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 <
 
 NOTES 
 
 A SHORT TOUR 
 
 THROUGH THE 
 
 MIDLAND COUNTIES OF IRELAND, 
 
 IN THE SUMMER OF 1836, 
 
 OBSERVATIONS ON THE CONDITION OF THE 
 PEASANTRY. 
 
 BY 
 BAPTIST WRIOTHESLEY NOEL, M.A. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 JAMES NISBET AND CO. BERNERS STREET. 
 
 MDCCCXXXVII.
 
 StacKl 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 The Author begs to thank those friends who 
 furnished him with many valuable letters of in- 
 troduction, which, from want of time, he was 
 unable to present. He wishes also to acknow- 
 ledge the kind hospitality with which he was 
 received by those whom he had the opportunity 
 of visiting. Of this he has said little in the 
 following work, because he had no right to bring 
 the intercourse of private friendship into pub- 
 licity. The personal narrative was carefully 
 written in a journal from day to day ; but the 
 information derived from various Parliamen- 
 tary Reports has been added since. That con- 
 tained in the Appendix D. published by the Poor 
 Inquiry Commissioners is peculiarly valuable, 
 because it was gathered from meetings held in 
 the different baronies, of persons of every class, 
 
 20G0S38
 
 IV PREFACE. 
 
 rank, and sentiment. Although the state of Ire- 
 land is far from hopeless, and very eflective 
 remedies for many of its evils have been proposed 
 by the Commissioners, still there is at present a 
 wide-spread misery among the people, apparent 
 to the eye of the passing stranger, and proclaimed 
 by all who have inquired into the subject ; a 
 misery which breaks out into a thousand acts 
 of turbulence, and which occasions so feverish 
 and so general a disquietude, as must be tran- 
 quillized by some effective legislation, or end in 
 a national catastrophe. Ce qui parait certain 
 c'est que les temps de monopole et d'oppression 
 sont accomplis sans retour, et qu'une grande 
 transition approche. Or elle ne pent s'operer 
 que de deux manieres ; ou par Tirruption violente 
 des classes poletaires et souffrantes sur les deten- 
 teurs de la propriete et de I'industrie, c'est a dire 
 par un retour k un etat de barbarie ; ou par 
 I'application pratique et generale des principes 
 de justice, de morale, d'huraanite et de charite.* 
 
 * Economie Politique, par M. le "\'icomte Alban de \'ille- 
 neuve Bargemont.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 P;,ge 
 
 Introductory Remarks — Journey to Drogheda — Appearance 
 of that Town— State of the Poor — Amount of Whiskey 
 sold there — Whiskey-drinking in Ireland — What may be 
 done to repress it-- - - - - - -1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 A Roman Catholic Tradesman in Drogheda— Crolly's Bible 
 — Some account of Roman Catholic Tenets in Ireland 
 —The Abridgment of Christian Doctrine— The Christian's 
 Guide to Heaven --------21 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 \ational Schools at Drogheda — Journey to Dundalk — 
 State of the Poor in that Neighbourhood — Journey 
 through Newry to Bryansford — Tolly more Park — Methods 
 of improving the Condition of the Poor — Bryansford 
 Schools— Lord Roden's Popularity — National Schools of 
 the Village — Parish of Kilkeel — Home Mission at New- 
 castle — Smuggling stopped in the Neighbourhood — Tolly- 
 inore attacked by the Mob ------ 46
 
 VI CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Page 
 Journey to Rostrevor — Independent Chapel near Kilkeel 
 
 — A Parley at Kilkeel Fair — Arrival at Rostrevor — 
 Scenery of that Place — Anecdote of a Priest — Whiskey- 
 drinking — Newry — Its Roman Catholic Chapel - - 67 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Tourney to Castle Blaney, its Lake, its Inn, its National 
 Schools — Aspect of the Country — Carrickmacross — King's- 
 court— The Inn — Poverty of the Labourers — ^Vliiskey- 
 drinking — Ribbondmen — Mr. Nolan — Irish Society — 
 Meeting of the Irish Teachers — Persecution of Teachers 
 — Progress of the Society— Ii-ish Scriptures — Publications 
 in Irish — Journey to Kells— State of the Barony - - 82 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Drive to Athboy — Grazing Farm — Athboy Schools — Cottiers 
 — Ministerial Labours — Mr. Nolan — His Conversion — His 
 Publications — His Preaching — Sunday-school— Journey 
 to Athlone — To Ballinasloe— Straw Hut on Road-side — 
 Hurling — Chimney-sweeper — National School at Balli- 
 nasloe — Schools of Lord Clancarty — Cottages on his Pro- 
 perty — Landlords in Ireland — Middlemen — The People 
 unquiet — The Police — Additional Employment — Rail- 
 roads - - - - - - - - --125 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Some Account of Achill Mission — Opposition to it — Visit of 
 Dr. M' Hale— His Cathedral— His Splendour— His Pro- 
 ceedings at Achill— Present State of the Mission — Account 
 of the Irish Islands ---.___ 153
 
 CONTENTB. Vll 
 
 CHAPTER VI 11. 
 
 Page 
 Drive to Banagher — Sermon of the Home Missionary — Ex- 
 tent of the Home Mission — Nature of its Operations — 
 National School, Birr— The Messrs. Crotty — Drive to 
 Shinrone— State of the Barony of Clonlisk— Cangort Park 
 — National School — Remarks on Scriptural Schools — 
 Parish of Cloughjordan— Labours of Mr. Frederick Trench 
 — Remarks on Self-denial - - - - - -217 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Drive to Castle Connel — Rapids of the Shannon — Sacred 
 Well— Appi-oach to Limerick — Shannon below the City — 
 Commerce of Limerick — Its Pauperism— Chapel of the 
 Blind Asylum — Roman Catholic Chapels — Ceremony of 
 the Mass — State of the Poor in the County of Clare — 
 Scenery above Cratloe — Boat-race on the Shannon — 
 Peasantry of Cratloe ------- 244 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Shannon — Journey to Tipperary — Gal tee Mountains — 
 Town of Tipperary — State of the Poor — Outrages — Caliir 
 —Valley of the Suir— Clonmell— Callen - - - 208 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Kilkenny — Poverty of the Neighbourhood— Want of Em- 
 ployment in the Town— Whiskey Shops — Mr. O'Connell's 
 Influence — National Schools— Ormond Castle - Journey 
 to Newtown Barry — National School at Newtown— Doyle's 
 Catechism— Tithe Agitation — Newtown Barry - - 282 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Journey to Arklow — Ferns — Gorey — Arklow — Vale of Ovoca 
 — Ashford — The Glen— The Dargle— Powerscourt — Anti- 
 tithe Agitation — National School System — Return to 
 Dublin --.--___- 29G
 
 Vlll CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Page 
 Visit to Maynooth — Some Account of its present Extent, its 
 
 Discipline, and its Studies — Other Roman Catholic Semi- 
 naries ---------- 337 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Contrast between England and Ireland— \Vliat may be done 
 to improve the Condition of the Irish Labourer — Poor Law 
 Bill — Emigration — Bill for the Extension and Promotion 
 of Public Works — Inland Navigation — Railroads — Duty 
 of Landlords — Duty of the Clergy — Schools — Loan 
 Libraries — Various Societies — Home Mission — Concluding 
 Remarks -_-__--_- 3,55
 
 NOTES OF A SHORT TOUR 
 
 THROUGH THE 
 
 MIDLAND COUNTIES OF IRELAND. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Introductory Remarks — Journey to Drogheda — Appearance 
 of that Town — State of the Poor — Amount of Whiskey sold 
 there — Whiskey-drinking in Ireland — What may be done 
 to repress it. 
 
 On many accounts Ireland deserves to be visited 
 and known. Its condition is a strange anomaly. 
 United to Great Britain, its eight millions are 
 our weakness rather than our strength. It de- 
 luges our cities with paupers, and yet remains full 
 to overflowing. Although forming part of the 
 wealthiest empire in the world, the mass of its 
 inhabitants have scarcely the necessaries of life. 
 
 B
 
 2 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 Notwithstanding the influence of a large Protes- 
 tant establishment, it remains, 300 years after 
 the Reformation, more Papal than the north of 
 Italy, and, till within 20 years, almost as des- 
 titute of the Scriptures as Portugal or Spain. 
 Surrounding barbarism tempts its aristocracy to 
 emigrate ; civil discord drives out its thriving 
 peasantry; and starvation ejects its paupers: 
 yet their numbers and their miseries continue 
 to multiply. The government can get from them 
 scarcely any revenue, clergymen have lost their 
 tithes, and proprietors tremble for their rents, 
 because the occupiers of the soil have scarcely 
 food and clothing. This wide-spread penury, in 
 a fertile land and favourable climate, with all 
 the irritation which necessarily accompanies it, 
 disturbs the island with intestine dissensions ; 
 leads to outrage after outrage; perplexes suc- 
 cessive governments; gives an unwholesome in- 
 fluence to agitators; and threatens the safety of 
 the empire. Its peasantry are often said, not- 
 withstanding their privations, to be the finest 
 in the world ; and for intellect, vivacity, and 
 warmth of afl'ection, perhaps they are unequalled :
 
 Ireland in 1836. 3 
 
 and yet they worship the wafer, do penance on 
 their knees round holy wells, put their consciences 
 in the keeping of a priest, who may, perhaps, be 
 a blasphemer and a drunkard, and suppose that to 
 be touched, near death, on their ears, eyes, mouth, 
 nose, and fingers, with the oil which an ecclesi- 
 astic has blessed, is a passport to heaven. Such, 
 at least, are the reports which reach us across 
 the Channel. I wished, therefore, to see for 
 myself the real condition of the people ; whether 
 they are miserable or not, whether they are 
 advancing to civilization and plenty, to order, 
 religion, and happiness, or doomed to still deeper 
 degradation; what may be learned from their 
 virtues, or what can be done to mitigate their 
 sorrows. I did not expect that the investigation 
 of a few weeks would enable me to solve these 
 questions ; nor do I hope that the following short 
 account will much help another to solve them. 
 But my visit has enabled me to understand some 
 points of their condition, and to judge better of 
 what I may in future hear or read upon others : 
 and if this account may communicate to any 
 of my readers the interest which I feel myself 
 
 b2
 
 4 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 in the welfare of that suffering and amiable 
 people, it will not have been written in vain. 
 
 My time being exceedingly limited, 1 was 
 obliged, in determining our tour, to put out of 
 sight the prosperity of the North, with the 
 penury of the West and South. We could visit 
 neither Belfast nor Londonderry, neither Kerry 
 nor Connemara. We were obliged to renounce 
 the pleasure of treading on the Giant's Cause- 
 way, or exploring the shores of Killarney. We 
 could not see the Atlantic beat upon the rocks 
 of Moher, or even visit Achill. A humbler mid- 
 land tour was all which I could undertake. This 
 would, however, let us see the average condition 
 of the people. The nakedness and superstition of 
 the West and South, with the prosperity and 
 religious light of the North, being beyond our 
 view, we should still see the moral and physical 
 characteristics of the greatest part of the island. 
 We had, therefore, three points before us — the 
 Mourne Mountains, Limerick, and Arklow. We 
 should thus touch on Ulster ; we could visit 
 Kingscourt, we should cross the Shannon, learn 
 something of the state of Galway and of Clare,
 
 Ireland in 1836. 5 
 
 pass through the most turbulent counties of 
 Ireland— Limerick, Tipperary, and Kilkenny; 
 and, finally, forget for a while the wide-spread 
 wilderness of mud cabins, to solace ourselves with 
 the summer verdure of Ovoca and the Dargle. 
 
 With these intentions, we set out from Dublin, 
 on Friday, July 29. I took with me some 
 tobacco for the cottagers, which afterwards I did 
 not give, because I thought the use of it a 
 mischievous and expensive habit, which it was not 
 well to encourage. I had with me some bacon 
 also, for the same purpose, and found that it was 
 thankfully received by those to whom I gave it. 
 We had- scarcely left Dublin, when the country 
 assumed at once that appearance of nakedness 
 and misery, with which we afterwards became so 
 familiar. There were no villas, no pleasure- 
 grounds; not even a dwelling like an English 
 farm-house. Nature has not cursed the land with 
 malignant vapours, such as those which brood 
 over the Campagna, nor has tyranny reduced it 
 to a desolation like the fertile wastes upon which 
 you may look down from the walls of Constan- 
 tinople; but its as]>ect is scarcely less melancholy.
 
 6 IRELA^"D IN 1836. 
 
 Mud cabins alone break the sickening uniformity 
 of the negrlected and treeless inclosures. Women 
 are moving about with bare heads and feet ; men 
 are idle at their doors ; and if they have not the 
 livid hue of the malaria, many of them have all 
 the lines and furrows of starvation and premature 
 decay. Such appeared to me the character of the 
 Barony of Balrothery, which we traversed before 
 coming to the frontiers of Meath, on our way to 
 the Mourne Mountains. 
 
 Its real circumstances correspond with its 
 aspect. Of 1783 labourers, 578 alone have 
 constant employment, 1081 are employed occa- 
 sionally, and 124 are scarcely employed at all. 
 These last must be maintained by the labour of 
 their wives, or the charity which they beg from 
 door to door. Through the increase of the popu- 
 lation, and other causes, " labourers are now 
 little more than half as much employed as they 
 used to be formerly ;" and their earnings on an 
 average amount only to 10/., a sum which will 
 scarcely pay for the mere food of the family. 
 " Deficiency of food, therefore, frequently ren- 
 ders the occasional labourer totallv unfit for
 
 Ireland in 183G. 7 
 
 work, when he is at length fortunate enough 
 to meet with it." "The great majority of 
 labourers suffer from an insufficiency of foo'l, 
 
 which renders them less able to work This 
 
 is especially the case when potatoes are scarce 
 and dear, as at the present season of the year, 
 (July) when he is often obliged to divide the 
 food that is barely sufficient for one meal into 
 three ; and although all that can possibly be 
 spared by the family is reserved for the man who 
 has to work, yet that provision is often en- 
 croached on to appease the cries of the children 
 
 for food It (this insufficiency of food) 
 
 amounts to a regular periodical half famine 
 among those labourers who have either very 
 large families, or only occasional employment, or 
 both."* 
 
 About two miles from Drogheda the scenery 
 improves. Hitherto we had seen crops of wheat, 
 oats, clover, and potatoes, all looking well, but 
 with neglected fences, and without the outline 
 of a tree to adorn and diversify the naked 
 
 * D. p. 16.
 
 8 Teeland in 1836. 
 
 flat. Here there was inequality of surface and 
 wood, over which, at this distance, the town 
 looked handsome. But as we approached it, 
 long ranges of mud cabins on each side of us, 
 low and dark, with the smallest apertures for 
 windows, made it seem to me the receptacle of 
 half the pauperism of Ireland. Here we halted 
 for the night. The broken window in the best 
 room of the best inn in the town, with the bare 
 floors of its best bed -rooms, afforded an infe- 
 licitous omen of the accommodation which we had 
 to expect from the more retired and country 
 towns which we should probably have to visit. 
 A cheerful peat fire, after the deluge of rain, 
 a good dinner, and a civil and communicative 
 waiter, soon made us forget all defects. In the 
 afternoon we explored the suburbs. Though the 
 linen manufacture gives much employment to the 
 labouring classes, yet we found an extended and 
 fearful poverty. By incessant labour through the 
 whole day, (as we learned by various inquiries) 
 a weaver can make about 50 yards of linen in 
 the week, for which he receives 6s. The agri- 
 cultural labourer earns the same sum in summer,
 
 Ireland ik 1836. 9 
 
 without food. Their mud cabins, with mud floors, 
 and very dark, were also destitute of all furni- 
 ture, except a rude bedstead, two or three chairs, 
 and a loom. For these, when there is a very 
 small garden attached, they pay about 21. and 
 1/. when there is none. In one wretched room 
 below ground, we found a widow with two chil- 
 dren, and a lodger. Down the steps the rain 
 was descending from the road, to trickle along 
 the mud floor, already damp. The only com- 
 fortable corner was that assigned to the pig, by 
 the fireside. This was still dry, and while we 
 were talking there, he descended the steps, 
 walked leisurely up to his place, buried his snout 
 in the straw, and composed himself to sleep. The 
 rent of this cellar was 1/. 10s. ! ! 
 
 Notwithstanding the deep poverty into which 
 the people are plunged, they contrive to spend 
 enormous sums in whiskey. Our attention being 
 attracted by the numerous spirit shops in close 
 juxta-position, inquiry upon the subject made us 
 acquainted with an intelligent and civil Roman 
 Catholic tradesman, who bad carefully investi- 
 gated it. The town contains about 14,000 inha- 
 
 b3
 
 10 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 bitants ; and the town and county, comprehending 
 a small suburban district, together contain 18,000. 
 Within this district there are 120 spirit sellers. 
 Each of these would require at least the sale of 
 spirit to the value of 10/. per week to maintain 
 himself, and they are generally thriving. To this 
 statement I objected, that as many were grocers, 
 they would not require so large a sale of one 
 article of trade. He answered, that the grocers 
 sold more than any other traders, and as the 
 others were thriving too, none of the 120 could 
 sell, on an average, less than to the value of 10/. 
 Thus every week 1200/. is spent in whiskey at 
 that one place. A friend of his, who had ample 
 means of judging, and had closely investigated 
 the matter, declared to him that this calculation 
 was very far below the truth. This vice, which 
 consumes the poor of Ireland, had here enslaved 
 even women, who would be ashamed to have it 
 known. The poison being sold by grocers, they 
 could easily drink it, unobserved, while buying 
 grocery. So common is this practice, that a 
 widow, who had established a grocer's shop with- 
 out selling spirits, found it impossible to carry on
 
 Ireland in 1836. 11 
 
 her trade unless she added this article to the rest. 
 Bad as Drogheda is in this respect, it does not 
 appear to be worse than many other Irish towns. 
 In 1833 the parish of Belfast consumed 129,819 
 gallons of whiskey.* Within a few years there 
 has been an increase of 300 places to sell spirits 
 in that one town.f In 1834 the number of licences 
 for the city of Dublin was 1019.;}: In Clonmel 
 there were, in 1811, 64 spirit shops; in 1833 
 there were 129 ; in 1834 there were 150. The 
 number of spirit retailers in Waterford in No- 
 vember, 1833, was 180 ; July, 1834, it had become 
 198, for a population of about 28,000 persons.§ 
 Of late years there has been also an increase of 
 spirit shops in the villages. In one small village 
 in the county Down there was, 1833, an increase 
 of five spirit shops ; another village near it has 
 31 ; a third, with 61 houses, has 26. || Of the 
 390 new spirit sellers in Belfast, 221 were gro- 
 cers ; and Professor Edgar had heard it stated 
 that there were not more than 12 grocers in 
 
 * Evidence of Rev. John Edgar, before the Select Committee 
 on the subject of drunkenness, in 1834. Evidence, p. 88. 
 
 t Ev. p. 96. I Ev. p. 578. § Ev. p. 300. || Ev. p. 9G. 
 
 b4
 
 12 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 Dublin that were not spirit sellers.* The num- 
 ber of licences issued for Ireland in 1833 was 
 20,080, t which is about one for every 40 families 
 throughout Ireland. The quantity of home-made 
 spirits consumed in 1832 was 8,715,601 gallons.:]: 
 But to this must be added the produce of illicit 
 distillation, which, although much less than for- 
 merly, is said to be still large. One gentleman, 
 between Ross and Waterford, assured Mr. Carr, 
 in 1834, that there were about 35 farm-houses 
 in his neighbourhood in which illicit whiskey is 
 made.§ A magistrate of the county of Antrim 
 stated, apparently not long since, that he could 
 count 15 private stills from his own door.|| On 
 the 17th of March, 1834, Lieut. St. Laurence, in 
 Sligo and Mayo, destroyed, in ten days, 37 pri- 
 vate distilleries. II And even of the licensed stills 
 Professor Edgar states it to be commonly said, 
 that for every gallon made for the King, another 
 is made for the Queen, that is, not much more 
 than one half pays duty.^f On the whole, he 
 thought that 2,500,000 gallons were thus pri- 
 
 *Ev. p. 93. fib. 570. tlb.84. § lb. 300. 
 
 II lb. 95. H lb. 86.
 
 Ireland in 1836, 13 
 
 vately distilled.* It may at once be seen what 
 an enormous drain this is upon the penury of 
 Irish farmers. Upon the Powerscourt estate, 
 Benburb, Armagh, the inhabitants of which are 
 not distinguished for drunkenness, a sum equal 
 to one-third of the whole rental was, till lately, 
 spent in spirits.f The cost of spirits to the parish 
 of Belfast, for 155,782 gallons, at 7*. per gallon, 
 is 54,500/. per annum, a sum which, after ade- 
 quately relieving their paupers, maintaining their 
 religious instructors, and their college, contri- 
 buting 1100/. per annum to religious objects, and 
 paying for schools, a sum equal to the whole avail- 
 able income of the Sunday School Society for 
 Ireland, would leave a surplus of 29,000/.f 
 
 Mr. Graves, barrister, magistrate of the Police 
 Office, Dublin, and his colleagues. Alderman 
 Darley and Major Sirr, concur in the opinion, 
 " that in cities and great towns more than one- 
 fourth of the entire earnings of artificers and 
 labourers (taken as a body) is expended in li- 
 quor.":|; And the whole cost of spirits to the 
 consumers throughout Ireland is not much less 
 
 * Ev. p. 85. t lb. 88. I lb. o74.
 
 14 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 than 6,000,000/. sterling per annum,* a sum, says 
 that zealous advocate of temperance, Mr. Buck- 
 ingham, " which, if saved from this expenditure, 
 and applied in furnishing labour to the able- 
 bodied and relief to the helpless, would be suffi- 
 cient to remove nearly the whole of the evils 
 under which the poor of Ireland are now labour- 
 ing; this sum being considerably more than the 
 whole amount expended for the relief of the 
 poor in England and Scotland. "f If the effect 
 of this vice was merely to steep the people, already 
 wretched by their circumstances, into deeper and 
 more degrading misery, it would be an enormous 
 evil, but it is besides the fruitful source of dis- 
 order and of crime. A barrister, who some time 
 ago tried vast numbers of civil bill cases, stated 
 it as his opinion that the whole of them, either 
 directly or indirectly, are attributable to the use 
 of spirituous liquors, j: " The keeper of a large 
 house of correction stated his conviction that 
 four-fifths of the persons confined for crimes in 
 gaol have been led forward and hardened in crime 
 
 * Ev. p. 85. 
 
 t Letter to Mr. O'Connell in the Dublin Morning Register, 
 Aug. 23, 1836. t Ev. p. 89.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 15 
 
 by the use of spirituous liquors."* Tlie Lord 
 Mayor and High Sheriffs of Dublin have signed 
 a document, stating that an indulgence in them 
 " is a most fruitful cause of crime in the city of 
 Dublin "t " Mr. Shaw, the Recorder, states 
 that in 40 out of 50 cases that come before him 
 weekly in Dublin, the crimes, he believes, are 
 traceable to intemperance as their proximate 
 cause." Jan. 1831, the Divisional Justices of the 
 Police district of Dublin reported, " that a large 
 proportion of the petty offences committed in 
 Dublin have their origin in an excessive indul- 
 gence in ardent spirits by the poorer classes of 
 society." In 1808 and 1809, when distillation 
 stopped, the commitments to the Dublin watch- 
 houses decreased ; in 1810, when distillation was 
 revived, they increased four-fold. In 1811, there 
 were 11,737 prisoners. In 1812 and 1813, when 
 distillation again ceased, they fell to 9,908 and 
 8,985 ; in 1814, when distilleries re-opened, the 
 number rose to 10,249.^1 Poverty, disease, and 
 death follow in its train ; and " the cases of de- 
 
 * Ev. p. 89. t Appendix to Ev. p. 572. 
 
 I Ev. pp. 89, 90.
 
 16 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 sertion of parents, husbands, and children, thus 
 produced, and the scenes of family dissension, 
 jealousy, violence, and mutual recrimination, on 
 the score of drunkenness, which are almost daily 
 exhibited to the magistrates, are painful and re- 
 volting in the extreme." * The effects of spirit 
 drinking must be every where similar to those 
 in Dublin, and this one gigantic vice is strong 
 enough to drag Ireland down to misery were she 
 prosperous ; and now, with its iron heel upon her 
 neck, declares that she shall never rise from her 
 abject and hopeless degradation. Surely all who 
 wish well to their country should set themselves 
 energetically to oppose it. 
 
 What Irishman can refuse to do his utmost to 
 lessen this source of poverty, crime, and sorrow, 
 and call himself a Christian, profess to be a pa- 
 triot, or even hope to be esteemed a man of com- 
 mon humanity? 
 
 Some little perhaps the legislature may do to 
 
 lessen it. I say a little only, because, if high 
 
 duties and costly licenses do, on the whole, lessen 
 
 consumption, they still tempt many to the private 
 
 * Appendix to Ev. p. 575.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 17 
 
 distillation of spirits, and many more to their il- 
 legal sale. Even now Professor Edg-ar reckons 
 that private stills make annually 2,500,000 gal- 
 lons ; but in 1823, when the duty was much 
 higher, they made 7,000,000.* If there be not, 
 therefore, a moral as well as a legal check, the 
 vice cannot be materially restrained. Perhaps 
 it would be well to increase the duties upon li- 
 censes; and still more important effectually to 
 separate the trade of a grocer from that of a 
 publican, by prohibiting grocers from retailing 
 spirituous liquors. But the evil must be princi- 
 pally checked by other means. In the neighbour- 
 hood of Belfast the Temperance Society, by the 
 pulpit and the press, by public meetings, and by 
 associated example, have effected a great diminu- 
 tion in the use of spirits. In 1829 the public 
 attention in the North of Ireland was much 
 turned to the evil of spirit drinking; and while, 
 in 1831, there was a decrease in the consumption 
 of spirits in the whole island of 294,101 gallons ; 
 and in 1832 a further decrease of 24,-538 gallons ; 
 
 * Evidence, p. 85 ; and Martin's Taxation of the British 
 Empire, p. 128.
 
 18 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 the decrease in 1831, in Belfast alone, (including 
 the neighbourhood) was 84,808 gallons ; in 1832, 
 15,142; and in 1833, 34,112* With this proof 
 before us of what may be done by the diffusion 
 of information on the subject, every one who is 
 anxious to improve the condition of the Irish 
 peasantry ought to labour to set them against 
 spirit drinking. Hitherto, alas ! many even of 
 the higher classes have, it is said, encouraged the 
 people in it, and even made a point of having 
 illicit whiskey in their cellars. I heard, on good 
 authority, of one magistrate who fined and im- 
 prisoned a man brought before him by the police 
 for illicit distillation, when, in fact, the illicit dis- 
 tiller was his own tenant; the still, when dis- 
 covered, was at work for him, and his servant 
 was waiting at the place to receive the spirit. 
 
 So little do the people think of the sin of 
 violating the law, when gentlemen and magis- 
 trates encourage them in it, that I was told of 
 one old woman who said she had worked a still 
 for above 20 years, often close to the public road, 
 and the Lord had been good enough always to 
 
 * Evidence, pp.84, 85, 103.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 19 
 
 keep her from being discovered. I have even 
 been assured that in Achill a friar, not long since, 
 obtained his livelihood chiefly by blessing private 
 stills. 
 
 It is high time that these practices should be 
 loudly condemned, and the vice of spirit drinking 
 be denounced as it deserves. In every school 
 the teachers should effectually convince the chil- 
 dren that it is discreditable, mischievous, and 
 criminal. Employers should discountenance it in 
 their workmen ; masters prohibit it in their fami- 
 lies ; the clergyman should condemn it from the 
 pulpit ; the Judge denounce it at each assize as 
 the most prolific source of crime. Benevolent 
 persons should hold meetings in their neighbour- 
 hoods, to set the consequences of it before their 
 neighbours, and Tracts should be widely distri- 
 buted, to deepen and perpetuate the impression. 
 Here all may safely join, Protestant and Roman 
 Catholic, Clergyman and Priest. Indeed, upon 
 the latter class the duty devolves especially, be- 
 cause of the influence which their office gives 
 them over the habits of the people. It will be a 
 discomfort and misery to the whole land, if the
 
 20 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 people continue to wallow in their drunkenness ; 
 but to the Priests, their spiritual governors, the 
 keepers of their conscience, the lords of their 
 creed, it will bring an indelible disgrace. What 
 are thej? doing, that the pauperized millions of 
 their disciples annually drink away 6,000,000/. 
 of money, which ought to clothe their nakedness 
 and supply their children's hunger? What is 
 Mr. O'Connell doing ? If he wishes to see them 
 fed and clothed, why does he not exert all his 
 influence to starve this monster appetite, which 
 tears their coats from their backs, and snatches 
 the food from their lips. To leave it unmo- 
 lested will not look like patriotism, humanity, or 
 virtue.
 
 21 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 A Roman Catholic Tradesman in Drogheda — CroUy's Bible 
 — Some account of Roman Catholic Tenetajn Ireland — ^The 
 Abridgment of Christian Doctrine — ^The Christian's Guide 
 to Heaven. 
 
 My Roman Catholic friend at Drogheda had done 
 his utmost to repress drunkenness there. A 
 Temperance Society had been formed, of which 
 he became a member, and, with others, took pains 
 to obtain signatures ; but the upper classes did 
 not join it. Various members, by proving un- 
 true to their profession, disgraced it ; he saw it 
 to be useless, and accordingly withdrew. Our 
 evening's walk gave us ocular demonstration of 
 the triumph which drunkenness had won over 
 sobriety. In the crowded street a poor woman 
 was vainly endeavouring to draw homewards a 
 drunken and abusive man : but more disposed to 
 fight than to go home, he was threatening those 
 near him : at length he fell down in the mud,
 
 22 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 and when she went to him, as he lay there, he 
 seized her by the hair, shook her violently by 
 means of it, and pulled her to the ground. Num- 
 bers of men were looking- on, some laughing, all 
 indifferent; and when 1 approached the spot, 
 urging the bye-standers to interpose, one half- 
 drunken savage said, with a grin, as he passed 
 on, " Every man to his own business." At length 
 one better disposed than the rest pinioned the 
 drunken wretch, and urged him homewards. 
 
 I thought at first that my intelligent informant, 
 so zealous for the sobriety of the place, must be 
 a Protestant, but in the course of conversation it 
 appeared that he was a Catholic, and no less 
 zealous to propagate his creed than he was to 
 repress intoxication. Being anxious to know 
 what books are in general use and estimation 
 among Irish Roman Catholics, I learned from 
 him that Dr. Crolly, Roman Catholic Arch- 
 bishop of Armagh, has published a large edi- 
 tion of the Bible, with short notes, at the price 
 of 6s. Sd. each copy, (of which a second edition 
 is now demanded.) Many copies had been sold 
 in Drogheda. My friend was anxious I should
 
 Ireland in 1836. 23 
 
 see the superiority of the Roman Catholic creed, 
 and after some conversation on the subject, 
 he mentioned the Abridgment of Christian Doc- 
 trine, as containing- a view of their faith, a copy 
 of which I said I should be glad to see. The 
 next morning he sent me, with a very obliging 
 note, not merely the Catechism about which we 
 had been speaking, but several other considerable 
 books. I greatly regretted that I had not 
 brought with me some few books of practical 
 piety, with which I might repay his kindness. 
 A Christian traveller should never omit this. I 
 could only thank him for his civility, and ex- 
 amine, as he requested, the books which he had 
 sent. Two of these little works were, "The 
 Abridgment of Christian Doctrine, Permissu Su- 
 periorum," Dublin, 1835, a book in common use, 
 and " The Christian's Guide to Heaven," Dub- 
 lin, 1835, 30th edition. Both, therefore, are 
 books which may illustrate what is commonly 
 believed by devout Catholics, and were given to 
 me by an intelligent Catholic, with a view to 
 recommend his creed. In the first there is much 
 valuable truth, and in the second much devotional
 
 24 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 feeling, but both are disfigured by superstition 
 and error. 
 
 The following are some of the statements of 
 the tract on Christian Doctrine. 
 
 I. On Sin. 
 
 Q. What is mortal sin ? 
 
 A. A very great offence against the law of God. 
 
 Q. What is venial sin ? 
 
 A. A very small and pardonable offence against 
 God or our neighbour. — p. 109. 
 
 Q. By what kind of sins are the commandments 
 broken ? 
 
 A. By mortal sins only. 
 
 Q. How declare you that ? 
 
 A. Because a venial sin, for example, a vain word, 
 an officious or jesting lie, which hurts nobody, the 
 theft of a pin or an apple, is not of weight enough to 
 break charity betwixt man and man, much less be- 
 tween God and man. — 42. 
 
 Q. Whither go such as die in venial sin ? [by which 
 N. B. the commandments are not broken.] 
 
 A. To purgatory, till they have made full satis- 
 faction for them, and then to heaven. — 110. 
 
 Q. When is theft mortal sin ? 
 
 A. When the thing stolen is of considerable value, 
 or causeth a considerable hurt to our neighbour. 
 [Otherwise, N.B. tlieft is no breach of the command- 
 ments.] — 59.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 25 
 
 Q. When is a lie a mortal sin ? 
 
 A. When it is any great dishonour to God, or 
 notable prejudice to our neighbour, [and tlierefore, 
 when it serves the church, that is, both God and our 
 neighbour, it is a venial sin, and no breach of the 
 commandments.] — 61. 
 
 Q. How many are the commandments of the 
 Church ? 
 
 A. There be six principal ones. 
 
 Q. What is the first ? 
 
 A. To hear mass on all Sundays and holidays, if we 
 have an opportunity to do it, and there be no just 
 cause to the contrary. 
 
 Q, What is the second ? 
 A. To fast Lent, &c. 
 
 Q. What the third ? 
 
 A. To confess our sins at least once a year, &c. 
 
 Q. What the fifth ? 
 
 A. To contribute to the support of our pastors, &c. 
 
 Q. What sin is it to break any of these church com- 
 mandments ? 
 
 A. A mortal sin. Matt, xviii. 17; 63 — 66.* 
 
 * Let the reader look at Matt, xviii. 15 — 17, and he will 
 see that our Lord there decrees that if any Christian shall do 
 wrong to another, «juapr/;<Ty, and when admonished by the 
 church to which he belongs, that is, the Christians with whom 
 he is associated in church fellowship, to atone for his offence, 
 lie will not, then he must be treated by them as a man without
 
 26 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 Q. Whither go they who die in mortal sin ? 
 A. To hell, for all eternity. — 110. 
 
 Q. How many are the sins against tlie Holy Ghost ? 
 
 A. Six : despair of salvation, presumption of God's 
 mercy to impugn the known truth, envy at another's 
 spiritual good, obstinacy in sin, and final impeni- 
 tence. 
 
 Q. What is it to impugn the known truth ? 
 
 A. To argue obstinately against known points of 
 faith, or to prevent the way of our Lord, by forging 
 lies and slanders, as heretics do when they teach the 
 ignorant people that Catholics worship images as 
 God 
 
 Q. What is envy to another's spiritual good ? 
 
 A. A sadness or repining at another's growth in 
 virtue and perfection ; such as sectaries seem to have 
 when they scoti' and are troubled at the frequent 
 fasts, prayers, feasts, pilgrimages, alms-deeds, vows, 
 and religious orders of the Catholic Church, calling 
 them superstitions and fooleries, because they have 
 not in their churches any such practices of piety. 
 — 117. 
 
 These doctrines account for frequent lying and 
 
 full chapels. 
 
 religion : therefore, according to our author, whoever breaks a 
 church command, /. e. does not confess to a priest, contribute 
 to his support, Sec, shall go to hell for eternity : sound rea- 
 soning
 
 Ireland in 1836. 27 
 
 II. But as mortal sin deserves eternal destruc- 
 tion, we have next to learn how the sinner may 
 be delivered from guilt and saved from hell. On 
 this subject I find the following instructions. 
 
 Q. Why did he (Jesus Christ) become man ? 
 
 A. To redeem and save us. — 9. 
 
 Q. Why (was he born) between an ox and an 
 ass? 
 
 A. To fulfil that of the prophet, " Thou slialt be 
 known, O Lord, betwixt two beasts." Hab. xii. juxta 
 sept,* — 11. 
 
 Q. What means, " l-le descended into hell?" 
 
 A. It means, that as soon as Christ was dead, his 
 
 blessed soul descended into Limbo, to free the holy 
 
 Fathers who were there. — 12. 
 
 Q. Is there any merit in our good works ? 
 A. There is. Apoc. xxii. 12. — 14. 
 
 Q. What means the communion of saints ? 
 A. It means, first, that the faithful do all commu- 
 nicate in the same faith and sacraments, in the same 
 
 * The passage alluded to is Habakkuk iii. 2, which is in the 
 original, ■IH^^'^ tD'^'^^ ^!?i7•-^' In the midst of the years revive 
 it, or, as it is in Pick's Translation of the Minor Prophets, revive 
 thy work in the midst of the years. This catechism first states 
 a mere fiction as though it were a fact, and then adopts a false 
 translation to bear it out. To abuse the ignorance of the 
 vulgar by inventing prophecies and their accomplishment, is 
 the ready way to make infidels. 
 
 c2
 
 28 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 sacrifice, and also in the merits of one another, 1 Cor. 
 xii. 26.-24. 
 
 Q. For what is fasting available ? 
 A. First, for the remission of sins, and appeasing 
 the wrath of God. Joel ii. 12.— 64. 
 
 Q. What are the effects of baptism ? 
 
 A. It makes us the children of God, and remits 
 both original and actual sin , — 71. 
 
 Q. What are the effects of it (penance) ? 
 
 A. It reconciles us to God, and either restores or 
 increases grace.— 93. 
 
 Q. What is satisfaction ? 
 
 A. The sacramental penance enjoined us by the 
 priest at confession, &c. 
 
 Q. For what do we satisfy by that penance ? 
 A. For such temporal punishments as sometimes 
 remain due for our sins after they are forgiven us. — 95. 
 
 Q. What is an indulgence ? 
 
 A A releasing only of such temporal punish- 
 ments as remain due to those sins which have already 
 been forgiven us by penance and confession. — 96. 
 
 Q. What is the effect of extreme unction ? 
 
 A It remits venial sins, and removes the relics 
 
 of sins, and restores corporal health, if expedient. — 97. 
 
 Q. How is mortal sin remitted ? 
 
 A. By hearty penance and contrition. — 110. 
 
 Q. Is everlasting life given as a reward for our good 
 works ? 
 
 A. It is. Rom. ii. 6, 7.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 29 
 
 III. On the mediation of saints. 
 
 Of the mediation of Christ very little indeed is 
 said in this Catechism ; but of the subsidiary 
 mediation of saints and angels there are the fol* 
 lowing notices. 
 
 Q. How prove you that the saints have any power 
 to do us good ? 
 
 A. Apoc. ii. 26, 27. To him that shall overcome 
 and keep my works to the end, to liim will I give 
 power over all nations, and he shall rule them with 
 an iron rod. 
 
 Q. How prove you that it is lawful to pray to 
 angels ? 
 
 A. Apoc. i. 4, where St. John did it. " Grace to you," 
 saith he, " and peace from him that is, that was, and 
 that shall come, and from the seven spirits that are ia 
 sight of his throne. Apoc. viii. 4. They present the 
 church's prayers to God, The smoke of the incense 
 of the prayers of the saints ascended from the hand of 
 the angel before God. 
 
 Q. How prove you that we pray to saints ? 
 
 A. Out of Genesis xlviii. 16. when Jacob taught 
 his children to it, saying, And let my name be in- 
 vocated upon them ; the names also of my fathers, 
 Abraham and Isaac* 
 
 * The words are " let my name be named on tliem." And 
 any one who reads tlie passage, either in the Hebrew or Sep- 
 tuagint, may see that Jacob merely expressed a wish that his
 
 30 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 IV. On Christian privileges. 
 
 Q. What do you mean by saying you are a Chris- 
 tian ? 
 
 A. Tliat I have been baptized in the Catholic 
 Church —3. 
 
 Q. What is the Church ? 
 
 A. It is the congregation of all the faithful under 
 Jesus Christ their invisible head, and his Vicar upon 
 earth, the Pope. 
 
 Q. Hovp believe you St. Peter and tlie Pope his 
 successor to be the visible head of the church ? 
 A. John xxi. 15—18; Matt. xvi. 18. 
 
 Q. Why may not a well-meaning person be saved 
 in any religion ? 
 
 A. Because the church is the body of Christ for 
 
 which he died Now as the members of this 
 
 body are united to him no person can be saved 
 
 who does not belong to it. Or, in other words, out 
 of the church there is no salvation.* 
 
 Q. Who are those who are not to be accounted 
 members of the church ? 
 
 A. All such as are not in unity of the church, by 
 
 two grandchildren, Manasseh and Ephraim, whom he had 
 not previously known, should be named and treated as his 
 own children. Accordingly, they became two of the tribes of 
 Israel. 
 
 * N.B. The church means the Roman Catholic body.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 31 
 
 a most firm belief of her doctrine, and due obedience 
 to her pastors, as Jews, Turks, Heretics, &c. — 16 — 18. 
 
 Q. At what age and stature shall men rise ? 
 
 A. At a perfect age, which is thirty-three ; and in 
 that stature which they should have had at a perfect 
 age, without deformity by defect or excess. — 27. 
 
 Q, How prove you this? 
 
 A. Eph. iv, 13. " The church shall last until we all 
 meet unto a perfect man, into the measure of the age 
 of the fulness of Christ."— 27.* 
 
 VI. On the means of grace. 
 
 1. The Scriptures. 
 
 Q. Is it enough to believe all that is written in the 
 Bible? 
 
 A. No, it is not : for we must also believe all 
 apostolical tradition. — 6. 
 
 Q. How prove you that? 
 
 A. 2 Thess. ii. 15. Therefore, brethren, stand, and 
 hold ye the traditions which ye have learned, whether 
 by word or by our epistle. — 6. 
 
 * Elf fitrpov ijkiKiaQ tov TrXr/piofiarog tov Xptorou. Any one 
 who reads the context can see that the Apostle is speaking of 
 the adult stature of the church, not of individuals; of a moral 
 growth, not a physical one, and to be effected through its 
 ministers. " The church shall last," is not in the text, but 
 put in by the author. The passage simply means, God has 
 provided teachers for his church till it shall become com- 
 plete.
 
 32 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 2. On Prayer. 
 
 Q. What istlie Hail Mary? 
 
 A. It is a most lionourable salutation to the Blessed 
 A'irgin Mary, and prayer to her. 
 
 Q. Is it lawful to give any honour to the images of 
 Christ or his saints ? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. How prove you that ? 
 
 A. Ex. XXV. 12, 19, 22. God himself commanded 
 
 two cherubims to be made before which the people 
 
 were to pray therefore it is lawful to make images 
 
 and pray before them. 
 
 Q. What other proof have you ? 
 A. John iii. 14, when Christ approves the making 
 and exalting the brazen serpent. — 46, 47. 
 
 Q. How do you prove it lawful to adorn the churches 
 ■with tapestry, pictures, and the like ? 
 
 A. Mark xiv. 15. Christ commanded his last supper 
 to be prepared in a great chamber, adorned. — 32. 
 
 Q. How do you prove it lawful to paint God the 
 Father like an old man ? 
 
 A. Because he appeared to the propliet Daniel in 
 the shape of an old man. Dan. vii. 
 
 Q. Is it lawful to pray in an unknown tongue ? 
 A. It is. " For he that speaks in a tongue un- 
 known, speaks not unto men, but to God." 1 Cor.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 33 
 
 xiv. 2.* And a petition has the same force if it be 
 understood by him that is petitioned, whether the 
 petitioner understands the language of it or not. 
 
 3. Of Ministers. 
 
 Q. Is any great honour due to priests and ghostly 
 fathers ? 
 
 A. There is. 
 
 Eccles. vii. 13, 32, 33. In all thy soul fear our 
 Lord, and sanctify his priests, with all thy strength ; 
 love them that made thee, and forsake not his master ; 
 honour God with all thy soul, and honour the priests. 
 
 No greater honour is therefore due to any than 
 
 to priests, who personate Christ himself, so that he that 
 despiseth them despiseth Christ himself; and the dis- 
 regard of them is the origin of impiety. 
 
 IV. Of the Lord's Supper. 
 
 Q. What is the fourth petition ? 
 
 A. Give us this day our daily bread. 
 
 Q. How prove you that by this petition Christ 
 intended the blessed bread of the Eucharist ? 
 
 * This is a curious argument. St. Paul says, lie who speaks 
 a foreign language, not understood by his companions, as a 
 Frenchman speaking French among English rustics, might 
 improve himself (see verse 4), but could do them no good : 
 therefore, says the author, a man may trifle with the Almighty, 
 by uttering, in a language which he does not comprehend, 
 words which to him have no meaning, and call that prayer. 
 
 c3
 
 3-4 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 A. Matt. vi. 11. we read, "our supersubstantial 
 
 bread." * 
 
 Q How do you prove it lawful for the laity to com- 
 municate under one head only ? 
 
 A. 1. Because there is no command in Scripture for 
 the laity to do it under both.f 
 
 2. John vi. 58. " He that eateth of this bread shall 
 live for ever," Therefore one kind sufficeth. 
 
 V. Of Penance. 
 
 Q. What warrant have you for doing penance ? 
 A. 1. Apoc. ii. 4. Do penance. 
 2 Matt. iv. 17. Do ye penance. | 
 
 Q. How many parts hath the sacrament of penance? 
 A. 3. Contrition, confession, and satisfaction. 
 
 Q, What is contrition ? 
 
