The sun., 1881-07-03
Irish EmigratiOn.

which Is received with 80 much favor IN
England, and which on the other hand pro-
| vokes such vehement opposition In Ireland,
| as the proposal to extend State aid to emil
grafton. Why ia this scheme 30 differently
received in the two countries3 That is q
question which Miss CHARLOTTE OBRIEN,
| whose thorough acquaintance with all
phases of the Irish difficulty has been re-
peatcdly attested. undertakes to answer In
the F6rtni0htly Reuie,c.
1t is easy enough to understand why Eng
| lish economists and politicians should re-
| gard emigration as specific remedy for the
Irish troubles. They assume that ireland is
| over-populated, whereas, compared with
Great Britain, France, Germany, and Italy,
It is thinly peopled. Their notion is that In
proportion as the number OF inhabitants
Is reduced those who remain will be
better Off That the assumption Is
subject to certain limitations will be ap-
parent IL we inquire what would become
OF nation when all the strong and capable
constituents had been depOrted and only the
weak and sickly elements remained. There
is not, it is true, much danger that the pro-
cess Of depletion will be pushed so far, so
long as emigration Is voluntary and under
taken at private expense. The injury, how
ever, to the national stamina and character
may become serious when emigration Is
compulsory, as was the case with the
French Protestants after the revocation OF
the edict OF Nantes, or when 1t is abnormally
stimulated by encouragement and assist
ance from the State.
Now the Land League and the Roman
Catholic Church in Ireland denounce the
IT ~ iuro ti,,v, ~ pl1v
because they deem 1t. on the ground above
mentioned, to be wrong in principle, but be-
cause its practical application would be
open to strong objections. For suppose it
is admitted that in parts OF the west OF Ire
land a considerable proportion OF the popu-
lation is penniless and liable at any moment
to become homeless How can the Govern
ment control the emigration so that it shall
affect only the distinctly diseased parts
The disease is not local in the sense OF
covering the whole OF an easily defined dis
trict. 1t is rather sporadic, being found in
patches distributed from north to south
throughout the western section. We will
assume, however, that each OF these over
crowded spots can be marked out, and that
the Government might proffer assistance to
the families dwelling in q given barony,
while those outside its boundaries would DO
hidden to shift for themselves Miss O'BRIEN
insists that such hard and fast circum-
scribing OF charity would tend rather to
aggravate than allay the present discon-
tent. 1t would prove, moreover, practically
futile, because it would draw applicants for
the charity from the whole neighborhood
into the favored district. AS matter of
fact Mr.. GLADSTONE proposes to make his
plan OF State aid TO emigration applicable to
the whole Of Ireland. 1t follows that in the
eastern portion the country will be deprived
Of laborers whom it cannot spare, while in
the west there Is no guarantee that the dis
tricts specially needing relief will be effec-
tually helped.
But it may be said, the Government,
while not combining itself to localities. will
OF course discriminate between the individ-
ual applicants for assistance. Upon what
principle can 1t discriminate2 Will they,
as Miss OBRIEN forcibly puts it, set pre-
MUM on poverty, drink, and dirt? II so,
she adds. plenty will be ready to qualify
themselves. II help, on the other hand Is
given to those only who are able to earn
part OF their passage money. then it is evil
dent that the best blood OF the nation would
be drained away.
There is another practical objection to the
stimulation OF emigration by State aid. The
scheme would OF course involve large ex-
penditure and the Government does not by
any means propose that tho investment
shall be a total loss. The Land bill ex-
pressly provides that the loans contracted
for this purpose shall be repaid at the same
period and rate of interest at which ad-
vances made by the Board Of Public Works
are to be reimbursed. Repayable by
whom2 Presumably by the emigrants. to
whom pecuniary aid is given. But
suppose the emigrants should happen to
dislike the climate and the other conditions
OF life In Manitoba, and should see fit to join
their kinfolk across the border, how are the
sums lent to be recouped2 The land as
signed to them in Manitoba would be, as
Miss OBRIEN remarks, poor security. 1t
Is the hard work Of the colonist which is
really valuable, and II this should be trans
ferred to the United States, as would cer-
tainly take place in many instances, the ad-
vances Of the British Emigration Commits
sioners would turn out total loss.
1t would seem that every class OF the
Irish population, except the landlords, is
opposed to this feature Of the GLADSTONE
scheme. The small farmers everywhere,
except in certain districts OF the west, de-
nounce it because they fear that any arti-
fetal increase Of the present exodus would
tend to lower their status by the encourage
ment OF grazing at the expense of till
age. The artisans, who live by minister
ing to the wants OF an agricultural
people, feel that every acre relegated to pas
ture is detriment to them. The trades
men and manufacturers are naturally hos
tile to emigration, which even last year,
when no help was proffered by the Govern
ment, meant the loss of nearly a hundred
thousand customers. The landlords on the
other hand, who might not lose much by
throwing large areas into pasture, are dis
posed just now to view with a good deal of
complacency what Miss O'BRIEN calls the
quack remedy OF emigration.
II emigration is the prornpt and efficient
cure 1t is alleged to be. why are not its BEN
efits more palpable in Ireland. where ii has
been practised on colossal scale. something
like three million Irshmen having migrated
to the United States within less than forty