The Express.
London, England, 1847-10-12 00:00:00

temeed meshes mime le emillime id= elm
be si It
=IIIIMI ath we
of lame the wild
system was se entirely based upon pdfdloos dismibed
by Sir J. Hu , that it was impala Itat the habits of
the people eoall be so suddenly change& Ned new modes of
subsistence so soddenly established, as to anew of the crowded
population midst bad grown up under the plate system sup-
porting theemelves without usistanoe in thaeassond year after
the fellece. And, thirdly, That the change ism an idle, bar-
harass, Weed potato cultivation, to corn cultivation, which
enforces I,deefrf, binds together employer and employed in
mutually eMI relations, and, requiring capital and
skill for its sismsdhl prosecution, supposes the existence of a
class of substantial who have an interest in pre-
serving the good ease of Red% is preceding m fast es an
reasonably be expected =dr elmeassteeme ; and that if
the rich and highly-favoured portions of the em ire give
some further temporary soisteste to them distressd sections
of our population, to enable them to " tide over" the shoals
upon which they have Mho, the harbour will, ere long, be
attained.

If you my testimony on these polo to of any public
value on the present ocomion, you are at liberty to make any
UM of it you think proper ; and it is Sir John Burgoyne's
intention that his paper ahould be published with his name,
which, considering the accurate information he has obtained
in the management of the relief commission, cannot fail to
carry great weight with it. Believe me, air, yours very
faithfully, C. E. Tacrat.tax.—Salt•hill Hotel, near Dub-
lin, Oct. 7.

Bir,—Notwithstanding the impatience expressed at the
demands for Ireland, we must still, in common charity,
afford her considerable assistance.
Distress still hangs over that country, from which she is
quite unable to relieve herself.
It is not the ordinary distress of a lowering the condition
of people from one of luxury or comfort, but it is the re-
ducing them from the lowest state that can support life to
one without means even to do that.

Absolute famine still stares whole districts in the face, and
we must not allow ourselves to become callous to the horrors
of such an evil because we have had it before us for any
given period.
But it is said that it is their own fault, and originates
in an erroneous and improvident system. Supposing it
to be so, are we to allow thousands to die of starva-
tion because they were enabled by Providence to subsist
previously, for almost ages, on on erroneous system f
The only other argument against extraneous relief is that
the country ought to be called upon to make sacrifices to re-
lieve itself, and that the a
-property of Ireland mast sunpgrt
--a--

and oae that bu been adopted by the legislature in the pro-
visions of the New Poor Law.

That law, being duly carried out, will compel all that can
contribute for the support of the poor to do se in proportion
to their means, and wall reduce the demand on others to
what cannot possibly be met by that proviaion.
The extent of the effect of the loss of the potato in Ireland,
however, is still not perfectly understood, particularly as af-
fects all whose income was dependent on the land, up to the
greatest proprietors.
The great max of a dense population spread over the face
of the country lived, 19 is well known, on the potato.
A family once located on from one to three or four acres
of land wan provided for ; a cabin could be raised in a few
days, without the expense of a sixpence ; the potatoes, at the
coat of a very little labour, supplied them with a sufficiency
of a food with which, from habit, they were perfectly con-
tent ; and a pig, or with some, a cow, or donkey, or pony,
and occasional labour at a very low rate of wages, gave them
what was requisite to pay a rent and for such clothing and
other articles as were absolutely necewary, and which with
a great proportion were on the lowest scale of human
existence.

