50 ON THE STATE OF IRELAND. [BOOK I. 



condition ; nevertheless, there are thousands of acres of 

 bog-land which might be drained. 



In all the baronies of Ireland the replies have been 

 similar to the preceding ones. 



The Commissioners everywhere inquired how the poor 

 paid such high rents, and whether this system of letting 

 was not one cause of the disputes and troubles in society, 

 and of crimes. 



In the barony of Kilconnel it was stated in reply, that 

 the poor who hire these plots of land are made to sign 

 a note for the amount of the rent, and that the period of 

 payment is fixed at the time of the Quarter Sessions, in 

 order that the landlords may imprison the tenants in case 

 of non-payment. The payments are generally made in 

 money, but sometimes in day-labour; the latter is the 

 case chiefly when the land is very bad, because it is a sure 

 means of inducing the poor to take it, and the price of 

 the labour required in payment is reckoned at sixpence 

 a day. The tenants who have to pay in money are not al- 

 lowed to dig up the potatoes before they have paid what 

 they owe to the landlord, or have at least given good 

 security ; they are not even permitted to gather in such 

 a portion of the crop as, carried to market and sold, 

 would pay the rent. 



If the crop is not worth the amount of the rent, the 

 proprietor of the field may sell the produce and sue the 

 tenant for the rest; but such a proceeding is almost 

 unknown. The labourer is sometimes permitted to dig 

 the potatoes, but never to remove them from the field till 

 the rent has been paid ; during the time of digging, he is 

 allowed to carry off as much as his daily wants require. 



All the witnesses are of opinion, that, could employment 



