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IRELAND 
 
 CONSIDERED AS 
 
 A FIELD FOR INVESTMENT OR RESIDENCE, 
 
 BY WILLIAM BULLOCK WEBSTER, ESQ. 
 
 SeRrt terns famt % 
 
 Mark-lane Express , April 18. 
 
 “ The object of this well- written little work— which evinces a calm 
 and dispassionate investigation into some of the causes of the past dark 
 period of Ireland and its degenerated state, with the present bright pros- 
 pect of its being a good field for investment or residence — is well worthy 
 the careful perusal of every one who may have a wish to invest pro- 
 perty in land, or who may be looking out for a locality for future resi- 
 dence. The author refutes the old hackneyed saying, ‘ In Ireland there 
 is no security for either life or property,’ by various well-selected illus- 
 trations to the contrary ; showing that proper treatment to the Irish 
 labourer makes him as good a member of society, and as careful of his 
 master’s or employer’s welfare, as any country’s labourer can be.” 
 
 East Kent Journal , January 18. 
 
 “ This work is an apt illustration of the phrase, ‘ little and good,’ for 
 though small in size, it conveys a greater amount of real information 
 
 than volumes of far more bulky exterior Our author is 
 
 altogether of a different school ; he views the country with the eye of a 
 professional man ; if he ‘babbles of green fields,’ it is with regard to 
 their capability for sheep-feeding ; a river with him is not merely a 
 feature in the landscape, but a means of economic transport ; he looks 
 at the possible agricultural produce to be got off the surface, the 
 mineral wealth to be dug out of ‘ the bowels of the land,’ and the most 
 convenient mode of transit to the best markets ; and this, we opine, is 
 to carry fully out the title of the book, without castle-building or 
 deception of any kind. Those who are hurrying to the uttermost parts 
 of the earth, in search of a field for investment, will do well to ponder 
 over the following statement by Mr. Webster.” 
 
 Bell’s Weekly Messenger, December 11, 1852. 
 
 “ We can recommend this little book to those persons who are dis- 
 posed to invest their capital in the soil of Ireland, and to seek for the 
 means of subsistence from its many sources of fertility. It is the work 
 of an Englishman of talent and attainment, and exhibits many evi- 
 dences that he is well acquainted with those properties.” 
 
 Irish Agricultural Journal , January. 
 
 “We regard Mr. Webster’s volume well worthy of the serious consi- 
 deration of every one desirous of investing capital in land, or of all such 
 tenants as are desirous of locating in a country calculated to make a 
 
2 
 
 good return for capital to be invested in farming. Mr. Webster, who is 
 a highly respectable and intelligent professional gentleman, and an 
 Englishman, from extended yet minute experience, combats the un- 
 founded prejudices entertained by too many of our countrymen on the 
 other side of the channel as to the Irish character and habits, bearing 
 testimony to the fact, that,*with judicious and fair treatment, the mass 
 of the people are not desirous to be idle and ungrateful, but the very 
 reverse ; and he goes on to show that, with prudence and fair treatment 
 of the labouring classes, Ireland may be made an excellent field of 
 investment, and enjoyed as a secure and comfortable place of 
 abode.” 
 
 Highland Journal of Agriculture , January. 
 
 “ Thus everything unites to improve the prospects and strengthen the 
 cause of order in Ireland. The disaffected and unthriving are being 
 drafted from it ; and a most efficiently organised police force, combined 
 with the English and Scotch settlers, must quickly suppress any linger- 
 ing system of intimidation that may yet remain. And so, we think, the 
 interesting and carefully digested facts adduced in this valuable little 
 work fully bear out the prefatory statement of the author, that * the 
 vast amount of capital, now vainly seeking profitable investment, may 
 be employed in the purchase of land in Ireland as securely, and more 
 profitably, than in any other part of Great Britain.’” 
 
 Mark-lane Express . 
 
 “We have no hesitation in saying that — assuming the facts to be correct, 
 and upon which there can be no doubt he has taken care to be well 
 advised — we are of opinion that he has gone along way in showing that 
 the purchase of land in Ireland is a safe and profitable object of invest- 
 ment, and that by humane and judicious conduct in dealing with the 
 people, person and property will be perfectly secure from violence or 
 molestation. This work is neither costly nor voluminous ; it will amply 
 repay the reader in the information it conveys. We therefore recom- 
 mend its perusal as well by persons who are desirous of investing 
 capital in land, as by those who desire to inform themselves upon the 
 present state of Ireland in respect to its agricultural capabilities.” 
 
 Armagh Guardian , December 4, 1852. 
 
 “The author of this work having visited professionally every county 
 in Ireland except two, and having informed himself of the capabilities 
 of the soil, and the character of the people, is desirous of removing the 
 misapprehension existing in the minds of Englishmen upon these impor- 
 tant points. He feels— who does not ? — that capital, now vainlyfseeking 
 investment elsewhere, may safely be employed in the purchase of land 
 in this country. The work is written in a generous spirit towards Ire- 
 land, and contains much useful information. 
 
 Journal of the Royal Agricultural Improvement Society. 
 
 “ This valuable, though cheap and small volume, ought to be carefully 
 perused by every person intending to purchase land, or rent farms in 
 Ireland. It is entirely composed of reliable information and essential 
 statistical data, such as price of estates, rents of land amount of poor 
 rates and county cess, security of life and property, how to manage 
 Irish labourers, average of wages, value of title from the Incumbered 
 Estates Court, Government valuation of Ireland, poor law valuation, 
 &c., &c.” 
 
3 
 
 Economist. 
 
 “ There is a general but vague notion entertained in this country that 
 land may be bought and farms hired in Ireland upon terms apparently 
 advantageous, hut that from some undefined cause, or combination of 
 causes, purchases in Ireland are not likely to prove profitable, or farming 
 investments altogether safe. Agrarian outrages, landlord oppression, 
 priestly intimidation, religious and political rancour, and involved titles 
 to land, are spectres which have long haunted the English mind, and, 
 notwithstanding the recently altered circumstances of Ireland and Irish 
 society, still deter capitalists from giving due attention to Irish land, 
 either for purchase or occupation, as a field for investment or residence. 
 We have always regarded such views as erroneous, as prejudices founded 
 on a state of things which has passed, or is rapidly passing away. 
 Now, there is no other part of the United Kingdom where land can he 
 had so free from conveyancing technicalities and expense. The first 
 great step towards rendering land an article of commerce, a commodity 
 attractive to the prudent capitalist, who regards his investments not only 
 with a view to present advantage, hut also to the possibility of his 
 desiring to change them, has been taken in Ireland by the establishment 
 of a court authorised to give to a purchaser a clear, simple, and inde- 
 feasible title to the land he buys. Now, all this will be readily assented 
 to in a general way, and the force of much that has been said by Irish 
 writers on the industrial resources and prospects of Ireland will be 
 admitted ; but still there is a disinclination to act without some reliable 
 English authority for the soundness of Irish investments. Such an 
 authority seems to have been found in Mr. William Bullock Webster, 
 who, in a work of small compass, entitled ‘ Ireland Considered as a 
 Field for Investment or Residence,’ has shown conclusively, that, for 
 investment or residence, or both, Ireland offers many attractions, and 
 that most of the objections commonly entertained are mere bugbears. 
 
 Here we have a climate pre-eminently adapted for stock, 
 
 and offering inducements to breeders, of which, by-and-by, we shall 
 find great numbers ready to avail themselves. There are numerous 
 notes appended, which give much practical information in illustration 
 or corroboration of the views expressed in the text ; and we have no 
 doubt that Mr. Webster’s work will do great service to Irish owners of 
 land, by showing the good field for investment they can offer, and to 
 English capitalists, by pointing out the substantial advantages to be 
 derived from Irish purchases of land, with the intention to improve, by 
 removing unfounded prejudices.” 
 
 BelVs Life in London , December 19. 
 
 “ We have met with no better work than the present on this impor- 
 tant subject. Though it is but a thin duodecimo, the information it 
 contains is large, and of the greatest consequence. All that relates to 
 the soil of Ireland is briefly and admirably told by a practical man of 
 great experience in that country, and every one of our agricultural 
 readers should hasten to purchase the little book. More knowledge of 
 the sister country can be obtained from it than from any book of the size. 
 The author deserves the thanks of all persons searching for a settlement, 
 and, like the Saxon in Ireland , he proves that there are no more 
 favourable spots for it than the misgoverned and misrepresented 
 ‘ Emerald Isle.’ ” 
 
 The Telegraph , December 13, 1851. 
 
 “ In the book before us a considerable amount of information on the 
 climate, soil, and people of Ireland is collected. The physical geography 
 
4 
 
 and geology of the country, the susceptibility for reclamation of its bogs 
 and mountains, and the opening for industrial effort, are clearly stated. 
 The statistical information is very valuable, and the information as to 
 the liberal return which may be expected from judicious expenditure in 
 the purchase of land, when the tillers of the soil are treated with jus- 
 tice and encouraged, will, we trust, be taken advantage of by the class 
 for whose benefit it is intended. The writer, without unnecessarily 
 entering into the field of controversy, has, by his own experience of 
 four years as an English settler among us, refuted the calumnies on the 
 subject of the insecurity of life and property in Ireland, which have 
 been so long and so industriously circulated.” 
 
 Dublin Evening Packet , December 14. 
 
 <c The author of this work is an Englishman, frank, clear, and decided 
 in his statements, and zealous in the cause on which he has written. His 
 work is intended chiefly for his own countrymen, who propose to invest 
 their capital in Ireland, and to come and reside among us. TIis opinions, 
 there is no doubt, are founded upon considerable experience, both as to 
 time and opportunities, and we certainly believe his statements will 
 carry conviction with them where no Irish writer could succeed. They 
 will help, moreover, finally to lay the axe to the root of English pre- 
 judice, which so long has estranged us from our wealthy neighbours. 
 
 “ An Englishman, wishing to invest capital in Ireland, now first makes 
 his way to the Incumbered Estates Court, and there he finds estates for 
 sale in every county. He is bewildered by their profusion as well as bv 
 the several inducements and laudatory statements of the parties inte- 
 rested. In this condition he looks around him for a guide he can confide 
 in, that will enable him to know what county will best suit his health, 
 his occupation, or his tastes ; and, between owners and solicitors, he 
 becomes still more confused, and, perhaps, dissatisfied. If he decides 
 upon personally inspecting an estate he considers suitable for him, he 
 finds, when he arrives there, difficulties natural to a stranger. He has 
 no means of acquiring any sufficient knowledge of the capability of the 
 soil, the health of the neighbourhood, or the character of its inhabitants, 
 and without some guide beforehand, he is dependent upon the bailiff 
 of the estate. 
 
 “To meet this difficulty is one of the objects of Mr. Webster’s book. 
 He puts before the capitalist, in language, we are convinced, unexagge- 
 rated and true, the very information he requires, whether it be upon 
 the fertility of the soil, the character of the people, the poor rates, the 
 climate, the price of crops and cattle, the mineral resources, the state of 
 education, the intercommunication by canal or railway, or the fishery, 
 shooting, and hunting attractions, with a quantity of other knowledge 
 indispensable to the stranger. As specimens of the author’s capability 
 for the work he has undertaken, we subjoin three extracts from his 
 book.” 
 
 “ Mr. Webster proves all his statements by a quantity of unimpeach- 
 able tabular evidence. There is nothing like genuine enthusiasm in 
 advocacy of this kind, and we sincerely hope that Mr. Webster’s brochure , 
 which is certainly not deficient in that respect, but which abounds also 
 in practical hints for intending settlers, will fulfil the wish of its author, 
 and ihduce men of character and property, who may chance to be ‘ on 
 the move,’ to adopt as a residence a land offering to them, we verily 
 believe, a most profitable investment, as well as many of the collateral 
 advantages and attractions sought in vain by disconsolate Dodd families 
 abroad.” 
 
V.v ■ 
 
 1 . 
 
 
 
 A 
 
 
 4 
 
 i 
 
GEOLOGICAL MAP 
 
 TO 
 
 WSSOTSMS M1M1MD 
 
 field fur Investment iit Resilience 
 
 nBrnd to ni§ 
 
 1. Grande Rock 
 
 j Mica, Slate 
 
 i Quai’t^Hock L. 
 
 1 Lower C lav Slate 1 1 
 
 lumper GlaySlale 
 
 
 4. 01dRedSandstune__ 
 
 -j* 
 
 5 CoaH'rainaliriii. 
 
 1 1 
 
 6 Wtirikalde Coal 
 
 
 n IVfwRed Sandstanet 
 ' and Chalk I 
 
 -ME 
 
 f 'fi-agfioaks J 
 
 l Greens tonal iotru shim. J 
 9 . lame stone r 
 
 Loop u d 
 pc"' 
 
IRELAND 
 
 CONSIDERED AS 
 
 A FIELD 
 
 FOR 
 
 INVESTMENT OR RESIDENCE. 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM BULLOCK WEBSTER, ESQ. 
 
 »* 
 
 Hcton!) (KMtioit. 
 
 DUBLIN : 
 
 HODGES AND SMITH, GRAFTON-STREET, 
 
 BOOKSELLERS TO THE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 LONDON: SIMPKIN AND MARSHALL; SAUNDERS AND STANTON, 
 6, CHARING CROSS. 
 
 1853. 
 
DUBLIN : 
 
 PRINTED BY J. M. O’TOOLE, 
 13 , HAWKINS’-STREET. 
 
»5H z.\ 
 
 VJ 2 . 55 1 a. 
 
 o 
 
 3 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 Since the publication of the first edition of 
 this work, six months since, the Author has 
 had varied and great opportunities of testing 
 the principles of action therein recommended ; 
 he has bought landed property of various 
 descriptions, both in England and Ireland, to 
 a great extent, and has, in most instances, 
 retained the management of such properties, 
 applying the principles he recommends in all 
 cases ; and the result is a firm and settled con- 
 viction in his mind, that, as respects the rela- 
 tive value of English and Irish landed pro- 
 perty, the latter presents the fairer prospect 
 
 486350 
 
IV 
 
 PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. 
 
 of a handsome return for a judicious outlay. 
 He thus speaks in sober earnestness, not wish- 
 ing to incur the charge of enthusiasm in a 
 matter of £ s. d . ; but it will be found that 
 the facts contained in the body of the book 
 would justify him in a much more glowing 
 description of the capabilities of the soil, 
 climate, and population of Ireland, than he 
 chooses to indulge in here. It is because he 
 knows that such facts as are enumerated in 
 the work must speak forcibly to the mind of 
 every one that he will not attempt to forestall 
 the judgment, or claim for enthusiasm what 
 should only be accorded to facts. 
 
 It will be a matter of little moment to 
 persons wishing to invest in Irish land for 
 some time to come, whether the full action of 
 the Incumbered Estates Court be continued 
 or no, — for the petitions now left to be adju- 
 dicated upon are so numerous (being about 
 
PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. 
 
 V 
 
 half of the whole number presented), that 
 years must elapse before they can all be dis- 
 posed of. In the meantime, a system of 
 gradual amelioration will, he confidently 
 hopes, have been generally adopted, and, thus, 
 property will return to the market with a 
 new face and a new character, and justly 
 claim to rank among the most favoured de- 
 mesnes of England. 
 
 It will be found that such alterations only 
 have been made, in the present edition, as the 
 lapse of time and change of circumstances 
 have rendered necessary. Some valuable 
 statistical information has been added, and the 
 former tables have been brought up to the 
 present time, but nothing has been done to 
 forfeit the good opinion expressed by a liberal 
 and enlightened press on the first edition. 
 
 Dublin, May 2 , 1853 . 
 

PREFACE 
 
 TO THE FIRST EDITION. 
 
 The Author of this Work, having in his 
 professional capacity visited every county in 
 Ireland, except two, and having thus had op- 
 portunities, spreading over some years, of in- 
 forming himself both as to the capabilities of 
 the soil and the character of the people, was, 
 after a time, forcibly impressed with the mis- 
 apprehension existing in the minds of English- 
 men generally upon these important points, 
 and in which he himself once participated. 
 A sense of duty would have alone sufficed to 
 induce a desire upon his part of dispelling 
 illusions calculated to materially prejudice 
 
Vlll 
 
 PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION. 
 
 the interests of the inhabitants in so large and 
 important a portion of the United Kingdom. 
 He has, however, been further stimulated to 
 submit the result of his observations and 
 experience in Ireland to the British public, 
 from a knowledge of the vast amount of 
 capital now vainly seeking profitable invest- 
 ment, and from a conviction — as before 
 observed, the result of experience — that it 
 may be employed in the purchase of land in 
 that country, as securely and more profitably 
 than in any part of Great Britain. He would 
 repeat emphatically the remark of the present 
 Premier, the Earl of Derby, in respect to land 
 generally : “ There is no bank in which 
 capital may be so beneficially invested as in 
 the soil,” — as being at this time most espe- 
 cially and peculiarly applicable to land in 
 Ireland. 
 
 In addition to the information conveyed in 
 
PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION. ix 
 
 these pages, he would recommend his readers 
 to consult the following works, from which he 
 himself has derived much valuable informa- 
 tion : — 
 
 Thom’s “ Statistics of Ireland Sir Robert 
 Kane’s “ Industrial Resources of Ireland;” Mr. 
 Pirn’s work on “ The Condition and Prospect 
 of Ireland;” Vincent Scully’s “Irish Land 
 Question;” Sir C. Trevelyan’s u Irish Crisis;” 
 and that valuable work of Mr. Locke on the 
 “ Incumbered Estates Court.” 
 
 Great Malvern, Worcestershire, 
 November 1 , 1852 . 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Preface to Second Edition, iii 
 
 to First Edition, ..... vii 
 
 People represented as idle, .... .1 
 
 Employing one hundred Men, ..... 1 
 
 No Smoking allowed, ...... 2 
 
 Gratitude of Work-people, ..... 2 
 
 Improvement in the Poorer Classes, .... 3 
 
 Poor Rates, 4 
 
 Emigration, ........ 5 
 
 Constabulary, ........ 5 
 
 Mr. Eastwood’s Letter, 6-1 1 
 
 Estates for sale, ....... 13 
 
 capable of great improvement, . . .13 
 
 Two thousand acres on the Lower Shannon, . . 13 
 
 Colonel Kitchener’s Letter, . . . . .13 
 
 Thirty thousand acres in the West, . . . .14 
 
 Ten thousand acres near Galway, . . . .15 
 
 Twelve thousand acres on Lough Derg, . . .15 
 
 Property in the North, near Belfast, . . . .16 
 
 Castle and twelve hundred acres in the South-west, . 16 
 
Xll 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Four thousand acres, and house, . . . .16 
 
 Eight thousand acres in the South, . . . .17 
 
 Mountain Lands in the North, 18 
 
 Land in Galway, Mayo, Clare, Tipperary, . . .18 
 
 Per centage on Purchase and Outlay, . . .18 
 
 Must buy to improve, ...... 19 
 
 No time to be lost if you want to invest, . . .20 
 
 Government Title, . . . . . . .21 
 
 Government Survey, ...... 22 
 
 Government Valuation, . . . . . .23 
 
 Price of Produce that governs the Valuation,. . . 24 
 
 Poor Law Valuation, . . . . , .25 
 
 Geological formation of Ireland, . . . .26 
 
 Fertility of Soil, . . . _ . . .27 
 
 M‘Culloch’s opinion of ditto, 27 
 
 Wakefield’s opinion of ditto, . . . . .27 
 
 Arthur Young’s opinion of ditto, .... 28 
 
 Table of average Crops, . . . . . .29 
 
 Table of Produce of the best Lands, . . . .29 
 
 Average Crops of Great Britain, per statute acre, . 29 
 
 Acreage of Ireland, arable, uncultivated, farms, water, &c., 29 
 Ireland as a Sheep country, . . . . .29 
 
 Irish Wool, .... .... 30 
 
 Bog Land valuable for Food and for Manure, . . 30 
 
 Reclaiming Bog Lands, . . . . . .31 
 
 Bogs healthy, ........ 32 
 
 Beet-root Sugar, 33 
 
 Flax, 34 
 
 Fisheries, . . . . . . . .35 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Xlll 
 
 Coal-fields of Ireland, 
 
 
 
 Page. 
 . 35 
 
 Minerals, .... 
 
 
 
 
 36 
 
 Copper Ore, .... 
 
 
 
 
 36 
 
 Lead Ore, .... 
 
 
 
 
 36 
 
 Silver Ore, .... 
 
 
 
 
 36 
 
 Gold found, .... 
 
 
 
 
 36 
 
 Materials for Building, 
 
 
 
 
 37 
 
 Slate, 
 
 
 
 
 37 
 
 Clay, 
 
 
 
 
 37 
 
 Brick and Tile Yards, 
 
 
 
 
 37 
 
 Stone, ..... 
 
 
 
 
 38 
 
 Flags, ..... 
 
 
 
 
 38 
 
 Glass, 
 
 
 
 
 38 
 
 Lead, ..... 
 
 
 
 
 38 
 
 Inland Traffic, .... 
 
 
 
 
 39 
 
 Roads, ..... 
 
 
 
 
 39 
 
 Canals, ..... 
 
 
 
 
 39 
 
 River Navigation, 
 
 
 
 
 40 
 
 Railway Communication, . 
 
 
 
 
 40 
 
 Railway Accidents, . 
 
 
 
 
 41 
 
 Communication with England, . 
 
 
 
 
 41 
 
 Markets, .... 
 
 
 
 
 42 
 
 Average Prices in Ireland, 1848, 1849, 1850, 1851, . 
 
 43 
 
 Price of Stock at Ballinasloe Fair, from 1845 to 1852, 44, 
 
 45 
 
 Cattle exported into England, . 
 
