The Sun.
London, England, 1849-05-15 00:00:00

the sen iments expressed by the Hon. and Learned
Solid tor-General that what was wanted for Ireland we,
er
scions 0 neuclet maaonsa, a,,,, not
leaat imagine that emigration alone would be servicenna
in all parts cf Ireland, or that in any part of Ireland
it could produce alone the results that they all desire?.
The last time this question was brought forward was in
February 1847, by the Honourable Member for Gates•
head, and in June of the stone year by the Nob:e Lord
the Member for Falkirk, and it must have struck all who
listened to the remarkable speeches made on those two
occasions, that all the'prophecies then made had been since
literally fulfilled. Every statement made with regard
to the results that were to be apprehended if the eug-
gestiods then thrown out were not attendsd to had been
more then verified, and he thought that was a very good
reason why Gavernment should take the subject into
their early consideration.—(tiries of " Hear, hear.")
as possible, and tt erefore he should touch but
He was anxious to occupy the time of the House
laisttblerioenii);he existing social state of Ireland with which
unfortunately they had been made too well acquainted
by the repeated debates which had taken place in the
wereilouse on the subject, and the statements which
to be found in the newspapers and
the blue books. By this time every gentleman
in the House must by this time be well acquainted with
the fact that no country in the world had ever been
worse than Ireland was at the present moment. The ex-
isting state of things in Ireland was unparalleled in the
history of nations. Never had a country suffered so
much as Ireland had
.done during the last few years.
Any gentleman who referred to the Poor-law Returns
would find that while in England the sustenance of a
pauper for the year cost something like 41.; the suste-
nance of one in Ireland did not cost so much as 1/.;
and notwithstanding the difference, the rates were so
high in Ireland that persons could not pay them, and
there was every prospect ce the state of the country be-
coming gradually worse. A most remarkable statement
had been made with regard to the west and south of Ire-
land, by a distinguished foreigner who was well known
to Members of that House, and whose knowledge was
only exceeded by his philanthropy. He said, he had seen
in his perambulations round the world humanity in most
of the latitudes and longitudes, including. the aborigines
in
nndN
gr
gt r
America,
but nowhere had be seen misery of such
a
the South Sea Island,' New Zealand,
Australasia,a d character as in the western unions
a
of Ireland.
--e (Hr. Monsen) freely admitted
aggravated
a te
that emigration would do no good at all in some districts
of Ireland, for the people were reduced to such a etato
of misery that they would not make good emigrants,
and therefore it would be idle to attempt emie'tatia n
in their ease. Bat, on the other 1 a td, ho believed
that in as many as thirty unions in which distress was
cot so acute as in the eight or nine unions of vatics they
had heard so much, emigration might be beneficially re-
sorted to, and he moreover believed that it would rescue
them from becoming as bad as other parts of Ireland.
He was perfectly certain if they did not comply with the
petition of the Limerick Bard of Guardians, which he
had ailuded to, that in the County of Limerick the
same scenes of distress would be witnessed that had
occurred elsewhere. In the union of Ballena such
was the misery that some of the population had scarcely
a human appearance, and many c sme before tho As-
sistant Barrister to pray that he would transport them,
saying, that they would rather work in chains abroad
than be at liberty at home without enough to keep
them elive. Even the landed proprietors were ruined—
their goods were distrained upon, and they were
left infect without any resources fer their support.
How was it that the potato failure of 1847 found Ire-
land in the position it was? The population had been
for years excluded from all the privileges of subjects;
they had been reduced to the lowest possible state of
degradation—they were satisfied with the lowest
possible amount of human food ; there was
no other country in the world where the people were
contented with such a low amount of the means of sub-
sistence. The potato failure of 1847 found them in the
position of passengers on board a ship who had been
living on short allewance. Ile thought it must strike the
Ileum at once that their condition could be
only relieved either by some means for
in-
creasing largely the amount of the food in
the country, or else by removing the people to some
other country where they could precuro it. Compare
their condition with that of tho people in other coup.
tries. In the ten years from 1821 to 1851 the popula-
tion of Munster, for example, increased 15 per cent.
In England there were 53 persons to each arable acre;
in Ireland there were 60; but in Ireland three-fourths
of the population were wholly dependant on agriculture,
whereas in England only a fourth or a fifth were de-
pendent on agriculture.—(Hear, hear.) In France
there were only 39 persons to 100 arable acres ; whilst
in Ireland there were 60 persons to eachi arable acre ;
F
.and it should be recollected that there was n ranee a con-
siderable amount of manufactures whilst in Ireland there
was hardly any. Under those circumstances, was i
thet verywon-
derful that the unemployed people were eating round
o f
vitals of the country, and hanging like a millstone
the neck of every person who endeavoured to exert
it was
him-
self ? So long as that social state remained,
and
utterly impossible to introduce capital into Ireland;
he believed every remedy which they could introducewould be utterly ineffectual until they removed that great
and most tremendous evil. Tho only chance of getting
any portion of capital into Ireland was to make the so-
cial condition of Ireland such as would attract capital.
