The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1880-11-02
THE CONDITION OF IRELAND.

In closing a series of letters on the condi-
ton OF Ireland, M. de Molinarl, of the Journ-
al DIES Debats, says " Ireland undoubtedly
suffers. She labors under one of the worst
forms of poverty-agrarian pauperism. OF
the $4,000 occupiers who,till her soil, there
are about 100000, representing 100000 in
dividuals-a fifth of her population-who
have scarcely the means of living IN good
years. and whose miserable balance sheet is
made up Of a deficit. when a bad year comes
upon them, this million of poor people find
themselves on the verge of starvation. The
Door rate and the public works loans are in
sufficient to support them. As Mr.. Davitt,
the apostle Of the lane league, said the
meeting at Chicago, Ireland is then oh. iged
to hold out her wooden BOWL to the givers of
charity all over the world. But the social
malady # which l speak is not peculier to
Ireland, though it is there exceptionally vio-
lent, and it has, at least of late years, been
aggravated by the doctors-a race of men
who were unhappily unknown to Moliere,
and whose special vocation it is, as every one
knows, to cure all the ills of society. If they
49, S"A o'N AohS AooS niiA III oiSdi lDdl
hat OF the doctors of Moliere, they resemble
them at least in the essential particular of
believing ~religiously in the infalli bility of
their systems and the virtue of their elixirs.
Poor Ireland, with her open wounds, which
she is falsely accused Of parading in order to
excite pity, but which the lnveterate use of
whisky poultices may have contributed to IN
flame, has attracted doctors just in the same
way as the sleeps heads in the shops of Dub
lin butchers in the neighborhood ofthe Cathe-
dral of st. Patrick attract flies. From ali
quarters have gathered together doctors, poll
itical, socialistic, philanthropic, revolution
airy and parliamentary, widely disputing and
seeking to try upon the country the virtue of
their several panaceas. l look in vain for a
real remedy for her disease In their ileteroge-
neous prescriptions. The cause of the econ
omic evil from which Ireland is suffering
and this evil is the root of all the olhers~-is
tue existence of from 100000 to 300, 600 ten
ants, representing 100000 individuals who
work with old-fashioned tools, and whom The
slightest failure in the crops reduces to the
verge of starvation.
"a glance at the statistics of Ireland Will
show that nature herself is endeavoring to
effect the cure, aud that if she is but left alone
small holdings will before another quarter OF
a century has elapsed have disappeared from
ireland. In l94l, there existed 80, 435,farms
of from one to five acres and 252, 100 farms
from five to fifteen acres a piece. In 1875
those numbers had been reduced to &C, 1856
and 1863, 062. On the other hand the number
of farms of fifteen to Thirty acres had i~ncreas-
ed during the same interval from I9,342 I,
1877 ABB, and above thirty acres from 1876:
to 6 1864. Since the land act established .
special system Of protection for small hoI /.
ings the rate of progress in This direction ',as
naturally tended TO fall off. Progress; bow
ever, continues nevertheless, and Ireland il
due time will be cured of her sore of rarper.
lied holdings, in spite of the doctors. Blu
what will become of the small tenants? Same
will emicrate to america, others will become