TO THE CENTRAL RELIEF COMMITTEE OF THE BY JAMES H. TUKE. Second Edition. WITH NOTES OF A SUBSEQUENT VISIT TO ERRIS. LONDON: CHARLES GILPIN, BISHOPSGATE STREET WITHOUT. 1848. Br 12075.55.3 HARVARD COLLEGE LIDRARY FROM THE ANDREW PRESTON FEABODY Fehmary 3,1942 ADVERTISEMENT. REPRESENTATIONS made to me respecting some of the statements in the former edition of this pamphlet, induced me personally to re-investigate the occurrences referred to. This second visit, whilst it has enabled me to correct some particulars, has served essentially to confirm my previous statements of the condition of Ireland and of the evils which appear to be among the radical causes of her misery, and I trust that the careful revision which the pamphlet has undergone, together with the additional information obtained during the recent visit, will entitle it to the confidence of the public, and will render this edition more worthy of the attention of those who kindly expressed their approbation of the former. York, 3rd mo. 8, 1848. A LETTER, &c. WHEN I had the pleasure of meeting you, a few weeks ago, in Dublin, on my return from a journey through a considerable portion of Ireland, you expressed a wish that I should communicate to you the result of my observations on the condition of those parts of the country which I had visited, and their prospects during the coming winter. To gain information on these points, and to ascertain the working of the new poor-law, and the probability of its being brought into efficient action in the worst districts of Ireland, were the chief objects of this tour. I thought these objects would be most effectually attained by devoting my attention chiefly to Connaught; and accordingly, though I visited several other districts, my time was mostly passed in that western province. This province being, as a whole, by far the poorest and most destitute in Ireland, I thought that it was most important to ascertain particularly its condition and prospects. If Connaught could be effectually raised in the scale of society, many would cease to despair of the future elevation of Ireland in general. I cannot suppose that the views which I have taken, and which I have ventured to express in the course of this letter, will be of value to you, who are so well acquainted with the state of Ireland; but I hope that in an emergency like the present, it may not be deemed wholly impertinent to throw into the general treasury a few imper fect suggestions as to the means by which some, at least, of the miseries of Ireland may be alleviated or removed. The Few things have struck me more since I have become personally acquainted with Ireland, than the very inadequate knowledge which prevails among my countrymen generally, of the great variety in the circumstances and condition of the people, which is found throughout that country. North and East indeed, are generally distinguished from the other parts, but that these differ among themselves as much as the North differs from the South, seems to be generally overlooked. All of these are considered by many persons as equally the seats of poverty and violence. The horrible outrages of Tipperary and Roscommon are often charged alike upon the more peaceable inhabitants of Donegal and Mayo. I believe that you will agree with me, that Ireland, to be understood, must be considered in its separate parts. At Before proceeding to the particular notice of Connaught, I would venture to express my sincere satisfaction in the recent measure of Parliament, by which the long debated question, as to whether the property of the country should be chargeable with the support of the poor, is decided. the same time, the question, whether the wants of the poor can immediately be thus provided for, cannot, I believe, be answered by a simple affirmative or negative. Before replying to it, we must divide Ireland into two great portions, and consider the question with reference to them, separately. The first portion would include the county of Donegal, the province of Connaught, comprising Leitrim, Roscommon, Sligo, Mayo and Galway, and the greater portion of Clare, Limerick, Kerry and Cork, which may be considered as embracing three millions of the population: the other-including the remaining districts of Ireland, with a population of about five millions. In each of these divisions there may be districts which do not belong to the class in which they are placed, but generally speaking it may be considered, that there is, in the second division, sufficient wealth to meet the claims of the Poor-Law, particularly after so abundant a harvest as the past. The chief difficulty appears to arise from the reluctance of the proprietors and occupiers of land to carry out, in good faith, the provisions of the act. With respect to the larger portion of the first division, it does appear very doubtful whether there exists either the wealth or the necessary machinery for the carrying out of this law; and it will doubtless be to this division that your attention, as the administrators of relief, will be principally directed during the approaching season of renewed suffering and misery. A very large portion of this suffering will be found among the wretched inhabitants of Connaught. As this letter may probably fall into the hands of some persons who are less acquainted than yourselves with the statistics of Ireland, it may be well to state, that Connaught contains an area of 4,392,043 acres, with a population, in 1841, of 1,418,859; the net annual value, according to the Poor-Law valuation, being £1,465,642 17s. 6d., and the province is divided into 19 Unions. Leinster, with a population and area but little larger, is valued at £4,624,341 15s. 4d., and is divided into 33 Unions. A consideration of these facts, coupled with the circumstance that considerably more than half of the population of Connaught reside in mud cabins of the worst description, with only one room, and that there are 67,000 labourers with little or no employment, exhibit strongly its general poverty. By the report of Lord Devon's Commission, it appears that there are in this province 1,906,000 acres (nearly half the whole) of unimproved or waste land, of which 1,156,000 might be drained and reclaimed for cultivation or pasturage, leaving 750,000 acres considered incapable of improvement at a remunerative cost. And let it not be supposed that the other half of the province, described as cultivated, is so in the sense which that term implies in Dublin or England: a well-cultivated farm is as rare in Connaught as the reverse is in the county of Lincoln or in the Lothians of Scotland. Here and there amid the wilderness of waste land and half-cultivated farms, the eye is gladdened with one, which would be creditable in England, rendering doubly painful the contrast which the desolate and weed-choked fields around it present. Galway and Mayo, the two largest counties in the province, contain 1,500,000 acres of unimproved land, nearly two-thirds of which is capable of profitable reclamation. Of this district, the report above alluded to remarks, "That it contains a larger extent of unimproved waste land than any other portion of Ireland, yet a large portion of it presents unusual facilities for reclamation and cultivation, particularly in the baronies of Erris, Burrishoole, Ross, Ballinahinch, &c., which being partly situated on the west coast, can procure manure in abundance." Here and there, especially in Gal |