 
 
 
 45 
 
 Money advanced for Improvements, 
 
 
 • 
 
 
 46 
 
 Loans paid in advance, 
 
 
 
 
 47 
 
 Power and Strength of the Trish, 
 
 
 
 
 48 
 
 Sunday Schools, 
 
 
 
 
 49 
 
XIV 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Education, ........ 49 
 
 Royal Schools, . . . . . . .50 
 
 Cheap Labour, 50 
 
 Wages of Work-people, . .... .50 
 
 Price of Bricks, Lime, Meat, Poultry, Fish, and Car-hire, 51 
 
 Water-power, 52 to 54 
 
 Ireland a good sporting country, — Fisheries, Shooting, 
 
 Hunting, 56 
 
 No assessed Taxes, 57 
 
 Climate, — Mean Temperature to be, . . . . 57 
 
 Heat in Dublin and London, . . . . .61 
 
 Fall of Rain, — Ireland, . . . . . .61 
 
 Fall of Rain, — England, 62 
 
 other places, . . . . .62 
 
 Quantity of Rain each Month in London and Dublin, . 63 
 
 Winds each season in Dublin at one view, ... 64 
 
 Character of Seasons in Dublin and London for forty years, 64 
 
 Mela on Climate, 65 
 
 Stanyhurst on Climate, 65 
 
 Absentee Landlords, 67 
 
 Court of Equity, 68 
 
 Bribery and Corruption, 68 
 
 Bribes given, .69 
 
 Exacting Money, ....... 70 
 
 Circumstances altered, 71 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 Note I. — English and Scotch Purchasers in the Irish 
 
 Incumbered Estates Court, 73 
 
CONTENTS. XV 
 
 Page. 
 
 Table II. — Showing the County, Acreage, and 
 
 Amount of English and Scotch Purchases, . 74 
 
 Table III. — Acreage and Amounts arranged 
 
 according to Provinces, . . . .75 
 
 Table IV. — Showing the Localities from 
 
 whence the Purchase-money came, . . 76 
 
 Table V. — Showing the Number and compa- 
 rative Amounts of English and Scotch Pur- 
 chasers, 76 
 
 Table VI. — Showing (as accurately as can be 
 ascertained) the Classification of these Pur- 
 chasers, 77 
 
 Total Sales effected under the Court, . . 77 
 
 Note II. — Poor Rates, . . . . . .77 
 
 Poor Rates in Castlerea Union, . . .78 
 
 Donegal Union, . . .79 
 
 Letterkenny Union, . 79, 80 
 
 South Dublin Union, . . 80 
 
 Different Counties, . . .81 
 
 Number of Electoral Divisions, . . .81 
 
 Note III. — Character of the Irish for Industry, . 82 to 86 
 
 Note IV. — Food of the Irish, . . . 86 to 89 
 
 Note V. — Origin of Agrarian Disturbances, . 89 to 93 
 
 Note VI. — The Landlord does little in Ireland, . 93 to 95 
 
 Note VII. — Government Money advanced, . . 96 
 
 Note VIII. — Forty-Shilling Freeholders, ... 96 
 
 Note IX. — English Ladies the cause of Estates not 
 
 being bought, 97 to 99 
 
 Note X. — Mr. Beale Browne’s Letter, . . .100 
 
XVI 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Note XI. — Communication with Ireland, . . 101, 102 
 
 Note XII. — Meaning of Irish Names, . . 103, 104 
 
 Note XIII. — Investment of Trust-money in Ireland, . 105 
 
 Note XIV. — Rundale Tenure, .... 105, 106 
 
 Note XV. — Estates in Court of Chancery, . . 106, 107 
 
 Note XVI. — Farms, 107 
 
 Note XVIT. — Relative Quantity and Value of English, 
 
 Scotch, and Irish Acres, . . . .108 
 
 Note XVIII. — Extract from a Letter from Lord Cla- 
 rendon, 108 to 110 
 
 Note XIX. — On the Geological Map, . Ill to 116 
 
 Note XX. — Character of the Irish Peasantry, . . 116 
 
 Note XXI. — Internal Communication, . 117 to 120 
 
 %* Visitors to Ireland should provide themselves with the 
 “ Tourists’ Illustrated Hand-book,” originated 
 and completed with so much energy by Mr. Cusack 
 Roney, It is a most complete guide to the principal 
 objects of interest throughout the country. 
 
IRELAND 
 
 AS 
 
 A FIELD 
 
 FOB, 
 
 INVESTMENT OR RESIDENCE. 
 
 The following notes are offered on a four 
 years’ experience of the country to which they 
 refer. In publishing them, I am well aware 
 of the one grand difficulty that will continu- 
 ally oppose any of the arguments, or rather 
 facts, I may be enabled to advance : — “ In Ire- 
 land there is no security for either life or pro- 
 perty,” — at least so we think in England. In dis- 
 puting this opinion, my answer shall be based 
 mainly on my own experience of a people 
 commonly represented as only idle and dis- 
 contented. For more than one-fourth of the 
 period named, I had upwards of a hundred 
 
 B 
 
2 
 
 IRISH GRATITUDE. 
 
 men, under the superintendence of an English 
 foreman, employed upon one estate. They 
 were never allowed any irregularity, either 
 in coming to or leaving their employment ; 
 there was no disturbance during the whole of 
 the time they were so engaged; and, wonder- 
 ful to relate, I did not allow a man to smoke 
 while at his work. They were, of course, 
 regularly paid, at the rate of from seven to 
 nine shillings a week ; and, altogether, I 
 believe, fairly treated and judiciously managed. 
 In return for this, I was neither shot at, nor yet 
 threatened ; nay, even more, on leaving the 
 district they raised a subscription amongst 
 themselves, and presented me with a hand- 
 some silver-mounted walking-stick, having 
 my name engraved on it. 
 
 It must be remembered, that, within the last 
 few years, the Irish peasant has made a gra- 
 dual, but, at the same time, an immense ad- 
 vance in those habits which are most con- 
 ducive to industrial success. The existing 
 
IMPROVEMENT IN THE PEOPLE. 
 
 3 
 
 generation, I am certain, is half a century in 
 advance of the former, while the children 
 now at school promise to be, at least, a century 
 in advance of their parents. The people were 
 idle, reckless, and ignorant, for they had 
 neither hope nor inducement to be otherwise. 
 Temperance-halls and village-schools are now r 
 reversing all this, and constant employment 
 alone is wanting to establish, in a fairer light, 
 the real character of the working Irish. In 
 Avoca, some years since, upon pay-days, five- 
 hundred gallons of whiskey were regularly 
 consumed by the two thousand men working 
 the mines : the night, as a natural consequence, 
 was spent in fighting, while the wives and 
 children begged in vain for a share of the 
 wages for food and clothing. Comparatively 
 little whiskey is now sold upon pay-days, and 
 the wives of the men receive for them. In 
 many other parts of Ireland the same thing 
 takes place, and there is a complete change in 
 the character of the people. 
 
4 
 
 POOR RATES. 
 
 With this improvement in the temper and 
 habits of the working classes, there has been 
 an accompanying diminution in one of the 
 greatest burdens on landed property — the 
 poor rate. There is now little or nothing to 
 be dreaded from this tax, as I convinced my- 
 self during a tour I lately made through almost 
 every county, with the object of looking at 
 estates. In no one instance did I find the 
 rate to exceed four shillings per English acre, 
 although it often had been double or treble 
 this amount. In many districts I could name, 
 it is not over sixpence in the pound ; and the 
 average for all Ireland is not more than about 
 Is. 9 d* Another means towards further re- 
 ducing this is emigration, which is still on 
 the increase. In fact, the Irish have been 
 generally the most successful of our emigrat- 
 
 * And if the proposed financial measures of the Government, 
 to forego the debt of £4,000,000, advanced in connexion with 
 the Poor Law and the famine, be carried, this will give a 
 much further reduction. 
 
EMIGRATION POLICE FORCE. 
 
 5 
 
 in g people; and this, becoming well known, 
 naturally increases the desire of others to fol- 
 low. In 1851, there could not have been 
 less than 279,000 persons emigrating — a num- 
 ber which a variety of circumstances will tend 
 to increase during the present year. 
 
 Everything thus unites to strengthen the 
 cause of order in Ireland. The disaffected and 
 unthriving may be drafted from it ; the indus- 
 trious and well-intentioned, by having induce- 
 ments offered them, may yet remain ; while a 
 most efficiently organized police force, com- 
 bined with the numerous English and Scotch 
 settlers, must quickly suppress any lingering 
 system of intimidation that may yet remain. 
 The constabulary at this time consists of an 
 Inspector-General, two Deputy Inspectors-Ge- 
 neral, with two Assistant Inspectors-General, 
 and a most efficient and well-distributed body 
 of horse and foot constables, numbering in all 
 upwards of 12,000 men. 
 
 In tracing this progress of order in Ireland, 
 
(*) 
 
 mr. eastwood’s letter. 
 
 however correct I know my premises to be, I 
 still feel conscious that I may be deemed over- 
 sanguine. As a proper qualification or guard, 
 therefore, to my own opinions and experience, 
 J have applied to a gentleman (Mr. Eastwood, 
 whom Sir Robert Peel spoke so highly of in 
 the House of Commons, as a spirited settler in 
 the West), yet more intimate with the country 
 and the real character of the Irish. The com- 
 mencement of his letter, received subsequently 
 to what I have already written on the same 
 point, will be found to agree almost entirely 
 with my own views, while the value of his 
 estimates may be fairly deduced from the 
 detail of what he has accomplished : — 
 
 “ Adragoole, Clifden, Connemara, 
 “ July 27th, 1852. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — However difficult I may 
 find it to comply with your request, and give 
 you full information on the value of invest- 
 ments in Ireland, from my own experience, 
 
SECURITY OF LIFE AND PROPERTY. 
 
 7 
 
 yet I feel great pleasure in doing so as well 
 as tlie limits of a letter will allow. From my 
 own observation and experience I attribute a 
 great deal of tlie unwillingness Englishmen 
 have to settling in Ireland to two doubts, 
 which, like nursery rhymes, have fixed them- 
 selves on their minds. The first is a doubt as 
 to the security of life and property ; the second 
 is a doubt as to Pat’s applicability to either 
 mental or physical labour. Now, both these 
 doubts have no more substance or foundation 
 than the fictions chronicled in the nursery 
 rhymes, and yet, I believe, they take as deep 
 root, and will prove as hard to eradicate. I 
 own that I entertained these doubts myself 
 before I came over into Ireland ; but a short 
 acquaintance with the people soon convinced 
 me that I had injured them in thought, and 
 satisfied me that a contrary opinion could only 
 exist where great ignorance of the Irish cha- 
 racter remained. I am not afraid of being 
 contradicted by any Englishman who has 
 
8 
 
 IRISH LABOURERS. 
 
 gained a character, and settled in this country, 
 when I say, that life and property are fully as 
 safe, if not more so, than in England. The 
 Irish peasants know well how to distinguish 
 between friends and foes. It may and will 
 take some time before the new settler can re- 
 move the caution and distrust which expe- 
 rience on their part has sadly imposed. But 
 they are quick to observe, and ready to follow, 
 an example, and when that is fairly placed 
 before them, without any notice being taken 
 of their unjust fears and doubts, both will 
 soon vanish, and you retain the Irish labourer 
 a docile and tractable servant ever after. 
 
 u I commenced work in this county early 
 in the year 1846, and being looked upon, I 
 suppose, as a rara avis , I had constant appli- 
 cants for work at all times in the day. 
 
 “ The labour there consisted in digging up 
 land, running deep and wide dykes for car- 
 rying off water, throwing down old walls, 
 breaking up the stones for drains and fences, 
 
MODE OF MANAGEMENT. 
 
 9 
 
 uprooting large stumps of trees, and turning 
 the course of a river which interfered greatly 
 with my designs. With so many operations 
 on hand at the same time, I was enabled to 
 pay particular attention to that most difficult 
 attainment in the workmaster, — a proper me- 
 chanical distribution of the labour. There is 
 a way of managing a task when, from the 
 division and shifting of the labour, the men 
 sometimes are ignorant of the object to be 
 gained till it is almost accomplished, and then 
 they see the motives which guided all the 
 changes throughout the work, and if correct 
 (for they then can judge them), the manage- 
 ment receives all the credit it deserves. I 
 knew much depended on the character I might 
 gain for judgment of the men I employed, 
 and consequently paid every attention to the 
 economy of their labour. The wages in the 
 country were from 7 d. to 8 d. a day for men, 
 and from 3d. to 6 d. a day for boys and wo- 
 men. I commenced by giving 10 d. a day to 
 
10 
 
 WAGES. 
 
 the men ; but in this I was wrong. I soon 
 found I was inflicting an injury on farmers in 
 the neighbourhood, and in the then condition 
 of the peasantry I discovered that they thought 
 me foolish for doing so, and actually were less 
 inclined to work. I, therefore, adopted the 
 amount of wages in the country. I often had 
 as many as three hundred labourers. I paid 
 them regularly every Saturday night. I was 
 with them the whole day ; and whenever I 
 found any reason whatever to dismiss a man, 
 I paid him his 'wages and sent him off out of 
 the field, and probably his place was imme- 
 diately taken by some one of the many who 
 would wait from morning till night expecting 
 to come in for such a reversion. I was very 
 strict, but then I tried to be very just; and, 
 after some time, I found great satisfaction 
 with the labour I obtained. This subject of 
 labour is so well understood in this country, 
 that, to any one about here reading this, it 
 would sound very like a person in Newcastle 
 
THE IRISH WILL WORK. 
 
 11 
 
 telling another resident that it was a coal dis- 
 trict. I would wish to be believed ; but how 
 can I expect to be, when so many other autho- 
 rities are discredited ! Nevertheless, the man 
 who works well in England and America, 
 can also work well, and will, in his own coun- 
 try, when he is well handled and fairly in- 
 duced. The Midland and Great Western 
 Railway in Ireland is the work of Irish 
 hands ; and I myself can bear testimony, from 
 slight observation, to the very great efficiency, 
 from the highest to the lowest labour em- 
 ployed in its construction. The extensive 
 works, under Government, of the Loughs 
 Mask and Corrib, are at present engaging a 
 great number of hands. Those, therefore, to 
 whom the uncertainty of the value of Irish 
 labour is an impediment to their taking land 
 in the country, can easily come over, and 
 judge for themselves. If they have any know- 
 ledge of what labour means, they will soon 
 make up their minds on the subject.” 
 
12 CAN THERE BE A BETTER INVESTMENT? 
 
 Such is the opinion of a gentleman of 
 experience on the subject. 
 
 If, then, we can only once assume that life 
 and property may be trusted in Ireland, where 
 shall we find a better field for investment? 
 I will say nothing here of the privileges 
 and enjoyments landed possessions confer over 
 every other kind of estate, nor of the general 
 advantage this description of property is 
 likely to attain over all other. By far the 
 most satisfactory plan will be, in the first in- 
 stance, to treat the question simply as a mat- 
 ter of business, and to demonstrate to the 
 capitalist how he may invest his money with 
 every promise, or rather certainty, of making 
 a successful speculation. 
 
 As the first step in proceeding to answer 
 this inquiry, let us ascertain the opportunity 
 afforded for investment, and the terms upon 
 which it may be made. As a general rule, 
 then, land, now selling in England at thirty 
 years’ purchase, may be bought in Ireland at 
 
ESTATES FOR SALE. 
 
 13 
 
 from fifteen to twenty ; and almost all, be it 
 remembered, far more capable, and more eco- 
 nomical^ to be improved upon, than any in 
 the former country. 
 
 I will not, however, confine myself to gene- 
 ralities, but give, from my personal knowledge, 
 the particulars of a few estates, either now in 
 the market, or recently disposed of. Amongst 
 the latter is one purchased by a friend of 
 mine, under the power of the Court. It 
 consists of 2,000 acres of land, situated on the 
 banks of the Lower Shannon, — altogether, 
 indeed, in a most favourable locality, and for 
 the fee-simple of which he gave £3,000 * I 
 
 * The following letter from this gentleman appeared in 
 the Times some months since : — 
 
 “ Driven from the army, in which I was lieutenant-colonel, 
 by illness, and seeking health by travelling in Ireland, I was 
 struck by the advantages of purchasing under the Incumbered 
 Estates Bill. I found a property beautifully situated, but in a 
 wretched state of farming, with a number of small tenants. I 
 bought it at ten years’ purchase. My first step was to get rid 
 of the tenants off that portion of the land which I determined 
 
14 COLONEL KITCHENER’S LETTER. 
 
 myself was offered, in the wild part of the 
 West, upwards of 30,000 acres, at something 
 less than 7s. an acre, fee-simple, — the best 
 
 to commence improving and farming. There was half-a-year’s 
 rent due directly after the purchase. This I forgave them; 
 paid their rates and charges, and bought their crops by valua- 
 tion. From such as wished to go to America I took their 
 stock also by valuation ; and for those who preferred taking 
 farms, I allowed their cattle to remain on my land until they 
 found one. 
 
 “ By these means I got all the land I wanted, without any 
 trouble, generally receiving the blessings of those who are 
 represented in England as ready to murder under such 
 circumstances. 
 
 “ Some of the smaller tenants still occupy their houses, 
 work for me as labourers, and are well contented. I pay them 
 8d. per day, but most of my work is put out by the piece. I 
 average 75 men and 50 women daily ; the former are employed 
 in draining, making roads, knocking down fences, and other 
 general improvements ; the latter in weeding, carrying turf, 
 and picking stones. They are under the management of a 
 Scotch steward, and are very amenable, but require much 
 looking after, as they are inclined to be lazy. 
 
 “ I purchased the land last autumn. I put in my spring 
 corn principally with the spade, and my crops are now 
 looking well. The lands of this country are most fertile : 40 
 to 60 tons of green crops per Irish acre are to be obtained by 
 
ESTATES IN THE WEST. 
 
 15 
 
 description of mountain land here not ex- 
 ceeding £1 per acre. Again, in Galway, 
 10,000 acres for £2,000 ; and on the Galway 
 side of Lough Derg, 1,200 acres, which, if fairly 
 
 decent farming ; stones for drainage, brick-earth, water-power 
 for machinery, and turf, are on the land, and in produce can 
 compete (by water carriage) in the London market with 
 those 100 miles off by rail. The rates and charges set on 
 land, if but a few English would but come over with capital 
 to employ the poor and improve the land, would dwindle into 
 nothing. I am living in a cottage without a lock or a bolt, 
 sleeping on the ground-floor, without shutters. I would not 
 return to live in England, so little secure. 
 
 “ I have received the greatest kindness from all ranks. We 
 have nine or ten neighbours within visiting distance. I have 
 grouse, woodcock, snipe, and hares, upon my property ; 
 yachting close by. Geese and cod-fish are brought to me at 
 one shilling each; large turbot, two shillings; soles, one 
 penny each ; fowls, one shilling a couple, and everything else 
 in proportion. Now, Englishmen who have capital, with 
 intelligent, active sons, think of land at ten years’ purchase, 
 improvable to an enormous extent, doing good in your 
 generation, and able to laugh at free trade ! I do not advocate 
 the purchase of land without the intention of residence and 
 improving ; but I am so confident of the advantages to be 
 derived, that I am intending to stake all I am worth in the 
 venture.” 
 
16 
 
 ESTATES SOLD. 
 
 farmed, would grow any crop, for £2,500. A 
 very short time since I was looking over a 
 property In the North, not forty miles from 
 Belfast, the house on which, in a good state 
 of repair, cost £60,000; the park- wall, over 
 £3000. The land surrounding it reached 
 very near upon 600 acres, of a superior 
 quality; and the timber, not including the 
 ornamental, was valued twenty years ago at 
 more than £20,000. There are two beautiful 
 streams running through the demesne, and 
 game of all kinds abounds. This estate was 
 offered me, inclusive of the timber, for less 
 than £20,000 ! Another twenty-thousand 
 pounds bargain I have seen includes a mag- 
 nificent castle residence, with 1,200 acres 
 attached to it. The castle cost over 
 £70,000, — at least so it is said. 
 
 My especial attention has also been directed 
 to the following properties, which I believe to 
 be still for sale : — 
 
 One of 4,000 acres, with good house, well- 
 
ESTATES FOR SALE. 
 
 17 
 
 timbered demesne, and poor rate not exceed- 
 ing a shilling in the pound ; present rental over 
 £2,000 per annum, which might be consider- 
 ably increased, — I was offered for something 
 like £40,000. Another, in the most beautiful 
 part of the South, from between 8,000 to 9,000 
 acres, with not a pauper tenant on it, and poor 
 rates not reaching sixpence in the pound, may 
 be bought for less than £10 an acre, fee- 
 simple. On this property, too, there is more 
 than £12,000 worth of young timber. I also 
 know an estate likely to go for less than 
 half its value, the rental of which was over 
 £12,000 a year, and I should have little fear 
 but that, with a judicious outlay, it might 
 soon be raised again to as much or more. 
 Almost adjoining this are 10,000 acres, to be 
 had for about £50,000 ; while small properties 
 of from 50 to 500 acres in extent may be pur- 
 chased on equally advantageous terms. The 
 estates I have mentioned, it is right to add, 
 
 contain a portion of mountain land. In many 
 
 c 
 
18 
 
 ESTATES FOR SALE. 
 
 parts of the North, large mountain farms, in- 
 cluding portions of uncultivated land, may be 
 purchased for £2 an acre, the fee-simple. In 
 the South the same description of land does 
 not reach so high a price. In the better parts 
 of Galway, Mayo, Clare, Tipperary, Limerick, 
 and Cork, good arable and pasture land, re- 
 quiring improvement, is now offered for £6 
 per acre, fee-simple; and very superior land 
 in the same counties, for from £8 to £12. 
 Any one making a judicious purchase in Ire- 
 land now may insure a clear 5 per cent, after 
 all deductions, and have an estate that will, 
 in all probability, be nearly doubled in value 
 in a few years, by a moderate expenditure 
 upon it. 
 
