of the folly of endeavouring to raise an additional revenue from an impoverished and exhausted country by a mere increase of taxation. Had Government made any vigorous effort to stimulate the dormant energies of the people, to give them a taste for the comforts and luxuries of civilized life, or to remove the most obvious of those causes of irritation and idleness which have so long distracted and depressed one of the finest countries in the world, the result would have been very different. But they contented themselves with adding to burdens which were already too heavy to be borne. The necessary consequences followed; consumption was diminished, the revenue declined, and all classes have been sunk deeper in the abyss of poverty and misery.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND CHARITIES.

Schools and Charities. Notwithstanding the universal ignorance of the Irish poor, the means of education, within their reach, are by no means inconsiderable. It appears from the reports of the Parliamentary Commissioners, who have inquired into this interesting subject, that "there are 33 classical endowed schools in Ireland, besides 14 of private foundation, which educate nearly 1000 scholars: that, exclusive of parish schools in the city of Dublin, and in other places, supported by private endowments, amounting in number to 72, there are 44 public establishments for the education of the lower orders, in which 4200 children are lodged, maintained, clothed, and educated. The annual expence of these establishments is about L. 70,000." (Report of Commissioners on Education.)

The following returns, as to the number of schools actually taught, have been obtained from 17 out of the 22 dioceses into which Ireland is divided.

From these returns, it appears that, exclusive of the charitable foundations, the number of children taught in these dioceses amounts to 200,000; that the schools of the two religions are 4600; and that there are, at an average, 43 scholars to a school. As these returns were made in winter, when many children cannot attend, and do not, besides, include the itinerant schoolmasters, it is probable, that the total number of children taught is more considerable. The instruction, except in a very few instances, goes no farther than reading, writing, and the common rules of arithmetic; and the fees paid, on an average, are 10s. per annum for reading, 17s. 4d. when writing, and L. 1, 6s. when arithmetic is added. (14th Report of Commissioners on Education.) These facts prove, that the means of education are afforded to the labouring poor; but they by no means show, that the people gain any useful information, or are at all advanced in the scale of moral beings, by this instruction; nor do they supersede the necessity of a national establishment comprehending every parish in the island.

Ireland has no poor's rate; but in its principal cities a variety of most extensive charities are established. Many of them are maintained by the charity of individuals, and others by the munificence of government.

The following is a statement of the sums granted by the British government in the year 1818 to some of the principal charities and public establishments of the country.

General Observations on the Condition of the People, and the Causes of their Depressed State.

All travellers who have inquired into the condition of Ireland, unite in representing the redundancy of the population as the main source of the sufferings of the people.* One cannot pass through a single county, without perceiving the most grievous effects resulting from this cause. In every town, in every village, there are multitudes of beggars, whose importunity testifies the need they have of assistance, while their famished and anxious aspect marks, in language not to be misunderstood, the anguish and suffering to which they have been subjected. The rich may exclaim against the impositions of the poor, and refuse charity to a hundred real objects of distress, because two or three have magnified their sufferings; but whoever will scrutinize the condition and appearance of the Irish poor will be convinced, that their miseries can hardly be exaggerated.

Nor is it merely in the incredible numbers, the incessant importunity, and deplorable aspect of the Irish beggars, that the superabundance of the population appears. It is an evil which is felt in every occupation, and in every corner of the land. In every line of life, in every branch of industry, there is an excessive competition for employment. If a small farm is to be let, the landlord is beset by numbers of persons wishing to take it; and who, in their anxiety to fix themselves somewhere, offer the exorbitant rent of L. 3, L. 4, and even L. 5 per Irish acre for land, which, under their system of management, will hardly produce this sum. It is from this cause that the number of Cottars is so inconceivably great, and that such high rents are given for the smallest pieces of potatoe land. In every other employment the same symptoms of a redundant population appear; and it is well known in the adjoining countries of England and Scotland, that wherever any public work is undertaken, there is almost instantly an inundation of Irish poor, seeking that employment which they cannot obtain at home.

