The Sun.
London, England, 1846-04-29 00:00:00

Mr. P. BORTHWICK gave notice that on Thursday, the
20th instant, he would move an inquiry into the poor-laws of
England and Wales.

RECLAMATION OF WASTE LANDS,

-
POULETT SCROPE proceeded to draw the atten-
tion of the House to the reclamation of waste lands in Ireland.
At the beginning of the session several Bills were laid upon the
table of the House by the Right Hon. Gentleman. There was
a County Works Bill, a Grand Jury Presentments Bill, but he
looked in vain for a Reclamation of Waste Lands Bill.
The SPEAKER—Seeing the Right Hon. Gentleman the
Member for Limerick has returned to his seat, I beg to state
to him, that it is not usual, after a Member has been observed
to withdraw, to return until the debate has been concluded. 1
wish to inform him the debate has been adjourned.
Mr. S. O'BRIEN said, with the utmost deference to the
House, and to the Right Hon. Gentleman, he did not consider
that he would be fulfilling his duty in voluntarily absenting
himself from the House, as he had motions on the paper which
he considered would be of importance to the country. (The
Hon. Member then withdrew).
Mr. P. SCROPE then continued.—He thought the time
was come when it was no longer safe or prudent to leave the
reclamation of the waste lands to the spirit of improvement
which had been evinced by landlords. They had not exhibited
a feeling which would warrant Parliament in leaving the matter
any longer to them. In Leinster, Munster, and Connaught,
there were 2,000,000 of acres which might be improved, and
in Leinster there were 700,000. There was scarcely a county
in Ireland which had not a large quantity of land which might
be reclaimed. In Donegal there were 400,000 acres • in Mayo
800,000 acres. Of this quantity 170,000 acres might be im-
proved for cultivation, and 300,000 acres for pasture. In Roe-
common there were 120,000 acres, in Galway 400,000 acres.
In Tipperary 300,000 acres might be improved for cultivation,
and 60,000 acres for pasture. According to the state-
ment of a gentleman of considerable authority, there
were 200 square miles of land in Ireland which
might be reclaimed more or less profitably. The Hon. Mem-
ber then read copious extracts from the Landlord and Tenant
Commission and other reports, to show the immense quantity
of waste land in Ireland, and how successfully it might be re-
claimed.) The question, however, continued the Hon. Gen-
tleman, might be put, if such profits arise from the reclamation
of waste land,;why was not more of it reclaimed? There:were
many reasons. In the first place, the owners were principally
absentees; in the second place, it was oftentimes difficult to
obtain the co-operation of those whose property these waste
lands were ; in the third place, many of the proprietors had
only a life interest; and fourthly, there appeared to be an ex-
traordinary disinclination among the landed proprietors of Ire-
land to go on with such improvements.
Captain KENNEDY said that if anything was to be done,
Government should take the improvement of the land into
their own hands. He said that the landlords were careless of
reclaiming the waste lands. He (Mr. P. Scrope) thought
the time had arrived when the Government should take the
matter into their consideration. Why the tenants did not
reclaim the bogland in the vicinity of their farms was, that they
were not allowed any of the profits arising out of the improve-
ments. Without that incentive they could not be expected to
do so. It was stated on good authority that immediately after
improvements had been made, the rent of the land was raised,
thereby putting the whole profit into the pockets of the landed
proprietors. There were some cases in which some thousands
of acres would be taken by some railways; no doubt these might
be very advantageous lines to the public, but they would pass
through some very valuable properties, and take up some gar-
dens and pleasure grounds. In making this proposition, he begged
to say he had no object in view but employing the labouring
classes; therefore he would propose, that the capital about to
be devoted to the reclamation of the waste lands in Ireland
should be so applied as to grant farms of not less than one hun-
dred acres, and to let them either on lease or for a term of
years—not to leave the tenant the option of resigning or pur-
chasing the farm. The Waste Land Society had set a valuable
example for the House to follow. He had heard from a gen-
tleman connected with that society that they had placed in a
state of cultivation no less than 18,000 acres, and that with
every chance of their becoming a profitable investment. If he
wished to quote high authorities on this subject he could do
so, for he found, in the recommendation given by Lord Stanley
last year to the Governor of Van Diemen's Land, that a plan
very similar to the one he had advocated was proposed. A
similar plan was adopted in Holland and Belgium in their
oorer provinces, and though it did not succeed as a profitable
nvestment, vet it gave employment to many able-bodied men
who would osherwise be mere paupers.
Sir JAMES GRAHAM—AII those provinces are kept under
martial law. _ .

➢lr. P. SCROPE—Such a measure would certainly give
employment to vagrants, and would be certainly much better
than the mode of treating them in England ; and when the
Right Hon. Baronet proposed shutting up an honest and indus-
trious people from sunset to sunrise, he (the Right Hon.
Baronet) could hardly twit him with attempting to propose a
system which would encourage the operation and application of
martial law. Under the present lamentable state of things in
Ireland, it was only right that Parliament should step in with
some measure which would give employment to the population,
and these waste lands offered to a great extent a means of em-
ployment which would enrich the country instead of impoverish-
ing it. He called the attention of the House to these things, and
would ask for leave to bring in a Bill for the purpose he had
already stated. He held in his hand a work lately published,
from the pen of Mr. Thornton, a gentleman of acknowledged
literary talent. It was a work on over-population, and re-
commended such a plan as he (Mr. P. Scrope) had proposed.
He would not trouble the House with any extracts ; he would
merely state that the opinions of the writer were so strong on
the subject of the urgencey of the present condition of Ireland,
and on the necessity for adopting some such plan as the one he
had proposed, that he declared that the Irish would be justified
in calling for a repeal of the Union, if something was not done
to alleviate their sufferings. He quoted this to show that the
impression made on a cool and philosophic mind was, that it
was better a nation should go through the bitter ordeal of a
revolution, than that things should remain as they were at pre-
sent. The Hon. Gentleman concluded by asking leave to
introduce the Bill.
Mr. S. CRAWFORD rose to support the motion. He