 In fact, there is so much property now for 
 sale in Ireland, and of such infinite variety in 
 quality, condition, and price, that a buyer can 
 scarcely fail in obtaining what he requires. 
 A stranger, however, might be some time 
 before he exactly suited himself, and I have, 
 
MUST BUY TO IMPROVE. 
 
 19 
 
 therefore, thought it as well to point out, from 
 my own experience of the country, some of 
 the districts to which he should first turn, as 
 well as naming some of the more important 
 and desirable properties now on sale. Of 
 course I shall be happy to give more informa- 
 tion respecting such as I have referred to, 
 should any of my readers wish to consult me. 
 In any case it must be recollected, that to buy 
 Irish property we must buy to improve it; and 
 I have never yet seen an estate here which 
 might not be easily and quickly nearly 
 doubled in value. Indeed there is scarcely a 
 property purchased under the Incumbered 
 Estates Court, and upon which anything like 
 permanent improvement has been attempted, 
 but would now sell at from 20 to 30 per cent 
 premium.* The gentleman I have already 
 
 * My experience, since the first edition of this work, fully 
 bears me out in these assertions, having purchased about 
 16,000 acres of the different characters described in the 
 Eastern, Western, and Southern counties. 
 
20 
 
 THE TIME TO INVEST. 
 
 quoted gives me a few significant words here 
 on the expediency of immediate action, which 
 cannot command too much attention. He 
 says : — 
 
 “ For those who really wish to buy land in 
 this country, now is the time. The land con- 
 sidered as dearly bought now, will be worth 
 as much again after twelve months. Many 
 whom I advised to purchase during the last 
 year now repent not having done so. There 
 never was such an investment for capital and 
 skill as Ireland at present offers, and the money 
 seems to be rolling into England expressly 
 for this purpose.” 
 
 One great reason, no doubt, why capitalists 
 have not earlier turned their attention to Irish 
 estates has been the extreme difficulty and 
 hazard incurred in making a title. In fact, 
 the complicated and expensive proceedings 
 attendant on the transfer of land have long 
 been a weak point both on this and the other 
 side of the channel. In Ireland, of course, 
 
GOVERNMENT TITLE. 
 
 21 
 
 the many mortgages and debts, with, it may 
 be, tenant-right and other claims, have consi- 
 derably increased these difficulties, and pro- 
 portionably lessened the chance of sale. The 
 Incumbered Estates Act, however, has now 
 most efficiently remedied this. On all fee- 
 simple estates the Commissioners have power 
 to give indefeasible Parliamentary title to 
 trusts conveyed by them, discharged from all 
 former and other estates, rights, titles, charges, 
 and incumbrances whatsoever of Her Majesty, 
 her heirs and successors, and all other persons 
 whatsoever (see 27th section of the Act). 
 Again, the 49th section makes the conveyance 
 by the Commissioners “ conclusive evidence, 
 that every application, proceeding, and act 
 whatsoever, which ought to have been made, 
 given, and done previously to the execution 
 of such conveyance or assignment has been 
 made, given, and done by the persons autho- 
 rized to make, give, and do the same.” In 
 short, it is impossible that words more clear 
 
22 
 
 GOVERNMENT SURVEY. 
 
 and significant could be used to confer a clear 
 and established title, than are now employed 
 by this Court. The cost, moreover, of this 
 title is very little more than the stamp duties, 
 while it is so compact and brief, that it may 
 be carried with ease in the waistcoat pocket* 
 
 Another matter, of no slight importance to 
 a purchaser of property in Ireland, is the assist- 
 ance he may derive from the Government 
 Survey. For a few shillings he can obtain 
 from this an accurate map of his property, with 
 every boundary clearly and distinctly marked, 
 every house and small building, — bog-land 
 distinguished from other — with the elevations, 
 &c. So distinct and beautiful are these maps, 
 that even the garden walks are clearly laid 
 down. 
 
 Again, he may be yet further advised and 
 
 * Although it is possible that the operation of the Incum- 
 bered Estates Commission may not be prolonged, still, the 
 number of petitions already lodged is so large, that years must 
 elapse before the whole are finally disposed of. The number 
 of petitions still to be dealt with is 1,396. 
 
GOVERNMENT VALUATION. 
 
 23 
 
 assisted in his proceedings by the Townland 
 Valuation of Ireland (Act 6 & 7 Wm. IV. 
 chap. 84), which was commenced in 1830; 
 as well as by another Act of 1846 (9 & 10 
 Viet. chap. 110), for a Tenement Valuation. 
 
 The result of these two measures is, that 
 we now have a Government Valuation of 
 every portion of land yet completed (and it 
 is nearly all finished), so that in either pur- 
 chasing or renting a property, you have not 
 only the rent paid or demanded, but both the 
 Government and Poor Law Valuation of every 
 field. 
 
 The following is the scale of prices for agri- 
 cultural produce on which the Government 
 V aluation was made : — 
 
 Wheat, per cwt., 
 Oats, „ 
 Barley, „ 
 Potatoes, ,, 
 Butter, ,, 
 
 Beef, „ 
 Mutton, ,, 
 
 Pork, „ 
 
 £0 10 0 
 0 6 0 
 0 7 0 
 0 1 7 
 3 9 0 
 
 1 13 0 
 
 1 14 6 
 
 1 5 6 
 
24 
 
 PRICE OF PRODUCE. 
 
 But in the recent Act, 15 and 16 Viet chap. 
 63, sec. 11, intituled, “ An Act to amend the 
 
 Laws relating to the Valuation of Rateable 
 Property in Ireland/’ the scale of prices has 
 been materially altered, as laid down in the 
 
 following table : — 
 Wheat, 
 
 General average 
 Price. 
 
 S. D. 
 
 7 6 per cwt. of 1 1 2 lbs. 
 
 Oats, . 
 
 . 4 10 
 
 >> 
 
 Earley, 
 
 . 5 6 
 
 
 Plax, . 
 
 . 49 0 
 
 
 Butter, 
 
 . 65 4 
 
 >> 
 
 Beef, . 
 
 . 35 6 
 
 yy 
 
 Mutton, 
 
 . 41 0 
 
 yy 
 
 Pork, . 
 
 . 32 0 
 
 yy 
 
 “ And these prices 
 
 are to be taken into account 
 
 in every valuation with regard to land here- 
 
 after to be made under the provisions of this 
 Act.” 
 
 The Poor Law Valuation alone, although 
 very useful in going over an estate, cannot 
 be depended upon ; for in many cases it will 
 be found much under the letting value. The 
 same will apply to the Government or Grif- 
 
POOR LAW VALUATION. 
 
 25 
 
 fith’s Valuation — as, for instance, in many 
 parts of the North, where land has been well 
 farmed and rents high, this estimate is deci- 
 dedly beyond the mark ; but in other districts, 
 where rents have been very low, and the land 
 badly farmed, it is quite as palpably below the 
 real letting value. The published rentals, in 
 a word, ought to be looked most carefully into, 
 and never taken for granted. 
 
 Further assuming, then, that every man has 
 a fair chance not only of living, but of pros- 
 pering in Ireland — that the people may be 
 managed and the land worked, both to some- 
 thing more like their actual capability, — let 
 us now proceed to consider in what these capa- 
 bilities consist, and how they may be most 
 advantageously developed. As a first step 
 towards making this inquiry as complete and 
 satisfactory as possible, let us commence with 
 a word or two on the nature of the country 
 and the facilities it affords, or the impediments 
 it offers, to the more general advance of civi- 
 lization. 
 
26 
 
 GEOLOGY OF IRELAND. 
 
 To go, accordingly, to the very foundation, 
 the geological structure of Ireland has the 
 striking peculiarity of most of the great moun- 
 tain ranges being near the coast, while the 
 central portion is comparatively level. The 
 formations are limestone (which is by far the 
 most extensive), granite, mica slate, clay- 
 slate, old red sandstone, yellow sandstone, and 
 basaltic rocks. 
 
 The advantage the country possesses over 
 England, in a geological character, is, that we 
 do not find the poor, sandy districts, such as 
 the Bagshot Heath formation ; neither are there 
 any of the poor clay soils, such as are found 
 on the London, the Plastic, the Oxford, and 
 the Weald clays; the greater portion being a 
 good loam, resting upon limestone, with thou- 
 sands of acres on the old red sandstone, of 
 fine corn land similar to Herefordshire and 
 Devonshire. 
 
 The fertility of the soil, and its peculiar fit- 
 ness for the pursuits of agriculture, is a fact 
 so well known, and altogether so indisputable, 
 
SOILS. 
 
 27 
 
 that it may appear almost superfluous to touch 
 on it here ; still it may be as well to briefly 
 enumerate the opinions and experience of 
 some of our highest authorities. In doing so 
 I shall content myself with those of M‘Culloch, 
 Wakefield, and Arthur Young, supported by 
 a table of comparative estimates, prepared 
 under the superintendence of Professor Lowe. 
 
 The first-named, in his Account of the 
 British Empire, w r rites thus: — “ The luxu- 
 riance of the pastures, and the heavy crops of 
 oats that are everywhere raised, even with the 
 most wretched cultivation, attest its extraor- 
 dinary fertility.” 
 
 Mr. Wakefield, who published an elaborate 
 account of Ireland in 1812, says: — “ A great 
 portion of the soil of Ireland throws out luxu- 
 riant herbage, springing from a calcareous sub- 
 soil without any considerable depth. This is 
 one species of rich soil in Ireland, and is found 
 throughout Roscommon, parts of Galway, 
 Clare, and other districts. Some places exhibit 
 
28 
 
 FERTILITY. 
 
 the richest loam I ever saw turned up with 
 the plough.” 
 
 Arthur Young, speaking of Limerick and 
 Tipperary, declares, — “ It is the richest soil, 
 and such as is applicable to every wish. It will 
 fatten the largest bullock ; at the same time do 
 equally well for sheep, for tillage, for turnips, 
 for wheat, for beans, — in a word, for every crop 
 and circumstance of profitable husbandry ” 
 
 Since the time of Arthur Young increased 
 interest has been felt in the advancement of 
 agriculture, till, at the present time, there are 
 74 societies in connexion with the parent 
 Agricultural Society in Dublin, and 22 Model 
 Agricultural Schools in operation. 
 
 AVERAGE CROPS OE THE CULTIVATED LAND OE IRE- 
 LAND GENERALLY, PER STATUTE ACRE. 
 
 
 lbs. of seed. 
 
 lbs. of corn. 
 
 Of wheat, 
 
 . 142J . 
 
 . 1,300 
 
 Of here (a coarse barley), 
 
 . 132± . 
 
 . 2,148 
 
 Of barley, 
 
 . 145 
 
 . 1,820 
 
 Of oats, 
 
 . 196 . 
 
 . 1,734 
 
 Potatoes, 
 
 . 1,404 . 
 
 . 13,669 
 
PRODUCE. 
 
 29 
 
 PRODUCE OF THE BEST LAND IN IRELAND. 
 
 
 lbs. 
 
 Wheat — Waterford, 
 
 . 4,200 
 
 Bere — Limerick, 
 
 . 4,480 
 
 Barley — Kildare, Meath, . 
 
 . 4,480 
 
 Oats — Derry, 
 
 . 4,032 
 
 Potatoes — Meath, . 
 
 . 72,100 
 
 AVERAGE CROPS IN 
 
 GREAT BRITAIN PER STATUTE 
 ACRE. 
 
 lbs. 
 
 Wheat, . 
 
 . 1,380 
 
 Barley, 
 
 . 1,872 
 
 Oats, 
 
 . 1,200 
 
 Potatoes, . 
 
 . 17,920 
 
 The acreage of Ireland is put at 20,808,271, 
 which are thus divided : — 
 
 Arable, 
 
 Acres. 
 
 13,464,300 
 
 Uncultivated, . 6,295,735 
 
 Plantations, . 374,482 
 
 Towns, . . 42,929 
 
 Water, Lakes, Eivers, 630,825 
 Bog, . . . 2,833,000 
 
 4,600,000 
 
 improvable. 
 
 Elevation, 387 feet (average). 
 
 As a sheep country, Ireland is perhaps yet 
 more superior. The common grass, found so 
 
30 
 
 ACREAGE OF IRELAND. 
 
 abundantly in almost every part, and known 
 as the crested dog’s tail (cynosurus cristatus ), 
 has for years been considered far better suited 
 for sheep than almost any other grass. In the 
 extensive district of fine warm land situated 
 on the limestone, where the fall of rain 
 is so quickly absorbed, this is strikingly 
 exemplified — at least in one way — the wool 
 grown here is estimated by the manufacturers 
 as the finest and altogether the most valuable 
 they can anywhere procure. 
 
 Another important point, in considering 
 Ireland as an agricultural country, is, the 
 quantity of bog land with which it is inter- 
 sected. This supplies an unlimited amount 
 of fuel, the best material, in the shape of 
 vegetable matter, for the manufacturer of 
 manure. From the tables already given it 
 will be found that the total area of turf bog is 
 estimated at 2,830,000 acres: of this quantity, 
 1,876,000 acres are flat bog, spread over the 
 central portion of the great limestone plain ; 
 
BOG LANDS. 
 
 31 
 
 the remainder acres are chiefly scattered over 
 the hilly districts near the coast. 
 
 The policy of attempting to reclaim this 
 kind of land has long been a vexed question, 
 although nearly every attempt made with any- 
 thing like efficient power and spirit has been 
 attended with success. Still I do not think it 
 desirable to go to much expense with these 
 till the good lands are improved. 
 
 The partially cut away bogs are well 
 known to be valuable soils for root crops, 
 where the subsoil is of a calcareous nature ; 
 take for instance the bog lands of Wilson 
 Ffrance, in Lancashire. From these are sup- 
 plied peat charcoal (the value of which has 
 been ably shown by Jasper Rogers), and from 
 the distillation of which severable valuable 
 products are being profitably obtained. 
 
 In their present state it should be known 
 that the bogs of Ireland communicate none of 
 those ill-effects to the atmosphere which the 
 fens and marshes of other countries too often 
 
32 
 
 BOGS NOT INJURIOUS. 
 
 inflict on those residing in the vicinity of 
 them. On the contrary, the peasantry living 
 in these bog districts are amongst the most 
 healthy and best-grown of the Irish popula- 
 tion. Further than this, I was staying some 
 time since with an officer who had fixed his re- 
 sidence in the very centre of some 50,000 acres 
 of bog land. Invalided, he had travelled 
 through all parts of England in search of 
 health in vain t and it was only here that he 
 found he could free himself from the doctor’s 
 hands. So far, indeed, from being mere 
 masses of putrefaction, the preservative quali- 
 ties of the bogs are almost generally known. 
 Wood and other substances are taken out of 
 them as sound and perfect as they ever could 
 have been, though, very probably, thus im- 
 bedded for centuries. The generality of the 
 bogs are at a moderate elevation, and are ca- 
 pable of a surface drainage at an expense 
 not exceeding 15s. per acre. 
 
 With regard to the manufacture of sugar 
 
BEET ROOT SUGAR. 
 
 33 
 
 from beet-root, Sir Robert Kane has made the 
 following statement: — 
 
 “ 1st — That the sugar beet requires, for its 
 successful cultivation, a rich loamy soil, tho- 
 roughly and deeply worked, thoroughly 
 drained and divided; and that the presence 
 of organic matter in excess or undecomposed 
 in the soil, is an important disadvantage. 
 
 “ 2nd — That the employment of saline or 
 rich nitrogenous manures, immediately before 
 or during the growth of the beet, acts un- 
 favourably on the employment of the plant 
 for making sugar, by rendering the juice 
 impure, and increasing the proportion of 
 azotized materials, which readily ferment, and 
 thereby convert the crystallizable into un- 
 crystallizable sugar, which is the most usual 
 and important source of loss in the manu- 
 facture. 
 
 “ 3rd — That it is fully established that the 
 entire quantity of sugar in the beet exists 
 naturally as crystallizable cane sugar, and 
 
 D 
 
34 
 
 FLAX. 
 
 that uncrystallizable sugar makes its appear- 
 ance only as a product of decomposition in 
 the manufacture (molasses), and is therefore, 
 so far, a source of loss, which may be avoided 
 by improved treatment. 
 
 “ 4th — That the quantity of sugar present 
 in Irish grown beet is in no way inferior to 
 that usually found in the beet roots used in 
 the sugar manufactories of the Continent; and 
 that, in some cases, the per centage of sugar 
 yielded by the beet approaches that afforded 
 by the sugar cane as usually cultivated.” 
 
 The following table shows the quantity of 
 flax grown in the years 1849 and 1851 : — 
 
 Year. 
 
 Ulster. 
 
 Munster. 
 
 Leinster. 
 
 Connaught. 
 
 Total. 
 
 1849 
 
 57,651 
 
 937 
 
 741 
 
 985 
 
 60,314 
 
 1851 
 
 125,407 
 
 58,991 
 
 4,889 
 
 4,249 
 
 193,536 
 
 A beautiful specimen of flax cotton has just 
 been put into my hands, which I am informed 
 
FISHERIES. 
 
 35 
 
 by the manufacturer can be produced at the 
 same price as other cotton. 
 
 The fisheries also should be a prolific source 
 of wealth to the country. The number of 
 hands employed in 1852 were 58,822, and 
 the number of boats 13,277. The importations 
 from Scotland, in 1851, were nearly 90,000 
 barrels of herrings, and upwards of 10,000 
 cod fish, all of which might, with proper exer- 
 tions, have been supplied from these fisheries. 
 
 The Irish coal-fields, seven in number, 
 occupy portions of Kilkenny, Queen’s County, 
 Carlow, Tipperary, Clare, Limerick, Cork, 
 Kerry, Coal Island, Antrim, Monaghan, Ros- 
 common, Sligo, Leitrim,* and Cavan. In 
 addition to these ample stores, which the 
 above enumeration will show are most con- 
 veniently situated, the Irish have another 
 kind of fuel, more peculiar to the country, 
 perhaps, than even the turf bog: this is the 
 
 * This coal, in particular, is now likely to prove of great 
 value. 
 
MINERALS. 
 
 3(5 
 
 jignite, an intermediate species between wood 
 and coal, found in a clear strata on the south- 
 ern half of Lough Neagh. 
 
 After coal, the chief minerals are, iron, sil- 
 ver, copper, lead, and even gold. 
 
 Iron ore is found in most of the same loca- 
 lities as coal. The copper mines, distributed 
 throughout the clay slate districts, export 
 about 10,000 tons per annum, value about 
 £70,000. Lead is procured in even larger 
 quantities than copper: the granite hills of 
 Wicklow contain numerous veins, and it is 
 also found in Wexford, Down, Armagh, 
 Monaghan, Kerry, Clare, Limerick, Cork, 
 Clontarf near Dublin, and Galway. The 
 proportion of silver extracted from lead ore 
 varies from 7^ to 40 ounces to a ton of lead* 
 
 Towards the close of the last century, 
 native gold was found in the bed of the 
 
 * On two estates, which I have lately purchased, I have 
 discovered on the one, a very promising copper-mine, and on 
 the other, superior magnetic iron ore. 
 
BUILDING MATERIALS. 
 
 37 
 
 streams of Croghan Kinshela mountain. It 
 was first noticed by the peasants, and ten thou- 
 sand pounds’ worth was collected before the 
 discovery became public. The Government, 
 in the next two years, procured 945 ounces. 
 
 Equally available, and suggestive of the 
 improvements so long and so much required, 
 are the materials for building which Ireland 
 produces. Reflecting on the general wretch- 
 edness of the dwellings and farm premises, one 
 would conclude that there was a scarcity in- 
 stead of the profusion there actually is at hand 
 for these purposes. Let us endeavour, but 
 briefly, and of course but imperfectly, to enu- 
 merate them : — Slate is found extensively in 
 Wicklow and Clare, as well as, though not so 
 largely, in Westport, Kildare, Mayo, Water- 
 ford, and other counties. Clay for brick and 
 tile making is almost everywhere attainable; 
 and I am happy to be able to add, as a good 
 sign of the times, that within the last seven 
 years sixty-three tile-yards have been estab- 
 
ROADS, CANALS, ETC. 
 
 38 
 
 lished. Stone, again, may be quarried in 
 most parts, and lime extends over a space of 
 120 miles, east to west (from Dublin to Galway 
 Bay), and 120 miles from north to south. In 
 addition to this, there is a limestone gravel, 
 which has drifted on to most of the other for- 
 mations, though many miles distant from the 
 original rock. The finest building sand is 
 found in most districts ; good flags are to be 
 had for one halfpenny the square foot on the 
 Shannon; and where there is a scarcity of 
 timber, American can be imported at a lower 
 rate than into England. The home manufac- 
 ture of glass and lead is also extensive ; both 
 are thus supplied cheaply and of good quality. 
 
 It might be* not unreasonably assumed, from 
 the almost general neglect of these materials 
 for many uses, as well as from the semi-civi- 
 lized character of the country, that a difficulty 
 of communication and carriage was another of 
 the present impediments to progression in 
 Ireland. Such, however, is anything but the 
 
CANALS. 
 
 39 
 
 case. The inland traffic by roads, canals, ri- 
 vers, and railways, is gradually becoming as 
 complete as could be desired. The roads I 
 have no hesitation in affirming to be as good 
 as any in the world. They are entirely under 
 the management of the Grand Juries of the 
 respective counties, who have now almost 
 abolished turnpikes. 
 