Emigration, as might be expected, prevails, and has long prevailed, to a great extent in Ireland; but it has been unable to retard the progress of population. Between the years 1690 and 1745, it is computed that 450,000 Irishmen perished in the service of France alone. (Newenham's Ireland, 58.) Every nation almost of Europe has Irishmen in its service; and, independently of the vast swarms which continually come over to Britain, upwards of 4000 have annually, for a long period back, emigrated to America. (Ibid. 59.) During the year 1816, when the distress of the country was very great, the emigrants to America swelled to the enormous number of 30,000. (Newenham, 59; Wakefield, II. 712.) But this drain, great as it undoubtedly is, and materially as it must affect the population, from being composed entirely of persons in the

prime of life, is not perceived amidst the multitudes who remain. Every employment is still thronged to excess; and the departure of those who emigrate retards rather than accelerates the progress of wealth; for those who go have all acquired some little capital, and habits of industry, the subduction of which dries up the springs of national prosperity.

The actual population in 1805 has been estimated, by Mr Newenham, at 5,400,000 souls. Mr Wakefield, after demonstrating, that, in 1791, it amounted to 4,200,000, observes, that, since that period, a very great increase has taken place. (Wakefield, II. 712.) The rate of increase has been estimated by Mr Newenham and Mr Wakefield at an annual addition of one-fortieth to the whole population; in other words, the numbers of the people double in forty-six years. (Newenham, 220. Colquhoun, 21.) Thirty years ago, Mr Young expressed his astonishment at the prevalence of early marriages in this country. (Young, II. 198.) Mr Newenham and Mr Wakefield have reiterated the same observation in their late publications. Every road is lined with cottages, every cottage swarms with children. Under circumstances of unexampled distress during the last three years, the number of marriages and the multitudes of children have suffered no diminution.

As might be expected in a country where the increase in the numbers of mankind has so far outstripped the progress of its wealth and the increase of its industry, the condition of the people is in every department marked by extreme indigence. (Dewar, 91; Young, II. 123.) The houses in which they dwell, the furniture in their interior, their clothing, food, and general way of life, all equally indicate the poverty of the country. In these respects, however, some improvement was observable, even at the time when Mr Young's Tour was written, and it has gone on increasing to a certain extent since that period. In the south of Ireland, the cottages have, in many instances, feather-beds; a luxury which they owe to the numbers of geese and poultry with which the country abounds,—a plenty which, in some degree, compensates to them for the many other privations to which they are subject. Considerable improvement in the condition of the peasantry was beginning to take place in the south towards the conclusion of the war, in consequence of the immense market and high prices which the consumption of the army and navy afforded; but these dawns of prosperity have been almost totally overclouded by the distress of the last years.

It appears from evidence laid before a Committee of the House of Commons, that, in the year 1817, there were in Nicolson's Court, Dublin, 151 persons crowded into 28 small rooms; of these 89 were unemployed, and there were only two bedsteads and two blankets in the whole Court. In Barrack Street were 85 houses, the apartments in which were extremely crowded: 52 houses contained, in 390 rooms, 1318 persons, of whom 332 were adults

* Young's Ireland, II. 197; Dewar's Ireland, 94; Newenham, passim; Wakefield, passim.

out of employment, the greater part of whom were in extreme indigence. Church Street contained 181 houses, which were greatly more crowded than in Barrack Street.—In 71 houses of this street, and the adjoining courts, no less than 1997 persons were lodged in 393 apartments; of these 123 had been infected by fever within three months. There are many cellars in these houses which have no light but from the door, which, in several, is closed only by bundles of rags, vegetables, and other articles. In these cellars the people sleep on the floors, which are all earthen.

The dress of the people is so wretched, that, to a person who has not visited the country, it is almost inconceivable. Shoes or stockings are seldom to be seen on children, and often not on grown persons. (Young, II. 121.) The rags in which both men and women are clothed are so worn and complicated, that it is hardly possible to imagine to what article of dress they have originally belonged. It has been observed that the Irish poor never take off their clothes when they go to bed; but the fact is, that not only are they in general destitute of blankets, but, if they once took off their clothes, it would be difficult to get them on again. Their dress is worn day and night till it literally falls to pieces; and, even when it is first put on, it is usually cast-off clothing; for there is not one cottager out of ten who ever gets a coat made for himself. A considerable trade has long been carried on from the west of Scotland to Ireland, consisting of the old clothes of the former country, and to those who know how long all ranks in Scotland wear their dress, there is no more convincing proof of the poverty of the latter country can be given.

