The Express.
London, England, 1847-01-26 00:00:00

. .
In
le not (
then met with at Misreads( tit three mike. m
In England ; are but kw towns of sa trade to create
such a elan. The clergy of the various podelthisolli old tie proprie-
tors, Hen resident, are hi away eases as sash at news, with each
other, or with the Helios paggidatlm aped ponied tprestamta that
goat 'airtime was 'equerry In Hord to do Menthe thee bow
which we mold avail enrollee of list solstence. dodo
moot with ieg.ird to the cosalthethey, tem the frequent coldione
in which they are placed with the people ; and prroctil l antheritice
can ecareely be raid to mist.
In the third report they stated:
- - • - • -

It appear that in Great Britain the Kele uhural families conetitute
little more than-e fourth, while la Ireland they constitute about two.
thirds of the wsok population; that there were in Groat Britain, la
031, 1.02.22! agricultural labourers; In livitad, 1,13 1,1 lb, although
the cultivated land of Great Britain &rootlets to about 34,130,000 Anna
and that of Ireland only to absent 144100,000. We than final that
there are in Ireland about are agricultural labourers for mere two
that there ore for the rime quantity of land in Great Britain. It
further appro.. that the agricultural produce .of Great Britain la
more than four times that of Ireland; that agricultural wage. vary
from Gd. to IF. a day ; that the average of the country in general is
about s)d.; and that the earning, of the 'einem, come, on nu
acreage of the whole elms, to from 2s, to 2.. Gd. a week, or there-
aboute fur the year roam. Thus eircunistanced, it is impeadble far
the ablebadied, In general, to provide against sickness or the tem
absence of emplomrol, or again.' old age, or the destitution of their
widows and children (lithe contingent event of their own premature
demur. A great portion of them ere ineuilleiently provided at any
time with the oommonen necessaries of life. Their habinitions are
wretched hovels, several of • family tamp together urea straw or upon
the bare ground, sometimes with a blanket, armentnea even without
or much to cover them; their food commonly canine of dry pntetom,
and with lb se they are at Conan scantily supplied as to be obliged to
stint themselves to one spare navel in the due. There are even instamee of
persons reingdriven by hunger tonekentenance in wild herbs They
sometimes gets herring, or • little milk, but they never get meat, except
atot ttliristnroat tinNtlitas. le,r.,ingor, Shrovetide. Some go
the hanat, others in senrch of emirgligentent
land
with the same view. The wives children of many are cm:mica.
ally obliged to beg ; they do so reluctantly and with shame, sod in
general go to • distance from home that they msy not be known.
Meath ancy, too, is the role Icemen of the aged and impotent of the
mime claw, in emend, when children or relatives are unable to
support them. To it, therefore, crowds are dnven for the means of
existence, and the knowledge that ouch Li the fact leads to an indis-
criminate giving of alias, which encourages idleness, imposture, and
general crime.
That was a description given of the labouring climes of Ire-
lan I in times of comparative plenty, and it might be imagined
what their condition would be when on the brink of famine.
Su" had been the case during the present year, during the
visitation of a calamity which was perhaps almost without
parallel because it acted on the very bulge population
of nearly 8,000,000 of people who had gradually in-
creased to that amount. It was like a famine of the thirteenth
century acting on the population of the nineteenth. (Hear,
hear.) lie would then proceed to state the course which
was adopted during the taut year. When parliament met
pant year it was apprehended that there was about to he •
great scarcity of potatoes in Ireland, hut there having been
a plentiful crop in the previous year, the supply last year
was not very deficient, but parliament took means very
early in the session to supply food fur the destitute by giviug
employment on public works. Under this law presentments
were made, and upwards of 200,0001. were expended. The !