 The canals are nearly equally good. The 
 “ Grand” one, commencing at Dublin, runs 
 through the country to Shannon Harbour, 
 having branches to Balinasloe, to Naas and 
 Kilcullen Bridge, to Bally nafagh, to Mill town, 
 to Rathangan, Monasterevan, as well as to 
 Athy, Portarlington, Mountmellick, and also 
 to Kilbeggan. With the whole of its branches 
 it extends 160 miles. 
 
 The next, perhaps, in importance is the 
 “ Royal” Canal, running through Newcastle 
 and Mullingar to the Shannon, at Tarmon* 
 barry, with a branch to Longford, — total 
 length, 92 miles ; with the Ulster Canal, of 48 
 miles, besides the Shannon, the Barrow, the 
 
40 
 
 RAILWAYS. 
 
 Boyne, the Newry, Tyrone, and the Lagan 
 Navigations. 
 
 River navigation includes the Slaney, the 
 Nore, the Suir, the Blackwater, the Lee, the 
 Lanna, the Maine, the Maig, the Fergus, the 
 Moy, and the Foyle. The total amount of 
 tonnage by all the canals and rivers in 1838 
 was about 600,000 tons, at the average rate of 
 a penny a ton per mile. 
 
 Railway communication, when fully deve- 
 loped, may naturally be expected to do as much, 
 or more, for Ireland than it has for other coun- 
 tries. Landing at Kingstown, there is now a 
 line to Dublin; thence across the centre of 
 Ireland to Galway, or in a northerly direction, 
 through Belfast to Ballymena in Antrim, with 
 branch lines to Armagh, Navan, Castleblaney, 
 and Carrickfergus. In a southerly direction, 
 the line is opened to Thomastown, within a 
 short distance of Waterford; and by the Great 
 Southern and Western to Tipperary, Limerick, 
 or Cork. Several other lines are in contem- 
 plation, many of which are likely to be opened 
 
COMMUNICATION WITH ENGLAND. 41 
 
 in a few years. One, I have every reason to 
 believe, will soon be completed, to connect 
 Kilkenny with Mountrath, Mullingar, and 
 Armagh ; and another opening communication 
 with the north-west. It may be stated as a 
 remarkable fact, and one flattering to the rail- 
 way management in Ireland, that during 1850, 
 though 5,174,631 persons travelled by this 
 means, only one was killed, and but one other 
 at all injured by accident.* 
 
 Communication with England is now equal- 
 ly complete and convenient. You may leave 
 London in the morning, and reach Dublin 
 the same evening, or leave London in the 
 evening, and breakfast in Dublin the next 
 morning, a few hours more taking you into 
 Galway, Limerick, Cork, Waterford, or Belfast. 
 It is now confidently stated, that the passage 
 between Holyhead and Kingstown will be 
 made in two hours, — 63 miles. Travelling 
 expenses, as it is, are unusually moderate, 
 
 *The Irish railways are exempt from passenger duty, and 
 the guage is 5 feet 3 inches. 
 
MARKETS. 
 
 42 • 
 
 while there is every promise of their being 
 yet further reduced. With such facilities of 
 traffic, it is at once apparent that the produce 
 of Ireland may command the best market. In 
 fact, there cannot be a more mistaken notion, 
 though I fear it is rather a common one, that 
 the country is deficient in this respect. A 
 friend, writing from the West, says: — 
 
 “ I have never, with the assistance of sea 
 communication, found any difficulty in dis- 
 posing of any quantity of farm produce at very 
 fair prices. I have often, indeed, found the 
 price of corn here range for some time higher 
 than Mark-lane quotations.” 
 
 In every town of any size there is a market, 
 or, as it is more generally called, a fair, either 
 once a week or once a fortnight, to which 
 stock and produce of all kinds are sent, in 
 addition to which there are, scattered all over 
 the country, large stores where corn is paid 
 for as it is weighed out of the sack into the 
 granary. 
 
 Remarking to an old Paddy, in an out-of- 
 
PRICE OF PRODUCE. 
 
 * 43 
 
 the-way place, on the want of communication 
 with markets, — “ Plase yer Honor,” said he, 
 “ have we not got the railroad of all the world 
 here, — the open sea?” 
 
 The following Tables may serve to give 
 some idea of the market value of agricultural 
 produce during the last few years. The first, 
 made up from the thirty-nine chief markets, 
 is: — 
 
 THE AVERAGE PRICES IN IRELAND FOR 1848, 1849, 
 AND 1850. 
 
 1848 to 1850, to 1851 
 
 
 
 Per cwt. 
 
 Per cwt. 
 
 
 
 s . 
 
 d. 
 
 s . 
 
 d. 
 
 Wheat, 
 
 
 8 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 0| 
 
 Oats, 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 5 
 
 n 
 
 Barley, 
 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 5 
 
 
 Potatoes, 
 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 Butter, 
 
 
 . 63 
 
 5 
 
 . 65 
 
 5 t 
 
 Beef, 
 
 
 41 
 
 4 
 
 . 40 
 
 9 
 
 Mutton, 
 
 
 . 47 
 
 1 
 
 . 47 
 
 2 
 
 Pork, 
 
 
 . 38 
 
 4 
 
 . 35 
 
 8 
 
 Flax, 
 
 
 . 47 
 
 8 
 
 . 52 
 
 H 
 
 The next is made up from the cattle sales 
 at the great fair of Ballinasloe during the last 
 few years : — 
 
44 
 
 BALLINASLOE FAIR 
 
 Class 4. 
 
 A o # t o o o o 
 
 5® o . . rH © 1— i-H 
 «« rH . .HHHH 
 
 Class 3. 
 
 A o # . © © © o 
 
 w O . .CO O O 
 
 P? I-H . • rH H i— 1 r— 1 
 
 
 A COOCOOOOO 
 
 cm’ 
 
 
 03 
 
 CO OOOOOOOOTtl 
 
 03 
 
 »-H rH rH 
 
 3 
 
 Cft H <M CN H H H <M 
 
 
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 rH 
 
 
 in 
 
 CO *© © S CO ^ ° O 
 
 c3 
 
 
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 P3 CM CM CM CM -H CM CM 
 
 # © © © © 
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 P3 
 
 A ooooooo 
 
 50 GO CM © <M © CO OO 
 Crt HdCIdHHH 
 
 A 05000000 
 50 CO CM T)H *0 © CM 
 P? (M <M Cl (M M (M IM 
 
 A OOOOOOO 
 to <M »JTS -*l TfH CM i© 
 
 P? CM <M <M CM CM <M CM 
 
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 CO (M © OD lO CO 
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 ao 00 00 GO OO 00 00 
 
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 05 . 00 05 15- co *© 
 
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 CM 05 05 05 
 
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 cc co *r^*ToT© 
 
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 TfC Ttc Ttc Tjn Tin 1© *© 
 OO OO 0O 00 CO CO GO 
 
 
 ; 
 
BALLINASLOE FAIR, OCTOBER, 1852. 45 
 
 I have just obtained the following Table, 
 the results of this year’s Ballinasloe fair : — 
 
 Sold,. 
 
 Unsold, 
 
 Sheep. 
 
 . 48,999 
 . 5,288 
 
 Oxen. 
 
 10,105 
 
 168 
 
 Two Yrs. 
 Old. 
 651 
 43 
 
 One Yr. 
 Old. 
 457 
 137 
 
 Calves. 
 
 95 
 
 147 
 
 
 52,187 
 
 10,273 
 
 694 
 
 594 
 
 242 
 
 And the third, the export of Cattle into 
 England for the last six years : — 
 
 Year ending 
 January, 
 
 Oxen, Bulls, 
 Cows. 
 
 Calves. 
 
 Sheep. 
 
 Swine. 
 
 1847 . 
 
 . 186,483 
 
 6,363 
 
 259,257 
 
 480,827 
 
 1848 . 
 
 . 189,960 
 
 9,992 
 
 324,179 
 
 106,407 
 
 1849 . 
 
 . f96,042 
 
 7,086 
 
 255,682 
 
 110,787 
 
 1850 . 
 
 . 201,811 
 
 9,831 
 
 241,061 
 
 68,053 
 
 1851 . 
 
 . 184,686 
 
 4,462 
 
 176,945 
 
 109,170 
 
 1852 . 
 
 . 183,760 
 
 2,474 
 
 151,807 
 
 136,162 
 
 How, then, so far, does Ireland promise as 
 afield for investment? Let us briefly recapitu- 
 late the heads of our answer Land, of the 
 best quality, to be had, to almost any extent, 
 at a very moderate price; labour abundant 
 and cheap ; materials of all kinds almost always 
 at hand, or to be procured at the most econo- 
 
46 ADVANCE OF MONEY FOR IMPROVEMENTS. 
 
 mical rates ; communication to all parts certain 
 and rapid, and markets either for the sale or 
 purchase of goods as easily attainable as in 
 most parts of Great Britain. The keystone, 
 however, to all this, we repeat, is improvement. 
 To invest in Ireland, you must do so with the 
 full determination to bring the land into its 
 most profitable state, and to make the best use 
 of those productions with which the country 
 is so abundantly supplied. The purchaser of 
 land will find every encouragement to do this. 
 Should he not wish at first to incur a further 
 outlay of his own capital, the Government is 
 always ready to assist him. The Board of 
 Works is prepared to advance money for im- 
 provements in draining, farm-buildings, fences, 
 road-making, trenching and liming the land, 
 and in some cases irrigation, — the loan being 
 repayable in twenty-one years, at the rate of 
 62 per cent, per annum, which in that time 
 repays both capital and interest. One great 
 advantage to the proprietor in availing him- 
 
IMPROVEMENTS NOT RATED. 
 
 47 
 
 self of these advances is, that supposing he 
 apply for a loan of £5000, a portion of it 
 would be at once given him to commence 
 operations with; and when he can show a 
 judicious outlay of this, he obtains a further 
 grant ; whereas in England the full expendi- 
 ture must be proved before any advance is 
 obtained. Another important point in favour 
 of Irish investment is, that by the present law 
 no agricultural improvement, if executed 
 under the Improvement Act, can be rated for 
 the first seven years from the time of its exe- 
 cution. 
 
 I have already referred to the unlimited 
 supply of cheap labour at command ; and my 
 correspondent, as well as myself, I think, have 
 proved how, with good management, the Irish 
 labourer may be brought to do his best. The 
 mind and spirit of the man, it is proved, may 
 be properly toned ; while, considered merely 
 as a source of animal power, there is no race 
 whose physical conformation is more perfectly 
 
48 POWER AND STRENGTH OF THE IRISH. 
 
 developed. The Irish are the tallest, the 
 strongest, and the heaviest of British subjects, 
 as was demonstrated some time since by Pro- 
 fessors Quetelet and Forbes, who brought an 
 extensive series of observations to this result: 
 
 Average Height Average Weight Average Strength 
 
 English, 
 
 in Inches. 
 
 6Si 
 
 in Pounds. 
 
 151 
 
 in Pounds. 
 
 403 
 
 Scotch, 
 
 69 
 
 152| 
 
 423 
 
 Irish, 
 
 70 
 
 155 
 
 432 
 
 Belgians, 
 
 68 
 
 150 
 
 339 
 
 They further found that the utmost effort 
 of a man lifting at the rate of one foot per 
 minute ranged, — 
 
 English, . . 11,505 to 24,255 
 
 Irish, . . . 17,325 to 27,562 
 
 Welsh, only . . 15,112 
 
 Admitting the physical ability of the Irish 
 labourer, it must be remembered that any 
 improvement in the cultivation of the country 
 will as certainly tend also to the improvement 
 of his condition. The first great point, per- 
 haps — his home will gradually become more 
 
SUNDAY SCHOOLS. 
 
 49 
 
 worthy to rank as a human habitation : in fact, 
 this change is already taking place on some 
 properties, and the wretched pigsty cabin is 
 giving way (though slowly, I am sorry to 
 say) to the more comfortable and respectable 
 cottage. Further, the moral character of the 
 man, the sense of good and evil in him, is 
 now being generally improved by means of 
 education. There are at present upwards of 
 3000 Sunday schools, with 19,753 gratuitous 
 teachers. Again, so far back as 1850, the 
 number of schools under the direction of the 
 Board of Education was 4719, w r ith 511,239 
 scholars, while the Church Education Society 
 had 1882 establishments, with 10,850 pupils. 
 The education, indeed, not only of the labour- 
 ing, but of the higher classes as well, is now 
 amply provided for. By 8 & 9 Yict. cap. 66 
 (1845), new colleges were established on a 
 superior system, and liberally endowed, in 
 Belfast, Cork, and Galway. The classes here, 
 in addition to the usual “ Latin and Greek,” 
 
 E 
 
50 
 
 ROYAL SCHOOLS. 
 
 embrace Anatomy, Geology, Agriculture, 
 Natural History, Mineralogy, and other useful 
 but too often neglected studies. These are 
 better known as “ the Government Colleges 
 while there are also “ Royal Schools ” at 
 Armagh, Banagher, Carysford, Cavan, Dun- 
 gannon, and Enniskillen. 
 
 In giving, however, cheap labour amongst 
 the recommendations to the country, it must 
 not be supposed that the labourer is either 
 under-paid, or that he has any depressing feel- 
 ing of that kind. Were such the case, this 
 assumed advantage would be anything but 
 such in reality. Comparing his wages with 
 the price of those necessaries he requires, as 
 well as with the charge made for other de- 
 scriptions of house and field-work, it will be 
 found that the common day-labourer is in fact 
 well paid when receiving 8 cl. to Is. per day 
 all the year round, to what he ever has been 
 in this country. To give a better idea of this, 
 the following table of prices has been drawn 
 
WAGES OF WORK PEOPLE. 51 
 
 up, showing, as will be seen, not merely the 
 average cost of work, but also the prices of 
 those provisions, &c., which may be assumed 
 in some degree to regulate it : — 
 
 In the Country, Parts of the North, 
 
 the South and and Dublin and 
 
 
 West. 
 
 
 large Towns. 
 
 
 s. 
 
 D. s. 
 
 D. 
 
 s. 
 
 D. S. 
 
 D. 
 
 A man by the day, all') q 
 the year round, ./ 
 
 8 to 1 
 
 0 . 
 
 . 1 
 
 0 to 2 
 
 0 
 
 A woman, . . 0 
 
 4 „ 0 
 
 6 . 
 
 . 0 
 
 8 „ 0 
 
 10 
 
 A carpenter, . . 1 
 
 6 „ 2 
 
 0 . 
 
 . 2 
 
 6 „ 4 
 
 4 
 
 A mason, . . 1 
 
 0 „ 2 
 
 0 . 
 
 . 2 
 
 6 „ 4 
 
 4 
 
 A slater, . . 2 
 
 0 „ 3 
 
 0 . 
 
 . 3 
 
 9 „ 5 
 
 0 
 
 A thatcher, . . 1 
 
 6 „ 2 
 
 0 . 
 
 . 2 
 
 6 „ 3 
 
 6 
 
 A quarryman, . 1 
 
 0 „ 2 
 
 0 . 
 
 . 2 
 
 0 „ 3 
 
 0 
 
 A thresher, . . 1 
 
 0 „ 1 
 
 6 . 
 
 . 2 
 
 0 „ 2 
 
 6 
 
 A bricklayer, . . 1 
 
 0 „ 2 
 
 0 . 
 
 . 2 
 
 6 „ 4 
 
 4 
 
 A blacksmith, . 10 
 
 0 per week, . 
 
 . 30 
 
 Operweek. 
 
 Hire of a cart-horse, 2 
 
 0 per day, . 
 
 . 3 
 
 0 per day. 
 
 Hire of cart and horse, 2 
 
 0 to 2 
 
 6 . 
 
 . 3 
 
 6 to 5 
 
 0 
 
 Plough & pair of horses, 5 
 
 0 to 6 
 
 0 . 
 
 . 8 
 
 0 „ 12 
 
 0 
 
 Grazing, cow by week, 1 
 
 0 „ 3 
 
 6 . 
 
 . 3 
 
 5 
 
 0 
 
 Grazing a horse, . 2 
 
 0 „ 3 
 
 0 . 
 
 . 5 
 
 0„ 7 
 
 0 
 
 Bricks, per 1000, . 17 
 
 0 ji 20 
 
 0 . 
 
 . 20 
 
 0„ 25 
 
 0 
 
 Lime, per barrel, . 0 
 
 6 „ 0 
 
 10 . 
 
 . 1 
 
 0„ 1 
 
 6 
 
 Dung, per cart-load, 1 
 
 0 „ 2 
 
 0 . 
 
 . 1 
 
 0„ 2 
 
 0 
 
 Potatoes, per stone of 1 41b. , . 0 
 
 91 
 
 * 
 
 . 0 
 
 8„ 1 
 
 0 
 
 Butter, per lb., . 0 
 
 6 „ 0 
 
 8 . 
 
 o 
 
 00 
 
 10 „ 1 
 
 0 
 
 Hay, per ton, . 20 
 
 0 
 
 
 . 60 
 
 0 Dublin. 
 
52 
 
 WATER-POWER. 
 
 In the Country, 
 the South and 
 West. 
 
 Parts of the North, 
 and Dublin and 
 large Towns. 
 
 s. D. 
 
 s. d. s. D. 
 
 Straw, per ton, 
 
 , 12 
 
 0 
 
 . 30 0 
 
 Beef, per lb., . 
 
 . 0 
 
 
 
 Mutton, per lb., 
 
 . 0 
 
 7 
 
 
 Pork, per lb., 
 
 . 0 
 
 5 
 
 
 Veal, per lb., 
 
 . 0 
 
 7 
 
 
 Fowls, per couple, 
 
 . 0 
 
 8 
 
 . 2 6 to 3 
 
 Turkeys, 
 
 . 1 
 
 4 
 
 2s. 8 <7., 4 0 „ 6 
 
 Geese, each, . 
 
 . 1 
 
 0 
 
 
 Wheat, per cwt., 
 
 . 8 
 
 0 
 
 
 Barley per cwt., 
 
 . 5 
 
 4 
 
 
 Oats, per cwt., 
 
 . 5 
 
 2 
 
 
 Cod-fish, per lb., 
 
 . 0 
 
 2 ) 
 
 
 Salmon, per lb., 
 
 . 0 
 
 6 
 
 On the western coast. 
 
 Oysters, per 100, 
 
 . 0 
 
 5J 
 
 
 Wool, rather dearer than in England. 
 
 Shoeing horse, . 2 0 to 3 4 
 
 Large gates (field) each, 2 6 „ 4 0 
 
 Small ditto, . 1 6 „ 2 0 (No iron work.) 
 
 Hire of a car, per mile, 0 6 Irish, for one person. 
 
 Ditto, ditto, 0 8 „ for two persons. 
 
 Driver expects from 1JJ. to 2d. per mile. 
 
 6 
 
 0 
 
 Another grand means for effecting improve- 
 ment and developing Irish resources on a large 
 scale is the water-power of the country, as 
 clearly shown by Sir R. Kane. 
 
WATER-POWER. 
 
 53 
 
 In the total area of Ireland, put at 32,509§ 
 square miles, it is found that there are — 
 
 Between sea level and 250 feet of vertical height, . 13, 242 f 
 „ 250 and 500 feet of height, . . . 11,797-J 
 
 If, then, we consider the average elevation 
 of these zones to be the arithmetic mean of 
 the extremes, the average of the last term 
 being 2500, — which, if not absolutely true, 
 cannot be far from the truth, — the result is, 
 that the surface of Ireland is, in average, ele- 
 vated above the level of the sea, 387 feet: the 
 water, consequently, which flows in our 
 rivers to the sea, has an average fall of 129 
 yards; while, finally, we may calculate the 
 total water-power of Ireland to be had, for the 
 total quantity of rain falling in a year, 
 100,712,031,640 cubic yards. Of this, one- 
 third flows into the sea — thatis, 33,237,343,880 
 cubic yards, or, for each day, in twenty-four 
 
 Sq. Miles. 
 
 500 and 1000 „ 
 
 1000 and 2000 „ 
 
 2000 and vertical height, 
 
 m 
 
54 
 
 WATER-POWER. 
 
 hours, 91,061,216 cubic yards, weighing 
 68,467,100 tons. This weight falls from 129 
 yards, and as 884 tons fall 24 feet in twenty- 
 four hours, we so possess, distributed over the 
 surface of Ireland, a water-power capable of 
 acting night and day, without interruption, 
 from the beginning to the end of the year, 
 and estimated at a force of 3227 horse-power 
 per foot of fall, or, for the entire average, a 
 fall of 387 feet, amounting to 1,248,849 horse- 
 power. Mechanical power, however, is never 
 thus unintermittingly driven. If, then, we 
 reduce this force to the year’s work of 300 
 working-days of twelve hours each, we find it 
 to represent 3,038,865 horse-power, — that is, 
 more than 3,000,000 of horse-power. Of 
 course, though much of this enormous quantity 
 of force exists in localities where other circum- 
 stances may prevent its becoming useful, or 
 the perfect economy of the water for mecha- 
 nical power may be inconsistent with other 
 equally important objects, — as, for instance, 
 
COLLATERAL ADVANTAGES. 55 
 
 the drainage of districts, for agricultural pur- 
 poses, or the maintenance of navigations, may 
 require constant discharge and loss of a certain 
 quantity, — the different water machines, again, 
 incur as continual a discharge and working, 
 which may be estimated at about one-third ; 
 — still, I consider the amount of mechanical 
 force altogether derivable from the water- 
 power of Ireland as of the highest importance, 
 and worthy of far more attention than it has 
 hitherto received, as one means for applying 
 the resources of the country. 
 
