The Sun.
London, England, 1845-11-21 00:00:00

q,
\g' brielli Lk-
n t ;AM

LONDON, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1845.

The wretched condition of from three millions to four mil-
lions of men, women, and children in Ireland, so disgraceful
to a Christian community, has often been described by casual
visitors to that country, or by professed book-makers; it has,
f course, made an impression on readers for a time, and ex-
cited wonder that so many human beings should exist under
the most eivilised Government of the world, and in a country
overflowing with wealth, and furnishing employment to
countless labourers by the most gigantic and daring schemes.
In England, but a few miles distant, labour finds a sufficient
demand, trade is in the most flourishing condition, the poor ge-
nerally can obtain work and bread enough to stop the cravings
of their children, and even the very farm labourer, amidst his
extreme poverty, is comfortably lodged, and can eke out his
existence with docent endurance on an income of 10s. a week.
The condition of the lower classes in Scotland, with the ex-
ception, perhaps, of some remote districts in the Highlands,
is still more favourable. Recourse is rarely and reluctantly
had to parish relief; almost every one of the poorest class has
a decent suit, in which he can attend churches and fairs
without feeling shame in the presence of others in better
circumstances. But in Ireland there is only one uni-
versal scene of misery; families half starved, the father and
the mother half naked, and the children in many instances
with only a tatter to cover their nakedness, but utterly use-
ess eitker for protecting them from cold, or providing the
warmth necessary for their comfort and very existence. The
whole family, huddled together with the pig, or the cow, or
some domestic animal which their scanty means can
purchase, they appear to every observer but themselves in
the lowest stage of misery, and far inferior in condition to
the merest savages. But what renders the evil more in-
tolerable, there is no prospect whatever of improvement.
Government can do little, and those who are bound in a
moral and religious point of view to mitigate such a
horrible state of suffering, the landlords and priests,
appear to do still less. We hear of the starved
cotter driven from his wretched abode by the middleman or
his employer, or all his little stock seized for payment of
rent ; and we hear a great deal more about the piety of the
people, their reverence for their priests, and the sincere devo-
tion they display when in the most ungenial weather they
kneel before the crucifix, or at the observances of religious
rites in front of their district chapels, too small for the super-
abundant population ; but we rarely or never hear of these
parties laying their heads together to improve the moral and
physical condition of the people, to teach them agriculture or
economy, or any arts by which civilised man is distinguished
from the barbarian. Latterly another awful symptom
of their degradation has manifested itself in many districts.
The wretched beings, as if weary of life, have resorted to as-
sassination—the assassination of the very men who should be
their natural protectors. The crime is on the increase, and
how it is to be put down no human being can tell. Mr.
O'CoNNELL seems to look to the constabulary force for pro-
tection, and blames the Government, who have such power-
ful means in their hands, for not punishing the assassins
But in such a case it is well known that the most powerful
Government cannot do much without the aid of the more
respectable residents. These criminals appear to be bound
together by secret oaths, or, at all events, by a spirit of clan-
ship, which prevents every trace of proof; even the more
honourable among them, who are shocked at such atrocities,
and might be inclined to give evidence, are deterred by a
sense of self-preservation, for they reckon with certainty, and
they have but too good reason, that they would meet the
fate of the victim whose death they were anxious to avenge.
For this deplorable state of society we can see no hope of re-
medy at all so likely to effect a change as more activity and
watchfulness on the part of the Catholic clergy. The arm of
the law is utterly powerless; the fear of priestly indignation
and punishment never was more prevalent among any people,
and the least thing the clergy can do is to make an experi-
ment and use their religious power in the cause of humanity and
good order, and for the sake of the people themselves. We
it. firmly convinced that thewill is not wanting on the part ,