Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, IA [i.e. Ind.]) 1839-1854, 1849-06-27

The Condition Of Ireland.

" U EBleuOS III ITcldHOs well kHOWh hs
ne active agents Of the benevolent public. !
n distributing contributions to the poor of
Telsnd. have published an account Of their |
in a recent circular address.
They originally appealed to their religious
brethren in Great Britain and Ireland in
,ehalf Of the suffering Irish. The re-
'ponse 10 the appeal extending to the U.
States Of America and other countries, and
brought forth an amount Of aid unparal-
eled in benevolent exertions. Con,ribu-
lions were made exceeding one million OF
dollars. Of which the L. States furnished
more than one half. The amount con-
tributed enabled the committee to grant
aid in more than eleven thousand cases Of
distress. The committee say:
"They made grants in aid Of local mannfac-
lures, supported industrial schools, advanced
money for the assistance Of fisheries, for the en-
courage ment Of green crops, and also undertook
the temporary cultivation Of about 800 acres Of
land. The total sum expended by themselves
and others 10 estimated at million and half of
pounds sterling, while the advances by Govern
msnt amounted to nearly ten millions of pound $
sterling. A large amount Of relief was afforded
and many persons were preserved, for a time at
least. from starvation.
Yet they announce The melancholy truth
that .'with few exceptloEs. no perfnanen.
good had been DONE" The condition o.
the country is not improved. "her pros
poets are even worse, because her people
have less hope" Many of those hereto
fore actively engaged in relieving the dis
tresses Of their neighhors. have fallen VIC
tins to exertiOns Of mind and body be-
yond their ability-others have Withdrawn
from the benevolent work in despair
others have been forced to discontinue
their efforts by the pressure Of private
business and pecunary difficulties Thus
voluntary exertions have almost ceased.
and paid agents have become necessary
to afford the pittance Of legal relief. The
address continues:
'Ths calamity fell first on the lowest class.
especially the lnboring population Of the south
and west. In losing their crop Of potatoes they
lost oil, and sunk at into he Pless and hope
less pauperism. The small farmers still pre-
served hope. With great exertions, and sub
uniting in many cases TO extreme prIvations,
they again cropped their ground. A second fail
ure Of the potatoes pauperlzed these also. Then
came the increased poor rates, heaviest IN those
districts which were least able to bear them
weighing down many who without this last bur
den might have stood their ground; alarming all
by the unaccustomed pressure o! an underlined
taxation: and greatly reducing the small amount
Of capital applicable to the employment Of la
Dor. Tho landed proprietor. in order to provide
for the payment Of rates, has been obliged TO
leave much useful work undone, thus SEEMING
tho number Of Lahore RS employed. In many
his chief effort has been to diminish the pop
uIation by frightful system Of wholesale evIc-
ton, and thus get rid Of u tenantry who, under
happier circumstance q, w ould have been a source
Of wealth, but whom his inability to employ,
after the failure Of the potatoe. had converted
into a heavy burden. Despair of succeeding at
homo has driven and is still driving vast numbers
At tnS frinn nf ho
transfer their energy and a considerable amount
Of capital to other countries, which offer free
scope for exertion.
1.-THE paupers are merely kept alive, either by
the crowded warehouses, or, in alarming num-
bers, Dope nding on outdoor relief But their
health is not maintained. Their phi steal strength
is weakened; their mental capacity - lowered;
their moral character is degraded. They are
hopeless themselves. and they offer no hope to
the country, except in the prospect, so abhorrent
70 humanity and christian feeling, Of their grad
usI extinction by death. Many families are now
suaering extreme distress, who, three years
since, enjoyed the comforts and rehnements OF
life and ADM ujste red to tho necessities Of those
around thsm Thus we have seen the food Of
pauperism widening more and more, engnihng
ono class after another, rising higher and
higher in its effects on society, until It threat
ems in some Of the worse districts, to swallow
Nd oil ranks and all classes within its fatal vortex
"Nieanwhile, there is much land lying waste
which was formerly cultivated while the strength
Of the country is standing by idle. anxousIy ask
ing for work, and willing to accept the lowest
cause tho owners Of the ground have not the
money to pay them, and the dread Of underlined
Ia xatOn and uncertainty as TO the future, pre-
rent others from taking tho land on lease
Appalling as is this picture, there is
abundant reason to fear, that it falls short
Of the truth rather than exceeds it
Worse than that, ''the distress moves on
ward day by day." and unless it shall
soon be checked. ..threatens to involve
both England and Ireland in one com
mon CALAMITY" In reference TO the rem
edy for this terrible state Of things, .'the
committee hold this emphatic language:
1--WE have long felt that the chief round of
hope-the main source Of Improvements the
cultivation Of the soil. and that the SUI
rest means Of etfectng this object is by afording
Decurity 10 the euitirator That this security does
not &c ne rally exist in Ireland is admitted. On
his point there is scarcely II second opinion !
among thinking men in this country. The laws
which regulate the title to and the conveyance.
Of land require to be changed, SO as to give the
utmost freedom to its sale and hansfer-so as TO
pass those estates whose proprietors are ire
lrievably ruined into other hands, and to enable
hose who are partially incumbered to free them
'elves from their difficulties. by disposng of part
pf their landed property. Until this be effected /
until the soil Of ireland be held by . clear and
marketable tite-untl the owners be enabled to !
nell the whole any part Of their property with
put tho ruinous delays and the heavy costs which
Row prevent them; until the creditors of a land |
owner have those facilities TOR enforcing pay
usnt Of their debts by the sale Of his property
10 which justice entities them--we are convin-
led, and We feel ourselves bound thus publicly
% state our decided conviction. that il is in vain
% hope that ireland can raise herself from
tate Of poverty and degradation. The potatoe
nay grow again, and by its assistance our coun-
Sy may be enabled to escape from the mmed-
IL pressure Of its dfficuties but, without tn ose
hangcs in the laws relating to the tenure and
conveyance Of land which shall open free
cops for tho employment Of its capital and its
ndussry. aud give ample security to the cult,
ators Of the soil. cannot hope for general
md permanent improvement.
"An enormous expe nditurs Of money has fail
d to relieve Us. II could not do 50 unless free
cope were opened to the energies Of the coun-
~. The partial remedies which have been ap-
lied have served but to Tighten the net which
ramme!s the exertions of the great mass of our