thought that, by carrying oat the measure, great good would
be done to Ireland, by bringing wa-te lands into cultivation,
the improving of farms, and the advancement of agriculture.
The great object they should keep in view was, not to force
the people to leave the land, but to teach them how they could
best improve the soil on which they were placed. It was im-
portant that the State shonld interfere to prevent the system of
clearances going on ; and this could be done if it took into its
hands the cultivation of waste lands, and those who were obliged
to leave the estates of the present landlords, might be found
in employment. While the present system continued in
operation, they need not be surprised that assassi-
nations and other deplorable crimes prevailed.—( Hear. )
It was unreasonable that the land should remain uncultivated

while the people were unemployed. Legislation was necessary
to relieve the distresses of Ireland. It was necessary that the
state should assume the power of taking waste lands, in order
to alleviate some of the evils under which the Irish people were
now labouring. What the people of Ireland required was a
tenant right. It was that which had kept the people in his
neighbourhood in a state of peace ; a good understanding al-
ways existed between the landlord and the tenant. For these
reasons he should support the proposition of the Honourable
Member for Stroud.
Sir J. GRAHAM, who spoke in so low a tone of voice as to
be almost inaudible in the gallery, was understood to say that
he had lately bestowed considerable attention on this subject,
and he was aware that there were large tracts of land in Ire-
land which might be advantageously reclaimed for the benefit
of thepeople. There were some of the details of the Hon. Member
. . . . .

opposite With which he could not agree, and particularly with
two observations upon which he dwelt for some time. The
Hon. Member said they had done nothing to promote the em-
ployment of the poor in Ireland, while in no place had educa-
tion made so little progress as in Ireland. Now, in reply to
the latter observations, he could only state that in the last
report of the national board of education, they stated that there
were 400,000 children receiving instruction under the existing
system, which was considered by all parties and classes to be
exceedingly excellent. With respect to the first observation,
he could only refer to the efforts they had already made for
giving employment to the people of Ireland, and he had every
reason to believe that those efforts would prove successful.—
( Hear, hear.) With respect to the Bill itself, he should not
oppose its introduction, although he objected to some of its
details. He should give it his best intentions, and in its pro-
gress through the House, he hoped to make the Bill more
practicable and useful in its provisions.
Mr. ROCHE made a few observations on the present law
of landlord and tenant in Ireland, which were spoken in so low
a tone as to be inaudible in the gallery. He was understood to
support the Bill.
Mr. WY SE entreated the Government to give their atten-
tion to the establishment of model free schools in Ireland.
Mr. LEFROY said that the improvement of waste lands
in Ireland would be one of the most beneficial undertakings
that could be adopted. All the difficulties which attended
legislation upon this point could, he considered, be easily dis-
posed of. The Government could treat with landed proprietors
for their waste lands, and they could adopt such means as would
improve the land, and afterwards let them to the proprietors at
a certain rent, until the amount expended was fully paid up.
He did trust that in the future stages of the Bill, it would be
duly considered by the House. He trusted, that on occasions
like this, both sides would join for the purpose of supporting
such a measure.
Leave was then given to bring in the Bill.
RAILWAY BILLS.
Mr. HUDSON obtained leave to bring in a Bill for en-
abling or facilitating the winding up of the affairs of Joint-
Stock Companies for making Railways, which shall have been
formed subsequent to the commencement of the last session
of Parliament, and for which Acts of Incorporation shall not
be obtained during the present session.
Captain HARRIS moved for a return of the number of
ships, their tonnage and crews, belonging to the United King-
dom, employed in the timber trade with the North American
Colonies, cleared outwards and entered inwards in the years
1841, 1842, 1843, 1844, and 1845. Also a return of the num-
ber of ships specified above, their tonnage and crews, which
have been cleared outwards and entered inwards twice within
the year, in the years 1841, 1842, 1843, 1844, and 1845. Also
a return of the number of ships specified above, their tonnage
and crews, which have cleared outwards up to the date April
20, 1846.
Sir JAMES GRAHAM said the return could not be made
in the terms stated in the motion.
After some modification it was eventually agreed to.
Mr. WAWN, in the absence of Mr. Hume, moved that the
petition of ropemakers on the Clyde, for exempting their trade
from the operation of the Factories Act, presented on the 27th
of April, be printed.
The other orders of the day were then disposed of.
Mr. BANKES gave notice that he would, on the 7th of
May, move that the minutes of evidence on the Bridport elec-
tion be printed.
The House then adjourned at a Quarter to One.

LORD BROUGHAM'S NEW WoRK.—We are requested
to state that Mr. Colburn, of Great Marlborough-street, has
this day published the second volume of Lord Brougham's
" Lives of Men of Letters and Science, who flourished in the
reign of George III.," with original letters, royal Bvo., with
portraits, 21s. bound, which can now be had of all booksellers.
Also now ready, " Letters of the Kings of England," now
first collected from the originals in the Royal Archives and
from other authentic sources, private as well as public.
Edited with an historical introduction and notes, by J. 0.
Halliwell, Esq., F.R.S., &c., 2 vols., with illustrations, 21s.
bound.

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