 A. It is a hearty sorrow for our sins, proceeding 
 immediately from the love of God above all things, 
 &c. 
 
 * The words are rov aoTov t]hojv rov siriovffiov, which are 
 variously rendered by critics, the bread of this day's need, llie 
 bread suitable for our sustenance, our daily bread ; neither 
 use nor etymology in the least justifying the fictitious sense of 
 the word tniovaiog given in this catechism. 
 
 t On the contrary; see 1 Cor xi. 20 — 29. 
 
 + The word in Matt. iv. 17. is ncravoure^ repent ye, change 
 your minds; and in Rev. ii.4. /if ravor/o-oj/, repent thou, change 
 tliy mind.
 
 Ireland in 1830. 85 
 
 Q. What is attrition ? 
 
 A. It is imperfect contrition, arising from the con- 
 sideration of the turpitude of sin, or fear of punish- 
 ment, &c. 
 
 Q. What if a dying man be in mortal sin, and can- 
 not have a priest? 
 
 A. Then nothing but perfect contrition will suffice.* 
 
 Q. What is confession ? 
 
 A. It is a full, sincere, and humble declaration of 
 our sins to a priest, to obtain absolution, 
 
 Q. How long has confession been in use ? 
 
 A. Ever since the Apostles' time. Jas. v. 6. Confess, 
 therefore, your sins to one another ; and Acts xix. IS. 
 Many of them that believed came, confessing and de- 
 claring their deeds. 
 
 Q. How do you prove that priests have the power 
 to impose penance ? 
 
 A. 1 Cor. vi. 3, 5. St Paul excommunicated the 
 incestuous Corinthian. 
 
 VI. Of Holy water. 
 
 Q. What is Holy water ? 
 
 A. A water sanctified by the Word of God and 
 prayer, 1 Tim. iv. 5, in order to certain spiritual 
 e fleets, 
 
 * Hence it follows, either that with a priest attrition will do, 
 or else that a priest is not wanted to officiate, since contrition 
 is in both cases needful, and contrition is sufficient without 
 him. 
 
 c4
 
 36 Irela:nd in 1836. 
 
 Q. Wliat are those effects ? 
 
 A. 1. To make us mindful of our baptism 
 
 2. To fortify against the illusions of evil spirits, 
 against whom it hath great force. 
 
 \U. Of the Cross. 
 
 Q. Is it lawful to honour tlie cross ? 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. What scripture have you for it ? 
 A. 1. Gal. vi. 11. God forbid that I should glory 
 but m the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 2. Phil.iii. 18. Enemies to the Cross of Christ, &c. 
 whose end is perdition. 
 
 3. Ezek. ix .4. Such as were signed with the sign of 
 Tau were saved from the exterminating angel.* 
 
 VIII. Of Relics, and Holy Places, and the 
 Adoration of Saints, &c. 
 
 Q, Is it lawful to honour the saints and angels ? 
 A. It is with Dulia an inferior honour, &c. 
 
 * Tlie words are, Go through the midst of tlie city, and set a 
 mark, &,c. TH n"^^'7^'l» (septuagint (5oe (T)]nnov.) The 
 Hebrew word bears no resemblance to a cross in its stmc- 
 ture, nor any reference to it in its meaning. And the Greek 
 letter Tau, which our author violently introduces in the place 
 of the Hebrew word Tav (a mark), was, in all probability, 
 iitterly unknown to the writer by whom he pretends that it 
 was employed
 
 Ijieland in 1836. 37 
 
 Q. How prove you that ? 
 
 A, 1. Josh. V. 14, 15. I am Prince of the Host of 
 the Lord, sailh the angel to Joshua, and Joshua fell 
 flat on the ground, and, adoruig, said, What saith our 
 Lord to his servant ? — 48. 
 
 2. Apoc. xxii. 8. St. John did it (though the angel 
 had once before willed him not to do it, in regard of 
 his apostolical dignity, chap. xix. 10.) " and I fell down 
 to adore before the feet of the angel, who shewed me 
 these things." — 49.* 
 
 Q. Is it lawful to honour the relics of saints ? 
 A. With a relative honour. 
 
 Q. How prove you that ? 
 
 A. L Because a dead man was raised from death to 
 life by touching the bones of Eliseus the prophet. 
 4. — Kings xiii. 2. 
 
 2. Matt. ix. 20, 21. The woman was healed by 
 touching the hem of our Saviour's garment. 
 
 3. Acts xix. 12. The handkerchiefs and aprons 
 which had but touched the body of St. Paul cast out 
 devils, and cured all diseases. 
 
 Q. How prove you that pilgrimages to holy places 
 are laudable and pious practices ? 
 
 A. Luke ii. 41, 42. Christ himself, our blessed Lady, 
 
 * And upon St. John committing this fault, the angel said, 
 'Opa ft7], see thou do it not : tl>us (>od by his angel has forbidden 
 it to be done, therefore, says the author, do it. Rev. xxii. 9.
 
 38 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 and St. Joseph, went up to Jerusalem the solemn day 
 of the pasch. 
 
 Acts viii. 38. The Ethiopian eunuch, going- on a 
 pilgrimage to Jerusalem, was, on his return, converted 
 and baptized by St.Pliilip, so pleasing was his pil- 
 grimage to God. 
 
 Q. How do you prove it lawful to go on pilgrimages 
 to the shrines of saints ? 
 
 A. Because their relics are holy and vene- 
 rable things, and God is pleased to work great cures 
 and miracles by them for such as are devout honourers 
 of them.— 48— 50. 
 
 These being some of the doctrines received by 
 Irish Catholics, let us now look at the devotional 
 forms and practices founded upon them, as con- 
 tained in " The Christian's Guide to Heaven." 
 
 I. Atonement for Sin. 
 
 1. As the mass is an expiatory sacrament, the devout 
 Catholic is to say as follows : — 
 
 In union with thy Holy Church and its ministers, 
 
 and invoking the blessed Virgin Mary we now 
 
 offer the adorable sacrifice of the mass to thy honour 
 and for the remission of our sins. — 4.5. 
 
 Remember, O Lord, that the sacrifice we now offer 
 to thee is essentially the same, and equally propitiatory 
 with that which our Saviour offered thee on Mount 
 Calvary. — 63.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 39 
 
 I offer up this Divine sacrifice in satisfaction 
 
 fur all my sins. — 322. 
 
 2. As saints have superabundant merits, therefore 
 he is to meditate thus : — 
 
 If we live as become worthy members of the Catholic 
 Church, we shall assuredly be made partakers of all 
 spiritual blessings and treasures thereof, and benefit 
 by all the prayers, sacrifices, and good works which 
 are wrought therein. — 215. 
 
 He is therefore in the Litany, for the dead, to pray 
 thus : — 
 
 That it may please thee, through the prayers and 
 good works performed in thy Church, to receive them 
 into thy eternal tabernacles, &c. — 266. 
 
 Since good works are meritorious, he is therefore 
 directed to profess, — 
 
 I am fully determined to suffer with patience 
 
 as well in atonement for the sins I have hitherto com- 
 mitted, as to prevent me from future relapses, &c. — 
 111. 
 
 And he is to pray. Give me strength, O my God, to 
 expiate my offences — 269. 
 
 II. Means of pardon and holiness. 
 
 1. After confession and absolution, he is to say : — 
 Is it possible, O my God, that, having been a cri- 
 minal but a few moments ago, I should now be cleansed 
 from my sins by virtue of this sacrament ? Yes, I firmly 
 believe it, because thou hast left to thy Church the 
 power of forgiving sins &c. Thou hast invested
 
 40 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 a power in the sons of men wliich thou wouldest not 
 
 confer on angels to our priests it was given, 
 
 not merely to pronounce clean, but really to cleanse, 
 not the infections of the body, but the very stains of 
 the soul.— 92. 
 
 Before the Sacrament he is to say : — 
 
 Although I have had the misfortune to forfeit my 
 baptismal innocence by sin, yet there remains, &c. 
 Though I have a well-grounded confidence that my 
 soul has been cleansed in the sacrament of penance, 
 still I desire, &c. — 111, 112. 
 
 Considering that the debts which I owe to thy jus- 
 tice are so immense, that of myself I have not the 
 means of discharging them, I have therefore recourse 
 to the inexhaustible treasure of the merits of my Re- 
 deemer, which thy Church (in virtue of the keys, &c.) 
 now holds fortli to me. — 113. 
 
 Though my senses may tell m.e it is nothing but 
 mere bread, yet, submitting them entirely in obedience 
 to Divine faith, I answer, it is thy real body and blood, 
 accompanied by thy Soul and Divinity. — 116. 
 
 And lastly, when he adopts the latest resource, ex- 
 trenie unction, he is to say : — 
 
 Grant, I beseech thee, that this Holy unction may 
 produce in me all its happy fruits, by healing my soul 
 of the ulcers of sin, &c. &c. — 227. 
 
 But besides the different Sacraments, he may also 
 expect the aid and intercession of the Virgin Mary, 
 angels, and saints, by prayer. He is therefore to pray 
 thus : —
 
 Ireland in 1636. 41 
 
 We fly to thy patronage, O Holy Motlier of God, 
 despise not our prayers in our necessities, but deliver 
 us from all dangers. — 39. 
 
 Mother of Divine Grace, most amiable Mother, most 
 admirable Mother, most prudent Virgin, most vene- 
 rable Virgin, most renowned Virgin, most powerful 
 Virgin, most merciful Virgin, most faithful Virgin, 
 mirror of justice, cause of our joy, mystical rose, tower 
 of David, ark of the covenant, gale of Heaven, morn- 
 ing star, health of the weak, refuge of sinners, com- 
 forter of the afflicted. Queen of Angels, Queen of all 
 saints pray for us. — 41. 
 
 I acknowledge with the most humble sentiments of 
 gratitude, that it is by the means of thy powerful inter- 
 cession I have received such innumerable graces and 
 
 favours from the Almighty Receive then, O 
 
 sacred Virgin, the protestation I now make of being 
 
 hereafter entirely thine Obtain for me, most 
 
 powerful advocate with thy dear Son my Saviour, who 
 can refuse thee nothing that is conducive to my sal- 
 vation, a lively faith, &c. 
 
 Sure refuge of penitent sinners, intercede for me 
 
 that the confession I am about to make 
 
 may obtain for me the remission of all my 
 
 sins. — 90. 
 
 Hope and comfort of dejected and desolate souls 
 
 thou art the only refuge of the needy and the 
 
 orphan, of the desolate and the afflicted. Cast, there- 
 fore, an eye of pity on a miserable, forlorn child of 
 Eve Whither can I fly for more secure shelter
 
 42 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 than under the wings of thy maternal protection. And 
 as I am persuaded my Divine Saviour doth honour 
 thee as his beloved mother, to whom he can refuse 
 nothing, so let me speedily experience the efficacy of 
 thy powerful intercession. — 404 — 7. 
 
 Then he is to pray to his guardian angel thus : — 
 
 O Holy Angel who doth assist me in all my 
 
 wants, and comfort me in all my afflictions I 
 
 conjure thee to continue thy charitable care Pro- 
 tect me in all the temptations and trials of this life 
 
 and do not quit me till thou hast conducted me into 
 the presence of my Creator. — 158. 
 
 Then he is directed to have recourse to Saint Joseph, 
 with this information, " St. Theresa assures us that 
 she never asked any favour of God in his name but 
 what she obtained." — 1.59. 
 
 Besides praying to particular saints or angels, he is 
 also to pray to them altogether, thus : — 
 
 Holy Mary, St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, 
 all ye Holy angels and archangels, St. John, Baptist, 
 
 St. Joseph, all ye Holy patriarchs and prophets 
 
 all ye Holy apostles and evangelists all ye Holy 
 
 innocents St. Laurence, St. Vincent, SS. Fabian 
 
 and Sebastian, SS. Cosmes and Damian, SS. Gervase 
 
 and Protase, St. Sylvester, St. Gregory St. Martin, 
 
 all ye Holy bishops and confessors, all ye Holy doctors, 
 St. Anthony, St. Bennet, St. Dominic, St. Francis, all 
 ye Holy priests and levites, all ye Holy monks and 
 hermits, St. Agatha, St. Lucy, St. Cecily, St. Anas-
 
 Ireland in 183G. 43 
 
 tasia, all ye Holy virgins and widows, pray for us. — 
 146. 
 
 Then, because their intercession is of much mo- 
 ment, he is directed to pray for it to the Almighty 
 thus : — 
 
 Of ourselves we are unworthy to appear in thy pre- 
 sence, therefore we implore the intercession of the 
 saints in our behalf, grant to their prayers the pardon 
 of our sins. — 48.* 
 
 Still there remains another form of prayer to 
 be employed. Repeated prayers seem to be 
 thought peculiarly efficacious. 
 
 The devout Catholic is therefore directed, in the 
 Psalter of Jesus, to repeat the name of Jesus 150 
 times; to repeat 15 times, Have mercy on all sinners, 
 
 I beseech thee, dear Jesus Have mercy, 
 
 also, on the souls in purgatory, &c. ; and to repeat 
 the Lord's prayer and the Hail Mary 18 times. — 
 359. 
 
 In using the prayer of St. Bridget, comprehended 
 in nine 12mo. pages, he is to repeat 15 times, Lord 
 Jesus, be propitious to me a sinner ; adding most 
 gracious, or most pious, or most sweet, or most noble, 
 or most wise, or most potent, on each occasion ; and 
 at the same time he must pronounce 15 Pater Nosters 
 and 15 Ave Marias. — 370. 
 
 * Perhaps this is rather meant as information to th^ 
 Almighty.
 
 44 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 In the Rosary of tlie name of Jesus he has to repeat 
 as follows : — 
 
 O Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on 
 
 us 50 times. 
 
 O Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, 
 
 have mercy on us 50 times. 
 
 O Jesus, Sdo of the living God, have 
 
 mercy on us 50 times. 
 
 And the Gloria Patri 16 times. 
 
 — 379. 
 
 Lastly, in the Rosary of the Virgin, there are to be 
 the following repetitions : — 
 
 The Lord's prayer 15 times. 
 
 The Gloria Patri 16 times. 
 
 And the Hail Mary 160 times. 
 
 —386. 
 
 How can intelligent men believe such mon- 
 strous errors as these books contain, endure the 
 shameless perversion of Scripture by which they 
 are defended, give their sanction to such impious 
 worship of the creature, or hesitate to repudiate 
 a church in which all this is esteemed truth and 
 piety. To the Catholic who should say that no 
 enlightened Catholics believe the statements of 
 these books, I answer, that they were given me 
 by a very intelligent man as illustrations of the
 
 Ireland in 183G. 45 
 
 Catholic doctrine, with a view to my improve- 
 ment; and what Catholic books, from which these 
 impieties and errors have been expelled, can be 
 shown to have reached, in a few years, as the 
 Manual has, the thirtieth edition i
 
 46 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 National Schools at Drogheda — Journey to Dundalk — State 
 of the Poor in that Neighbourhood — Journey through Newry 
 to Biyansford — ToUymore Park — Methods of improving the 
 Condition of the Poor — Bryansford Schools — Lord Roden's 
 Popularity — National Schools of the Village — Parish of 
 Kilkeel — Home Mission at Newcastle — Smuggling stopped 
 in the Neighbourhood — ToUymore attacked by the Mob. 
 
 We walked to the Convent National School for 
 ffirls. The school was closed for a month. It is 
 entirely under the superintendence of the Nuns; 
 and there are no Protestant children. In the 
 same street, and exactly opposite the convent, in 
 a room which was formerly the Presbyterian 
 meeting- house, there is a national school for boys. 
 The master is a Presbyterian, and all the boys are 
 Protestants. The books of the Board are used, 
 but there was an inadequate supply, and a want 
 of maps.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 47 
 
 About four miles from Drogheda, and one mile 
 
 to the left of the road, is one of those antique 
 
 round towers 
 
 " ^Vhose lonely columns stand sublime, 
 Flinging their shadows from on high, 
 Like dials, which the wizard, time, 
 Had raised to count his ages by." 
 
 No one knows who raised them, or for what they 
 were employed. They are too slender for forts. 
 Some have thought they were belfries ; and the 
 Italian campanile stands as lofty and as much 
 apart as these ; but the idea, it seems, is too 
 prosaic, and for that or some better reason, some 
 learned writers at least, have scouted it, ascribing- 
 them to the Fire-worshippers of Persia, at a 
 period before the Christian era. According to this 
 hypothesis, their slender forms were intended to 
 symbolize a ray of the sun, and their use was to 
 preserve the sacred fire.* Perhaps it may be so, 
 but I imagine the chain of proof must be at least 
 as precarious as that of the antiquarian who re- 
 cently, having found something like the mark of 
 a horse's foot in the rocky bed of a Welch tor- 
 
 * A Tour round Ireland, by John Barrow, Esq. p. 28.
 
 48 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 rent, ascertained to his own satisfaction that the 
 hoof was shod, and found, or fancied, proof that 
 the print was antediluvian. Hence he argued 
 that iron must have been then in use ; that there 
 were Welch blacksmiths before the flood, and 
 that part of the family of Tubal Cain must cer- 
 tainly have settled in those parts. 
 
 Hitherto we had been gradually ascending from 
 Urogheda, and met many farmers driving their 
 light drays into the town loaded with deep tubs 
 of buttermilk. 
 
 At this height the country is bare and rocky : 
 stone walls succeed to the thorn hedges of the 
 plain ; and a few wretched houses alone are 
 sprinkled over the naked region. But shortly 
 the Carlingford mountains, across the bay of 
 Dundalk, overshadowed by masses of cloud, dis- 
 tinctly marked, and blacker than the stormy? sky 
 which lowered upon them, formed for us so in- 
 teresting and varied a boundary as made us forget 
 the tameness of the foreground. Our road lay 
 through the baronies of Ferrard and Louth to 
 Dundalk. The miserable aspect of the labourers 
 corresponds with the accounts presented to the
 
 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 49 
 
 commissioners for enquiring into their condition. 
 Tlieir daily wages are Is. in summer, and 8d. in 
 winter, without diet.* The earnings of women 
 and children, who can only get employment in 
 hay-making and harvest, are very small. So 
 that a labourer in constant employment must be 
 very poor. But numbers are often without em- 
 ployment, as may be seen by the following state- 
 ment : — t 
 
 Parishes. 
 
 Number of 
 Labourers. 
 
 Constantly 
 employed. 
 
 Not so. 
 
 Ballymakenny . . . 
 
 Dunany 
 
 Dunleer, &c 
 
 Union of Maine . . 
 Tullyallen 
 
 400 
 172 
 620 
 228 
 500 
 
 72 
 200 
 102 
 250 
 
 Many. 
 
 50 
 
 420 
 
 126 
 
 250 
 
 Hence, in Ballymakenny the ordinary diet is 
 potatoes and salt, as they seldom can afford the 
 luxury of milk ; and their clothing in general is 
 
 Ap. D. 97, 98. 
 
 t Ap. D. 97—99. 
 D
 
 50 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 wretched.* In the union of Dunany and Parsons 
 Town the ordinary diet is potatoes and salt. In the 
 neighbourhood of Beaulieu and Maine the ordinary 
 diet is potatoes, and the ordinary clothing rags.-f- 
 At Tullyallen they sometimes get milk with their 
 potatoes.^: Dundalk, though situated in a fertile 
 plain, and with some advantages, has yet the 
 usual wretched suburb of mud cabins. The land 
 of the barony is mostly in tillage. The manu- 
 factures and commerce of Dundalk afford employ- 
 ment ; along the coast there is an abundant supply 
 of shell-fish, which are gathered and hawked 
 through the country ; and there is also a fishery. § 
 Nearly all the labourers, therefore, above 16 years 
 of age, are almost constantly employed. Yet the 
 ■wages are only Is. in harvest, Sd. in winter, and 
 lOd. the rest of the year. Those constantly em- 
 ployed through the year at the same wages get 
 only 9d. a day. These only get upon an average 
 
 * Rev. James Torris, P. P., Ap. D. 97. 
 
 t Francis Donagh, Esq. Ap. D. 99. t l^ev. T. Tieavor. 
 
 § Ap. D, 2G.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 51 
 
 200 days of labour, and their whole yearly earn- 
 ings are about 9/. 155. Occasionally, in June 
 and July, before the new potatoes come in, the 
 labourers suffer from insufficient food.* In the 
 union of Haggardstown some of the cabins are 
 built of ston^and clay, and some are mud walls. 
 Few have bedsteads ; straw laid on the floor is 
 commonly their bed, with little covering, except 
 what they daily wear. The rent of these cabins, 
 without land, is from 11. 10s. to 21. ; and with a 
 small garden, from 3/. to 4/.-!- In the union of 
 Baronstown they are a single room, badly supplied 
 with bedding. :|; In Dundalk and Creggan they 
 are generally a kitchen and a bedroom. The 
 poorer sort generally have their children lying on 
 the floor, on straw beds or mats: their general 
 bedding is uncomfortable and bad. But this 
 straw bed answers for the pig afterwards, and 
 then for manure. The rent of the cabins in the 
 town is from 21. to 4/., or with a garden, about 
 
 * Ap. D. 28. t Kev. J. Connery, P.P., Sup. 95. 
 
 J G. M'Gusty, Esq. Sup. 95. 
 
 d2
 
 52 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 5/. The rent of those in the neighbourhood, 
 without land, is from 1/. 10^. to 3^.* Before 
 leaving the barony, we passed through the parish 
 of Faughart, in which it is cheering to learn that 
 the condition of the poor is much improved, and 
 that though a short time since there were only, 
 in a population of 1640, two Protestant families, 
 there are now 12. Yet even here the cabins, 
 without land, are let for 1/. lO*. and 21., and 
 some are without bedsteads.-f- Although, there- 
 fore, there is much employment throughout the 
 barony, yet the means of the generality of the 
 labourers are so small, even when constantly em- 
 ployed, that a labourer, unless he has but a small 
 family, cannot, even though constantly employed, 
 exhibit much improvement in the state of his 
 cabin. :]: 
 
 The scenery north-east of Dundalk is pretty. 
 Our road entered a mountain region, and pene- 
 trating a beautiful valley, skirted Ravendale Park, 
 whose rich woods are sheltered on the east by a 
 
 * L. Begger, Esq. Sup 95. f Rev. G. Tinley, Sup. 95. 
 X Ap D. 28.
 
 Ireland in 183G. 53 
 
 range of naked heights. Emerging from this 
 valley, we reached an elevated and open region, 
 which conducted us to Newry. Passing this 
 flourishing town, we entered Ulster. This part 
 of the county Down is uneven and rocky. But 
 though evidently poor, it was generally under 
 cultivation, and bearing slight but healthy crops of 
 flax, oats, wheat, clover, and potatoes. We were 
 now in the barony of Upper Iveagh, and on our 
 way to Bryansford, passed between the parishes 
 of Donoughmore and Drumgath. In both the 
 wages are 1*. summer, lOd. winter. Their diet 
 is potatoes, and their clothing very poor.* All 
 the labourers of the barony who attended the ex- 
 amination before the commissioners, and who were 
 contradicted by no other witnesses, declared that 
 the utmost a man can earn, one day with another, 
 does not exceed 6^/. a day, without diet.f The 
 rent of cabins is from 1/. 10*. to 3/ , the higher 
 rent being paid for those which have a rood of 
 land attached. J 
 
 As we approached Bryansford, the Mourne 
 mountains, which had been our companions for 
 
 * Sup. 339. t Ap. D. 68. I Ap. D. 82.
 
 54: Ireland in 1836. 
 
 some miles, grew loftier and blacker. The set- 
 ling sun, which threw its level beams upon their 
 breasts, rarely penetrated the dense masses of 
 clouds which overhung them. The region over 
 which the road is carried, though of broken and 
 varied surface, is too bare to be beautiful. This 
 feature of the scenery at length disappeared as 
 we entered the plantations and woods of Tolly- 
 more. At that moment the glow of a summer 
 evening was on the sea before us, changing lights 
 and shadows rested on the summits to our right, 
 and around us were extensive woods in their 
 richest verdure. I had heard that Tollymore 
 was beautiful, I was eager to see it, and two 
 miles more brought us to its gate. We were not 
 disappointed. Through the granite portal you 
 look through a vista of shrubbery, down a steep 
 southern slope of grass, upon luxuriant woods, 
 which overshadow the bed of the Tollymore river. 
 Immediately beyond the rocky channel a hill, 
 clothed with hanging woods, rises abruptly to a 
 height at which the trees are dwarfed almost to 
 shrubs. Above this towers the Black Mountain, 
 and beyond and above it the naked peek of Slieve
 
 Ireland in 1836. 55 
 
 Donard, which is 3150 feet, by the barometer, 
 above the level of the sea.* On driving down 
 the rajjid descent into the park, you see the house 
 on the right, in the most happy position, with 
 the glen, the woods, and mountains opposite its 
 southern front. And about two miles distant, on 
 the left, is the Irish Channel, gleaming over the 
 scattered trees of the park. Behind the house 
 delightful pleasure grounds, sheltered by hill and 
 wood, from the north and west, but opening to 
 the sea breeze and the southern sun to the moun- 
 tains and the glen, form an enchanting retreat. 
 There the climate is so mild that the arbutus 
 grows as at Killarney ; the fusia rises to the 
 height of six and even eight feet in the open air ; 
 and I examined one rhododendron plant 49 feet 
 in circumference. Between the house and the 
 mountains the clear dark river has worn for itself 
 a romantic bed among the rocks. In the wood is 
 a powerful sawing-mill, worked by a water-wheel. 
 Although the original cost was considerable, it 
 must be repaid by its usefulness to the tenantry 
 and the estate. By means of it Lord Roden can, 
 
 * Bell's Geography, vol. iii. 236.
 
 56 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 without great expense, present timber, ready cut 
 for use, to any tenant wishing to build a cottage, 
 on condition that it shall be built according to 
 a given plan, of a size and structure superior to 
 those hitherto generally built in the neighbour- 
 hood. When the tenant is very poor, he some- 
 times gives also Welsh slate for the roof, which 
 is eventually much more economical than thatch, 
 as well as much more safe. If the tenant can 
 afford to repay it, the price of the slate is- ad- 
 vanced to him for one year. Some of the cot- 
 tages built on these terms I found to be much 
 neater, and more comfortable than the older 
 cabins. 
 
 In this connexion I may mention the Bryansford 
 Loan Fund. A hundred and fifty pounds were 
 originally given by Lord Roden, which sum has 
 since been increased, by various contributions, to 
 250/. This forms the fund. Sometimes the tenant 
 borrows to pay his rent, when prices are low, and 
 repays the loan by selling his crop when the 
 prices rise. Sometimes he borrows money for 
 seed, sometimes for lime, and in both cases repays 
 the loan by the crop. For these and similar pur-
 
 Ireland in 1836. 57 
 
 poses the whole fund has been sometimes lent 
 three times over in the course of one year. It is 
 lent without interest ; and although the fund has 
 been in circulation now for ten years, nothing has 
 been lost. 
 
 Although some of the young women, and all 
 the children are, through the week, without shoes 
 and stockings, I did not see any abject poverty 
 on the estate. The rents vary from 2s. 6d. per 
 acre, mountain land, to 8/. for the conacre. 
 There are few mere labourers. Most of the la- 
 bouring class have farms of from three to ten 
 acres. Besides cultivating these, some are em- 
 ployed as labourers at Is. or lOd. per day ; some 
 weave linen, some traffic in cattle, and others 
 draw turf. Their food is oat-cake and potatoes, 
 with milk or buttermilk. The women spin, assist 
 their husbands in the farms, and tend the pigs 
 and chickens. Lord Roden gives no leases, but 
 what is perhaps better, always encourages an im- 
 proving tenant. When a farm is to be let, he 
 does not permit it to go, as is common in Ireland, 
 to the highest bidder, but regards the character 
 and the solvency of the bidder. Nor does he ever 
 
 d3
 
 5S Ireland in 183G. 
 
 take the rent which is oflered, because the com- 
 petition for land raises the offers too high ; but 
 generally makes an abatement of one-third. This 
 is not only generous, but prudent. Arrears gene- 
 rally ruin the morals of the tenant, annoy the 
 landlord, and make each discontented with the 
 other. And if rents are too high, the tenant must 
 fall into arrears. Above 100 men are employed 
 on his own grounds and farm. By means of this 
 farm he can introduce improved modes of culti- 
 vation, which the tenant would dread as an un- 
 tried experiment, but will adopt when they have 
 proved, on a soil like that of his own farm, suc- 
 cessful. As a further encouragement to improve- 
 ment, he has lately given to them lime (which is 
 brought by Newcastle from Carlingford, and is 
 their best manure), on the condition that they raise 
 a specified succession of crops. By these means, 
 although the soil of the estate is poor and rocky, 
 it yields to their industry considerable crops of 
 oats, potatoes, and wheat ; to which have lately 
 been added mangel wurzel and turnips. 
 
 But Lord Roden, not contented with improving 
 the physical condition of the people, is also
 
 Ireland in 1836. 59 
 
 solicitous for their spiritual welfare. In bis beau- 
 tiful village of Bryansford, one picturesque cot- 
 tage contains the loan library, another the depot 
 of Bibles, a third is devoted to a boys' school, 
 and a fourth building holds the infant school 
 and school for girls. All tht^se schools are under 
 pious and intelligent persons. 
 
 At the boys' school, on Sunday, August 1, I 
 found 38 boys, all of whom could read, divided 
 into six classes. Each class has its gratuitous 
 teacher, and the eldest class is taught by Lord 
 Roden himself, or, in his absence, by his excel- 
 lent and intelligent agent, Captain Hill. Tliat 
 day seven young men, of whom two are married, 
 formed Lord Roden's class. The subject was 
 the second Psalm, and the questions and replies 
 were equally interesting. It will bode well for 
 Ireland, when her nobles will thus mingle with 
 their people to secure their veneration and their 
 love. Besides this school there are two other 
 mountain schools to which he pays a visit on the 
 Sabbath. One of these I visited. I was ex- 
 pected, and found it thronged with the Presby- 
 terians of those bleak hills, to whom I expounded 
 
 r)4
 
 60 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 our Lord's saying, " 1 am come that they might 
 have life ;" and earnestly did I desire, as I heard 
 them sing out aloud amidst a Roman Catholic 
 }>opulalion some verses out of the old Scotch 
 version of the Psalms, with all the zeal of the 
 Scottish Covenanters, that they might all be 
 brought to that eternal life which believers have 
 of God through Christ. Lord Roden was pre- 
 sent, and as he had only just returned home, after 
 a long absence and severe illness, it was interest- 
 ing to see the affectionate greetings he received 
 from many of that rustic auditory, who have 
 often heard his own paternal exhortations. In 
 the evening, there being no service in the church, 
 I attended at his domestic chapel, where he 
 usually officiates as pastor to his family and some 
 of his poor neighbours. For all these benevolent 
 efforts to do good he is rewarded by the affection 
 of his people, and has already reaped a richer 
 harvest in the moral improvement of many, and 
 the conversion of not a few. For these high ends 
 have wealth and influence been committed to 
 their possessors by the Sovereign Proprietor of 
 all. AVhy do not many more employ them as
 
 Ireland in 1836. 61 
 
 he does I Were all the landlords of Ireland to 
 be as moderate in their demands upon their 
 tenants for rent, as anxious to improve their 
 circumstances, as zealous for their salvation, as 
 just and as benevolent as he, half the ills of the 
 country would, I am persuaded, speedily vanish. 
 And is all this more than Christian, is it more 
 than just ? 
 
 I am wandering from my narrative. In another 
 house in the village I found two teachers, with 
 thirteen little boys who could not read. From 
 thence I went to the girls' school, and found there 
 75 girls, divided into eight classes, under eight 
 gratuitous teachers. In the elder class there 
 were nine young women, some of whom were 
 once in the infant school of the village, and who 
 will probably continue to attend the Sunday school 
 till they settle in life. 
 
 Seven of these young women I had the oppor- 
 tunity of examining the following day, in six 
 chapters of the Epistle to the Romans, which 
 they had committed to memory for Lady Roden ; 
 their answers shewed much acquaintance with 
 the meaning of those chapters, and therefore with
 
 62 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 the leading truths of the Gospel. I was pre- 
 sented with the following returns of the number 
 in the schools : — 
 
 girls' school. 
 
 Number of scholars on the books 83 
 
 Ditto in attendance 62 
 
 Reading Bible and Testament 47 
 
 Above fifteen years of age 12 
 
 Gratuitous Teachers 12 
 
 Number attending day schools 53 
 
 The number attending the boys' Sunday school 
 in the last four months, had varied from 46 
 to 60. The attendance in the day-school is 
 from 23 to 37. Very few of these are Roman 
 Catholics. Formerly a larger number of chil- 
 dren whose parents profess that creed used to 
 attend. The national school has now drawn 
 them off. In such circumstances it cannot be 
 denied that a national school does mischief. 
 But for that national school, many of those 
 Roman Catholic children would now have 
 been receiving scriptural instruction under pious 
 teachers. Parents, intent on having their chil- 
 dren taught, disregarding any priestly prohibition,
 
 Ireland in 183G. (>3 
 
 would have sent them, and that very disregaild 
 would have vindicated their liberty of thought, 
 and prepared for further intellectual freedom. 
 The Scriptures, read and loved in the school, 
 would have found their way into the cabin, and 
 the Romish chain would, in some instances, have 
 been snapped. As it is, the Catholic children 
 crowd to the Catholic school, held in a dark and 
 dirty room, which I visited, where, however, I 
 was glad to find the Scripture extracts thumbed 
 as if in daily use. The stock of books was insuf- 
 ficient. 
 
 The Parish of Kilkeel, in which Tollymore 
 stands, is 30 miles in length, and the Rector 
 lives about seven miles from Rostrevor. He has 
 a curate for Bryansford and Newcastle, whose 
 division of the parish contains 49 square miles, 
 with a population of G500: 1000 are members of 
 the Church of Ireland, 1000 are Presbyterians, 
 and 4500 are Roman Catholics. To these last 
 the clergyman has scarcely any access at all, 
 as a religious instructor, while the Presbyterians 
 and the Churchmen are on friendly terms. In 
 the paucity of religious teachers, I was told that
 
 64 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 the Home Mission, which holds a meeting at 
 Newcastle, has been useful. By that and other 
 means, the resident gentry of the neighbourhood 
 have of late years much improved in character. 
 The morals of the peasantry have likewise im- 
 proved, and if instruction is directly given only 
 to the Protestants, their improvement impercep- 
 tibly operates upon the Catholics. Other cir- 
 cumstances also have led to their improvement. 
 When Lord Roden first came to that pz-operty, 
 he found the people completely demoralized. 
 Besides all the impurity common to coarse and 
 ignorant minds, illicit distillation was carried on 
 close to his own house, and smuggling was 
 general. On his learning these facts, he called 
 his tenantry together, assured them that he could 
 countenance no immorality, and declared that if 
 any smuggled goods should be found in the house 
 of a tenant, he would discharge him. "Then, 
 my Lord," said one, who was bolder than the rest, 
 " you must discharge us all." *' And if smuggled 
 goods are found upon you," he answered, " I 
 will." A still was found upon the estate : a regi- 
 ment of soldiers swept the barony to levy the
 
 Ireland in 1836. 65 
 
 legal penalty laid upon it of 500/. The tenants 
 flew to implore their landlord's interposition. 
 *' They were innocent — they were losing their 
 cattle — they should be ruined — they could not 
 pay him their rent. Would he not interpose to 
 save them?" He would not. They had been 
 warned ; and since they had not given information 
 against the offender, they must take the conse- 
 quences. The fine was levied ; the rent was paid : 
 and from that time smuggling vanished from the 
 spot. But smugglers have not been his only enemies. 
 His Orangeism, however much exalted by Chris- 
 tian principle, or preserved from pride and fierce- 
 ness by the kindliness of his nature, has more 
 than once excited the enmity of violent Ro- 
 manists. Several years since, a large and tumul- 
 tuous body of them assembled in the neighbour- 
 hood, and marched to his gate, while he was 
 in England, threatening to level the house with 
 the ground. There they were met by about 
 twenty-five of his servants, who, with arms pre- 
 sented, declared that the rioters should only pass 
 to that house over their dead bodies. During 
 this parley, which already staggered the invaders.
 
 (56 Ireland in 183G. 
 
 the menace of a bloody vengeance, should they 
 dare to touch a stone of that house, was sent to 
 them by a large armed body of Orangemen, who 
 were hastily assembling. This message com- 
 pleted their dismay. The enterprize was too 
 hazardous, and the place was saved. But since 
 that time, as a precaution, forty muskets, in per- 
 fect order, have been ranged in the hall of Tolly- 
 more, with the ancient armour, as if to shew that 
 modern civilization has only improved the weapons 
 of war, but not rendered them unnecessary. Not- 
 withstanding this incident, Lord Roden has lived 
 in fearless and friendly intercourse with his 
 Roman Catholic neighbours, and, instead of being 
 overcome of evil, is overcoming evil with good. 
 May his justice, benevolence, good temper, and 
 Christian zeal, be imitated by many of the pro- 
 prietors of Ireland, and the country will speedily 
 improve.
 
 67 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Journey to Ilostrevor — Independent Chapel near Kilkeel — A 
 Parley at Kilkeel Fair — Arrival at Ilostrevor — Scenery of 
 that Place — Anecdote of a Priest — Whiskey-drinking — 
 Newry — Its Roman Catholic Chapel. 
 
 Leaving Tollymore in the afternoon, we di- 
 rected our course along the sea-side towards 
 Ilostrevor, anticipating much pleasure from the 
 marine and mountain scenery on the way, which 
 we had been led to believe was rude and grand. 
 But before we reached Newcastle, black clouds 
 were gathering on Slieve Donard, and descending 
 its darkened sides. Shortly the whole Mourne 
 range became utterly obscured. Even the sea, 
 upon the very edge of which our road was 
 winding, could scarcely be discerned ; and at 
 length the driving mists increased to a deluge of 
 rain. After a short time this ceased, but the 
 clouds still hid the mountains, so that we could 
 only observe the vegetation, the cabins, and the
 
 68 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 aspect of the people, as we passed a poor, flat, 
 and naked region. The cabins were wretched, 
 and the crops scanty, but the people whom we 
 met looked well-grown and healthy. About two 
 miles from Kilkeel, on the edge of the cliff, in 
 entire solitude, there is a small rude chapel, 
 which I noticed with the greatest interest. A 
 poor congregation of Independents and Presby- 
 terians united, assemble there, under the ministry 
 of Mr. Millagh. This excellent man, educated 
 for the ministry in Scotland, but a native of 
 Ireland, perceiving the religious destitution of 
 this neighbourhood, some years since, took a 
 small farm for his support, and resolved to spend 
 his leisure in instructing the people. Through 
 the week he labours on his small farm with his 
 own hands, for his flock can give him almost 
 nothing ; and on the Sabbath preaches, as I was 
 assured by a gentleman of the neighbourhood 
 who knows him well, with much earnestness and 
 great natural eloquence. For many years he has 
 thus laboured. But the wants of a large family 
 urge him to think of emigration to the United 
 States. Thither some of the best of the peasan-
 
 Ireland in 1836. 69 
 
 try of the neighbourhood, and especially Pro- 
 testants of good character and some little capital, 
 are emigrating; not from the disquietude of in- 
 ternal dissentions, for here Protestants and 
 Roman Catholics live peaceably, but to improve 
 their condition. I much wished to have made his 
 acquaintance, but we had yet far to go, our horses 
 were not fresh, and day was already declining. 
 
 At Kilkeel, while our driver stopped to give 
 his horses some ale, I mingled with a knot of 
 men, who seemed as busy and as earnest as a 
 disturbed ant's nest. They were endeavouring 
 to arbitrate between two disputants, who seemed 
 likely, between them, to pull to pieces a sheep, 
 the price of which they were discussing. The 
 buyer asserted, that since they had agreed upon 
 the price of fourteen shillings, it was his; but the 
 seller, who was half drunk, now demanded more. 
 Which of them was to have it ? This the ag- 
 glomerating crowd was eagerly debating. One 
 said the price was fair; another pronounced it 
 unfair to bargain with a drunken man ; a third 
 denied that the seller was drunk ; a fourth coun- 
 selled that the buyer should give one more pot
 
 70 Ireland ix 1836. 
 
 of beer to settle the matter : a fifth urged, that 
 the pot of beer would fasten the bargain, so as to 
 prevent the seller from afterwards recovering his 
 right; while a sixth asserted that it was no use to 
 arbitrate, since the seller did not seem to know 
 his own mind. By degrees, all were talking and 
 gesticulating together, the two disputants con- 
 tinuing to pull the sheep, the one by his horns, 
 the other by his haunches : 
 
 " While such a frown 
 Each cast at the other, as when two black clouds 
 With heaven's artillery fraught, come rattling on 
 Over the Caspian, then stand front to front 
 Hovering a space, till winds the signal blow 
 To join their dark encounter in mid air : 
 So frowned the mighty combatants." 
 
 What deeds were achieved, or how the war 
 ended, I must leave to some better informed 
 chronicler. Unhappily, this was not the only 
 instance of drunkenness with which we met. It 
 was a fair at the poor little town of Kilkeel, and, 
 consequently, we saw several drunkards stagger- 
 ing towards their homes. Of course at the fair 
 the little farmers are seen in their best trim, and 
 I was glad to observe that they seemed, with
 
 Ireland in 1836. 71 
 
 some exceptions, a healthy and well-grown 
 race. But we cannot judge of the poverty or 
 comfort of the people of a neighbourhood by the 
 aspect of its weekly or monthly fair. There the 
 poorer part of the population, with nothing to 
 buy or sell, do not come: these must be found 
 at their work. In Kilkeel there are from 250 to 
 300 labourers, of whom from one half to two- 
 thirds are destitute of constant employment. 
 Their wages are 10c?. ; their ordinary food pota- 
 toes, and their ordinary clothing bad. A labourer 
 constantly employed would earn about five 
 shillings per week, but constant employment is 
 not to be expected.* 
 
 Darkness came down upon us before we 
 reached the end of our tedious stage. We had 
 seen nothing of beauty on our way, and with 
 feelings of disappointment we drove up, at half- 
 past nine o'clock, to the inn. A heavy rain was 
 rattling on the houses and the street. "Are 
 there any beds ?" " None : the inn is quite full." 
 However, we got out. We had three letters to 
 the place. One family, the waiter assured ns, 
 
 * Sup 347.
 
 72 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 was from home. To the second and third we sent 
 our letters. The second was from home. While 
 waiting the result of our third letter, we dis- 
 patched the waiter to inquire at several of the 
 lodging-houses for a vacant room. A fruitless 
 tour brought back the answer, that " None were to 
 be had." " You mnst drive on to O'Hallaghan's," 
 said the waiter, "How far i" "only two Irish 
 miles." " It is impossible ; our horses have al- 
 ready brought us twenty Irish miles, (more than 
 twenty-five English ;) bring tea." ** Sure, if 
 you have tea, you will be too late for O'Halla- 
 grhan's." The tea did not come. I did not mean 
 to go to O'Hallaghan's, and the waiter meant that 
 we should. Again the sound of the bell brought 
 him in. ** Where is the tea?" "In truth, your 
 honour, the only thing for you is to try O'Hal- 
 laghan's." " But we must wait the return of 
 our messenger ; so bring the tea." At length 
 the tea came, and shortly after our messenger 
 returned ; and though Mr. Evans, the gentleman 
 to whom the letter was addressed, was in Eng- 
 land, his lady, with great kindness, accommodated 
 the two ladies of our party, and I, in spite of
 
 Ireland in 183G. 73 
 
 the warm recommendation of O'Hallaghan's, re- 
 tained possession of our sitting-room and sofa for 
 the night. 
 
 The morning was doubtful. Dense clouds had 
 sunk low upon the mountains ; yet I saw the 
 place must have considerable beauty, from the 
 proximity of Carlingford Bay, and from the steep 
 woods, which rose into the bosom of the cloud. 
 In ascending to the house of Mr. Evans, to break- 
 fast, to which I was early summoned by an 
 obliging invitation, I entered the Roman Catholic 
 chapel, a mean, though capacious building, in bad 
 repair. Two or three benches alone rested on 
 the naked mud floor. On the altar was the cru- 
 cifix, the sacred heart, and two earthenware 
 candlesticks. Near it was a pulpit, and in the 
 corner of the chapel a confessional. The only 
 worshipper there was a poor woman on her knees, 
 with her face to the earth. When I came in she 
 wiped her eyes, as if she had been weeping; and, 
 unwilling to disturb her sorrow, I immediately 
 withdrew. Perhaps I should rather have asked 
 if I could help to remove it. 
 
