The Irish standard., 1893-11-11
IRISH STATISTICS.
Facts and Figures Showing the In.
crease and Decrease IN he-
lands Population.
A WAR OF DIFFERENTIATION.
Ordered by Sir Robert Peel and
Eagerly Carried out by
Irish Landlords.

4E160 LauAlOTQ8.
Mr.. Chamberlain is one of those per-
Sons who have cynical way of saying
things that arouse the saddest"o of men,
cries and the bitterest Of passions. But
I doubt if even he-cold- blooded, nine
teenth century British sceptic as he is
would have made the remark he did
about the Irish population having in
creased, as we'll as decreased, since the
union, had he known what memories
would have been aroused and what pas
sions kindled by his words in the minds
and hearts of Irishmen who know their
oountry's history, says writer in United
Ireland. Nothing but the most inveter-
ate malice or the profoundest ignorance
could have led him--an admirer aud up
holder of the union-to speak of the rise
and fall of the Irish population under
the rule of Ireland by England. As,
however, he has raised the question, I
propose to state few plain facts and
figures connected Herewith.
According to John Hely Hutchinson,
and Thom's Official Directory, the popu-
lation Of Ireland in the year 1698-after
century which had witnessed three ma
tional wars-did not much, if at all, ex-
ceed 100000, In sl779, when he pub
lished his Commercial Restraints"
Hutchinson sets it down at 9, 500, 0,OO0, an
increase of l,500,0 0,000in eighty years. Be-
tween 1779 and the end of the eighteenth
century-the period of ''free trade" and
"Grattan's Par]iament"-th population
doubled; and the increase of our people
continued down to 1846--the first year of
the "famine"-when there must have
been s, ,75O, 900 persons in Ireland; at the
same rate of increase there ought to have
been more than 100000 in 1851. In
that year, however, the census returns
show thy t there were only about $780,
0CO. From that time to he present, the
Irish at home have continued to de.
crease, SO that at present they are about
4.50O,O00.
First Of all / have few words to say
respecting the increase during the first
forty. five years Of the century. Down to
1929 the 40 shilling freeholders had q
parliamentary vote, and landlords to give
themselves political power had divided
their land into small holdings, knowing
we'll that as voting was open. and they
possessed the power Of life and death
over their tenants, they could dispose Of
the votes on their estates just as they
pleased. After the abolition of the 40
shilling franchise in 1929, the landlords
having no political use for their small
farms, and wishing to consolidate all
small holdings, and 60 in for high farm
ing. rage for determination seemed to
take possession of them. Year after year
the number of emigrants increased. In
1881 Sir A. Alison states that 1000 per-
sons emigrated from Ireland, and in I843
nearly 100000 were expatriated. Not
withstandiDg this great drain upon the
country, however, the population rapidly
increased, not only in number, but also
in organization and enthusiasm, for in
1843 Daniel O'Connell's Repeal agitation
was at it's height.
In the second place, have to deal with
the decrease, and it's causes. Sir Robert
Peel was prime minister from l841 to
1916, and had formerly been Irish secre-
tary. He it was who, in 1928, had brought
into the House OF Commons the bill for
the disfranchisement of the 4O-shilling
voters, and had supported it by cheap
ejectment acts In 1874 Peel sent forth
the "Devon commission" to report upon
the relations of landlords and tenants in
ireland, and the following year it's report
was published. John Mitchell sums up
the recommendations Of this commission
in these words: Tenant right to be dis
allowed; one million Of people to be re-
moved, that is, swept out on the high
ways, where their choice would be
America, the poorhonse or the grave" It
is absolutely necessary that we should
bear in mind that before the "famine" it
was the settled determination OF our rul
ers to remove the ''sur plus population"
as.they called our small farmers. This
fact we'll borne in mind, 1t is easy to un-
derstand what followed from 1846 TO. 1861
and . good deal that has occurred since..|
That there was in 1845, or that there
ever was, 8 surplus population IN Ireland,
is, Of course, untrue. Mitchell points out
that not only were there 600 900 acres
Of improvable waste lands in the coun-
try, but that II that vsr,y year food
enough e feed oOo oOo g ople in Enc