The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1882-02-04

The long and wearisome story of
Irish outrages which has been each
day telegraphed across the sea for so
many months has not given so full
picture of the deplorable state of this
perpetually unhappy country that
some recent statistics, carefully coll
lected by an English correspondent,
will be wanting in instruction to us.
The correspondent confines himself
to the twelve counties in the South
and West which are known collec-
lively as the dangerous area" and
over which five magistrates, all mil
itary men of vigor and determina-
ton, haYe been set up IN authority.
Within this district are comprised
10000, 900 acres of land, nearly a half
of all Ireland, and 2,079,OOO people,
or 4O per cent. of the population.
More than SO per cent. of these peo.
pie are Catholics, against a proper
ton of rs per cent. for the whole
country. Nearly 80 pei cent. of them
can neither read nor write, the gem
eral percentage for Ireland being SO
per cent. The pasture land COM
prises 90 per cent. of the surface,
while throughout Ireland the rate is
40 per cent. He points out the un-
usual extent, in this dangerous area,
OF lands devoted to grazing, and the
consequence of 1t in the compare
lively idle lives that the people lead
as shepherds and herdsmen for gen
Grafton after generation. Ten or
twelve strong men may he seen daily
in many villages "lounging in a
shambling group against the Court
house." without work and without
hope of it, while those who pretend
to employment as shepherds can
spare any amount of time in "lean-
ing up against the post or whistling
over the interminable heath" With
these statistics we may ask if there
is any hope that the land of Ireland
can ever be made to support this
population in peace and plenty.
Within thirty years more than $780,
600 people, or 40 per cent. of the
present population, haye emigi ated
and still it is estimated that to-day
in Ireland there are "more thar 9nO,-
900 young persons besides adults,
able to work, who are without en-
! ployment," which is more than one
third as many as have emigrated in
a generation moreover, at the old
rate it would require a decade for
them to leave the soil. Save in the
North there are few manufacturing
enterprises in Ireland /; many that
still remain are falling into decay /;
the movement for an exhibition
which might revive them has appar-
entity died an untimely death, so that
WI iNiiNi thSiO iOdily appeal W NC
none, either in present fact, in prom
Use, or will in any ones safe imagina.
ton. AS this correspondent points
out, what efficiency the Irish graz
ing lands now have is seriously men.
aced by the as yet undeveoped meat
and corn trade of the New World, so
that for the future the promises are
for worse times instead of better. In
emigration he finds The only posi-
bile relief, and for this there is fortu-
nately less Discrimination than there
once was. But of emigration, when
this country has more than 100000
people doing nothing, there must be
Il vast deal. 1t is the idlest region
that are the most dangerous, and the
idlpst regions are also the grazing re-
gions, or the regions upon which,
unless manufactures come to then
relief, the people must in future most
depend for whatever Of life and hap.
piness they can get.