 From the windows of the hospitable house at 
 
 E
 
 74 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 which we breakfasted the view was lovely. Over 
 the wavy foreground of meadows and scattered 
 trees, sheltered upon each side by wooded hills, 
 we looked upon a mass of foliage which, though 
 tall and deep, was not high enough to hide the 
 gleaming bay and the cloudy mountains which 
 lay beyond. After breakfast a gentleman of the 
 neighbourhood was kind enough to conduct us in 
 his poney chaise to some of the most beautiful 
 views. Meanwhile the sun had conquered. From 
 the Mourne summits the clouds had vanished, or 
 only " turned to sun-bright glories," dappling the 
 mountain's sides. All nature was brilliant. Sky, 
 waters, woods, and buildings, lay in sun-shine, 
 and the opposite coast alone hid its rugged out- 
 line in the clouds. On both shores the mountains 
 descend to the water's edge. Those above Car- 
 lingford are about 1800 feet high, and naked ; 
 those above Rosstrevor 100 feet less, and clothed 
 to the height of about 1000 feet with oak. The 
 village itself is situated at a point where the 
 mountains have retired a little from the bay, as 
 if to make room for its grassy slopes and knolls 
 of luxuriant wood; and a small rich valley here
 
 Ireland in 1886. 75 
 
 separates the higher range of the Mourne from 
 the less lofty hills which extend westward towards 
 Newry. Throughout this delightful region there 
 are enchanting views of the mountains and the 
 bay. From an elevated spot in the steep grounds 
 of Carrickbourn, the house of Mrs. Ross, we 
 looked upon them over the whole smiling valley 
 which lay beneath us. Near the house of Mr. 
 Hamilton, on a rich level at the water's side, we 
 saw them from the midst of a beautiful flower 
 garden, adorned with tasteful rock-work, and 
 guarded by a transparent stream, the nearer 
 water gleaming through the trees, and the grace- 
 ful summits rising loftily above them. The lodge, 
 a place belonging to Mr. Ross, the head of an- 
 other branch of the same family, has quite another 
 character. Surrounded by well-wooded grounds, 
 with endless undulation, extending from the mar- 
 gin of the sea to the base of the mountains, it 
 forms the centre of a lovely panorama of moun- 
 tain, and sea, and wood, and pleasure-ground. 
 Hence, for about two miles, the road to Kilkeel 
 lies through oak woods, which descend to the 
 cliff. At this point is the Woodhouse, a villa 
 
 E 2
 
 76 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 built at the water's edge. In its pleasant shrub- 
 bery, where the salt sea-breeze only seems to fan 
 the vegetation into richer verdure, I observed 
 the arbutus growing to the height of 18 feet, not 
 equal to those near Frescati and the lake of 
 Albano, but little inferior to those of Killarney. 
 A small path led us down to the beach. Here, 
 above our heads, arose what seemed a boundless 
 wood ; at our feet lay the land-locked bay, rip- 
 pling like a pure blue lake ; on its bosom white 
 sails were moving in different directions; and across 
 its bright expanse the steep slopes of the oppo- 
 site mountains were shaded by moving masses of 
 cloud. More westward are the heights above 
 Newry, and at the head of the bay the buildings 
 of Warren's Point, General Ross's pillar, and 
 the tower of Rostrevor church, amidst its sea 
 of foliage, glowed in the sunshine. 
 
 Nature has done every thing to make Ros- 
 trevor the abode of happiness, and no where, 
 scarcely, could one find a more lovely retirement 
 for a month of relaxation, in the midst of the 
 crowded employments of life. When the fifteen 
 hours which the steamer now employs between
 
 Ireland in 1836. 77 
 
 Liverpool and Newry shall be reduced to ten, 
 and when the railroad shall have brought Liver- 
 pool within ten hours of London, two easy days 
 will bring us from the heart of the metropolis to 
 enjoy it. Or, should the stranger wish for still 
 new scenes of beauty, a car will carry him in a 
 short time to the clean and pretty inn at Bryans- 
 ford, whence he may look upon Slieve Donard 
 and the sea, and may wander as he will through 
 the romantic glen of Tollymore. But, alas, in 
 Ireland nature can never be fully enjoyed. There 
 priestcraft is ubiquitous. Not far from these 
 shades, as I was assured by a gentleman of unques- 
 tionable veracity, and who was himself concerned 
 in the affair, a christian lady, not long since, was 
 visiting a poor Roman Catholic family, chiefly to 
 inquire into their wants, when the priest entered, 
 and, as she did not leave the house on his de- 
 siring it, he actually seized her by her clothes, 
 and threw her violently from the door. When 
 he was threatened with legal proceedings he was 
 not disconcerted, but declared that he would 
 appeal to his flock, whether they would permit 
 him to be thus persecuted. By these means he
 
 78 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 would either intimidate those who sought justice, 
 or else secure from subscriptions the amount of 
 the damages awarded. The hazard of tumult 
 deterred the lady from proceeding, and the insult 
 was overlooked. 
 
 Another potent curse, which lies, like a wither- 
 ing spell, as wide spread and as deadly as priest- 
 craft, upon the people of Ireland, is its whiskey. 
 At Rostrevor the clergymen, with Mrs. Ross 
 and some others, endeavoured to establish a 
 Temperance Society. The meeting was crowded- 
 The labourers were delighted with the speeches 
 of professor Edgar ; many names were given ; 
 and there the matter ended. The members were 
 unfaithful to their resolutions, and the puncheon 
 and the spirit seller triumphed. At Warren's 
 Point, as I was assured by a gentleman, out of 
 80 houses about 40 sell spirits. To this town the 
 increasing trade of Newr^^ is giving importance. 
 It stands at the mouth of the Newry river, which 
 is not navigable to large vessels, but which, it is 
 thought, may be easily deepened. 
 
 In the town of Newry, to which we next pro- 
 ceeded, there is an appearance of activity and
 
 Ireland in 183G. 79 
 
 comfort exceedingly pleasant to the eye, which 
 has been pained by the starved look of other 
 Irish towns. We could not, however, stop to 
 deliver our letters, or even to walk over the 
 place ; I can therefore add only that information 
 respecting it which I find in the Tour of Inglis. 
 There is a canal which connects Loch Carlingford 
 with the town, and the town with Loch Neagh, 
 It therefore possesses great advantages as a 
 point of export, the water communication to 
 Loch Neagh throwing open the extensive corn 
 districts which lie to the north and west. Accord- 
 ingly, " the export trade of Newry is, next to 
 Belfast, the largest in the north of Ireland. The 
 tonnage inwards during the last three years ave- 
 raged 600,000; outwards, about 45,000. The 
 annual customhouse revenue is about 130,000/, 
 In all its exports the town is increasing. In the 
 article of butter alone, 80,000 casks are exported 
 yearly; and among the chief articles of import 
 trade I may name flax seed, of which not less 
 than 10,000 tons will have been this year [1834] 
 received at the port of Newry."* Yet, flourish- 
 
 * Inglis, vol. ii. p. 281.
 
 80 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 ing as the town is, there is still wretched poverty 
 among the agricultural labourers of the immediate 
 vicinity. Of 250 not more than 70 are in con- 
 stant employment. Their food is buttermilk and 
 potatoes; their clothing is of the worst descrip- 
 tion, and they very seldom buy any thing new. 
 The average wages are 10c?. Many are assisted 
 by public charity, and many beg.* And, on a 
 large estate near the town, Mr. Inglis says that 
 land is let enormously high, to the highest bidder, 
 and even at the distance of some miles he found 
 land worth about lO*. letting for dOs.f 
 
 The Roman Catholic chapel is a handsome 
 structure, which I viewed without jealousy or 
 reffret. To me it is matter of satisfaction that 
 the Roman Catholics of Ireland should increase 
 in wealth, of which such temples as this, and the 
 still more splendid Roman Catholic cathedral of 
 Tuam, are symptoms. For, besides that I wish 
 them all, people and priests, as my fellow men, 
 the greatest possible temporal happiness, I be- 
 lieve that wealth brings education, and that edu- 
 cation is almost the most powerful of all iustru-> 
 
 * Sup. p. 348. t Ingl'S, vol.ii. p. 281.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 81 
 
 ments for the destruction of priestcraft. If, on 
 the other hand, the funds for these costly build- 
 ings were extorted from the poverty of the \i\- 
 bourer, they are more calculated to disgust him, 
 through the privations which they entail, than 
 to attach him to his erroneous creed by their 
 magnificence. Romanism is more, I think, to 
 be dreaded in rags than in embroidery — in mud- 
 floor chapels than in temples of granite. A per- 
 secuted and sympathizing priesthood has been 
 the object of almost idolatrous veneration ; a 
 wealthy and oppressive one would speedily be 
 envied and abhorred. Besides, believing, as I 
 do, that Popery cannot survive a wide-spread 
 education in a country under a free govern- 
 ment, where the Bible is generally read, and 
 there is much Protestant piety, I look forward 
 to the time when these splendid fanes will 
 either be filled with enlightened worshippers, 
 or be the deserted monuments of a forsaken 
 superstition. And while that superstition lasts, 
 why should they not have the pleasure of kneel- 
 ing on marble as well as upon clay? 
 
 e3
 
 82 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Journey to Castle Bianey, its Lake, its Inn, its National School 
 — Aspect of the Country — Can-ickmacross — King's-court — 
 The Inn — Poverty of the Labourers — Whiskey Drinking — 
 Ribbondmen — Mr. Nolan — Irish Society — Meeting of the 
 Irish Teachers — Persecution of Teachers — Progress of the 
 Society — Irish Scripture — Publications in Irish — Journey 
 to Kells— State of the Barony. 
 
 Leaving Newry, we crossed the southern 
 baronies of the county of Armagh, with Slieve 
 Gwyllan, one of the highest mountains of that 
 part of Ireland, on our left. The road continu- 
 ally ascended foi nearly two miles, beyond which 
 the country was irregular and open. With the 
 exception of bog, mountain, and fallow, all the 
 land was under cultivation. Oats and potatoes 
 were, of course, the general crops; I observed, 
 also, flax, wheat, clover, and even peas. 
 
 In the parish of Killevy, through which we 
 l)assed, about one-third of the labourers only are
 
 Ireland in 183(). 83 
 
 constantly employed. Wages are from lOd. to 
 Is. at different times of the year; and the ordi- 
 nary food is potatoes and milk. The average 
 price of potatoes for the last three years has 
 been 2|f/. per stone; and oatmeal about lOs. per 
 cwt.* Newtown Hamilton, the only town be- 
 tween Newry and Castle Blaney, is a miserable- 
 looking place. Here we watered our horses, and 
 from the door of the public-house at which we 
 stopped, I counted twelve spirit shops almost 
 within a stone's throw. There were ten more in 
 the street by which we left the place. How many 
 there may be on the whole I cannot say, as we 
 had reached the heart of the town before I no- 
 ticed them. Multitudes of unemployed men were 
 standing in the streets, and many in rags. Few 
 houses, except the poorest cabins, were to be seen 
 along the whole road ; and their inmates had all 
 the marks of abject poverty. Butter carts and 
 droves of pigs were on their way to Newry. It 
 is an advantage, doubtless, to the farmer, where 
 an increased rent does not swallow up all his 
 profit, to find a market for his produce ; and to 
 * Sup. 291. 
 
 E 4
 
 84 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 the town to Lave the English trade; but it is 
 also melancholy to reflect, that of thousands of 
 pigs fatted in Irish cabins, not one is ever killed 
 for the use of the Irish labourer; and of all the 
 firkins of Irish butter, few are ever consumed on 
 the farms where they are made. Ireland sees 
 its produce shipped away to strengthen other 
 labourers, and much of the money which that 
 produce brings remitted to absentees. The barony 
 of Fews, though so near to Dundalk and Newry, 
 is still immersed in poverty. The number of 
 labourers is about 1713. Employment has of 
 late years decreased. All the labourers who at- 
 tended the examination before the Commissioners 
 stated that they got about six months employment 
 in the whole year ; wages being 1*. in summer, 
 and lOd. in winter. Michael Farrell said he 
 would take 4s. a week in preference to the pre- 
 sent chance. Felix Lamph said that many weeks 
 the labourers could not get two days work in 
 the week. John Cullen said, " I would lie down 
 content at night, if I knew where I was to get 
 work in the morning. It is a very hard thing 
 for a man to run about seeking work, and per-
 
 Ireland in 1836. 85 
 
 haps not find it." Patrick Campbell, a stout 
 labourer, stated that till the last eight days he 
 had been idle for ten weeks. Mr. Spence said, 
 if he was willing to work he could not want it. 
 Campbell replied, " Tell me. Sir, what work 
 there is for a man after the potatoes are shovelled 
 till harvest ? Do you think I'd be walking 
 about with my seven children if I could get 
 work ?" He was asked how, then, he could live ? 
 *' He got potatoes on trust." John Cullen added, 
 that he had frequently known instances, in time 
 of distress, of labourers being less able to work 
 from insufficiency of food. And yet they marry 
 young; boys of 17 and 18 often come to Captain 
 Atkinson, a magistrate, asking for the loan of 
 a pound to pay the marriage dues.* Notwith- 
 standing all this poverty, we met crowds of per- 
 sons returning from tbe monthly fair at Castle 
 Blaney, the women, indeed, barefooted, and the 
 men in frieze, but none in rags. The young 
 women wore blue cloaks, with the hoods raised 
 over their heads, or neat caps, and gaily-coloured 
 
 • Ap.D. 63—65.
 
 86 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 shawls. But it must be remembered, that these 
 are the farmers. 
 
 Several miles before reachiug the town, we 
 caught a pretty view of Castle Blaney lake gleam- 
 ing in the western sun-beams, and lying, like a 
 silver mirror, among the hills. Upon our reaching 
 the town, which was still full of the country 
 people, we were strongly recommended by the 
 civil and intelligent landlord to visit the hall and 
 the lake, for that •' he could not describe its 
 beauty." It is, in fact, a pretty place. The ash, 
 beech, and Spanish chesnut grow well. The lake 
 is a fine expanse of water, some miles in extent, 
 studded with wooded islands, and the banks are 
 also well wooded. I was glad to hear that Lord 
 Blaney is generally resident, a good landlord, and 
 that the town owes to his father and to him much 
 of its prosperity. Lady Blaney has also a good 
 school for the poor. Our landlord, a thorough 
 Tory, spoke well of the Presbyterians, but said 
 that they were tainted with Whiggery ; for him- 
 self, he was, in that respect, immaculate. A vast 
 change, he added, had taken place of late years 
 in that neighbourhood for the better, evinced bv
 
 Ireland in 183G. 87 
 
 an unprecedented attention to religious truth 
 among all classes of Protestants. It was pleasing 
 to see that an innkeeper could estimate the value 
 of that change. But he appeared a sensible man, 
 of good feelings: and although he dwelt with 
 much conscious dignity on the recollection that 
 he had entertained at his house the Duke of 
 Northumberland, the Marquis of Abercorn, and 
 T know not whom besides, still he was not, on 
 that account, the less attentive and obliging to 
 his humbler guests. 
 
 At Castle Blaney, not without much regret, 
 we turned our backs on Ulster, to hasten by 
 King's-court and Athboy to Ballinasloe. We 
 were not to see the coasts of Derry and of An- 
 trim. We were to leave behind the city of Lon- 
 donderry, with its steep streets, its commanding 
 ramparts, and fine views down Lough Swilly and 
 Lough Foyle. AVe were not to hear the roar of 
 the waves in the chasm over which a frail arch- 
 way conducts to Dunluce Castle. We were not 
 to see the causeway, with its natural mosaic, 
 stretching out into the sea, and its colonnades of 
 clustering basalt ; nor the basaltic cliffs of Pleaskin
 
 88 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 and Fairhead ; nor the prosperity of Belfast ; nor 
 the magnificent expanse of Lougli Neagh, fed by 
 eight rivers through its twenty miles of length and 
 fifteen of breadth ; and how could we fail to la- 
 ment our loss. Sometimes a traveller feels like a 
 hungry Esquimaux, who, when he falls in with 
 good cheer, eats as fast and as much as he can 
 in serious silence, regretting all the while that he 
 cannot eat more and faster. It was with a regret 
 almost as greedy I reflected that we could not 
 travel at the same moment to the north and west, 
 or visit, within the space of a month, the coasts 
 of Ulster and of Kerry, with the counties of Mayo 
 and of Clare. 
 
 Two miles from Castle Blaiiey, on the road to 
 Carrickmacross, we entered a national school by 
 the road side. There were few children, fewer 
 books, and no maps. The master is a churchman, 
 and the children are all Presbyterians. After 
 school hours the Bible is regularly read in the 
 school; and it is under the superintendence of 
 Mr. Harpur, the Presbyterian minister of Castle 
 Blaney. Not a single child in the school was 
 Roman Catholic, the priests in that neighbour-
 
 Ireland in 1836. 89 
 
 hood being hostile to all the national schools 
 established by Mr. Harpur. Why do not the 
 Protestants of Castle Blaney provide the school 
 with requisites, and give such effective counte- 
 nance to the master, that, by superior teaching 
 and discipline, he might, against all the prohibi- 
 tions of the priests, fill his school with the children 
 of Roman Catholics ? 
 
 The surface of the country, to Carrickmacross, 
 was still irregular, the soil apparently good, tillage 
 was carried to the tops of the hills, and there 
 being no trees, and little grass, the whole country 
 was covered with the crops of oats and potatoes. 
 Scarcely any building as large as a small English 
 farm-house was to be seen through the whole 
 drive, excepting here and there one of those small 
 neat churches which Dr. M'Hale courteously 
 terms *' tall and lying bullies;" too "tall" for 
 him, because, while their spires point to heaven, 
 their ministers direct their hearers to God ; and 
 " lying," because they teach the truth in opposi- 
 tion to priestcraft. Nor should they so much 
 excite his jealousy, since larger Roman Catholic 
 hapels are also more frequently seen in their
 
 90 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 solitary pre eminence, sufficiently marking-, if Par- 
 liamentary returns did not do the same, that the 
 bulk of the population is true to the Hierarchy 
 of Rome. We found the market-place of Carrick- 
 macross crowded, for it was market-day, with the 
 farmers, who were buying and selling- potatoes, 
 poultry, pigs, cotton, linen, and cloth. The women 
 were for the most part neatly dressed in cotton 
 gowns, check aprons, and blue cloth cloaks. The 
 men wore frieze coats ; and though the day was 
 fine, numbers had the great coat, with its friendly 
 cape, by which an Irishman ma}* be known 
 through the world, as certainly as the Highlander 
 by his plaid. 
 
 On our approach to King's-court, the road 
 passed through some fine woods, and then wind- 
 ing up a steep hill, brought us to high table land, 
 and to the main street of that town. Tiie inn, 
 besides being most dirty, was also full. Two of 
 the bed-rooms on the first floor are permanently 
 occupied by one of the Priests, and by the Super- 
 intendent of the police ; and the sitting-room below 
 was also, I believe, theirs. The top of the house 
 was devoted to the rabble and to whiskey.
 
 Ireland in 1830. 91 
 
 Hither, that evening, a crowd came to carouse 
 after a funeral ; and one of our party met two 
 young women, drunk, upon the stairs. The town 
 itself is scarcely more attractive than its inn ; 
 unless, indeed, dirt and poverty can be esteemed 
 attractions. On our way from Carrickmacross 
 we had passed a palace which, in the midst of its 
 extensive woods, seemed the abode of wealth and 
 splendour. There, might a stranger say to him- 
 self, the sick poor man finds counsel, medicine, 
 and employment. The owner of this place must 
 surely be the proprietor and the protector of the 
 whole neighbourhood. The proprietor he is ; but 
 unless many of the poor belied him, he is not their 
 protector. I hope they did not speak the truth 
 in this instance, for in Ireland lying is lamentably 
 common ; but if they did speak truth, he never 
 enters their cabins ; he knows nothing of their 
 condition ; he cares nothing for their want ; and 
 even the wages of his poor workmen go long un- 
 paid. I hope their statements were exaggerated, 
 but several concurred in them. Of this at least 
 there can be no doubt, that the contrast between 
 the princely mansion within his park and the
 
 92 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 wretched huts without it is complete. To learn 
 something of their condition, we made a short 
 tour among them in the jauntiag car of the inn. 
 Several were dark, bare, and damp; and though 
 others had a rude bedstead, a few plates, and 
 one or two chairs, still their extreme penury may 
 be imagined by the fact of the very lively grati- 
 tude, the warm benedictions, the profuse eulogy, 
 which they poured upon us, with all the exube- 
 rance of an Irish heart, for a bit of bacon, a six- 
 pence, or even a penny. On our return we were 
 hospitably lodged by the excellent Presbyterian 
 minister, Mr. Winning, to whom I had brought 
 a letter of introduction. 
 
 The next morning we took a walk in the suburbs 
 of the town. In several hovels we found widows 
 in extreme want. Naked mud holes, rather than 
 rooms, with half a rood of ground attached, pay 
 24*. 28*. and even 30*. per annum rent. One 
 man, with an asthma, and several women, told us 
 they lived " by begging in the name of God.' 
 The houses of labourers were scarcely better. In 
 one cabin a youth, almost grown up, said that his 
 father was gone out to seek work, but had been
 
 Ireland in 1836. 93 
 
 long without it ; and that he himself could only 
 get work at harvest for 4c/. a day. In this 
 wretched place, blackened with smoke, dark, 
 damp, and dirty, without even the corner for the 
 pig, the spade resting idly against the wall, and 
 a little heap of very bad turf, with a broken loom, 
 the only property besides, did the father and his 
 five children sleep on one bedstead (if the rude 
 collection of stakes nailed to each other deserve 
 that name), without mattrass, without clothing, 
 nay, even without straw. In another cabin we 
 found a woman spinning, who said she could earn 
 by her wheel about Ijd. in the day, which was 
 confirmed by a lady of King's-court, with whom 
 we were walking; who further said, that she could 
 get a number of women to work for her at that 
 rate. In another we found a man in regular 
 work. He had a rood of conacre at 21. and got 
 lOd. in summer, and 8d. in winter. In the pot 
 upon the fire the wife was boiling the new pota- 
 toes, though it was both wasteful and unwhole- 
 some, as they were not perfectly ripe ; but the 
 old crop was gone; what could they do? In 
 their replies to the Commissioners, two gentlemen
 
 94 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 of the neighbourhood, indeed, stated that nearly 
 all the labourers are employed ; and that a la- 
 bourer can earn above 121. , while his family, if 
 he have three children between the age of 16 
 and 12, can gain about 12/. more. But I think 
 these gentlemen must be mistaken. " As to the 
 proportion of labourers," say the Assistant Com- 
 missioners, " constantly employed, occasionally 
 
 employed, and out of employment, it is 
 
 diflBcult to arrive at the exact truth. The majo- 
 rity of persons, especially among the upper classes, 
 know nothing of it, and often speak at random, 
 or judge of the population at large by the la- 
 bourers (few, of course, in proportion to the total 
 number), whom they employ constantly them- 
 selves." * Thus, while they stated the number of 
 labourers to be from 150 to 200, the Rev. W. 
 Hewson reckons their number to be 600, and of 
 these only 200 to have constant employment. 
 Their ordinary diel, he says, is potatoes only, 
 their clothing miserable, and some occasionally 
 subsist by begging.^- What I saw of their con- 
 dition myself makes me believe that Mr. Hewson's 
 
 * Ap. D. 29. t Sup. 296.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 05 
 
 opinion is the more correct, especially as it was 
 confirmed by the testimony of several of the la- 
 bourers, and several of the Irish readers of the 
 neighbourhood. From the wages of those in 
 regular employment about 40 days are to be 
 deducted for holidays and wet days. But not 
 one in five of them ever get regular employment. 
 Numbers cannot even get two days work in the 
 week. Occasional wages are only 10c?. in sum- 
 mer, and Gd. in winter; and a labourer would be 
 happy to get 6d. a day all the year round. Yet 
 a man in health will eat nearly a stone of potatoes 
 in the day (considering the loss by skins and by 
 bad ones), so that with his wife and three children 
 he requires at least three stone each day, and at 
 ihis time potatoes were Ad. a stone; so that if 
 his family be young, and his wife fully employed 
 at home, his earnings, if in constant labour, would 
 not do more than supply, at this time of year, half 
 the quantity of potatoes required by his family 
 Hence, as many of them asserted, there are mul- 
 titudes of cottiers in the neighbourhood vyho have 
 not enough to cat even of dry potatoes. Things 
 do not seem to be much better in the neighbouring
 
 96 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 parish of Knockbride, where the Rev. B. Bernard 
 Brady, P.P., reports that few are iu constant 
 employment, their diet potatoes, their clothing is 
 rags, and almost nakedness, and some work for 
 diet without wages.* Yet, ragged and starved as 
 the place is, it fattens 40 whiskey sellers npon the 
 lean flesh, and almost on the bones, of the poor 
 wretches who try to make a few hours of oblivious 
 merriment in every week atone for the hunger and 
 despair which sadden all the rest. That merri- 
 ment, however, is no less their misery than the 
 previous gloom, for drunkenness and sorrow are 
 inseparable associates. Armed policemen are 
 therefore obliged to protect them against them- 
 selves, and the magistrate and the gaol must 
 punish the vices which the mass and the confes- 
 sional do nothing to correct. The morning that 
 we were at King's-court a number of prisoners 
 were marched through by the police in hand- 
 cuffs, for fighting at the last fair day. But these 
 drunken frays are comparatively harmless. Not 
 long since the place was full of ribbondmen, who 
 swore each other to acts of violence. At that 
 
 * Sup. 293.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 97 
 
 time party feeling was exasperated to such intense 
 bitterness that a large party of Roman Catholics 
 marched to a neighbouring Protestant village to 
 murder some obnoxious individuals. They were, 
 however, bravely repelled by the steady fire of 
 some resolute young men of the village, who 
 threw themselves in their way, and after burning 
 some of the houses, dispersed. Afraid of the 
 consequences of their outrageous conduct, as the 
 police were assembling in great force, they sent 
 messengers through the whole country, and twenty 
 thousand armed Roman Catholics poured iuto the 
 town. The Protestant families were trembling 
 for the issue ; every house was barred ; and the 
 town seemed in a state of siege. At length, how- 
 ever, the tumult was quelled, and several of the 
 ringleaders were hung, or transported : the rest 
 escaped. Among these was one whose inflam- 
 matory eloquence, in the sincerity of his burning 
 zeal for the Church of Rome, had principally 
 stirred up that enmity against the Protestants, 
 Mr. Nolan, the young coadjutor of the Parish 
 Priest. These circumstances obliged him to leave 
 King's-court, and place himself in a neighbouring
 
 98 Irela>d in 1836. 
 
 village. And, being of insatiable zeal against 
 Protestants, with popular talent, he began to 
 study the Scriptures, that he might become a 
 more accomplished and invulnerable controver- 
 sialist. Happy hour for him ! The goodness of 
 God arrested the madness of his persecution, as 
 it once did that of Paul. He soon read himself 
 out of all the errors of Romanism. His inter- 
 course with Mr. Noble, the clergyman of Athboy, 
 aided the progress of his mind towards truth ; 
 and, in the issue, becoming a minister of the 
 Church of Ireland, he is now a curate of Athboy, 
 and is, as I have reason to believe, a truly pious 
 man. 
 
 Here then was a field when the Irish Society 
 was called to labour, not so much by the virtues 
 of the people as by their moral destitution ; not 
 so much because they were advanced in know- 
 ledge as because they were the victims of super- 
 stition and of ignorance. Nor has it laboured in 
 vain. 
 
 We were not happy enough to find the Societv's 
 agent, Mr. Moriarty, at home; but by the kind- 
 ness of the Rev. Mr. Winning, to whose christian
 
 Ireland in 1836. 99 
 
 zeal the success of the Society's operations in the 
 district is very much owing, above thirty-five Irish 
 teachers were assembled at the Court House, at 
 half past twelve o'clock, Friday, (August 5th.) 
 After he had opened the meeting by prayer, I 
 heard him translate the parable of the Prodigal 
 Son from the Irish Testament into English. They 
 then produced above forty passages, and most of 
 them very conclusive, to prove the right of the 
 laity to read the Scriptures. After this I ques- 
 tioned them respecting the meaning of the pa- 
 rable, and found their answers intelligent, and 
 for the most part just. In my questions I had 
 two ends in view, to ascertain how far they were 
 able to explain the way of salvation to their Irish 
 scholars, and to impress their minds with a sense 
 of the obligation under which their knowledge of 
 the Scriptures laid them to make them known to 
 others. It was not to be expected that all would 
 answer these questions. They had been, within 
 a short period, Roman Catholics ; several were 
 so still ; if some were experienced Christians, to 
 a larger number the doctrines of grace were still 
 a novelty ; if several were men of middle age, 
 
 f2
 
 100 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 others were scarcely grown to manhood ; if some 
 were well dressed, a larger number wore the 
 frieze coat of the poorer class ; and one or two of 
 these Avere tattered. To expect from all these 
 much mental culture, or much religious know- 
 ledge, would have been extravagant ; but several 
 seemed well instructed in the Gospel ; the rest 
 had the advantage of their answers ; all were in 
 some measure familiar with the Scriptures; and 
 all were resolved to read them. Their duty as 
 Irish teachers is, at a very small remuneration, to 
 teach at the least twenty others to read the Irish 
 Scriptures, after working hours, and on holidays. 
 The progress of these scholars is ascertained by 
 inspectors, and as no one is paid as a teacher 
 unless he can produce twenty scholars who can 
 pass the examination of the inspector, here were 
 gathered from the neighbourhood, at a short no- 
 tice, the teachers of about 700 Roman Catholics 
 learning to read the Scriptures in their own lan- 
 guage. Should these teachers be pious and en- 
 lightened men, devoted to Christ, and anxious for 
 the salvation of their scholars, they must have 
 great opportunities of usefulness presented to
 
 Ireland in 1836. 101 
 
 them. But, even on the most unfavourable sup- 
 position, that few have any higher qualification 
 for their office than that they can themselves 
 translate the Irish Scriptures, and can teach 
 others to read and understand them too, their 
 labours must be of inestimable value. Deter- 
 mined, notwithstanding the threats and maledic- 
 tions of the bigots of their church, to read the 
 Scriptures, many of them had already encoun- 
 tered violent opposition. Of 900 teachers who 
 have been employed in the King's-court district, 
 the greater number have been beaten or other- 
 wise persecuted for it. Some have been savagely 
 murdered. With these facts before them, the 
 teachers and their scholars multiply under the 
 anathema of their Priests. A curious fact is said 
 to have occurred some time since in the parish 
 
 of illustrating the tenacity with which they 
 
 will sometimes cling to the Irish Scriptures when 
 they are learning to read. At that time the Irish 
 Testaments were bound in black cloth. Some 
 young men of the parish, being denounced by 
 their Priest for reading " the black book," were 
 induced to promise him that they would read it
 
 102 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 no more. As yet they had learned little of scrip- 
 tural morality, but had imbibed a strong desire 
 to read Irish. Consulting, therefore, how they 
 could evade the Priest's injunction, and yet per- 
 form their promise, they covered all their books 
 with Vermillion paint, and continued to read as 
 before, in the persuasion that their Priest could 
 no longer charge them with reading the black 
 book, since every copy was now become red. 
 
 In some cases persecution has remarkably 
 quickened zeal. In the year 1826 the Priest of 
 
 who, from his love of the Irish language, 
 
 had thoughtlessly encouraged Martin, an Irish 
 reader in his parish, at length discovered that 
 the readers of the Irish Scriptures were fearfully 
 multiplying round him. Martin, bis relation and 
 his tenant, was served with a notice (o quit, and 
 was turned out. Unable to obtain a lodging in 
 the place, which was wholly Roman Catholic, he 
 obtained permission to inhabit a small house built 
 for him in the corner of the church-yard, where 
 he continued to teach till his death. One even- 
 ing, returning from King's-court with a parcel of 
 books, he was waylaid, and murdered; but not
 
 Ireland in 1836. 103 
 
 before he had taught about 100 of his neighbours 
 to read the Scriptures. 
 
 In this manner, sometimes unnoticed, and some- 
 times persecuted, the teachers aud readers have 
 continued to multiply. I have already mentioned, 
 that from the immediate neighbourhood, thirty- 
 five teachers assembled to meet us at a day's 
 notice. When a friend of mine was there in 
 April last, he met 122 masters, many of whom 
 shewed him their scars and bruises ; one had his 
 face smashed, another had a wound in his head, 
 and another a broken jaw.* On another recent 
 occasion there were 200 assembled in the same 
 place.f And the whole number of teachers in 
 the district, which embraces Cavan, Meath, Louth, 
 Monaghan, and Tyrone, is now 336, who give 
 instruction to 7516 pupils, of whom 5930 are 
 adults. J 
 
 But the Irish Society has extended its opera- 
 tions to other districts. It has 18 teachers in 
 Donegal, it has 47 in Leitrim and Sligo, it has 
 
 •^ Third letter of D. in the Record, July 11, 1836. 
 t Dublin Record in Record of July 25, 1836. 
 J Eighteenth Report, p. 5.
 
 104 Ireland in 1836. . 
 
 46 in Gal way. Mayo, and Roscommon, 12 in 
 Clare, 25 in Kerry, 79 in the county of Cork, 
 10 in Kilkenny, 11 in Clonmell, and 47 in other 
 places. The whole number of schools is reported 
 to be, at present, 642 ; and the scholars 20,032, 
 of whom 15,009 are adults.* 
 
 To understand the value of this result, we 
 should remember two things, 1. That for the most 
 part these teachers and readers are acting" in obe- 
 dience to conscience, or in maintenance of what 
 they know to be their right, against the expressed 
 will of their Priests, it being almost the first time, 
 probably, in their lives in which they have as- 
 serted the liberty of conscience and the right of 
 private judgment. This is, therefore, the first 
 step to the emancipation of their minds from a 
 degrading thraldom to the dictation of a fellow 
 creature. 2. Almost the only book to which 
 their power of reading Irish introduces them is 
 the Bible ; upon that, therefore, almost exclu- 
 sively, they will employ this power; and as many 
 of them as continue to take pleasure in reading 
 
 * Eighteenth Report.
 
 Ireland in 183G. 105 
 
 Irish must almost inevitably become familiar with 
 the Scriptures. 
 
 Of the influence which this reading, with the 
 exhortations of the teacher, may occasionally have, 
 I had proof in the case of R. R., an interesting- 
 woman, whose lodging we visited. We found 
 her in a clean, but desolate room ; her children 
 and herself without stockings, and her whole as- 
 pect betokening extreme poverty. Still her tall 
 figure and intelligent countenance had something 
 in them of majesty ; nor had she been always so 
 poor. Not long since she was a vehement Ca- 
 tholic, and obtained a good livelihood by selling 
 scapulars of her own manufacture, for each of 
 which she got from 6d to .lOd. This mode of 
 life she had chosen, not only because it would 
 provide for her wants, but because, as she said, 
 she thought it would secure her salvation. Bigotry 
 and self-interest concurred to make her attribute 
 sanctity to the scapular, and hate the persons 
 and the books which forbade her to trust in (hem. 
 In this state of mind she met with an Irish teacher. 
 Being convinced by him that the Word of God 
 must be the only standard of (ruth, she learned 
 
 F 3
 
 106 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 to read the Irish Scriptures ; and began, most 
 painfully, to doubt whether her previous creed 
 was not mainly false. These doubts she com- 
 municated to her Priest; but, instead of solving 
 them, he sent to enquire whether she were not in 
 need? She replied, that all she needed was to 
 save her soul. By degrees her doubts grew into 
 certainty, that she had been in fatal error while 
 trusting to her own righteousness, when she should 
 have trusted only to the merit and mediation of 
 our Redeemer. As frank in her profession of the 
 truth, as she had been zealous in the defence of 
 error, she left the chapel for the church. This 
 made it necessary for her to quit the village, and 
 at the time we saw her she was without income, 
 home, or employment, for the sake of Christ. 
 The town in which she now resides is not very 
 tar from her former abode, and at the last fair 
 she had been recognized by two of her former 
 neighbours, who damned her soul, declared her 
 a disgrace to her church, and called out in the 
 rrowded street, turn-coat, turn-coat. Happily 
 for her, they were intoxicated, and so she escaped 
 among the crowd unobserved. On her table we
 
 Ireland in 1836. 107 
 
 saw the Irish Testament and the English, which 
 she had been reading to the owners of the house ; 
 and by her conversation, she seemed a sincere 
 Christian, with equal meekness and fortitude. 
 
 Among the teachers whom we met at King's- 
 court was another who was a more remarkable 
 instance still, of divine grace. This man, of gen- 
 teel dress and interesting expression of counte- 
 nance, sitting there among those who, against all 
 opposition, were determined to read and teach 
 the Word of God, had been the subject of almost 
 as great a change as that which brought the de- 
 moniac of Gadara to the feet of Jesus, clothed, 
 and in his right mind. A large scar across his fore- 
 head, left there by a former gash received in some 
 wild aflFray, was the memorial of the lawless life 
 in which he had once delighted. Against those 
 Irish readers among whom he now sat as a bro- 
 ther, he had once led on his band of Ribbondmen. 
 To insult and beat them had then been to him a 
 duty and a joy ; and now, like Paul, he willingly 
 exposed himself to the persecutions he had before 
 - inflicted upon others. These are not solitary in- 
 stances of the good which has resulted from the 
 
 F 4
 
 108 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 Irish reading. Of all the masters employed by 
 the Irish Society in April last only two were 
 originally Protestants, and only sixty are still 
 Catholics ; all the rest have worked their own 
 way, through the help of God, to the knowledge 
 and profession of the truth.* Some of these-have 
 now become religious men. 
 
 In the Thirteenth Report of the London Irish 
 Society there is the following extract of a letter 
 from Mr. Robert Daly, of Powerscourt, " I have 
 just returned from the most gratifying duty of 
 preaching and administering the sacrament of the 
 Lord's Supper in the church of Syddan, in the 
 county of Meath, to twenty-five of our Irish mas- 
 ters ; I trust, men of God, not only converted 
 from the errors of the Roman Catholic Church, 
 but converted to God by a living faith in the 
 Lord Jesus Christ. There were, I understand, 
 about one hundred on that side of the King's- 
 court district who were anxious to receive the 
 Sacrament; but as much persecution awaits those 
 who take such a decided step, it was thought 
 better to begin with only a few tried men, of 
 
 * Letter in the Record of July 11, 1836. Signed D.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 109 
 
 uhom we have no doubt that they will, through 
 grace, be faithful even unto death."* 
 - In addition to these, Mr. Daly has since ad- 
 mitted about fifty more to the Lord's Supper, 
 more than half of whom are heads of families. f 
 
 And although Mr. Winning reports, that many 
 of the masters have been waylaid and abused, 
 whole families have been driven from their houses 
 in the country, and for protection obliged to come 
 into towns, some have had their property injured 
 and destroyed, some have had their houses broken 
 into at midnight, and have been inhumanly abused, 
 so that Mr. W. saw them covered with wounds 
 and bruises, their faces disfigured, their eyes 
 closed, and one with his teeth knocked out ; still 
 do the readers and teachers so multiply, that he 
 says. Give us the permission, and we will appoint 
 five hundred new teachers, the average payment 
 which he makes to each master being only 
 3/. 11«. S(l. per annum. J: 
 
 A new agency, likewise, is now about to be 
 provided by the Society. Seven men have been 
 
 * Thirteenth Report of London Irish S6ciety, p. 11. 
 t Eighteenth Report of the Irish Society, p. 21. 
 I Thirteenth Irish Report, 6, 7. Thirteenth London Irish 
 Report, p. 11.
 
 1 10 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 appointed, under the superintendence of Mr. Mo- 
 riarty, as readers, whose duty it is to examine the 
 Scriptures with the Irish teachers, with their 
 scholars, and with those who, having learned to 
 read, have no further connection with the 
 Irish teachers. This appears to me an invaluable 
 addition to the Society's machinery. In looking- 
 at the progress of Irish reading, we have great 
 reason to rejoice ; but the very success of the 
 Society serves to make us feel regret that these 
 efforts are still so partial, and have come so late. 
 
 At the close of the sixteenth century the New 
 Testament was translated into Irish by Dr. Daniel 
 (afterwards Archbishop of Tuam), and was pub- 
 lished by him in 1603.* In 1608 he published 
 the Book of Common Prayer.-j- About 1638 
 Bedell, Bishop of Kilmore, completed his trans- 
 lation of the Bible into Irish. f But, as he died 
 before he could get it printed, so great was the 
 indifference of the Protestants in general to the 
 design, that about forty years elapsed before it 
 was printed. ;{: Only one edition of the New Tes- 
 
 * Anderson's Historical Sketches of the Native Irish, second 
 edition, p. 53. 
 
 + And. p. 02, 03. J And. 71.
 
 Ireland in 1836. Ill 
 
 tanient had been published,* when the Irish types, 
 which had been employed for that purpose, and 
 which were in the hands of the King's printer, 
 were sold to the Jesuits, and were employed by 
 them at Douay for the dissemination of their doc- 
 trines in Ireland.f At length, in 1681, Robert 
 Boyle printed, at his own cost, a second edition 
 of the New Testament, just seventy-eight years 
 after the publication of the first, during all which 
 time Protestant zeal had slept. J After this, Mr. 
 Boyle contributed 700/. to the first edition of 
 Bedell's Bible, which was printed in 1686. § Then 
 Protestant zeal went to sleep again, since the 
 whole eighteenth century passed away before an- 
 other copy of the Irish Bible was printed. || The 
 Protestant clergy were equally negligent of oral 
 instruction in a lanj^uage which the Iris!) could 
 understand. Bishop Bedell, indeed, instituted 
 in Trinity College an Irish lecture,^ and looked 
 upon a knowledge of the Irish language as so 
 essential to a clergyman in some parts of his 
 diocese that he rejected several candidates for 
 
 * And. 72. t And. 71. X And. 78. 
 
 § And. 80. II And. 99. H And. 140.
 
 112 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 ordination simply for want of it.* Yet all his 
 efforts seem to have led very few clergymen to 
 study the language while he lived, and at his 
 death the subject was forgotten.-f- Dr. Price, 
 indeed, Archbishop of Cashel, who had been or- 
 dained by Bedell, maintained some clergymen to 
 preach to the people in Irish.;}; And in 1703 
 the lower House of Convocation resolved " that 
 preachers in all the dioceses of this kingdom, 
 preaching in the Irish tongue, would be a great 
 means of their conversion." § And, again, in 
 1710, they resolved, "That a competent number 
 of ministers, duly qualified to instruct the natives 
 of this kingdom, and perform the offices of religion 
 to them i?i their oivn language, be provided, and 
 encouraged by a suitable maintenance ;" 1| but 
 from that day to this, during a period of 120 
 years, the church of Ireland has done nothing to 
 accomplish this object. || This was not because 
 the numbers who spoke the Irish were inconsider- 
 able, for, to this day, it is said to be spoken by 
 the majority of the people in Donegal, Louth, 
 
 * And. 141. t And. 143. t And. 150. 
 
 § And. 156. II And. 157.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 113 
 
 Meath, and Westmeatb, and, excepting the great 
 towns and their neighbourhood, in the whole of 
 Munster and Connaught. It prevails in Kilkenny, 
 and is much spoken in Tyrone, Monaghan, and 
 Cavan, and in the mountainous districts of An- 
 trim, Down, Armagh, and Londonderry.* Upon 
 the whole, it is calculated that at least a million 
 and a half are incapable of understanding a con- 
 tinued discourse in English.^ And this estimate 
 was adopted by the Commissioners on Education 
 in 1825, who report, " It has been estimated that 
 the number of Irish who employ the ancient lan- 
 guage of the country exclusively is not less than 
 500,000, and that at least a million more, although 
 they have some understanding of English, and 
 can employ it for the ordinary purposes of traffic, 
 make use of their tongue on all other occasions as 
 the natural vehicle of their thoughts ":{; Mr, An- 
 derson has, however, offered considerable evidence 
 to shew that the language is familiarly employed 
 by above 3,000,000 still. § For all this part of 
 
 * And. 212— 14. f And. 215. 
 
 I First Report of the Commissioners, p. 82. 
 § And. 218— 223.
 
 114 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 the Irish population English instruction has been 
 nearly useless; and yet for more than two cen- 
 turies, since the first publication of the Irish Tes- 
 tament, no other instruction has been given them. 
 This has been the more criminal, because of the 
 passionate attachment which they bear to their 
 native tongue. The use of it will give, says Mr. 
 Anderson, who spoke from his own observation, 
 to every measure for their spiritual improvement, 
 " an irresistible energy." * To this day very few 
 Irish clergy understand it, but those who do, con- 
 cur in their opinion of its influence. Mr. Gregg, 
 of Bethesda Chapel, Dublin, has, on various occa- 
 sions, seen remarkable proofs of this, of which 
 I may adduce two, though, as I have only heard 
 the narratives at second hand, I cannot vouch for 
 the perfect accuracy. 
 
 Two or three years since, it was announced in 
 the town of Galway, that Mr. Gregg would 
 preach in Irish, in the church of that place. Be- 
 fore the service began the church was crowded, 
 and to avoid confusion, the doors were closed. 
 But hundreds of Roman Catholics outside were 
 
 • And. p. 22.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 115 
 
 so anxious to hear an Irish sermon, that they set 
 their shoulders against the doors, broke them in, 
 filled the church to suffocation, and eagerly lis- 
 tened to the end. 
 
