Carroll free press. [volume] (Carrollton [Ohio]) 1834-1861, 1848-09-01
The Causes Of Irish Misery.

"a Methodist Preacher inthe "Christian Ad.
vocate and Journal" repeing the misapprehen.
sons of former correspondent Of tha, paper
gives the following synopsis of the wrongs and
woes against which Ireland is now contending:
/. The British Government has confscated
nearly every acre Of land on that beautiful ISL
and from the original native owners, and has be-
slowed them on lavorites, generally non.resi.
dent foreigners. Al one time, out of the co.
100000 acres Of which the island is composed,
there was confscation of l2634,7lt. AT an.
other time, 1,718,320. In this way the land
has been wrested from those whose ancestors
haG held and cultivated it before the period OF
authenticated history, and has been given in
large districts from 10000. 90, 900 acres, down
10 smaller portions, so that, according to the
London Times Of last month, there are in all
Ireland only about 5000 proprietors of the soil
in fee simple.
2. These proprietors, (rom caprice, taste, OF
misconceved ideas of interest, do not cultivate
more than twothirds of their vast domnions
for the cultivation of q small portion of them, in
most instances, will bring them in princely
revenue. The remainder must then be preser.
we'd for pleasure grounds, hunting, or pasturage
so that according TO q recent survey, there is al
this time 4,600,00O acres of good land that is
unimproved. Thus the earth, or the land phich
the Lord hath given 10 the children of men for
their use, and on which they were to subsst, by
the "present order Of things' is actually wrest:
ed from them at the point Of the bayonet, while
they to whom it was originally given are lef
to starve and die for the use Of it.
He takes my life who take the means by which live
Shakespeare never put forth more truthful say
ing. Who then are the desiroyers Of the hun
dreds Of thousands, in that lairest, richest isle o
the ocean, if il be not those who have originated
and who still continue, the "present order o
! things?" None dare say that there is an un
willingness on the part of the Irish aborer tt
work. The same London Times, as all know,
violent anti-lrish paper, says that laborers
from Ireland have inundated England; that there
are at this time in Worcestershire 10000 oil
them; and thar in Scotland and England there
ale at least one million of Irish laborers, nclu
ding their children. Would not these have
worked in their own country could they have
found employment!
8. As the system of tenantry can never de-
velop the wealth and resources of any country
so. of course it has notdone it in Ireland. The
cultivator will not make permanent improve
ments, when he knows that his rent will be rails
ed on him the next year on that very account
For this reason, even the land which is cutiva
ted yields far less than it would under another
system.
a. Again, the rent which goes to the propre
tors, their agents, and the mddemen, as they
are technically called, amounts 10 about $4,000,
600 per annum, $40, 100000 of which are sen
off annually to absentee landlords, never to re-
turn to benefit the country in any form. This
immense sum is an entire draught from the la
Dor of the country, and must inevitably depletC
any country almost to fainling.
5. Once more; the Church, as established
'by the present order of things" Out of ;
population of 100000, perhaps there is no
even 100000 who feel any interest in it, ant
scarcely any of this small portion belong to tht
producing class. Yet the labor Of the countr.
is obliged to support this Church in the enor
nous sum of about S35,O00,00O per nnnum.-
And according to an uncontradicted speech il
Parliament, the "Present order Of things forces