The Sun.
London, England, 1848-07-29 00:00:00

threw a light upon the spirit in which the union
was carried into effect. The agreement under wlrch
the union was carried was broken, and one of its princi-
pal conditions altogether refused; nor was it until twenty-
nine years after the passing of that Act of Union that
the condition to which he had alluded had been ac-
quiesced in. It was welt understood as part of the agree-
ment that the Act of Union was to he accompanied by a
measure relieving the Catholics from the disabilities
under which they had laboured for years. and particu-
larly from the reign of Queen Anne. Yet, instead of
agreeing to that condition, coercive laws were passed—
martial law was passed—the Habeas Corpus Act was
suspended, and it was not until twenty-nine years subse-
quent to the passing of the union that one of its principal
conditions was ngreed to. They all were well acquainted
with the consequences which had followed from the un-
just enactments which were passed with respect to Ire-
land, and particularly the laws passed in Queen Anne's
reign, which inflicted such intolerable disabilities on the
Catholics,'. the effects of which those Acts were the
causes were still in (pt-ration, and thoy were painfully•
exhibited in the condition of Ireland. The tithe question
wzs another subject with regard to which the people
.of Ireland had the strongest reason to complain,
and from wlych they still suffered; and although tie
NoblisLord on a former tiocasion broutYht forward an
address in opposition to it, and although a measure was
brought in fur the commutation of tithes, yet the people of
Iraltind paid them row just as much as they did before.
That was the ease, although the Noble Lord at the head of
the Government had on a former occasion moved an ed-

dress to the effect that the surplus revenues of the Church
in Ireland ought to be applied to the improvement of the
moral and intellectual education f all classes, regardless
of their religious opinions. What did the House think
was the amount of the annual tithes at present paid to
the clergy of the Established Church in. Ireland? It was
378,0001. per annum, whilst the revenue of the Church
lands was 201.000/., thus making in all a sum of half a
million which was extracted from a suffering and dis-
tressed population. And what purpose was this sum ex-
tracted for? Why to support the religion of less than one-
twelfth of the people. The Presbyterian clergy were paid
by the State, and the Catholics had to pay their own
clergy, thus they paid in a double sense, although
there were such large revenues attached to the Pro-
testant Church in Ireland, a Church of one-twelfth of
the people. The only measure which had the colour of
being advantageous to Ireland was the poor-law, and
that was one which showed the greatest want of know-
ledge on the part of those who framed it of the consti •
tution of Ireland. It was not practicable, in fact, for it
provided that relief should be supplied only to those
who went inside the workhouse—a thing quite imprac-
ticable in Ireland; and when the time of famine and
distress came, there was the greater difficulty in apply•
ing the remedy from the imperfection of the original
Act. Why•had they not employed the people of Ireland
on reproductive labour when they had such an amount of
waste land in that country? The employment of the
people was wholly disregarded, and then they talked of
the condition of the country. What had been done for the
improvement of the condition of the people in Ireland?
The Landlord and Tenant Bill had been brought in this
session and would be abandoned, a matter which he
did not much regret, for it was not at all calculated to
effect the object which it proposed. Why was the tenant.
right not recognised ? A landlord-and-tenant Commis-
sion was issued in 1843 under the administration of the
Right Hon. Member for Tamworth, and a great deal of
information on that important subject, the relations be-
tween landlord and tenant in Ireland, was obtained.
But what had it produced ? what had been done with
respect to the tenant-right ? Nothing ; and yet it was
a subject with respect to which the Orangemen of Ulster
felt a great interest. They had met and passed a reso-
lution to the effect that the Bill brought in by the Right
Hon. Baronet opposite (Sir W. Somerville) was a gross
robbery and injustice to the people of the north, by de-
stroyiug tenant-right, and handing over all power to
the landlords. Just measures had been too long re-
fused or delayed by that House, and thus all
the evils of Ireland had been produced. Why were
not means adopted to effect the reclamation of the waste
lands ? The people were allowed to starve whilst
five millions of acres of improvable land were left uncul-
tivated in Ireland.—(Hear, hear.). There were two
modes of improving the condition of the people in Ire-
land—either to employ them in reclaiming the waste
lauds, or to afford them the means of emigrating; but
so long as there were waste lands to reclaim, he did not
see the policy of expending money on emigration. A Bill
had been introduced into that. House of the greatest im-
portance, as affecting the interests of Ireland—a Bill for
enabling landlords under entail to execute improvements,
and to charge the inheritance with them. He, in con-
junction with the Hon. Member for Limerick, had taken
charge of that Bill. But her Majesty's Government did
not approve of the machinery in that Bill, although they
did approve of the principle. Ho was, therefore,
hopeless of any good result from it, as he could not
introduce any other system of machinery than
that which he had proposed. The measure was
one which could only succeed when introduced and
pressed on by the Government. Another important
measure which it would be necessary to introduce, was
one by which some charge should be placed upon absen-
tee proprietors, the chat ge to be applied to the relief of
the poor, and to be based upon the principle of poor-law
taxation. It was absolutely necessary that some well-
considered plan of public works should be taken up by
the State. In this country such a system was not re-
quired, but it wus very different in Ireland. There it
was es=,entially necessary for the interest of the State
that e,reat public works should be undertaken under the
sanction and authority of the Government. He alluded
particulaily to the laying down of gnat trunk lines of
railway—one from. Dublin to some western port, which
would form a means of carriage for transatlantic mer-
chandize, would be of vast advantage. When he looked
at the progress of those measures introduced for the
alleviation of Ireland, •he found no less reason to
complain. When he referred to her Majesty's
Speech from the throne, in which she recommended
the House to devise measures for the' social
improvement of Ireland, which would, at the some
time, show a due regard for the rights of property,
what had been done in accordance with that recommen-
dation? The House pledged itself to carry it out. And
how has that pledge been fulfilled? The first coercion
Act was brought in; it was called a Bill for the Pro-
tection of Life and Property in Ireland; it was passed
under the pledge that ameliorative measures would
speedily be proposed. Upon the faith of that promise,
the Liberal party agreed with great unanimity to the
Bill. In accordance with the promise given, some Bills
were brought, in, but only one of them, the Incumbered
Estates Bill, made any progress. Then followed the
Bill for the Better Security of the Crown. Ho would
not advert to the last Coercion Act, which was carried
with unprecedented speed; and now they had reason
Ito believe that no measure of amelioration would be
carried through that session. As to the Incumbered
Estates Bill, it was good in principle, but very little
benefit could be derived from it, as it was impos-
sible that large quantities of land would, under
present circumstances, be brought into the market.
