brings its own punishment, and yet priests and agitators complain of absentees. Another great difficulty in giving employment arises from the indolence of the people; in remote districts they have never been in the habit of working, and consider labour as a hardship. The Commissioner questioned a man as to his reasons for keeping his pig in the house with himself, (a very common practice in Ireland) and the man told him, that as he was not sure of his house for another year, there was no use in going to the trouble; now as the man had not constant employment, one day's trouble would have increased his comfort for the year; but the uncertainty of tenure gave him an excuse for indolence, and he was glad to avail himself of it.

Again, the Commissioner argues in favour of leases: the great difficulty here is the elective franchise, the voters are in the hands of the priests, and the landlord knows that if he gives leases his tenantry will vote against him. We gave our opinion on this subject in March, 1845; the plain remedy which we then proposed is to make a law that a certain description of lease shall not have the elective franchise. A leaseholder does not necessarily improve : to an industrious tenant it is certainly an encouragement to lay out money; but if he be indolent there is no compulsion. Some of the most improved districts in England are held by tenants at will, and we believe, the want of proper cultivation arises from many other causes besides the want of a certain tenure. There is little sympathy between the higher classes and their tenants, because though their interests are identical, their objects are different. It becomes disagreeable therefore, to a landlord to meet his tenantry; he is afraid they will not tell him the truth, and he naturally delegates an unpleasant duty to his agent.

A rent-day in Ireland is very different from our audit day in England. In the latter case the dinner and the proposal of the landlord's health, his thanks to the company and his return of good wishes, all tend to bind more closely the sympathies of those who have already entered into a mercantile agreement for mutual advantage. We wish Irish landlords would meet their tenants thus, but we fear it is unlikely, while the power of the priest and the deceitfulness of the Roman Catholic religion continue as they now exist. An Irish land-agent lately gave a forcible expression to these sentiments, when things were going well and the tenants appeared contented, "These people," said he, "are always with me till I want them."

The third proposition of the Commissioner is, to develope the capabilities of Ireland: he is here as usual quite right as to the facts, as he shows that Ireland has vast industrial resources.

The water-power of Sligo joined with the facilities of inland navigation, render it a far more cheap and convenient situation for the cotton-business than Lancashire. The cost of steam power is very great, and the Commissioner shows that in this one point £30,000 a year could be easily saved by building mills upon the streams in Sligo. Again, Lough Erne presents wonderful facilities for water carriage, if they were only made available by the construction of a short canal. Here again, the power of the Roman Catholic Church opposes a barrier to the natural influx of English capital; we are well acquainted with an English manufacturer, who speculated in Ireland and failed. He said, It is quite impossible for an English Protestant to succeed in Ireland, while the people remain in the hands of the priests. If I take the raw material, I give a bill at three months, because at the end of that time I expect to have the goods manufactured; now if, in the mean time, I offend the priest in any way he can, by a single word withdraw all my hands from my mill, and leave me unable to meet my engagement. This shakes mercantile credit, and without credit in the present state of the world, there can be little mercantile speculation.

The Commissioner thus concludes the letter to which we have above alluded :·

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"But what will the Repealers say to this-the gentlemen who talk nonsense' about repeal as the cure-all for every disease of Ireland? Pray, in the name of common sense, say no more about it; but strive by every means in your power thus to cement closer and closer your union with the industry, and skill, and capital of England. Seek to amalgamate yourselves with her, to equal her, to rival her, to join with her, and to partake in the glories, whether of peace or war, of one unrivalled empire. But, talk nonsense about Repeal-excite the people-plant hatred in their breasts against the Saxons and against England—make it dangerous, or at any rate not pleasant, for Englishmen to reside among you-and what sane Englishman, with capital to go where he likes, will come here and spend his thousands, at the risk of being shot for his folly? I will simply put these facts before sensible Irishmen, and I feel satisfied that there is no sensible Irishman, who after calmly reflecting upon them, will not come to the conclusion, whatever may have been his previous opinions, that it is not wise, either for the welfare of Ireland or of Irishmen, to perpetuate agitation and disturbance, whether for Repeal or for any other object, and thus to drive away capital and skill, which alone can give employment to the people.”—(p. 198.)