 At Athlone, on another occasion, he was ex- 
 pected to preach in the court-house. It was 
 evening, and dusk. Four Priests were observed 
 to stand at the door, and to mark those who en- 
 tered. This kept the people back. But at length, 
 having collected in numbers, at a little distance, 
 they advanced in a body, bore down the Priests, 
 who were carried by the rush of the torrent into 
 the court-house. Here, again, one of them was 
 seen to take out his paper and pencil, to mark 
 down, by the light of the candles, the names of 
 those whom he recognised. This being observed, 
 one of the men called out, " Mr. Gregg, can you 
 preach in the dark as well as in the light?" 
 " I can." Instantly every candle was puffed 
 out, and the poor people could listen to the 
 Gospel without dread of persecution. 
 
 The Priests, on the other hand, have not been 
 slow to mark the advantage which they would 
 draw from the cultivation of Irish.
 
 116 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 1608. One Irish Roman Catholic Catechism was 
 printed at Lou vain, and twice reprinted at 
 Antwerp, 1611 and 1618.* 
 
 1618. A Franciscan Friar published, in Irish, his 
 Mirror of the Sacrament of Penance.* 
 
 1626. At Louvain, Florence Conry published, in 
 Irish, the Mirror of Religion ; and Florence 
 Gray wrote an Irish Grammar. f 
 
 1639. At Louvain, Stapleton, a Priest of Kilkenny, 
 published, in Irish, a Catechism on Christian 
 Doctrine. t 
 
 1645. Gearnon, a Franciscan, published, in Irish, his 
 Paradihe of the Soul.^ 
 
 1667. Mac GioUa Caddy published a work in Irish on 
 the miracles done by the relics of St. Francis 
 Xavier.§ 
 
 1676. A work was published at Rome, in Irish, enti- 
 tled The Lamp of the Faithful.^ 
 
 1742. Andrew Donlevy published, at Paris, another 
 Catechism in Irish, entitled Christian Doc- 
 trine. || 
 
 1750. Another Irish Catechism was published by 
 O'Reilly, Roman Catholic Archbishop of 
 Armagh. If 
 
 * And. 84. t And. 85. J And. 86. 
 
 § And. 87. II And.Ofi. «[ And. 98.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 117 
 
 And at the beginning of this century, Mr. Kee- 
 nan, a scrivener, in Dublin, left " 1,000/." to 
 institute an Irish Professorship at Maynooth.* 
 With these examples of Catholic zeal before 
 them, Protestants in Ireland seem at length to 
 be awaking to the obvious duty of instructing 
 the Irish in a language which they can under- 
 stand. It is in contemplation to establish an 
 Irish Professorship in Trinity College, Dublin,^ 
 and in the Edgeworthstown school, for the sons 
 of the clergy ; there is also to be an Irish 
 teacher.f 
 
 But it is time for me to get away from King's- 
 court and the Irish Society. The drive to Kells 
 furnished no object of interest. We now left the 
 hilly country, and instead of the perpetual variety 
 of surface which we had noticed from Newry to 
 King's-court, with few plains interspersed, we 
 now came upon the flats which extend through 
 Meath and Westmeath into Connaught. But 
 though we had left behind us the poor soil and 
 stone walls of King's-court, we had not left its 
 
 * And. 125. 5c Eighth Report of Education Conimi<sionei-5. 
 t Eighteenth Irish Report 20.
 
 118 Ireland in 1636. 
 
 poverty. The houses by the side of the road 
 were little better ; and Kells has its full pro- 
 portion of mud hovels. Some of these we en- 
 tered, and conversed with their owners. They 
 complained that rents were high, wages low. 
 Numbers of ejected farmers had sought refuge 
 here, and thus raised the rents. Some had gone 
 to England for harvest-work, and came back 
 with a doleful tale of their hardships and ill- 
 success ; and there was no relief, they said, 
 from the rich. " They would not," exclaimed 
 one poor sick man, with impassioned energy, 
 " give us a shilling if we were dying at their 
 doors." Although this was doubtless a culpable 
 exaggeration, yet it must be pardoned in one 
 exasperated by hopeless want. Hunger will ex- 
 cite to the horrible longings of the cannibal a 
 person who was before humane : and how can 
 we wonder that the Irish labourer should feel a 
 bitter envy of the more fortunate class, when 
 he sees his own misery reflected in thousands 
 around him ? The Barony of Kells has all the 
 penury within it which might be imagined from 
 the suburbs of the town. About two-tenths of
 
 Ireland in 1836. 119 
 
 the labourers are constantly employed, one-tenth 
 is wholly without employment, and the remaining 
 seven-tenths may be divided into three classes ; 
 the first is employed for 150 days in the year, 
 the second 115 days, and the third only 70 ; 
 and, while the amount of labour is so small, the 
 average of wages is only lOd. per day. Besides, 
 however, their labour for wages, most of them 
 have about three roods of conacre ground, a 
 pig, and a few chickens; and by all these, with 
 what can be done by his wife and children, 
 which is very little when the children are 
 young, each labourer gains on the whole, about 
 51. 12s. 6d. more. After a careful examination, 
 the Commissioners drew up the following ave- 
 rage of the income aud expenditure of labourers 
 in the barony.
 
 120 
 
 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 ~a o o o 
 
 "+j cc T- o 
 
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 tS £ « c 
 
 So 
 
 
 
 
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 fcJO 
 
 
 
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 rt 
 
 
 
 
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 CS 
 
 
 
 £. w be cS 
 
 
 
 
 
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 C^
 
 Ireland in 163G. 
 
 121 
 
 (V) =0 TH O 
 
 W 
 
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 5^ 
 
 ^ 
 
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 122 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 The Commissioners observe, that a barrel of 
 potatoes per week, without very good manage- 
 ment, is sufficient for the family ; but this is 
 above the average actually used. For washing 
 they use simple rain water; for candles, hemp 
 dipped in rosin. 
 
 When the family is young and large, they must 
 either be assisted by a neighbour, or occasionally 
 go out to beg. This never happens to the country 
 labourers, except as a last and only resource, when 
 they go to beg as far from home as possible. " Not- 
 withstanding the wretchedness of the majority of 
 the working classes, there is a deeply- rooted 
 aversion to let others know their privations, and 
 they generally suffer in secret and silent resig- 
 nation" ....'• The amount (of relief, however) 
 given by farmers, small occupiers, and often by 
 labourers themselves, is incredible." The political 
 and sectarian animosity, the absenteeism, and the 
 other causes which have so unfortunately es- 
 tranged the upper and lower classes from each 
 other, and which too often shut the portals 
 of the rich against the poor, have undoubtedly 
 in the same proportion drawn closer the ties
 
 Ireland in 183G. 123 
 
 between the Roman Catholic clergy, the farmers, 
 the small occupiers, and the labourers."* 
 
 In this barony the labourer is unequal to the 
 English labourer, which the English Commis- 
 sioner ascribes to the insufficiency of their food. 
 "It frequently happens, that, from the insuffi- 
 ciency of his food, the labourer is rendered less 
 capable of working; indeed, it may be said to 
 happen, at seasons when work is scarce, to most 
 labourers who have not constant employment, 
 and especially from the spring or beginning of 
 summer, when their last crop of potatoes is con- 
 sumed, to autumn, when the now crop is fit to con- 
 sume. The small occupiers (of one to three acres,) 
 also frequently suffer much from the same cause ; 
 both ihey and the labourers are often obliged to 
 begin digging the new crop, before it is fit to 
 take up, and they thus suffer from the double 
 deficiency of quality and quantity, as the potatoes 
 are then so small, that the fear of encroaching 
 too much on their next year's means of sub- 
 sistence, makes these two classes put themselves 
 
 * Ap. D. 100, 101. 
 
 g2
 
 124 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 on a very insufficient allowance — sometimes not 
 half their usual consumption."* 
 
 Here, as in other places, the new large and 
 handsome Roman Catliolic chapel is in disagree- 
 able contrast with the neglected-looking church. 
 The inn is clean and comfortable. 
 
 * Ap. D. 30, 31.
 
 125 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Drive to Atliboy — Grazing Farm — Athboy Schools — Cottiers 
 — Ministerial Labours — Mr. Nolan — His Conversion — His 
 Publications — His Preaching — Sunday-school — Journey to 
 Athlone — To Ballinasloe — Straw Hut on Road-side — Hurl- 
 ing — Chimney-sweeper — National School at Ballinasloe — 
 Schools of Lord Clancarty — Cottages on his property — 
 Landlords in Ireland — Middlemen — The People unquiet — 
 The Police — Additional Employment— Rail-roads. 
 
 Between Kells and Athboy the country is flat 
 and rich, with thorn hedges, and some hedge-row 
 trees, which make the country much resemble 
 the flatter parts of England, except that, instead 
 of neat cottages, with two stories, there are the 
 usual mud hovels, and instead of the China rose 
 and the honeysuckle, the well-tended little flower- 
 garden, and the cottage gate, there is nothing 
 but the stench and deformity of the dunghill 
 at their doors. At Athboy we were hospitably 
 entertained by the excellent clergyman, Mr. 
 Noble. After breakfast, he kindly drove us in
 
 126 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 his phaeton to see his brother, who has a large 
 grazing farm in the neighbourhood. It was 
 pleasant to see again something like English 
 farming, hedges better kept, and beautiful cattle 
 lying in the large enclosures. The cattle are sold 
 to jobbers for the English market. Hay was still 
 lying in the fields, and some fields of grass were 
 yet uncut. But the season was said to be 
 unusually late. On our way we visited four of 
 Lord Darnley's schools. The first two are in the 
 town, and are well attended. The master of the 
 boys' school is a Protestant, and the mistress of 
 the girls' school is likewise. The Bible is freely 
 used, and the large majority of the children are 
 Roman Catholics. The second two schools are 
 about two miles from the town, amidst a popu- 
 lation of labourers. These were also well at- 
 tended. The children almost all Catholics, and 
 the Bible freely used. Yet this is a Catholic 
 and Irish-speaking district. If the gentlemen of 
 Ireland would use their property and influence 
 as the late Lord Darnley did, to multiply scrip- 
 tural schools, few Catholic children would be long 
 ignorant of the Bible. Near these schools were
 
 Ireland in 1836. 127 
 
 several cabins, into which we entered, close, hot 
 and dark. One was without a chimney, and the 
 smoke was blinding-. But when a small hole in 
 the roof served for a chimney, there being no 
 draught, the smoke still circulated freely about 
 the cabin, staining and polishing the poles and 
 straw of the roof, so that they seemed to be 
 varnished. These dismal abodes are to be pulled 
 down, as the tenants feared. " And where then," 
 I said, ** will you go ?" " Troth, I do not know 
 where," answered the poor cottier, a sick cripple, 
 whose children were very young. When the 
 fall in the prices of grain increases the quantity 
 of pasture land in Ireland, and consequently 
 diminishes employment, the lot of the cottiers, 
 who have been multiplying as agricultural la- 
 bourers, becomes wretched in the extreme. If 
 they remain they must starve, for there is no 
 employment; if they remove, they find a surplus 
 of labourers every where, and still meet with 
 starvation and death. No class on earth, 
 perhaps, is to be more pitied, except it be the 
 North American Indians, upon whose forest homes 
 the white population, along the whole western
 
 128 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 - frontier of the Canadas and the United States, 
 is annually advancing. As the invading torrent 
 gains upon them, it leaves them only the choice 
 of different deaths. If they still cling to the 
 glades and thickets they have loved from child- 
 hood, the saw and the plough of the white man 
 scare away the wild animals which are their 
 clothing, food, and we^ilth, so that they must 
 sta/ve ; or if they retire into the interior, it is 
 to encounter hostile tribes, already jealous of 
 intrusion, because dreading, like them, to be 
 dispossessed, and they must perish in the con- 
 flict. Next to them in the hopelessness of their 
 misery, are the ejected tenantry of Ireland. Be- 
 fore several of the Athboy cottiers, however, there 
 was a better prospect. Their landlord seemed to 
 be a humane man : they were his labourers as 
 well as tenants, and expected from him better 
 cabins, in the place of those of which they were 
 to be dispossessed. But many of the labourers 
 of this neighbourhood bear upon their thin, vhite, 
 worn faces, as well as in their tattered clothes, 
 the proofs of extreme penury. It was evident 
 they could not have enough, even of dry potatoes.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 129 
 
 The testimony of the Rev. James Rickard, 
 P. P., shews that the destitution must be extreme. 
 He states, that in the Union of Athboy and Rath- 
 more there are 900 labourers, of whom only 250 
 are in constant work, and the wages are only in 
 winter 8(/. and in summer from lOd. to Is. The 
 unusual extent of the mud suburb gives painful 
 confirmation to his testimony. In some respects, 
 however, Athboy has cheering prospects. Mr. 
 Noble has established, and maintains at his own 
 cost, an infant school, which is extremely popular 
 with both parents and children. The school has 
 50 children, many of whom are Romau Catholics. 
 He has also established a tract and book shop, 
 at which many religious tracts are sold ; and he 
 has two or three cottage lectures. In addition to 
 these labours, he superintends a circle of Irish 
 schools, in connexion with the Kings court dis- 
 trict. There are in the neighbourhood near 40 
 Irish teachers, each of whom, to be paid, must 
 bring 20 scholars to the Inspector's examination. 
 One of these teachers I met, with bare feet, 
 cutting a drain upon the edge of a bog. He had 
 
 g3
 
 130 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 23 scholars. Through this machinery many 
 therefore are reading the Scriptures. 
 
 But the most remarkable event which has 
 recently happened in this place, is that Mr. 
 Nolan, once the impetuous impugner of Pro- 
 testantism, is now, through the mercy of God, 
 the zealous Protestant curate of the parish. I 
 have mentioned his name before, but as his con- 
 version seems likely, with the blessing of God, 
 to be useful to many, I will give some further 
 account of him in this place. When he removed 
 from Kings-court, he became the Roman Catholic 
 curate of Castletown Delvin, near Athboy, and 
 was afterwards made Parish Priest of Fore, in 
 the same neighbourhood. Here he was in the 
 receipt of above 400^. per annum. But he could 
 only retain the parish about six months. Doubts 
 upon various doctrines of the Roman Catholic 
 church had crept into his mind, while studying 
 the Douay Scriptures with a view to maintain 
 them.* No discussion with friends could lessen 
 
 * Nolan's Reasons for leaving the Church of Home. Fifth 
 Edition, pp. 51, 11, 12,49.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 131 
 
 them, and they became to him the cause of the 
 deepest anxiety. They destroyed his sleep at 
 night. They made his pillow wet with tears of 
 anguish : nor could he get rest, till, against the 
 solicitations of his friends, he made his decision 
 to renounce the Church of Rome. This he did 
 in writing, which he signed and sealed in the 
 presence of Mr. Fitzgerald, Rector of Castle- 
 town Delvin, with the intention of delivering it 
 to Dr. Cantwell, his Bishop. Shortly after this, 
 some papers containing statements of his religious 
 doubts fell into the Bishop's hands, who immedi- 
 ately visited him at Fore, and there received an 
 avowal of his sentiments, with the declaration 
 that he was no longer under his jurisdiction.* 
 
 The sacrifices which Mr. Nolan made by this 
 course are best described in his own words. He 
 had to conquer " an almost invincible prejudice, 
 a prejudice that grew up with his youthful days, 
 that accompanied his more mature years, and had 
 nearly interwoven itself around the future des- 
 tinies of his soul." And why had he done this ? 
 
 * Nolan's Reasons for leaving the Church of Rome. Fifth 
 Edition, pp. 31, 11, 12, 49. 
 
 g4
 
 132 • Ireland in 1836. 
 
 " Why exchange the scenes of worldly ease, of 
 worldly comfort, and worldly independence, for 
 the struggles of a more arduous duty I Are you 
 not aware that if I were to bend the knee of 
 hypocrisy beneath the mitred head of Roman 
 episcopal jurisdiction . . . there is not one whose 
 prospects would be more realized, or whose in- 
 dependence more secure I Why have I retired 
 from the pampered sanctuary of your wealthy 
 church, to look for shelter beneath the perse- 
 cution of an insulted religion ? . . . . The friends 
 of my past life, the companions of other days, 
 and the acquaintances of my more mature years, 
 have abandoned me. The very relations who 
 watched over my infant years, who led me by 
 the hand from the cradle of youth into the 
 maturity of life, have also forsaken me. But 
 .... God, I trust, will be my protector."* 
 
 Violeiit Catholics will of course endeavour to 
 blacken his name. I heard at Drogheda, that if 
 he had not quitted the Church, he would very 
 soon have been degraded : but the allegation is 
 utterly false. Xothing, Mr. Noble assured me, 
 * Nolan's Reasons, 11, 8, 9.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 133 
 
 could be alleged against him. He had joined, 
 it is true, in those field-sports to which many 
 Roman Catholic priests are said to addict them- 
 selves, and in which some clergymen, alas, of 
 our own church, are not ashamed to consume 
 their property and time. But what Roman 
 Catholic bishop degrades a priest for this i Why 
 then is not Father Maguire degraded ? The 
 sporting, the jovial, the idolized " Father Tom?" 
 No : Mr. Nolan would not have had one atom 
 of dirt thrown at him, but for his honest renun- 
 ciation of discovered error. And there are some 
 that can appreciate his motives. As he has 
 walked down the street of Athboy, he has heard 
 the labourers say, " God bless you. Sir." Three 
 sermons only was he able to preach there, when 
 his labours were suspended by the rupture of a 
 blood vessel; but those sermons alone have led 
 several families in that town to leave the Church 
 of Rome. Since his illness he has not been idle. 
 In Dublin he published his " Reasons for leaving 
 the Church of Rome," which speedily went 
 through five editions. And this was followed by 
 " A Second Pamphlet," which had also, in August
 
 134 Ireland in 183G. 
 
 last, reached the fifth edition. It is probably 
 this success which has induced some priests to 
 prohibit the people, under pain of mortal sin, 
 from reading- his pamphlet, and which led one, 
 in the neighbourhood of Athboy, to declare that 
 " it was ten times worse than the Bihle.^'* His 
 example has been followed by Mr. Burke, another 
 Roman Catholic priest, who, in a letter which 
 he has published to the Roman Catholics of Ire- 
 land, thus speaks of his feelings on the eve of 
 this important change : *' Upon taking up my 
 pen, which was to be used for the first time and 
 in the first act which would for ever separate 
 me from the Church of Rome, I felt all the 
 pangs a man can feel who was about to break 
 a chain which bound him by many and even 
 endearing ties to the circle he was about to quit. 
 Finding ray strength failing, I fell on my knees, 
 and in prayer besought of the Almighty to give 
 me sufficient strength to do what I then medi- 
 tated, if it seemed meet to his holy will, and if 
 it were for the benefit of my immortal soul."t 
 
 * Nolan's Reasons, p. 52. 
 
 t Letter of Mr. Burke, pp. 1,2.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 135 
 
 Both these gentlemen declare, that nothing' but 
 fear of the consequences prevents many priests 
 from acting as they have done. Mr. Burke says, 
 " I boldly tell you, that many, very many, priests 
 feel as I do, but they have not the moral courage 
 to throw off the cloud of darkness and of error 
 in which they are groping their dismal way to 
 the shadow of death."* Mr. Nolan says, *• I 
 know, my friends, that among your community 
 there are Roman Catholic clergymen who possess 
 the same conviction of soul that I do as to the 
 errors of your religion, but the worldly conside- 
 rations of present ease, and anticipated troubles, 
 prevent the due exercise of conscience. "f There 
 can be no doubt that those who do follow their 
 convictions in leaving the Chui'ch of Rome, 
 expose themselves to much enmity, as Mr. Nolan 
 has himself experienced. Lately, he has been 
 preaching in various places, exciting great interest 
 in the minds of some, and great enmity in others. 
 The Record of Sept. 21 and Sept. 2G, contain 
 the two following notices of him : — 
 
 " The Rev. Mr. Nolan preached in the church 
 * Letter, p. 3, f Nolan's Retisons, p. 13.
 
 136 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 of Castlebar on Sunday last. He took his text 
 from Galatians i. 13, ' For ye have heard of my 
 conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, 
 how that, beyond measure, I persecuted the 
 church of God, and wasted it.' Before the hour 
 of church service, and during first mass, the 
 priest warned his people, at the peril of their 
 salvation, not to go within hearing of Mr. Nolan, 
 to whom his Reverence applied some opprobrious 
 epithets. He told them how he had advised the 
 people to act towards such another fellow, who 
 arrived in a parish where he was stationed before 
 he came to Castlebar ; and that advice was, to 
 have boiling water prepared, and to scald the 
 turn-coat, if he attempted to go near their 
 houses. This advice he also gave the people of 
 Castlebar, for the fellow was little better than 
 the devil ; and any person who would go to hear 
 him would be just as bad. This charitable ex- 
 hortation was delivered in the vernacular, at first 
 mass, and was renewed in English, for the benefit 
 of the more fastidious, who attended second mass. 
 For the purpose of neutralising the effects of 
 Mr. Nolan's preaching, the chapel bell was kept
 
 Ireland in 1836. 137 
 
 ringing- almost the entire day. Notwithstanding 
 the warnings given to his flock by his Reverence, 
 and his denunciation of all who should listen to 
 Mr. Nolan, there were upwards of fifty Roman 
 Catholics in the church, who paid the greatest 
 attention to the impressive address of the 
 preacher." 
 
 "This exemplary servant of his Divine Master 
 delivered a most impressive discourse in the 
 spacious church of the town of Ballinasloe, on 
 Sunday night last, to one of the most crowded 
 audiences ever remembered on any occasion here. 
 As the Rev. gentleman ascended the pulpit all was 
 breathless silence. The pews, galleries, and every 
 aisle of the church were one dense mass of people, 
 all anxious to hear the words of eternal life. He 
 took his text from Gal. i. 22, ' That he which 
 persecuted us in times past now preacheth that 
 faith which once he destroyed.' Description must 
 fall short of conveying any idea of the intense 
 anxiety and interest pictured on every counte- 
 nance during the felicitous delivery of his address 
 on the errors of the church of Rome. The 
 greatest possible decorum was observed. The
 
 138 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 number of Roman Catholics present could not be 
 less than from eight to ten hundred individuals, 
 and all separated in the most peaceful and orderly 
 manner to their respective homes." At Tuam his 
 sermon was disturbed. 
 
 Before morning service, we visited the Sunday 
 schools in the town, in which I noticed, as at 
 Tollymore, that the upper class in each school 
 contained young persons much older than usually 
 attend our schools in England. The school 
 seemed in good order, and there were, I think, 
 eight gratuitous teachers. Tn going to the school 
 we had to pass through a crowd in the street, 
 almost as great as in a fair, and T was pleased 
 to see that their frieze coats were generally neat, 
 and they were quiet and orderly. The congre- 
 gation at church was small, and the singing con- 
 fined to two or three voices. 
 
 We left Athboy early, and breakfasting at 
 Kinnegad, came into the great road between 
 Dublin and Ballinasloe, which latter place we 
 reached the same evening. For some distance 
 the country was a rich flat, with hedge-row wood, 
 and almost all in cultivation. There was little
 
 Ireland in 1836. 139 
 
 apparent improvement in the condition of the 
 poor. The mud cabins were in bad condition ; 
 the windows of many were small holes, without 
 glass ; some were without chimneys. The women 
 and children were generally ill clothed, and the 
 men looked worn and thin. Every where we 
 saw the great coat, the long spade, the outside 
 car, the dray, the light horse, oats, potatoes, and 
 bog. Towards Athlone the country becomes 
 more open and less fertile ; the Slieve Bloom 
 mountains to the south and westward, some 
 distant peaks of Clare and Galway, alone re- 
 lieving the monotony of the interminable level. 
 Athlone is said by Inglis to be rapidly improving. 
 Eighty tons, chiefly of corn, are on an average 
 sent down the Shannon weekly, by the Navi- 
 gation Company, and eggs have been sold, on 
 one market day, to the value of 300/. 
 
 Here we first saw the Shannon rolling through 
 the arches of the old bridge, as transparent as 
 the Rhone at Geneva, but not so blue. The 
 peat-mosses through which its waters have 
 drained, give them a bright amber colour. Above 
 the bridge it is said to be 300 yards wide.
 
 140 Ireland ik 1836. 
 
 and to range from 20 to 35 feet in depth.* 
 Thence we crossed a stony and sterile tract to 
 Ballinasloe. 
 
 At the entrance of the town, by the road-side, 
 a temporary hut had been constructed over the 
 ditch, by means of two upright stakes, with one 
 transverse; a rude wattling and roof of straw 
 connected these together, and formed the hut, 
 which had no other door or window than an 
 aperture in front. Here we found a youth of 
 eighteen, stretched upon the straw in the dry 
 ditch, in a high fever, and apparently near death. 
 " He was as fine a boy, a month ago," said his 
 weeping mother, " as could be seen, and can 
 speak three languages." While thus dilating on 
 his excellence with maternal eloquence, she sud- 
 denly exclaimed, with impassioned violence, " Oh 
 murder, what a screaming they make, which 
 kills him ! Would your honour but spake a word 
 to them, may be they would stop." Indeed, the 
 poor woman had reason to complain. The noise 
 of which she spoke was sufficiently disturbing. 
 About twenty boys and men were playing on 
 * Inglis, Vol. i. p. 337.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 141 
 
 the road at hurling, (or hockey,) and as the ball 
 passed (he wretched tenement, the clatter of 
 their sticks, and the roar of their conflicting' 
 voices, were enough to harass stronger nerves 
 than his. I spoke to them, and they moved 
 away. " But do they often come thus ?" " Och, 
 then, they come every evening, and when I spake 
 to them, they say, * Take him to hell wid you,' 
 and play all the more. What will I do ! what 
 will I do !" She lived in the county of Ros- 
 common, but the sudden illness of her son, who 
 fell ill when returning home from Galway, had 
 forced her to come hither with her three half- 
 naked little children. And here this poor widow 
 was, with her four children, destitute and friend- 
 less : and this was on the high road, and close 
 to the town. We could only give her a few 
 shillings, and commend her to the mercy of God. 
 
 A little nearer the town, the same evening, 
 we met one of the most miserable objects I ever 
 beheld. It was a chimney-sweeping boy, about 
 ten years old, whose only clothing was a torn, 
 short, sooty shirt, leaving his breast and legs 
 quite bare. He was a perfect skeleton. His
 
 142 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 father beings dead, his mother, who lives in an- 
 other county, sold him for 1/. 5s. to the savage, 
 who was not ashamed to let him appear in that 
 condition before his fellow townsmen. That such 
 a brute should be found in Galway is not re- 
 markable ; England might furnish such ; but that 
 strch a dying youth, and such a starved child, 
 should die unheeded, before the eyes of a whole 
 town, is strange. 
 
 Perhaps, however, a residence in Ireland would 
 make one familiar with such things. Close to 
 the town of Tipperary I once saw a sick woman, 
 laid by the road-side, in equal destitution, under 
 a blanket stretched over two poles, fixed in the 
 ditch. And a few years since, when walking on 
 the shore of Clare, amidst the heaps of sea-weed 
 there collected to make kelp, I found that one 
 heap larger than the rest was hollowed out, and 
 tenanted by a poor sick young woman, who had 
 been servant at the village inn ; the only fur- 
 niture in this damp mass, which the turf fire 
 within made to smoke in every part like a dung- 
 hill, was the blanket on which she lay. There 
 she seemed left to die, forsaken by all the world.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 143 
 
 But she had been found out by her mother, who 
 took a long journey to share with her that mi- 
 serable lodging, and who was now there to save 
 her life. I heard afterwards that she recovered. 
 
 The inn at Ballinasloe is clean and good, 
 and stands on the bank of the Suck, an impor- 
 tant tributary to the Shannon, and whose waters 
 have the same amber transparency. Although 
 the town has not the poverty-stricken air, which 
 is so common in Irish towns, yet it has back 
 streets which are filthy and wretched. In one 
 of these we found the national school, held in 
 a long, narrow, dark, and dirty room, with a mud 
 floor. No school could be easily in a worse con- 
 dition. The supply of books was inadequate; 
 there was no Bible, and the Scripture Extracts 
 were not in use. There seemed to be no proper 
 classification of the children, and I could not 
 learn that there was any regular or effective 
 superintendence. Yet here were 120 children 
 closely packed, and some of them great boys. 
 All were, I think, barefooted, and nearly all in 
 tatters. Separated from this, only by the green 
 upon which the fair is held, are two schools, main-
 
 144 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 tained by Lord Clancarty. The contrast between 
 these and the national school is remarkable. 
 There was a dark mud-floored chamber, here 
 a handsome building of lime-stone ; there a dark 
 and close room, in a filthy alley, here light and 
 airy halls, looking on a clean open space ; there 
 rags and tatters, here the children in general 
 well dressed; there unmolested dirt, here scru- 
 pulous neatness; there scarcely any books, here 
 an abundant supply; there no classification, here 
 the classes in perfect order ; there a master him- 
 self ill taught, and having to struggle with diffi- 
 culties which might oppress the most expert, 
 here four school-mistresses, excellently trained 
 at Lady Hurburton's school, in Dublin. Yet 
 in that one school there were 120 children ; in 
 these two together there were but 110, and 70 
 of these were in the school for infants. These 
 two schools are at the gate of Lord Clancarty's 
 park. Besides these, about a mile from the 
 town, and just outside the park, we entered an- 
 other school of Lord Clancarty's, with 110 chil- 
 dren, who, although they were of the poorest 
 class, were clean and neat. Here we found Arch-
 
 Ireland in 1836. 145 
 
 deacon Trench, Lord Clancarty's brother, cate- 
 chising the children. From thence we accom- 
 panied the Archdeacon to a cottage, which we 
 found filled with Roman Catholics, assembled to 
 hear him lecture. He has several other cottagre 
 lectures, and attends several other schools in the 
 neighbourhood on his brother's property, I was 
 exceedingly glad to see that the neat white- 
 washed cottages on that part of the property which 
 was not under middle men, confirmed the state- 
 ment of Inglis, that he is a considerate and li- 
 beral landlord. His extensive park, his excellent 
 house, his good pictures, and his large establish- 
 ment, do not give him half the honour which he 
 derives from being a good landlord. Unhappily 
 such seem, by frequent testimony, to be scarce in 
 Ireland. The Commissioners Avho inquired into 
 the state of the poor reported, that frequently 
 they know nothing of the state of the poor around 
 them. Mr. Barrow states, " a very general com- 
 plaint is prevalent in Ireland, whether true 
 or false it is not for me to say, that neither the 
 wealthy landlords, the gentry, nor the great 
 farmers, are willing to contribute any thing for 
 
 H
 
 146 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 the support of the poor."* " In some few places 
 a scanty fund is raised for the sick, the gentry and 
 landlords seldom subscribing." "These poorest 
 of all creatures, [the aged, the sick, and the 
 infirm,] find their only shelter from the weather 
 in the most wretched of hovels, made of sods, 
 stuck generally by the side of the public roads, 
 thatched over with heath, shrubby branches, 
 rushes, or any thing that they can get, but which 
 are so wretchedly constructed as to be in every 
 corner pervious to the rain. . . . How these un- 
 happy creatures contrive to exist, or even to drag- 
 through the winter season a miserable existence, 
 is quite inexplicable ; the fact is, they die un- 
 noticed, disregarded, unregretted, and no inquiry 
 made about them."f Mr. Inglis made it his busi- 
 ness particularly to inquire into this point, and 
 besides mentioning some hard landlords by name, 
 he formed a very unfavourable opinion of others. 
 " I have generally found," he says, " the land- 
 owners extremely ignorant of the real condition 
 of the poor." I had an opportunity of con- 
 
 * Bar. 187. t Bar. 194.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 147 
 
 versing with many land-owners here and in the 
 neighbourhood, and I regretted to find among 
 them so little sympathy with the condition of the 
 poor; I also found amongst them generally the 
 greatest terror of any legislative provision for 
 the poor. One great cause of this (the o))pression 
 of landlords throughout the west of Ireland,) 
 is the improvidence of the upper classes. So 
 many of them are distressed men, that their own 
 necessities force them to be hard on tenants, and 
 prompt them to grasp at the highest rent offered ; 
 .... and the services of the labourer are paid 
 at the rate of sixpence, and even fivepence, 
 which, during a part of the time I was in Ireland, 
 scarcely suiEced to purchase a stone of potatoes." 
 " \\^herever an increased profit is possible, rent 
 is increased in proportion ; and if we find in any 
 district advantages which would seem to bear 
 peculiarly on the favourable condition of the 
 farmer, such as good roads, navigable communi- 
 cation, or abundance of cheap manure, we do not 
 find the farmer in a better condition ; we only 
 find that higher rents are paid to the landlord."* 
 * Inglis, i. 341 ; ii. 25, 121. 
 
 h2
 
 148 Ireland in 183G. 
 
 Various circumstances fatally concur to depress 
 the labourer in Ireland. The immense excess 
 of labourers, beyond the demand for their labour, 
 is the fundamental evil. This puts them abso- 
 lutely into the hands of the land-owner, who 
 may at his pleasure raise the rent and depress 
 the wages, till nothing is left to the farmer and 
 the labourer but the smallest quantity of potatoes 
 that will sustain life, and the scantiest collection 
 of tatters which may half cover their nakedness. 
 In such circumstances, if a landlord of Ireland 
 does not oppress, he must have more virtue than 
 is generally found amongst men. But if he be 
 ambitious of splendour, or fond of expensive 
 habits, (and the Irish are not famed for economy,) 
 the temptations to impose large rents, and give 
 low wages, must grow stronger still. Should be 
 become embarrassed by his own extravagance, or 
 through his father's, as many of the land-owners 
 are said to be, it must become almost irresistible. 
 If, further, he should at any time be disgusted 
 by the political opposition of his tenantry, resent- 
 ment combines with his pecuniary need to render 
 him an oppressor. And lastly, if he be a middle-
 
 ICELAND IN 1836. 149 
 
 man, and must himself pay to the head land- 
 lord a heavy rent, it is almost impossible but 
 that he should try to keep his own head above 
 water, by grinding the under tenantry to the 
 utmost. 
 
 In the restless and excitable state in which the 
 people are kept by high rents, severe privations, 
 inadequate employment, and abundance of idle 
 time, it is obvious that an effective police is ab- 
 solutely indispensable. The policemen are the 
 guardians of life and property. Their green coats, 
 moving among the rows of mud cabins in the scat- 
 tered towns, are the only guarantees which the 
 traveller can find of order and of peace ; and it were 
 a wasteful economy, while things remain as they 
 are, to reduce (heir numbers. A few thousands 
 would be saved, but property beyond limit would 
 probably be plundered or destroyed, persons without 
 number would be assaulted, trade would assuredly 
 suffer, and the pacification of Ireland be inde- 
 finitely retarded. The whole force is said to be 
 at present about 7000. They are a fine-looking 
 set of men, English, Scotch, and Irish. A single 
 act of intoxication, as I was told, displaces from
 
 150 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 the service. And to judge from all that I heard or 
 saw of them, they are exceedingly well behaved. 
 
 But no police can feed the destitute, or 
 prevent a suffering and idle population from 
 being turbulent. It is in every body's mouth 
 that one great desideratum for Ireland is addi- 
 tional employment. Without this how can wages 
 rise, or rents be lowered, or the people be ren- 
 dered quiet, or gradual improvements be effected ? 
 One of the most obvious modes of accomplishing 
 this object is the construction of rail-roads. We 
 were now on the line of one which has been 
 projected between Dublin and Galway ; and at 
 Lord Clancarty's table the conversation naturally 
 turned upon the subject. The rail-road between 
 Dublin and Kingstone pays well. Subscriptions 
 have been made for the survey of a line 
 from Dublin to Newry, and from thence to 
 Belfast. Let us suppose this to be constructed. 
 Then imagine other great railways, conducted 
 from Dublin as a centre, to Sligo, Galway, 
 and Valentia. All the towns bordering on 
 these great lines would construct their branches, 
 and so connect themselves with the capital
 
 Ireland in 1836. 151 
 
 and with each other. Thus, friends separated 
 by the whole length of the island would become 
 neighbours ; remote districts would suddenly 
 approach the metropolis ; secluded spots, no 
 longer desolate and unapproachable would attract 
 to them men of wealth ; and in the wilds of 
 Connaught and of Munster, parks and shrubberies 
 would spring up, where all the loveliness of na- 
 ture might be combined with all the advantages 
 of society. By these great trunks, and their 
 branches, fish, fresh and cheap, might be sup- 
 plied from all the coasts of the island to all the 
 interior, forming important fisheries on the one 
 hand, and furnishing the poor with cheap and 
 nutritious food on the other. The farmers, on 
 their part, would find new markets for their grain 
 and cattle, and the manufacturer a cheaper and 
 more rapid carriage for his goods. 
 
 When English and Irish rail-roads are con- 
 nected together, new and important results must 
 arise. Two experienced railway engineers have, 
 we are told, explored the passes of the mountains 
 in North Wales, with a view to ascertain the 
 course of a railway to the coast. The railway
 
 152 Ireland in 183G. 
 
 distance between London and Port Dynallen will 
 only be 260 miles, and will be traversed within ten 
 iiours.* The time, therefore, between London and 
 Dublin will be only about eighteen hours. When 
 the railways now formed and forming are com- 
 pleted, the time between Manchester and Dublin 
 will be about ten hours, between Sheffield and 
 Dublin twelve, between Newcastleon-Tyne and 
 Dublin sixteen.-f- How close will th^se roads 
 and others briiig every part of England to every 
 part of Ireland. Irish member* of Parliament may 
 easily visit their families, and communicate with 
 their constituents during tbe session. Tourists 
 may be expected in numbers to bring civilization 
 and wealth to Rostrevor and the coast of Derry, 
 to Lough Erne and Connemara, to Castleconnel^ 
 the Shannon, and Ki Harney. Thousands of tlie 
 inhabitants of each island may be expected to 
 visit the other, communicating and receiving in- 
 formation, interchanging acts of kindness, and 
 approximating to each other in habits, opinions, 
 and principles. 
 
 * Dublin Review, No. I. p. 211. 
 t lb. 243.
 
 Ireland in 183G. 153 
 
 But the most important railway in Ireland, 
 by far, will be that to the south-western coast. 
 The others will connect Ireland with England ; 
 this will connect it with the whole world. 
 The immense and growing- trade between Eng- 
 land and the United States, with emigration, 
 had made the number of passengers between 
 Liverpool and New York, (outward and home- 
 ward,) average 10,000 annually, and the latter 
 about 50,000 monthly, ten years ago.* These 
 must still increase, and would, for the most part, 
 pour along the rail-road to Valentia, were that 
 the general packet station. It is the nearest 
 point of land in Europe to America. The in- 
 tervening distance is less than 2,400 miles, and 
 the navigation in a straight line, unobstructed 
 as it is by any islands, rocks, or shoals, would not 
 require more than twelve days.f Dr. Lardner 
 has calculated, that at present a steam vessel 
 could not make a single trip of more than 2,000 
 miles with safety ; others contend that he ha 
 argued from observations made chiefly on old 
 
 * Dublin Review, No. I. p. 244. 
 
 t England, Ireland, and America, 3d edition, 88 and 92. 
 
 n3
 
 154 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 and slow vessels, and that with the present con- 
 struction of vessels, they may, without hazard, 
 accomplish the whole voyage in one trip. Which- 
 ever of these opinions prove the most correct, 
 Valentia would naturally be chosen by all pas- 
 sengers from Great Britain, because it is a point 
 so much further to the westward ; and if one 
 trip only be made, it will be so much more re- 
 moved from all hazard. But it is further evi- 
 dent that it would secure the preference of 
 passengers to America from all parts of Europe. 
 The commerce of America chiefly centres in the 
 ports of Hamburgh, Havre, London, and Liver- 
 pool, all difficult of access, and at some distance 
 from the sea."^ And could a rail-road commu- 
 nication be opened between the English coasts 
 and Valentia, the most western part of Europe, 
 the passengers to the United States would ob- 
 viously save much time by embarking at that 
 port. A rail-road is already begun between 
 London and Southampton. The French have 
 long been engaged in making surveys for a 
 railway from Havre to Paris, by way of Rouen, 
 * lb. 88.
 
 Ireland in 183G. 155 
 
 the French Manchester ; and when these rail- 
 roads, and that through North Wales is accom- 
 plished, the time from Paris to Valentia, through 
 Havre, Southampton, London, Dynllaen, (or 
 Liverpool,) and Dublin, will be about sixty 
 hours ; the time from Valentia to New York 
 will be abont twelve days •* and so passengers 
 may pass from Paris, or from Hamburgh to New 
 York in less time than is now not unfrequeutly 
 consumed by a Falmouth sailing packet in clear- 
 ing the Channel.f Further, since the first object 
 of vessels, bound either to America, to the south 
 of Europe, or to India, is to get far enough 
 out of the Channel, to be able to adopt either 
 tack without fear of the land, and their next 
 object is to fetch to the westward of Cape Fi- 
 nisterre, both which objects are secured by a 
 vessel sailing from Valentia, the most western 
 part of Europe ; that port, therefore, possesses 
 decided advantages for vessels to the south and 
 east no less than to the west.]: Thus Ireland 
 hitherto left out of commercial calculations, un- 
 
 * lb. 92. t Dub. Rev. 244. 
 
 I lb. 246. 
 
 h4
 
 156 Ireland ix 1836. 
 
 heeded by outward or homeward vessels, upon 
 which commerce turned its back, will now be 
 the high road between the old world and the new, 
 the thoroughfare of nations, the place of meet- 
 ing for the civilized world. 
 
 I know not whether such a rail-road would pay 
 for its construction and its maintenance ; but what- 
 ever sums of public money should be expended 
 in its construction, and in any necessary aid to- 
 wards other great arterial railways, would be 
 abundantly repaid by their effects. With the 
 branches which would successively be carried 
 to all the great towns, they would furnish 
 employment to many for some years to come, 
 and would give a permanent aid to the industry 
 of the whole country. By making multitudes 
 in both islands acquainted with each other, they 
 would do much to consolidate the union between 
 both, and what is still more important, they 
 Avould render each commercially important to the 
 other. So that thus bound together by common 
 interests and views, their union would be natural, 
 and not merely legislative ; spontaneous, and not 
 compulsory. Ireland would no longer curse the
 
 Ireland in 1836. 167 
 
 superior power of England, nor England ever 
 wish Ireland, for her turbulence, at the bottom 
 of the sea ; but both would have cause to rejoice 
 in an union which should multiply the resources, 
 and augment the happiness of both.
 
 158 
 
 CHAPTER Vir. 
 
 Some Account of Achill Mission — Opposition to it — Visit of 
 Dr. M'llale— His Calliedml— His Splendour— Ilis Pro- 
 ceedings at Achill — Present State of the Mission — Account 
 of the Irish Islands. 
 
 At this point of our journey 1 looked westward 
 over the country explored by so few English 
 travellers, and to me known only by books, 
 with something of the feeling with which it is 
 recorded, or fancied, that Columbus looked upon 
 the path of light made across the untraversed 
 Atlantic, by the beams of the setting sun. In 
 that direction lay the splendid Roman Catholic 
 cathedral of Tuam : there was Lough Corrib, 
 with its 50,000 acres of water ; and there was 
 Galway, the Spanish and Popish capital of the 
 wild west, with its nunneries and friaries. More 
 westward still were the picturesque lake of Bal- 
 linahinch, the Mamturk, the peaks of Bunarola, 
 secluded lakes, shut in by precipitous banks.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 159 
 
 solitudes unvisited, except by the plover and the 
 curlew, the beautiful Killery, where the steep 
 mountains look at each other across a narrow 
 inlet of the sea, the most celebrated, though not 
 the loftiest, mountain in Ireland, Croagh Patrick, 
 and beyond all these the broad Atlantic. But it 
 was not from these, however attractive, that I 
 turned with the deepest regret, to trace the 
 course of the Shannon southwards. I grieved 
 more to turn my back on Achill. 
 
 Off the coast of Mayo, across Clew Bay, and 
 within sight of Croagh Patrick, is that bold and 
 naked island, interesting, because it has thrown 
 out its headlands so far into the Atlantic, because 
 its heights command such extensive views of the 
 sinuous coast, but, above all, for the Protestant 
 Mission which is planted on its northern shore. 
 With this sphere of missionary labour I must 
 make my readers acquainted. At the north- 
 western extremity of the bay is Newport Pratt, 
 the nearest town of any magnitude to Achill, 
 from which it is separated by the mountainous 
 peninsula of Coraan, and by the Sound, a narrow 
 strait between Clew Bay and Blacksod Bay.
 
 160 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 The island is generally entered at a point where 
 the Sound is only 150 yards wide. A short 
 distance further the traveller reaches Cashel, 
 This is the village which Mr. Connolly, the 
 parish priest of Achill, has chosen for his resi- 
 dence. The principal village is said to be Keel, 
 on the western coast, which contains about 500 
 inhabitants. The other villages of any magnitude 
 are, Dukanelly, on the west, Dugarth, Slieve 
 More, and Dunever, on the north, and Kil- 
 downey, on the east. The island has a triangular 
 form, its apex being to the north-east, and its 
 base to the south-west, where the Atlantic seems 
 to have beaten it away between Achill Head 
 and the point of Menahan, and so hollowed it 
 out, as to bring it nearly to the form of an open 
 pair of compasses, of which one arm extends 
 southward from the apex, and the other west- 
 ward, into the Atlantic. The south-eastern arm 
 is about 13 miles long, the north-western about 
 10.* It contained, at the latest census, 710 
 houses, and 3880 inhabitants.f Its surface is 
 
 * And, 236. t And. 238.
 