The only Bill which could have been of any value
was the Landlord and Tenant Bill. The Landlord
and Tenant Bill, as it now stood, had been deprived of
all the clauses which were of any value. A Landlord
and Tenant Bill which would give satisfaction should be
one which would enable the tenant without trouble to ob-
tain all the benefit of the labour and capital which he
had expended, and to sell his interest in the land. A
Bill of that nature would give encouragement for im-
provement, such as was never yet given in any former
time. In his district, where that principle was main-
tained, it had the most beneficial results. The rate of
land according to the population was one acre and a half
a head, and the farms generally rated at eleven acres
and a half. The question of tenant-right was very dear
to the people, and it went far to make that of the
repeal of the union as one of secondary importance.
There was another Bill brought in, that for the
relief of the evicted poor. It was meant to
protect the people from the consequences of evie-
tem. It had passed the other House. It was then
suspended for nearly ten months ; it came downhe
to this House, and certain amendments having .en
made in it which would have the effect of annihilating
considere .
stehnetgboaocdhparhodpoasteododtfoorbdeisdceursisvieodn fromthat
night,i , th e. Bhidl 1
dwthase
feelings of the Irish, P
(Hear.) What must be the
after
probability was that it might never be
reo
passed, and when
they reelected
g of hun-
ectsonhsaidderheedenwith what'
le
savuisn-ended for
cwoheercciotnhcAy
dreds of thousands of lives, had
that a Bill, which had for its object
assape from the
a law. He could not forbe.airiqu,ter quoting
eanps g
peaking of the
speech of the Noble Lord 8
ten months, before the House determined sto pass it into
of: Cr'
that this system
However ignorant
was the p
state of Ireland, we have here
may be of the
many of us
au be procured, the evidence of
otefm,p‘tiactti
jocini to the commairses
nota
the best evidence that c
country—ofmagis-
tratespersons
years, of farmers, of those who have
for many
h Crown—and all tell you that the
been employed by
isthe
that which makes th difference
best acquainted with that
possession of
.lan
peasantry, and
that therefore ejections out of their holdings are the
of violence and crime in Ireland. In fact, it is no
between existing and starving amongst the d
cause
other than the cause which the great master of human
nature describes when he makes a tempter suggest it as
a reason to violate the law
Famine is in thy cheeks,
Need and oppression starveth in thine eyes,
Upon thy back hangs ragged misery.
The world is not thy friend, nor the world's law;
The world affords no law to make thee rich:
Then be not poor, but break it.'
eo
abreak o
tt the law,
bjtig which
rich,he b
u oconsidersthe meansdeprives t himo b.
Such is the incentive which is given to the poor Irish
peasantf
otuf liinegmat subsistence." Notwithstanding this, the Noble
bstpeeeeened coercion
Lord was not prepared to remove that temptation and
that incitement to insurrection which this state of things
produced. He was not pre pared to lay the foundation
of a better order of things, which would withdraw the
people from the influence of those who excited them to
treason, The Noble Lord referred to the danger of
causing the people of Ireland to believe that they passed
measures of coercion because there were other measures
more relating to England, and for the benefit of Eng-
, land, under consideration. " Look (says the Noble
Lord), what an argument you give to the repealers.
They will say, • You miserable peasants, shut up from
sunset to sunrise, obliged to keep within your miserable
hovels ; if' you are found looking for a stray cow, or visit-
ing an acquaintance who lives a few yards from you, you
are liable to trairsportaiion ; but it is not for the security
of the lives of the people among whom you live, but it is
because English measures were passing through Parlia-
ment at the same time ; and it is for the sake of those
measures that these restrictions are inflicted upon e ou.
Now, tell us, eye or no, is the Parliament pt England or
Scotland a tit legislature for Ireland ? Weil you not seek
for a domestic legislature—will von not use your utmost
1 endeavours to obtain repeal?' Why, .t answer would
there be to such an appeal but a unaninat ,us shout, a ta►s.