presentment to the 31st August was 1,372.0001.. and the ex-
penditure of 476,000/. was recommended to the Board of
Works, and what was actually expended at that time was
290,0001. Before the end of the sesiion, upon the recom- '
mendation of the present government, • further act wen'
passel by which the lord-lieutenant was enabled to
require the barony sessions to m die presentments for
public works, and, to check extravagant expenditure,
the whee of the money wile to be repaid. Soon after the
session closed so great a desire existed in Ireland to hold
presentment sessions, and presentments were made for so
great a number of public works, that it was necessary to
reinforce the Board of Works by the addition of two gentle.
men. Shindy after, the oountry gentlemen and proton
began to complain that the works were useless. He not,
however, attach any very great importance to that objection,
the object being to combine relief with • certain amount of
work ; the productive nature of the work seemed a question
of secondary importance. In this country, sometime ago,
when great diuresis existed, the poor-rates were increased
from four to five million. a year, and he did not think there
was any great amount of productive work. (Hear, hese.)
Nevertheless the lord-lieutenant, with the consent of the
cabinet, sanctioned • plan by which the sessions were allowed
to present for productive works; and that bad not been
adopted lone before a desire was expressed for a town-land
division. The general average of the whole town lands of
Ireland aid not exceed 350 acres, whilst some of
them were not above 100 acres ; and it appeared
to the lord-lieutenant that it could not be beneficially
adopted, as it would not admit of the proprietors and sem-
piers of the town lands bearing their fair share of the
burden. It was next proposed that such proprietors and oc-
cupiers should be obliged to employ a certain number of
destitute, no as to expend the whole of the MANtII3I, nt which
was made upon them. He did not know any thing that could
hr said on that subject more than bad been stated by Mr.
Smith O'Brien in a letter to the landed proprietsca of
Ireland

It will, however, have the effect of still further pauperizing the
labour of the country. To elucidate thin remit in the simplest
manner, let ea =mow that there arc 100 labourers Ina district
which belongs to two landlord*, whose income is equal, and one of
whom now employs SO independent workmen, whilst the other does
not employ • stogie labourer. It lent present nerverary to provide for
the maintenance of 50 unemployed labourers. Thew are now set to
work upon the roads, end the expense of their maintenance We
upon the two properties in equal proportions. If the proposed
Wan he adopted, the improving landholder will naturally de-
nte to exempt himaelf from talltklll, without emplaning [OM!
hands than be at prevent requires. Thin he could do by dbl.
missing all his present workmen. There Ironic, then be
100 morphia labourers In the district. An thew mast be
maintained at the expense of the two propertim, each pro
praetor would eventually be compelled. in self-defence, to
employ 30. The landholder who originally employed thin number
will thus creole taxation, without engaging more labour than he re-
quires ; but his labourers will mire to he Independent workmen,
chosen and paid by himself, and subject to hin own control. They
will he sent to him by the relief ecesunittee of the district ; they will
be placed under the •uperinlendkace of an expensive staff of stipend.
ampointed by the board of woks, and will be paid out of the
funds raised for the relief of the poor. A syetem not very direimfbar
to this was acted upon in Srsrreral parts of England previous in the
Poor-law Amendment Act of 11131, and was fouml to predator effect,
the mat demoralising !o.the labouring population —panalyaing a I the
' ' "

.... •
energy of independent latear and indisidnal enteriier, and in many
respects operating Met unjustly upon particular clams of property.
He conceived these observations to be perfectly justified.