 Setting aside, for a moment, the certainty 
 Ireland just now offers as a profitable invest- 
 ment only, there are many collateral advan- 
 tages and attractions for those who may feel 
 inclined to settle there. Assuming, as we 
 naturally may, that the lover of a country life 
 and the pursuits of agriculture is something of 
 a sportsman as well, in no country, perhaps, 
 could he meet with the sports of the field in 
 such perfection. There are few districts in 
 
56 
 
 GOOD SPORTING COUNTRY. 
 
 which he cannot command the most excellent 
 snipe and cock shooting. Grouse abounds on 
 nearly all the mountain ranges; while, with 
 anything like care, a good head of the more 
 common kind of game, such as the partridge 
 and hare, may be easily kept up. As a fish- 
 ing country, Ireland has long been justly 
 renowned. The Shannon and other rivers 
 afford some of the finest sport with the fly in 
 the world ; and fish of all kinds are to be had 
 in bountiful supply round the coast, as well as 
 in all the inland streams, with the exception 
 only of a few, where the water has been 
 injured by the copper mines. For hounds, 
 horses, and hunting, Ireland is, if possible, yet 
 more famous. A sporting man who farms was 
 telling me, that he can keep up his hunting 
 establishment in Ireland for nearly half what he 
 can in England, and have much better sport. 
 It would be waste of time to dilate further on 
 the sporting character of the country, though, 
 perhaps, all my readers may not be aware that 
 
TAXES. 
 
 57 
 
 they may keep their dogs, horses, and hunts- 
 men, without having to pay a duty on them. 
 In Ireland there is no income-tax up to this 
 time, — although it is now talked about, — or 
 an assessed tax of any kind. All other taxes, 
 too, are very low; the poor rate, as I have 
 already shown, is annually decreasing; while 
 my correspondent thus writes of them gene- 
 rally : — u As to taxes, they are fast diminish- 
 ing, and promise, in my opinion, to be lower 
 in another year or so than ever they were.” 
 
 A word or two on the climate of the coun- 
 try may not be out of place here, nor uninte- 
 resting to those who have thoughts of trying it. 
 
 The summer-heat, ormaximum temperature, 
 between lat. 52° and 55°, appears to be about 
 79°; the winter heat, or the minimum, 26°. 
 Between these limits the temperature oscillates, 
 and at two periods of the year it is found 
 equal, viz., in April and October. This inter- 
 mediate temperature represents pretty fairly 
 what would be the average yearly heat if it 
 
58 
 
 CLIMATE. 
 
 were distributed regularly over the whole 
 period. The mean temperature of Ireland is 
 49i 0 at the level of the sea. The fall of rain, 
 on an average, is about 36 inches, and the 
 south, the west, and south-west winds blow 
 over the island for the greater part of the year. 
 
 The following deductions, gathered not 
 merely from personal observation, but from 
 the best authorities, may be safely relied on. 
 
 The summers of Ireland are now colder, 
 and the winters warmer, than they were some 
 years since. In winter the thermometer sel- 
 dom sinks below freezing point ; in summer, 
 rarely above 79 in the shade ; average in sum- 
 mer from 70 to 75. It rains more at night 
 than by day. Snow-storms are very rare, and 
 thunder-storms by no means as prevalent as 
 in England. Storms of wind, however, are 
 not uncommon. The winds, as I have already 
 remarked, most usually blow from the west ; 
 they are mild in their temperature, and to 
 them, in connexion with other natural causes, 
 may be attributed the wonderful fertility of 
 
TEMPERATURE. 
 
 59 
 
 the country for grass and root crops. The 
 last winter has been quite exceptional in its 
 character, more snow having fallen than for 
 many years. 
 
 There is scarcely any district which suffers 
 from a continuance of dry weather. On the 
 other hand, though Ireland may be considered 
 a damp country, there are many in Europe, 
 extolled for their climate, exposed to a much 
 greater fall. I subjoin a set of tables on the 
 temperature and fall of rain, which may be 
 useful and interesting in ascertaining the real 
 nature and character of an Irish climate. The 
 first of these, prepared some years since by 
 Mr. Hamilton, by testing the temperature of 
 covered wells, gives us : — 
 
 MEAN TEMPERATURE OBSERVED IN DIFFERENT 
 LATITUDES. 
 
 Northern coast of Ireland — Ballycastle, . 48° 
 
 Western coast — island of Ennissee, . . 48° 6 7 
 
 Eastern coast — Dublin, . . . . 49® 4' 
 
 South coast — Cork, . . . . 51<> 2 7 
 
 FROM THE SEA, ELEVATED ABOVE THE SURFACE. 
 
 In Londonderry, 100 feet above the sea, . 46° 9 7 
 In Armagh, 59 „ „ . 47° 5 T 
 
 In Tullamore, 206 „ „ . 48o 
 
 In Dublin, 50° to 52° 
 
 In Cork, 52o 5 7 to 53 0 5 7 
 
60 
 
 CLIMATE. 
 
 The general temperature of Dublin is 
 somewhat lower than the 50th degree of 
 Fahrenheit’s thermometer, and a mean of the 
 hottest or coldest months of the year rarely 
 varies more than ten degrees from this stand- 
 ard heat. Winter, therefore, is usually accom- 
 panied by a temperature of 40° ; spring and 
 autumn, of 50°; and summer, of 60°; and 
 the general heat of any single month of these 
 seasons seldom varies much from the corres- 
 ponding temperature of the particular season 
 to which it belongs. Of these limits, the 
 lowest is not sufficiently cold to check the 
 natural herbage of the island ; nor the highest 
 powerful enough to parch the surface of a 
 moist soil, or to scorch its luxuriant grasses. 
 Hence the fields maintain a perpetual ver- 
 dure, unimpaired by either solstice. The 
 farmer is enabled to lay his lands down to 
 grass at almost any season, even at the com- 
 mencement of winter; while he never loses 
 the benefit of his rich pastures, unless it be 
 
FALL OF RAIN. 
 
 61 
 
 during the passage of a temporary drift of 
 snow. Horses, cattle, and sheep so attain, 
 with anything like common care, a degree of 
 perfection they never acquire in other coun- 
 tries without far greater trouble and expense. 
 
 The comparative heat of several seasons in 
 London and Dublin, as estimated by that 
 accurate observer, Dr. Romney Robinson, is 
 
 as follows : — 
 
 London. 
 
 Dublin. 
 
 Winter, 
 
 . 1-00 . 
 
 . 1-45 
 
 Spring, 
 
 . 3-00 . 
 
 . 2-14 
 
 Summer, . 
 
 . 5-00 . 
 
 . 4-68 
 
 Autumn . 
 
 . 3-00 , 
 
 , 3-80 
 
 
 12-00 
 
 12-07 
 
 Then, as to rain, the average fall is, in — 
 
 Inches. 
 
 Dublin, 
 
 Belfast, 
 
 Cork, 
 
 Londonderry, 
 
 The western coast of Clare 
 and Galway, . 
 
 . about 23 to 24 
 ,, 25 ,, 26 
 
 ,, 34 ,, 35 
 
 • „ 31 „ 32 
 
 . „ 60 „ 61 
 
62 
 
 FALL OF RAIN. 
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 
 Inches. 
 
 London, . . f 
 
 about 23 
 
 Diss, Norfolk, 
 
 >> 
 
 18 to 19 
 
 Norwich, 
 
 yy 
 
 25 „ 26 
 
 Chatworth, 
 
 yy 
 
 27 „ 28 
 
 Manchester, 
 
 yy 
 
 33 „ 34 
 
 Dover, .... 
 
 yy 
 
 37 „ 38 
 
 Carlisle, .... 
 
 yy 
 
 20 „ 21 
 
 Keswick, .... 
 
 yy 
 
 70 „ 80 
 
 Leeds, .... 
 
 yy 
 
 27 „ 28 
 
 Liverpool, 
 
 yy 
 
 30 „ 31 
 
 Kendal, .... 
 
 yy 
 
 54 „ 55 
 
 Plymouth, 
 
 yy 
 
 35 „ 36 
 
 Lancaster, 
 
 yy 
 
 45 „ 46 
 
 Rutlandshire, 
 
 yy 
 
 25 „ 26 
 
 Cambridge, 
 
 yy 
 
 25 „ 26 
 
 West Riding, Yorkshire, 
 
 yy 
 
 26 „ 27 
 
 Lincoln, .... 
 
 yy 
 
 24 „ 25 
 
 Exeter, .... 
 
 yy 
 
 34 „ 35 
 
 Cheltenham, 
 
 yy 
 
 34 „ 35 
 
 OTHER PLACES. 
 
 
 Inches. 
 
 Rome, .... 
 
 about 34 to 35 
 
 Milan, .... 
 
 yy 
 
 41 „ 42 
 
 Paris, 
 
 yy 
 
 19 „ 20 
 
 Edinburgh, 
 
 yy 
 
 22 „ 23 
 
RAIN EACH MONTH. 
 
 63 
 
 Modena, 
 Glasgow, 
 Leghorn, 
 
 Pisa, 
 
 Naples, 
 
 East Indies, 
 Bombay, 
 Brazils (1821), 
 Cumana, 
 
 Lower Egypt, 
 
 Inches. 
 
 51 
 
 30 
 
 38 
 
 34 
 
 32 
 
 • „ 50 
 
 • „ 29 
 
 . „ 37 
 
 - „ 43 
 
 • „ 31 .. 
 
 sometimes 104 
 
 . about 78 to 79 
 „ 280 
 only „ 8 
 
 9 
 
 On May 20, 1827, at Geneva, six inches of 
 rain fell in three hours. 
 
 QUANTITY OF RAIN EACH MONTH IN LONDON AND 
 DUBLIN. 
 
 January, 
 
 London. 
 
 . 1° 483* . 
 
 Dublin. 
 
 . 0° 674 7 
 
 February, 
 
 . 0 746 . 
 
 . 1 500 
 
 March, 
 
 . 1 044 . 
 
 . 0 653 
 
 April, 
 
 . 1 786 . 
 
 . 1 280 
 
 May, 
 
 . 1 853 . 
 
 . 2 340 
 
 June, 
 
 . 1 083 . 
 
 . 1 670 
 
 July, 
 
 . 2 516 . 
 
 . 4 500 
 
 August, 
 
 . 1 453 . 
 
 . 1 834 
 
 September, . 
 
 . 2 193 . 
 
 . 1 590 
 
 October, 
 
 . 2 073 . 
 
 . 2 040 
 
 November, . 
 
 . 2 004 . 
 
 . 2 330 
 
 December, 
 
 . 2 426 . 
 
 . 2 770 
 
 Total, 
 
 . 22° 199' . 
 
 . 23° 182' 
 
64 
 
 WINDS. 
 
 March, 
 
 April, 
 
 May, 
 
 June, 
 
 July, 
 
 August, . S.W. 
 
 September, 
 
 . \v. 
 
 October, 
 
 . S.W. 
 
 November, 
 
 . S.W. 
 
 December, 
 
 . S.W. 
 
 January, 
 
 . S.W. 
 
 February, 
 
 . S.W. 
 
 WINDS OF EACH SEASON AT DUBLIN, AT ONE VIEW, 
 
 . N.E. & NAY. 
 
 S.E. 
 
 . E. & S.E. 
 
 . S.W. & S.E. 
 
 S.W. 
 
 
 E. 
 
 N. E. 
 
 S. E. 
 
 N. 
 
 w. 
 
 3. W. 
 
 N.W. 
 
 s. 
 
 Spring, 
 
 74 
 
 Ill 
 
 129 
 
 54 
 
 129 
 
 148 
 
 126 
 
 18 
 
 Summer, 
 
 74 
 
 62 
 
 134 
 
 32 
 
 182 
 
 199 
 
 139 
 
 29 
 
 Autumn, 
 
 39 
 
 51 
 
 108 
 
 47 
 
 200 
 
 165 
 
 119 
 
 31 
 
 Winter, 
 
 89 
 
 52 
 
 146 
 
 24 
 
 157 
 
 176 
 
 73 
 
 8 
 
 FOR FORTY-ONE YEARS THERE WERE 
 
 IN IRELAND : 
 Summers. 
 
 Autumns. 
 
 Springs. 
 
 6 Wet. 
 
 22 Dry. 
 
 13 Variable. 
 
 Springs. 
 
 12 Wet. 
 
 16 Dry. 
 
 13 Variable. 
 
 20 Wet. 
 
 16 Dry. 
 
 5 Variable. 
 
 IN LONDON : 
 Summers. 
 
 20 Wet. 
 
 20 Dry. 
 
 1 Variable 
 
 11 Wet. 
 
 11 Dry. 
 
 19 Variable. 
 
 Autumns. 
 
 9 Wet. 
 
 15 Dry. 
 
 I 17 Variable, 
 
FERTILITY OF LAND. 
 
 65 
 
 Mela describes the climate of Ireland as un- 
 favourable for the ripening of grain, but says 
 that it produced such luxuriant crops of grass 
 that if cattle were suffered to feed long upon 
 it they would be in danger of bursting .* 
 
 Stanyhurst, in the Preface to his Irish 
 Chronicle, observes, “ that few countries are 
 comparable, none preferable, to Ireland in 
 wholesomeness of air, fertility of land, abun- 
 dance of corn, extent of pasturage, and num- 
 ber of cattle.” 
 
 Boate, who quotes these authorities, corro- 
 borates the account they give, and contends 
 that there is no impediment but want of cul- 
 ture to prevent Ireland from being justly 
 counted among the most fruitful countries in 
 the world.t 
 
 Such, then, is my impression of Ireland 
 and its resources, an impression forced upon 
 
 * Pomp. Mela, &c., Lugd. Batav. 1646, p. 126 
 f Natural History of Ireland, chap. x. sec. 7. 
 
 F 
 
66 
 
 ABSENTEE LANDLORDS. 
 
 me by observation of facts, in spite of a pre- 
 judice so strong that it led me to refuse an 
 offer of £1000 per annum to reside in this 
 country, and take the management of a large 
 landed estate, only five years since, such was 
 my distrust of the peasantry; and now I 
 should not hesitate to undertake the manage- 
 ment of the worst estate in the worst part of 
 Ireland. 
 
 I have now stated the case, or rather the 
 case as it has offered itself to me. Some, per- 
 haps, may be inclined to think I have over- 
 stated it ; for if all this is to be done in Ire- 
 land, — if there be this grand opening, — why 
 has it not been seized on before ? Many will 
 anticipate the reply, for the reason is too well 
 known : I will, however, briefly endeavour to 
 sum it up. The curse of Ireland for many 
 a long year was, that property exercised its 
 rights , hut did not fulfil its duties. The people 
 and the land were treated precisely alike, and 
 
ABSENTEE LANDLORDS. 
 
 67 
 
 everything possible was taken out of them, 
 but nothing returned to them. The greater 
 power was the first to neglect his position and 
 his country, and no wonder the lesser, in turn, 
 deserted him. In the year 1780, there were 
 222 absentee landlords, taking £732,700 out 
 of the country, being at an average of £3300 
 a year. Of these, the lowest had a rental of 
 £500, the highest, an income of £31,000. 
 But it was not alone the money thus taken 
 away from the districts in which it was raised 
 that caused the injury. There was the want 
 of the head of the house to look to. The 
 landlord listened to no complaint, encouraged 
 no improvement. Good and bad tenants were 
 the same to him so long as the rent was paid 
 and the remittance made. And what was the 
 natural consequence of such a system ? Let 
 us hasten to the result. Three years previous 
 to the potato failure there were 1002 estates, 
 representing a rental of £702,822 5s. 21 d., or 
 about one-twentieth of the nominal rental of 
 
68 
 
 BRIBERY. 
 
 the country, under the Receivers of the Court 
 of Equity. These gentlemen were chiefly, at 
 least four-fifths of them, attorneys, generally 
 residing in Dublin, totally unacquainted with 
 the wants of a rural population, and with not 
 one feeling in sympathy with them in their 
 pursuits. The number of properties thus 
 thrown into Chancery was nearly doubled in 
 a few years subsequent to this ; while costs 
 and incumbrances increased tenfold, and ar- 
 rears of rent in a still greater ratio. To cli- 
 max this, the state of the law, as administered 
 by the Court of Chancery, absolutely pre- 
 vented land becoming a marketable commo- 
 dity, and only aggravated, by dilatory and 
 expensive proceedings, the evils it professed 
 to remedy. 
 
 The abuses which accompanied a system 
 like this would, in England, be scarcely 
 credible. Bribery and corruption were openly 
 practised and encouraged. It was a common 
 question from the agent, when a tenant applied 
 
FORCED EXACTIONS. 
 
 69 
 
 for a lease, or a new man for a farm, “ What 
 am I to have out of it ?” Fees, from twenty to 
 a hundred guineas, came as the answer, and 
 many a really deserving tenant has been turned 
 out for no better reason. “ The good word,” 
 however, was often sought in a still higher 
 quarter, and the landlord’s wife bought over 
 with arguments of the same weighty kind. 
 A true story is told of the daughter of an 
 English earl marrying an Irish nobleman, and 
 being thus received by her husband’s tenantry. 
 One old fellow, in particular, jogged her con- 
 fidentially on the elbow, and, taking her some- 
 what aside, slipped a fifty-pound note in her 
 hand, with a nod and a wink that “ her Lady- 
 ship would say a good word for him when the 
 lease was out.” 
 
 Some of the forced exactions by landlords 
 or their agents were of a yet more degrading 
 description; and these bribes, in short, were 
 absolutely necessary for anything like security 
 of tenure. Take the common course of things ; 
 
70 
 
 RENEWAL FINE. 
 
 the occupier, no matter what good he had 
 effected, or how long he had been on the es- 
 tate, was certain to be sacrificed to a higher 
 bidder against him. At times, indeed, the 
 proprietor proceeded far beyond this, with no 
 such shadow of justice or right for making the 
 best of his market. Wakefield, in his account 
 of Ireland, thus instances one case, which I 
 have little doubt had many a parallel: — 
 
 “ Since 1 was last in Ireland I have le ined, 
 not without considerable regret, a cii :um- 
 stance in regard to the conduct of the owner 
 of one of the best estates in that country, 
 which, as it cannot be doubted, — for I have it 
 from the best authority, — ought to be pub- 
 licly known from one end of the British Em- 
 pire to the other. As soon as the proprietor 
 came of age, his agent sent notice to all the 
 tenants whose leases had expired, that there 
 would be no renewal for them unless each 
 consented to pay a fine of ten guineas per acre. 
 But this was not all : to those in possession of 
 
INCUMBERED ESTATES ACT. 
 
 71 
 
 leases a threat was held out that, unless they 
 surrendered their leases, paid the required fine, 
 and took out new ones, a mark would be 
 placed against their names in the rental-book, 
 and not only they, but their heirs and fami- 
 lies, would for ever be excluded from any be- 
 nefit of a renewal. Can words be found suffi- 
 ciently strong to characterize this unparalleled 
 exaction? Was it anything else than levying 
 a tax of ten guineas per acre, nearly in the 
 same manner as the Autocrat of Russia would 
 order a new impost by an imperial ukass ?” 
 Although there have been, and are still many 
 bad landlords and agents in Ireland, I have no 
 hesitation in saying that very many may be 
 found equally as good as can be met with in 
 any part of the United Kingdom. 
 
 He must have been a bold man who, in this 
 state of things, would have ventured to touch 
 Irish property. The circumstances are altered 
 now, and the Incumbered Estates Act affords 
 an opportunity for investment never equalled. 
 
72 
 
 INCUMBERED ESTATES ACT. 
 
 With good management, a thorough know- 
 ledge of agriculture (either by himself or his 
 agent), and a full determination to understand 
 the people, and let the people understand him, 
 a man can scarcely help succeeding. 
 
NOTES. 
 
 NOTE I. 
 
 ENGLISH AND SCOTCH PURCHASERS IN THE IRISH 
 INCUMBERED ESTATES COURT. 
 
 The following Tables/' extracted from a valuable paper 
 read by Mr. Locke before the statistical section of the 
 British Association for the Advancement of Science, at 
 the meeting of that learned body held at Belfast last 
 month, afford much interesting information relative to 
 the purchase of land in Ireland by English and Scotch 
 in the Incumbered Estates Court ; no doubt partly 
 influenced by the great facility and cheapness by which 
 a perfect title is there obtained, that to us, accustomed 
 to the old English mode of conveyancing, seems at first 
 sight absolutely fabulous, — a desideratum which those 
 who have heretofore purchased estates will consider to 
 be a matter of no small importance. 
 
 From the Belfast Commercial Chronicle , Sept. 6, 1852. 
 
74 
 
 NOTES, 
 
 Table II. 
 
 Showing the County , Acreage , and Amount of English 
 and Scotch Purchases. 
 
 No. of Estates in 
 which English & 
 Scotch became 
 Purchasers. 
 
 I No. of 
 
 1 Purchasers. 
 
 County. 
 
 Acreage. 
 
 Purchase- 
 
 Money. 
 
 
 
 Leinster. 
 
 A. R. 
 
 p. 
 
 & 
 
 s. 
 
 d\ 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 Dublin, 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 11,630 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 Kildare, 
 
 225 
 
 0 4 
 
 1,820 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 Kilkenny, 
 
 2,925 
 
 0 36 
 
 41,225 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 King’s (jo. . 
 
 726 
 
 2 18 
 
 825 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 Longford, 
 
 2,866 
 
 1 19 
 
 7,360 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 Louth, . 
 
 4,504 
 
 3 31 
 
 23,350 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 Meath, . 
 
 1,004 
 
 0 8 
 
 13,150 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 Westmeath, . 
 
 1,965 
 
 0 10 
 
 27,000 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 Queen’s Co. . 
 
 599 
 
 1 21 
 
 3,000 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 Wexford, 
 
 9,887 
 
 1 24 
 
 55,200 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 Wicklow, 
 
 6,308 
 
 0 23 
 
 37,825 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 
 31,012 
 
 0 34 
 
 222,385 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 Munster. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 11 
 
 Cork, . 
 
 10,223 
 
 2 2 
 
 86,569 12 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 ! Kerry, . 
 