 Ireland in IS-SG. 161 
 
 mountain, moor, and bog, interspersed with 
 patches of potatoe-grounds, from which the in- 
 habitants derive a poor and precarious support. 
 There are sheep and cows on the island ; but in 
 severe winters maiiy of these animals die of 
 starvation. The houses are formed either of 
 loose stones, rudely piled upon each other, with- 
 out cement, or of sods dug from the bog, the 
 roofing being often heath, laid upon bog-wood. 
 The inhabitants are small, and have an emaciated 
 look. There are no trees, and there is little 
 cultivation. But though the island is bare, it 
 has the beauty of bold cliffs, sequestered coves, 
 and high mountains. The two highest are the 
 Croghan, or Saddle-head, which is at the north- 
 western extremity of the island, and Slieve More, 
 (or Slibh Mor,) which stretches along its northern 
 arm. The former is 2254 feet high, only 27() 
 feet lower than Croagh Patrick, and the second 
 is 2180 feet.* The coast at the foot of Slieve 
 More has been chosen for the missionary settle- 
 ment, of which I have now to give the history. 
 In the year 1831, the islanders being visited 
 * Bar. Ap. 26.
 
 1G2 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 with famine, hundreds were living- on sea-weeds ; 
 and after famine came a raging typhus.* Mr. 
 Nangle, now the missionary there, being then 
 in ill health, and requiring a suspension of 
 his ministerial labours, had heard of their 
 destitution, and took charge of a cargo of 
 potatoes sent for their relief, f- There, after he 
 had preached in Irish to the people, and found 
 them willing to listen, he conceived the design 
 of a mission on the Moravian plan, which should 
 at once raise them from destitution and from 
 religious ignorance. Having obtained from Sir 
 Richard O'Donell, to whom nearly the whole 
 island belongs, the promise of a lease of mountain 
 ground, he returned to Dublin. Funds were 
 raised ; 130 acres were taken, at the nominal 
 rent of 11. per annum, for three lives, or 31 years ; 
 and in the summer of 1833 a steward was sent 
 to reclaim a portion of the land. It was a wild 
 tract of moor, but was soon enclosed. A house 
 was speedily erected, and in the autumn of 1833 a 
 schoolmaster and scripture reader took possession 
 of it. In August, 1834, another house having 
 * Bar. 203. t l^ec. July 4, Letter signed D.
 
 Ireland in 183G. 163 
 
 been built, Mr. Nangle took charge of the settle- 
 ment, and was within a short time joined by 
 three scripture readers, and by a second mission- 
 ary. Meanwhile a school was opened at the 
 settlement, which, in the winter of 1834, was 
 attended by 100 children. A second, at the 
 request of the people, was then formed at the 
 village of Slieve More, and two more followed 
 at Cashel and Keel.* Shortly after being" opened 
 they were attended by about 400 children. f 
 Every morning and evening there was an ex- 
 position of Scripture at family prayer, and on 
 Sundays there was an English service in the 
 morning, and in the evening Mr. Nangle preached 
 in Irish to about 30 persons. Previously to July, 
 1835, six heads of families left the Church of 
 Rome. Meanwhile, the agricultural improve- 
 ments were proceeding, about twelve acres having 
 been drained, reclaimed, and rendered fertile. 
 September, 1835, the settlement consisted of five 
 stone buildings, of two stories, with slated roofs; 
 buildings such as never before were seen in 
 
 * First Report of tlie Acliill Missionary Society, p. 8. 
 t Christian Examiner, April, 1836, p 236.
 
 164 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 Achill. Ten acres were bearing potatoes, and 
 eight cabins were being built for the converts, 
 who now, with their families, amounted to 31.* 
 
 Some statement of the progress of the Mission 
 having been published in the Christian Examiner, 
 Mr. Conolly, the priest of Achill, sent an ex- 
 postulatory letter to the Editor, of which the 
 following are extracts, which I have marked, to 
 enable the reader the more easily to compare 
 Mr. ConoUy's statements with Mr. Nangle's 
 answers. 
 
 "Sir, . , . I am twelve months in this parish, 
 and on my arrival, (1) there were nine free 
 schools, established under the auspices of tJie 
 clergy, affording scriptural education to 367 
 children ; . . . . they are all closed, and (2) there 
 is not one Catholic child attending the school 
 (one only school) now in operation. (3) All these 
 children are receiving moral and religious edu- 
 cation at five schools which I have been enabled 
 to establish under the patronage of the National 
 
 Board (4) The parson, the physician, and 
 
 the three Achill priests ai-e lodged in strong and 
 * Bar. 212.
 
 Ireland in 183l>. 1G5 
 
 comfortable houses ; they are as well off, in the 
 way of food and raiment, as even the proprietor 
 of the Examiner himself, and as anxious as he 
 can be, to see these good things continue ; and 
 for this purpose the calls for aid .... will be 
 frequent. I assert that the sides of poor Slieve 
 More are as barren as ever, and that the effects 
 of cultivation brought to bear to render it fertile 
 have proved .... abortive. (5) For, notwith- 
 standing the hundreds of thousands of pounds 
 sterling, contributed within the last four years 
 by the Achill Missionary Society, (6) there are 
 no more than about four Irish acres (and these 
 
 very imperfectly) cultivated There is a 
 
 strong garrison, belonging to the church militant, 
 at the settlement, composed of two parsons, their 
 wives, and little ones, (7) of some half dozen 
 preachers, who abhor a life of single blessedness, 
 of relations, followers, dependants, with the 
 physician, &,c. &c. Achill converts, 25 children, 
 38 individuals. (8) Here then is an aggregate of 
 38 individuals, including 25 children . . . (9) atid 
 I defy your truth-teliing informant to name one 
 individual of the natives of Achill as a convert, 
 except, indeed, an interesting young girl, Biddy
 
 166 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 Lavell, who was removed by one of the * pious' 
 conductors of the settlement, contrary to the 
 wish of her parents and friends, and placed by 
 him in some place remote from home, but for 
 what purpose you may be informed hereafter. (10) 
 .... I give you the following- document, (' the 
 declaration of honest and upright men, whose 
 characters cannot be impeached :') 
 
 " ' We, the undersigned affirm and are prepared 
 to prove that we know the above-named fanatics 
 who have gone to the settlement. We declare 
 that they are the poorest and most wretched 
 creatures even in Achill : they had no land, no 
 provisions, no cattle, no means, no, not even rags 
 to cover them. We also depose that they have 
 individually declared, that poverty alone induced 
 them to go there, and that they will desert from 
 the colony some time in March or early in April 
 next, and others at the termination of the 
 summer. Dated at Achill, Feb. 16, 1836. 
 
 Patt. X Ginty, Peter x Barrett, 
 
 Daniel x Ginty, John x Mangan, 
 
 Patt. X M'Hugh, John x Dwyer, 
 
 Thos. X M'Donagh, Theady x Mangan, 
 
 James x M'Namara, Martin x Curryan, 
 
 Anthony x Fadden, James x Lavell.'
 
 Ireland in 1836. 167 
 
 " (11.) . . . The preachers in this island are now 
 perfectly at their ease. They dare not now in- 
 sult the people, or attempt to disseminate their 
 blasphemies against the Catholic religion amongst 
 them. The only communication with the natives 
 now is through bribery — yes, through money. 
 " I remain. Sir, your humble servant, 
 
 " Martin Conolly, P. P. of Achill."* 
 
 " Achill, Feb. 18, 1836." 
 
 To this letter Mr. Nangle sent a reply, ad- 
 dressed to the same Editor, in which he makes 
 the following statements : 
 
 " (1.) They never had more than four schools, 
 and Mr. Conolly knew it, because it had been 
 stated to the Commissioner of religious instruc- 
 tion, in his presence. 
 
 " C2.) Fifty children still attend the school of 
 the settlement ; all, but those of one family, are 
 of parents who were Roman Catholics. 
 
 *' (3.) Fifty-five children of those who attended 
 before the establishment of the national schools 
 still remain. 
 
 * Christian Examiner, April, 1836.
 
 1G8 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 "(4.) This Mr. Nangle has left othtrs to 
 answer for him. 
 
 " (5.) The contributions to the A chill mission 
 have amounted to about two thousand pounds. 
 
 " (6.) Nearly twelve English acres of rugged 
 mountain land are cultivated, and seventeen more 
 are enclosed, levelled, and prepared for burning. 
 
 " (7.) They have three scripture readers, and 
 only one of them is a married man." 
 
 " (8.) Since the mission commenced its ope- 
 rations, eighty-four persons have been brought 
 from the Church of Rome into communion with 
 the Protestant Church. 
 
 " (9.) The deposition of Bridget Lavell, at 
 Castlebar, Nov. 1805. Deponent came before 
 me, one of his Majesty's Justices of the Peace . . ^ 
 and voluntarily made oath .... that she was 
 living peaceably and happily as a servant in the 
 house of the Rev. Edward Nangle .... where 
 she enjoyed the fullest liberty of conscience, 
 being permitted to go to whatever place of wor- 
 ship she pleased .... That in consequence of 
 becoming a Protestant she was exposed to much 
 persecution. That the priest of the parish, as
 
 Ireland in 183G. 169 
 
 her father and mother informed her, refused to 
 hear their confessions, or grant them absolution, 
 unless they would take their daughter from her 
 place, and bring her back to the Church of 
 Rome That on Friday, Oct. 30, 1835, de- 
 ponent's mother came to Mr. Nangle's house, 
 telling deponent that her sister, who lives in a 
 neighbouring village, was seized with a sudden 
 and dangerous illness. That deponent . . . found 
 her sister in perfect health .... That shortly 
 after she entered her sister's house, the Rev. 
 Martin Conolly came in, and endeavoured to 
 persuade deponent to the Church of Rome, 
 which she steadily refused to do. That ... on 
 the same evening she was . . . obliged to go to her 
 father's house. That there . . . she was beaten by 
 her mother with a stick and kicked by her father 
 until her back and sides were sore. That this 
 treatment was continued at intervals from Friday 
 evening until Monday morning. Tliat on Sunday 
 she was obliged to go to the Roman Catholic 
 chapel sorely against her inclination .... That 
 deponent claims .... protection, being per- 
 
 I
 
 170 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 suaded, that were she left under the power of 
 the priest, in her father's house, her life would 
 not be safe, unless she returned to mass, which 
 she never could do with peace of conscience, 
 being persuaded that the worship of a conse- 
 crated wafer is the great sin of idolatry, against 
 which the wrath of Almighty God is threatened 
 in Holy Scripture. 
 
 Her 
 
 Bridget x Lavell." 
 
 Maik. 
 
 Bridget Lavell was immediately received by the 
 Dowager Lady Harburton, and is now in the ser- 
 vice of one of that lady's relations. 
 
 " (10.) One of these ' fanatics,' who are said 
 to have joined the settlement only to get a live- 
 lihood, an odd species of fanaticism, was the 
 priest's own schoolmaster, who, by joining the 
 Protestants, lost his salary under the National 
 Board. Another had a house, with some land, 
 in the next village ; and another was under-driver 
 on Lord Sligo's estate, and held some land 
 rent-free. The twelve deponents knew their 
 statements to be false, unless, indeed, they
 
 Ireland in 1836. 171 
 
 signed the paper at the request of the priest, 
 without knowing its contents.'"* 
 
 But the last statement of Mr. Conolly requires 
 a more detailed exposition. The reader will 
 remember that he states, " The preachers in this 
 island are now perfectly at their ease. They 
 dare not now insult the people, or attempt to 
 disseminate their blasphemies against the Ca- 
 tholic religion amongst them." 
 
 It remains to be shewn what had reduced the 
 missionaries to this reluctant repose, and on 
 what account they dare not now, according to 
 Mr. Conolly, preach as they once did among the 
 people. The success of Mr. Nangle's settlement 
 soon roused a violent opposition. An inquisition 
 was organized, and an inquisitor appointed in 
 each village, to report the names of persons 
 working on the mission grounds, or sending their 
 children to its schools; they were published in 
 the chapels of Achill and Newport ; and the 
 most frightful imprecations were pronounced from 
 the altar on all who had any connexion with the 
 colony, either through the schools, or by working 
 
 * Air. Nangle's Letter in Christian Examiner, April, 1836. 
 
 1 2
 
 172 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 in Mr. Nangle's service, which was described 
 as working for the devil." One of the priests 
 is related to have prayed, " that those who dis- 
 obeyed his orders might not have a child that 
 day twelvemonth, and when they died, they might 
 have none to stretch them."* Mr. Nangle relates 
 that the priest further said, that the children 
 frequenting the schools should be met upon the 
 roads and cut into inch pieces. "[- Nor did he fail 
 to act, in some degree, upon his own doctrine; 
 for meeting some children returning from school, 
 he rushed upon them, and when one of them ran 
 into the sea to escape, he caught another, and 
 tore his ears till the blood ran down upon his 
 neck.t 
 
 In order to give additional effect to these 
 proceedings, the P. P. of Newport landed in 
 Achill, February 14, 1835, " to put down the 
 preachers." The people were desired to have 
 their pitch-forks well sharpened, and in case 
 Mr. Nangle, or any of his agents, entered their 
 
 * Bar. Ap. 3. 
 
 f Christian Examiner, April 1. 
 
 t lb.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 173 
 
 houses, one was to stand at the back door, and 
 another at the front, to render escape impossible ; 
 and then he prayed that the people might lose 
 the power of their hands if they failed to execute 
 his orders. The day following the arrival 
 of the priest of Newport, the steward of the 
 colony was assaulted with a bludgeon, and the 
 labourers were informed, that if they ventured 
 beyond the sound of Achill, they might bring 
 their coffins ready made along with them.* It 
 became unsafe for persons connected with the 
 missionary settlement to pass the lonely road be- 
 tween Achill and Newport. No less than six 
 assaults were committed on members of the set- 
 tlement, or on persons supposed to be so, and the 
 wounds inflicted on one were so severe, that he 
 must have sunk under them, had he not pos- 
 sessed extraordinary vigour of constitution. JMr. 
 Nangle himself could not pass along the road 
 without being hooted and threatened. On one 
 occasion a party of ruffians endeavoured to break 
 open a door of a public-house, into which he 
 had retired. He could hardly appear in the 
 * Bar. Ap. 3, 4.
 
 174 Ireland in 183G. 
 
 streets of Newport, without being- openly in- 
 sulted; and on one occasion the magistrates 
 thought it necessary to provide him with an 
 escort for his return home. These outrages were 
 frequently alluded to by the priests in the chapel, 
 not in terms of condemnation, but as exemplary 
 warnings to those who still persisted in sending 
 their children to the missionary schools.* But as 
 all this failed to overcome the zeal of the mis- 
 sionaries, Dr. M'Hale, the Roman Catholic Arch- 
 bishop of Tuam, with a view " to put a final 
 extinguisher on the sinister speculation," deter- 
 mined on an episcopal visitation to Achill, The 
 popularity and splendour of Dr. M'Hale, with 
 his bitter hatred to Protestantism, rendered it 
 probable that his fulminations would occasion to 
 the infant mission the severest storm which it 
 had yet encountered. But before we conduct 
 Dr. M'Hale to Achill, it will be well to let the 
 reader see him at Tuam and in Connemara. 
 His new Gothic cathedral at Tuam is said to 
 be the finest building in Ireland. The columns 
 and the lofty cieling — the large painted window 
 * Christian Examiner, April, 1836, p. 238.
 
 Ireland in 183G. 175 
 
 behind the altar — the altar itself of Italian marble, 
 a present from the Pope, and the four spiral 
 tluted columns supporting the canopy, all of 
 exquisite workmanship, add to its beauty and 
 its splendour.* The consecration of this fine 
 building recently attracted a large concourse of 
 Roman Catholic clergymen. 
 
 " Two archbishops, ten bishops, a dean, a vicar- 
 general, the Chancellor of Tuam, and an im- 
 mense body of secular and regular clergy, pro- 
 ceeded in full canonicals from the residence of 
 Dr. M'Hale to the cathedral, chaunting the 
 litanies and other hymns. Two priests supported 
 Dr. M'llale's mitre, while a page upheld his 
 train. Priests went before him, bearing crucifixes 
 and lighted tapers. 'f- Having arrived at the 
 principal entrance, they proceeded thrice round 
 the exterior, which they sprinkled with holy water, 
 (which, according to the missal, has such virtue 
 * ad abigendos daemones, morbosque pellendos,').}; 
 and then entered through the nave into the sanc- 
 
 * Bar. 200, 201. 
 
 t Record, Aug. 29, 1836. 
 
 I Nolan's second Pamplilet, 24.
 
 17G Ireland in 1836. 
 
 tuary. And the prayers having- been read, and 
 the hymns chaunted, the archbishop, in the form 
 and manner prescribed, solemnly invoked the 
 blessing of the Almighty, and dedicated the 
 church to his honour and glory, under the in- 
 tercession of the blessed Virgin, in the name of 
 
 v/hose assumption it was consecrated The 
 
 archbishop having put off the splendid cope in 
 which he was attired, vested himself, &c. We par- 
 ticularly noticed the splendour of the vestments 
 .... which we have never seen surpassed, or 
 indeed equalled, In this or any other country. The 
 priest's and deacon's vestments are of beautiful 
 long rich white satin, overlaid with gold, in a 
 pattern of chaste and splendid execution ; the 
 archdeacon's cope is equally magnificent, while 
 the archbishop's mitre is such as really to dazzle 
 the beholder. It is set with a variety of dia- 
 monds, and surpasses, if it were possible, the 
 splendour of the garments. We understand the 
 entire are the gift of his present Holiness."* In 
 conjunction with all this splendour. Dr. M'Hale 
 is said to have always shewn a deadly hatred 
 * Morning Register.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 177 
 
 to the very name of Protestant,* And if some 
 of the anecdotes told of him be true, he must 
 have something of that enmity. On Saturday, 
 June 4, 1836, says Mr. Campbell, of Clifden, after 
 visiting the island of Boffin, he made his grand 
 entry into Clifden, accompanied by an immense 
 concourse; almost the whole town was illumi- 
 nated: till a late hour on Sunday morning the 
 streets continued to be a scene of riot and 
 drunkenness. " On Sunday he fulminated from 
 the altar his curses and anathemas against every 
 member of the Connemara Christian committee." 
 On Wednesday evening, " as I was going to 
 church, persons came out from almost every house, 
 and cursed me as I passed : one wish was, ' may 
 the devil break your neck ;' and on my return 
 I experienced the same, with the addition of a 
 shower of stones. "f 
 
 On another occasion, in Connemara, a sermon 
 was preached before Dr. M'Hale and several of 
 his priests, by a friar of the name of Jennings, 
 
 * Bar. 202. 
 
 t Mr. Campbell to the Galway Advertiser. P, P. Mag. 
 No.26, p. 28. 
 
 i3
 
 178 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 for which, it seems, he received no censure from 
 the archbishop, and in which, according to the Pro- 
 testant Penny Magazine, the following sentiments 
 were uttered : " As the poison of bible information 
 is fast falling and spreading itself in this parish 
 particularly, you ought, by all means possible, to 
 put a stop to the machinations of those heretics; 
 for assuredly any person who practices the read- 
 ing of the Bible, will inevitably fall into ever- 
 lasting destruction. I would, therefore, my dear 
 friends and followers, most earnestly beseech 
 you, by the love that you bear to the Virgin 
 Mary aiid the Saints, by ... . the love that you 
 bear to your dear priests, not to allow those bible 
 readers into your houses; not even to speak to 
 them when you meet them on the roads, but put 
 up your hands and bless yourselves, and pray to 
 God and the Virgin Mary to keep you from being 
 
 contaminated with the poison of the Bible 
 
 Why would you admit persons who bring with 
 them the worst of all pestilence, the infectious 
 pestilence of the Bible, which would entail on 
 yourselves and on your children the everlasting ruin 
 of your souls? I would, therefore, beseech you
 
 Ireland in 1836. 179 
 
 to keep those wild beasts, those wolves in sheejVs 
 clothing, far from your houses." " They," he 
 said, " who send their children to schools where 
 the Scriptures are read, do give their children, 
 bound in chains, to the devil." After vilifying 
 those who had left the Church of Rome, he com- 
 manded the people not only to abstain from all 
 dealings with them, but also to persecute and 
 abuse them. If any scripture readers should 
 venture near their houses, he implored them to 
 beat them and pelt them from their doors. He 
 also mentioned the names of the Rev. Messrs. 
 Ellis and Foster, of Colonel Thompson, and of 
 H. D'Arcy, Esq. and told the people to regard 
 them as their most inveterate enemies, as they 
 were the employers of those wicked bible readers, 
 whose sole design was to alienate their affections 
 from their beloved priests, by imposing the poison 
 of the Bible into their minds, and ultimately 
 causing them to become Protestants ; and " how 
 horrible," said he, " would be that deed, as there 
 is not a Protestant in existence who has not on 
 his forehead the brand of the devil."* 
 
 * Protestant Penny Magazine, xxvii. p. 39. 
 
 I 4
 
 180 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 Armed, therefore, with this priestly splendour, 
 and animated with this hatred against Protes- 
 tantism, he descended on Achill, September :2d, 
 of last year, surrounded by a body of thirteen 
 priests, and followed by crowds of people bearing- 
 banners, on which was written, " Down with 
 the schismatics !"* Did he feel no compunction 
 when he saw those houses and gardens rising in 
 the waste, bringing employment and agricultural 
 improvement to the destitute islanders? Was 
 he incapable of all sympathy with that generous 
 self-denial which had prompted one at least of 
 the mission to leave all the comforts of the 
 metropolis, and all the emoluments of a large 
 practice, to bring medicine and advice to a people 
 wlio were suffering in want of both? Did the 
 schools he was about to crush, then formed among 
 those plunged hitherto in the profoundest igno- 
 rance, awaken no regrets ? Was his conscience 
 quite easy, when he was about to hinder the 
 Redeemer being preached, to whose glory he was 
 professedly consecrated ? He shewed as much 
 of compunctious visiting, in the endeavour to lay 
 * Bar. Ap, 7.
 
 Ireland in 183G. 181 
 
 desolate that mission at tlie foot of Slieve More, 
 as the eagle who has its nest upon the rocky 
 peak of that mountain, when it holds the lamb 
 in its talons. Two successive days, for how 
 should one suffice to gather the islanders together 
 from every point of the extended coast, he per- 
 formed high mass, arrayed with such pontifical 
 majesty, in the chapel of Dukanelly, that a poor 
 man then present, afterwards said, "If you had 
 seen him. Sir, in his fine robes, with his mitre 
 on his head ! He looked just like St. Patrick."* 
 In the glorious presence of the tutelary divinity, 
 and wielding his resistless influence, successive 
 priests held up the converts at the settlement 
 to execration. ** The people must not salute 
 them, and deal with them. They must not 
 borrow nor lend, buy nor sell. They were to 
 be cut off from all the charities of life ; and if 
 any one should dare to violate these mandates, 
 let him be accursed.''^ Here also, if report 
 be true, the Protestant religion was declared by 
 a priest, in the hearing of the Archbishop, and 
 with his expressed approbation, to be the offspring 
 * Bar.Ap. 7, 8. f Ibid.
 
 382 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 of hell, and all Protestants were represented as 
 doomed to inevitable destruction.* 
 
 This was intended to tear up the settlement 
 by the roots, banish the word of God from the 
 shores of Achill, and render it impossible for 
 those pious men to proceed with their work of 
 mercy. But God would not have it so. That 
 vision of splendour passed ; not, indeed, innocu- 
 ously, for it aggravated the previous enmity to the 
 missionaries, and doubtless made the timid con- 
 ceal or repress their inclination to Protestantism 
 with greater terror : but there were the mission- 
 aries still, with a faith and patience ready to 
 meet even greater trials. Their converts have 
 stood the shock ; every act of violence against 
 them will enlist the feelings on their side. The 
 glitter of pontifical robes, and those impious 
 fulminations, will soon lose their power by re- 
 petition; and even now, the unchristian efforts 
 of the archbishop and his followers seems to 
 have come to nothing, reminding us of what has 
 been written of another persecutor — 
 
 * Christian Examiner, April, 1836. 247.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 183 
 
 " The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold, 
 And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold, 
 And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea, 
 When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee. 
 But the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail. 
 And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal, 
 For the might of the gentile, unsmote by the sword, 
 Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord." 
 
 The immediate effect, however, was probably 
 an increase of the opposition, which has not ceased 
 to this day. " Mr. Baylee's life," says a gentle- 
 man who visited the island in April last, "has 
 been often threatened. Once a coast-guard man 
 seized the uplifted arm of a Papist schoolmaster's 
 son, and tore from him the large stone he was 
 about to throw. On another occasion the stone 
 was thrown, and severely injured Mr. B. on 
 the head. Captain L,, who commands the police 
 at Newport, hearing of these and several other 
 similar circumstances, desired a non-commissioned 
 officer of police to call on the priest, and entreat 
 him to interfere and prevent his people from 
 committing such outrages, and insulting Mr. 
 Baylee and the other missionaries. Captain L. 
 shewed me the policeman's written answer, in 
 which he stated that the priest, the Rev. Martin
 
 184 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 Conolly, had replied to the message in words to 
 the following effect : * Not only wont I stop them, 
 but I have told all my people to hiss, shout, and 
 insult them in every way they can, so as not 
 actually to break the law.' "* Various incidents 
 have been published, which shew how well Mr. 
 ConoUy's injunctions have been obeyed. A lady, 
 accompanied by one of the converts from the 
 settlement, named John, met a boy who had 
 just crossed on horseback a stream which she 
 wished to pass. Being uncertain of the ford, 
 John asked him which was the best place for 
 crossing. He was silent. "Can't you spake ?" 
 said John. " I don't think it worth while," was 
 the reply, " to sjmke to such as you." There had 
 been a fresh volley of curses at the chapel the 
 day before. " On the day following this, Mr. 
 Nangle was cursed by the children as he walked 
 through the village of Dugurth, and two scripture 
 readers who went into the village of Dunever 
 .... were stoned out of the village, and had 
 to flee for their lives. The P. P., aware of the 
 
 * Letter of D. in Record, July 4, 183G.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 185 
 
 intention of the missionaries, had preceded them 
 at the village, but took particular care not to 
 meet them face to face, and after skulking about 
 in several cabins, took himself off, leaving" some 
 dozen excited wretches to do his bidding, or 
 fulfil his understood wishes."* May IGth of the 
 present vear, Mr. Baylee and a reader visited 
 Achilbeg to preach to the coast-guard. On his 
 landing, the mob speedily assembled ; one ex- 
 claimed, " Choke the devil !" another seized him 
 by the collar, a third threw a stone, but he con- 
 trived to push his way to the watch-house of the 
 coast-guard. For this outrage Mr. Baylee ap* 
 pealed to the magistrates at the petty sessions 
 at Newport Pratt, in June, and on that occasion 
 stated that a stone had been thrown at the ladies 
 of Mr. Nangle's family, while passing in their 
 car near Mr. Conolly's house. The magistrates 
 fined the two assailants 12*. 5d. Three priests 
 attended the examination, and one of them 
 handed £1 to the Clerk of the Sessions to pay 
 
 * Bar. Ap. 2a.
 
 186 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 the fine, which was, however, at Mr. Baylee's 
 desire, remitted.* 
 
 The agricultural labours of the settlement have 
 proceeded against the most strenuous opposition. 
 Mr. Conolly and his curate, Mr. Harley, from 
 the altar prohibited the people to work on the 
 land, to sell the converts a morsel of food, or 
 to hold with them the least kindly intercourse, 
 and they wrote to the priest on the opposite 
 coast, where the missionaries get sea rack for 
 manure, to use his influence that they might get 
 no more. When, therefore, any one leaves the 
 Church of Rome, wherever he turns he is assailed 
 with abuse and threats, and if he is found in a 
 lonely place, or in twilight, these threats are 
 executed with cruel fidelity. f 
 
 Nor has Mr. Conolly yet repented of his un- 
 christian and disgraceful violence, as we may 
 learn from the following statement of Mr. Nolan, 
 who lately visited Mr. Nangle. 
 
 * Letter signed "An Advocate for Justice to Ireland," in 
 the Mayo Constitution, cited by the Record, July 7, 1836. 
 t Christian Examiner, April, 1836. 243—245.
 
 Ireland in 1836. IST 
 
 " Having' crossed .... the Sound .... we 
 shortly arrived at ... . Casliel. The appearance 
 of a visitor becomes the immediate occasion for 
 something like a savage alarm. A yell, not 
 surpassed by the wild Indian halloo, is raised ; 
 Father Martin ConoUy's blood-hounds, roused by 
 the shout of the inhabitants, instantly spring 
 forth. The missile weapons of the villagers 
 frequently accompany the unprovoked attack, 
 and should not the visitor exhibit some effectual 
 instrument of protection, his life becomes en- 
 dangered Mr. Hill, an English gentleman, 
 
 who visited Achill a few days ago as a botanist 
 and mineralogist, met with a reception similar 
 to what I have described. A lady and her 
 children were violently assaulted a few days 
 before by those barbarous assailants. A Captain 
 Shallard was hooted in a similar manner. This 
 gentleman was sent by orders of the Government 
 to the island, and at the instigation of Father 
 Conolly, to investigate a charge, which the 
 clearest evidence had afterwards established as a 
 foul conspiracy, formed against a Mr. Reynolds, 
 chief of the coast-guard), for no other reason than
 
 188 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 that of being a Protestant. As for myself, I 
 must feel partially thankful to the Cashel vil- 
 lagers, as their murderous weapons did not 
 accompany their vociferous reception of me. 
 From a recital of the following circumstances, T 
 will leave your Lordship and the public to judge 
 whether Father Conolly sanctions or encourages 
 such savage proceedings : — Father Conolly 's house 
 stands in the midst of Cashel village. He has 
 been frequently recognized in his dwelling while 
 those outrages are perpetrating; and I now ask 
 Mr. Conolly, would not a single word of disap- 
 probation expressed by his Reverence prevent 
 the repetition of such barbarity? But why do 
 I thus speak, when it is a notorious fact that 
 Mr. Conolly admitted at the investigation 
 before Captain Shallard, that he allowed his 
 people to shout the visitors going to the Pro- 
 testant settlement. I will not here describe the 
 Sunday harangues of Mr. Conolly from his altar. 
 Suffice it to say, that his ordinary pathetic appeal 
 is a solemn pledge to the people of his procuring the 
 immediate dismissal of the Protestant coast-guards 
 of the island, while the remainder of his Sabbath
 
 Ireland in 1836. 189 
 
 instruction is, for the most part, confined to an 
 imperative command to the inhabitants to abstain 
 from all intercourse with the converts of the 
 settlement, and even to withhold from them 
 the common necessaries of life."* 
 
 The fear of violence induced Mr. Nolan to 
 carry arms about him for his protection. Whe- 
 ther this was necessary or not, it is impossible 
 for a person ignorant of the circumstances to 
 judge. He was, however, attacked for it by 
 Mr. Hughes, P. P. of Newport, which called 
 forth from him the following justification of 
 himself. 
 
 " Mr. Hughes adverts to my carrying arms 
 when preaching in Achill. Can it be a matter 
 of astonishment I should do so, when I acquaint 
 the public with a few facts of priestly denun- 
 ciation in that part of the country ? Scarcely 
 had I arrived in Achill, when the parish priest, 
 the Rev. Mr. Conolly, indulged in the most 
 violent and libellous tirade against my character, 
 and harangued the people from his altar to a 
 
 * Letter to the Lord Lieutenant from Mr. Nolan, dated 
 Achill, August 26, 1836, in Record, Sept. 8.
 
 190 Ireland in 1636. 
 
 most unwarrantable attack against my person. 
 Has not the Rev. Mr. Conolly frequently ad- 
 monished his people to attack (with whatever 
 weapons should come before them) the Pro- 
 testants of the Achill settlement? Has not the 
 Rev. Mr. Hughes himself recommended similar 
 assaults upon these Christian and unoffensive 
 Protestants; and has he not advised the Roman 
 Catholics to sharpen their pitchforks for the 
 apostates of Achill ? Did not the Rev. Patrick 
 Curley, curate of Newport and prototype of his 
 employer, halloo and urge on a lawless banditti, 
 to assail the Rev. Mr. Stoney and me, when 
 peaceably walking through the streets of New- 
 port? and when my intention was announced for 
 preaching in Castlebar on yesterday, did not a priest 
 publicly recommend to his congregation the neces- 
 sity of making a violent assault upon my person? 
 Can it therefore be a matter of surprise that we 
 should carry about us the implements of self- 
 protection? The human mind should justly recoil 
 at the idea of shedding human blood; but the 
 mere knowledge of being prepared for self- 
 defence, frequently serves as one of the greatest
 
 Ireland in 1836. 191 
 
 guarantees of personal safety amongst a people, 
 who seem divested of every appearance of civi- 
 lization, and reduced to a state of savage ferocity 
 by the evil impressions of priestly instructions."* 
 
 Notwithstanding all this persecution, the mis- 
 sion continues to prosper. By the census of 1831 
 the Protestant population of the island was 76 ; 
 in 1834 the number had increased to 156; and 
 in March, 1836, to 217. Of these 97 are con- 
 verts from the Church of Rome, 84 of whom 
 have become Protestants since the commence- 
 iTiBnt of the mission. t In April last a friend of 
 mine, who signs himself D., in a letter to the 
 Record, visited the settlement, and gives the fol- 
 lowing account of its condition : — 
 
 " At one of these schools we saw thirty-seven 
 children present, taught by Dr. Adams (a bene- 
 volent physician from Dublin), a man of the 
 coast-guard, and two masters, formerly Papists. 
 One of these was Mr. Philip K., the schoolmaster, 
 selected by the priest two or three years ago to 
 
 * Letter to Earl Mulgrave from Mr. Nolan, dated Castle- 
 bar, Sept. 5, 1836. Record, Sept. 21. 
 
 t Mr. Nangle, in Christian Examiner, Ap. 1836.
 
 192 Ireland in 183(). 
 
 draw away the children from the mission schools ; 
 but, through the blessing- of God, the struggle 
 ended in his own conversion, and he has since 
 joined our Church, and, like Saul of old, is a 
 preacher of " the faith which once he destroyed." 
 All the children, we are told, belonged to families 
 lately converted from Popery. In the adult 
 school were nineteen men learning the Word of 
 God in their own beloved Irish language. The 
 morning service, in the neat little room which 
 serves as the mission chapel, was conducted by 
 one of my clerical companions, and the other 
 preached a discourse which will, I think, long be 
 remembered among them. But, Mr. Editor, let 
 me bring the arena, as far as I can, before you. 
 In a remote island of the West, where little more 
 than four years ago 4,000 Roman Catholics lived 
 in the deepest ignorance of all spiritual religion ; 
 where no Protestant, except perhaps a few men 
 of the Preventive Service, had ever been heard 
 of, we were now, assembled in the mission chapel, 
 ninety-seven individuals, besides the ministers 
 and missionaries, worshipping God according to 
 the pure and scriptural form of our Ifturgy, and
 
 Ireland in 1836. 193 
 
 listening to God's Word read and preached. 
 A large proportion of our congregation had been 
 Papists, a few still were so nominally ; the rest 
 consisted of the mission families, and of us stran- 
 gers from a distant land, who had come to see 
 what God was doing ; while, out of chaotic dark- 
 ness. He said, ' Let there be light, and there was 
 light.' The gale now blowing without, and storms 
 of persecution which so lately raged here, served 
 only to brighten by contrast the peace which 
 reigned within the walls of this temple of the 
 Most High. No wonder Mrs. Nangle told us, 
 there was no place in the world she would live 
 in so willingly as in Achill ; no wonder her ser- 
 vant-maid declared, ' If ever there was a heaven 
 upon earth, it is in Achill.' Though Achill is 
 externally but a dreary waste of mountain and 
 bog, without an acre, that I saw, of sound land, 
 or a tree as high as a cabbage-stalk on the whole 
 island; though privation and persecution have 
 been more or less the almost daily lot of its new 
 inhabitants; though separated from kindred and 
 friends, and all the sweet and kindly intercourse 
 of domestic neighbourhood, still they find their 
 
 K
 
 194 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 God can more than make it all up to them, and in 
 him they have peace. The evening service was 
 in Irish, thirty-three present, besides ourselves, 
 and Mr. Nangle preached to them in their own 
 tongue from the words ' Behold the Lamb of 
 God !' The people seemed deeply attentive."* 
 
 " We saw a new village rising, as it were, out 
 of the mountain bog. Five rough, but solidly 
 built cottages, covered with a slate roof; a neat 
 little church in the midst of them ; bog ground 
 gradually assuming the form of gardens on the 
 slope of the mountain in their front ; and in the 
 distance, the blue ocean dividing them from the 
 distant island of Erris, where another western 
 refuge of a similar character, under Major B., 
 will soon gladden the eyes of the mission in Achill. 
 Eight out of eighteen thatched cottages have 
 already been erected for the families of perse- 
 cuted converts from Popery ; each has a portion 
 of bog land attached to it, forming into a garden 
 at the expense of the mission ; the remainder are 
 in course of building, and in a more or less for- 
 ward state. I visited several of the families al- 
 * Record, June 27.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 195 
 
 ready located, and found their dwellings more 
 comfortable than the usual run of Irish hovels, 
 but not too much so. The gardens were still in 
 a rude state, only just fit for setting potatoes; 
 and as no crop has yet been produced from them, 
 there was some dread in the minds of the mis- 
 sionaries this spring, lest the mission should be 
 broken up from want of funds to support the 
 people from the mainland, until their own crops 
 were matured, the priest having succeeded in 
 preventing the poor islanders from selling any 
 thing whatever to the converts. Supplies have, 
 however, since come in, and it is hoped all is 
 safe. I mentioned in my last letter Dr. Adams, 
 a Dublin physician, who, with his lady, has built 
 himself a small house and settled in the mission. 
 He devotes himself wholly to the cause, and his 
 disinterested benevolence has won many warm, 
 though rude and untutored hearts, to love and 
 venerate him."* 
 
 A letter from Mr. Nangle of the same date, 
 gives further details of the progress of the mis- 
 sion, of which the following are extracts : — 
 * Record, July 4. 
 
 k2
 
 196 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 " In regard to temporal improvement much has 
 been done : the range of buildings for the accom- 
 modation of persons more immediately connected 
 with the work of the mission has been nearly 
 completed ; the house designed for the residence 
 of our excellent physician has been erected en- 
 tirely at his own expense. We have also built 
 a neat and commodious church, capable of con- 
 taining about 140 persons, an accommodation 
 which the increase of our congregation rendered 
 indispensable. In addition to this we have erected 
 eight cottages for so many families who have 
 placed themselves and their children under scrip- 
 tural instruction ; and eight more, for which we 
 have tenants, are in progress. Finding our farm 
 too small to contain the number of persons who 
 sought protection from the priests, I expended a 
 part of various sums confided to me by christian 
 friends, in purchasing two lots of land and two 
 houses in the immediate neighbourhood of our 
 settlement. Our agricultural improvements have 
 also been diligently and skilfully prosecuted by 
 our steward, of whose character and qualifications 
 I cannot speak too highly. The season has been 
 very unfavourable ; from the 1st of March we
 
 Ireland in 1836. 197 
 
 have had almost incessant storms, with heavy 
 snow and rain ; but should the weather even 
 now take up, we hope that about twenty six 
 acres of reclaimed land will be added to those 
 previously brought into cultivation. All hands 
 are now busily employed in field-labour. When 
 our crops are sown, we shall have time to direct 
 our attention to the improvement of the habits 
 of the poor people resident on our land, by en- 
 forcing cleanliness, and encouraging domestic 
 industry among the women and children. With 
 a view to the latter, we mean to introduce the 
 manufacture of coarse linen and cloth, and the 
 knitting of stockings. We have settled a weaver 
 in one of our cottages, and we mean to make a 
 large sowing of flax ; the wool for the coarse 
 cloth and stockings must be purchased in West- 
 port or Castlebar. The coarse linen and cloth 
 are designed for home consumption, and we hope 
 to find a mai'ket for the stockings in Dublin. 
 We have imported provisions from the mainland, 
 and we have brought labourers from Westport; 
 they are now doing our spring work, and 
 while engaged in sowing our seed, we are
 
 198 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 not without hope that a seed of divine truth has 
 been implanted in some of their hearts, and that 
 they may have occasion to bless God through 
 eternity for the combination of providential 
 causes which turned their footsteps to Achill. 
 
 " Education. — But it is time for me to give 
 you some account of what we have been able to 
 accomplish in the way of education. It was 
 mentioned in our last Report that we had at one 
 time nearly 400 children, receiving education in 
 four schools, which we had established in dif- 
 ferent parts of the island : it was also mentioned 
 that three of those schools were broken up by 
 the furious persecution which the priests raised 
 against them. Our anticipations, however, of 
 an increased attendance at the school which is 
 held at the settlement have been realized ; the 
 number of scholars which, at the date of our last 
 Report, amounted to thirty, is now increased to 
 forty-three. The schoolmaster, who was moved 
 to a distant part of the island, where there is 
 a large coast-guard station of Protestants, was 
 unable, in consequence of the persecution of the 
 priest, to stand his ground ; but as all the coast-
 
 Ireland in 1836. 199 
 
 guard stations are now periodically visited by 
 my worthy and laborious colleague, the place of 
 schoolmaster, so far as scriptural instruction is 
 concerned, is well supplied. We have now nearly 
 eighty children under scriptural instruction. 
 Those who have been in regular attendance at 
 our school exhibit a gratifying proficiency. 
 
 " Ministry of the Gospel.— In giving 
 you, as I proposed to do, some account of the 
 success which has attended the ministry of the 
 Gospel, I have to record with pleasure and 
 thankfulness to God, that the congregation on 
 Sunday is twice as numerous as it was at the 
 period of closing our last Report. It was then 
 stated, that the average attendance was about 
 forty; it is now below the truth to say that it 
 amounts to eighty. It will, I am sure, be inte- 
 resting to you to learn the provision which is 
 made for the instruction of our people. Those 
 residing at the settlement are assembled morning 
 and evening for worship, and they are visited 
 during the week at their houses by the scripture 
 readers, and occasionally by the ministers. My 
 worthy colleague undertakes the laborious and
 
 200 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 perilous service of visiting- the protestant coast- 
 guard stations around the island, and two on 
 the opposite const. I call this a laborious service, 
 because the distances are considerable, and the 
 way intricate ; these journies have been per- 
 formed on foot. I have also called this a perilous 
 service, because the priest has so goaded on the 
 people, that my worthy brother has been threat- 
 ened with violence, especially in one village 
 where there is a national school ; the pupils of 
 this school, some of whom are grown lads on 
 the verge of manhood, usually turn out to hoot 
 and threaten him as he passes, the master giving- 
 them at least his tacit sanction ; he has been 
 twice pelted with stones, and on one occasion 
 received a severe blow on the back of the head. 
 One of our scripture readers always accompanies 
 our dear brother in these excursions. Our cir- 
 cumstances here remind us of the wisdom and 
 the love which sent forth the heralds of salvation 
 in pairs, but T am persuaded that our brethren 
 could not even thus visit the village to which 
 T allude, but for the protection afforded them by 
 some coast-guards who are stationed there. Rome
 
 Ireland in 1836. 201 
 
 cannot now, as formerly, make herself drnnk 
 with the blood of the saints and martyrs of Jesus, 
 but she manifests the propriety of the emblem 
 which is used to illustrate her cruelty, by the 
 eagerness of her thirst for the inebriating potion. 
 
 " Such is our work during the week. On Sunday 
 a prayer-meeting, at which our communicants are 
 more particularly invited to attend, is held at half- 
 past eight in the morning. At ten the children 
 and adults are assembled for instruction ; the 
 former in the school, the latter in the church. 
 As many of the adults have a very imperfect 
 understanding of English, instruction is commu- 
 nicated to them through the medium of the Irish 
 language. Public worship commences at twelve 
 o'clock, and again in the evening, at seven, the 
 service is read and a sermon preached in Irish. 
 The public services of the day close with a lec- 
 ture and prayer in one of the minister's houses. 
 In reference to the spiritual state of the people, 
 we can, indeed, rejoice over some, \\ho, we con- 
 fidently believe, will be our joy and crown of re- 
 joicing in the day of the Lord Jesus. The in- 
 consistent conduct of a few of whom we had 
 
 k3
 
 202 Irela>'d in 1836. 
 
 hoped well, has tried and grieved us ; and again 
 we had occasion to rejoice at the recovery of 
 others who stood on the verge of apostacy. 
 
