The daily national Whig. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1847-1849, 1849-04-23

and secondly, this commission, is it to be
voluntary or compulsory If voluntary, it
is self-evident that the parties who cling to
the land, whether the starving potato-grow-
| ing cottier or the impoverished embarrassed
landlord, will set at nought any Crown com
mission. In fact, the Crown has not the
power, by our constitution, to do anything
more than inquire, and even this right was
successfully resisted when assumed by the
Municipal Corporation Commission and il
it were proposed to give parliamentary
sanction to such commission, we ask Sir
Robert Peel whether the Parliament, which
with the greatest difficulty passed the Encum-
bered Estates Act, would consent to "seize,"
as Mr.. Bright acutely said, the land which
is embraced under the denomination Of the
distressed districts. But we will suppose,
that which we deem next to impossible, that
Parliament conferred despotc powers, and
that It was determined to govern Ireland,
and arbitrarily dispose Of her lands by the
most summary process. What is to be done
with the people II is the surplus starving
population in many districts which so redu-
ces the value of the land, superadded to the
membranes Of the mortgages, whose equi-
table rights must be respected in some de-
gree, that, even at free gift, capitalists
would not become saddled with the proprie-
torship. We are afraid that Mr. Bright is
but too correct when'he says that the pro-
ject Of commission in its present form is
impractcable How can a parliamentary
title exclude the entails on the land 7 No
doubt great deal may be done by simpli-
flying the processes Of the Court of Chance
~ (; butswe do not see how the private rights
Of real owners are TO be set aside Mr..
Bright again thinks that there has been emf
grafton enough, and that labor is actually
wanted to till the soil in many parts Of the
country. AT any rate, if it were known
that Government was ready to take the cost
of emigration upon themselves, the funds
which are now transmitted from America to
aid the voluntary emigration going on would
be at once stopped, and the imperial exche-
quer would be drained Of the last farthing to
aid the emigration Of those whose labor in
many districts is so absolutely needed to till
the soil. Sir Robert Peel's plan also re-
quires an immense outlay of public money !;
and will Irishmen ever be induced to work
industriously in cultivating the land under the
supervisionof the master, who will have his
value Of labor for his money, whilst Govern
ment officials will furnish him with the means
Of subsistence with the least possible bodily
effort. 1t IS well stated that Ireland requires
three things -repose from angry differences
and divisions; capital and labor; and, third
| ", private individual exeition Our own
opinion is that the greatest OF these is "pri-
vate individual exertion." Legislation may
give security but unless the people Of Ire
land are stimulated by some means 10 freH
themselves, we shall almost despair Of their
regeneration in our time Sir Robert Peel
says properly that he breads the success Of
the potato sowing during the present season
lest it should again lull all parties into tenn
poral but fatal security in 1851. All clas-
ses, however, cling to the potato as their on
I y salvation, and the precariousness arising
| out Of this infatuation is but too dangerous.
In the debates "the rat Elm add was almost
lost sight Of in the consideration Of more
important points. A very important step
| has been taken by the Lords committee,
who have rejected the principle Of the ''rate
in aid'' in series Of resolutions. 1t is clear
that Ministers do not care much in what way
the money is raised; and, as we before said,
| If an income-tax in Ireland is preferred, the
Government would not object. But we feel
quite sure that the people in the towns Of
Ireland would. The expense alone Of coll
lecting an income tax would exceed the whole
"rate in aid'' throughout all Ireland, andthe
Irish must be taught that the imperial exche-
quer cannot be further resorted to. The
amendment to throw out the bill was rejected
on Tuesday by majority Of 1870 1873,
and the Government bill was read a second
time. 1t is not improbable that during the
recess some modification Of the views Of
Ministers may take place; but as it is appa-
rent to every one that thousands in Ireland
will not live to see an August sun unless re-
lief is afforded them, the whole contest is
confined to the question how the money is
to be raised They who now object to the
crate in aid" will find, we fear, much
greater grievance in an "inquistoral'' in
come-tax.
i French Anairs.
France with some exceptional distnrban-
ces in the distant provinces, continues tran
quill, and Louis Napoleon is proceeding in
IL Al ..,.a.t ,~,tt 81 ,n,,otat, h,s pnp,tion hv