 5,384 
 
 2 12 
 
 10,250 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 
 Limerick, 
 
 19,267 
 
 2 8 
 
 88,770 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 15 
 
 19 
 
 Tipperary, . 
 
 16,070 
 
 1 23 
 
 140,845 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 Waterford, . 
 
 3,396 
 
 0 4 
 
 35,965 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 
 54,342 
 
 0 9 
 
 362,399 12 
 
 6 
 
 Observations. 
 
 ! ( in Dublin city. 
 
 This sum in- 
 cludes 15,168/. 
 125. 6 d. for te- 
 nement pro- 
 perty purchas- 
 ' ed by the Board 
 of Inland Re- 
 venue in Cork 
 l city. 
 
 $ 2,500/. of this 
 ( amt. for mines. 
 ? 330/. of this 
 | amt. for tithe 
 ( rent-charge. 
 
 } 2,120/ of this 
 < amt. for tithe 
 ( rent-charge. 
 
NOTES. 
 
 75 
 
 No of Estate in ' 
 which English & 
 Scotch became 
 Purchasers. 
 
 No. of 
 
 , Purchasers. 
 
 County. 
 
 Acreage. 
 
 Purchase- 
 
 money. 
 
 
 Observations. 
 
 
 
 
 A. 
 
 R. P. 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 
 
 
 Ulster. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 Antrim, 
 
 750 
 
 0 0 
 
 23,750 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 Cavan, 
 
 4,341 
 
 0 1 
 
 24,635 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 Donegal, 
 
 365 
 
 1 34 
 
 2,400 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 Monaghan, . 
 
 77 
 
 0 31 
 
 117 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 Tyrone, 
 
 1,851 
 
 1 16 
 
 5,020 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 
 
 7,385 
 
 0 2 
 
 55,922 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 
 Connaught. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 15 
 
 Galway, . . 
 
 22,010 
 
 17 12 
 
 331,050 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 Leitrim, . . 
 
 3302 
 
 1 37 
 
 14,850 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 Roscommon, 
 
 1464 
 
 2 34 
 
 9030 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 
 7 
 
 14 
 
 Mayo, . . . 
 
 78,549 
 
 0 6 
 
 104,490 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 
 95 
 
 114 
 
 25 counties 
 
 310,326 
 
 2 9 
 
 459,420 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 
 out of 32. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 English and Scotch have purchased in every county 
 in Ireland, except Clare in Munster, Sligo in Connaught, 
 and Down, Armagh, Cavan, Fermanagh, and London- 
 derry, in Ulster. 
 
 Table III. 
 
 Acreage and Amounts arranged according to Provinces. 
 
 Provinces. 
 
 Acreage. 
 
 Purchase-money. 
 
 
 A. R. P. 
 
 £ s. d . 
 
 Leinster, .... 
 
 31,012 0 34 
 
 222,385 0 0 
 
 Munster, .... 
 
 54,342 0 9 
 
 362,399 12 6 
 
 Ulster, ..... 
 
 7,385 0 2 
 
 55,922 0 0 
 
 Connaught, .... 
 
 310,326 2 9 
 
 455,420 0 0 , 
 
 Total, . 
 
 403,065 3 14 
 
 1,100,126 12 6 
 
76 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 Table IV. 
 
 Showing the Localities from whence the Purchase-money 
 came. 
 
 No. of Purchasers. 
 
 Purchase- 
 
 money 
 
 No. of Purchasers. 
 
 Purchase- 
 
 money. 
 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 58 From London and 
 
 
 
 
 
 Brought forward , 
 
 925,533 12 
 
 6 
 
 its vicinity, 
 
 720,641 
 
 19 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 From Oxfordshire, 
 
 6,280 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 11 Lancashire,* . . 
 
 56,526 
 
 13 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 Pembrokeshire, . 
 
 3,820 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 1 Buckinghamshire 
 
 1,220 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 1 
 
 Suffolk, .... 
 
 5,730 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 4 Cheshire, . . . 
 
 53,205 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 1 
 
 Shropshire, . . 
 
 7,690 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 1 Derbyshire, . . 
 
 2,525 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 1 
 
 Sussex, .... 
 
 7,610 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 5 Devonshire, . . 
 
 14,445 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 3 
 
 Staffordshire, . . 
 
 57,450 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 1 Durham, . . . 
 
 7,750 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 1 
 
 Somersetshire, 
 
 2,550 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 1 Gloucestershire, 
 
 11,830 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 1 
 
 Warwickshire, 
 
 5,750 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 2 Hampshire, . . 
 
 24,400 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 2 
 
 Yorkshire, . . 
 
 3,517 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 1 Hertfordshire, . 
 
 11,000 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 8 
 
 Scotland, . . . 
 
 46,220 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 3 Lincolnshire, 
 
 5,490 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 1 
 
 Calcutta, . . . 
 
 24,250 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 1 Norfolk, . . . 
 
 16,500 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 3 
 
 Isle of Man, . . 
 
 1,406 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 America, . . . 
 
 2,320 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 Carried forward , 
 
 925,533 12 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total, . . 
 
 1100126 
 
 12 
 
 6 
 
 1 
 
 * Including 39,276/. 13s. 4 d. from Liverpool and Birkenhead. 
 
 Table V. 
 
 Showing the Number and comparative Amounts of English 
 and Scotch Purchasers. 
 
 1,000Z. and 
 
 1,000/. to 
 
 2,000/. to 
 
 5,000/. to 
 
 10,000/. to 
 
 20,000/. and 
 
 
 under. 
 
 2,000/. 
 
 5,000/. 
 
 10,000/. 
 
 20,000/. 
 
 upwards. 
 
 o 
 
 H 
 
 24 
 
 18 
 
 26 
 
 21 
 
 13 
 
 12 
 
 114 
 
 Of these one purchaser was from Calcutta, amount 
 £24,250 ; three from the Isle of Man, all under £1,200; 
 
NOTES. 
 
 77 
 
 and eight from Scotland, viz., one between £2,000 
 and £5,000, and seven between £5,000 and 
 10,000 ; of the eight purchasers from Scotland, 
 two were gentry, and six were farmers. 
 
 Table YI. 
 
 Showing fas accurately as can be ascertained) the 
 Classification of these Purchasers. 
 
 Gentry, in- 
 cluding eight 
 titled Persons. 
 
 Manufacturers 
 and Merchants, 
 including 
 eight Firms. 
 
 Insurance 
 
 and 
 
 Land 
 
 Companies. 
 
 Farmers. 
 
 Total. 
 
 52 
 
 1 
 
 36 
 
 6 
 
 20 
 
 114 
 
 TOTAL SALES EFFECTED TJNDEE THE COTJET. 
 
 Total number of acres, 1,293,573a. 2e. 23p. 
 Amount, . . . £7,215,003 10s. 1 d. 
 
 NOTE II. 
 
 POOE BATES. 
 
 To come to facts connected with this subject, 
 I have taken the public notice of rates struck in 
 four Unions, by chance, out of a newspaper before 
 
78 
 
 NOTES 
 
 me, giving each Electoral Division, to show what 
 is the real state of the case. I am quite ready to 
 prove that there are as many below these as there 
 are above. 
 
 These rates were made within the last few 
 months. 
 
 CASTLEREA UNION. 
 
 Electoral Division. 
 
 Rate per JE1. 
 
 8. D. 
 
 Artagh North, 
 
 0 7 
 
 Artagh South, 
 
 0 5 
 
 Ballaghadereen, 
 
 0 9 
 
 Bloonfower, 
 
 0 9 
 
 Ballinlough, 
 
 0 8 
 
 Ballintubber, . 
 
 0 9 
 
 Baslick, . 
 
 1 7 
 
 Ballinagare, 
 
 0 7 
 
 Buckhill, 
 
 0 9 
 
 Carrowduff, 
 
 0 7 
 
 Castleplunket, . 
 
 0 7 
 
 Castleteheen, . 
 
 0 6 
 
 Castlerea, 
 
 1 2 
 
 Coolougher, 
 
 0 11 
 
 Edmonstown, . 
 
 0 8 
 
 Fairyraount, 
 
 1 0 
 
 Frenchpark, 
 
 0 4 
 
 Kiltullagh* 
 
 0 11 
 
 Loughlynn, 
 
 0 10 
 
NOTES. 
 
 79 
 
 DONEGAL UNION. 
 Electoral Division. 
 
 Ballintra, ..... 
 
 Binbane, 
 
 Bonnyglen, 
 
 Corkermore, ..... 
 
 Clogher, 
 
 Donegal, ..... 
 Dunkinneely, ..... 
 Eanymore, ..... 
 Gronsehall, ..... 
 Haugh, ..... 
 
 Inver, ..... 
 
 Lougheaske, 
 
 Laghey, 
 
 Mountcbarles, .... 
 
 Pettigo, 
 
 Tawnhawully, .... 
 Templecarne, ..... 
 Tullynaught, 
 
 LETTERKENNY UNION. 
 Electoral Division. 
 
 Castlewray, 
 
 Magherabuoy, .... 
 Kincraigy, ..... 
 Manorcunningham, 
 
 Seacor, ..... 
 Terapledouglas, .... 
 Edenecarnan, .... 
 
 Rate per £1 . 
 
 s. I). 
 
 . 1 6 
 
 . 1 3 
 
 . 3 0 
 
 . 2 0 
 
 . 2 2 
 
 . 3 2 
 
 . 3 0 
 
 . 1 2 
 
 . 2 0 
 
 . 3 6 
 
 . 1 6 
 
 . 2 2 
 
 . 3 6 
 
 . 1 10 
 
 . 2 4 
 
 . 1 8 
 
 , 1 G 
 
 Rate per £L 
 s. D. 
 
 . 0 8 * 
 
 . 0 8 i 
 . 0 8 * 
 
 . 0 10 * 
 
 . 1 oj 
 
 . 1 5 * 
 
 . 1 0 £ 
 
80 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 LETTERKENNY UNION — continued. 
 
 Electoral Division. 
 
 Rate per £1. 
 
 
 S. D. 
 
 Gortnavern, 
 
 . 0 9£ 
 
 Churchhill, 
 
 . . . . 1 7j 
 
 Gartan, 
 
 . 2 Si 
 
 Ballyraacool, 
 
 . 0 4£ 
 
 Killymasney, 
 
 . 4 9 
 
 Coravaddy, 
 
 . 0 10j 
 
 Letterkenny, 
 
 . 1 Of 
 
 SOUTH DUBLIN UNION. 
 
 Electoral Division. 
 
 Rate per £1. 
 
 
 S. D. 
 
 Donnybrook, . 
 
 . 0 4 
 
 Rathmines, 
 
 . 0 4 
 
 Rathfarnham, 
 
 . 0 5 
 
 Whitechurch, . 
 
 . 0 5 
 
 Tallaglit, 
 
 . 0 6 
 
 Clondalkin, 
 
 . 0 5 
 
 Palmerstown, . 
 
 . 0 5 
 
 From my knowledge of tlie country, I would 
 undertake to lower the highest rate struck, after 
 a few years, to sixpence in the pound, in an 
 electoral division in which I purchased property. 
 If the estate is of any extent, you have ample 
 power, now the population is so much reduced, to 
 lower the rates. 
 
NOTES. 
 
 81 
 
 The following are the poor rates on properties I 
 happen to know something of in different coun- 
 ties : — 
 
 Dublin (County), 5c?., 6c?., 6|c?., 7c?. 
 
 Meath, Is., Is. 6c?. 
 
 Wicklow, Is., Is. 6c?. 
 
 Wexford, 5 c?. 
 
 Waterford, 6c?., 2s. 9c?. 
 
 Kildare, Is., 2s., Is. 9c?. 
 
 Carlow, 2s. 2 Jc?., 2s. 3c?. 
 
 Kilkenny, 2s. 6c?., 2s. 7jc?., Is. 4c?., 2s. 3c?., Is. 8c?. 
 Queen’s County, 6c?., Is. 2c?. 
 
 King’s County, Is. 4jc?., 4c?., 4c?., 4c?. 
 
 Tipperary, 2s. 4c?., 2s. 3c?., 2s. 8|c?., 3s. 4c?., 3s. 9c?. 
 Cork, Is., 8c?., 2s., 6c?., Is., 7c?., 9c?. 
 
 Kerry, 3s., 3s. 
 
 Clare, 4s. 8c?., 6s., 4s., 3s. 4c?. 
 
 Westmeath, 11c?., 9|d., Is. 2c?. 
 
 Longford, 2s., 10c?., 6s., 10c?. 
 
 Galway, 4s. 6c?., 2s. l^c?., Is. 6c?., 5s., 2s. 9c?. 
 
 Mayo, 5s., 5s., 5s., Is. 10c?. 
 
 Cavan, Is. 4c?., 2s., Is. 8c?. 
 
 Down, 7^c?., lO.jc?. 
 
 Donegal, Is. 8c?. 
 
 Tyrone, 7^c?., 2s. lc?. 
 
 These rates are yearly decreasing, and are 
 struck, in most cases, twice every two years. 
 
 The number of Electoral Divisions in Ireland is 
 now 3,439, with an average of about 6,000 acres 
 
82 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 NOTE III. 
 
 CHARACTER OF THE IRISH FOR INDUSTRY. 
 
 The following extract from Mr. Pirn’s work will 
 show that the Irish are not incapable of improve- 
 ment, either owing to their religion or their race : — 
 “ The people of Ireland have been accused of 
 idleness and improvidence. These vices are attri- 
 buted by many to the prevalent creed ; and their 
 supineness and want of industry are laid at the 
 door of their religion. Others speak of them as 
 the inherent characteristics of the Celtic race. By 
 the first, they are looked upon as almost incura- 
 ble, while the religious belief of the people is un- 
 changed. If the opinion of the latter be correct, 
 the case must be considered hopeless, as it is evi- 
 dent no change of race can take place. The care- 
 fully irrigated and fertile plains of Lombardy; 
 the high cultivation of the vale of the Amo, 
 densely peopled with industrious, contented, and 
 thriving inhabitants ; and the skill and industry 
 which maintain the agriculture of Flanders among 
 the first in Europe, — an example worthy of imita- 
 tion by Protestant England, — may well prove that 
 their religion offers no insuperable barrier; and 
 
NOTES. 
 
 83 
 
 that if the inhabitants of some of the Roman Ca- 
 tholic states of Europe are less industrious than 
 their Protestant neighbours, we must look to 
 something else than their creed for a sufficient ex- 
 planation of the cause. The inferiority of the 
 Celtic race is a gratuitous assumption, not easy of 
 proof; but even if this be admitted, those who on 
 that account consider the Irish as unimprovable 
 forget the great admixture of races which has taken 
 place in this country. Most of the maritime cities 
 were Danish colonies. A large proportion of the 
 Norman or early English settlers intermarried 
 with the original inhabitants, and their descend- 
 ants, having remained Roman Catholics, are now 
 considered as mere Irish. There is now no appa- 
 rent distinction between a Eitzgerald, a Burke, a 
 Grace, or a Lacy, and the purest Milesian family. 
 
 “ It is sufficient, as respects these charges, to 
 say that they are useless taunts ; that it is imprac- 
 ticable, under present circumstances, to change 
 either the people themselves or their religion ; that 
 being in the country, they must be taken for bet- 
 ter for worse ; and that fair means, the removal of 
 impolitic restrictions, and the extended influence 
 of education, are more likely to improve them than 
 the rough usage which has been already tried, or 
 
84 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 the injurious language which is now too often 
 used. Eut the subject is worthy of closer exami- 
 nation. We see that Irishmen succeed in America. 
 Why do they not thrive at home ? In America 
 they are certainly on a level with all their neigh- 
 bours ; they have a fair field and no favour ; and 
 there they are industrious, and reap the fruits of 
 their industry, in the acquisition of property and 
 the respect of their fellow- citizens. Here the la- 
 bourer earns a bare subsistence, by precarious em- 
 ployment at low wages, with but little hope of 
 improvement, and consequently but little stimulus 
 to exertion. When he crosses the Atlantic, the 
 improved chances of success arouse his energy, he 
 assumes a new character, he feels the necessity of 
 exertion, and proves himself equal to his new po- 
 sition. 
 
 “ It has been asserted that even in America the 
 Irish are to be known by their idleness, their want 
 of cleanliness, and their improvident habits. It is 
 true, there are many who never rise out of the 
 faults of early life ; but that these are exceptional 
 cases, that the great majority are industrious and 
 saving, is proved by the amount of remittances in 
 sums, small in themselves, but large in the aggre- 
 gate, made by Irish emigrants to their friends and 
 
NOTES. 
 
 85 
 
 relatives at home. A correspondent of the writer’s 
 has informed him, that, having made inquiry from 
 the various banking-houses in that city and in 
 Philadelphia and Baltimore, he found that the re- 
 mittances by small orders from £1 to £10, made 
 by Irish emigrants to their friends in Ireland, in 
 the year 1846, amounted in all to 1,000,000 dol- 
 lars, or £200,000 sterling. These remittances, 
 coming from working men and women depending 
 upon their daily labour for support, prove at the 
 same time their industry, their economy, and that 
 love of kindred which absence and distance cannot 
 efface. Many of those remittances are sent to ena- 
 ble a relative to follow in the same path, to a land 
 where industry has free scope and a sure reward. 
 The husband sends home the means which may 
 enable his wife and children to follow him ; the 
 child sends for his parent, or the brother for his 
 sister ; and in this manner many whole families 
 have gone, one after the other, to seek a new home 
 in the West. 
 
 “ The writer is far from denying the influence 
 of national character, and the hereditary transmis- 
 sion of peculiar qualities in the various families of 
 man; and it must be admitted that we do not 
 possess the same patient and persevering industry 
 
86 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 which so eminently distinguishes the people of 
 England. Neither is he disposed to deny the in- 
 fluence of religion on the temporal well-being of 
 mankind ; but, on the contrary, to assert its para- 
 mount importance ; and that, so far as Christian 
 principle prevails and influences the heart, by 
 whatever name we may be called, it brings out 
 those virtues which constitute a good citizen, and 
 promote the welfare of society.” 
 
 NOTE IV. 
 
 FOOD OE THE IEISH. 
 
 “ The Irish peasant made up for the deficiency 
 of nutritive qualities in the potato by the quantity 
 he ate, amounting generally to as much as four- 
 teen pounds in a single day ; and it was therefore 
 a general complaint at first that the Indian com 
 left an uneasy sensation, arising from the absence 
 of the habitual distention of the organs of diges- 
 tion. The half-raw state in which it was often 
 eaten, arising partly from ignorance of the pro- 
 per mode of cooking it, and partly from im- 
 patience to satisfy the cravings of hunger, also 
 concurred, with the previous debilitated state of 
 
NOTES. 
 
 87 
 
 the people, to produce sickness when it was first 
 introduced. All this, however, has been got over, 
 and the people have now not only become accus- 
 tomed to the use of a grain food, hut they prefer 
 it, and declare that they feel stronger and more 
 equal to hard work under the influence of a meal 
 of stirabout than of potatoes ; and their improved 
 appearance fully hears out this conclusion. One 
 main cause of the fact, which has been so often 
 remarked, that the Irishman works better out of 
 Ireland than in it, is, that when he leaves his na- 
 tive country and obtains regular employment 
 elsewhere, he commences at the same time a more 
 strengthening diet than the potato. It is com- 
 monly observed in Canada that the Irish emi- 
 grants, although a much larger race of men than 
 the French Canadians, are, for some time after 
 their arrival, inferior to them as farm labourers ; 
 and this difference is attributed to their food. The 
 Canadian labourer, who receives his food as part 
 of his hire, has an ample breakfast on bread and 
 milk. He dines at mid-day on soupe aux poix , 
 with a full quantity of salt pork and bread a dis- 
 cretion. At four o’clock he is allowed a luncheon 
 of bread and onions, and at night he has a ragout 
 of meat and vegetables for his supper. He, how- 
 
88 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ever, works laboriously, and generally from sun- 
 rise to sunset, and is scarcely ever absent a day 
 from liis work. An Irishman cannot endure this 
 continuous labour without better food than the 
 potato ; and in every way it is desirable to teach 
 him the use of a more substantial diet, both to 
 enable him to give a proper amount of labour for 
 his hire, and in order to raise him to a higher 
 standard as a social being. We shall not consider 
 the object finally accomplished until the people 
 of Ireland live upon a bread and meat diet, like 
 those of the best parts of England and Scotland. 
 
 “ An officer of the Board of Works, observing 
 the emaciated condition of the labourers, reported 
 that, as an engineer, he was ashamed of allotting 
 so little task-work for a day’s wages, while, as a 
 man, he was ashamed of requiring so much. In 
 some districts proof of attendance was obliged to 
 be considered sufficient to entitle the labourer to 
 his wages. The exhausted state of the workmen 
 was one main cause of the small quantity of work 
 done compared with the money expended. The 
 Irish peasant had been accustomed to remain at 
 home, cowering over his turf fire, during the in- 
 clement season of the year, and exposure to the 
 cold and rain on the roads, without sufficient food 
 
NOTES. 
 
 89 
 
 or clothing, greatly contributed to the prevailing 
 sickness. In order to obviate this as far as pos- 
 sible, a Circular Letter was issued by the Board 
 of Works (1st series of 1847, page 499), directing 
 that, in case of snow or heavy rain, the labourers 
 should merely attend roll-call in the morning, 
 and be entered on the pay-list for half a day’s pay ; 
 and if it afterwards became fine, they were to 
 come to work, which would entitle them to a fur- 
 ther allowance.” — “ The Irish Crisis ” by Sir C. 
 Trevelyan. 
 
 NOTE Y. 
 
 ORIGIN OF AGRARIAN DISTURBANCES. 
 