He did not believe that the grants they had made
had conferred all the good that was claimed
for them.—(Hear, hear.) Why, all the money :ex-
pended under the Land Improvement Bill, which was
an exceedingly good measure, did not employ 20,000
people, who would net be permanently benefitted.
by what was done in this respect for them. Had the
money been employed in emigration the country would
have been relieved, and the poor emigrants would them-
selves have been materially benefitted. The result was
not so bad as was stated, since successful emigrants al-
most invariably sect ever money to their friends at
House, thus forming as it were the funds for future emi-
gration. It was said that the emigration was excessive.
What was its nature?—(Cries of " Hear, hear.")
Those who had read recently the accounts of the
class of persons going to New Yeti( must perceive
that they consisted of the middle class, the very
persons who employed the labouring class; therefore an
irreparable injury was inflicted upon upon the country.
The Hon. Gentleman read statements from Enspectors
in various parts of Ireland in support of the accuracy of
this statement, and to show that many corn merchants
bad become bankrupt because the farmers to whom they
had lent money had sold off their stock and made for the
new world.—(Hear.) He denied that assisting emi-
gration would prevent, as heretofore, voluntary erni-
gration.—(Hear, heat) The class he sought to benefit
were just those who could not help themselves. It was
said that the natural resources of Ireland were
so great that they might support treble the
present population.—(llear, hear.) He did not
think that question bore upon the profitable employment
of those who could not obtain it at home. Undoubtedly
the resources of Ireland were great, but what was their
value if the means of developing them were wanting ?
The other day the Under Secretary of State seemed to
intimate that the Irish were bad emigrants. Now the
evidence adduced before the Emigration Commission
tended to show that the Irish were adapted for works of
great strength, that they were excellent workers
when they had it to do, and that they did not seek
assistance when they could obtain labour. He
thought it, therefore, most injudicious and un
just to cast aspersions upon people who were
willing to e give a fair day's wage" when-
ever or wherever they couid get it. (Hear.)
There was not the least doubt that tare United States
were ready to receive and avail themselves cf any
amount of labour which could be sent out from Ire-
land. Mr. Mackay, in his sable work upon the Wes-
tern World, said that if half a million of Euro-
we re to go to America, and
were well distributed, peen emigrants
that
they
would find a ready
demand
for their labour in the States. In fact that
country was in a position to absorb almost any amount
of labour.
H° presumed, from the information which
had just been received from Canada, that there was little
chance of the colosy being in a position this year
onent to very large numbers of emigrants,
to give employ
but there could be no doubt that massy great public
works might be undertaken in Canada, which would
give employment to thousonds, and which,
upon their completion, would pay an ample per
centage. There was the Quebec and Halifax
Railway, and also the extension of the Erie Canal, b
which he thought ought to be undertaken by the Gc-
vernment. If Caned I were annexed to the United States
such a great national work as the Erie Canal would be
commenced in less than five years, because it would
afford a channel of transit for the productions
of that vast and encrmsus tract of country.
to turn to another colony—that of Southern Africa. It
was divided into two parts; and one part, containing as
much fertile lard as Scotland, producing in great
abundance Indian corn and excellent cotton.
1,700,000 bales of cotton had been grown iu
Southern Africa in one year, and in what a
condition would this country be by the failure of that ar •
tide in any one year ? Ono haif of our exports in
cotton-goods came from Southern Africa ' • and every
Hen. Member, especially the Hoe. Members for the
West Riding of Yorkshire and Lane a:hire, would see the
importance ofcultivating that article in Southern Africa
And now he came to consider the means which, it oc-
curred to him, might be adopted to promote emigration
from Ireland. Ile should take the liberty of sugeestirg
two means. In the first place, ho would suggest
that greater powers and facilities showed be con-
ferred upon the guardians for inning money
to promote emigration. Power ought to be conferred
upon the boards of guardians to raise the money upon
the security of the rates, the money. to be repaid in
periods of five, six, and seven years.—(Hear, hear.)
That was one measure. The other was to con-
fer a similar power on the landowners of
Ireland, who would be glad to borrow money upon the
security of their lands to enable their unproductive
tenant to emigrate.—(llcar, hear.) The mot-11y to be
advanced in this way might be raised by Government
on Irish Consols. The loan would be for the bent fit of
Ireland, and, of course, Ireland ought to be responsible
for its repayment.—(Hear, hear.) Without some such
measure as that, there was no hope for capital being
attracted ; and he should leave it in the hands of
Government and the Route, trusting that they
would loose no time in adopting Lis suggestions,
and put an end to the plague that at present
that now paralysed the energies of the Irish people.—
(Einar, hear.) Repeated had been the proposals for
promoting emigration from Ireland, and itwas to be re-
gretted that some of them had not been adopted before
this.—(lltar,) Ile hoped no one dreamt of the coudition
of Ireland would ultimately be reformed ley
famine and death, since such a feeling and such a
policy was fur more cruel than the prhet.ce of Chinese

Who sacrificed their cliildren to keep down the pop:-
lation.—(Efear, hear.) Without trouLling the House
any further, he would conclude with moving an