Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1879-12-24
IRELAND,s SITUATION.
4 Correspondent Who Thinks Emigration
Good Ihih0-SOn.e Interesting ktatis-

IRELAND's; SITUATION.
4 Correspondent Who Thinks Emigration,
Good 1hiA0-S0me Interesting statis-
tics.
To the Editor of the Globe.
ST. Paul, Dec. 23.-I cannot sit quietly
by and hear and read of Ireland represented
as land of paupers and tyrant landlords,
for neither is fact. No doubt there is desti-
tuition there now, as ever has been the case
in any land in which it has pleased the AL
mighty in his infinite wisdom. to have the
crops fail, but what effects the poor reacts
with greater force on the rich. The land
lords are not without their privations, and
as it is to the landlords interest to lend O
helping hand to their tenants; as usual, those
of Ireland are not now behind. Only last
week l had sent me two numbers of Mr..
Days paper, tho Connaught Telegraph, and
in them saw paragraph after paragraph of
notices of landlords making ATTACHMENTS of
rs to 80 per cent, and in the same papers it
was reported that the government had taken
steps to commence on productive public
works. To those who have been so anxious to
remember every thing bad about the
English government, I would take the
liberty of reminding them of the
trihing grant England made the Irish people
in 1876 to 49, viz: only 97, 100000, equal to
$3,388,OOO, =. =.
Let me see what the statistics of Ireland
show. According to the government survey,
the island contains 20,815, 400 acres, of which
15,463,825 acres is arabic, 316, 597 wood
lands, 1929 town sites, 627, 464 under
water, and 4, 1857 1888 mountain, or bog land,
occupied as follows, by 10000 farms or
holdings OF one acre and under; 85,469
holdings of one acre and not exceeding five;
lS9,93l holdings of five acres and not ex-
ceeding fifteen acres; 14l, 251 holdings of
fifteen and not exceeding thirty acres, and
157, 1888 of thirty acres and upwards. This
shows that there are 45O,731 families who
occupy holdings under thirty acres, and 49,.
49O who occupy holdings under fifteen acres.
The valuation of the island is 1858, 539,
or $6,O59, 299, 72O; to purchase Gf such q
thing was POSSIBILITY from the present own
ers would cost $131, 1S4, 1894 400, for the
purpose of turning it over to the peasantry.
1t is perfectly we'll known to every Irishman
that the worst landlords in Irelrnd are
men who made money and came up from
the ranks of the people.
The truth is the population is too great,
the farms too small, the land fails to yield
the large crops of former years, and the pro-
duce of this country too cheap!y raised, and
transported to the markets eff the old world,
to leave profit for the tillers of 319,48O
farms OF fifteen acres and under sufficient
to support them aud their families. A Mr..
McCarty writes in your paper and finds
fault with emigration. God produced this
western hemisphere for the use Of the ex-
cessive population of the eastern. Bees
swarm and leave their parent hive, and so
must the Irish seek home in some distant
land. If Mr.. McCarty had witnessed the
distressing scenes of 1916 to AS that I did,
and saw landlords and their tenants 90 down
together too pauper's grave-he
would rejoice to see the Irish coming while
they had something left to this country,
where independence awaits every man that
let's whisky alone.
Let me return again to dry figures and see
what proportion of Ireland's population de-
serves the name of pauper. The population
in 1871 was 5.412,S77, of whom 57,873
were inmates of the poorlaw work house,
298, 713 in receipt of outdoor relief, costing
the taxpayer $500, s5l, OF which ESQ, 1922 was
for salaries Of doctors and employees.
MIR. Mccarthy fears that if nore Irish
come there will be no employment for them;
but surely it is not to be supposed that every
emigrant from Ireland would land in the
seaports of this country without means, or
want to remain in Eastern cities. But the
reverse is to be expected, as, thank God, the
days when the landlords could turn tenant
out of his farm without paying him compen-
sation {tenant right are past, and the law
now compels the landlord to pay the tenant
right or let the tenant sell to the best advan-
tage.
No doubt the customs of the past are un-
suited to the present times, but still too
many interests are involved to turn round
and revo|utionize things by taking from the
present owners-to give to them that owns
it not, and this is what the Irish Land League
propose to do. @@-.
About the money that is now about 10 be
subscribed. That money will meet the same
fate of the vast sums subscribed for Fenian-
ism and other Irish cases-never reach the
poor for whom intended. If the people of
this country are 80 anxious to relieve dis
tress why not send it to the good Roman
Catholic archbishop of Tuam, to be distri-
buted among the distressed; then would it do
good. A True FRIEND OF IRELAND. =
H01aY yYnnt N E2a HILL Ro.~oo.,..1yo g..