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thought that a people curtailed inthefruits of the land wouldhave 

 availed themselves of those afforded by the sea, one of those 

 anomalous contrasts so frequently occurring in the history of 

 Ireland was presented the implements for capture were pow- 

 erless in the hands of the poor the food itself rotted in masses 

 for want of the means to preserve it, and the country obtained 

 its chief supply of an article, the use of which is enjoined by the 

 prevalent creed, from the industry of another people. 



The misery of the people of Ireland, "starving in the midst of 

 plenty," is not less proverbial than the fertility of her soil, nor 

 the abundance in her waters less apparent than the absence of 

 power to enjoy it. The cry of destitution moans incessantly 

 over the land, like the murmur of the waves on the shore. 



How to alleviate so chronic an endemic of wretchedness to 

 remedy those ills that "Kings and Laws can cure," deserves the 

 anxious investigation of all who, in a spirit of Christian charity, 

 would wish to aid a people that are now the most helpless in 

 Christendom. There are in Ireland many men who gladly see 

 in the policy of State the remedies of a physician displace the 

 practice of a surgeon, and who, in the words of early writers, 

 would remind England that her military occupation of this 

 country has "cost her more than would buy the whole island 

 twice over." 



They gratefully acknowledge the increased outlay of national 

 funds, and the advantageous policy of making advances and 

 loans from them, for the promotion of the chief elements of public 

 accommodation, security, and advancement in Railways, Har- 

 bours of trade, and refuge, and other works of public utility 

 for Colleges and Schools, and for the permanent improvement 

 of Landed Property. By such means the need will surely be 

 best prevented for additional poor houses, gaols, and barracks. 

 They hail also all measures which will unfetter legal impedi- 

 ments to a better cultivation of the soil, and to the investment of 

 capital in it; but look forward, above all, to such as will provide 

 a fuller system of EDUCATION and INSTRUCTION. Acknowledging 

 that property in this country ought to bear an equable share 

 of taxation with that of Great Britain, they would also be willing 

 that it especially supported auxiliary means for National Edu- 

 cation, in all its branches, upon which the security of property 

 in Ireland really depends. Yet how far is the insecurity 

 chargeable only to her own sons ? But without the wish or the 

 power to strike a balance of the account between the two 

 kingdoms, they would not be dependent on English or Scottish 

 men, save for good Laws and for even-handed Justice. 



The attention of the imperial legislature must for many years 

 be strenuously drawn to the condition of Ireland. England 

 may turn aside to home requirements, to her foreign relations, 