The next two subjects for reform, are, to discourage middlemen; to endeavour to substitute small proprietors for them and mortgagees, and to improve the waste lands. On these subjects too much cannot be said. The Commissioner has treated them with sound good sense, and we heartily wish the Government would attend to his suggestions. The grievance of middlemen, who live out of the land without contributing to its increase, has been often

treated before. Mortgaged estates placed under a receiver appointed by the court, must of necessity be badly treated (we do not say managed-for management is out of the question); the receiver can only get in the rents, and every change costs a motion before the court, so that he is virtually precluded from doing anything to serve the property. If a law could be passed enabling such estates to be transferred to owners who would have an interest in improving them, an incalculable benefit would be conferred on the country. Besides these, there are in Ireland, by the Government survey, a million-and-a-half of waste lands improvable for tillage, and upwards of a million improvable for pasture. Government would either buy these up, or enable public companies to do so at a fair valuation, a vast supply of food and labour would be added to the resources of the country.

If

Lastly; the Commissioner recommends us to discourage agitation and strengthen the executive. This England will be obliged to do, and would have done long ago, if a strong Government could hold office in the Reformed Parliament. On this subject we think it well that the Commissioner should speak for himself.

"For the Lord-Lieutenant to talk of putting in force the laws in such a state of society as in Tipperary, of summoning juries who will not convict, and subpoenaing witnesses who will not give evidence, is childish. A free and liberal government-mild and humane laws, which depend as much upon the co-operation and aid of the people, as upon the law of the government, are only fitted for an enlightened, orderly, and just community; they are helpless and mischievous in a cowardly, a savage, a brutalized, and an ignorant one. Such a people will bear and require a despotic rule. Fine the community for every crime, and enforce the fine. If the crime still goes on, send another thousand policemen into the county, and make the county bear the whole expense. Billet the policemen in the farm-houses, and let them worm out crime in a manner fitted to the cautious and timid character of the people. The man who dared not go to the police-office and give information of a murderer, will hint it to the policeman billetted in his house, because he will not be suspected of giving the information. Appoint stipendiary magistrates for every district, and it would be wise to extend their powers where juries will not convict. If a criminal is sentenced to transportation, pack him off at once; do not give him time in gaol to leave behind him amongst his friends a legacy of revenge. Punish every brutal crime with a fitting punishment. What cares the man who can gloat over revenge, perpetrated or determined, for a three months' imprisonment? Cat-o-nine-tail him at a cart's tail through the chief town of his neighbourhood-hold him up to the scorn and derision of his neighbours for having been a cowardly brute, with just courage enough to skulk behind a hedge and try to shoot an unconscious victim, or knock him senseless with a stone from behind. At the termination of his imprisonment give him a repetition of the same dose, and send him home to his friends to doctor his back for him. A few such examples as these would have a thousand times greater effect than all the rewards and proclamations in the world. Strive by overwhelming force to make the punishment of crime certain, and make its punishment terrible. If an outcry is raised against you by the vagabonds, and the press of the vindicator class, never mind it; uphold what is good in the community, and the clamour of the worthless will not injure you. With a firm and determined hand put down agitation, whether that agitation

be Orange or Repeal. If necessary, fear not to do it despotically. Remember you are dealing with a people who in the mass are almost uncivilized. Like children, they require governing with the hand of power. They require authority and they will bear it. A more enlightened community would not require it, and would not bear it.