In England, markets and shops are established in every quarter, where the people may buy their necessaries and conveniences. In Ireland there is neither the one nor the other. The Irish poor, indeed, have no conception of the comforts of life; and if they felt their full value, they could not afford them, for though necessaries are cheap, conveniences of all sorts are very dear. Owing to the deficiency of manufacturing capital, the price of the commonest articles is fully as high as in Britain,

while the money wages of labour are not equal to half the earnings of the English labourer; being in general from 8d. to 1s. 2d.; a sum altogether inadequate to obtain any portion of the comforts of life. * (Newenham, 272, 273.)

But while the Irish poor are in general destitute of all the accommodations, they hardly ever, except in years of extraordinary distress, know what it is to want the absolute necessaries of life. The unsparing meal of potatoes, at which the beggar, the pig, the dog, the poultry, and the children, seem equally welcome, seldom fails the Irish labourer. In many cottages, the potatoe pot is constantly on the fire, and the children help themselves when they please (Young, II. 121); and to this cause, joined to the general use of milk, is to be ascribed the healthy appearance of the children in cottages which would seem to be the abode of the most abject misery.

The laziness of the lower Irish is very great. (Wakefield, II. 776.) In many places it is so excessive, that two shillings a-day in England would be cheaper in the end than sixpence in Ireland. (Young, II. 117.) This cannot be imputed to their potatoe diet, for there are numerous instances of persevering industry in Ireland. It is owing to the habits, the mode of payment, and the occupations of the labouring classes. Limited as their wants are to the mere support of animal life, they do not engage in labour with that persevering industry which artificial desires inspire; and the mode in which they are often paid, that is, the giving them a piece of potatoe land by the year, at once furnishes the means of subsistence, and takes away every stimulus to farther exertion. The farm-servants of the English or Scotch farmers, who carry on agriculture upon the improved system, are constantly employed in some species of labour; but after the potatoes of the Irish cottar are planted, there is hardly any thing to be done about his little croft till the season of digging arrives. During a great portion of the year he is doomed to idleness, and the habits he acquires during these long periods of almost total inaction, are too strong to be overcome when he is transferred to a more regular occupation.

* There is no person who has visited Ireland who must not be convinced that, generally speaking, these observations are strictly true. But, though the general aspect of the country is that of poverty and wretchedness, yet there are particular districts in which the progress of improvement has been so rapid and striking as to afford the most animating prospects; and even over the whole country, the increased consumption of articles of comfort, during the last twenty years, is very remarkable. "That Ireland," says Wakefield, "has made a wonderful progress in improvement, will not, I think, be denied by the gloomiest politician. In the neighbourhood of Belfast, this change has been peculiarly striking. This town, which, about a century ago, hardly deserved notice, is now, in trade and consequence, the fifth in the kingdom; hundreds, whose food consisted chiefly of potatoes, now use wheaten bread; thousands sleep in blankets and sheets who were formerly contented with a covering of straw. Having been frequently in Ireland during the last thirty years, my own observation has convinced me that a considerable change of habits has taken place, and that a taste for a more refined mode of life is beginning to diffuse itself among the people." (Wakefield, II. 65.) From the official return of the imports into Ireland from 1772 down to 1811, it appears that a prodigious increase in the consumption of articles of luxury has taken place in that period; far greater than the augmentation during the same time in the numbers of the people. (Ibid. II. 58.)

Such is the condition of the labouring classes. Ireland exhibits the extraordinary example of a country, in which, under the most distressing circumstances, population has advanced with the most rapid pace; in which cultivation has advanced without wealth, and education without diffusing knowledge; where the peasantry are more depressed, and yet can obtain subsistence with greater facility, than in any other country of Europe. Their miserable condition will not appear surprising when the numerous oppressions to which they are subject are taken into consideration.

In the foremost rank of their many grievances, the general prevalence of Middlemen must be placed. It is difficult to estimate the extent of the misery which the system of letting and subletting land has brought upon the Irish cultivators. It has been observed, that the great cause of the prosperous situation of the peasant in Japan, is, that he pays his rent at once to the sovereign; that no person is substituted between the cultivator of the ground and the great landholder. (Thunberg's Travels.) With truth it may be said, that one great cause of the misery of the Irish peasant is to be found in the number of persons who are interposed between the landlord and the cultivator; for the whole fruits of their labour finds its way into the pockets of this middle class. (Wakefield, I. 287.) To absent landholders, middlemen are almost unavoidable; for without their intervention their estates could not be managed, and the collection of rents would be impossible. Middlemen have, in every country, been the inseparable attendants of absent proprietors: and in such a country as Ireland, where there are numbers of disaffected persons in every quarter, the vigilant eye of a superior inspector is more particularly required.

