I XFIT SCHEME FOR IRELAND. 55 



land, also, equally favourably situated, left the 

 material world, and fought for similar privileges 

 of an ideal kind ; hence the reason why both 

 are surrounded by those kindred calamities 

 which are at present consuming them. 



It will readily be perceived, from what has 

 been said in a former page relative to the 

 expense of labour, that upwards of 500,000 

 labourers, at present employed in Irish agri- 

 culture, would have to be employed by those 

 who embark in this manufacturing scheme. 

 TTe estimated the number of agricultural la- 

 bourers in Ireland at 1,000,000, found labour 

 more expensive than what it is in this country ; 

 where the wages of the workman are double. 

 Before the Irish labourer can therefore receive 

 equal wages with the English labourer, he 

 must first perform daily, at least double his 

 present quantity of work. The consequence 

 of such a change would obviously be, to turn 

 the one-half of the workmen out of employ- 

 ment, the number above stated, which the 

 manufacturing and commercial interests would 

 have to employ. The effect which this would 

 have, without any additional demand upon our 

 commercial interest for manufactured goods, 

 E 4 