"Rigorously put down all combinations, and punish the combinators. It is a remarkable fact that there is scarcely a trade which has prospered in Ireland, save that of brewers and distillers. Almost every other trade has been ruined by combinations. One brewer and one distiller, with a few unskilled labourers, are sufficient for a brewery and distillery, and there can therefore be no combinations of skilled workmen against them. For instance-and I name these only as examples amidst hundreds-a timber-merchant of Dublin, Mr. James Fagan, erected saw-mills. The sawyers combined against him, and because he persevered, murdered his head-sawyer, Hanlon, in open day, in one of the most populous streets in Dublin. Mr. Fagan, however, had sufficient capital to enable him to persevere, and now more pit-men are employed in his mills, because he has created more trade, than when he employed sawyers before. The same gentleman leased a useless dock, intending to make it a gravingdock for the repair of vessels, instead of sending them to Glasgow or Liverpool to be repaired. His men combined, and refused to work except on certain terms, and at certain times. This he would not submit to, and he procured Scotchmen as ship-carpenters. About four months ago, whilst some of these men were working at a ship's side, on a stage suspended by ropes, some of the combinators got on board, cut the ropes, and precipitated the men into sixteen feet water. Their lives were with difficulty saved; a Dublin magisterial Solon, before whom the fellows who attempted to murder these men were brought, satisfied himself and the law by simply binding them over to keep the peace."

After many instances of this sort the Commissioner exclaims

"It is melancholy to contemplate a stupidly ignorant opposition to enterprizes like these, from a people starving for want of employment."-(pp. 597-603.)

The letters before us have had all the publicity that the press could give them, they are therefore well known to our readers. Facts must be always valuable; but let England judge of the facts, and say whether there is not more in the evils of Ireland than can be seen at once. We do not hesitate to say that the Commissioner has seen the evil, but has not traced the causes which lie far below the surface. He cannot conceive that educated men like the priests should not have a desire for the temporal good of the people; but he forgets that the priests are not free agents, that the good of the church is an ulterior and a paramount object, which they are sworn to pursue; and that their spiritual superior can dictate to them how this object is to be attained. He sees that no man in Tipperary is a free agent, but he does not see that his religion is the real cause of his bondage, and that the slavery extends far beyond Tipperary. He regrets the want of intelligence and capital, but he passes over the reason of their absence, namely, that the priests prefer ignorance, the people are taught deceit, and

the power of the church can reach even to controul the return for the capital expended.

When we see social disorganization between the higher and lower ranks when we see the peasantry hearkening to a hired agitator, instead of their natural protector who has the same interest with themselves, we may certainly feel surprised; but the surprise ceases when we know that the peasant has learned to identify his salvation with the cause of the agitator, and to regard his landlord as an enemy and a heretic.

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Perhaps we may be classed among the Orange faction-perhaps we may be accused of ignorant bigotry such accusations are easily made; and it has of late become fashionable, in the House of Commons, to depreciate Protestantism, and to extol the labours and honesty of the Roman Catholic clergy. Our contest is with the system, not with the men; we can give an individual every credit for sincerity, and at the same time we can pity him as the slave of a power which has broken down his mind during his education, and now forces him forward as a passive instrument in the hands of his commander. When we hear the laity abused as Papists and rebels, we remember that those who thus speak are ignorant of the awful despotism which impels the machine; and that those who are doing the work of the church scarcely consider themselves responsible for their own actions. Our attack, therefore, is upon the laws of the Church of Rome, and not upon its members. Those laws, if they could be known, would account for many crimes practised in the name of religion. On this subject we have frequently compared our ideas with some of our Protestant friends, and we have generally found that we think better of the men, and worse of the system than they do.

Our design in this review has only been to show that there is more in the evils of Ireland than Englishmen generally see; to discover the evil is the first step towards finding a remedy, and perhaps the strong force of public opinion is the only antagonist to the principles now at work in Ireland. Secrecy is their great strength, as" he that doeth evil hateth light, neither cometh to the light lest, his deeds should be reproved." If the thinking men of England could really see Ireland in her true colours, a great point would be gained; remedies would be discovered which are now unthought of; public opinion, when brought to bear upon the point, would take a course widely different from what is now so fashionable; and we should no longer hear the payment of the Roman Catholic clergy advocated on the grounds of political expediency.