The Sun.
London, England, 1821-12-26 00:00:00

STATE OF IRELAND:-

The folloiving Letter from a very intelligent
Correspondent in Dublin' has been addressed to
a Friend in London :---

No doubt considerable anxiety prefails in
England in consequence of the disturbed state of
part of the Southern Districts of this Country:-
117, u are too well acquainted with its moral and
p constitution to be misled by the state-
ments of factious and interested alarmists. As,
however, the outrages which have diSexaced the
Country are somewhat more serious, both in their
character and continuance, than any that hair

.i.;occurred fora greaeietierti of time, and that were
not of a decidedly. religious or politic-al nature,
you are anxious,l know, to have my opinion con-
cerning the causes which have given rise to them,
particularly as I have had opportunities of local
information on the subject, which ought, at least,
to enable me to form a tolerably correct judg-
ment. In the first place, then, I hope you will
not consider it as pedantic if I make a'distinction
between the causes and the occasions of these dis-
turbances. The causes I would call whatsoever
influences have been operating for the last half
century to produce the demoralization.and bar-
barism of the peasantry-. The occasions, the
particular excitements which called that barba-
rism into active 'operation. The spark which
makes gunpowder explode is not the cause of the
explosion : it but furnishes the occasion and the
opportunity for the manifestation and development
of the inflammable. properties with which it had
been previously endued. In the first place, then,
let us consider what have been the causes
which have produCed that deterioration to the
morals of the lower orders of which we have had
such convincing and melancholy examples. It is
not enough to say that nothing has been done to
improve them ; that they have been left to a state
of nature. They have not been left to a state Of
nature. For while nothing has been done to lead
them right, every thing has been done to drive
them - wrong. I lately had an opportunity of
conversing with a gentleman of large property
and conside.•able influence in the county of Lime-
rick, but whom the disturbances drove out of it
to seek refuge here. He was bitterly deploring
the condition of the country; and exclaiming
loudly against the barbarism of the peasantry.
Nothing seemed to have -excited. his astonish-
ment and indignation more than that the old and
re§pectable families were not more exempt from
the system of outr'age which was pursued, than
upstarts and strangers. I here took occasion to
ask him how long his family were settled in the
county ; he told me upwards of sixty years. I
then asked him what during all that time the Gentry
had done for the improvement of the peasantry ?
I am aware, I said, that they have been induc-
trious and intelligent. They have fenced their
grounds, increased and improved their stock, and
made two blades of grass grow where but one
grew before. All this is very well, but what
have they done for the improvement,of the peasantry?
For unless it can be shewn that equal pains
have been taken for their improvement, you have
no more right' to wonder that they have re-
mained unimproved than you would have to
wonder that your land remained unproduc-
tive, if no labour had been expended upon
its cultivation. But is it in truth, I added,'
enough to say that the gentry in general have been
neglectful of the moral improvement of the lower
orders ? Have they shewn any solicitude about
their own ? 'What is their general mode of
living ? if they have formed no associations and
opened no schools to improve the minds of the
peasantry ; if they have done nothing to instruct
them by precept, have they been careful to in-
struct them by their examples ? Alas! is not the
contrary notorious ? I do not wish, I said, under
your present circumstances, to be severe even
upon the vices of your Gentry ; but I cannot
pretend to be at a loss for the causes of the de-
moralization of the lower orders. Man is an
imitative animal. The lower orders are particu-
larly prone to ape the vices of their superiors.—
If the Gentry are habitually and systematically
drunkards, and gamblers, and profane swearers,
and sabbath-breakers, and 'adulterers, it will go
very hard with the peasantry if they do not im-
prove upon their example. " I am far from de-
nying," says my friend, (who is really a man of
sense), 44 that a heavy responsibility devolves upon

