98 
REPORl^—1847. 
peered without statiog where it went to. The general impression was tbattbecoia 
had been hoarded ; but hoarding could not have been the sole or chief cause d tbt 
acarrity, else it would have begun gradually instead of suddenly; it would have bees 
accompanied by a scarcity of gold or bank notes, and it would not hare beenjtteatnt 
in the poorest districts. To attempt to account for it bysupposui" it toahtefim 
tltc norccnarr motives of individuals nr from a desire to einberrais the i^rcroiBni, 
as some bod done, was tn follow the old prejudices againtt fu^estalle^,aAcl tosdtfh 
the error of supposing that prices could be raised by combination of raertkou 
instead ofbeing really independent of their control. 
ifo considered the chief, if not die sole cause of the vcarcity of coin tobe,tht: tlK 
failure of the potato crop destroyed the system of barter which previously prtwlei 
to n great extent in the agricultural districts in Ireland, and espwallyio me«a;b- 
hournood of Skibbereen, suid so rendered it neccssaiy to introduce and retMu* o»* 
sidemtile rmantity of silver coin as currency to supply in the smill transactioia ol 
the poor the |)lace of the barter previously carried on. The extent to which taw 
had prevailed in Ireland wa« not genernlly known. The rentoftbelnlKxuw'ttltH 
and of their connero potato ground was generally paid in labour and not in money. 
In some places even the cutting of turf and the remuneration of artisans 
without the intervention of monev. The potato failure rendered the continumw®' 
»uch a system impossible. A acafdty of silver cob from the substitution of nmwey 
for barter would be sudden, and would last longc&t in the poor districts like Ski^ 
reen, w here barter liad been most general; where once the quantity of coin 
ns currency hnd been introduced, any further introduction nf coin would oolyptwsce 
n sur|>lus in the bunks. Thus all the facts observed were fully accoutiteJ forhyMp 
posiiir the destruction of barter to have been the cause of the scarcitv ofsilvacwi 
In Ireland. 
I he measure adopted to relieve the scarcity was the importation of silv«li)'>l'* 
gov-i-rnnient. The result of this interference with trade was, that the busineu*® 
badly done at a great coat. The measure which should have Ireeo adopted «ii hw 
inirchasc of silver at the market price at the places where it was want^*. 
Ilendts of a Scheme ht/ Mr. Vandaleur, for Improving the CondU\» ^ 
iMoovrers, tried at Hulahinc, ro. Clare, Ireland. 
Ilov. E. II. Larkek, iH.A., of Trinity College, Oxford, llecfx/r 
oy Lincoln. 
Ill the present condition of Ireland and among the many remedies tbatsr* pw* 
jiouDded on all sides for her diitrrsacs. it appears strange that so little 
been laid on the capability of the soil of that country to maintain its own inhabiting 
provided their laiwur were systematically oiganked, the resources of the mPg 
•July htifbandeJ, and the producers of wealth by labour and skill rewarded forlbw 
cxmioni in oqiutablo proportions to the share accruing to the third element« pf*" 
Uu^oti, capital or property. 
It is conceived tlmt sonic detail of aschenie for improving the condition ofl^^* 
cm. tnH sixteen years ago in the West of Ireland, would nether be comidetvd;'"^ 
orunin.tnictiyc. This scheme was tried in the years IKH. 
W Mr. John Scott Vimdaleup, at Ralahine, in the county of Clare, aboutisriw*^ 
f^m l.immck. The estates contained about Enclish acres, SiCofah*’' ^ 
tillM land, mostly of good quality ; r portion stiff and requiring gooil t"*”* ^ 
ami another portion stony. The pastures and plantations compmvd r.b^ ^ 
res, and a great portion of the pasture («nd was capable of being convcrt<d 
•'"S- This estate wa, let hr agreement from W 
••"S- This estate was let hr aCTeeroent from «'>• •’’.'■-gnj 
IM3., by SR. Vandalenr to three Trustees (of whom Mr, E.T. Craig, "•’f 
.F‘ ounce oi dioerent sorts, fixed upon at tne 
Thu paper has been since published in the Banker’s Magazine, No. xli. A«Si«t W>' 
