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sited. Mire him od in his Conclusion. Another
consideration, which. he sled, contributed to the
miserable situation of the Irish peasantry, to which

bite present unfottanate star of that country was so
greatly owing, was the extremely law price of labour.
!his, he observed, was, in many parts of Ireland,
not more than five..pence per day ; though the Tents
paid for land, were, upon the whole, as high, or
rather higher, than those paid in England ; and
one of the leading expedients which he
recommend to ameliorate the condition of th
poor in that countrv, would he, to raise the
prices ot labour.--iVith their present wages, it
was astonishing how they could protraet exist-
ence : to many parts of the provic.c.T ot Munster,
he understood these observations would particu-
larly apply. Another leading consideration, and
which greatly contributed to the present state of
Ireland, and the distressed condition of the poor,
was the system in general adopted by absentee
landlords, and which, in some points of view,
though they mostly lett their estates at lower rents
than others, in the first instance, operated as a
great grievance; what he principally adverted to
was, their praelice of letting their lands to what
tvcre called " middie-men," who usually let them

out a,Tails to the occupying tenant at exorbitant
rents. This system was equally injurious to the
head landlord, and the person who tilled the ground.
By absentees Le did not mean those Noble Lords
who attended their duty in that House, Lut great
landed proprietors, who rarely, if ever, visited Ire-
land; and he instanced some case: where, by the adop-
tion of a dderent plan, the occupier of the ground
Was considerably benefited in hia situation, and the
rents of the head landlord at the same time grertly
increased; and he also adverted to some proceed-
ings known to himself, which, he contended, evinced
the necessity, vita a reference to the amelioration
of the gate of Ireland, of some alterations in
that part of the system. All these consideratiens
combined, indeed, and the notorious internal situd-
tiin of Ireland called for it, shrived the neces-

city of tut is:qt:iry into the real state of that va-
luable and important part of the United Kingdom,
in order that Government and the Legislature may,
as far as praclicala* ascertain what steps were pro-
per and necessary to be taken for aniaioraiiiig the
condition of its iahabitants, and the of
that part of the empire. A great majorii yof the
people in that country were, he contended, ob-
viously dissatisfied with their present condition ;
and, 1w feared, that the Loge armed force, which
it was found necessary to maintain in Ireland,
was not so much for the purpose of repelling
invasion, as to suppress insurrection. With a view
to obviate every thing unfavourable that might be
apprehended, and to lay the ground work of the
ben tidal results to which he had alluded, he
would move their Lordship, " That an humble
Address be presented to His Majesty, praying that
be would be graciously pleased to appoint Com-
missioners to inquire into the present state of that
part of the United Kingdom called Ireland, and to
order that the said Commissioners do report the
state of each county ; and that the same be laid
before His Majesty and the two Houses of Parlia-
ment."

On the question being put :
The Earl of LIMERICK rose, and observe!,
that as an Irishman, he must decidedly oppose the
motion of the Noble Earl, as likely to produce great
mischiefs. Indeed, for a long time, he should not
have supposed the Noble &sit to *lave been speaking
et Ireland, till, by further attention, and the fre-
quent repetition of the word, be found the Noble
Earl meant to apply his observations to that part
of the United Kingdom. In the present instance,
he assured their Lordships he would intrude upon
their patience but a very short time ; and. first,
be would observe, that one of the leading prop.
Sickens of the No!sle Earl, as he understood its ap-
plication, would go to deprive the Protestant esta-
blished church of Ireland of its means of sup-
port : he allnded to the destruelion of tythes. Were
their Lordships prepared to accede to any propo-
sition that would tend to that?—With regard to
the Noble Earl's description of the state of Ireland ;
with resped to the condition of its peasantry, the
low prices of labour, he must have made his cal-
culations upon what was the state of those things
st great many years since. He had, from the con-
sideration, whether fortunate or unfortunate, he
could not say, of living a great many years in Ire-
land, much personal and local knowledge in these
tripods. He could sofar controvert his statements.
And, with respell to what may be mattes cf opi-
nion, his conclusions were form-a from authorities,
very different from those referred to by tne Noble
Earl. He knew full well, and was free to confess,
that the situation of Ireland, in many of the parts
adverted to, was by na means so favourable as that
of this country ; nor would :hey near a comparison ;
but for this he would contend, that Ireland had
been for many years back, and still continued in a
state of progressive improvement and amelioration,
and which there was every reason to expect would
increase every day : to adopt the measure recom-
mended by the Noble Earl; therefore, especially
when the situation of that country, menaced by in-
vasion, and the Empire at large, embarked in an
arduous and extensive warfare, etas considered,
would be impolitic and dangerous in the highest
degree. His Lordship thtn shortly adverted to the
general nature of tae Noble Lard's address to the
'louse, a great part of which applied to the ques-
tion of Canonic emancipation; a subjes which had
recemly, so fully, a.al so temperately been can-
vassed in that House, And solemnly decided upon by
their Lordships. On that part of the Noble Earl's
speech, he should not, there ire, over a single ob-
servation. He then adverted to a few of the Noble
Ear observations respeCting the absentee land-
1-ads, and particularly to a ciicumstance intro-
duced into that part of his speech, wnich, it seemed,
admitted a very different inference from that drawn
by the Noble Earl. Be apologised to their Lord-
ships fur this short occupation of their time ; for
Lis part he felt it decidedly his duty to oppose the
Motion.
The LORD CHANCELLOR was about to put
the question t when
The Duke of NORFOLK :ore, and begged leave
--...rsosevatioos on the aubjea. With re-
tons effeits, which the Noble
ske, seemed to apprehend, in
agreed to, he confessed no
present/ al themsel►es to his

to opera few obr,ervatia
I .oat to those miseitea
who had List spot
e4se the motion was
sea adprellenaions Pt