 “ The Encyclopaedia Britannica thus described 
 the origin of those bands of Whiteboys, Oakboys, 
 and Steelboys, connected with agrarian disturb- 
 ances in the south and north of Ireland, soon after 
 the accession of George III., in the year 1760 : — 
 “ ‘ A foreign demand for beef and butter having 
 become uncommonly great, by reason of a violent 
 cattle distemper in England and on the Continent, 
 ground appropriated to grazing became more va- 
 luable than that employed in tillage. The cottiers 
 were everywhere dispossessed of their holdings, 
 
90 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 which the landlords let to persons who could af- 
 ford to pay a higher rent. Whole baronies were 
 now laid open to pasturage, whilst the former 
 inhabitants were driven desperate by want of 
 subsistence. Numbers fled to the large cities, or 
 emigrated to foreign countries. 
 
 “ ‘ The people, covered with white shirts, as- 
 sembled in parties at night, turned up the ground, 
 destroyed bullocks, levelled enclosures, and com- 
 mitted other acts of violence. These unavailing 
 efforts were construed into a plot against the Go- 
 vernment. Numbers of the rioters were appre- 
 hended in the counties of Limerick, Cork, and 
 Tipperary, and some of them were condemned 
 and executed. In different places these unhappy 
 wretches, instead of being looked upon as objects 
 of compassion, were persecuted with the utmost 
 rigour of the law .’ 97 
 
 “ The following is the result of an experiment 
 made about the same period with Irish tenants : — 
 
 “ ‘ Sir William Osborne, who resides near Clon- 
 mel, in the county of Tipperary, has made a moun- 
 tain improvement which demands particular atten- 
 tion, being upon a principle very different from 
 common ones. 
 
 “ ‘ Twelve years ago he met with a hearty-look- 
 
NOTES. 
 
 91 
 
 in g fellow of forty, followed by a wife and six 
 children in rags, who begged. Sir William ques- 
 tioned him, upon the scandal of a man in full health 
 and vigour supporting himself in such a manner. 
 The man said he could get no work. “ Come along 
 with me, and I will show you a spot of land on 
 which I will build a cabin for you ; and if you like 
 it, you shall fix there.” The fellow followed Sir 
 William, who was as good as his word. He built 
 him a cabin ; gave him five acres of a heathy moun- 
 tain ; lent him £4 to stock with ; and gave him, 
 when he had prepared his ground, as much lime 
 as he would come for. The fellow flourished ; he 
 went on gradually ; repaid the £4 ; and he has at 
 present twelve acres under cultivation. His name 
 is John Conory. 
 
 “ ‘ The success which attended this man in two 
 or three years, brought others who applied for 
 land, and Sir William gave them as they applied. 
 In this manner he has fixed twenty- two families, 
 who are all upon the improving hand, the meanest 
 growing richer ; and they find themselves so well 
 off that no consideration will induce them to work 
 for others, not even in harvest. Their industry 
 has no bounds, nor is the day long enough for the 
 revolution of their incessant labour. He has in- 
 
92 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 formed them that they will be charged something 
 for the land, and has desired that each will mark 
 out what he wishes to have. They have accord- 
 ingly run divisions, and ^ome have taken pieces of 
 thirty to forty acres ; a strong proof that they find 
 their husbandry beneficial and profitable. He has 
 little doubt but they will take among them the 
 whole mountain, which consists of 900 acres. He 
 has great reason to believe that nine-tenths of them 
 were Whiteboys, but are now of principles and 
 practice exceedingly different from the miscreants 
 who bear that name. This shows that the villany 
 of the greatest miscreants is all in situation and 
 circumstance. Employ — don’t hang them. Let 
 it not be in the slavery of the cottier system, in 
 which industry never meets its reward ; but, by 
 giving property, teach the value of it. By giving 
 them the fruit of their labour, teach them to be 
 laborious.’ ”* 
 
 “It is a remarkable testimony to the improve- 
 ment effected by such works in the social habits 
 of the people, that the district between the Shan- 
 non and the Blackwater, which was opened in 
 four directions by the roads executed by Mr. Grif- 
 
 A. Young’s “ Tour in Ireland,” vol. i. pp. 170-173. 
 
NOTES. 
 
 93 
 
 fith, although formerly the seat of the Desmond 
 Rebellion, and subsequently, in the year 1821, 
 the asylum for Whiteboys and the focus of the 
 Whiteboy warfare, during which time four regi- 
 ments were required to repress outrage, became 
 perfectly tranquil, and continued so up to the 
 commencement of the late calamity.” 
 
 NOTE YI. 
 
 THE LANDLORD DOES NOTHING. 
 
 Extracted from Report of Commissioners on Occu- 
 pation of Land in Ireland. — Par. Rep., 1845, 
 vol. xix. page 26. 
 
 “ It is well known that in England and Scot- 
 land, before a landlord offers a farm for letting, 
 he finds it necessary to provide a suitable farm- 
 house, with necessary farm-buildings, for the pro- 
 per management of the farm. He puts the gates 
 and fences into good order, and he also takes upon 
 himself a great part of the burden of keeping the 
 buildings in repair during the term ; and the rent 
 is fixed with reference to this state of things. Such, 
 at least, is generally the case, although special 
 contracts may occasionally be made, varying the 
 arrangement between landlord and tenant. 
 
94 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 “ In Ireland the case is wholly different. The 
 smallness of the farms, as they are usually let, to- 
 gether with other circumstances, to which it is not 
 necessary to advert, render the introduction of the 
 English system extremely difficult, and in many 
 cases impracticable. 
 
 “ It is admitted on all hands that, according to 
 the general practice in Ireland, the landlord builds 
 neither dwelling-house nor farm- offices, nor puts 
 fences, gates, &c., into good order, before he lets 
 his land to a tenant. 
 
 “The cases in which a landlord does any of 
 those things are the exceptions. The system, how- 
 ever, of giving aid in these matters is becoming 
 more prevalent. In most cases, whatever is done 
 in the way of building or fencing is done by the 
 tenant, and in the ordinary language of the coun- 
 try, dwelling-houses, farm-buildings, and even the 
 making of fences, are described by the general 
 word ‘ improvements/ which is thus employed to 
 denote the necessary adjuncts to a farm, without 
 which, in England or Scotland, no tenant would 
 be found to rent it.” 
 
 “By neglecting their estates, and omitting to 
 construct proper farm-buildings, and to make 
 other necessary improvements, Irish landlords re- 
 
NOTES. 
 
 95 
 
 linquish tlieir position in rural society, and give 
 free scope to the agrarian revolutionary plans 
 which, under the disguise of ‘fixity of tenure’ 
 and t tenant right/ would dispossess the landlord, 
 without conferring any permanent benefit on the 
 tenant. In the smaller class of holdings, the en- 
 tire gross produce is insufficient to support a fa- 
 mily, without allowing for either rent, seed, or 
 taxes ; and even supposing that, with the dan- 
 gerous help of the potato, eked out by harvest- 
 work and begging, a rent is paid, the tendency to 
 multiply and subdivide is so strong, that if the 
 whole rent were given up, the holders would 
 become, in a generation or two, much more nume- 
 rous and equally poor. The fact is, that the main 
 hope of extrication from the slough of despond in 
 which the small holders in the centre and west of 
 Ireland are at present sunk, is from the enterprise, 
 and capital, and improved husbandry of the class 
 of owners commonly known by the name of land- s 
 lords.” 
 
ye 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 NOTE YII. 
 
 GOVEENMENT MONEY ADVANCED. 
 
 Money advanced by the Board of Works for the 
 improvement of landed property, may be applied 
 as follows : — 
 
 “ 1. The drainage of lands by any means which 
 may be approved by the Commissioners. 
 
 “ 2. The subsoiling, trenching, or otherwise 
 deepening and improving the soil of lands. 
 
 “ 3. The irrigation or warping of lands. 
 
 “ 4. The embankment of lands from the sea, or 
 tidal waters, or rivers. 
 
 “ 5. The enclosing, or fencing, or improving the 
 fences, drains, streams, or water-courses of land. 
 
 11 6. The reclamation of waste or other land. 
 
 “7. The making of farm roads. 
 
 “ 8. The clearing land of rocks and stones. 
 
 “9. Now also for farm-buildings.’ 7 
 
 NOTE Till. 
 
 EOETY- SHILLING EEEEHOLDEES. 
 
 The subdivision of land will be accounted for in a 
 great measure by the following : — 
 
 “ A lease for lives of a house or land, in which 
 
NOTES. 
 
 97 
 
 the lessee had an interest worth forty shillings a- 
 year, called ‘ a forty- shilling freehold/ entitled the 
 holder to a vote. This low franchise induced the 
 landed proprietors to divide their estates into many 
 small holdings, for the purpose of increasing their 
 influence at elections. A numerous tenantry, hav- 
 ing the right to vote, and being practically obliged 
 to exercise that right at the dictation of their land- 
 lords, was highly prized. This had a most inju- 
 rious effect in many parts of Ireland, cutting up 
 the land into those small farms which are now 
 justly complained of, and producing a great in- 
 crease of population, without a corresponding in- 
 crease of the means of support. When the Eman- 
 cipation Act was passed in 1829, the forty- shilling 
 freeholders were disfranchised, and being no longer 
 of use to their landlords, every means has since 
 been employed to get rid of them/’ 
 
 NOTE IX. 
 
 ENGLISH LADIES THE CAUSE OF ESTATES NOT 
 BEING BOUGHT. 
 
 Steange as it may seem, I think there is no 
 doubt but that the ladies of England are, in a 
 great measure, the cause of the non-investment of 
 
 H 
 
98 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 English capital in Ireland. An extract from a 
 letter, received this morning, will illustrate this: — 
 “Deae Sie, — I am obliged by yonr letter of 
 the 21st instant. I find that I stand alone in my 
 wish to purchase land in Ireland with a view to 
 reside upon it, and that I should seriously com- 
 promise my domestic comfort if I persisted in the 
 design. I have therefore abandoned it ; and I 
 may add, that I have strong objections to be- 
 coming a non-resident proprietor. Were it other- 
 wise, I should not be deterred by the frequency 
 of agrarian outrage and murder in Ireland. They 
 generally spring from some strong-handed inter- 
 ference with long-established customs, or harsh, 
 evictive proceedings at law, which excite the ven- 
 geance of an ignorant, impulsive, and almost de- 
 spairing peasantry. Even measures prompted by 
 kind feeling, and a wish to improve and benefit, * 
 may be made obnoxious from the way in which 
 they are forced on against ancient habits and 
 prejudice. I would never insist on the imme- 
 diate adoption of my own views, however much I 
 might desire it ; but would rather suggest them, 
 and wait their gradual development. I am hope- 
 ful for Ireland ; and were I not bound to consult 
 and respect the feelings and wishes of those most 
 
NOTES. 
 
 99 
 
 closely united to me, I would gladly and unhesi- 
 tatingly settle there, as I am convinced that a 
 judicious investment in land there is about the 
 very best that can be made at the present time.” 
 
 Spenser wrote the following in 1596 : — 
 
 “ And sure it is yet a most beautiful and sweet 
 country, as any is under heaven; being stored 
 throughout with many goodly rivers, replenished 
 with all sorts of fish most abundantly ; sprinkled 
 with many very sweet islands and goodly lakes, 
 ike little inland seas, that will carry even shippes 
 upon their waters ; adorned with goodly woods, 
 even fit for building of houses and shippes, so com- 
 modiously, as that if some Princes in the world 
 had them, they would soon hope to be lords of all 
 the seas, and ere long of all the world ; also full of 
 very good ports and havens opening upon Eng- 
 land, as inviting us to come unto them, to see what 
 excellent commodities that country can afford ; be- 
 sides the soil 'itself most fertile, fit to yield all kind 
 of fruit that shall be committed thereunto. And 
 lastly, the Heavens most mild and temperate, 
 though somewhat more moist in the parts towards 
 the west.”* 
 
 * “View of Ireland,” written in 1596, by Edmund Spenser. 
 
100 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 NOTE X. 
 
 MR. BEALE BROWNE’S LETTER. 
 
 I hate just received the following from a gentle- 
 man well known in the agricultural world, and one 
 of the most active magistrates for Gloucestershire, 
 T. B. Browne, Esq., of Hampen, near Andoversford. 
 It will show, that if persons look into the state of 
 Ireland they do not think so badly of it. Mr. 
 Browne has just made an offer for an estate in 
 Tipperary, upon which, I am sure, he will do an 
 immense amount of good, and get a clear 5 per 
 cent, for his money, and have his estate nearly 
 doubled in value in a few years : — 
 
 “ My Dear Sir, — I cannot give you a greater 
 proof of my opinion being in favour of investing 
 money in Ireland than in purchasing property 
 there ; indeed, after passing through the greater 
 part of Ireland, I came to this conclusion : — There 
 may be some evil influence at work in some places, 
 but it appears to me want of employment is the 
 great evil, and especially the non- employment of 
 the small tenants in draining, &c., on the estates 
 in which they reside, which would add to the 
 landlords’ capital, and place them in a position 
 
NOTES. 
 
 101 
 
 which they deserve. Employment seems to me 
 the best security for life and property ; and there 
 is no estate I have seen but all the surplus labour 
 might be profitably employed, and then the poor- 
 rates would become a mere trifie. 
 
 tc Believe me yours very truly, 
 
 “ T . B. Beowne. 
 
 “ To Wm. Bullock Webster , Esq.” 
 
 H0TE XI. 
 
 COMMUNICATION with ieeland. 
 
 Yia Holyhead — Sea Passage, 4J hours. Three 
 communications to and from Ireland on every 
 week-day; two on Sundays. London to Dub- 
 lin, 13 \ hours; to Cork, 21 J; Limerick or Gal- 
 way, 20 ; Belfast, 23 ; Manchester or Liverpool 
 to Dublin, 9; Warrington, 8j; Birmingham, 10^ ; 
 Leeds or Sheffield, 13 ; Bristol, 1 5~. 
 
102 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 FAKES. 
 
 Including Sea-passage Money between Kingstown and Holyhead, 
 either by the Boats of the Chester and Holyhead Eailway, or of 
 the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company. 
 
 LONDON. 
 
 TO OR FROM 
 
 Single Fares. 
 
 Eeturn Tickets. 
 
 Class 1. 
 
 Class 2. 
 
 Class 1. 
 
 Class 2. 
 
 
 s. 
 
 D. 
 
 S. D. 
 
 s. 
 
 D. 
 
 s. 
 
 D. 
 
 Kingstown Harbour, . 
 
 60 
 
 0 
 
 40 0 
 
 90 
 
 0 
 
 60 
 
 0 
 
 Cork, 
 
 75 
 
 0 
 
 52 0 
 
 105 
 
 0 
 
 80 
 
 0 
 
 Limerick or Clonmel, . 
 
 75 
 
 0 
 
 52 0 
 
 105 
 
 0 
 
 80 
 
 0 
 
 Kilkenny, .... 
 
 70 
 
 0 
 
 48 0 
 
 105 
 
 0 
 
 72 
 
 0 
 
 Galway, .... 
 
 76 
 
 0 
 
 54 0 
 
 115 
 
 0 
 
 80 
 
 0 
 
 Baliinasloe, .... 
 
 73 
 
 0 
 
 51 0 
 
 110 
 
 0 
 
 77 
 
 0 
 
 Athlone, .... 
 
 71 
 
 0 
 
 49 0 
 
 105 
 
 0 
 
 75 
 
 0 
 
 Mullingar, .... 
 
 68 
 
 0 
 
 46 0 
 
 100 
 
 0 
 
 70 
 
 0 
 
 Belfast, .... 
 
 70 
 
 0 
 
 50 0 
 
 105 
 
 0 
 
 75 
 
 0 
 
 Newry or Dundalk, . 
 
 65 
 
 0 
 
 46 0 
 
 97 
 
 0 
 
 69 
 
 0 
 
 These Tickets are available for 14 days. 
 
 London (Euston Station), 
 
 Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hull, Bristol, 
 Carlisle, Oxford, . 
 
 Worcester, Cheltenham, Gloucester, 
 Birmingham, Rugby, Leamington, Co- 
 ventry, Lincoln, . 
 
 Wolverhampton, Huddersfield, Leeds, 
 Sheffield, Derby, . 
 
 Manchester, Warrington, Stoke, Mac- 
 clesfield, . 
 
 Liverpool, Chester, . 
 
 Class 1. 
 
 £ S. D. 
 
 6 10 0 
 
 6 6 0 
 
 5 15 0 
 
 5 5 0 
 
 5 0 0 
 
 4 4 0 
 
 4 0 0 
 
 Class. 2. 
 £ S. D. 
 
 5 5 0 
 
 5 5 0 
 
 4 15 0 
 
 4 5 0 
 
 4 5 0 
 
 3 10 0 
 
 3 5 0 
 
 These Tickets (which in no case are transferable) will be 
 available for one month from the date of issue. 
 
NOTES. 
 
 103 
 
 XOTE XII. 
 
 MEANING OP IRISH NAMES. 
 
 Agh, a field. 
 
 Anagh, or Ana, a river. 
 
 Arch, a high place or rising ground. 
 
 Ath, a ford. 
 
 Awin, a river. 
 
 Bally, or Ballin, a town or enclosed place of 
 habitation. 
 
 Ban, or Bane, white or fair. 
 
 Beg, little. 
 
 Ben, the summit of a mountain, generally an 
 abrupt head. 
 
 Bijn, a bottom, a foundation or root. 
 
 Car, or Cahir, a city. 
 
 Carrick, Carrig, Carrow, a rock or stony 
 place. 
 
 Cork, Corragh, a marsh or swampy ground. 
 Clara, a plain. 
 
 Croagh, Croghan, a sharp-pointed hill, resem- 
 bling a rick. 
 
 Clog, Clough, a great stone. 
 
 Curragh, a marshy or fenny plain. 
 
 Clon, a glade or level pasture groimd. 
 
 Col, Cul, a corner. 
 
104 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 Derry, a clear, dry spot in the midst of a woody 
 swamp. 
 
 Don, a height or fastness, a fortress. 
 
 Donagh, a church. 
 
 Draun, a high, narrow ridge of hills. 
 
 Inch, Inis, an island. 
 
 Ken, a head. 
 
 Kill, a church or cemetery. 
 
 Knock, a single hill or a hillock. 
 
 Lick, a flat stone. 
 
 Lough, a lake or a pool. 
 
 Magh, a plain. 
 
 Main, a collection of hillocks. 
 
 More, large or great. 
 
 Hath, a mount or entrenchment, a harrow. 
 Koss, a point of land projecting into water. 
 Shan, old. 
 
 Sliebh, a range of mountain, a hill covered 
 with heath. 
 
 Tack, a house. 
 
 Temple, a church. 
 
 Tom, Toom, a bush. 
 
 Tra, a strand. 
 
 Tobar, Tubber, a well or spring. 
 
 Tullagh, a gentle hill or common. 
 
 Ttjlly, a place subject to floods. 
 
NOTES. 
 
 105 
 
 NOTE XIII. 
 
 INVESTMENT OF TRUST-MONEY IN IRELAND. 
 
 Important Act. — Eew are aware, I believe, of 
 a most important Act of Parliament, which gives 
 power to trustees to invest money in Ireland, al- 
 though England and Wales only are expressly 
 named : — 
 
 “ Trustees authorized to lend money on real 
 securities in Great Britain, may lend same on real 
 securities, in Ireland, as if expressly authorized by 
 trust to do so, provided the deed creating such 
 trust shall not contain any express restriction 
 against the investment of such money on security 
 in Ireland.” — 4 and 5 Will. IY., cap. 29. 
 
 NOTE XIY. 
 
 RUNDALE, A KIND OF TENURE BY WHICH A PER- 
 SON HOLDS A FARM IN COMMON WITH SEVERAL 
 OTHERS. 
 
 “ In the flourishing islands of Guernsey and 
 Jersey, corn-rents of fixed amount are charged 
 upon the same farm one after another, like the 
 coats of an onion ; but the lowest holder, who is 
 the party really interested in the improvement of 
 
106 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 the property, has every requisite security that he 
 will enjoy the whole profit of any outlay he may 
 make, and the most essential part of the benefit 
 of ownership is thus obtained. In Mayo and 
 other western counties the old barbarous Irish 
 tenure called Rundale (Scotch runrigg ), still pre- 
 vails, which stops short of the institution of indi- 
 vidual property, and by making the industrious 
 and thriving responsible for the short- comings of 
 the idle and improvident, effectually destroys the 
 spring of all improvement. The cessation of this 
 antiquated system is an indispensable preliminary 
 to any progress being made in the localities where 
 it exists ; but this improvement may he effected 
 by the landlords without any change in the law.” 
 — The Irish Crisis , by Sir C '. Trevelyan . 
 
 NOTE XV. 
 
 ESTATES IN COUET OE CHANCEEY. 
 
 “The following Table gives the leading parti- 
 culars relating to the estates under the manage- 
 ment of the Courts in Ireland during the years 
 1831, 1832, and 1833:— 
 
NOTES. 
 
 107 
 
 COURT OF CHANCERY. 
 
 
 © s 
 . <» 
 
 Rental 
 of Estates. 
 
 Arrears of Rent. 
 
 When Receiver 
 was appointed. 
 
 When Receiver 
 last accounted. 
 
 1841 
 
 1842 
 
 1843 
 Average 
 of three 
 Years. 
 
 698 
 
 595 
 
 764 
 
 | 686 
 
 £ S. D. 
 
 598,635 13 10f 
 548,783 12 9 
 563,022 2 4 
 
 570,147 2 Ilf 
 
 £ S. D. 
 
 39,358 16 4| 
 3,105 0 10 
 39,265 13 1 
 
 27,243 3 5 
 
 £ s. D. 
 
