576 Population of Great Britain and Ireland [E>EC; 



their inclination seems to us to go to the negative that they would not. But 

 apart from personal opinion, the state of the facts is pretty nearly sufficient 

 to demonstrate, that all assistance afforded to emigration must be given by 

 some public act must come from the legislature or from the crown. 

 Because the interests of all individuals, in a measure like this, will not bo 

 alike, or in common ; and, on the contrary, as soon as the scheme of 

 removal began (by personal or local contribution), each man would aim 

 at being benefited if the course of removal produced benefit by tho 

 operations of some other. The disposition (as far as any exists) to con- 

 tribute toward the charge of emigration, is to arise out of the necessity 

 which any given landlord feels for clearing his estate of its surplus 

 tenantry ; joined to the fear that such tenantry, finding no refuge else-* 

 where, will be driven into acts of desperation or open violence. The 

 Committee asks Mr. Daniel Wilson, speaking of the process of eject- 

 ment " You do not think that the proprietors would be withheld by a 

 feeling for the consequences to the party ejected, from exercising their 

 right of ejecting the tenant ?" The answer is " No ; I think that 

 in many cases they would not !" That which the landlord does, it is admit- 

 ted that he does from fear ; from a fear that the tenants, left wholly 

 without resource, will be driven to despair. But as soon as by the clear- 

 ance of the estate of A, the ejected tenants of B had a prospect of locating 

 themselves on the grounds of his neighbour, the alarm of B, a? to the con- 

 sequences of the despair of these tenants abates ; and (having no more 

 money than he very well knows what to do with) he takes advantage 

 of the opening that has been made, and ejects without paying any contri- 

 bution towards the emigration project- immediately. In fact, this principle 

 not only must come into operation, but it is in operation already. Mr. Wil- 

 son states that, on a certain occasion, he cleared part of the useless popula- 

 tion off a particular farm. And the Committee asks " What became of 

 them?'' And the answer is the simplest in the world " They are residing 

 on land adjoining it ; they have taken small houses from cottier tenants." 

 So in the evidence of Mr. John Bodkin the witness states that he dis- 

 possessed a number of tenants, giving up a year's rent, 790, that they 

 were in arrear. The question is asked "What became of them ?" 

 And the answer is '* They went on the different properties of the neigh- 

 bourhood." And again, Mr. Markham Marshall, being asked what 

 became of 1,100 people whom he ejected, says " They went upon the 

 estates of the adjoining proprietors : but having no means of earning an 

 honest livelihood, they have been necessitated to resort to thieving and 

 vagabond habits for support." Were it from the operation of this circimv 

 stance only, we should say that the Committee is infinitely too sanguine in 

 its expectations of assistance, unless by a general legislative measure, from 

 the Irish proprietors. The greater part of these are, practically whatever 

 their nominal properties may be distressed men ; and many of them will 

 be anxious to avoid every expense, not compulsory, in which it is attempted 

 to involve them. Some unless aid is directly voted by Parliament will 

 be content to keep their tenants : they make them pay, not as farmers, but 

 as voters. Others will delay their ejectments, until room shall be made 

 on the lands of their more liberal neighbours. But strongest of all we 

 think there is this answer to the assumption of the Committee that Irish 

 landholders will come forward voluntarily to furnish the means of removing' 

 a portion of their excessive population. Can we expect the Irish pro- 

 prietors, unless upon compulsion, to contribute jive pounds ahead (for 