the Gentry of every country, and that they are
in a great measure accountable for the improve-
ment of those placed by Providence in the scale
below them.. But you do not seem to consider
that in the present case there are difficulties which
do not exist elsewhere, (in England for instance.)
Here -the peasantry are divided by religion from
the Gentry. They profess the Roman Catholic
Religion, and have been until- lately under, the
influence of their priests. How then under such
circumstances can we expect that any -efforts
made by us for their moral improvement can be
availing." " You know,"i said, "' that where the
work of moral improvement has been 'seriously
and resolutely undertaken, even under the greatest
disadvantages, much positive-good has been the
resulL Look at the estate-of Lord De Vesey,
neaq, the Town of Abbey-leix, and see what that
resident and virtuous nobleman has been able to
do for his tenantry. Every observing traveller
is struck in, passing through the country with the
contrast which it presents to what they -had seen
before. I might also mention many parts of the
county 'Wicklow, in which similar benevolent
exertions have been attended With the most com-
plete success. In truth, I never knew the ex-
periment to fail after having been fully and fairly
tried and 'persevered in. 'Why, then, should it
not at least have been attempted.? With respect
to the existence of the Roman Catholic Religion,
it does no doubt oppose some difficulties to the
moral improvement of the people. But you
know very well that that superstitiOn is every day
losing'its influence, while the people are unhap-
pily-not adopting any better. Light is every day
breaking in upon their minds, which while it
leads them from error, is not sufficient to lead
them to truth. This then is precisely the exi-
gency, during which your exertions and your
examples are likely to be attended with the best
effects. You can at least suffer the fruits of
true religion to appear_ in your lives and conver-
sation. But if they see that you are profligates,
at the same time that they begin" to suspect their
Priests to be impostors, it is easy•to conjecture
the result. They will be driven from their faith
in all religion, and plunge, from the most de-
grading superstition, into the most reckless
and desperate infidelity." " Indeed," said my
candid friend, " there is no point ,of view in
which our unfortunate county appears more
contrasted with other counties than in the
absence of all active exertion to improve the
moral condition of the lower orders." " Ex-
cept," I replied, " in Elie presence of all possible
exertion to disimprove them. It is not enough to
3y that your gentry are not employed in for-
warding any plans for the education of the sons
of the peasantry. They are chiejty employed
in seducing their daughters. It is not enough to
say that they neither inculcate nor exemplify a
respect for the laws of the country. They con-
nive at,the violation of them, wherever their own
least gratification is concerned,' and they rigor-
ously and vindictively enforce their execution
when they only bear against the poor. I allude
to the notorious encauragement which is _given to
that bane of the country, illicit distillation, by
means of which a system has been encouraged,
which has contributed more to the growth of
crime than, perhaps, any single practice that could
be named." My friend here.' loOked with a de-
gree of astonishment at me, as if I were magnify-
ing what he had before considered as the most in-
nocent thing imaginable had somethingmonstrous.,
" Only," said I, " consider the thing for one mo-
ment. The process is carried on bY.niglit. The
parties meet, conscious of an unlawful purpose.
The conversation naturally takes a turn unfriend-
ly to those from N-v
hoth they• apprehend, any in-
terruption orAisturbance; The glass . circulates'
freely ; the bad passions' are excited and inflarn,
ed ; suspicions of danger give. rise to plans of
precaution,' which gradually ripen into projects
of resistance and revenge. Fraud and Murder
are thus familiarized to their minds. An±con-
vinced am I, that almost every systematic.act of
outrage which has been perpetrated in the coun-
try, has been quickened into existence in those
hot-beds of iniquity, which the criminaland pro-
fligate connivance of the. Qentry :has caused to
multiply to such an alarming extent. And these
are the men Who .are now lifting their hands
and eyes- to lleaven with:astonishment that this
peasantry are knot good' Christians,! Who are,
forsooth, expressing their-indignatiOn and" horror
at the degree in which they are insubordinate
and refraCtory ! As if they imagined that they
might-go on for ever encouraging them in every
thing wrong without: ever experiencing any per-
sonal inconvenience from it ; and that when you
did suffer under any apprehensions from the vio-
lence of those whoni you had succeeded in de-
bauching and converting into savages and barba-
rians, Government should instantly interfe.re for.
your protection, and ensure your safety by cut-.
Ling their throats. Most undoubtedly the out-
rages which now prevail must be put down ; and
strong.measures must be adopted against the de-
luded people concerned, in them. But tr'ily the
Gentry of the Country are those whom I least
pity. As. they have sown, so they should reap.
And as they have sown the wind, they are reap-
ing the whirlwind." This was the substance of a
conversation which I had with a Gentleman of
the County of Limerick, and who fully admitted
the truth' of the statements which I have detailed.
I shall just allude to one other feature in the po-
litical condition of this Country, a knowledge of
which, may throw a further light upon tint pre-
sent state of the. south. The degree in which
the Penal 'Code- has been repealed has ope-
rated upon the Roman Catholics in ti Manner
worse than radical reform. It ha. opened the

_elective franchise to myriads of beings in & state
of the most brutal ignorance, while it :'has shut
them aut;from all hope of aspiring after thoie
Unctions which mould operate as a spur to their
'improvement. They are driven like .so many
heads of cattle to the hustings ; and in hundreds
of instances induced to qualify themselves for
voting, by perjury. There are many other cir-
cumstances which I at present omit to tnentiou,
but 'which would be found to bear materially
upon the question. But, I ask, after. what I have
Stated, is it surprising that the peasantry of the
southern part of this country should be.. very
much degraded and brutalized ? Is it surprising
that when any occasion presents itself they should
exhibit the most decided proofs of
_barbarism ?
I protest I think the oritra;:z; '4vouid be surpris-
ing. And is this a state of things to be mended by
drinking " the glorious and immortal memory ?"
IS this a state of things t9.be radically cured by
hallooing an Orange Yeomanry upon the_people?
By crying havock, and letting slip the.. dogs of
war upon them? Fy, Fy ! The times ,of this
ignorance have passed by. A different system
must now be pursued. It is in vain that we en-
deavour to throw the water out of the vessel of
state, if we take no pains to staunch the .leak at
which it enters. The axe should be laid to the
root of the tree. The sources of crime must be
dried up before we can hope for its discontinu-
ance. May. God grant that those who have the
power and the influence may employ the talents
entrusted to them, for the purpose of restoring
the reign of religion and loyalty, and contributing
in theonly effectual way to the present and•.per-
manent tranquillity of the country. . S.

