New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1844-05-22
Ireland.

odicals of the day. Nearly all the Quarterly
Reviews have entered with earnestnesson the dis
cussion of topics regarding the Social well being
of the great mass of the People; and this dis
cussen is no longer confined TO writers on the
liberal or popular side, so called; on the contrary
the two leading Tory Magazines of Great Britain
-Blackwood and the Dublin University-are
engaged for the current month in this discussion re-
yardinc Ircland--hc former with great earnestncss
and ability; the latter less directly, but IN sur
vey of the ground preliminary to decided acton
We have been interested in the perusal OF these
articles. and shall attempt to impart some por-
ton of the light they have given US. The poPn-
lar side of this question is far more widely Known
than that here exhibited and it is instructive to
note the aspec: in which Social evils and Their
remedies arc regarded By the partlsans OF AIRS
tocracy, of which Blackwood is the most thorough
if not the ablest champion.
There is OF course attempt TO deny the ex-
istencc and unprecedented extent of destitutlon
and misery in Ireland. Any such attempt would
be utterly absurd But the writer argues, and
not without plausibility, that the causes OF this
restitution and abectncss are to be sought not
in the opprcssions of Government, the impOstons
of the Church Establishment, nor the rapacty Of
Landlords. so much as in the constitutional idle
ness, extravaganza and improvidence of the
peasantry, who he urges, waste their time IN
Political agitation, in frolicking at fairs and
dances, when they ought to be at work Their
winters, according TO his story, with no lnconsld-
cradle portion of the milder season, are mainly
spent in amusements; their lands are in conse
quencc impcriectly manured and cultivated and
often the holder of a petty tenancy of three to
five acres is walking about in ostensible search OF
employment, and complaining that he can get no
work, when one-fourth of his little leasehold, for
which hc pays rent, is lying uncutivated, or 50
badly managed as to produce but partial crop.
The labor actually performed is badly applied AND
ineffective. Three days work in Ireland arc cs-
timatcd by liberal authority as hardly more pro-
ductivc than one in England. though AN lrishman
is fully equal TO an Engshlnan when working
under the same direction and after the same
manner The Irish tenant obstinately adhercs
to old, clumsy and injurious practices in spite of
the most conclusive demonstration that the new
modes are more efficient and productive. He
refuses to make Improvements where his own
interest clearly counsels them, and is rather dis
posed to resent impertinence than to follow any
suggestions from his landlord. He has little
patience with hints for more scientific culture
of his little holding-the advantages of rotation,
green crops turnips, &c. The result Of all is
that he lives in abject poverty, badly fed, worse
clad, and but slightly removed from beggary or
famine, when with Il better system of culture,
steady, persistent industry and good manage
1nent, he might live comfortably, dress rcputably,
and be every year improving his circumstances.
Such are some OF the positions of tho writer in
Blackwood, which we are not disposed to coniro-
vert There is doubtless good degree Of truth
IN them. Let us rejoice that passion for Intoxi.
eating Liquors is no longer enumerated among
the prevalent vices OF the Irish People, even by
the champions Of Church and State. Yet the
writer is not altogether fair in his array Of facts.
To show that the Irish People arc not oppressed
by patrician exaction, he states that the entire
rental of the Island is but about S60000,000on
$685. Cos acres, or a little over So per acre,
while the average rental of England is considera-
bly higher Now the flaw in this calculation con-
sists in its comparison of the rent per acre in
money in the two kingdoms-whcreas, Eng land
being studded all over with manufacturing estab
lishments and large importer while Ireland Is
an exporter of Agricultural products, the num-
Der of shilings rent per acre in the two countries
respectively furnishes no reliable criterion. Pro.
badly, the average money value of Agricultural
produce taking the general range of fruits, grains,
meats, vegetables, is one third lower In Ireland
than i'll England, SO that the same quality of land
which would be dear N 20s an acre in Ireland
would be cheap at 25s. in England. Besides
this, the landlord is required to keep buildings,
&c. in repair in England which he is not in Ire
land. The Church Rates, Poor Rates, &c. are
indeed set forth by Blackwood as much higher in
England than in Ireland but it is not considered
that the English farmer is generally supporting
the church in which he worships, while his Irish
rival, after paying his Tithes, is still to contribute
towards the support of the church of his fathers.
The best point made by the writer in this con.
ncxion consists in his showing that the most
sterile lands of Ireland 0hc Northern Countess
are let at comparatively the highest rent; Tyrone
for instance, paying higher average than Glare
and Wexford, wherein t,co acres arc worth on
the average three Of the former. And i, is q
striking fact tina; IN that portion of the IslanC
where the rents are highest, if this writer's Stats
ticsare reliable. the rent is most promptly paid anc
the people are better housed clad and fed than IL
the remaining Counties. 1t is needless to ado
tina, the more thriving district has by far tn,
better system OF Culture The writer observes
Nothing, we think, can prove more conclusiv-ly
atiheir mistortunes and their wretcheneSs canno
with justice be attributed 10 the misconduct of thei
landlords but rather To their own than the vudiS
pnfed fact h0t IN those districts IN ukicR The peo
pie are eorst off the iand is set at e iotcest rent
and that tehere the greatest quantity OF eoste ane
Is "nrecI@'nsd and ,ehere that under cnitirdtion Il
roorss managed and least attended to, there iHrdri