 " I must not omit to mention, that some chris- 
 tian friends in York and London have presented 
 the mission with the very handsome gift of a 
 printing press and types. To render this valu- 
 able present eft'ective, we have engaged a printer, 
 who is now instructing two young men con- 
 nected with the settlement. We have already 
 published several pieces, chiefly of local interest; 
 we have also brought out an Irish hymn-book ; 
 some of the hymns are translated from the 
 cottage hymn-book, by our schoolmaster; others 
 are the original compositions of the same person. 
 I have seen no modern Irish poetry which can 
 vie with this little volume. An Irish cate- 
 chism, and a few hymns for an infant school, 
 which we hope to set up this spring, has also 
 issued from our press. A valuable pamphlet, 
 by Mr. Baylee, defending the institutions of the 
 Church of England, has likewise been printed 
 and circulated ; and we have now in the press 
 two large pamphlets, the one entitled the An-
 
 Ireland in 1836. 203 
 
 cient Catholic Faith defended against Romish 
 Novelties ; the other, A Sermon on the Idolatry 
 of the Romish Mass. I need scarcely remark, 
 that our press greatly serves both to strengthen 
 and extend the influence of the mission ; our 
 publications will find their way to the remotest 
 corner of the kingdom, and already have we 
 proof that the divine blessing rests upon this 
 department of our labour. I take this oppor- 
 tunity of acknowledging the aid which this branch 
 of our operations received from the London Tract 
 and Book Society, in a donation of 20^ 
 
 "Refuge. — In consequence of the extreme 
 severity of the weather our Refuge is not as 
 forward as I could have wished ; eight houses, 
 however, are just completed, and eight more are 
 in progress: we have eighteen families (all, with 
 the exception of one, converts from Popery,) to 
 accommodate. As we could not well locate so 
 many on the mission lands, I purchased, at a 
 moderate price, two sums of land in the next 
 village, with funds entrusted to me by some 
 Christian friends. On these we can settle two 
 families, who will pay such a rent for their hold- 
 
 k4
 
 204 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 ings as will save the mission from any pecuniary 
 loss. Every day's experience strengthens me in 
 the conviction, that the Refuge system, as I 
 may call it, is the most effectual means for ex- 
 tending the knowledge of the truth in this coun- 
 try ; it is impossible, humanly speaking, that a 
 solitary individual, scattered here and there 
 through a Romish population, could stand against 
 the incessant, galling, and severe mockery and 
 persecution, to which a conscientious separation 
 from the Romish Church exposes him. Persons 
 who are not intimately acquainted with the state 
 of society in Ireland, can have no adequate idea 
 of this. We know that the inquisition suc- 
 ceeded in extirpating the truth in Spain ; and 
 truly in Ireland every one of the priest's sub- 
 missive parishioners is an inquisitor ; and though, 
 individually, they may be restrained by fear 
 of the law, from enforcing the bloody decrees 
 of that tribunal to the extent of murder, yet I 
 question if the combined influence of so many 
 tormentors is not as trying to the faith and pa- 
 tience of the objects of their persecution, as 
 the prospect of the acutest torture. Farther,
 
 Ireland in 1836. 205 
 
 our main prospect of religious and moral infor- 
 mation is from the education of the rising 
 generation ; but this cannot be accomplished* 
 unless converts from the Romish Church are 
 congregated, and scriptural schools be established 
 in the midst of them. I feel quite persuaded, 
 that if missionary settlements similar to ours 
 were established throughout Ireland, under the 
 management of men who have escaped the pre- 
 valent delusion, that the only duty of the minis- 
 ter of the gospel is to exhibit the truth— men 
 who, from zeal for Christ's glory and love to 
 souls, would lift up their voices as a trumpet 
 against the abominations of the Church of Rome, 
 we should soon see a great and glorious work 
 accomplished among our Roman Catholic fellow 
 countrymen. I have for some time regarded 
 our settlement as of vast importance, not only 
 as bringing the gospel of salvation to the inha- 
 bitants of this destitute and secluded district, 
 but as an experiment which, if successful, would 
 be imitated by the servants of Christ in other 
 parts of our priest-ridden country. I rejoice 
 that already these anticipations are on the verge
 
 206 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 of being, to a certain extent, realized. We liave 
 lately had a visit from some Christian friends 
 wht) contemplate the establishment of such a set- 
 tlement as ours in the wild and extensive district 
 of Conemara. They came to us in order that 
 they might learn fully our plan and mode of pro- 
 ceeding ; and they left us much cheered by what 
 they saw and heard, and fully determined in the 
 Lord's strength to engage at once in the patriotic 
 and christian enterprise. I cannot refrain from 
 expressing a hope, that the Lord's people will 
 aid them as liberally as they have assisted us, 
 that a rich blessing may prosper their exertions, 
 and, above all, that we may be enabled, un- 
 feignedly to give all ' the glory' of any good 
 which may be accomplished by our feeble instru- 
 mentality to Him whose ' is the kingdom and the 
 power.' 
 
 " In conclusion, I must mention the signal 
 blessing which we have received from the Lord, 
 in the unity and brotherly love which prevail 
 among us ; while the enemy rages without, there 
 is peace within. All are of one heart and one 
 mind. Indeed, we experience in our little com-
 
 Ireland in 1836. 207 
 
 pany the blessing spoken of by the Psalmist, 
 * Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren 
 to live together in unity.' Recollecting that it is 
 the Lord ' that maketh men to be of one mind in 
 a house,' we desire to be thankful, and to press 
 forward in thought and affection to that happy 
 place, where the unity and love of the Church 
 will be perfected, in the presence of our God and 
 Saviour. 
 
 " I remain, my dear friend, yours, &c. &c. 
 " Edward Nangle. 
 
 "■ Achill, April 29, 183G."* 
 
 If some of the poor islanders, whose simplicity 
 is abused by Mr. Couolly, have learned to detest 
 the missionaries, there are others who as cordially 
 love their ministrations. Above the little seques- 
 tered cove of Keem are two white-washed cot- 
 tages, hanging one above another on the brink of 
 a torrent, which, after rushing under the pointed 
 arch of a picturesque bridge, loses itself in the 
 absorbing sands. They are the residence of two 
 coast-guard boatmen and their families. " In 
 
 * Second Report of the Acliill Missionary Society.
 
 208 Ireland in 183G. 
 
 one of them," writes the authoress of the inte- 
 restinof account of Achill, appended to Mr. Bar- 
 row's Tour, " we saw a young delicate creature, 
 extremely pretty, and of the most engaging man- 
 ners. I remarked upon the solitude and remote- 
 ness of her dwelling, and supposed she was never 
 able to get over to Dugurth on a Sunday on 
 account of the distance, which must be as much 
 as eight or nine miles, * Oh dear,' said she, * T 
 walk it with pleasure, it is such a blessing to 
 have a man like Mr. Nangle among us, that I am 
 sure I would go twice the distance to hear him.'"* 
 The self-denying zeal of the missionaries deserves 
 this return. For, although Mr. ConoUy may en- 
 deavour to persuade the public that they are 
 living at their ease, with all the good things of 
 this life about them, there is abundant testimony 
 to their self-denial. The salaries of the two 
 missionaries amount together to 2501. while the 
 steward, schoolmasters, and scripture readers. 
 
 have each a salary of 20l.f Lady , whose 
 
 account I have before quoted, thus speaks of 
 
 * Bar. Ap. 22. t I^ep- P- 10.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 209 
 
 Mr. Nangle's disinterestedness. " Miss Warner, 
 his sister-in-law, told me that, though at all times 
 in feeble health, he was so extremely scrupulous 
 in economising the Society's funds, that he had 
 a great difficulty of having his ground-floor rooms, 
 which include the parlour, boarded. He thought 
 the bare, well-beaten earth might suffice, as it 
 does in the poor people's cottages. What little 
 comforts or luxuries they have about them have 
 been insisted on by their friends in the committee 
 of management, on the ladies' account, who have 
 been accustomed to, though they are happy in 
 renouncing, all the ordinary luxuries of a very 
 respectable station of society in Dublin. The 
 dinner table at the mission was always abundantly 
 furnished. An Irishman would deprive himself of 
 many things before he would fail in this national 
 symbol of a hearty hospitality .... The cellar 
 was less abundantly furnished. The single bottle 
 of wine was always removed with the cloth, not 
 to return again ; and on the last day of our visit 
 it failed altogether. Our kind host noticed the 
 deficiency with unaflfected simplicity — he had no
 
 210 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 more."* Mr. Nangle is another Luther in boldness, 
 but not in violence of temper . . . with ... an 
 expression so mild and so pensive that you would 
 think he could not utter an harsh word, or raise 
 his voice beyond the breathings of a prayer .... 
 He scarcely ever laughs. How can a man laugh 
 who believes that hundreds of his deluded bre- 
 thren are perishing around him in their sins and 
 errors, and that he is a minister of God to save 
 a few, and only a few ? . . . . Nothing less than 
 a motive of such overwhelming force can lead a 
 man, not only to risk his personal safety, but to 
 devote his whole soul, his every energy, to sacri- 
 fice his health, and to persevere through good and 
 evil report, through persecution and calumny, 
 fatigue and privation of every description, without 
 looking back or fainting in his course. I have 
 seen many missionaries in many countries, but 
 never any one so devoted, so pure, and high- 
 minded as Mr. Nangle.t If, therefore, Mr. 
 Nangle occasionally employs harsh language in 
 his moral warfare with the priests and their doc- 
 
 * Bar. Ap. 10. t Bar. 212.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 211 
 
 trines, it is more an error in judgment than a 
 fault of temper. 
 
 In the defence of the Gospel all harshness 
 might be renounced without blunting the edge 
 of a single truth, or lessening the force of a single 
 argument. A kinder tone, instead of prejudicing 
 the cause of truth, would, by recommending it 
 to the thoughtful and the candid, materially pro- 
 mote it. By contemptuous terms we stir up all 
 the angry feelings of those whom we ought to 
 conciliate, and render it impossible that they 
 should listen to our arguments, because they are 
 incensed by our abuse. " If any thing," said a 
 pious young friend to me lately, when I was 
 reading a paragraph of the Protestant Magazine 
 upon the mass, " could confirm me in my doc- 
 trine, if I were a Roman Catholic, it would be 
 that method of outraging all my feelings by ridi- 
 cule." This was its natural effect on a serious 
 and ingenuous mind. But if contemptuous terms 
 have this tendency, then they have no more of the 
 wisdom of the prophet than they have of the 
 harmlessness of the dove. I have ventured on 
 these remarks because Mr. Nangle can so well
 
 212 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 bear them. It is much easier to criticise a cha- 
 ritable, laborious, self-denying, resolute, and ad- 
 mirable zeal, than it is to imitate it. If", however, 
 I have criticised it, it is because many whose 
 zeal bears few of the substantive fruits of Mr. 
 Nangle's, and who have never been provoked as 
 he has been, indulge in more than his asperity. 
 As though abusive epithets, made under shelter 
 of law, and backed by a favouring majority, were 
 moral courage or christian zeal. I heartily wish 
 to see the keen bright sword of the spirit super- 
 seding all these vile missiles in the christian war- 
 fare. Let us always treat our adversaries with 
 gravity and with respect ; let all terms of con- 
 tempt, as Papist, Mass-house, Priest-ridden, &c. 
 be completely banished ; and let no one be afraid 
 to be accused of unfaithfulness and liberalism in 
 not using them. Violent terms are the favourite 
 weapons of the infidel ; they are employed more 
 frequently in defence of falsehood than of truth ; 
 and they are for the most part resorted to by 
 those who find it easier to abuse than to argue. 
 Let our motto be, " Speaking the truth in love" 
 And when we conquer, let it be only by over-
 
 Ireland in 183G. 213 
 
 coming evil ivith good. Should Mr. Nangle ever 
 meet with these pages, 1 trust he will forgive my 
 censure. I wish his maintenance of the truth to 
 be perfect. He is setting us an example of zeal, 
 self-denial, and courage, which will, I trust, invi- 
 gorate the ministry of many, not only throughout 
 the four provinces of Ireland, but from John- 
 o'-Groat's to the land's end. May he teach 
 us, too, to be gentle, and candid, and forbearing. 
 It is well for the clergy of Ireland to learn hardi- 
 hood by witnessing his bold grapple with super- 
 stition in its strong-holds; it will be still better 
 if he can, through the grace of God, teach them 
 how to combine that hardihood with an uncon- 
 querable benevolence. The Lord Jesus Christ 
 has already set us that example. 
 
 Besides Achill, there are around the coast of 
 Ireland, the circumference of which extends about 
 880 miles, nearly 600 islands, and some of them 
 populous, which are equally uninstructed. 
 
 The population of Tory, on the coast of Donegal, 
 amounts to 29G : these islanders have so little 
 communication with the main land, that several 
 years ago some of tliem, in a fishing doat, driven
 
 214 
 
 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 by stress of weather into Ards Bay, pulled leaves 
 and small branches from the trees to shew as 
 curiosities at their return, not one of these men 
 having- ever been in Ireland before. By the 
 latest returns the following is the population of 
 some of these islands : — 
 
 ISLANDS. 
 
 Clare . . . . 
 Tnisboffin . . , 
 Inishturk . 
 Omay . . . . 
 Innisnee . 
 Moynish . . 
 Liltermore 
 Garomna . 
 LittermuUin . 
 Aranmore South 
 Innismain . . 
 Innishere . . 
 Aghenish . . . 
 Fenit . . . . 
 Valentia . 
 Dursey . . 
 Bear Island . 
 Whiddy . . . 
 Innisfad 
 
 Hare Island . . 
 Innisherkin 
 Clare Island . 
 Inchidoney . . 
 Great Island . . 
 Little Island . . 
 Rathlin . . . 
 Inch Island . . 
 Tory . . . . 
 
 Houses. 
 
 Number of 
 Inhrtbitanls. 
 
 257 
 
 1395 
 
 193 
 
 1053 
 
 78 
 
 456 
 
 41 
 
 224 
 
 48 
 
 319 
 
 87 
 
 499 
 
 48 
 
 263 
 
 210 
 
 1281 
 
 78 
 
 438 
 
 387 
 
 2276 
 
 63 
 
 386 
 
 65 
 
 417 
 
 33 
 
 208 
 
 35 
 
 205 
 
 377 
 
 2128 
 
 45 
 
 276 
 
 399 
 
 2115 
 
 86 
 
 591 
 
 42 
 
 230 
 
 46 
 
 250 
 
 193 
 
 1053 
 
 190 
 
 886 
 
 380 
 
 2091 
 
 2223 
 
 9405 
 
 138 
 
 979 
 
 199 
 
 1104 
 
 185 
 
 1094 
 
 59 
 
 296
 
 Ireland in 1830. 
 
 215 
 
 And the whole population of islands is as 
 Ibllows : — 
 
 
 Inhabited 
 Islands. 
 
 Population. 
 
 
 Connaiight 
 
 Munster 
 
 Leinster . .... 
 Ulster 
 
 62 
 
 50 
 
 1 
 
 27 
 
 15,592 
 
 22,827 
 
 34 
 
 4,54G 
 
 140 
 
 42,999 * 
 
 Close upon our native shore, yet as devoid of 
 all the calm and profitable satisfaction which 
 books afford, as if they had lain in the bosom of 
 the Pacific ; here it is that, as far as Christianity 
 is concerned, our countrymen have seen Sabbath 
 after Sabbath pass silently away, from one year's 
 end to the other. No church-going- bell, no 
 gathering of the people to hear the sweet sounds 
 of Divine mercy. They have for ages lived and 
 died amidst one unbroken famine, not indeed of 
 bread and water, but of hearing the word of the 
 Lord.f 
 
 The Society at Dublin, under the direction of 
 Messrs. Robert Daly, Denis Browne, J. H. 
 
 * Anderson, 238. 
 
 t And. 237
 
 216 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 Siuger, and others, which has undertaken the 
 mission to Achill, is anxious to extend instruction 
 to other destitute islands, and it is to be hoped 
 will not appeal in vain for help to those who have 
 the means of instructing them.
 
 217 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Drive to Banaglier— Sermon of the Home Missionary— Extent 
 of the Home Mission — Nature of its Operations— National 
 School, Birr — The Messrs. Crotty— Drive to Shinrone— 
 State of the Barony of Clonlisk— Cangort Park— National 
 School— Hibernian School— Remarks on Scriptural Schools 
 — Parish of Cloughjordan— Remarks on Self-denial. 
 
 From Ballinasloe we turned southwards, in- 
 tending to pass through Birr and Shinrone to 
 Limerick. Our first stage was to Banagher, 
 across the flats on the right hank of the Shannon. 
 It was truly Connaught. Unreclaimed bog and 
 undrained waste land were abundant : the cabins 
 were wretched in the extreme; and several of 
 the labourers whom we met were without stock- 
 ings. We were crossing the parish of Aughrim, 
 which is as miserable as it appeared. A fall in 
 the price of grain having turned much of the corn 
 land into pasture, has therefore lessened the de- 
 
 L
 
 218 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 mand for labourers; and these have, in the mean- 
 while, multiplied. Lord Clanbrock gives Sd. a 
 day in summer, and 6d. in winter, without diet. 
 Mr. Maher gives 8^. throughout the year, and 
 thinks that a man with a family must almost 
 starve with less. Mr. Wade has cottier tenants 
 in his debt, and makes them work for him at 5d. 
 a daj, not only in winter, but in summer also, 
 when other labourers are getting 8d., threatening 
 to execute decrees against them for rent due 
 uidess they would work at those wages. Num- 
 bers are ready to work at 6d. a day throughout 
 the year. Occasionally labourers go to work 
 without a breakfast, and are obliged to leave off 
 from faintness. From the great competition lor 
 employment, any wages are taken. Men will 
 work for any thing which will just support life; 
 insomuch that Mr. Birmingham, Lord Clanbrock's 
 agent, declared '* they suffer more than human 
 nature could almost be believed to endure, and 
 yet they do not repine." * 
 
 In the neighbouring parish of Dononaughta, 
 
 * Ap. D. 1—3.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 219 
 
 through which our road also lay, there are 300 
 labourers, of whom only 100 get occasional em- 
 ployment ; they live on dry potatoes, and have 
 scarcely enough of them.* This melancholy road, 
 unrelieved by the sight of a gentleman's house, 
 a plantation, a carriage, a comfortable farm-house, 
 or any thing betokening prosperity, brought us to 
 the Shannon at Banagher. Here a small fort on 
 the Galway side, with a piece of cannon on its 
 battlements, commands the bridge which we 
 crossed. The clear stream, still deeply stained 
 with peat, was running strongly beneath us. On 
 the left bank the untidy and straggling town 
 climbs up a small hill, from the top of which there 
 is an extensive view of the noble river winding 
 its way over the level from Athlone. The town, 
 though of poor appearance, is improving, has a 
 good corn market, a considerable export, and a 
 thriving retail trade.'f- To me, however, it was 
 more interesting on another account. It was here 
 that T first saw the working of the Home Mis- 
 sion. I had, indeed, found it elsewhere : I had 
 
 * Sup. p. 10. t Inglis, i- 332. 
 
 l2
 
 220 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 crossed its lines of operation at Dundalk, New- 
 castle, and Newry : and it visits King's-court, 
 Kells, Athboy, Kilbeggan, Athlone, and Ballina- 
 sloe. But here I saw it at work, attended the 
 service, and spoke with several of those accus- 
 tomed to attend it. On inquiry, I learned that 
 when the mission first came there a few years ago, 
 it was thought to be the experiment of a few 
 enthusiastic young men, who were termed, in 
 contempt, the new lights. Curiosity then brought 
 about fifteen persons to listen; and since that 
 time opinions have greatly changed. Sixty 
 clergymen, some of them among the most able 
 and influential men in the church of Ireland, 
 have successively preached there ; and though 
 there has been some dislike to the mission mani- 
 fested, of which it may serve as a specimen, that 
 the parish clerk recently said, when asked to 
 attend, that he would as soon go to hear a Priest, 
 yet, through the blessing of God, it has prospered. 
 A neat room has been fitted up for worship, in 
 whom (Aug. 10,) I heard an excellent sermon 
 from the missionary, to which the congregation 
 listened with great seriousness. I counted seventy
 
 Ireland in 1836. 221 
 
 persons, for the most part well-dressed, old and 
 young, men and women ; and was assured that this 
 was about the number who usually attended. My 
 informant stated that the result had been a con- 
 siderable increase of religious feeling in the place; 
 so that I cannot but believe that if the rector 
 would himself attend there, he would see reason 
 to bless God for its influence on his parish ; and 
 would, like the clergyman of Birr, ask the mis- 
 sionaries to exchange the school-room for the 
 church. 
 
 The Home Mission has already greatly extended 
 itself. Besides a diocesan mission in the diocese 
 of Meath, and another in the diocese of Tuam, 
 there are now ten missionary circuits, travelled 
 by above 100 zealous ministers of the church of 
 Ireland, the majority being incumbents. These 
 circuits extend through Donegal, Londonderry, 
 and Down; they occupy Fermanagh, Monaghan, 
 and Cavan ; they come into Westmeath and 
 Meath ; they fill Kildare ; they run from Sligo 
 across Ireland, through Athlone and Carlow, to 
 Wexford ; they extend along the south-western 
 coast from Wexford to Youghall ; and lastly.
 
 222 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 from Youghall they pass through Killarney to the 
 remotest parts of Kerry, and through Charleville 
 to the mouth of the Shannon. Each circuit has 
 about twenty-four stations, and ahiiost all the 
 stations are visited once a fortnight; so that now 
 the mission sends a pious clergyman every fort- 
 night to nearly 240 stations, scattered over the 
 four provinces. Each missionary is on the circuit 
 for a fortnight : he has usually twenty-four places 
 to visit, preaches two sermons daily, and is con- 
 ducted to the different stations in a car or gig, 
 at the expense of the mission. The missionaries 
 do not at present reach the Roman Catholics or 
 the great landholders, their work lying chiefly 
 among the smaller gentry, and the middle class 
 of Protestants. Most of all are they useful to 
 the clergymen in whose parishes they labour. If 
 a clergyman is devoted to his work they confirm 
 his doctrine, silence his opponents, who find how 
 many able men think with him, teach even un- 
 godly persons to respect his ministrj^ and carry 
 conviction to the minds of some whom he could 
 not previously impress. If he is a good man, but 
 indolent, he is roused into activity. If he be
 
 Ireland in 1836. 223 
 
 ignorant of the gospel, and careless in his life, he 
 stands rebuked by their zeal, and through it, may 
 both himself and those who hear him, be saved 
 from eternal death. In this manner the talent 
 and piety of a minister of the Irish church, in- 
 stead of being monopolized by the 60 or the 100 
 Protestants in his own parish, becomes subservient 
 to the welfare of many congregations in many 
 towns. As the work advances, it can scarcely 
 fail to have a favourable influence on numbers of 
 the Roman Catholics. It is from the piety of 
 Protestants that we must chiefly hope for their 
 improvement, and nothing seems more likely, 
 with the blessing of God, to make the Protestants 
 enlightened and exemplary, than this zealous con- 
 junction of their pastors. To devout Catholics, 
 besides, the sight of so many Protestant ministers, 
 in contempt of ease, and without remuneration, 
 carrying the gospel from week to week to distant 
 towns, unaffectedly anxious for the salvation of 
 those to whom they preach, and abundantly blessed 
 in their labours, must be novel and impressive. 
 It was not long since that one of the missionaries 
 arrived at Kells for his service in the Court-house
 
 224 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 at the time when 200 Irish teachers were met 
 there for their examination. It so happened that 
 the Priest was present. Both the teachers and 
 the Priest remained during the service, and at the 
 conclusion of a serious and simple statement of 
 the Gospel, he shook hands with the missionary, 
 loudly praised the sermon, and continued to speak 
 of it with approbation when he descended to the 
 street.* It is one feature of the system pursued 
 by these clergymen, that they abstain from con- 
 troversy. They preach the Gospel faithfully, 
 and leave it to destroy all the errors which oppose 
 or adulterate it. I do not think that there is in 
 Ireland an institution so calculated to promote 
 the kingdom of Christ, and lead multitudes to 
 love and serve God. 
 
 Near the missionary school-room we found the 
 national school, crowded with ninety boys and 
 girls. The books of the Board are in use. The 
 first class read well ; one boy parsed a sentence 
 correctly ; and several shewed themselves well 
 acquainted with the geography of Europe. The 
 
 * Record, July 26, 1836.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 225 
 
 volumes of Scripture Extracts appear to have 
 been used. But the children were ignorant of 
 scripture history and of the doctrines of the Gos- 
 pel. A little further we came to the parish 
 school for girls, of which the wife of the parish 
 clerk is the mistress. There were above 40 girls, 
 neat, clean, and apparently in good order. 
 
 Six miles more brought us to the town of 
 Birr, one of the neatest towns I have seen in 
 Ireland. There is a splendid Roman Catholic 
 chapel, a fine church, and opposite it a handsome 
 Gothic gate, leading into the grounds of Lord 
 Ross. We had been anxious to visit this place, 
 that we might make the acquaintance of the 
 Messrs. Crotty, two Catholic priests, who, with- 
 out formally joining any Protestant Chui'ch, 
 are now preaching the Gospel to their former 
 Roman Catholic congregation. Mr. Michael 
 Crotty, the elder of the two cousins, when a stu- 
 dent at Maynooth, appears to have been very 
 free in his animadversions on the system of the 
 college and its conductors. Being consequently 
 unable to obtain college testimonials for ordina- 
 tion, he went abroad to complete his education 
 
 l3
 
 226 Ireland in 183G. 
 
 for the priesthood. On his return, in 1820, he 
 was made curate of Birr, in which situation he 
 continued till, a vacany then occurring, he was 
 chosen parish priest by one party of the pa- 
 rishioners. Meanwhile Mr. Kennedy was named 
 by another party, and the latter choice was con- 
 firmed by the Roman Catholic bishop. Endea- 
 vouring, in spite of this decision of his bishop, 
 to get possession of the splendid new chapel at 
 Birr, which had been partly built by his adhe- 
 rents, Mr. Crotty found himself excluded by 
 Policemen, with fixed bayonets. Since that time 
 he has been preaching in a temporary chapel to 
 a considerable congregation, chiefly of poor per- 
 sons. Before this he had begun to attack the 
 errors of Popery, but now the process became 
 more rapid and complete. The two cousins have 
 circulated some hundreds of copies of the Bible 
 or Testament among their people ; they proclaim 
 the W^ord of God to be the only rule of faith ; 
 they administer the cup to the laity ; they read 
 a selection of prayers from the Roman Missal 
 in English ; and they preach salvation through the 
 atonement made bv Christ. Almost all the pro-
 
 Ireland in 183G. 227 
 
 tane additions and superstitions of the Church 
 of Rome they have discarded. The sacrifice 
 of the mass they ha.ve denounced, and now 
 profess to offer it alone in remembrance of the 
 death of Christ. They found the people accus- 
 tomed to pay clay money, that consecrated clay 
 being put into their coffins might save their dead 
 bodies from being polluted by contact with he- 
 retics ; that superstition they have taught their 
 people to despise. They found them worshippers 
 of the Virgin Mary, of saints and angels, and 
 even images ; they have taught them exclusively 
 to worship God. They found them confiding in 
 priestly absolution for the pardon of their sins; 
 they told them to expect pardon only through 
 sincere repentance and faith in the blood of 
 Christ. They found them looking for a lustra- 
 tion after death in purgatory ; they shewed them, 
 that the notion of purgatory was " an invention 
 of priestly avarice." They found them cherish- 
 ing the doctrine that salvation is to be found in 
 the Roman Church alone; they have led them 
 to hate that unchristian and anti-social bigotry. 
 About one thousand persons are still attached to
 
 228 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 their ministry. But they much want a new 
 chapel. Their hearers are mostly poor, and they 
 wish therefore to raise funds elsewhere for the 
 building-. Six hundred pounds they have already 
 collected. Mr. Lloyd, the brother-in-law of Lord 
 Ross, has become the treasurer; and the foun- 
 dations of the chapel are laid. It is to be 64 feet 
 by 32 inside, the walls already raised to the height 
 of four or five feet are very substantial ; and 
 they will probably require about £1000 more 
 to complete and furnish it. A meeting was 
 lately held at Belfast, in aid of this design, 
 which was explained by Mr. Crotty, and recom- 
 mended by Mr. M'Neile and Mr. Cook. 1 
 earnestly hope that the treasurer, Mr. Lloyd, 
 will obtain ample funds to accomplish the de- 
 sign, as it seems of great importance to Ireland 
 that their ministry should be supported. They 
 have stood a fierce persecution for some 
 years ; and if they can bring a whole congrega- 
 tion once Roman Catholics to hear and love 
 the truth, and pay for its maintenance, it will 
 be a most animating example to every priest in 
 Ireland, on whom the chain of papal falsehood
 
 Ireland in 18.3G. 229 
 
 sits heavy. But should they be driven from Birr, 
 what other priest \pill dare to follow their ex- 
 ample ? They are both intelligent men, and, I 
 believe, perfectly sincere, but they want more 
 meekness. Converts have often a keen temper. 
 Our most violent Churchmen are converted Dis- 
 senters, our most bitter Dissenters are lapsed 
 Churchmen. Few Catholics are so hot and eager 
 as Mr. Spencer, and some others I could name ; 
 and, possibly, the Messrs. Crotty, just emerging- 
 from the caldron of Popery, may feel their blood 
 still boiling in the recollection of it. But the 
 wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of' 
 God. Already they have boldly grappled with 
 error, and may God give them grace to become 
 his devoted ministers, patient and forgiving to 
 their enemies, zealous for the salvation of the 
 people committed to their charge, faithful ex- 
 positors of the New Testament, and the means 
 of eternal life to many persons in their town and 
 neighbourhood. 
 
 We had now left Conuaught, and were again 
 in Leinster, following the line of the south- 
 western boundary of King's County. From
 
 230 
 
 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 Birr our course lay through the Barony of Clou- 
 lisk to Shinrone. We saw no symptoms of im- 
 provement in the state of the people, no inha- 
 bitants being visible but the worn and ragged 
 tenants of filthy cabins. In this neighbourhood, 
 no less than others, there is a frightful excess of 
 labourers, as may be seen by the following table 
 of the Commissioners. 
 
 PARISHES. 
 
 Number of 
 Liiboiircrs. 
 
 Number con- 
 stantly employed. 
 
 Castletown 
 
 Kilcoleman 
 
 Eltagh 
 
 Templebavry 
 
 , Dunkerrin 
 
 Roscrea .;.... 
 
 Shinrone 
 
 Kilcommon 
 
 Kilmurry 
 
 85 
 226 
 219 
 251 
 210 
 
 51 
 219 
 209 
 129 
 
 50 
 150 
 
 70 
 150 
 200 
 
 51 
 100 i 
 100 
 
 60 
 
 1599 
 
 931 
 
 From this table it appears that of 1599 la- 
 bourers in the barony there are 608, or two-fifths 
 of the whole, who have not regular employment. 
 It is easy, at once, to perceive the consequences 
 of this state of things. It must depress wages
 
 Ireland in 1836. 231 
 
 and raise the rents of small holdings of land 
 till nothing is left to the tenant and the labourer 
 but potatoes and rags. In fact, wages are Sd. 
 for one half of the year, and 7d. the other half. 
 A labourer in constant employment works about 
 250 days, and earns 71. 8s., but pays from 41. to 
 5/. for his cabin and potatoe ground. The others 
 can only get employment for a few weeks of 
 the year. It makes their case the more de- 
 plorable, that among them are many disposessed 
 tenants once in a better condition. It was to be 
 expected that in such circumstances many of 
 them should be easily excited to acts of violence. 
 Strange labourers have often, within the last 
 seven years, been assaulted and driven away 
 from the barony, and some Connaught men, 
 working in a bog, had their barrows broken 
 during the night, to prevent them continuing the 
 work. But those who have been taken up for 
 such disturbances, have been generally, as the 
 Commissioners report, idlers; for " the employed 
 labourer reprobates all disturbances, tvhether 
 political or ofjrarian." A few miles further we 
 found a kind and hospitable welcome at Cangort
 
 232 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 Park, belonging to Mr. Trench, with whose son, 
 the Rev. Frederick Trench, I had been pre- 
 viously acquainted. 
 
 The views from this place of the Slieve Bloom 
 Mountains to the south-east, the Keeper, towering 
 over Nenagh, some nearer hills rising above the 
 trees of the park, are very pleasing. Hay- 
 making was not yet over (Aug. 11 :) women were 
 working at 4d. a day, men at 8d. and lOd. Near 
 the park gate we found a neat girls' school, be- 
 longing to Mrs. Trench. After inspecting this 
 we visited a national school in the neighbourhood. 
 The master is a Protestant, and the Scripture 
 Extracts of the Board are in daily use; but the 
 children appeared to be very ill-taught, unac- 
 customed to be questioned on any lesson which 
 they read, and destitute of the usual Irish 
 vivacity. After this I visited the London Hi- 
 bernian School at Bahamore, between Cangort 
 and Cloughjordan. There 1 found the Society's 
 spelling-books and the Testament in use, but no 
 other books, no maps, and the children's minds 
 apparently very little exercised on what they read. 
 There were about thirty children present, of whom
 
 Ireland in 1S8G. 283 
 
 scarcely any were Roman Catholics. Children of 
 Ihat creed had attended, but the priest had esta- 
 blished in the neighbourhood a rival school, to which 
 he had drawn nearly all of them. It is obvious that 
 this policy may be effectual through all Ireland, 
 if Protestant schools are conducted unintelli- 
 gently. Nor need the remark be confined to 
 Ireland. Nothing is scarcely more important to 
 the empire than that the education of the young 
 should be in the hands of religious persons. They 
 ought to secure this through the three kingdoms. 
 And if they have well instructed and able teach- 
 ers, so as to give the children of their schools all 
 the knowledge which their age and the time will 
 allow, they may secure it. But if schools in 
 which the word of God is not made the basis, are 
 more sensibly conducted, and with more vivacity, 
 of course they will, in every neighbourhood, be 
 more popular with parents and children. Nor is 
 this the only reason for giving the children in our 
 schools all the knowledge that we can. If children 
 are taught the Bible only, their minds must get 
 wearied and inert, from the constant tension if 
 they read with seriousness, and from the unvary-
 
 234 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 ing uniformity if they do not. Instead of giving 
 the children no books but the Bible, we should 
 give them many, filled with useful and entertaining 
 knowledge: these will open the mind, strengthen 
 the understanding, impart a thirst for knowledge, 
 and then in reading the Bible itself, stupidity will 
 brighten into intelligence, and apathy be changed 
 into interest. The additional strength of under- 
 standing thus acquired will be applied to the 
 investigation of religious truth, and they will more 
 easily comprehend the great truths of the Gospel, 
 because by the interest which they have felt in 
 other branches of knowledge, they have learned 
 to reason and reflect. Secular knowledge may 
 be also made useful, because by its means they 
 may see the principles of the Bible illustrated in 
 common life. Let our poor children learn mis- 
 sionary geography, and they will better appreciate 
 the commands laid upon Christians to promulgate 
 the gospel. Let them learn something of the 
 different trades, and be shewn the value of in- 
 tegrity and religious principle in each. Let them 
 learn something of physics, and they will see the 
 wisdom and goodness of God in redemption, re-
 
 Ireland in 1836. 235 
 
 fleeted also by nature. Our schools in general, 
 as far as I know them, want useful books, such 
 as the lesson books of the National Board, and 
 those of the Kildare Street Society ; they want 
 good maps, globes, instructive pictures, mental 
 arithmetic, lessons on objects, and every mode 
 of instruction which may exercise the mind, and 
 store them with useful knowledge. Without these 
 improvements I do not believe that we shall ever 
 see our poor children intelligent and interested 
 even on religious subjects ; and in Ireland, where 
 the national schools will in numbers adopt im- 
 provements of this kind, it seems to me very 
 questionable, whether, without them, the scrip- 
 tural schools will long be able to retain any 
 children at all. 
 
 One of the ends of education being to enable 
 children to obtain for themselves a livelihood in 
 after life, it seems likewise important that in 
 Ireland some knowledge of agriculture should 
 be imparted in every school for the poor. Above 
 7,900,000 of the whole population of Ireland 
 depend upon agriculture ; there is a frightful 
 poverty every where, and by improved modes of
 
 236 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 cultivation it is calculated that the laud now in 
 tillage would yield nearly two-thirds more than 
 it actually does. The experiment has already 
 been made by John Pitt Kennedy, Esq. at Lough 
 Ash in the County of Londonderry, the progress 
 and results of which cannot better be described 
 than in his own words. " I therefore determined 
 to try the establishment of a national school in 
 my district, the teacher of which, in addition to 
 the ordinary qualifications of a parish school- 
 master, should possess a knowledge of the most 
 approved system of agriculture. I determined to 
 give to this teacher four acres of land, which it 
 would be his business to cultivate as a model 
 farm by means of his boys, formed into working 
 classes, after the hours of indoor instruction. The 
 limited quantity of four acres was fixed upon, 
 because it affords as perfect an opportunity to 
 exhibit the detail of treatment, and the regular 
 succession of crop, as the largest farm cotild 
 afford, without occupying, by its extent, too 
 much of the teacher's time. Its small size is 
 further advantageous, because the average farms 
 throughout the country are small, and because
 
 Ireland in 1836. 237 
 
 pupils or visitors can with ease compare at one 
 view the difference of treatment, and liie relative 
 proportion of land assigned in the rotation to 
 each kind of produce. 
 
 In March, 1834, I provided myself with a 
 teacher of the above description, ensuring- to 
 him a salary of 30/. a year, in addition to his 
 house and four acres of land, and combining his 
 personal interest likewise with the efficient ma- 
 nagement of the school, by giving him the chance 
 of an increase beyond this sum, dependent upon 
 his success. A portion of this salary is to be 
 paid by the Education Board, a portion by the 
 pupils, as in ordinary national schools, and I am 
 bound to make up the deficiency. 
 
 My agreement with the teacher as to indoor in- 
 struction is, that the regulations of the Education 
 Board shall be strictly observed, and with regard 
 to outdoor or agricultural instruction, he is, after 
 school hours, to direct working classes of the boys 
 upon the small model farm, under such regula- 
 tions as he shall from time to time receive from 
 the patron of the school. He is to adopt the most 
 approved system of tillage, as regards succes-
 
 238 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 sion of crops. He is to house, feed, and not to 
 pasture his stock, of which he must, at all times 
 have at least one cow. It is part of his duty to 
 give advice and explanation of details to the neigh- 
 bouring farmers to induce them to follow his 
 example, and he is to shew them how they should 
 commence operations with which they are un- 
 acquainted. He is bound to open his school in 
 the evening, to instruct adults who cannot quit 
 their labours during the working hours. After 
 a year's experience of this plan the success of it 
 has proved so complete, and the important out of 
 door instruction given to the parents has required 
 so much of the teacher's time, that I have given 
 him an indoor assistant. 
 
 Whilst the school house was preparing, the 
 master applied himself to the agricultural objects 
 of his employment exclusively, and certainly with 
 a success beyond what had been anticipated. I 
 did not suppose that people would c'lange the 
 system of their forefathers, however erroneous it 
 might be in fact, until positive and repeated 
 proofs had been given to them of some other being 
 more beneficial. Yet in this case, some of the
 
 Ireland in 1836. 239 
 
 poorest, and of those considered likely to be least 
 tractable, were found to take advantaa:e during; 
 the first year of the advice, when supported by * 
 the practical assistance of the teacher, before they 
 had time to witness the results produced on the 
 model farm. This was highly satisfactory, and is 
 an answer to those who would attribute conse- 
 quences arising out of their own negligence and 
 vices to the obstinacy and opposition of the poor. 
 The fact is, the poor know their own plan, and 
 they can know no other, until it is brought prac- 
 tically before their eyes. They cannot afford to 
 make experiments.* 
 
 But to return from this long digression, if 
 I did not much admire Mr. Trench's Hiber- 
 nian School, there were other things in the 
 parish which I witnessed with much delight. 
 Near the school I entered with him into a cot- 
 tage as tidy and clean as a cabin with a mud floor 
 could be, in which a lecture is held by the curate 
 every Wednesday, when the cottage is filled with 
 Protestants. I asked the owner of the house, 
 herself a pious person, whether any of the Romans 
 * " Instruct. &c." by J. P. Kennedy, p. 4,5, &c.
 
 240 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 now attended. " They are afraid," she answered, 
 " for if any one should attend, the Priest would 
 probably make him stand in the chapel in a sheet, 
 before all the people, or place him at the altar 
 with a candle in his mouth." "Still they are 
 on good terms with you." " Oh, the Romans 
 are quiet and peaceable enough; they only break 
 each other's heads now." " Do you call that be- 
 ing peaceable and quiet?" "Sure, they don't 
 break our heads, and that's being quiet enough." 
 "But do they really fight with each other?" 
 " Wait till to-morrow, at the fair, and if it is like 
 the last, you'll see fighting and beating enough." 
 
 I was glad to hear that the Protestants of the 
 parish have, in this respect, a marked superiority. 
 Indeed, among them there seems to be much 
 piety, and a general thirst after the word of God. 
 Of the first I had pleasing evidence in the con- 
 versation of several of the cottagers, whose cabins 
 I entered in company with their pastor : I had 
 also an opportunity the same evening of witnessing 
 the second. It was only that morning that Mr. 
 F. Trench had heard of our arrival ; upon which, 
 he sent out notice that a stranger would preach
 
 Ireland in 1886. 241 
 
 to tbein in the evening. The nnniber of Pro- 
 testants in the parish scattered over a considerable 
 extent of country is about lOOO; and at the 
 appointed time I found his church filled witli 
 above 300 persons. Nor was the number con- 
 gregated the only indication of their devotional 
 feeling. Unlike so many of our congregations 
 which seem to consider the praise of God no 
 part of their business, here the whole congrega- 
 tion rose with their minister, and without either 
 organ, or any singers to lead them, made the 
 church resound with a full and beautiful concord 
 of voices. I was prepared to see some tokens of 
 earnestness among his people, from what I knew 
 of his own self-denying zeal. His house is the 
 smallest and the simplest imaginable. Four 
 little rooms, which, if thrown together, would 
 scarcely make one large one, form his humble 
 dwelling, in which the simplest furniture cor- 
 responds with the white-washed walls. It is 
 easy to smile at all this self-denial. But is it as 
 easy to shew that the circumstances in which we 
 live, do not require of us, as the disciples of 
 Christ, something of the same kind ? One 
 
 M
 
 242 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 governing" consideration regulates his whole ex- 
 penditure. He asks himself, and he calls each 
 of his fellow-Christians to ask himself too, " How 
 can I, by my whole property, do the greatest good 
 to my fellow-creatures, and bring the greatest 
 glory to God '" That principle what Christian 
 can blame? And when we proceed to its applica- 
 tion, who can question, but that if large sums 
 which are now spent by Christians, on amusement, 
 luxury, and splendour, were employed in scrip- 
 tural schools, in loan libraries, in the circulation 
 of the Bible, and of useful tracts, in provident 
 societies, in the support of missionaries abroad 
 y, and missionary agents at home, in the erection 
 / Of churches^ in the employment of the industrious, 
 and in the promotion of useful public designs, 
 the face of society might, in a short time, with 
 the blessing of God, be much improved. Are 
 any of us suflBcienlly liberal, and self-denying? 
 Do we really and in truth live for the glory of 
 Christ, for the good of our fellow-creatures, and 
 for eternity ? Mr. Trench has for some years 
 exemplified those principles of christian liberality, 
 which have been lately enforced in an eloquent
 
 Ireland in 183G. 243 
 
 and excellent work entitled " Mammon," by 
 Mr. Harris, of Epsom, which I think every one 
 who is anxious to be a faithful steward of the 
 property which God has entrusted to his charge, 
 oug-ht to read and weigh. Such men as Mr, 
 Trench are a blessing-, not merely to their neigh- 
 bourhood, but to their country and their age. 
 
 M 2
 
 244 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Drive to Castle Connell — Rapids of the Shannon — Sacred 
 Well — Approach to Limerick- Shannon below the City — 
 Commerce of Limerick — Its Pauperism — Chapel of the 
 Blind Asylum — Roman Catholic Chapels— Ceremony of 
 the Mass — State of the Poor in the County of Clare — 
 Scenery above Cratloe — Boat Race on the Shannon — 
 Peasantry of Cratloe. 
 
 Leaving Cangort, (August 12,) we passed 
 through Nenugh and Limerick to Cratloe, a 
 village iu the county oC Clare. Our road lay 
 through Cloughjordan, which we found thronged 
 with persons who had come to the monthly fair. 
 Horses, cows, sheep, and pigs, had been brought 
 in for sale. The stalls were scantily supplied with 
 apples, gingerbread, tin-ware, wooden vessels, 
 bread, potatoes, &c., and all seemed busy with 
 their negotiations. The women were in cotton 
 gowns, and most of them wore caps. Of the 
 men, some looked intelligent and lively ; some 
 were large and well formed ; others looked
 
 Ireland in 183G. 245 
 
 worn and thin, and many had a more coarse 
 and degraded look than I had observed in any 
 other town through which we passed : numbers 
 were still coming into the town along the Limerick 
 road, some of whom were conducting their pig 
 to market, with a whisp of straw tied to the hind 
 leg; others carried nothing but the shillelah. 
 