SMUGGLING.—The following occurrence took
place at Romney Warren, on Saturday night
last :-.7Messrs. DONNETT and HIGGINSON, Ad-
miralty Midshipmen, stationed at Little Stone
Watch-house, discovered a large tub-boat near
the shore, between nine and ten o'clock, and in-
stantly detached their petty-officer to summon
a reinforcement ; the boat, however, came in
almost immediately, and upon touching the beach
was boarded, by Mr. DONNETT in the hOw.—
Mr. H. waded in the water and attempted to cut
her hawser with his cutlass, in which he.failed
and Mr. D.'s pistol missing fire, he; was thrown
overboard by the smugglers, and instantly fired
upon by them : at the same, time My. H-tootNses
was struck by an oar, or butt end of a musket,
and immediately two vollies were fired upon
them from the .full of the beach; the boat
immediately hauled.
~off, . and . Mr. Doyr-Nrrt.
being wounded and in the water,. and declaring
his inability to swim, Mr. 11. immediately waded
and swam to his assistance,.when_ the. blockade
parties arriving in considerable strength, had
merely to witness the escape of the smugglers,
whose object was completely frustrated, and the
retreat of the. dastardly smugglers who had fired
from behind the beach, not one of whom could
be seen. Mr. HtootsisoN succeeded in assisting
his companion, Mr. DONNETT, to the shore, who
has received three balls in the left thigh,
but is likely to do' well. Mr..!!. is slightly
wounded, but both these officers_ have several
shots through .their hats and clothes : on ibis oc-
casion the object of the naval-blockade•ha4 been
decidedly carried into effect, by preventing, the
cargo from being landed.-7- (Kentish Gazette,
Dec. 25.)
The people of Perth. have it in contemplation
to form Joint Stock Societies to obtain *butcher's
meat at lower rates than they have.at present. A
person from the neighbourhood of Edinburgh,
having learnt that the price of butcher's..meat
was high in Perth, went there last week with
two fat cattle, which he slaughtered, and
sold at lid. a lb. under the market price,
_and
declared that he had made more profit, after pay-
ing all expenses, than he would have done had he
sold the. beef in Edinburgh. When the new
farthings first came to town, a grocer in: the
High-street, Perth, took one of them to a neigh-
lour, a merchant, requesting siliver for it. The
farthing was taken for a sovereign, and the hoax_
was not discovered until the grocer went in next
day to return the silver.
7'he Yorkshire Gazette contains the following
paragraph
" PERPETUAL MOTION.—The piece of mechanism con-
sists of only one small horizontal wheel, not exceeding 3,4ths
of an inch in diameter, through the centre of winch, on
the pane of the wheel, passes a iinall magnetic bar pro-
jecting about three-fourths of an inch beyond the circum-
ference of the wheel on the one side, and about three-
eighths of an inch on the other side. These projections are
called the North and South Poles. The akit of the whee
is, of course, perpendicular. Its operative power is mac-
' netism ; its motion (probably owins to the friction inseparable
from' the long-continued action oz the axis in its Sockets) is
somewhat irregular ; but on the whole, it is nenriosity highly
deserving.attention. Owing ma sudden shock, its motion was
stopped entirely the other day, but we have learnt that it has
been restored. About two years ago it was stopped b,,SoMe
unknown cause, but after a 'short pause recovered its tilOtkon of
itself,-without any additional impulse, and continued its revolu-
dons without intermission. In a room at Mr. Swan's, in Cop-
pergate, Which was excessively warm and crowded wirh com-
pany, its action ceased altogether; after first becoming irregulkr
and sickly.— Qy. Might not this simple fact- lead to some im-
portant issue on the question of the variation of the compass ?
This we only know, that the in'agnetie inflikrice was deadened
by eitftszive heat, and resuscitated by a more Moderate atmos-
phere."
A Correspondent, in The neighbourhood" cif
Stowe, Gloucestershire,, on Sainrday. last, while
entertaining some youni; people with a s'ght Of
the heavenly bodies, through a telescope by
BCGE, of gz inches diameter, discovered a comet
within the sphere „of J upiterss, third nacon, _and
in a south-east ditection crow that 040. Tf. its
appearance shoulafhav,e escaped !totice,,the men-
tion of .the above in a-,newspaper May interest
those ,who are more competent to describe:.
situation, course,' kC.--N ,It was also ..yrsible
on Sunday.