Litchfield enquirer., 1847-03-11
:. WHOLE No. 1882.
Wealth and poverty Of IrIand.

ccssive, bloated, and unrighteous wealth
ofthe landed proprietors in Ireland, com,
pared with the squalled poverty and ex-
IRENE wretchedness to be seen in that
downtrodden land, will be read with cx.
treme interest al this time. II is extrac-
ted from an eloquent address in behalf of
his countrymen, by Rev. Mr.. Giles, re-
Gently delivered in the NY. Tabernacle.
The manor houses of the Irish gentry
are situated in the midst of extensive do
mains, surrounded by lofty walls, and
guarded by surly gate keepers. The
finest Of these places are often girded
by deserts of the most squalled misery,
The owners are in them only on rare oc.
casIons; and. then, it is revel in the
midst o. want. Suppose yourself guest
on one Of these occasions. Look around
you on the scene the princeIy park
without, and the ornamcnted nall within,
slope, woodland, garden, hill. dale and
river, glowing in the outward prospect;
the inward view, that of Il kingly resi-
dence furnished for every refined desire;
adorned with mirrors, statues, pictures,
replenished with whatever can delight
the fancy or feast the senses. Think,
then, of tenan, peasantry physically
more dcplorable than the serfs of Turkey;
and when you have thus thought, look
calmly on the assembly before you.-
Here, gathered at joyous night, is throng
of the noble and the fair; men of gallant
bearing and women of surprising beauty.
Lights stream over decorations which
almost transcend what eastern story has
feigncd of eastern magic-resplenden
eyes flash with more gladstone brightness
in each others lustre-musc floats upon
the pclfumed air, and grace rules the
mazes of the dance.
When you recolect the haggard couu-
try through which you passed to arrive
at such Il mansion-when you recollect
the novels which sickened you on the
way-thc sad faces that stared on you as
you went along, that constantly subducd
your reveries to grief-when you recol-
lcct the fever and the hunger that, as
you travelled by them, appealed to your
very soul, that all you see in this abode
of grandeur appears unnatural-it seems
a brilliant and yet an agonsng vision
an illusion by some evil genius, pow err
tul to delight-terrible to destroy. You
cannot reconcile it with your ordinary
associations, with your sentiments of
moral harmony-itisi nccngruous-are re-.
joicing in an hospital--a feast in fam.
inc ship--a dance in charnal house,
bridal in sepulchre-your heart be,
comes convulsed, your head giddy, your
imagination confused and sick; you look
upon social chaos that bewilders you,
and you turn from the whole with loath--
ing and disgust. Tue social system in
Ireland is disjointed and defective. The
grea, proprietors are absen:ees, and the
small ones are Impoverished Another
decisive evil in the social state Of Ireland
is the want of due graduation. Where
thore is not general equality, there ought
10 be successive ranks. But society in
Ireland exists only in extremes. The
two main divisions of it, are the owners
ofthe soil and its occupiers; and between
these there seems gulf which one can.
not pass to companion with the other
To fill up this wide interval. there is wan
led an active and enterprising middle
class. Except in the learned professions,
social eminence in Ireland belongs only
to the ownership ofland. Money in Ire
land has not accumulated with capital
Industry has not risen 10 ambition and
thence, while in England men rise from
labor to aristocracy, in Ireland men de,
scend from aristocracy TO labor. But
the most grevious need of Ireland is the
want OF variety in occupation.
Externally, Ireland is finely situated
for commerce. internally she is admi-
rably situated for manufactures. Com
merce and manufactures could not only
train the people to skill and independ.
cnce, but relieve the soil from pressure
Of an excessive population. The soil is
the only source of life, and out of this
come many evils. One of the worst is.
that of extreme competition. Every va
cant spot becomes an object of deadly
strife. II is generally given to that per-
son who offers the highest price, and
shouts The Ioudest promise. He soon
finds out in his despair, that he has un-
dertaken too much. The landlord has
spent no capital on it, the tenant has none
to spend; and OF the produce which is
torn from its savage nakedness, the bulk
goes TO the absent proprietor ard the es-
tablished church. The soil deteriorates.
The landlord gives the place to another
and the ruined tenant knows not where 10