 Throughout the road we observed the usual 
 crops of potatoes and corn, interspersed with 
 bog, ill-drained grass lands, and occasionally a 
 patch of flax. Nothing relieved the dull uni- 
 formity of the flat, but the same hilly horizon 
 which was visible from Cangort. After Nenagh, 
 a poor looking place, with a miserable suburb, the 
 neighbourhood of the Keeper Mountain on the 
 left, made the scenery less tame. But still every- 
 where we saw a bare region, neglected fences, 
 slovenly cultivation, decayed hovels, and half 
 naked men and women. It was a relief to come 
 at length upon Castle Connell and the Shannon. 
 And we were soon floating in a slight boat upon its 
 surface. Should we ascend to Lough Derg, or 
 descend to see the rapids ? Either trip the boat- 
 man assured us would abundantly repay our labour,
 
 246 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 and I was quite of his mind. Not to visit Killaloe 
 and see where the Shannon spreads out into a lake 
 of 23 miles in length, studded with islands and 
 sheltered by woody banks and distant hills, was no 
 small sacrifice. But this would have taken time, 
 and it would have been worse to lose the rapids : 
 so we gave the order to descend. Swiftly we 
 glided on the amber-coloured and brilliant river, 
 which flashed and foamed along its course, 
 till having shot the first rapid, and come into 
 calmer water, we landed on the opposite bank, 
 about a mile below the village. From this spot 
 we walked for about a mile upon the well-wooded 
 margin of the river, sometimes looking down on 
 its foam, sometimes pleased with its more tranquil 
 flow. The scene is not romantic, it has no 
 gigantic vegetation, it cannot be compared with 
 Rostrevor or Killarney, but in that bright day, 
 after the naked country which we had traversed, 
 it was indeed delightful. The earth was all one 
 emerald ; the luxuriant grounds of Lord Massey 
 on the left bank, lighted up by the cloudless sun, 
 looked smilingly upon those of Sir Hugh Massey 
 on the right ; and between them the broad bright
 
 Ireland in 1836. 247 
 
 transparent river was dashing- and sparkling over 
 its rocky bed. Northwards it was rolling to our 
 feet, southwards, it was hurrying far away to the 
 ocean, glittering and dancing in the sun-beams. 
 And whether the eye explored the stream 
 upwards, or traced its descent till it was lost 
 behind the projecting headland, still there was 
 nothing to be seen but lawn, and wood, those 
 gentle slopes, and that exulting river, except where 
 far off the blue and hazy mountains seemed to 
 look in tranquil majesty upon the peaceful scene. 
 But in Ireland there is an omnipresent mischief — 
 and when you would let your thoughts repose 
 among the sweet influences of nature, and would 
 hush your heart into a tranquillity like that of the 
 unruffled lake, or the sleeping foliage on a breath- 
 less summer's evening, then Popery looks in upon 
 you like a spectre, or, if it be half concealed, 
 like a snake among the flowers " there comes a 
 token like a scorpion's sting," warning you of its 
 hateful presence. I felt it at Killarney, I felt 
 it at Rostrevor, and here it was again. In the 
 heart of Sir Hugh's grounds there is a sacred well, 
 reputed to be of power to cure various disorders
 
 •248 Ireland in 183(5. 
 
 and infirmities. Thither the crippled and the sor- 
 rowful resort. The trees are blackened vith 
 their consecrated candles, the circuit of the well 
 is beaten by their naked knees, the water is turbid 
 with their frequent ablutions, the bushes are 
 disfigured with their votive rags, and multitudes 
 of little wooden bowls, there consecrated to 
 St. Shenan (or Shannon,) testify their super- 
 stitious hope that the saint will be pleased with 
 their devotions, and will heal their griefs. 
 Oh that these poor suffering devotees may soon 
 turn from imaginary mediators and saviours to 
 Him who is indeed able and willing to save to 
 the uttermost, all that come unto God throuf/h 
 Him.* 
 
 On our return to the village, the importunities 
 of some miserable objects again interrupted our 
 enjoyment of the gentle scenery. How can you 
 be pleased with the tranquillity of inanimate 
 nature, when it seems only to insult the rags and 
 wretchedness of the starving creatures who creep 
 amidst its shades ? Unhappily too, this poverty, 
 
 •Ileb. vii. 25.
 
 Ireland in 1S36. 241) 
 
 which obtruded itself upon our view, was only 
 the overflowing of an extended penury in the 
 whole neighbourhood. Of the numerous cottiers 
 in Stradbally, Kilnagarifl", and Castleconnell, few 
 have constant employment; their wages, when 
 they get work, are 10^. in summer, and 8d. in 
 winter; their diet is potatoes and sour milk, with 
 a few salt herrings in Lent. " They have scarcely 
 any clothes to wear;" "they are all half naked, 
 except those few who get permanent employ- 
 ment."* But nature was still fair. After skirtinsr 
 for some distance the woods of Lord Clare, we 
 again entered the main road, which we had left 
 to visit the Rapids, just as the sun was about to 
 touch the Galway hills, and threw a misty splen- 
 dour over the broad river, and the woody plain 
 through which it flows. When we entered Li- 
 merick the bright evening was verging upon twi- 
 light, and without halting we crossed the river, 
 and penetrated Clare, as far as the village of 
 Cratloe, which is about five miles from Limerick 
 and upon the river's edge. 
 
 In the morning a six-oared boat belonging to 
 
 *Sup. p. 221. 
 
 M 3
 
 250 
 
 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 Mr. Augustus O'Brien conveyed us to Limerick. 
 For the honour of the Shannon no time could have 
 been more unfortunate. It was low water ; a thick 
 haze almost hid the wooded hills of Clare, whi&h 
 rise about two miles from the bank ; there was a 
 burning sun and breathless atmosphere, we were on 
 a blazing plain of muddy water, and on each side 
 of ns was a steaming continent of mud, on which 
 the crane and the curlew alone shewed signs of 
 life. Our good natured and communicative boat- 
 men pulled well against the stream, and soon 
 brought us within sight of the warehouses and 
 the beautiful new bridge of the city. After order- 
 ing a car to convey us back to Cratloe, we proceeded 
 to visit some parts of the city. For its general 
 state and prospects I must refer my reader to 
 Inglis, whose instructive tour should be read by 
 every one. According to him, the following has 
 been the increase of its trade in the last few years: 
 
 - 
 
 Wheat. 
 
 Oats. 
 
 Flour. 
 
 Butter. 
 
 Vessels out. Exports. 
 
 1822 
 1833 
 
 Brh. 
 102,593 
 
 218,915 
 
 Brh. 
 
 155,000 
 408,000 
 
 Civt. 
 
 (1824) 172 
 
 37,000 
 
 Firk. 
 42,869 
 
 75,000 
 
 Tonnage. 
 29,876 
 
 56,850 
 
 f'alue. 
 £479,538 
 
 £936,995
 
 Ireland in 1836. 251 
 
 But notwithstanding this general prosperity, of 
 which the shops and warehouses alone afford in- 
 dications even to the passing stranger, painful 
 symptoms of a wide-spread pauperism, immedi- 
 ately obtrude themselves on his notice. Women 
 in tatters were begging in every street ; unem- 
 ployed labourers were standing in little groups, 
 or sitting in the great thoroughfares, or saunter- 
 ing along, with nothing to do, as one of them said 
 to a Commissioner, but to drag misery at their 
 heels. It was our chief wish to see the state of 
 these poor creatures, and therefore crossing the 
 bridge, we penetrated the old city. In one 
 of the first streets that we entered, large stands 
 were piled with pig meat, i. e. salted heads, tails, 
 and offal of pig, so dirty, stale, and apparently 
 decayed, as to be perfectly revolting. This odious 
 condiment was selling at Shd. per pound. Furthei* 
 on, in a thronged and principal street, the I\fon- 
 mouth Street of Limerick, not only were there 
 plenty of old clothes shops, but the old clothes 
 were interspersed with rags and tatters, which 
 were also on sale for those whose means 
 would only allow them to patch with other 
 
 M 4
 
 252 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 rags, the rags which they already wore. Here 
 a huge drunken woman, holding up an infant 
 almost naked, and brandishing it with one arm 
 just as if it was a stone she was going to fling at 
 the head of an enemy, exclaimed, " Here is the 
 son of a man." Poor little being; what a mother! 
 what a neighbourhood! what a prospect! From 
 some of the adjoining alleys I positively shrunk, 
 they seemed too horrible to enter. One, however, 
 we visited. After seeing several bare abodes, 
 we entered one in which was a poor old soldier, 
 who had served with Xelson and lost his leg at 
 Algiers. He is in the receipt of a pension, upon 
 which he depends. But with a wife and four 
 children to maintain, he was poor enough. His 
 four children, the eldest of whom seemed about 
 thirteen years old, slept on the rude bedstead, 
 the parents had a small bundle of straw on the 
 mud floor. Near this was a door, before which 
 was a sort of causeway of heather across the 
 stagnant filth in front of the house. As we en- 
 tered, the light from a small aperture without 
 glass, which served for a window, was thrown 
 upon a pile of heather, occupying the left of the
 
 Ireland in 1836. . 253 
 
 room and reaching to the ceiling-. The right was 
 involved in darkness. In front was the window, 
 beneath which a man and woman were sitting 
 before their turf embers, on the rude bedstead, 
 which seemed the only piece of furniture in the 
 house. The floor was as wet and dirty as the 
 stall of a stable belonging to the second rate inn 
 of a county town towards the close of a market 
 day. To approach the owners of this lodging 
 we were obliged to step over the manure which 
 lay upon the floor. By the partial light I ob- 
 served that both were ragged, and the man had 
 the haggard look of starvation. While standing 
 near the bedstead, my shoulder was suddenly 
 saluted by the nibble of a horse. Turning round, 
 I now for the first time perceived that one third 
 of the apartment belonged to the animal. It was 
 plump and sleek to the touch. I now found that 
 the man was a broom seller. He sold his brooms 
 at a halfpenny, and the profits would scarcely 
 supply him with potatoes. But how then, I asked, 
 do you contrive to keep your horse so well. 
 " Ogh then, I might even beg potatoes round the 
 town if it was not for her, and sure I had rather
 
 254 Irela>'d in 183G. 
 
 starve myself, than not give her enough." And 
 what then do you give her? " Potatoe skins, 
 heath tops, and occasionally bits of hay." The 
 care of the master seemed repaid by the affection 
 of the horse. The pretty creature, now more 
 clearly visible as our eyes became accustomed to 
 the gloom, put her head on his shoulder, with her 
 lips played with his ear, nibbled at the collar of 
 his shirt, and to judge by its bright eye and the 
 sleeknesss of its coat, seemed to enjoy its lot. 
 Its master too, amidst hunger and want, had a 
 gentle cheerfulness which was most touching. 
 The gift of a single shilling brought a flood of 
 benedictions. Traversing an old corridor to 
 another apartment, we found in the open air 
 a small heap of straw, which had been for some 
 weeks, the only bed and lodging of a woman and 
 her two children. At another door, the aspect 
 of a half naked and trembling old woman invited 
 us to enter. Upon our asking her which was her 
 room, she led the way up a dark and decayed 
 staircase to her miserable den. It was not empty, 
 but instead of furniture, it held what seemed to 
 be the accumulated rags and dirt of half a century.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 255 
 
 As soon as we were entered, she lay herself down 
 as though she had been alone, upon a ragged old 
 cloth, spread upon the floor, and groaned out, 
 " They are all gone, they are all gone." Her sons 
 were dead : Her old husband was past work ; 
 — and she was ill. " What will I do, (she added,) 
 what will I do? God is good but when next winter 
 comes, what will I do J" When a shilling was 
 given her, she threw herself on her knees, and 
 with her eyes closed, begun to mutter her ejacu- 
 latory prayers ; then, still kneeling, began to pour 
 out her expressions of gratitude with a rapid and 
 impassioned utterance, all the while vehemently 
 striking her bare and withered chest. We were 
 then retiring to the door. " Och no," she then 
 cried out, " I have not said enough yet," and 
 rising up she rushed to the door, and then again 
 falling on her knees, spread her two withered 
 arms to heaven and still continued to invoke bles- 
 sings on us till we disappeared. 
 
 Every cellar in these alleys seemed to be occu- 
 pied. One with damp mud floor, no window, no 
 chimney, but a trap door which served for window, 
 chimney, and door, was the abode of two families.
 
 256 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 The filth outside the doors is indescribable and 
 the atmosphere pestiferous. Some poor and dirty 
 districts may be looked for, in all great cities, but 
 in Limerick, these are not only more squalid and 
 filthy than usual, but also more extended. 
 
 On Sunday, August 14, I attended service 
 at the Blind Asylum, which has excellent Minis- 
 ters. As at the Penitentiary at Dublin, and 
 the church at Cloughjordan, there was here no 
 clerk : and in all these places the absence of that 
 functionary was a decided improvement. Clerks 
 seldom read with feeling, and when they do not, 
 their loud, monotonous, and unintelligent recitative 
 destroys the devotional tone of the \vhole service. 
 There, instead of that unpleasant chime of the 
 hired performer, I heard the serious responses of 
 many devout worshippers, and it seemed real 
 prayer. The singing was almost confined to a 
 gentle choir of blind girls. It was pretty, but 
 the congregation seemed to forget that they were 
 to praise God. At Cloughjordan, numbers 
 seemed to join in the loud melody, with all their 
 heart and soul : and the Penitentiary in Dublin 
 had the sweetest congregational singing I have
 
 Ireland in 183(). 2f>7 
 
 ever heard. There was no instrumental music, 
 nor any parade of fine performance ; but rich 
 voices scattered over the whole building, in 
 sweetest harmony, gave full effect to a melodious 
 air, and uttered with apparent devotion the lan- 
 guage of gratitude and praise. 
 
 The next morning, between half-past eight and 
 nine o'clock, I visited three of the Roman Catholic 
 Chapels. At the Dominican Chapel the service 
 was not begun, but hundreds were kneeling at their 
 separate devotions. It is a handsome structure, 
 fantastically ornamented in the interior. At 
 the door was the holy water, then the confession 
 boxes, then there was a space for the poorer con- 
 gregation, and then, railed off and supplied with 
 benches, a space in front of the altar occupied by 
 the richer members of the flock. On each side 
 the altar was drapery sparkling with tinsel; not 
 far from the altar was a pulpit. Tn the Augus- 
 tinian and Franciscan chapels, the mass was begun, 
 and in both, the numbers coming in were so great 
 that I could stand near the door, and observe the 
 order of the service without wounding the feelings 
 of any of the worshippers, though T did not cross.
 
 258 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 and bow, and kneel, as they did. In the Fran- 
 ciscan Chapel I was so hemmed in by the poor 
 people, that when I wished to come out, I was 
 obliged to step over a poor old woman beside me, 
 who had prostrated herself with her face on the 
 ground in prayer. I never see a Roman Catholic 
 congregation without the deepest interest and 
 pity. They seem so much in earnest, so humble, 
 and so devout. As they kneel on the bare 
 ground, one lifts up his eye to heaven; another 
 wipes away the tear that has rolled down his 
 cheek ; a third, with clasped hands, looks ear- 
 nestly at the crucifix ; and a fourth is devoutly 
 reading his book of prayers. Superstitious as 
 they are, I always hope that God may have his 
 children among them. But then what is there 
 to guide and elevate their devotional feeling J 
 After each one has sprinkled himself with holy 
 water at the door, ad uh'ujendos dcEinones, crossed 
 himself, and knelt on one knee, he sees before 
 him the altar, the pix, the crucifix, the chalice, the 
 paten, and the two lighted candles. Then comes in 
 the priest with his amice, cincture, maniple, stole, 
 and chasuble, makes a sign of the cross, kneels on
 
 Ireland in 183G. 259 
 
 one knee, goes up to the altar, retires from it, 
 bows to it, goes up again, and kisses it. This 
 (lone, he walks to the epistle side of the altar, 
 and, after another crossing, reads the introit. 
 Other prayers follow. He then advances to the 
 altar, bows down, and remains for some time in 
 that posture silent. After this he walks to the 
 gospel side of the altar, and carries the mass- 
 book thence to the middle of the altar. At the 
 beginning of the Gospel all cross themselves on 
 the forehead, mouth, and breast. Now comes 
 what is supposed to be the awful mystery. The 
 priest unveils the chalice, puts bread on the 
 paten, mixes water with the wine, covers the 
 chalice with the paten, washes his fingers, rests 
 a minute or two in perfect silence, then mutters 
 something in a low voice — then spreads out his 
 arms above his head — then spreads his hands over 
 the bread and wine — then holds up the wafer — 
 then the chalice. Meanwhile a bell rings vehe- 
 mently; upon this he makes five crossings — 
 strikes his breast — mixes a crumb of the wafer 
 with the wine in the chalice — again strikes his 
 breast— says the Agnus Dei — wipes the chalice
 
 2G0 Ireland in 183(5. 
 
 clean — covers it — goes to the epistie side to read 
 —carries back the mass book to the right side — 
 turns round — lifts up both his hands, and at last 
 says, " Ite, missa est." The whole of this scenic 
 representation seems, to every educated mind, so 
 childish, and yet so calculated to impose upon 
 the simplicity of an ignorant multitude with its 
 mock solemnity, that it always excites my in- 
 dignation. Is it possible, I think to myself, that 
 that man, with his gorgeous chasuble, is not at 
 this moment insulting his Maker and deluding his 
 flock, by performing ceremonies which he feels 
 to be worthless, and by upholding tenets which he 
 knows to be false ? They may be deceived: but 
 does not he know that all that bowing, and wiping, 
 and crossing, and genuflexion, those burning 
 candles and that muttered Latin, are altogether 
 unworthy rational beings, and offensive to Al- 
 mighty God ? " There are not ten priests in 
 Ireland," said a converted priest to me once, with 
 impassioned vehemence, " who are not gross 
 hypocrites. They know, Sir, that bread and 
 wine are not converted into the body and blood 
 of Jesus Christ. But they dare not meet the
 
 Ireland in 1836. 261 
 
 consequences of owning- their disbelief." I have 
 found also this opinion common among- the Pro- 
 testants of irehuid, and Mr. Burke, recently 
 converted to more scriptural views, declares that 
 very many of them disbelieve it.* From my own 
 personal knowledge I can say nothing. On the 
 one hand, we know the force of educational 
 prejudices, and few of them probably have read 
 much, either of the Bible or of Protestant books : 
 but, on the other hand, the notion is so extra- 
 vagant, that it is difficult to persuade oneself 
 that any educated person, with any understanding, 
 can believe it. 
 
 On my return to Cratloe, it being a Roman 
 Catholic holiday, the hay-fields, I observed, were 
 deserted of their labourers. There was a sab- 
 batic cessation from work, and the people, in 
 their best frieze coats, were sauntering along the 
 road. From Cratloe we took a drive along the 
 Ennis road, visiting some of the cottages on our 
 way. The cabins of the small farmers were just 
 a little better than those of the labourers, which 
 were of the poorest description. Several were 
 * Ijurke's Letter, p. 3.
 
 262 Ireland ix 1836. 
 
 without chimney or window. In one was a poor 
 old woman, maintained by " her little girl." In 
 another, less wretched, the old woman told me that 
 " her little boy" worked for her. The little girl, 
 I found, upon enquiry, to be a woman forty years 
 of age, and the little boy, if he resembled his 
 brother, who stood near while the old woman 
 was speaking-, must be an athletic man, above six 
 feet high, in the middle of life. This filial 
 kindness is, I believe, common among the Irish 
 peasantry. The description of one of the cabins 
 may serve to illustrate the state of many. It 
 was of the rudest construction. Stones heaped 
 together without cement, formed the outer wall : 
 within was a wall of mud, and the roof was a thin 
 covering of straw, laid upon some poles cut from 
 the neighbouring- wood. For this the owner paid 
 his landlord, who is a middleman of the neigh- 
 bourhood, IO5. 6d. as a ground-rent. His first 
 resource for food was one quarter of an acre, for 
 which he paid to the same landlord 1/. These 
 rents he worked out at the rate of ScL a day, 
 with food in the summer. For occasional jobs 
 he got lOd. in summer, and 6d. in winter, but
 
 Irkland in 1836. 263 
 
 could very rarely get work. Since the beginning 
 of the year he had only got eight weeks work, 
 and for three weeks had been without any thing 
 to do. With these resources he had to maintain 
 a wife and four children. It need scarcely be 
 added, that he could only procure for them dry 
 potatoes, comforts being out of the question. He 
 had no pig, because he had not been able to raise 
 the money to buy one. A little worn out straw 
 formed their bed : there was a sheet, but no 
 blanket, and the only bed-clothes were the only 
 clothes in their possession, the rags which they 
 wore. The children looked half fei], and the 
 parents were worn and thin ; but they seemed re- 
 signed and amiable. Other cottiers were in similar 
 circumstances. In this immediate neighbourhood 
 there are not, as I was told, many middlemen : 
 but the country has still many, and the number 
 between the owner of the soil and the cultivator 
 is sometimes frightful. I heard of one property 
 in which the head landlord, the Archbishop of 
 Cashel, received 1/. per acre : six middlemen, 
 one under the other, received each 1/., and the 
 wretched cultivator must pay the whole 71. out of
 
 264 
 
 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 the sweat of his brow ! How could he be such a 
 fool, it may be said, as to take the land at that rate I 
 What could he do I He had no means of emigrat- 
 ing — he could get no work — he must have land or 
 starve — and there was no other land to be had. 
 
 Not many of the poor of that immediate neigh- 
 bourhood emigrate either to England, or to the 
 United States. The first class have fared ill, 
 and came home to tell the story of their hardships, 
 and there is no money to swell the numbers of the 
 second. But bad as is the condition of the 
 Barony of Bunratty, the interior of Clare seems 
 to be still poorer, if we may take the Barony of 
 Corcomroe, which was examined into by tlie 
 Commissioners, as a specimen. 
 
 The following table exhibits the extent of 
 employment. 
 
 Pari'-lies. 
 
 Number of 
 Labourers. 
 
 Constantly 
 employed. 
 
 Killelaojh 
 
 Killmaciihy 
 
 Kilfenora . .... 
 Kilshenny ...... 
 
 Cloney 
 
 Kilmanagheeii .... 
 
 347 
 379 
 454 
 226 
 203 
 556 
 
 80 
 150 
 120 
 
 50 
 100 
 100 
 
 2,165 
 
 600
 
 Iheland in 1836. 205 
 
 The number, therefore, in that barony alone, 
 who are either unemployed, or partially employed, 
 is 1565 ; there are many dispossessed tenants, 
 and the wages of labour are of course low ; 8d. 
 in summer without food, and 6d. in winter. 
 Occasionally there are instances of great suffer- 
 ing. One man near Ennistymon got employment, 
 but his family were so distressed, that he could 
 not afford to buy himself victuals. When his 
 fellow workmen went to their meals, he used to 
 hide himself to conceal from them that he had 
 nothing to eat. Two other men, being too poor 
 to buy fuel, boiled all their potatoes for the week 
 on Sunday, and through the week ate them cold 
 with a little salt.* What a contrast nature 
 seemed to present to all this misery! On our 
 way back to Cratloe, we entered an extensive 
 wood belonging to Mr. O'Brien, which climbs a 
 hill of considerable elevation, and through the 
 picturesque stems of the birch-trees saw before us 
 the brimful, bright, and magnificent Shannon, 
 spreading far away to the ocean — across it the 
 Keeper Mountain, the beautiful Galtee Chain, 
 
 * Ap. D. pp. 49,50.
 
 266 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 and farther to the west the hills of Limerick — 
 while nearer, the ruins of Carrick-go-gugnyel 
 Castle, on the southern bank of the river, and of 
 Bunratty Castle, on the northern bank, adorned 
 the sun-lit foliage of the woods by which they are 
 surrounded. That afternoon there was to be a 
 race between two six-oared boats belonging to 
 Mr. O'Brien, which took us down to the brink 
 of the river, that we might see the people in their 
 best trim. The holiday forbade them to work, 
 but allowed amusement. Accordingly above one 
 hundred persons were collected at the starting 
 place ; most of them well clothed in good home- 
 made frieze. The news of the affair had spread. 
 A fiddler and a bagpipe-man had been attracted 
 by the hope of gain, and each of the rival mu- 
 sicians was playing to two pair of rustic dancers, 
 who accomplished the Irish jig, (the most un- 
 graceful of all movements,) with energetic 
 vivacity. The people seemed happy and amiable. 
 Mr. Infflis mentions a certain baronet who made 
 it his rule to restrict his intercourse with his 
 tenantry to the narrowest limits possible ; more 
 wisely and more humanely Mr. O'Brien lives
 
 Ireland in 183G. 267 
 
 much among them. With such intercourse, 
 injustice on the one hand, and heart-burnings on 
 the other, are impossible : both parties must 
 become attached to each other, and both be 
 improved. 
 
 n2
 
 26S 
 
 CHA.PTER X. 
 
 The Shannon — Journey to Tipperary — Galtee Mountains- 
 Town of Tipperary — State of the Poor — Outrages — Cahir- 
 "\'alley of the Suir — Clonmell — Callen. 
 
 This day we bade adieu to Clare ; but before I 
 carry the reader with me across Limerick and 
 Tipperary, I must collect for him the interesting 
 information which Williams and Inglis have af- 
 forded on the navigation of the Shannon. It 
 rises in Lough Allen, a wild and solitary lake in 
 the county of Leitrim, then flowing by Leitrim 
 and Carrick to Lanesboro, forms on its way Lough 
 Bodarrig, Lough Boffin, and Lough Forbes, 
 and then expands into Lough Ree, a noble 
 lake, twenty-miles in length, with well wooded 
 banks and beautiful islands. At Athlone the 
 river again issues from the lake, and passing 
 along a gloomy level by Banagher to Portumna, 
 there again spreads itself out into Lough Derg. 
 This lake, with rich and cultivated banks, adorned
 
 Ireland in 1836. 269 
 
 with gentlemen's seats, extends 23 miles, from 
 Portumna to Killaloe. There the river again 
 contracts, and after a course of 15 miles more, it 
 flows under the bridge of Limerick. Below 
 Limerick it forms an estuary 60 miles in length, 
 and expands to the breadth of 8 miles. The 
 whole course from Lough Allen to the sea is 234 
 miles ; the whole fall of the river through all 
 this course is only 146 feet 10 inches. From 
 Killaloe to Limerick the fall is 1)7 feet, and from 
 Lough Allen to Killaloe only 49. During the 
 greater part of its course it has a considerable 
 depth. Lough Allen is deep. From Leitrim to 
 Lough Ree the river is navigable ; Lough Ree 
 varies from 10 feet to 108 in depth. Abo\e 
 Athlone bridge the river is 300 yards wide, and 
 varies from 25 to 30 feet in depth. Below 
 Athlone are some rapids, which are avoided by 
 a canal. The upper part of Lough Derg has 
 water enough for steam navigation ; the lower 
 part varies in depth from 30 to 90 feet. Between 
 Killaloe and O'Brien's bridge the depth is from 
 30 to 40 feet. A little lower down is the com- 
 mencement of the rapids, which have rendered
 
 270 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 it necessary to carry a canal from Limerick to a 
 point of the river about a mile and a half above 
 Castle Connell. By the aid of these canals it is 
 navigable along its whole course, from Lough 
 Allen to the sea ; and along the whole it will 
 soon be navigated. Every other day a steamer 
 plies from Limerick to Kilrush, and returns on 
 the intermediate days. At Limerick the tide is 
 arrested by the rapids. But there is a regular 
 communication with the upper Shannon by the 
 canal. Killaloe is the head-quarters of the 
 Inland Steam Navigation Company, and from 
 this point there is a regular steam navigation to 
 Athlone, and it is intended to carry it further, 
 through Lough Bee to Leitrim. At present the 
 boats go only twice a week to Athlone, but they 
 go daily from Limerick to Shannon Harbour, 
 which is a few miles above Banagher, where the 
 Grand Canal joins the river, and from thence by 
 the canal boats, which are towed with considerable 
 rapidity, there is daily communication for goods 
 and passengers with Dublin.* 
 
 * Inglis, i. 266, 318—321, 332, 333. See also the inte- 
 resting work of Mr. \Villiams on Inland Navigation.
 
 Ireland in 183G. 271 
 
 Leaving Limerick, on the I'oad to Tipperary 
 we passed over a rich flat, having cultivated hills 
 on our right, and on our left, at a little distance, 
 the Slieve Bloom Mountains. The crops of pota- 
 toes and wheat were good, but the grass lands 
 wanted draining. There is much unreclaimed 
 bog, the fences are neglected, and the landscape 
 is without trees. Mud cabins, too, of the worst 
 description, and some hovels built of sods cut 
 from the neighbouring bog, with rushes or any 
 thing else piled on the top for a roof, shock the 
 eye. Children and pigs, where there is a pig, 
 come together out of these dismal dens ; and in 
 some there seemed to us, as we passed, neither 
 turf-stack nor furniture, nor any thing above 
 absolute destitution. 
 
 Near Tipperary, Lord Stanley's house stands 
 well. Its plantations are sheltered by a range 
 of hills, overlooked by the picturesque chain of 
 the Galtees. These mountains are both foftier, 
 bolder, more extensive, and every way more 
 beautiful than the Malvern Hills. But at their 
 feet is a naked plain, disfigured by decayed 
 hovels and unreclaimed bo?, while the Enfflish
 
 272 Irelakd in 1836. 
 
 range rises from the bosom of rich woods, and 
 looks down upon orchards, meadows, and smiling 
 cottages, the abodes of plenty and of peace. The 
 contrast is most painful. The town of Tipperary 
 has a weary length of mud suburb, which, at 
 the time of our passing through, had poured its 
 contents into the main street. At least 100 men, 
 in frieze, and many of them ragged, were stand- 
 ing about. " Is it market-day here?" I somewhat 
 thoughtlessly asked the landlady, as we were 
 changing horses. " Oh no," she answered, " the 
 streets are generally as full at this time : they are 
 men who can get nothing to do." Is not this 
 enough to account for all the turbulence for 
 which Tipperary is infamous ? Landlords in Ire- 
 land are naturally unwilling to believe the un- 
 pleasant truth, that the country is disturbed 
 because the labourers are in misery, and I have 
 heard some allege the case of Tipperary in proof 
 of this. This county, they say, is one of the 
 richest in Ireland, in which the labourers are 
 well clothed and well fed, yet it is also the most 
 disturbed. The county is fertile, but that affords 
 no advantage to the labourer, if rents rise in
 
 Ireland in 1836. :>73 
 
 proportion, or if corn-lands are turned into pas- 
 ture. On the contrary, both in Tipperary and 
 elsewhere " the greatest distress among labourers 
 exists in the richest grazing districts."* Many 
 labourers in this county may perhaps be better 
 fed than in other counties, but I saw no proof of 
 it, and certainly I saw wretchedness enough. It 
 is also to be observed, that if the condition of the 
 labourers be not improved by the fertility of the 
 soil, they are likely to be injured by it. Let us 
 suppose that a cottier's holding of three acres in 
 Connemara will yield as large a crop of oats and 
 potatoes as one acre in a rich district of Tipperary. 
 Let the rents be equal. Then the advantage of 
 the two labourers will be equal. But the cottier 
 of Connaught has been obliged to give at least 
 three times the labour bestowed by the man of 
 Munster. And if neither of them could gei any 
 other employment, both might be miserably poor, 
 but the labourer of Munster would have three 
 times the leisure to brood over his poverty. Now 
 the wages in Tipperary are as low as elsewhere, 
 and the excess of population is as great ; and if 
 
 * Ap. D. 59. 
 
 n3
 
 274 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 the competition for land raises the rents, as it has 
 done every where else, it follows that the labourer, 
 as destitute as elsewhere, has also more idle time 
 in which he may fret himself with the uninter- 
 rupted contemplation of his misery. In the parish 
 of Tipperary there are above 600 labourers, and 
 not more than 200 have constant employment. 
 The food of those who get work is potatoes, to 
 which they may sometimes add sour milk in the 
 summer, and a herring in winter. When out of 
 work they live in misery, beg, and perhaps steal. 
 In the autumn low fevers prevail. The wages 
 are Is. in harvest, 8^7. in summer, and 6d. in 
 winter, without diet.^ Nor does Tipperary union 
 appear to be pre-eminently wretched. The neigh- 
 bouring barony of Middlethird holds a population 
 quite as much distressed. In this barony the 
 average of wages is 7^d. in summer, and 6d. in 
 winter. What renders this state of starvation 
 more galling is, that it has been progressive. As 
 the population has increased, the amount of em- 
 ployment has decreased, and wages have there- 
 fore fallen 2d. a day within the last five years. 
 
 * Sup. 233.
 
 Ireland in 183G. 275 
 
 When food is dear it not unfrequently happens 
 that labourers work merely for their diet, and then 
 what are their families to do? It is also not un- 
 common to see a labourer enfeebled by actual 
 want of food. Distress and want of work, with 
 Mr. O'ConnelTs speeches or without them, are 
 quite enough to account for an enmity to the laws 
 under which they suffer such hardships. Mr. 
 Fitzgerald, a magistrate, stated to the Commis- 
 sioners, that a man from a neighbouring village 
 was brought before him as having publicly de- 
 clared himself to be a murderer, and who had 
 been obliged to escape from his own village. 
 When it was proved that he was innocent of the 
 crime, he stated that he had charged himself with 
 it in order to obtain work. On hearing this state- 
 ment, ilie Rev. Mr. Laffan, R. C. C. said, " I 
 know that a feeling would exist, and a very strong- 
 one, in favour of giving work to a man under such 
 circumstances, because he was in a forlorn con- 
 dition, having risked his life in the popular cause, 
 having put an end to an oppressive landlord or 
 tithe collector." Agreeably to this statement, 
 when a chief constable of police was in purstiit 
 
 n4
 
 276 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 of a man charged with murder, he was frustrated 
 in his attempts to arrest him by the people screen- 
 ing him. It has happened in that neighbourhood 
 tliat the criminal has been protected by the ma- 
 gistrate himself. At Slievarda, in the same 
 county, a turbulent man, named Denis Carey, 
 having quarrelled with another labourer, climbed 
 the roof of his enemy's cabin, and threw bricks 
 down his chimney. Subsequently he entered the 
 cabin, and the husband not being at home, 
 knocked down the wife. For this he was sum- 
 moned to the Sessions ; and as both the men were 
 tenants of a magistrate, he quashed the prosecu- 
 tion, by declaring that he would turn the prose- 
 cutor out of his holding if he did not discontinue 
 it. Denis Carey was afterwards transported for 
 being concerned in the murder of a policeman.* 
 
 It must be confessed, however, that the Tippe- 
 rary men can be violent when they are not excited 
 by want. It is now some years since, in the town 
 of Clonmell, I attended a meeting called toge- 
 ther for the purpose of forming an association 
 in aid of the London Hibernian Society. The 
 
 * Ap. D.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 277 
 
 mechanism of that society is most inoffensive ; the 
 speeches advocating the right of the laity to read 
 the Scriptures, without asking permission of the 
 Priest, contained no insult, and manifested no 
 contempt ; yet did the mob within the building 
 rage as if they would pull it down, encouraged 
 by the gestures and language of the Priests who 
 were present; and at the close of the meeting the 
 mob assaulted the carriage in which I was, and 
 one of them broke the comb in the hair of a lady 
 in the carriage with a sharp-edged stone above 
 half a pound in weight. However, for this also 
 great allowance is to be made for the people. 
 They or their Priests have been, in earlier days, 
 cruelly persecuted. Protestant ascendancy has 
 been unprincipled and haughty : till of late years 
 they have experienced little advantage from their 
 connexion with England; and being still igno- 
 rant, easily imbibe the belief that they are the 
 objects of Protestant hatred. With that belief, 
 they must of course suppose that every effort to 
 give them religious instruction is the result of the 
 same bigotry as that which once prohibited their 
 education and proscribed their pastors.
 
 278 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 On leaving Tipperary the road winds among- 
 extensive plantations and gentle hills in company 
 with a clear stream. At different intervals neater 
 cottages, with the pig and its stye outside, be- 
 token greater comfort than is usual in Ireland ; 
 and occasional breaks in the hills gave us beau- 
 tiful glimpses of the Galtees, over green meadows 
 or fields of waving corn. A little further, enter- 
 ing the more stony and wilder hills attached to 
 the Galtee chain, we lost sight of the Slieve 
 Bloom summits, but in compensation obtained 
 some pretty views of Slieve-na-man, north of 
 Clonmell, and of the Knockmeledown mountains, 
 south of Cahir. Cahir is itself prettily situated ; 
 and large flour-mills give it an air of business and 
 prosperity. As the Suir, on which the town is 
 built, is not here navigable, the flour is carted to 
 Clonmell, and tbere shipped for Waterford and 
 for England. In this part of Ireland it is cheer- 
 ing to see the progress of prosperity. Since I 
 visited Cahir a public meeting has been held, to 
 discuss the project of a rail-road to connect the 
 Suir and the Shannon together, and should this 
 project be accomplished, it seems probable that
 
 Ireland in 1836. 279 
 
 a portion of the export trade at Limerick will 
 be directed to Cahir and Clonmell, still further 
 to enrich the valley of the Suir. 
 
 Between Cahir and Clonmell the drive is most 
 agreeable. Fine crops, neater farming, exten- 
 sive woods, and an undulating country, with the 
 Waterford mountains, and Slieve-na-man in the 
 back-ground, made many a landscape on which 
 the eye would love to rest. About three miles 
 from Clonmell, where we entered the valley of 
 the Suir, the scenery became strikingly rich. 
 Besides the same well-cultivated farms and 
 abundant harvests, a luxuriant valley spread 
 out on our right; hills clothed with wood rose 
 on every side, and above them those fine moun- 
 tains lifted their blue heads to the sky. The 
 town itself offers another species of interest to 
 the traveller. It is not handsome, nor pic- 
 turesque, nor clean. I have not yet seen any 
 town in Ireland which is so ; but in that poor 
 country, " almost afraid to know itself," which 
 high rents and absenteeism, oppressive laws, 
 religious and commercial persecution, Popery
 
 280 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 and Protestant neglect, have conspired to pau- 
 perize and to degrade, it is cheering to see a 
 town which is prosperous ; and this is so. Large 
 corn-mills and many new buildings gladden one's 
 heart on entering. And these are no delusive 
 indications of prosperity. Between two and 
 three hundred thousand barrels of wheat are 
 annually exported. About 50,000 pigs are an- 
 nually killed for the bacon trade; and there is 
 a considerable trade in butter.* But there is 
 also a great distillery, i. e. a great curse. In 
 the year 1826 there were only 97 spirit sellers; 
 there are now 198, for a population of about 
 20,000 within the town, and 10,000 in the 
 neighbourhood.f From Clonmell we descended 
 the valley of the Suir for several miles, then 
 turning northwards, entered some of the tri- 
 butary hills at the foot of Slieve-na-man. Here, 
 through a bleak defile, we caught an interest- 
 ing view of the mountains across the Suir ; and 
 after a bleak drive on high table land, came down 
 upon poor Callen, for whose naked, starving, 
 * Inglis, i. 130. t Evidence on Drunkenness, p. 300
 
 Ireland in 183G. 281 
 
 mendicant, rack-rented population Inglis has 
 asked public commiseration, and to whose pro- 
 prietor he has given such unenviable notoriety. 
 Here twilight was creeping over us, and before 
 we reached Kilkenny it was dark.
 
 282 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Kilkenny — Poverty of the Neighbourhood — Want of Employ- 
 ment in the Town — Whiskey Shops — Mr. O'Connell's In- 
 fluence — National Schools — Ormond Castle — Journey to 
 Newtown Barry — National School at Newtown — Doyle's 
 Catechism — Tithe Agitation — Newtown Barry. 
 
 Kilkenny is, no less than Tipperary, noted for 
 its turbulence. Now whatever be the case with 
 the last-mentioned county, Kilkenny certainly is 
 not factious through pride and fulness of bread. 
 After minute inquiries, Inglis found that 2000 
 persons of the town are totally without employ - 
 ?nent. Manufactures have gone to wreck, and 
 the looms are idle* The neighbourhood is not 
 much more happy. One of the nearest towns, 
 be it remembered, is Callen. In the barony of 
 Galway, a few miles to the north-west, the po- 
 pulation has increased, the employment dimi- 
 
 * Inglis, i. 91, 92.
 
 Ireland in 18;36. 283 
 
 nishecl, and wages fallen. There is not a 
 labourer wlio would not be glad to work all the 
 year round for 8cL a day, without diet. The 
 competition for labour is so great, that wages 
 scarcely rise even in harvest. In the barony of 
 Gowran, about as many miles to the south-east, 
 the whole quantity of work divided among all 
 the labourers would not give more than one half 
 of them daily employment throughout the year. 
 Not more than one-third are permanently em- 
 ployed. Employment has everywhere decreased. 
 The usual wages are 6d. with diet ; and as only 
 half the labourers are, on an average, employed, 
 the average of wages to each laboui'er in the 
 barony is *Sd. a day, with one meal of potatoes 
 and milk. Wages do not rise in harvest time. 
 They marry without any provision. Wives of 
 young labourers take wallets on their backs to 
 beg, and young married people have been known 
 to commence their married life with a cabin 
 absolutely bare, and to have borrowed the iron 
 pot in which they boiled their first supper of 
 potatoes.* What I saw at Kilkenny exactly 
 * Ap.D. 18— 22.
 
 284 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 corresponded with these statements. At nine 
 o'clock in the morning-, about 200 men were 
 standing in the main street, with the sickles in 
 their hands, idle. Nothing can be more dis- 
 gusting than the pestilential alleys, clogged with 
 heaps of manure, from which these poor fellows 
 issue ; nothing more dreary than their abodes ; 
 and yet the main street is filled with whiskey 
 shops. What more is wanted to account for 
 disturbance in this county? It is true that the 
 honourable member for Kilkenny tells them, in 
 his soothing speeches and epistles, that each 
 one of them will be worthy of contempt whose 
 blood does not boil with indignation at this 
 and the' other, assuring them that nothing 
 but repeal and a domestic legislature can do 
 them justice; but that which gives sting and 
 point to all his assertions is their hunger and 
 their nakedness. The laws must be bad ; the 
 English must hate them ; Protestants must be 
 tyrants; the union must be a curse; repeal, or 
 any other ruinous measure, must be a sovereign 
 remedy, because they are hungry and naked. 
 How can they feel themselves so wretched, and
 
 Ireland in 1836. 285 
 
 know that the English labourer, who is scarcely 
 stronger, or more intelligent, or more willing to 
 work thun themselves, to be, as compared with 
 them, so comfortable, without being irritable? 
 How can they love a constitution, however ad- 
 mirable, and laws, however wise, which still 
 leave them so hopelessly miserable? How can 
 they read inflammatory paragraphs in the news- 
 papers without imbibing disaffection ? Mr. O'Con- 
 nell may be as troublesome to those at the helm 
 of the state, as a huge ice-berg bearing down 
 upon a ship in the arctic seas, but it is the cur- 
 rent which makes the inert mass dangerous. It 
 cannot move the ocean, but itself moves with the 
 current, till it acquires a momentum threaten- 
 ing the existence of each vessel which crosses its 
 course. Let the Irish people be as well clothed 
 and fed as ours, and Mr. O'Connell might 
 write away his fingers, or speak away his lungs, 
 before he could make them repealers ; and till they 
 are clothed and fed, I do not believe that either 
 he or any one else could make them contented. 
 
 In the Roman Catholic Chapel there are two 
 monuments to the memory of Roman Catholic
 
 286 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 bishops, not otherwise interesting than as being 
 specimens of the black marble from a quarry 
 close to the town, which furnishes all the neigh- 
 bourhood with chimney pieces and other orna- 
 ments. The chapel itself is a mean building, in 
 bad repair. Close beside it is the Roman Ca- 
 tholic bishop's house, and opposite is a nunnery, 
 in which a large national school is taught. We 
 were received by a nun, in a coarse black 
 gown, with a long train pinned up, a white collar, 
 and a black hood over her head. There are 
 twelve nuns and three noviciates. Young per- 
 sons are allowed to take the veil at the age of 
 twenty- one, and may not afterwards renounce it 
 without infamy. In their chapel, kept with the 
 utmost neatness, the part for the nuns is veiled 
 off from the rest of the room ; at the rails our 
 guide knelt down before the crucifix, and then 
 assured us that we must not penetrate further. 
 Four hundred children are under their instruc- 
 tion; but at the time of our visit it was vacation. 
 In the same neighbourhood is a national school 
 for boys ; and about one hundred were present. 
 The Scripture Extracts were in use, but, on
 
 Ireland in 1836. 287 
 
 examination, I found the boys very ignorant of 
 scripture history. One practice of the school is 
 to teach the Catechism every Tuesday. And 
 this was sanctioned by the inspector of the board, 
 who had inserted in the school register, under 
 the date of July, 1836, the following memo- 
 randum : — "That one day at least, in every week, 
 should be devoted to religious instruction." In 
 another street, in Mr. Peter Roe's school, were 
 fifty neat looking boys, apparently well taught, 
 and in the girls' school, a still larger number of 
 children. 
 
 From the bridge over the Nore, on the Carlow 
 Road, Ormond Castle, with its Gothic towers, 
 situated on the steep bank of the river, is a 
 beautiful object. But it touches the town, and 
 how can the noble owner bear to look down from 
 its battlements upon wide-spread starvation, po- 
 litical tumults, and drunken fights ? How en- 
 dure to have the breeze among his groves, or 
 the murmur of that transparent stream, mingle 
 with the curses and groans of thousands, whom, 
 when excited by political agitation, no kindness
 
 288 Irelaxd in 1836. 
 
 can conciliate, and whom, in their ordinary desti- 
 tution, no generosity can relieve. Better far to 
 dwell in the meanest cottage, placed where the 
 labourers are happy, and where kindness may 
 win affection. But the Irish land-owner must 
 not run away from duty. We are not placed in 
 this world for our amusement; and whether he 
 can obtain the gratitude of the people or not, he 
 is called to employ, to relieve, to enlighten, and 
 to bless them. 
 