The experience of England was that which he described it
to be; the labourers sent by the parish upon a farm were
not like the men whom the farmer employed himself at his
own choice; they were idle and improvident, and any
farmer would rather give 10s. a week to a labourer of his
own choice than 6s. a week to one of the useless men sent to
him by the parish. He thought, therefore, the pl.oss pro-
po•ed so order to remedy the evil of having so many persons
engaged in unproductive labour were full of danger; and they
should have done a pernicious thing if they had confounded
inch pendent labour with poor relief, and by way of making
that relief more efficient, had permanently injured the great
and important eine to w hieh those labourers belonged. (Hear,
hear.) The land-owners and proprietors who were in favour
of this alteration, found great practical difficulty in putting
into effect the instructions of the Lord-Lieutenant. When
they came to an electoral district, and found two persons
ready to adopt the system of reproductive works, three or
four utterly refused to become responsible, or to have any
money advanced by the government for that purpose. They
found, therefore, that their operations, when so encum-
bered, were useless. This did not, however, though a
serious difficulty, diminish their exertions; but their
operations, though very great and extensive, had not
led to such a complete sub2tiette for the system of
establishing public works as was generally expected. As the
I plan went on, the number of the destitute persons increased,
and with them the difficulties of providing emp'oyment for
such a number also increased. In the present CAMP, as the
business of the Board of Works went on. the officers found
that they had great difficulty is obtaining trustworthy and
efficient persons to act under them. The labourers Man
frequently unwilling to undertake the tasks allotted to them.
More than one person who endeavoured to teach them to
labour was maltreated, and some were in danger of their
lives. At length, this difficulty pressed itself upon those en-
gaged to such an extent that the belief prevailed that it was
impossible lot any public board fully to discharge its duties,
and to carry out the works. The number on the establish-
ment had been gradually increasing. The total number of
persons employed as officials under the board was, at
the present moment, 11,587; of presentment., 28.5; and
the amount sanctioned up to this date was 2.410.2161
The number of labourers had increased from 30,135 in
September last, to 440,687 in December. In the last
week's account they were stated at more than 480,000 ;
and, at the prevent tame, he did not doubt but that the num-
ber amounted to half a million. It was reckoned that five
persons gained a subsistence for every person employed. Hs
could not say that statement was correct; but taking it at
four persons, there would he upwards of two millions of
people supported by this plan. The expense at the same
time must be enormous, and from an estimate drawn up it
lararal thati,e tecoenxiseine6.in the, Itifettnedk 168,0001.,Detmb.:rd wthase
fourth 164,0001. So far as they 'were acquainted with the past
3 weeks of January, theexpense of the first week was 157,0001. ;
on the 9th January it was 1.56,0001. ; and, on the 16th,
172,0001. ; making an amount of 556,001. for the month of
December, and 48.5,0001. for the first three weeks ofJanairy,
and it was estimated that the Whole expense of this month
would be between 700,0001. and 800,0001. It was impossible
that this expenditure could have taken plume without great
concomitant evils attending it. There must be great evils
under any circumstances, hut there had been peculiar evils
attending it, arising out of the present state of Ireland. One
of them was the difficulty of procuring efficient labour from
the persons employed. When the works were com-
menced it was reported to the government that the
labourers were seen idling on the road, and doing no work.
These reports led the Irish government to the determination
that task-work ought to be introduced. Considi cable diffi-
culties, however, were experienced in effecting that object.
Much resistance was made to the introduction of the system,
but the Lord-Lieutenant remained firm upon the point, and
task-work was substituted for idleness. Many evils sprung
up out of this system, for those men who became accus-
tomed to task-work, earned considerably more wages than
any mosey wages that had ever been paid by the farmers.
Many of them earned from Is. 4d. to Is. dd. and Is. 10d.
per day. The result was, there was a strong com-
petition to obtain employment upon the public works,
and farmers found a difficulty in procuring labour
to till their land. This evil, however, was produced by the
conduct of the farmers themselves, for many of them who
held twenty, thirty, fifty, and even sixty acres of land.
obtained tickets from the relief committees, and removed
their sons and labourers from their usual occupation of tillage
to place them upon the public works, and they received the
money which ought to have been received by the really des-
titute. He would now read part of a letter from Colonel
Jones, who was at the head of that department, to Mr. Tee-
velyan, dated the 19th of January last "We are premed by
our officers for instructions as to how they are to act; those
which they have received to regulate their conduct are no
longer applicable in the altered state of things. They are
besieged for relief, and if they refused it, they were held
up as the stumbling-blocks in its way. In my opinion it