By the law of England, the landlord is entitled to distrain for payment of rent, not only the stocking which belongs to his immediate tenant, but the crop or stocking of a subtenant; on the principle, that whatever grows on the soil ought to be a security to the landlord for his rent; and in Scotland the same rule holds where the landlord has not authorized the subtenant; but if he has, the subtenant is free when he has paid to the principal tenant. There is little hardship in such a rule in England, where the practice of subletting is, generally speaking, rare; but when applied to Ireland, where middlemen are universal, it becomes the source of infinite injustice; for the cultivator being liable to have his crop and stocking distrained on account of the tenant from whom he holds, and there being often many tenants interposed between him and the landlord, he is thus perpetually liable to be distrained for arrears not his own. The tenant, in a word, can never be secure, though he has faithfully paid his rent to his immediate superior; because, he is still liable to have every thing which he has in the world swept off by an execution for arrears due by any of the many leaseholders who may be interposed between him and the landlord. It is obvious that such a system must prevent the growth of agricultural capital. This, joined to the exactions of the middle-

men, has been the true cause of the universal prevalence of the cottage system, and the minute subdivision of farms.

The mode in which the poorer classes are treated is strongly descriptive of their depressed situation. "The labouring poor," says Mr Young, "are treated with great harshness, and are in every respect so little considered, that their want of importance seems a perfect contrast to their situation in England, where, comparatively speaking, they reign as sovereigns. The landlord of an Irish estate, inhabited by Roman Catholics, is a despot, who yields obedience, in whatever concerns the poor, to no law but his own will. The language of the law may be that of liberty, but the situation of the poor may speak nothing but slavery. There is too much of this contradiction in Ireland. A long series of oppressions, aided by many very ill judged laws, have brought landlords into a habit of exerting a very lofty superiority, and their vassals into that of unlimited submission. Speaking a language which is despised, professing a religion which is abhorred, and being disarmed, the poor find themselves in many cases slaves, even in the bosom of written liberty." (Young, II. 127.)

In England, the Tithes can hardly be said, in a national point of view, to amount to a grievance. The precarious situation of the clergyman, possessing only a life interest in the benefice, joined to the wealth and consequence of the farmers and landholders by whom he is surrounded, precludes him, in the general case, from exerting his rights to their full extent, and softens the evil which the abstract powers with which he is invested might otherwise produce. But, in Ireland, the case is far otherwise. The relative situation of the farmer and of the clergyman are totally different, and a very different system in regard to the collection of tithes is pursued. The clergyman is, in general, far richer than any farmer in his parish; and he is connected with the Protestant interest, which has so long exercised an unlimited sway. Independently of the extreme poverty of the farmers, the livings in Ireland are, in general, much larger, and more lucrative than in England; so that the relative situation of the clergyman and his parishioners is totally different in the two countries. From the wealth and influence of the clergy, joined to the destitute situation of their parishioners, the tithes have long been collected with a severity, of which hardly any European state furnishes an example. They fall, by the law of that country, only on the tillage land, the greater part of which is held by cottar tenants; and thus the rich are exempted from bearing their share of the burden. (Wakefield, II. 486.) Almost everywhere the tithes are let to Tithe Proctors, who are acquainted with every man in the parish, who know the utmost length to which extortion can go, and exercise their powers with the most merciless severity. These proctors, besides what they pay to the clergyman or lay-impropriator, realize large incomes to themselves out of the produce of their extortions. When it is recollected, what savage ferocity has always been exercised towards these collectors in

every commotion, it may be conceived how deeply their severity has been felt. (Ibid. II. 486, 487.)

