The Sun.
London, England, 1837-04-29 00:00:00

law, there were 567,000 who had no land : these persons were
to be swept away before they could come to the panacea to
prevent the competiton for land, and which could only affect
17,000 persons. I state these facts because they can be no
longer disputed. I wish to show the state of society in Ire-
land. There is -this overwhelming excess of agricultural la-
bourers in this miserable state—there is this inferiority of agri-
cultural produce—there is this attributable to the poverty of
the landlord and the tenant equally. Let it be recollected
(although I have not the document here to prove it) that it
has been calculated that the landlord receives 50s. in England
for every 20s. that the Irish landlord gets.—( Hear.) I have
now presented facts to you to show the situation of the pea-
santry, and to prove to you that they are in the most extra-
ordinary state of destitution. I have the evidence of this fact
from every county in Ireland. I begin with the—
COUNTY ANTRIM.--" Doctor Forsyth observing a poor
man's cabin blocked up on Sunday, he was induced to make
inquiry, and found that he had not risen from his bed during
the day, having nothing to cat."
" The Rev. Mr. Brennan states it would make your blood
run cold to bear the tales of woe and misery that are told me
in my confessional—the hardships of the poor are beyond
endurance, "-Ist Report, p. 401.
COUNTY WESTMEATH.—" Instances have been known of
persons having committed trifling offences for the purpose of
being sent to prison in order that they might obtain food and
shelter."-Ist Report, p. 408.
COUNTY CLARE.--," At all times of the year a large body
of able-bodied men are out of work, but in summer there is
the greatest scarcity of employment.. The poor are then re-
duced to the greatest extremity, and are obliged to put up
with just as much food as will keep Life and soul together.
Many is the man Who thinks himself w e.ll off at that time with
one meal a day."
" The following case gives an idea of ,the distress to which
these poor women are reduced, when the cluplera hospital was
established. Notwithstanding the dread wine h was entertained
of the disease, three poor widows feigned sickness to get ad-
mittance."-Ist Report.

COUNTY LONDONDERRY.—" The widows are frequently re-
duced, with their children, to six pounds of potatoes a day.
Spinning is the only employment to which they call have re-
course. "-Ist Report.
" The habits are as follow :—" Two or three families occupy
one room. We have found four families in a room ; in one
corner a woman, who had just been delivered, lying on a little
straw ; no other straw in thezoom."—lst Report.
COUNTY ANTRISI.—" Many cases of death arise from star-
vation."

COUNTY CORK.—" Dr. Fitzgibbon is disposed to attribute
much of the disease, which is at all times prevalent, to the use
of bad food, and to the miserable state of the poor as to bed-
ding and bed clothes. He has often found sick persons lying
with a little damp straw between them and the ground."-Ist
Report, p. 323.
" The huts that labouring people live in are often such that
they have scarcely a place to lie on on account of the rain."
" In point of clothing, the state of a great portion of the
labouring class is very wretched. The clothes, or rather rags,
of many labouring men are utterly insufficient to protect them
from the cold ; many have no blankets, but make use of the
clothes they wear during the day for the night covering."
The Hon. Member next referred to a return from the county
Carlow, showing the destitution of the small class of farmers,
and observed that it was intended by an Act of Parliament to
tax that class of persons, and make them pay poor-rates. He
next referred to the—

COUNTY MAYO.—" Numberless instances were known of
families, being unable to procure straw, cutting rushes for
beds ; still more, that for want of bed clothes they lie in the
clothes they wear by day. Independent of rain from the roof,
they cannot but be damp from their situation, as the most
valueless (that is, swampy) piece of land is always selected to
build them on, for fear of wasting any that might be profitable."
—lst Report, page 292.
" The Rev. Mr. Hughes mentions a case in which he was
called on, about three months ago, to administer the rites of
religion. The family had been attacked by the fever : he
found the father and four out of the five children sick, and
altogether on one bed of moist rotten straw: their only cover-
ing a single fold of what is called a poverty blanket, half wool
and half tow."-Ist Report, page 292.
" In the parish of Burrishoole, in a population 10,553, 3,931
were men and women destitute of necessary raiment; 9,553 of
the total population were lying at the best on straw; and of
those 7,070 were on the cabin floors."-Ist Report, p. 375.
" In the parish of Kilmore Erris (Mr. Lyons says), accord-
ing to a census which I made, there were 751 men who had

_
no shoes ; and out of a population of 9,000, 3,136 persons,
male and female, vvho within five years had not purchased any
article of clothing. According to the same census, of 1,648

families in the parish, 388 have two blankets each ; 1,011
have one blanket each ; and 299 have no blankets at all. You
may well be surprised at this ; it surprised myself, although
many years resident as parish rAiest."-Ist Report, p. 386.
Now look to the effect of a Poor-law in one parish of the
county of Mayo. the parish of Burrishoole :
" Statement showing the Acreable Extent, the Population,
distinguishing the number without employment, and
those unable to work, and the Rental and Tithes of the
Parish of Burrishoole, County of Mayo, deduced from
the Evidence in the First Report of Commission of Poor
Inquiry (Ireland), Session, 1835—(369) pages 375-6.
♦CREABLE EXTENT.
Number of acres of arable and pasture land ...
Number of acres of reclaimable mountain and pas-

16,000