 347,226 14 10 
 299,554 10 8 
 290,292 4 10 
 
 312,357 16 10 
 
 COURT OF EXCHEQUER. 
 
 From 
 1836 to 
 1843 in- 
 clusive. 
 
 | 316 
 
 132,675 2 3 
 
 56,163 6 6 
 
 87,849 0 Ilf 
 
 NOTE XVI. 
 
 FARMS. 
 
 There is scarcely a county in Ireland where there 
 are not some few good farms to let, varying in size 
 from 100 to 2000 acres. The rents are fair, and 
 the landlords inclined to do what may he required 
 for a good tenant. I could point out where there 
 are many farms let to Scotchmen, who are doing 
 well. 
 
108 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 NOTE XYII. 
 
 RELATIVE QUANTITY AND VALUE OF ENGLISH, SCOTCH, 
 AND IRISH ACRES. 
 
 One Irish acre is equal to one acre, two roods, 
 nineteen poles, and five yards, statute measure ; 
 and in Scottish measure, it is equal to one acre, 
 one rood, five poles and eight yards. Twenty 
 shillings the Irish acre would be twelve shillings 
 and fourpence the English, and fifteen shillings 
 and eightpence the Scotch acre. 
 
 NOTE XYIII. 
 
 EXTRACT FROM A LETTER FROM LORD CLARENDON. 
 
 “ Desirous though I am, however, that capital 
 should be thus employed, nothing would induce 
 me to recommend it if I did not conscientiously 
 believe that the investment would be remunera- 
 tive ; as it would be worse than useless to expend 
 large sums of money without a fair prospect of re- 
 turn, and if those prospects were not realized, all 
 such speculations must cease for the future. But 
 upon this point I entertain no doubt ; for if good 
 land is to be bought at a cheap rate, if secure ti- 
 
NOTES. 
 
 109 
 
 ties can be obtained at small expense, and if capi- 
 tal is available for improving the soil, and rendering 
 it productive, such an investment cannot fail to be 
 profitable; and it is under these circumstances, 
 when the Incumbered Estates Bill is passed, that 
 purchasers may come into the market. The mo- 
 ment, too, is eminently propitious for the under- 
 taking, because political excitement is at an end ; 
 agrarian outrage, consequent upon the competition 
 for land, is now very rare ; and the only anxiety of 
 the people is to obtain employment, or the means 
 of emigrating. But with respect to the latter, en- 
 couragement could not be given as a general rule, 
 nor without due inquiry ; and I was glad to ob- 
 serve that such appeared to be the opinion of the 
 meeting at the Mansion House ; for although there 
 are districts where, owing to the minute subdivi- 
 sion of land and other circumstances, the popula- 
 tion has manifestly become redundant, and cannot, 
 in the absence of the potato, find the means of sub- 
 sistence, emigration is most desirable : yet there are 
 others, where emigration is, at this moment, looked 
 upon as the only remedy for existing distress, but 
 in which there are actually not able-bodied men 
 enough for the cultivation of the soil, under a pro- 
 per system of agriculture. And it is a mistake to 
 
110 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 suppose that the Irish people will not work. They 
 are both willing and desirous to work, and, when 
 in regular employment, are always peaceable and 
 orderly ; and as they have lost their confidence in 
 the potatoes, there will not now he the same diffi- 
 culty, as in former times, in inducing the occupant 
 of three or four acres of land to become a labourer 
 for money wages punctually paid; on the con- 
 trary, there is every reason to think that they 
 would greatly prefer it. I may add, too, that the 
 tenant-farmers now no longer adhere to their old 
 and vicious system of cultivation, but are eager 
 to learn, and are grateful for instruction. 
 
 “ In short, from a concurrence of circumstances, 
 I do not think there is any country in the world 
 where change would he so beneficially and speedily 
 effected as in Ireland, by the judicious application 
 of capital ; while ordinary attention to the com- 
 forts of the people, and the improvement of their 
 habits, would produce contentment and confidence, 
 and render the appeals of selfish agitators inno- 
 
 cuous. 
 
NOTES. 
 
 Ill 
 
 NOTE XIX. 
 
 ON THE GEOLOGICAL MAP. 
 
 The granite formations in Ireland extend in the 
 S.E. from Dublin to near New Ross; in Down 
 and Armagh, to the north of Dundalk ; a portion 
 of Donegal; and to the S.W. of Galway, with 
 outcrops in Mayo, &c. 
 
 Granite being composed of three materials, — 
 quartz, mica, and felspar, and again, these com- 
 posed of others, containing silica, alumina, potash, 
 soda, &c., &c., the value of a soil depends, in a great 
 measure, upon the kind of granite from which it 
 is decomposed. Near Dublin the granite, con- 
 taining large quantities of silica, makes very good 
 building stone, but does not easily crumble into a 
 good soil. The Wexford end of the range is com- 
 posed more of the other ingredients, and makes a 
 better soil. 
 
 As the whole of the island of Guernsey is on the 
 granite, and the land turns out most productive, 
 we may, I think, with some confidence commence 
 the improvement of granite soils, where the depth 
 is favourable, and does not contain too much silica. 
 
 It must be remembered that the greater portion 
 of this formation is in a mountainous country. 
 
112 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 The mica slate, the greater part of which is 
 found in Donegal, Derry, Tyrone, and London- 
 derry, again in Mayo and Galway, prevails in 
 many of the mountain ranges. 
 
 Mica slate contains silica, alumina, iron, mag- 
 nesia, and potash. 
 
 The mica slate does not easily decompose, and 
 the country where it makes its appearance looks 
 rugged, uneven, and wild. Where the greenstone 
 joins it a better soil is found. Tin and copper are 
 found in this formation. Where the limestone 
 joins this formation the soil is often very good. 
 
 The lowee clay slate, found so extensively 
 in Cavan, Armagh, Wicklow, and Wexford, con- 
 tains soils of great variety; the fertility de- 
 pending on elevation, depth of soil, and, more 
 particularly, whether the under beds lie horizon- 
 tally or not ; if perpendicular, the land is seldom 
 good. The most productive soils are those where 
 the strata are inclined, and the edges covered 
 with a deep loam. No soil is more grateful for 
 lime than this; and the Wexford farmers have 
 shown that the finest crops may be grown on it. 
 The analyses of the Wexford clay-slate, by Anti- 
 sell, is as follows. In 100 parts : — 
 
NOTES. 
 
 113 
 
 Silica, 
 
 . 68-0 
 
 Alumina, ...... 
 
 . 14-0 
 
 Oxide of iron, ..... 
 
 7*0 
 
 Carbonate of lime, ..... 
 
 1-2 
 
 Traces of magnesia, &c., alkaline chlorides, 
 
 and 
 
 sulphates, 
 
 . 3-0 
 
 Organic matter, water, &c. 
 
 . 6-8 
 
 
 100-0 
 
 TJppee clay slate. Tound in Kerry and Cork ; 
 
 has an irregular, broken, hilly surface. 
 
 Tew soils 
 
 pay better for improvement by draining and lime, 
 that is, if you have depth to work upon. The 
 clay- slate beds are like those found in Monmouth, 
 Gloucestershire, and South Wales. Tew countries 
 are so rich in metals : copper, grey ore of anti- 
 mony, lead, manganese, arsenic ore, &c., &c. 
 
 Old bed sandstone, found so abundantly in 
 Cork, is similar to the greater portion of the land 
 in Devonshire and Herefordshire, — a very fine soil 
 in most places. 
 
 Silica is the chief mineral substance, but, being 
 finely divided, the earth is easily worked, allowing 
 the passage of air, water, and the influence of the 
 sun’s rays. It is found to be both good dairy and 
 com land. 
 
 i 
 
114 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 Coal formations, found, as will be seen by the 
 map, dispersed through many counties, particularly 
 in the north of Kerry and Clare, are in a great 
 measure covered with bog ; but it will be found, 
 upon examining the best portion of the cultivated 
 land on this formation, that abundant crops of all 
 kinds can be grown to advantage. 
 
 Limestone. The greater portion of Ireland 
 will be found resting on this formation, being 
 two-thirds of the country, a part of which is 
 covered with the calp or black argillaceous lime- 
 stone, the composition of which is — 
 
 Silica, 
 
 18-0 
 
 Carbonate of lime, 
 
 68-0 
 
 Alumina, 
 
 7-5 
 
 Oxide of iron, 
 
 2-0 
 
 Carbon and bitumen, 
 
 3-0 
 
 Water, 
 
 1-5 
 
 
 100-0 
 
 Limestone from Philipstown, Antisell makes — 
 
 Carbonate of lime, 
 
 
 
 91-49 
 
 Silica, . 
 
 
 
 5-50 
 
 Alumina and iron, 
 
 
 
 •70 
 
 Sulphuric acid, . 
 
 
 
 1-72 
 
 Loss, . 
 
 
 
 •59 
 
 100-0 
 
NOTES. 
 
 115 
 
 The deep soils of this formation are better than 
 almost any in England or Scotland, and I have 
 convinced myself that, when drained where they 
 require it, and well farmed, they will be found 
 the best paying land in Ireland, one great advan- 
 tage being, that they have a natural tendency to 
 go to good grass. Although much superior land 
 is found on this formation, there are many thou- 
 sand acres of, to all appearance, a poor, rocky 
 country ; but even here the grass that does grow 
 between the rocks is of so good a quality that it 
 makes fine sheep-walks. Again, the greater por- 
 tion of the bog lands are on this formation, which 
 gives the country a desolate appearance in places. 
 
 The most extensive bogs in Ireland will be 
 found stretching from Bantry Bay, in Cork, to the 
 centre of Clare ; from the north of Cashel, through 
 Kildare, beyond Mullingar; from the north of 
 Maryborough to Leitrim; and covering, in a great 
 measure, the country from Galway to north of 
 Sligo. The Dublin and Wicklow mountains are 
 also, in a great measure, covered with mountain 
 bog or moor; and another portion of the same 
 kind will be found north of Lough Keagh, and 
 again from thence towards Enniskillen. But if a 
 line be drawn from Galway to Carlow, and another 
 
116 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 from Donegal Bay to Wicklow Head, the greater 
 portion of the bog lands of Ireland will be found 
 in that space. It must be remembered, that there 
 is not a bog in Ireland that cannot be drained ; 
 and few, except in the West, that, when cut 
 away, are not capable of making good land, rest- 
 ing, in a great measure, on limestone gravel or 
 marl. 
 
 Other lands in Ireland may be drained at much 
 less expense than most people imagine. I can 
 state, from practical experience, that most of the 
 stiff soils may be thoroughly drained at about 
 £3 10s. per acre ; and the wet mountain and bog 
 lands surface-drained for sheep and stock farms 
 at a sum not exceeding 15s. per acre. 
 
 NOTE XX. 
 
 In a valuable work, lately published by Dr. Ellis, 
 entitled “ Irish Ethnology,” he makes the follow- 
 ing remarks on the character of the Irish peasant : 
 “ The state of isolation in which the Irish Celt 
 has always existed is that which favours most his 
 antipathies to Saxon civilization ; and, viewed in 
 this light, maybe considered the chief fountain of all 
 his evils. In the adaptation of remedial measures, 
 
NOTES. 
 
 117 
 
 therefore, the removal by all possible means of this 
 isolated condition, so hostile in him to all progress, 
 presents itself as a great leading principle to be 
 kept continually uppermost. Left as he is, under 
 Saxon rule, unaided and easily discouraged, the 
 Celt will not improve even in his own way. 
 Show him, by example , the value of labour, the 
 necessity of order, the advantages of knowledge, 
 and the comforts of a higher scale of living, and he 
 will be found quick to learn and skilful to perform; 
 and though always retaining his excitable tempe- 
 rament and peculiar tendencies, his facility in 
 accommodating himself to surrounding circum- 
 stances, when the curse of isolation is removed, 
 and the strict enforcement of law secured, will 
 effectually adapt him to the enjoyment of true 
 liberty and Saxon modes of civilization and pro- 
 gress.’ ’ 
 
 NOTE XXI. 
 
 INTEKNAL COMMUNICATION. 
 
 “ The enterprise and intelligence of an individual 
 has, within the last twenty years, supplied the 
 entire of the south and a great portion of the west 
 
118 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 of Ireland, with means of internal communication, 
 by a species of accommodation, and in directions 
 which, till then, had been unattempted, we mean 
 a regular system of communication by cars be- 
 tween the provincial towns ; for it is worthy of 
 remark, that, while the intercourse has been long 
 kept up, by public coaches and other vehicles, be- 
 tween Dublin and the great towns, and between 
 the several places situate on those lines one with 
 another, there was scarcely an instance of a public 
 conveyance plying regularly by the cross roads, 
 until the individual we allude to undertook it. 
 We speak of Mr. Bianconi of Clonmel, whose 
 flourishing establishments afford a distinct and 
 unequivocal proof, that Ireland is in a condition 
 to take advantage speedily and effectually of such 
 facilities of internal communication as may occur. 
 Mr. Bianconi is a native of Milan, who, when he 
 settled in this country, was unacquainted even 
 with the language spoken by its inhabitants. 
 With a capital, little exceeding the expense of the 
 outfit, he commenced running a car between 
 Clonmel and Cahir. 
 
 “ Fortune, or rather the due reward of industry 
 and integrity, favoured his first efforts, and he 
 soon began to increase the number of his cars, and 
 to multiply their routes, until his establishments, 
 
NOTES. 
 
 119 
 
 which are still extending themselves in all direc- 
 tions, spread over the whole province of Munster, 
 passed through Kilkenny to Wexford, Carlow, and 
 Mountmellick, in Leinster, and penetrated into 
 the counties of Sligo and Leitrim, on the north- 
 west. He has now ninety-four public carriages 
 in constant work, and the distances traversed 
 by them exceed three thousand miles per day. 
 These results are the more striking and instruc- 
 tive, as having been accomplished in a district 
 which has been long represented as the focus of 
 unreclaimed violence and barbarism, where neither 
 life nor property can be deemed secure. Whilst 
 many persons, possessing a personal interest in 
 everything tending to improve and enrich, have 
 been so misled or inconsiderate as to repel, by 
 exaggerated statements, British capital from their 
 door, this intelligent foreigner chose the county 
 town of Tipperary as the centre of his operations, 
 wherein to embark all the fruits of his industry, 
 in a traffic peculiarly exposed to the power and 
 even to the caprice of the peasantry. The event 
 has shown that his confidence in their good sense 
 and good feeling was not ill-grounded. By a 
 system of steady and just treatment he has main- 
 tained a complete mastery, exempt from lawless 
 
120 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 intimidation or control, over tlie various servants 
 and agents employed by him ; and his establish- 
 ment is popular with all classes, on account of its 
 general usefulness, and of the fair and liberal 
 principles of its management. 
 
 “It should be recollected that the success 
 achieved by this spirited individual is the result, 
 not of a single experiment, which might have 
 been favoured by peculiar local circumstances, but 
 of a series of distinct experiments, all of which 
 have been successful. To attribute this to his 
 perseverance and intelligence would be so far 
 true, as those qualities are necessary in order to 
 give etfect to the best adapted plans, under the 
 most favourable circumstances ; but it must, at 
 the same time, be obvious, that no degree of per- 
 sonal energy or sagacity could create a constant 
 intercourse, where none had previously existed, 
 had there not been in the country itself a necessity 
 for such facilities as Mr. Bianconi introduced, and 
 aptitude and capability in making use of them.” — 
 Extract from the Second Report of the Railway 
 Commissioners in 1838. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 
 
 Page. 
 
 Acreage of Ireland, 
 
 
 . 29 
 
 Absentee landlords, 
 
 
 . 66 
 
 Amount of English and Scotch purchasers, . 
 
 . 74 
 
 Average crops, 
 
 
 . 28 
 
 of Great Britain, 
 
 
 . 29 
 
 Prices of, . 
 
 
 . 43 
 
 Assessed taxes, 
 
 
 . 51 
 
 Ballinasloe Fair, 
 
 
 44, 45 
 
 Beale Browne, Mr., letter of, 
 
 
 . 100 
 
 Bricks, price of, 
 
 
 . 51 
 
 Bribery and corruption, 
 
 
 . 68 
 
 Bribes given, .... 
 
 
 . 69 
 
 Bogs healthy, .... 
 
 
 32 
 
 Bog lands, .... 
 
 
 . 31 
 
 drained, . 
 
 
 . 116 
 
 Car-hire, price of, 
 
 
 . 52 
 
 Castle and 1200 acres of land, . 
 
 
 . 16 
 
122 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Page 
 
 Castlerea Union, 78, n. 
 
 Canals, ......... 39 
 
 Cattle exported, 45 
 
 Character of the Irish, 82-86 
 
 Cheap labour, . . . 84 
 
 Climate, 57-64 
 
 Clarendon, Lord, letter of, .... 108-110 
 
 Clay, 87 
 
 Coal-fields, 35 
 
 Constabulary, ........ 5 
 
 Courts of Equity, 68 
 
 Communication with England, .... 41-102 
 
 Donegal Union, . . . . . . .79 
 
 Draining ........ 116 
 
 Eastwood, Mr., letter of, 6-11 
 
 Eight thousand acres in the South, . . . .17 
 
 Education, 49 
 
 Ellis, Dr., on the Peasantry, . . . . .116 
 
 Employing one hundred men, 2 
 
 Emigration, 5 
 
 English and Scotch purchasers, 73 
 
 English ladies the reason why money is not invested 
 
 in Ireland, 97-99 
 
 Estates for sale, 13 
 
 capable of great improvement, . . .13 
 
 69 
 
 Exacting money, 
 
INDEX. 
 
 123 
 
 
 
 
 Page. 
 
 Fall of rain, ..... 
 
 
 
 . 61-63 
 
 Flags, 
 
 
 
 * 37 
 
 Flax, ...... 
 
 
 
 . 34 
 
 Fish, price of, 
 
 
 
 . 52 
 
 Fisheries, ..... 
 
 
 
 . 35 
 
 Food of the Irish, .... 
 
 
 
 . 86-89 
 
 Geological formation, 
 
 
 
 . 26 
 
 Glass, 
 
 
 
 . 38 
 
 Gratitude of Work-people, 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Gold, 
 
 
 
 . 36 
 
 Government title, .... 
 
 
 
 . 22 
 
 survey, 
 
 
 
 . 22 
 
 valuation, 
 
 
 
 . 23 
 
 money, advances of, 
 
 
 
 . 96 
 
 paid in advance, 
 
 
 
 . 47 
 
 Heat in Dublin, .... 
 
 
 
 . 61 
 
 London, .... 
 
 
 
 . 61 
 
 Inland traffic, ..... 
 
 
 
 . 39 
 
 Improvement in the poorer classes, 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 Ireland a good sporting country, 
 
 
 
 .55-56 
 
 a good sheep country, 
 
 
 
 . 29 
 
 Irish wool, 
 
 
 
 
 Kitchener, Colonel, letter of, 
 
 
 
 . 20 
 
 Land in Galway, &c. . . . 
 
 
 
 . 18 
 
 Lead, . 
 
 
 
 . 36 
 
124 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Landlord does little, 93-95 
 
 Letterkenny Union, 79, 80 
 
 Materials for building, 37 
 
 Markets, 42 
 
 Meaning of Irish names, . . . . . 103, 104 
 
 Mela on climate, 65 
 
 Meat, price of, 52 
 
 Minerals, 36 
 
 Money advanced for improvements, . . . .46 
 
 Mountain land in the North, . . . .18 
 
 M 4 Culloch’s opinion of new land, . . . .27 
 
 Must buy to improve, 19 
 
 Number of Electoral Divisions, 81 
 
 No smoking allowed, ...... 2 
 
 Price of produce to govern Government Valuation, . 24 
 
 Per-centage on the purchase, 18 
 
 Price of stock, Ballinasloe Fair, ... 44, 45 
 
 People represented as idle, ..... 1 
 
 Poor Rates, 4, 77-80 
 
 in different counties, . . . .81 
 
 Property in the North, 16 
 
 Power of Irish, 48 
 
 Poor-law valuation, 25 
 
 Railway communication, 40 
 
 Railway accidents, 41 
 
 Rain, 61, 63 
 
 Rain each month, 63 
 
index- 
 
 125 
 
 River navigation, 
 
 
 
 
 
 Page. 
 
 40 
 
 Reclaiming bog land, 
 
 
 
 
 
 31 
 
 Roads, .... 
 
 
 
 
 
 39 
 
 Rundale, 
 
 
 
 
 
 106 
 
 Silver, .... 
 
 
 
 
 
 36 
 
 Slate, .... 
 
 
 
 
 
 37 
 
 South Dublin Union, 
 
 
 
 
 
 80 
 
 Sunday Schools, 
 
 
 
 
 
 49 
 
 Stanyhurst on climate, 
 
 
 
 
 
 65 
 
 Sugar from Beet-root, 
 
 
 
 
 
 33 
 
 Stone, .... 
 
 
 
 
 
 38 
 
 Temperature, 
 
 
 
 
 
 59 
 
 Two thousand acres, 
 
 
 
 
 
 13 
 
 Thirty do. do. 
 
 
 
 
 
 14 
 
 Ten do. do. 
 
 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 Twelve hundred do. 
 
 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 Value of the Irish acre, 
 
 
 
 
 
 108 
 
 Scotch acre, . 
 
 
 
 
 
 108 
 
 English acre, 
 
 
 
 
 
 108 
 
 Wages of work-people, 
 
 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 Wakefield’s opinion of the fertility of Ireland, 
 
 
 27 
 
 Water power, 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 52, 54 
 
 Winds, 
 
 
 
 
 
 64 
 
 Young, Arthur, opinion of the fertility of Ireland, 
 
 
 28 
 
 Dublin : Printed by J. M. O’Toole, 13, Hawkins’-street. 
 

 

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