What renders the tithing system peculiarly oppressive in Ireland is, that its exactions fall upon cottars who give the full value of the land in the rent paid to the landlord. The number of the labouring classes is so great, and the other branches of industry in comparison so inconsiderable, that the unfortunate poor are driven to take little spots as their only means of subsistence. The competition between them is so excessive, that they offer the highest possible rent for the land; as much, indeed, as the whole produce is worth, after their own food is deducted. The tithe is not considered by these unfortunate people; or if it is, they trust to the chapter of accidents for the means of paying it. But even if they had all the foresight of the Scotch peasant, they could not do otherwise; for having no other means of living, and being too poor to emigrate, they are compelled to run against each other for little farms; and of this competition the landlords too often avail themselves to screw the rent to the highest possible rate which the poor can afford to pay. (Wakefield, II. 493.) When the cup of misery is full, a drop will make it overflow. The tithes in Ireland are this drop. Inconsiderable as they are when compared with the burden which the tenants have to sustain in their rent, yet, when placed in addition to it, they operate as the last and most grievous oppression with which they are afflicted. To this cause we are to impute the remarkable fact, that while in Munster, where the tithe of potatoes is exacted, frequent risings have occurred during the last forty years; in Ulster, where no tithe is required, risings are unknown. (Wakefield, II. 493; Life of Lord Charlemont, 87, 88.)

What increases the hardship of this burden upon the people is, that it is not only imposed to support an establishment which they detest, which they consider as the badge of their national subjection, and which is so often negligent of its duty; but that it is an addition to a very expensive ecclesiastical establishment of their own, which they are obliged to support. The Irish Roman Catholic clergy, a numerous and not indigent body, are supported entirely by the contributions of the people; and the greater part of the income of the Presbyterians in the north is derived from a similar source. On occasion of a marriage, the priest receives from these poor people from two to three guineas; and the difficulty of raising this sum is perhaps the only check on the progress of population. (Newenham, p. 51.) From this and other sources, the income of the Irish Catholic clergy is, except in years of extraordinary distress, very considerable; and this is a burden which falls solely on the poorer classes. Thus are the Irish peasantry, who, of all nations in the world, are the least able to support it, burdened with two separate ecclesiastical establishments, each of which levies its dues with the most rigid exactness; the one armed with the terrors of temporal authority, the other with the still more formidable weapons of superstition.

Another grievance, though not so extensive, is

the fine imposed upon a township, for having had Ireland. the misfortune to have a seizure for illicit distillation made within its bounds. Numerous are the families which have been utterly ruined, in every part of the country, by this most oppressive law. Many individuals are now languishing in prison who have been seized for the fine imposed on their township for an illicit still, of which they were utterly ignorant, or which they may have made the most vigorous though ineffectual, efforts to oppose.

From the facts collected by Mr Chichester (Chichester on Still Fines) on this interesting subject, it appears, that during seven years, from 1809 to summer 1816, the still fines levied amounted to L. 356,925, or L. 50,989 a-year; and the evidence of Sir John Stewart before the House of Commons shows, that, from 1809 to 1815, L. 26,825 has been levied upon the county of Tyrone alone, and, on the county of Donegall, L. 72,540. It appears, from the same authority, that the stills are of such a nature as to be generally incapable of discovery; that no provision is made for the case of absentees, who have, in more than one instance, been ruined by fines levied on their estates, while abroad on the service of their country; that the power thus vested in the hands of the revenue officers has been the occasion of infinite individual distress, as well as public discontent; and that the fines are levied, in general, by military force, and terminate in the utter ruin of the peasantry on whom they fall.

These evils have been attended with the usual depressing effects of oppression. They have prevented the growth of any artificial wants, or any desire of bettering their condition among the mass of the people. Despised by their superiors, and oppressed by all to whom they might naturally have looked for protection, the Irish have felt only the natural instincts of their being. Among the Presbyterians of the north, and in the vicinity of manufacturing towns, higher notions of comfort may have imposed some restraint on the principle of population; but the poor humiliated Catholics, enjoying no respectability or consideration in society, have sought only the means of subsistence; and finding, without difficulty, potatoes, milk, and a hovel, have overspread the land with a wretched race.

To these causes of a redundant population, of which the government of the country is, directly or indirectly, the source, are to be added others, of a different kind.

The first is the influence of the parish priests, who encourage marriage in order to increase their own emoluments, and the superstition of the people, who regard it as a religious duty. (Wakefield, II. 690.) In a country where the priests possess so much control over the lower ranks, and where the influence of artificial wants is so little felt, this circumstance must have a powerful effect. To this cause, joined to the degraded situation of the Catholic population, is to be ascribed the much greater frequency of marriages among the lower orders of that persuasion than among the Protestants. (Ibid. II. 578.)

