itself,-protect the husbandman from the illegal and rapacious interference of his landlord,-give those who cannot find employment in tilling the earth, a resource in manufactures, give them employment,--give them education,—give them religion, by abolishing the odious system of tythes,let the influence of their clergy be actively exercised in improving their moral and social condition, encourage the industrious and stimulate the idle,-banish the relic of a false economy in the operation of protection and bounties,—and the brightest jewel in the crown of Britain will again be restored to its native lustre, and will catch up and reflect the thousand bright hues, that are borrowed from the peace and happiness of a regenerated nation.

In the raising of cattle, there is perhaps no country possessing advantages superior to those which exist in Ireland. It is said that herbage, of some sort or other, grows on the summits of some of the loftiest mountains in Ireland. The peculiar tendency of the Irish soil to produce grass is such, that the mountainous land yields subsistence to very large droves of cattle. And the immense value of this pasturage is shown in the fact, that, during four years, the value of cattle exported to England amounted to £1,044,464.

The bogs of Ireland, now lying waste and unreclaimed, would in themselves, if rendered fit for cultivation, be a source of incalculable benefit to the people. But the policy of England has been steadily consistent, in this particular, with her general conduct towards the people of Ireland. At home, there is no capital to accomplish the enterprize. The hard earned rent of the peasant is, to a great extent, drawn from improvement of the land and paid to an absentee landlord, and the miserable pittance that is left, is torn away for the purpose of supporting the established church of England. It is no part of our intention here to enter into an examination of the tithe system in Ireland. We much doubt if, in the United States, there can be found one who would raise his voice in support of a system so full of the grossest wrong. In theory, the principle is abhorrent to our best feelings, but in the practical operation of it in Ireland, he who feels any curiosity on the subject, will find unquestionable evidences of the most heartless and galling tyranny that ever was exercised towards men, under the blasphemous pretence of

advancing the interests of religion. That these bogs could be reclaimed, is now settled beyond a doubt. That, by a judicious system of draining, they could be made equal to the finest land in Ireland, is established by the recent examination of a most intelligent and protestant traveller.* These, if reclaimed, and the communication from one portion of the country to the other made easy by the construction of rail roads, or the improvement of the water courses, would in a few years furnish the starving population of Ireland with abundance of food. The fear and continual apprehension of starvation being removed, the mind of the peasant would naturally be turned to improvement. By nature quick and spirited, many of the clogs which now hang like chains around the peasantry, would fall from their bodies, and a population spring up, that, in a few years, would advance the prosperity of the British empire at home and abroad; and the affections of millions of people guard the crown of an empire, that is now endangered by their convictions of the wrongs they have suffered.

The fisheries of this country, it is well said, would, under a correct system of government, become a large source of revenue to the nation. In the language of one to whom we have more than once already referred:

"There is scarcely a part of Ireland but what is well situated for some fishery of consequence; and her coasts and innumerable creeks and rivers' mouths, are the resort of vast shoals of herrings, cod, lingnake, mackerel, &c., which might, with proper attention, be converted into funds of wealth." †

In addition to these, and what, perhaps, will be a matter of some information, it is now established, that Ireland is most abundantly supplied with the most precious minerals and fossils.‡

"There is not a county [says one of our references,] which does not contain some valuable mineral or fossil: several of them, it is now ascertained, abound with treasures of this sort; and these, far the greater part, are most happily situated for the exportation of their products, either in a rude or manufactured state." §

These statements are not made loosely, but with reference

to accurate surveys of many of the counties, and specimens now, it is said, in the museum of the Dublin Society.

One more topic in connection with the natural resources of Ireland, and we shall close this branch of our subject. The facilities for commerce afforded by the harbors in Ireland, are not surpassed in any part of the world, and are far superior to those in England. "There are not twenty harbors in England and Wales, which can be classed with forty of the best in Ireland." Connected with these, the internal water communication could, with a trifling expense, be made most abundant. In fact, so advantageous could it be made, from the natural facilities that exist here, that it is said, on good authority, at an expense which would be comparatively small, almost every parish might enjoy the advantages of internal communication.

