The Statesman.
London, England, 1812-04-10 00:00:00

.STAT

STATE OF THE IRISH PEASANTRY.
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We present to our Readers the following Extract
from a work, entitled A View of t)te Lure of Land-
-01 Propert,y itt.lrelitsd, of the Relations of Land-
lords.aud Tenants, and of the condition of the latter,
by t'ounsellor O'Dedy, of Lin-
coln'sreeltlli publishedna:— , .
" Stierbwr or THE Poon.—l, have a strong aver.
stun to any mode of relieving the poor, that could
possibly ,eecourage idleness or relax industry; .but
when our fellow-beings are -really objects of corn.
passion and charity. then surely relief should be
given; and means be always found to perform what
I nature, justice, and civilization demand from us.—
Ponr's laws are. undoobteilly a heavy barthen in
litglat)d, and must be felt as such in all countries
that adopt them ; but this is a very light argument in
the scale, against absolute want -and undeniable
wrett lethiess. When necessity. calls for them we
~shoUld yield, and, as men and Christians, rejoice in
the discharge of an act so noble and conducive to
satisfaction here, as well as deserving of enutterable
reward hereafter. No motives of worldly prudence
can therefore absolve any people from this great duty
of distributing a portion of what Heaven has given
them, as trustees for the naked and hungry ; no
general-reasons of policy covering selfishuoss, can
resist the solicitat km of the truly indigent; and it is
most honourable for England, that she can be re-
ferred tois i model worthy of imitation in the ex-
• tilted u ork of lennahily. In Scotland alsolhere is
ample provision made fur the poor; by parochial its
sessments and amicable arrangements, without the
i etcpence or the neichiuery.of those laws which clog
i the English system. '
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" But j blush to ask the landlords of Ireland,
what provision have they matte for their fine pea-
santry ? When stretched on a wad of straw in his
, sooty cabin, a place of itself infectious, and worse
than an Englis pigstye, whence can -the peasant ie-
. ceive medicine ornnv kind of comfort ? Ifuman nature
shudders at a conditioh n hich overwhelms him with
despair 'and agonies, bereft of all the means supplied
even to hounds and 'horses. Is therea place, from
! one end of the kingdom to the other," set apart for
the sick or dying of this class ? Is it not a reproach
to civilization to' meet men, women, and children,
[when able to go omit, crawling on: the roads, to and
'from country physiciansl But of what avail is ad.i
vice, when they have not money to purchase medi-
eines ? At that season when they, are- periodically
I afflicted with "pleurisy" and "stitches in the side*"
1 from the badness of their food, and from the effeete
of being barefoooted in wihter as welt as summer, ir
there any provision made for their relief, or any
effort tried to recover these men of Ireland, and de-
fenders
of the liberty of England. When they sweep
' his eagles away from the common enemy, and pur-
chase with their blood the reward of valour conferred
*upon them by the bead of the Government, all rank
are emulous to be Irish, and to acknowledge the peat.
!wintry ; but when laid low, helpless, and suffering
I the most excruciating pains, brought on by hardships'
1 and eztreme poverty, then, a h ! curse on human
!baseness! they are- shamefully deserted. How
many of them are in this condition at the me.
ment . that lam writing ? And how many all •
lying extended on the hare. ground, breathing
their last in tortures, unpitied by. those who
could afford them succour! Nobles and gentry,'
transport yourselves to the house of mourning for
one minute, and cast a glance at. your departed
tenant; listen to the shrieks of his widow, and the
I piercing cries of the fatherless children ; look at the
I aged mother gisiug her trembling kneJs to hit head
for a pillow, unable to find vent; by tears or utter-
ance, for her sorrows. Go—witness this scene,
and have the manhood to acknowledge the real cause
of the discouteut of the people, and why their blond
has been shed by insurrections and rebellion •=thes
prostrate yourselves before the Creator of the VlA-
verse, and supplicate forgiveness with a sincere re-
solve
of future amendment. But what is to become
of his family ? • Who will clothe them when ttakA,
or feed them when hungry ? • Who will sheltet times 1
from the inclemency of the weather, or gibe them a
night's lodging ?---Alas ! Erin's unfortunate chil-
dren
have no home or refuge but the peasant's hat,
where they can repose their wearied limbs and re-
ceive sustenance : ' for, there,: says Young, ' the
stranger is always invited to partake of the poor
man's bowl of potatoes with a hearty welcome.' . •