The second cause is the general ignorance of the

Ireland. people. On the influence of education, in restraining the tendency to early and imprudent marriage, it would be superfluous in this place to enlarge. It is a mistake to imagine, however, that this almost universal ignorance, of which so much has been said, by almost every writer on the state of this country, is the result either of any inaptitude of the people to learn, or of any very remarkable deficiency in the means of education. The Irish evince everywhere the greatest anxiety for education, whenever the means are afforded. In the remote mountains of Kerry, schools are sometimes found in the wildest situations, where rocks supply the place of desks and benches. (Weld's Killarney, 167.)

Nor are the means of education either limited or scanty. In every quarter of the country, schools are established, and the cottagers can, in general, get their children instructed for five or six shillings a-year, in reading, writing, and arithmetic. (Wakefield, II. 399.) In the dioceses of Cloyne and Ross-alme, there are 316 parochial schools, attended during the summer by 21,892 scholars. It may, indeed, be affirmed, generally, that, in point of literary attainments, the peasantry are greatly above the same class of men in England. (Newenham.) Yet it is strictly true, that the Irish are ignorant in the extreme. The solution of this seeming paradox is to be found in the poverty of the people, the absurd books which are put into their hands, and the want of religious instruction.

The poverty of the people is so great, that after they have learned to read, they are in general unable to purchase any book, or they are bred up in employments where reading is difficult by reason of the continued labour in which they are engaged. (Wakefield, II. 398-9.) In fact, it is impossible that knowledge can make any great progress in a country where the poverty of the people is so extreme, and where they are content with the mere support of life. In such circumstances, they necessarily want both the means and the inclination to turn their education to any good account. The books which are put into the hands of the children, so far from being such as are calculated to train them to habits either of order, virtue, or self-restraint, are precisely the reverse; being legends of saints, or histories of thieves, smugglers, and prostitutes, calculated to lead the youth of both sexes into every species of violence and depravity! It has, accordingly, been often observed, that the lower Irish, though educated, are utterly deficient in moral and religious knowledge (Survey of Cork, 714; Wakefield, II. 404); and to this circumstance much of the violence and cruelty which prevails among them is to be ascribed.

Various other circumstances have combined to multiply to a great degree the facilities of population, and to expand, in this country, beyond almost any other, the means of subsistence.

Ireland. The first is the extraordinary fertility of the country, and the small expence at which cultivation can be conducted. Ireland contains 20,437,000 English acres, and of these above 13,000,000 are actually under tillage. The land does not require any expensive mode of culture; on the contrary, it is in general so rich, that it will yield an alternate crop of wheat and potatoes for ever; and can be taken into cultivation at a very small expence. But for this circumstance, the poverty of the Irish cottars, and the almost total want of agricultural capital, would have operated as a complete bar to a numerous population.

The second is the introduction of the Potatoe and its singular adaptation to the soil of Ireland. That this root furnishes food to the greater part of the Irish poor is universally known; but its effects in expanding the means of human subsistence are not sufficiently considered. The average produce of the kingdom is 82 barrels per acre, each barrel weighing 20 stone. This amounts to 22,960 pounds, which, divided by four to bring it to the solid nourishment of wheat, will be 5740 pounds. The average produce of an Irish acre of wheat is four quarters, which, at 460 pounds to the quarter, is 1840 pounds, not one-third of the solid nourishment yielded by the same extent of potatoes. (Young, II. 120.) Mr Newenham considers three pounds of potatoes as equal to one of wheat; at this rate, the acre will yield four times as much nourishment under the potatoe, as when cropped with wheat.

Potatoes have been introduced into every kingdom of Europe as well as Ireland, but in no other have they become the staple food of the poor. It is the condition and habits of the people, as they are determined by political institutions, and other causes, which fixes the standard of comfort and the age at which they marry. The introduction of the potatoe, by expanding the means of subsistence, removes to a greater distance the ultimate check which the inability of raising an increase of food must impose upon the multiplication of mankind; but taken by itself, it has no tendency to make the population advance faster than their comfort requires. It facilitates the multiplication of mankind, and increases the rapidity with which population advances; but, unless the people are predisposed, from other causes, to press upon the means of subsistence, it has no tendency to augment their redundancy. Under the government and political institutions of the Irish, the population of the country would have been equally redundant, though much smaller than it now is, if they had lived on oats or wheaten bread. The introduction of the potatoe may be the cause why the population is now six in place of three millions: but it is not the cause why, during the whole period of this increase, the numbers of the people have been greater than, under existing circumstances, could be comfortably maintained. (I. I. I.)