Such are the resources of this people, which God in his providence has afforded for their comfort. Possessed of these advantages, it would have been naturally expected that here learning would have made its way into the lowest cabin, and plenty blessed the people whose fortunes were connected with such a clime. It might well have been supposed, that in this land, under these favorable circumstances, her sails would whiten the ocean,--her raw materials and manufactured fabrics, would find their way to every market, where labor and art combined, yield their rich return,-that misery would be unknown, and he who should travel through the land, would follow the paths of pleasantness and peace. Centuries ago, these natural advantages had established the trade of Ireland. So late as the time of Brian Borhoime, who died in 1014, notwithstanding the ravages and distresses which a Danish war, of 200 years continuance, inflicted on the people, the annual duties on goods imported into the single port of Limerick, and paid in red wine, amounted to 365 pipes.*

But, although one might well suppose that permanent and great would be the prosperity of the people of Ireland with these natural aids, the reverse, terrible and distressing, stares us in the face. Hunger instead of plenty,-misery instead of happiness. Why is this so? An easy solution of this heart-rending question, is found in the political enactments to which we have already referred. The complete solution is in the commercial regulations, which we now propose to examine.

Encyclopedia, Tit. Ireland.

The natural advantages of Ireland being such as we have seen them to be, easily lead us to the consideration of such manufactures as would be at once suggested by its position and profitable to the people. The facilities afforded for grazing, enabled the people to raise wool in great quantities, of the finest kind; and the manufacture of this commodity was a most profitable, and, while it lasted, happy employment for the surplus population, who had not the means to be employed in agricultural pursuits. With this was associated the manufacture of linen, the soil of Ireland being peculiarly suited to the growth of flax. The manufacture of flax into linen was, doubtless, known in Ireland at a very early period. As far back as the year 1673, Sir William Temple, in his letter to the Earl of Essex, then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, advocates strongly the continuance and improvement of the manufacture of flax. Not only was the land congenial,-the habits of the people suited to it,—but the soil and climate, aided by the brooks and winds, were said to be eminently suited for whitening.

The efforts of the Irish people to secure an amelioration of their condition by the honest and useful pursuits of industry, were not, however, suffered to pass unnoticed. The trade in cattle, which was of essential service to the people of Ireland, by enabling them to dispose of their surplus stock, was a privilege too favorable to be allowed by the rapacious ministers of a profligate king. What substantial reason could have operated upon England to interfere with this trade, it is difficult to discover. To be at all fortunate, however, was at once to excite the jealousy of the ministry; and that jealousy once excited, it failed not to gratify the vengeance which it created, by the most unjust, if potential measure. Accordingly, this traffic was prohibited. The 18 Charles II. c. 2, made great cattle, sheep, swine, beef, pork and bacon, imported from Ireland, a common nuisance and subject to forfeiture; and by the 32 Charles II. c. 2, the forfeiture was extended to mutton, lamb, butter and cheese, and made perpetual.

The next prohibition to which we shall direct attention, was that of the woollen trade. We have had occasion to refer, already, to this prohibitory enactment. In the reign of William III., this prohibition was consummated. Upon the application for this measure, founded on no other cause than a most unworthy jealousy, and adopted on the principle

of keeping Ireland dependant on England: so, to use the language of the king's minion, that the people of Ireland "could not depart without nakedness and beggary," the 10 and 11 William III., c. 10, were passed, forbidding the exportation of wool into any other place than England, on pain of forfeiting the cargo, ship and £500 for every offence. The permission to export even to England, was a cruel mockery. The duties there laid upon the exportation, were such as to forbid the people of Ireland from finding there a market for their fabrics. In order that the last blow should be struck to this branch of industry, by a subsequent statute in the same reign, the exportation of fullers' earth and scouring clay to Ireland, was prohibited, under severe penalties. Thus was the seal placed upon this branch of industry, and the obsequious commons, and heartless king, were alike gratified in the accomplishment of their mutual wishes.

The people of Ireland, thus forced to seek new modes of labor, commenced next the manufacture of silk. In this, if they had been permitted to continue, they would have been, in some measure, solaced for the wrong lately done them, in the interference with their trade in woollens. But no device that they could adopt, would enable them to escape the jealous eye of the British king. The influence of the British Parliament was brought to bear on the wretched and degraded body that then called itself the Parliament of Ireland. The manufacture of silk was virtually prohibited, and the capital, labor and industry invested in this new enterprize, were again sacrificed at the impious altar of ministerial rapacity. At the time when the legislation on this subject commenced, 800 silk looms were at work in Ireland. Thirty-six years after, there were but 50. And thus were thousands driven to beggary or emigration.

There were still the manufactories of glass,—a single boon left to the people, but not even in this branch of industry were they allowed to expend their labor. Legislation was again resorted to, and severe prohibitory enactments forbade the exportation of the article from Ireland to any place whatsoever, under penalty of forfeiture of ship and cargo, and a heavy fine for each pound of glass found on board. This was the complete extinguishment of the hopes of the people of Ireland, from this manufacture. To what else should they turn? Hope, indeed, withering fled. The cup of bitterness had been drained to the dregs, and little more was left