The foundation of the whole, however, was the pales...ion
of the bit of land ; it was the one, and the only one, thing
absolutely necessary ; the rent consequently was high, and
generally well paid, being the first demand on all money
received, in order to /Retire that essential tenure, and only
what remained became applicable to the other objects.
Although of the lowest grade, it was an easy mode of sub-
instance, and led to the encouragement of early marriages,
large families, and a rapidly-increasing population; and at
the same time afforded the proprietor a very good return of
profit for his land. We can hardly wonder at the eon-
' tinsance of this improvident system, u it has been called.
The entire loss of the potato in 1846 threw this whole
class into absolute destitution ; whatever little means could
be obtained went for food, thousands died of want, and, of
course, not a shilling of rent could be raised among them,
thus spreading distress to many superior classes.
The next to these were the small farmers who cultivated
from 6 to 20 or 30 acres, and may be supposed to have been
exempt from being much affected by the calamity, but were
not re. They were, in fact, without capital ; the food for
themselves, families, and dependents was still the potato ;
they had a cow or two, perhaps a pony and a cart, and two
or three pigs. Their farming was of the most slovenly de-
scription, and their selling produce, after paying their rent,
afforded a little better clothing and a little more of comforts
than enjoyed by the cottiers.
Still the main stay was the potato. When that went,
everything else at the disposition of this class was required
for food, and with a great number was insufficient ; the pay-
ment of rent was not only impossible, but all the little stock
and other means for future continuance of their habitual
occupatinn were disposed of ; and a great number of this
class were added to the absolutely destitute. Here again is
experienced another falling off; for these constituted the
lower rate-payers, whose contributions for supporting the
poor can wily no longer be looked to, but who will them-
selves, many of them, add to the number of paupers to be
'We extent to which these two classes were affected by the '
loss of the potato may be estimated by the numbers that it
was found necessary to furnish with mere food for many
month, in 1847, which at one time amonnted to 3,000,000
individuals.
It is usual to consider the property in Ireland generally
as fairly chargeable with the remedy for the result of this
calamity after the first helping hand given to it, but it
cannot be so adjusted.
In all parts the evil has been felt, but in some much more
intensely than in others.
On all the eastern side of Ireland, from north to south,
the proximity to the English markets induced a greater cul-
tivation of produce for barter, and there are more farmers,
graziers, &c., independent of such an article as the potato,
although there is mixed up with them a large number of
comer.; but even these latter have in some degree more
resources in available ne_aru for the application of their
labour.
These districts, therefore, may reasonably be required
to make the necessary sacrifices to struggle through the
difficulty, and may comprehend, perhaps, four-fifths of the
country', but the remaining fifth—that along the west of
Ireland—remains in a most deplorable condition, and has
not within itself the possible power of relief.
The west of Irelands far removed from markets, and it
would require the judicious application of much capital,
and under more favourable circumstances than Ireland has
yet afforded, to raise it from its late condition of mere self-
su&PhertcioniVqluiEenecencel;as been that these western counties
are almost entirely occupie 1 by the coulees and small
ho!ders above described, not only arising from their
backward state as regards the production of articles for bar-
ter, but encouraged by another casual circumstance in the
nature of the coast, which, being in deep gulfs and inlets, sup-
plied them with an abundance of sea-weed, which, applied
to the land, was peculiarly favourable to the propagation of
the potato.
Hence the great body of the people there are now without
food, and the few above them without the rents which could
supply their only means of relieving the rest.
In other countries, one interest may come to the relief of
another; the farmer may relieve the manufacturer and mer
chant, and vice versa, as the case requires it ; but in Ireland
there is but one interest, being that in the produce of the
land.
It may be assumed, perhaps, that the people having now
genet trough the periods of dearth of the two last yours,
ought to be sufficiently provided for by the abundant produce
of the present season.
Undoubtedly the especial hand of Providence has been
thus mercifully extended towards the relief of the people, in
a manner that will greatly mitigate the general distress, but
it still leaves a large amount absolutely requiring a great
extent of human and humans exertion.
Although the potatoes have succeeded better this year
than on the two former, not above one-sixth of the usual
quantity has been planted, and that not by the small occu-
piers, as usual for their support because the case appeared
hopeless, and, even otherwise, the seed was wanting.
The lands of many were ill adapted to other crops, or they
had no means of tilling them; or, even where they have
put in turnips, or oats, &c., the prates will be quite insuffi-
cient for their support, for, it must be observed, that it re-
quires three times Me quantity of land laid out in corn to
what would be necessary in potatoes to feed for the year any
given number of persons.
Thai it must plainly appear that Ireland in all parts is
still in much distress; but along the west very active and
extended benevolence is required to be exerted from else-
where to prevent the moat horrible scenes ; that this calamity
is continuous, and can only be gradually removed by a new
order in the social system, which it will be the interest, and
must be the effort, of all parties to introduce and to accele-
rate.—J. F. BI:IWOYNK.—DubIin, Oct. 6.