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Condition Of Ireland

Condition Of Ireland image
Parent Issue
Day
21
Month
August
Year
1847
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

II. C. Wright, of Massachusetts, now n Irelana, gives hts views of its conJition aá follovvs, in a late letler lo ihe Liberator: "Fajune and Fever slil! pressheavilv Dn ihe Irish peasarilry, in many parts, uotwilhstanding ihe relief extended to them by tlie government and private ïharity. The recent Poor Law, which is now in operation in Ireland, will, if rigorously carried out, work a great revulutinn. The facts are these; the law is based on the principie, tbat the land Ml'ST SUPPORT THE POPULATION. Those vho are appointed by government to see the law carried rito effect, go ii.to a parish or district, ascertain the number of paupers entitled to the benefils of ihe law and the amount of money needed to suslain them, and tlien a tax is laid upon the land, sufficient to meet thé emergency The landlords ha re no money to poy the tax, or they are away. The money must bc had at once. Government loans ihe money, and takes a mortgage upon the land. The inortgnge runs out; the money is not forth-coining from the iandlord; government furecloses,lakes possession of-4be_land,u'u tMaara il into the markgf, to the highest bidder. Encumbefed as land now is in Ireland, in many parts, it is not vvorth having; even if taken as a gift, t conld scarce be made to bearits burdens. Iti a few years land will excliange owners extensively in Ireland. The present arrangement concerning landed properly must, in s. few years experience nn entire revolution: primogenitores and entail must be abolished: and land placed on the footing of all other property, and be made liable for the o'ebts of owners. "But the present syslem of pauperisrfi thnt is based on the principie of feeding and clothing a population without labor is in othei respects, working infinite rnischief. You can scarce walk len rods in Ireland, without seeing'its Wighting influence. There are about 25,000 of the population of Dublin receiving their sole subsistance from the hand of goVernmental charityv They do not any work; tley make no efforts to get work, indeed, such is the law, that if they did work, or at'etnpt to work, government wou'd at once cease to give them the supply of of one meal n da}T. But, such is the character of the Irish peasantrv and laborers, that there nre 2,000,000 (as 1 was told yesterday, by one of the governmental relief agentsj who would rather get one menl per day by beggary, ïlian th ree by honest labor. This is probably true, to a great extent You can liavc no idea of the ulier prostration of the spi.'it of self-relianceamong the Irish laborersj caused by ihe recent nutburst of syinpatliy lo relieve them wiihout labor. One third of the population are mai?e beggars probably lor life by il, nnd their posterity will for generalions be'lrnined to the same degradation - lor degitd.it ion it is, when a man had rather live by beggary, than by useful labor. "Certain I am, that if not anoiher farthing weie to be given to ihe lri.h, Knglish, or Scotch) or Americah beggars. without exneting some useful labor in relum, it would, in five' years, be bftWer for all concerned. It mny sepm a hard doctr'ne ; but I knnw it is aiacked andimpolitie sysiem, whicli, in seeking to relieve hunwn suffering, only tends to increase, and perpetúate the venj evils tvhich it secks to remcdy. Every piece of bread given to a door beggnr, and every bauble given to a treet beggar, no matter how iinportuntie his calis for help, only t'.ivlf to muliiply Leggar?, nnd lo pntíperiie iheir souls. " I

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Subjects
Signal of Liberty
Old News