The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1852-12-04
The state of ireiand--paIniui details and
horrid Irueitics OF the Election system.

SIR: The crowd uf English travellers havirr
left Ireland am anxious to direct the attention
of your readers to district in the county of
Mayo, through which have Just been travelling
1t Is Interesting because at this moment il Is in
Il state oi transition. aud IN few months In.
process through which it is now passing mi,It
easily be forgotten, aud nothing observed but the
result.
The transition now ia progress j. from the cot.
tier state OF society, ia which the land was thics
/ ly peopled, and held bY tenants ia yerv small
holdings at very high rents, to the grazing sys.
tenn, in which it i, occupied merely bv Il very few
herds and careiakels, and held either bv the
landlord himself, or by one or two great capitals,
! tenants.
more important difference to the country a,
large, or to the district concerned. cannnt sa.ay
he magincd for the change n from being stocked
with men, women and children, TO being stocked
with sheep aud cattle.
| BY what means is the efectedi BY very sim
pie once. The whole population of district
many miles in exent are simply turned out into
the roads to SO where they please and live or die
as they can. OF course there are among them
old people hardly able To get along many sick
persons many little children, many women in an
advanced state Of pregnancy--Out they all go to.
gether. There seems to be in the eecing land
question, what becomes Of these people But
confess my weakness. have not yet attained
this Indifference. inquired anxiou,ly where the
people were gone who few uonths sgo in
hsbied one Of these districts lately thckly peo
pied and now a sheep walk, was told by gen
tl.nan an agent, who stootly defended upon the
plea Of necessity the proceedings in question;
that some Of them (wbo had some little property
were gone to America; that many Of them were
in the Union Warehouses; that some were in the
lower part. of the great towns Of England, Scot
land and Ireland; but tthat his opinion the greater
part of them were dead.
The circumstances which have led to the change
cf system | need not detail. few years ago
men. women and children were the most pro be
stock which landlord in this country could en-
courage upon his property; they lived upon tie
worst and least quantity Of food, and paid rents
which considering the quality Of the land and the
total absence of any expenditure on the part OF
the landlord either ia fencing draining, or the
erection of teupn-nlsl would in any country be
considered oxorhitaut When however, the po.
ta,o failed, the human animal ceased To be n
profitable ren. paving stock and as the Poor
Laws had been imposed nsarlv at the same lims
IL becomes AN expensive one Here we have in
one word thu rationale Of the charge.
= ! confess, as | sGid brfuie 10 the weakness ri
thinking that there is another view Of the case
: not unimpnrtant, to b. ,1kcn-that every cottage
= was not merely machine fr ra-rng rent, but Il
human hahllHilou, the dwelling uflying, rational
immortal herg,-ln one word. lone. can
uo help susprctns hat il ia. history Of any on,
Of the elected families, # their days Of haypnss,
{ for happiness it W.. To them. though it was bu
+ in n cabin and upon paioes--"f ther hopes snc
I fears in the year of the famine of their noble
nature in lhc'r care fnr each other their aifac
tons aud their Sympl,hias their suilerngs b. th,
: - 49, tis'.''.sa4 ihrv llet from some the neg
i'ct ~ indifference OF nihrlsIi his had r-,
Z diaSn by the skiul and vigorous hand Nhicl
/ has given Us the history Of Uucl. Toms Cabin
= the woes and wrongs Of the IRISH peasant woul,
d have produced a aslmpathy As deep aud AZ ~id
g that ehlch has been deserysdly lavished upo
p those American slave.
Is Al lrat, If any cotton planter Of Louisiana ha,
accumulated slaves upon his estate rs long a
y their labor was prnhi,hie, and then when 10,
some change IN the markets Ot the world y. fvuu,
J. men b-coming burden instead Of q revenue.
: he had relieved hIusr't 10y sweeping them all init
d the grave, can well imagine tie righteous ndc
r nation with whch Iii CT me would have been de
D. nuunCed by Eugilshmen Ui everN class. | am sur
" the deGnce oi u would have cen ab.ndun.,
even by hl> brother slave holders vet must con
y ir-,, that # had 10 draw distinction betwec,
- the cotton planter and the noble ard lnpro,inl
lrlsh Landlord, ,honid find " dfirplt ~ men io
" ANY which was not III Nor Of The American.
Let none e 1oar readers fancy that nave -r
aggsratrj L., bin tra'rLas | have just done
- from Newport IN Mayo through Wetport'ar,
y Ca-tlch-r towards Galway, aud hp will sre ih
: process III all It's stages.
VI A he ncars Wr>,purt he will see he frs
II stage There. for several miles tvs most noh
L..
,. clearing away the whole population A few ar
q already removed. In other case. their iurntur,
: i standing outside the cota age door. and II.
. whole f,uily Ar" evidently on the point OF puug
II ing homeless into the world. Meanwhile. npv
u aud well built wall l. rising between the road M,
' III, land, which is I'LL the HON. Of many laipl'
t. happy fml,rs. 1t is sad to see that this yer
n wall not vet completed tor there ARE tr.achf
" IN mauy places through which the tenants hav
= to remove their all) l. built sl the materials
I demolished homes The cb-.rvsnt eye " i'll .e
n stones, still stained with SCOT, which once forIae
d the chimney ~ many II cottage.
10 Beyond Westp0rt the wall ia complete, an
5 The people are gone. The most noble Marquis,
conceive, will see and hear ne moro of them, i
this world, at least. The remains Of the cottsg
are here quite inclosed within the encirclln
ID wall. This district was cleared few months ng
- "a the traveller goes on lie euSers the terfltOr
H. Of Sir Roger Palmer, and then that Of Right Hor
'c the Earl Of Lucan. Here things are more ad
T. vancad. A great part Of the land is already i
III large grass fess, fed by sheep; fine crops q
IL turnips are in Others ana in some YOU may se
IL the young grass among the fresh stubbs. A
will very soon bear the appearance VI distriC
u which man ha. never peopled
~ ! cannot exactly state the extent Of the d'triC
70 operated upon. 1t begins three or four mile
!, irom Wesport, and extends (hough not wthou
u some considerable intervals Of land belonging I
y other proprietors) almost To the town Of Ballii
e. robe, distance o' perhaps twenty-five miles. O
~ both sides of the road stretches ~ Tar 10 Il!
'r eve can reach. ! was informed. aud believe Ia
=, though cannot state It Of my own knowledge
III that the Earl of Luean alone has lately laid dow
Ie on grass about 10000 acTss - densely nhabite
VI land.
What the Travellers meditationS may be. ca.
, not say. For my own part, could not help r,
~ frc,ing whether there is any English coan,y
III which landlord who should have swept ava
the portion ~ u whole district could reside wit
Ia personal safety / firmly believe there Is none
and believe the safety Of the nobls lanilor,
g who have performed and are performing this f.i
may b. traced ummel atrly 20 the influence of,l
'n Catholic religion aud ut the Catholic prie,lhuc
'i ihi, Is .tni 'lrut 10 sCcuun; Tor the Ihenymcn'
and know Of no other cause that is--f
NJ Cahn'rs know that evil is the only thing viii,
il l. not more blessed to give than tn receive.
IT, Neither could prevent my mind from CO
~ Iinmlly running on the next meeting Of the
mon .,tnpn unl rlillrpn Ipr sIr tuka