The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-11-15

speak of any prosperity for Ireland or the Irish people within it's borders.
 What makes the depopulation Of Ireland more remarkable Is that every other Euronean land has steadily gained during the last sixty years. Switzerland, Bel gtum. Germany, Italy, Spain, Russia and even Turkey are all more popuIous now than fifty years ago. Even the so-calleu Kingdom of Poland has eight millions ana Ireland less than five. The fohsh prov has doubled its population and more than ouadrupled its wealth since lSh. lreIaho then numbered eight millions and Poland little over four. At the present day the Kingdom of Poland has eight millions and Ireand ess than five. The Pohsh prov inces under Prussian rule have neary doubled their population Tn the Saile neriod. despite hostile legislation on the mart of the German rulers and very con siderable emigration. Even the Chrlstiah provinces under the Sultans rue III Europe have grown in inhabitants "n'le Ireland has been depopulated during oont,nuons period of more than fifty years .. st
 The famine caused by the potato dis ease continued three years. but its cessa- tion with 1S4S brought no stop to tne ue, crease in the population of Ireland IL nau fallen to six and half millions m iool' it was only five and three-quarter mlliioiS in 1SG1 five and a half in lSI1 five mil lions one hundred and fifty thousand III 1SS1. under five millions at the close or tIe next decade and little over four anu ilail m millions at the close of the century. The dacreasa still continues, and one of the cbaracteristic scenes of Irish life witness ed bv King Edward on his last visit to Cork was the departure of tug from Oueenstovn laden with Irish emigrantS for the United States. The King Is salo to have been much struck by the sight
 The lack of capital in Ireland as com pared with other English speaking couh tries is undoubtedly leading cause or the lack of employment, which renders if impossihle for so many Irishmen to find a livelihood at home. The excessive taxation ;-~vss1 by England is without question the chief cause of that poverty in Ireland generally. About three fourths of the ten odd million pounds raised for imperial taxation Is yearly car ried out of the island without any return.
 Iu what may be called the social ana moral aspect the condition of Ireland IS much more satisfactory than in the ma
 tertal one Though poor the country IS free from crime to an extent unknown
 elsewhere in the civilized world. The to-
 tai number of penitcntiary or State Con- victs Is only about 800 in the four and 
 half millions There Is but one sucn
 to every 9OOo individuals. The proportion in the United States last year was more than ten times that amount. During the last two months only two homicides have
 occurred throughout Ireland. One was
 the act of a lunatic, the other of an Eng fish soldier who came over expressly to | commit it. In about half of the counties | absolutely no crime has been brought be- | fore the courts. It seems that during the | preceding three months there was no case of homicide in the whole country. The proportion of illegitimate to legitimate | births as told by the registrar general, | for the last year Is equally noteworthy. | The per centage is 1-2 per cent, or about
 one-third that of England. Drunkenness
 is not common, either in city or country
 and agrarian quarrels have almost ceas- ed.
 The comparison between the lists of
 crime in Ireland and the number of guar
 dians of the peace which the Government
 deems requisite to maintain order is ab-
 solutely comic. Dublin, with the same