 We now took the road across the counties of 
 Carlow and of Wexford into Wicklow. At Bag- 
 nell Bridge, near which we entered the county 
 of Carlow, the river Barrow flowing between 
 woody banks, gives the scenery a mild beauty. 
 Thence, after climbing to an elevated and stony 
 reaion. we descended on a comfortless but cul- 
 tivated plain, with Mount Leinster, an insulated 
 height, upon our right, and to the left, at a dis- 
 tance, the mountains of Wicklow. On this poor 
 level, amidst a small collection of cottages, called 
 Newtown, we found a large and handsome cha- 
 pel, of granite, newly erected, and by its side
 
 Ireland in 183G. 289 
 
 a spacious granite school-house, also new and 
 handsome, over which was the usual inscription 
 " National School." 
 
 I found that the Scripture Extracts are in daily 
 use : a few boys read to me the lesson from 
 the Extracts which they had that morning gone 
 through. They read well, but were ignorant of 
 scripture geography and history, and were slow in 
 answering the questions which naturally arose out of 
 the lesson, shewing that they were not accustomed 
 to have their minds exercised in that manner on 
 what they read. We found the same thing in 
 almost all the Roman Catholic national schools 
 which we visited. There were small maps on the 
 school wall, and one little boy readily pointed out 
 to me the chief countries, capitals, &c. on the map 
 of the world ; in the girls' school we found the 
 whole school learning Doyle's Catechism, it being 
 about three o'clock. 
 
 Dr. Doyle's Catechism is an enlarged and 
 corrected edition of Dr. Butler's, which is "re- 
 commended by the four Roman Catholic Arch- 
 bishojjs as a general catechism for the whole 
 kingdom." Dr. Butler's was in use at the Kil- 
 
 o
 
 •290 Ireland ix 183C). 
 
 kenny Scirool, and Dr. Doyle's here. Though 
 Dr. Doyle has altered some objectionable ex- 
 pressions in the former catechism, yet both of 
 them contain the following among many improper 
 statements. 
 
 Q. Are all obliged to be of the true church ? 
 A. Yes. No one can be saved out of it. 
 Q. What are the signs of the true church ? 
 A. The true church is one, holy, catholic, and 
 apostolical. 
 
 Q. In what is the church one? 
 
 A. In all its members believing the same truths, 
 having the same sacraments and sacrifice, and being 
 under one visible head on earth. 
 
 Q. Why do you call the church Roman? 
 
 A. Because the visible head of the church is bishop 
 of Rome, &c. 
 
 Q. Who is the visible head of the Church ? 
 
 A. The Pope, who is Christ's vicar on earth. 
 
 Q. What is sin ? 
 
 A. Any wilful thought, word, deed, or omission 
 contrary to the will of God. 
 
 Q. What is mortal sin ? 
 
 A. A grievous offence or transgression against the 
 law of God. 
 
 Q. Why is it called mortal ? 
 
 A. Because- it kills the soul and because it 
 
 brings everlasting death and damnation.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 291 
 
 Q. Does venial sin deprive the soul of sanctifying 
 grace, and deserve everlasting punishment ? 
 A. No, &'c. 
 
 Q. Why should we go to confession as soon as we 
 fall into mortal sin ? 
 
 A. That we may recover God's friendship, &c. 
 
 Q. Do any others go to purgatory besides those 
 who die in venial sin ? 
 
 A. Yes, all who die indebted to God's justice on 
 account of mortal sin. 
 
 Q. Can the souls in purgatory be relieved by our 
 prayers and other good works ? 
 A. Yes, &c. 
 
 Q Is it lawful to recommend ourselves to the saints 
 and to ask their prayers ? 
 A. Y'es, &c. 
 
 Q. Why do we pray before the crucifix, and before 
 the images and relics of the saints ? 
 
 A. Because they enliven our devotion, &c. 
 
 Q. Is it mortal sin not to hear mass on a Sunday 
 or kept holy-day ? 
 
 A. It is, if we be absent from it through our own 
 fault. 
 
 Q. How are we to keep holy days ? 
 
 A. As we should keep Sundays, 
 
 Q. Do the precepts of the church oblige, under pain 
 of mortal sin ? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 o2
 
 292 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 Q. Why do you always say the Hail Mary after 
 the Lord's Prayer ? 
 
 A. That by her intercession we may the more easily 
 obtain what we ask for. 
 
 Q. Did Christ give power to the priests to change 
 bread and wine into his body and blood ? 
 
 A. Yes, &c. 
 
 Q. What is the mass ? 
 
 A. The sacrifice of tlie body and blood of Christ, 
 which .... are offered by the priest for the living and 
 the dead. 
 
 Q. Is the mass a different sacrifice from that on the 
 
 cross ? 
 
 A. No, &c. 
 
 Q. What is penance ? 
 
 A. A sacrament by which the sins are forgiven, &c. 
 
 Q. What is the use of an indulgence ? 
 
 A It remits the temporary punishments with 
 
 which God often visits our sins, and which must be 
 suffered in this life or the next, unless cancelled by 
 indulgences, &c. 
 
 Q. What is extreme unction ? 
 
 A. A sacrament which gives grace to die well, &c. 
 
 The erection of such a chapel and school-house 
 among the cabins of the neighbourhood, with the 
 appearance of the schools, betokened a vigorous
 
 Ireland in 18:3G. 293 
 
 ecclesiastical administration ; and as there stood 
 beside me a smart-looking man, who had followed 
 us into both the schools, as if curious to know who 
 we were, I asked him by whom the schools were 
 superintended ? 
 
 " Sure you have heard of Father Phelan," he 
 replied, " who is sometimes in the papers." 
 
 I confessed my ignorance. " Oh then," he 
 continued, *' he is an excellent man, very good 
 to the poor, and an agitator, too, against tithes." 
 
 Do you mean, that he teaches you to violate 
 the law of the land, by withholding tithes? 
 
 *' I say it's for the law of the land as it ought 
 to be. It's very different in England, there they 
 get land for its value, here we give much more 
 than its value." 
 
 If this be your reason, said I, for agitating 
 against tithes, you must be as ready to agitate 
 against rents. If you wish to get rid of tithes by 
 agitation, because you cannot afford to pay them, 
 you must wish in the same way to get rid of rents 
 for the same reason. 
 
 My time did not allow me to enter into any 
 discussion with this rustic politician, but the little
 
 294 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 which he said served to shew that in his mind at 
 least the opposition to tithe arose, as T believe it 
 does in almost all cases, not so much from sec- 
 tarian antipathies as from the irresistible wish 
 which the poor people have in any way to lighten 
 the burdens which they feel to be intolerable. 
 Mr. Phelan may have other motives, because he 
 knows that the extinction of tithe, or rather of 
 those fixed payments in lieu of tithe which are 
 now general, would put so much into the pockets 
 of the landlord, by enabling him to raise the rents, 
 but would not in the very least diminish the pe- 
 nury of the farmer while the competition for land 
 continues to be as great as it has lately been. 
 However, I was obliged to keep all my thoughts 
 upon the subject to myself, and to leave my friend 
 to ruminate upon the unusual occurrence of a 
 visit from a London clergyman to their unfre- 
 quented cluster of cottages, while we pursued, 
 with tired horses, our most tedious journey over 
 infamous road, winding round Mount Leinster, 
 and passing through Myshal and Kildavin to New- 
 town Barry. 
 To proceed further that evening was impossible,
 
 Ireland in 183G. 295 
 
 but happily the inn was peculiarly neat, and 
 kept by an intelligent Protestant landlady. After 
 dinner we walked through the grounds of Wood- 
 field, a villa belonging to Lord Farnham, a quiet 
 spot, where the River Slaney winds its gentle 
 way amidst hills clothed with extensive woods, 
 overlooked by the beautiful and lofty summits of 
 Mount Leinster. There was not so much appear- 
 ance of poverty in the town as in many other 
 places ; yet, on the evening of our halt there, 
 when some labourers were warned not to irritate 
 a boa constrictor which was exhibited, one of 
 them replied, " he will do no hurt, he is too much 
 like us, half starved." Lord Farnham is, I believe, 
 an excellent landlord ; and much employment has 
 been afforded to the people by a cotton manufac- 
 tory and slate quarries in the neighbourhood.
 
 296 
 
 CHAPTER XIT. 
 
 Journey to Arklow — Ferns— Gorey — Arklow — Vale of Ovoca 
 — Ashford — The Glen — The Dargle — Powerscourt — Anti- 
 tithe Agitation — National School System — Return to 
 Dublin. 
 
 Emerging from the woods of Newtown 
 Barry, we soon came again into the naked and 
 desolate kind of country so general in Ireland ; 
 the surface of the ground agreeably irregular, but 
 scarcely a comfortable house, or even a solitary 
 tree ; and as we ascended the hill on which the 
 town of Ferns is placed, the suburb just appearing 
 above its brow, afforded a melancholy type of 
 Ireland. We could see nothing but a flourishing 
 chapel surrounded by dismal hovels ; it seemed 
 to me the image of priestcraft, domineering over 
 the paupers whom it holds under its iron domina- 
 tion. The town itself is neat, and if destitute of 
 any remarkable attractions, deserves notice as 
 giving name to the See held in 168G by Bishop
 
 Ireland in 1836. 297 
 
 Marsh, who, in that year, with the aid of Robert 
 Boyle, published the first edition of Bishop Be- 
 dell's Irish Translation of the Bible.* 
 
 At Gorey we obtained our first view of the 
 Irish Channel, and then pursued our way to Ark- 
 low over a cultivated flat, with considerable hills 
 to our left. At Arklow we came upon the sea, 
 and with its waves just beneath us, turning a 
 small eminence, saw the vale of Ovoca spread out 
 before us in all its glory ; first, stony heights with 
 a scanty covering of heath, and bathing their 
 heads in the clouds, shut it out from the world ; 
 and beneath these, steep banks of luxuriant wood 
 look down upon the greenest meadows, through 
 which the resplendent river hastens to meet the 
 sea. As we descended into the valley, the moun- 
 tains disappeared behind the nearer hills, but we 
 were now in a world of verdure, picturesque trees 
 clinging to the rocks, stretched out their arms 
 above our heads, and the transparent river was 
 murmuring at our side. Leaving the gate of 
 Lord Wicklow on the right, and that of Lord 
 
 * And. p. 80. 
 
 o 3
 
 208 Ireland in 1836, 
 
 CarNsfort on the left, we passed through a richly 
 wooded defile, to a picturesque point which is 
 tho junction of four valleys. One is a pass to 
 some wild moorland on the west ; and down two 
 others, to the north-west and north-east, flow the 
 Okrnm and the Ovoca, which here mingling 
 their streams, roll on through that from which we 
 had just emerged. It is a close scene of 
 luxuriant loveliness. Hence winding up the 
 north-eastern vale we came to " the meeting of 
 the waters," where the Avonmore and the Avon- 
 beg come down from their separate mountains to 
 form the Ovoca ; here there is equal luxuriance 
 and more variety. Each rich defile leads the eye 
 up to naked peaks ; and mountain, glen, and tor- 
 rent, woods of deep verdure, meadows of the richest 
 green, and patches of golden grain, with here and 
 there an ornamented cottage peeping through the 
 trees, combine to render it a scene of surpassing 
 beauty. 
 
 Its beauties exciting me to rhyme, " I spoke in 
 numbers, for the numbers came :" but if my reader 
 happen to dislike very moderate poetry he may 
 omit the following rude description and pass on.
 
 Ireland in 183G, 299 
 
 THE VALE OF OVOCA. 
 
 Sweet Vale of Ovoca, thy waters are bright, 
 
 Thy emerald lawns are resplendent in light ; 
 
 Fair cottages peep from their sheltering bowers ; 
 
 Rich woods encircle thy lordly towers ; 
 
 Around thee a conclave of mountains is set, 
 
 Like the sentries of ages, to guard thy retreat ; 
 
 And awfully fair is each wind-beaten height. 
 
 Now bathed in the sunshine, now black as the niglit, 
 
 While they shoot their bold summits aloft to the sky, 
 
 To catch for thy torrents, the clouds as they fly ; 
 
 Nor fails the near ocean to answer the roar 
 
 Of tliy forests, and floods, by its surge on the shore. 
 
 Thus the wind from the mountain, the wave of the sea, 
 
 The woods and the rivers, make music for thee ; 
 
 Each season adorns thee, each change of the time, 
 
 Thy sunshine is gentle, thy storms are sublime. 
 
 Sweet A'ale of Ovoca, what lack'st thou, to be 
 
 The home of the heart to thy children and me ? 
 
 Ill fiires thy poor peasant who toils at the plough. 
 
 And hunger and hardship are mark'd on his brow ; 
 
 Thy maidens have nought but a clothing of shreds ; 
 
 Flints hurt their bare feet, the storm beats on their heads, 
 
 And the doors of each naked and dismal abode, 
 
 Are closed to thelight of the Gospel of God. 
 
 Alas for thee, Erin ! Oh, when shalt thou be 
 
 The laud of the gentle, and joyous, and free ? 
 
 God grant thee an end to the ills thou dost bear, 
 
 A joy for each sorrow, a smile for each tear ! 
 
 May thy griefs be forgotten, thy enmities cease, 
 
 And the Saviour conduct thee to goodness and peace ! 
 
 INIay ages to ages thy happiness tell, 
 
 God's blessing be with thee \ farewell, farewell. 
 
 o4
 
 300 Ireland in 183G. 
 
 The drive continued interesting till we reach- 
 ed Ashford, which is itself placed in a pretty 
 hollow about three miles from the sea, with a 
 mountain stream running through it. Ascending 
 this stream for a short distance, you reach the 
 entrance of a deep fissure in the hills. On the 
 right, as you ascend, is Ballycurry, belonging to 
 Mr. Tottenham, which from beneath the shade 
 of its well grown ash, beech, and oak, has a 
 glimpse of the sea, between gentle hills, about 
 four miles distant. And on the left is Glanmore, 
 belonging to Mr. Syng, in a romantic and beau- 
 tiful situation, on the very entrance of the glen. 
 From a moss-house in the centre of the glen the 
 scene has an attractive loveliness. Directly 
 opposite is a headland of rock and wood, shooting 
 abruptly from the torrent to the height of perhaps 
 150 feet. The base of this cliff forms an angle 
 round which the torrent passes, and thus the glen 
 is divided into two arms, along both of which the 
 eye may wander till the precipitous banks seem 
 to close and shut you from the world. Nothing 
 remains visible but the deep chasm, the hanging 
 wood, projecting rocks, above, the bright blue
 
 Ireland in 183G. 301 
 
 sky, and beneath, the exulting- torrent. When 
 we saw it, every tree was illuminated, every 
 bough was waving in the wind, the waters were 
 glittering in the sun-shine, and light luminous 
 clouds were floating over us like celestial chariots, 
 from which angels might look down with pleasure 
 on so fair a proof of their Creator's goodness and 
 power. Why should such a place be called " the 
 devil's glen V Has that evil angel a seat in 
 Paradise? Is such a solitude the spot in which 
 his power to tempt us is greater than in the 
 crowded city ? Is a place which is so congenial to 
 meditation, and so calculated to awaken praise, 
 to be peculiarly his temple ? rather should such 
 scenes be sacred to the Lord. It is His goodness 
 and power which they manifest, and in them the 
 Christian feels his heart especially drawn to love 
 Him. Such misnomers, which are not uncommon, 
 and which are handed down from our fathers, 
 serve, I think, to show an ancient and wide-spread 
 profanity in the world. Men love, not solemnly 
 to recollect the power and malice of our great 
 spiritual enemy with a view to watch against his 
 temptations, but rather to create a sort of le-
 
 802 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 gendary and fictitious being, which the mind may 
 accustom itself to despise. From Ballycurry, 
 where we had been hospitably entertained, we 
 drove through Dunran, another pleasing defile 
 with masses of rock projecting through its woods, 
 which brought us out upon the main road near 
 Belle Vue. This pass, through steep hills richly 
 clothed with wood, on one side is closed by stony 
 mountain top^, on the other, opens to the sea. 
 Leaving this, we ascended the deep rich glen of 
 the Darffle. Here we found another mountain 
 torrent, the channel of which we ascended till it 
 brought us to a view which may rival the vale of 
 the Ovoca. Behind us was the glen and the blue 
 ocean, our right was closed by a steep, grassy 
 upland ; on our left were the bare, bleak cones 
 of the Greater and the Lesser Sugar-loaves ; 
 before us the Ballymetagh Mountains darkened 
 by a range of clouds ; and beneath all these 
 sheltering heights, a valley of unusual beauty. 
 Clumps of forest trees were spread over undula- 
 tions of rich grass land, and the clear stream was 
 winding its way in sunshine and shade, now washing 
 the bank of a green meadow, now losing itself in
 
 Ireland in 183G. 303 
 
 wood, while at the head of the valley, the house 
 of Powerscourt looks with lordly dignity over the 
 superb domain. 
 
 In such scenes, we might imagine peace must 
 be an inmate in every family, and the minds of 
 men must be hushed into a gentleness harmonious 
 with inanimate nature. But, alas, nature never yet 
 could lay a spell upon the passions, and here, where 
 there is much to stir up strife, where the Bible 
 is unread, and Popery holds numbers in ignorance 
 of the Gospel, they occasionally leap out like 
 tigers, with a savage yell, from these lovely shades. 
 Just above Mr. Robert Daly's house at Powers- 
 court, is the Sugar-loaf Mountain before men- 
 tioned. On its top, not long since, one Sunday 
 morning an immense flag was seen to float in the 
 wind. Around it in a few hours was the hum of 
 anti-tithe agitation. Priests and people had 
 congregated to the signal : and there, after other 
 animating speeches had been addressed to the 
 admiring crowd, a Roman Catholic butcher of 
 the neighbourhood thus infused into their hearts 
 a christian affection and respect for the exem- 
 plary, talented, honest, good-tempered, and pious
 
 304 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 Protestant pastor of the parish ; " Never did I kill 
 and cut up a fat ox, with half the pleasure with 
 which I would kill and quarter him." At the 
 first sight of the insulting banner, the Protestants, 
 burning with indignation, possessed of arms, and 
 confident in their strength, had been vehemently 
 tempted to possess themselves of the height, and 
 tearing it down, to drive from the spot every 
 agitator who should dare to show his face. The 
 authority of their minister prevailed over their 
 momentary passion, and while the Roman Ca- 
 tholics, with two or three of their clergy, were 
 listening to those ferocious sentiments, he and his 
 numerous congregation were assembled for praise 
 and prayer. 
 
 I can hardly be surprised that clergymen so 
 treated should mingle, with their zeal for the 
 diffusion of the gospel, the most sensitive repug- 
 nance to any thing that should appear to invest 
 the Roman Catholic priesthood with new au- 
 thority and influence. This the National School 
 System, by erecting and maintaining numbers of 
 schools under their superintendance, appears to 
 do, and for it has the cordial detestation of many
 
 Ireland in 1836. 305 
 
 of the most excellent clergymen. Accordingly, 
 my friend Mr. Daly, who gave us a hospitable wel- 
 come at his table, was somewhat vexed to find that 
 my objections to it were not as unqualified as his 
 own, he expecting from it nothing but pure evil, 
 whereas I was disposed to maintain, that with all 
 its faults, it will on the whole be beneficial, I am 
 very far from agreeing with those who contend 
 that national education ouglit to be dissociated 
 from instruction in religion ; the education being 
 the province of the school-master, and religious 
 instruction the duty of the clergyman. Never 
 may this pernicious maxim be adopted by the 
 British Government. What is education but the 
 right direction of the mind and heart? And 
 how can the mind and heart be directed rightly, 
 except by constant reference to the will of God i 
 We wish to train the children of the community 
 to be honest, just, benevolent, temperate, and 
 industrious. To endeavour to make them so, 
 even if their eternal welfare, the great object of 
 education, be left out of the question, by refer- 
 ence to considerations of their present interest, 
 would be always to lower the character of their 
 virtues, and usually to fail altogether in producing
 
 306 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 them. The great truths of a future state, a holy 
 and benevolent Creator, who is our omniscient 
 witness and will be our unerring ju^lge ; his love 
 in redemption, his providential care, and the 
 necessity of obedience to his will, ought to be 
 constantly brought before the minds of children, 
 as the motives to all amiable dispositions, and all 
 right habits. But all these motives depend upon 
 the Bible. Without that, religious truths want 
 certainty and force. The Bible therefore must be 
 the foundation of all effective education. It 
 should be applied on all occasions ; to it, as the 
 standard of truth and the rule of duty, children 
 ought to be taught continually to refer for the 
 correction of every fault and the cultivation of 
 every virtue. For the legislature to take away 
 the Bible, and the familiar exposition of the 
 Bible from our national schools, would be, to de- 
 stroy one of the most povcerful instruments which 
 we possess for training up the next generation 
 in the fear of God. The ministers of religion 
 might indeed have access to the children of their 
 own creed ; but the periodical expositions of the 
 clergyman would not be comparable in their ef- 
 fects to the familiar application of scriptural
 
 Ireland in 1836. 307 
 
 truths and precepts, by which a good scliool- 
 master may, in every lesson, on every subject, 
 lead his children to mingle the idea of religious 
 duty with every employment of life. Besides, 
 how can the clergyman know the tempers of the 
 children, or observe their faults, or see them in 
 their intercourse with each other, as the master 
 can ? The master too, and not the minister, has 
 to punish them for their faults, or commend 
 them for their good conduct? On all these ac- 
 counts, the master must, cceteris jJdrlbns, have 
 the greatest influence with them, and be able to 
 apply the truths and precepts of the Gospel with 
 greater frequency, propriety, and effect. Nor is 
 there, with the exception of parental influence, 
 a more powerful agency for the moral and spiri- 
 tual improvement of the children of the poor, 
 than a body of well instructed masters, laying 
 the basis of all their moral and religious instruc- 
 tion on the declared will of God. Every real 
 patriot ought therefore to set himself against the 
 proposition to dissociate national education from 
 scriptural instruction in this country, and if a few 
 Roman Catholics, and a few Unitarians, may dis- 
 like the familiar and frequent application of the
 
 308 Ireland in 188G. 
 
 Scriptures in national schools, their prejudices 
 ought not to interfere with the wishes and the 
 welfare of the great majority. But Ireland is in 
 a vastly different state, and if it be impossible 
 to have the Bible in the national schools, owing 
 to a widely-extended prejudice, then, rather than 
 that the people should be left in ignorance, it 
 seems to me, that national schools ought to be 
 established without the Bible, but with a volume 
 of Scripture Extracts ; or if that, again, prove 
 impossible, then without religious instruction al- 
 together. Schools for general instruction must 
 be had, and if we cannot establish such schools 
 as we could wish, we must multiply such as we 
 are able. The chief objections to this view, with 
 which I have met, are these. " By these extracts, 
 you take away the Word of God, from Roman 
 Catholics and Protestants — you hinder scriptural 
 education — you dishonour the Bible — and you 
 mutilate it — or if these extracts be withheld, you 
 have an atheistical education, which is worse than 
 none." Let us examine these objections in their 
 order. 
 
 Objection 1st. — The National System takes 
 away the Bible from the poor.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 309 
 
 Answer. — It interferes with no private distri- 
 bution, so that all who wish for the Scrip- 
 tures may have them : nor does it hinder the 
 children of scriptural schools from having them. 
 Its whole offence is, that, yielding to a wide- 
 spread prejudice, it has chosen to provide schools 
 without the Scriptures, for an immense majority 
 of the people, who would have had no schools 
 at all, rather than to provide scriptural schools, 
 for the Protestants who are both fewer and richer, 
 and for the few Roman Catholics who could be 
 induced to attend them. 
 
 Objection 2nd. — It hinders Scriptural Educa- 
 tion throughout the country. 
 
 Answer. — I admit, that it withholds grants for 
 scriptural schools, which might have been made 
 to a certain extent; and that it indirectly lessens 
 the number of Roman Catholic children attend- 
 ing scriptural schools, not by prohibiting their 
 attendance, but by furnishing them with schools 
 in which the scriptures are not read. But if a 
 few thousands of Roman Catholic children should 
 thus unhappily be withdrawn from a more com- 
 plete acquaintance with the Scriptures, hundreds
 
 310 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 of thousands, on the other hand, who would have 
 been ignorant, are by the same means brought to 
 know much important scriptural truth, through 
 the extracts, which they are willing to receive. 
 
 Objection Srd. — By establishing a system of 
 national education without the Bible, the legis- 
 lature dishonour it. 
 
 Ansiver. — The legislature may be entirely con- 
 vinced that the Bible ought to be the basis of all 
 education, nor do they, by this system, intimate 
 the contrary ; all that they do pronounce by it, is, 
 that if a nation is so prejudiced that it will not 
 allow its children to read the Bible, it is better 
 for those children that they should have a partial 
 acquaintance with its truths through a series of 
 Scripture extracts, than none at all. Would it 
 honour the Bible to leave some millions of persons 
 in total ignorance of it, because they are too 
 prejudiced to receive the whole? 
 
 Objection Ath. — This system mutilates the 
 Scriptures, and thus dishonours them. 
 
 Answer. — Certainly, the Roman Catholic no- 
 tion that it is not safe to entrust the unlearned 
 with the whole Bible, is dishonourable to its
 
 Ireland in 1836. 311 
 
 Divine Autlior. But if, with a full acknowledg- 
 ment (shewn by encouraging Scriptural schools 
 elsewhere) that the whole Bible should be read, 
 the legislature provide for Roman Catholics, as 
 much as they will receive, rather than none at all, 
 this can not dishonour God. It is no concession 
 that the rest of Scripture is unsafe. It is only 
 a practical recognition of the fact, that, although 
 the whole ought to be in the hands of all who can 
 read, yet the Roman Catholics will not receive it. 
 Nor does it in any sense mutilate the Scriptures. 
 The extracts are not given as the whole Bible, 
 but as lessons drawn from it, and "almost en- 
 tirely," in its language, " in the hope of their 
 leading to a more general and more profitable 
 perusal of the word of God ;"* and can therefore 
 no more be termed a mutilation of the Scriptures, 
 than the extracts which are made in a sermon or 
 a treatise can be so termed. 
 
 Ohjectlon 5th. — The extracts not being en- 
 forced, are not in fact used ; the education given 
 by the board is therefore wholly irreligious, and 
 to give an atheistical education is criminal. 
 
 * Preface to the Scripture lessons, No. 1.
 
 312 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 Answer. — If the schools were wholly destitute 
 of religious instruction, the general knowledge 
 which they convey would be preferable to igno- 
 rance. Without the Bible, education must be 
 essentially defective ; and without Scripture 
 truth, there can be no education that deserves the 
 name. But substitute another name for educa- 
 tion. The government by these schools, though 
 they cannot convey religious knowledge, give 
 much other useful knowledge, which, though it 
 may not deserve the name of education, is yet 
 likely to be of great service to the children. Why 
 then should that knowledge be withheld by a 
 Protestant government from a Roman Catholic 
 population, because it will receive no other at 
 their hands ? If it be a sin to teach geography 
 or arithmetic, Avithout teaching the truths of re- 
 ligion, it must be as much a sin to give a shilling 
 or a potatoe without teaching them ; and if a 
 Roman Catholic will not listen to your doctrine, 
 you ought not to relieve his wants. Those who 
 are willing to subscribe in a period of famine, to 
 save the starving peasantry from death, without 
 making any stipulation that they should likewise
 
 Ireland in 183G. 313 
 
 receive Bibles, ought to be as willing to give 
 them, what is no less necessary, all useful know- 
 ledge, without any similar stipulation. If we 
 could persuade them to receive the Bible from us, 
 that would be best for them ; but, since they will 
 not receive it, why should we, on that account, 
 refuse them any inferior good ? Without the 
 Bible it is true that Government cannot provide 
 for them any sound education, but it is not there- 
 fore true, that they ought on that account to be 
 deprived of all other mental and moral improve- 
 ment which it is in the power of the legislature 
 to bestow. But in the schools which I visited, 
 I generally found proof that the Scripture ex- 
 tracts were in use ; and at the last inspection, 
 out of 352 schools which had been inspected up 
 to the time of the presentation of the third report 
 of the Board, 285 were found to use them ;* 
 whence it appears that they are used in above 
 four-fifths of the schools. 
 
 Objection 6th. — All knowledge without re- 
 ligious principle is mischievous, because it confers 
 
 * Reports of the Commissioners, 3d Report, p. 50. 
 
 P
 
 314 Ireland in 1S86. 
 
 the power to do greater evil, and often leads the 
 possessor to greater misery. 
 
 Answer. — The nature of this objection is as 
 follows. Knowledge may be used by a wicked 
 man as a means of doing mischief, therefore keep 
 the Roman Catholic population in ignorance. Let 
 us apply this argument in other things. Health 
 and strength will make a rogue more daring and 
 more mischievous, therefore render every labourer 
 a sickly cripple. Riches tempt irreligious men 
 to various excesses, therefore dry up the sources 
 of national wealth. Clever men are more apt to 
 become rogues than stupid ones, therefore stupify 
 the entire community. Is it fair to argue against 
 the use of a thing, because it may be abused ? or 
 to apply an argument as valid on one subject, 
 which is repudiated as unsound in every other ' 
 If indeed it could be shewn that knowledge is 
 much more uniformly injurious than ability, 
 wealth, or bodily strength, it might be a reason 
 for not imparting it ; but the very contrary is the 
 fact. In the case before us, knowledge alone, 
 simple, secular knowledge, without the slightest
 
 Ireland in 1836. 315 
 
 acquaintance with Protestantisna, would be a 
 greater blessing to the Irish peasantry than any 
 other, except religious instruction, which it would 
 be in the power of England to communicate. 
 Teach them the knowledge of agriculture, and 
 you will enable them to obtain three times their 
 present returns from the soil. Teach them to 
 write, and read, and think, and they are better 
 able to make their way in every land to which 
 they may wander. Teach them the state of the 
 civih'zed world, and they will better appreciate 
 the superiority of Protestant communities. Let 
 them read the effects of spirit-drinking, and the 
 progress of Temperance Societies, and they may 
 save many a shilling from the whiskey-shop. Let 
 them read any useful and instructive books, and 
 with minds exercised to discriminate between 
 truth and falsehood in common matters, they must 
 eventually see how destitute of all evidence in 
 their support, are the peculiar doctrines of Ro- 
 manism, and like the mass of educated Catholics 
 at present, whose worldly interests are not impli- 
 cated in their defence, they will treat them with 
 indifference, if they do not openly despise them. 
 
 p2
 
 :316 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 Superstition cannot endure knowledge and reflec- 
 tion ; and if the people are but taught. Popery, 
 with every other imposture practised on human 
 ignorance, will certainly share the fate of Mahom- 
 medanism and Hindooism, which are waning 
 before the increasing civilization of the world. 
 
 But all this reasoning falls to the ground, if it be 
 true, as is frequently asserted, that it was in the 
 power of the legislature to have filled Ireland 
 with Scriptural schools, instead of those from 
 which the Scriptures are excluded. Were this 
 the case, then indeed the present national schools 
 would rather be mischievous than useful. For 
 secular knowledge, and good moral maxims, are 
 incomparably inferior in value to a moral and 
 religious education, founded on the word of God. 
 But was this true? I think that many persons 
 have overlooked, as I once did myself, the dif- 
 ficulties in which the Government were involved 
 upon this subject, and have hastily ascribed to a 
 leaning towards Popery, what really originated in 
 a desire to see education diffused. 
 
 If the Roman Catholic laity would have allowed 
 their children to read the Scriptures, no arrogant
 
 Ireland in 1836. 317 
 
 prohibition of their clerg-y ought to liave been lis- 
 tened to. It is their right and their duty to read the 
 Scriptures, down to the most unlettered peasant, 
 or the most simple child: and the clergy have as 
 much a right to forbid them to stand upright, or 
 to open their eyes, as they have to prevent them 
 reading the revealed will of God. But would 
 the laity against the wishes of their clergy consent 
 to Scriptural schools? The enemies of the national 
 system say yes: and they appeal to the growing 
 numbers of Roman Catholics who were found in 
 Scriptural schools up to the establishment of the 
 Board : but unhappily, the evidence they adduce 
 is insufficient to justify their conclusion. The un- 
 remitting hostility to them, which the Boman 
 Catholic clergy had previously to the establish- 
 ment of the Board exhibited, had been so far 
 successful as to render it probable, that for many 
 years at least Roman Catholic parents in general, 
 would not dare to send their children to them. 
 When the Education Commissioners published 
 their first report in 1825, the numbers of Irish 
 children receiving education were indeed con- 
 siderable. According to the census in 1821, the
 
 318 
 
 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 population was then 0,801,827 ; if therefore we 
 assume that in 1825 it had become 7,000,000, and 
 that one ninth of the whole ought to be at school, 
 then the number of school children in 1825 ought 
 to have been above 777,000. The whole number 
 was in fact 500,549, and these were distributed 
 through the four provinces in the following pro- 
 portions. 
 
 
 Episc. 
 
 Piesb. 
 
 Prot, 1 R. Oath. 
 
 Not said. 
 
 Total. 
 
 Ulster . . 
 
 35,977 
 
 44,383 
 
 2,476 57,023 
 
 2,023 
 
 144,882 
 
 Leinster . 
 
 30,954 
 
 584 
 
 372 123,265 
 
 1 
 
 3,565 
 
 158,740 
 
 Connaught 
 
 9,003 
 
 218 
 
 113 
 
 59,788 
 
 2,599 
 
 71,721 
 
 Munster . 
 Total . 
 
 17,518 
 
 119 
 
 451 168,209 
 
 1,909 
 
 188,206 
 
 93,452 
 
 45,304 
 
 3,412 '408,285 
 
 10,096 
 
 560,549 
 
 The number of Roman Catholics then receiving 
 education, should have been above GOO.OOO ; and 
 by this table it appears that the whole number was 
 in fact about 408,285. If indeed this number 
 could have been collected into Scriptural schools, 
 it v/ould have afforded cheering proof, that a 
 Scriptural system might be rendered general; but 
 of these 408,000 children, 307,405 were in private
 
 Tl{ ELAND IN 183G. 
 
 319 
 
 schools, whence almost universally the Scriptures 
 were excluded, and only 48,608 were in Scriptu- 
 ral schools. * So that after some years of effort, 
 not 50,000 out of 600,000 Roman Catholic chil- 
 dren could be collected into Scriptural schools. 
 At this rate, when would the nation have been 
 scripturally instructed t In answer to this question, / 
 it is said, that in all these societies the number of 
 Roman Catholic children was rapidly increasing", 
 and the indefinite extension of Scriptural educa- 
 tion among them, was only prevented by want of 
 
 The following table shows how they were distributed. 
 
 Society with which the 
 Schools were coiiiiecled. 
 
 Ulster. 
 
 Lcinster. 
 
 Munster. 
 
 Connaught. 
 
 Association for dis- j 
 countenancing vice \ 
 
 Board of Erasmus \ 
 Smith . . . . j 
 
 Kildare-place Society 
 
 London Hibernian ) 
 Society . . . . S 
 
 Baptist Society ; . 
 
 Sundry Societies . . 
 
 Deduct scholars be- ^ 
 longing to two V 
 Societies . . . ,j 
 
 Total . . 
 
 1,159 
 
 1,040 
 7,708 
 7,356 
 
 480 
 
 2,724 
 
 1,398 
 
 9,326 
 
 1,365 
 
 194 
 885 
 
 807 
 
 682 
 
 7,830 
 
 4,661 
 
 387 
 1,171 
 
 114 
 
 123 
 
 4,948 
 
 5,400 
 
 2,367 
 337 
 
 17,743 
 
 15,892 
 
 15,424 
 
 13,289 
 
 2,847 
 
 2,918 
 
 4,958 
 
 3,017 
 
 14,896 
 
 12,974 
 
 10,466 
 
 10,272 
 
 Ninth Report of Education Commissioners, pp. 52 — 59.
 
 320 Irelai^d in 1836. 
 
 funds. A Government grant large enough would, 
 it is said, have filled bible schools with Roman 
 Catholic scholars in every part of Ireland. It is 
 to the Government grant that we must confine 
 our attention ; for although the progress of the 
 London Hibernian Society was most cheering, it 
 would be extravagant to suppose that it would 
 have been equal in any given number of years, 
 to the instruction of all the poor of Ireland. 
 
 This was the state of things in 1825. What is 
 it now ? The introduction of the national system, 
 by stimulating the zeal of the friends of Scriptural 
 education, has augmented the funds of the Loudon 
 Hibernian Society, and of others with the same 
 principles ; nor have its directors been able to com- 
 ply with all the requests which have been made 
 to them for schools : it therefore plainly shows how 
 much may be expected from voluntary association. 
 Now the population being 8,000,000, the children 
 between the ages of 7 and 13, are, according to 
 the calculation of the Commissioners of Education, 
 about 1,400,000. To instruct one-half of these, 
 the Commissioners would require from Parliament 
 £200,000 per annum.* The Hibernian Society 
 * Second Report.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 321 
 
 has only an income of £10,412;* and other So- 
 cieties far less. How then are these 1 ,400,000 
 children to be taught? In fact, by a Schedule at 
 the close of the second report of the Com- 
 missioners of Public Instruction, presented to Par- 
 liament so recently as 1835, it appears that there 
 are still 443 parishes in Ireland, in which there is 
 no school whatever. And this is far from shewing 
 the real want that there is of Scriptural schools, 
 as may be seen by the following summary contained 
 in the same report. 
 
 Schools of the Association for discontinuing vice 203 
 Schools of Erasmus Smith's fund - - - - 115 
 
 Schools of Kildare St. Society ----- 235 
 
 Schools of London Hibernian Society - - - gis 
 Schools of 4 Societies using the Scriptures - - - 1171 
 National Board Schools ------__. 892 
 
 Whole number of Schools supported in whole or in 
 
 part by endowment or contribution ----- 4004 
 
 Schools supported wholly by payment from children 5653 
 Total number of daily Schools ------- 9057 
 
 Number of children under daily instruction - - 633,946 
 
 Population in 1834 -_. 7,954,100 
 
 Proportion of daily Schools to the population - 1 to 824t 
 
 * Thirteenth Report, 
 f Second Report of the Commissioners of Public Instruc- 
 tion, p. 13. 
 
 p3
 
 322 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 From this summary it appears, 
 
 1. That of 1,400,000 children, between 7 and 
 13, only 633,946 are instructed. 
 
 2. That above half of these are in schools wholly 
 supported by payments from the children. 
 
 3. That the schools of the four scriptural Socie- 
 ties are 1,171 out of 9,657. 
 
 Since it is thus too plain that Scriptural schools 
 supported by voluntary association will not meet 
 the wants of the population, I repeat it, that to 
 ascertain whether such schools could be esta- 
 blished throughout Ireland, we must confine our 
 attention to the operations of the Government 
 grant. Now the total number of Roman Catholic 
 children, taught by the Kildare Street Society, 
 accoi'ding to the returns made to the Com- 
 missioners, was only 29,812.* So that the foun- 
 dation upon which many rest their opinion, that 
 Government might have filled Ireland with well 
 attended Scriptural schools is this, that after the 
 labours of 10 years the Kildare Street Society had, 
 by means of public grants, collected 30,000 Roman 
 Catholics into their schools. This is a very 
 
 * Ninth Report on Education in Ireland, pp. 52 — 59.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 323 
 
 slender foundation for the opinion. But the slight- 
 est consideration of the progress of political events 
 since that day destroys it. Up to 1825 the 
 Roman Catholic laity might have been willing 
 to send their children to national schools, having 
 the Scriptures read in them. But Catholic Eman- 
 cipation followed by the Reform Bill, has opened 
 to the Irish Catholics political ends, to accomplish 
 which they are united as one head. When was the 
 Roman Catholic body more firmly compacted for 
 political purposes than now? Is this the time during 
 which the laity would have broken loose from the 
 spiritual domination of their clergy, and against the 
 express denunciations of that body have asserted the 
 right of their children to read the Scriptures? It is 
 much more probable that a public grant for Scrip- 
 tural schools would, under the influence of the 
 clergy, have been met by indignant remonstrances 
 from the whole body, and scarcely a Catholic have 
 been permitted to attend a single school. Better 
 even this, then, the ardent Protestant replies, 
 than to dishonour the Scriptures by a public act 
 which removes them from their just place at the 
 foundation of all national education, and compli- 
 
 p4
 
 324 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 ments the monstrous popish figment, that it can do 
 a poor man harm to read the revelation of the 
 will of God. I too abhor the arrogance and im- 
 piety of that priestly dogma, against which every 
 educated Roman Catholic ought loudly to protest, 
 but I cannot therefore come to the conclusion, that 
 because the Catholics will not have a Scriptural 
 education they shall have no public education at 
 all. About three hundred thousand were, in 18'25, 
 taught in hedge schools, where, besides learning 
 the worst Roman Catholic catechisms, they were 
 instructed in such books as these, the History of 
 the Seven Wise Masters and Mistresses of Rome, 
 the Irish Rogues and Rapparees, the Life of Captain 
 Freney the robber, the History of Captain Grant, 
 a gentleman highwayman, the Garden of Love, 
 Nocturnal Revels, the Life of Moll Flanders, 
 Rousseau's Eloisa, the Devil and Dr. Faustus, 
 Tristam Shandy, Pastorini's Prophecies, the His- 
 tory of Philander Flashaway, and many others of 
 similar merit. 
 
 With books like these and under the lowest 
 masters, they were left to learn at pleasure, super- 
 stition, immorality, and sedition. Under such
 
 Ireland in 1836. 325 
 
 circumstances, what principle forbids the Govern- 
 ment to place useful books in their hands instead 
 of this trash or poison I They ought to read the 
 Bible, but they will not. Their clergy should 
 recommend it, but they do in fact prohibit it. 
 And Parliament was therefore reduced to the 
 alternative, either to leave them to be demoralized 
 or to give them the best books they could without 
 the Bible. Adopting the latter course, successive 
 governments have sanctioned a Board which has 
 provided for the use of the National Schools, 
 three volumes of Scripture extracts, five volumes 
 of general lessons, two volumes on cash accounts, 
 one volume of geometry, one of sacred poetry, 
 and some large maps to be hung upon the walls. 
 The question then to be decided is, whether it is 
 better that 300,000 Roman Catholics should 
 have their minds poisoned at hedge schools, and 
 all the rest go without education, or that they 
 should receive the knowledge which these twelve 
 volumes may convey ? Few, I think, can believe 
 that they ouffht to be left to that total ignorance 
 or that vicious training because they will not 
 receive the Scriptures.
 
 326 Ireland in 183G. 
 
 But conceding the principle that it is better to 
 give them a part of the Scriptures than none, 
 many find fault with the actual selection of Scrip- 
 ture extracts. I will not undertake their defence, 
 although their faults have been exaggerated; but 
 whatever their faults may be, to a population 
 wholly ignorant of the Scriptures, they must be 
 extremely serviceable. They contain, besides 
 other portions of Scripture, the whole of St. Luke 
 and the whole of the Acts. They teach by 
 Eph. ii. 1 — 10, the spiritual death of the sinner 
 and salvation by grace ; by Heb. ix.24 — 28, that 
 Christ has made one only sacrifice for sins ; by 
 Heb. ii. 17, 18, iv. 14, 16, they show his interces- 
 sion for his people ; by Phil. ii. 3—11, they 
 declare his deity and atonement ; by Rom. iii. they 
 preach justification by faith without works; in 
 Acts v. they declare repentance to be the gift of 
 Christ; by Luke vii. and Luke xv. they show that 
 the sinner is forgiven freely ; in 1 John i. and ii. 
 they show that Jesus Christ is our advocate with 
 the Father, and that each penitent believer who 
 confesses his sins is forgiven ; by Eph. i. 15, they 
 show our need of divine teaching; by Luke xviii.
 
 Ireland in 183(). 327 
 
 they direct us to prayer ; by Luke xi. they declare 
 that the Holy Spirit is promised to those that 
 pray ; by Luke xii. and Psalm xxxiv. they declare 
 the particular providence of God ; by Eph. i. 20 — 
 23, they reveal the glory of Christ in Heaven ; 
 by 1 Cor. xv. they teaqh the resurrection of the 
 body, and by Luke xvi. the everlasting punish- 
 ment of the wicked. They abound in im- 
 portant precepts and promises. They contain, 
 besides, the following beautiful parables ; the 
 prodigal son, the lost sheep, the unjust steward, 
 the rich man and Lazarus, the unjust judge, the 
 pharisee and the publican, and the ten pounds. 
 They give the narrative of our Lord's birth, 
 ministry, miracles, transfiguration, sufferings, 
 death, resurrection, and ascension ; and they 
 give the inspired history of the foundation 
 of the Christian Church, with the narrative 
 of St. Paul's labours and travels: all this scrip- 
 tural knowledge, with other instructive volumes, 
 with hymns from Watts, Cowper, Toplady, 
 Newton, and others, and with excellent maps, 
 are all furnished to those who would have been 
 reading " Moll Flanders," or " the Irish Rogues
 
 328 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 and Rapparees;" and who can, without the high- 
 est satisfaction, find these books in the hands of" 
 Roman Catholic scholars, in schools under Ro- 
 man Catholic superintendence ? The large pro- 
 portion of schools under the Board, are, it is 
 true, Roman Catholic, and many, therefore, 
 think that they are only confirming- the reign 
 of Roman Catholic doctrine, and the despotism 
 of the Roman Catholic priest. I cannot but 
 maintain another opinion. The dominion of the 
 priesthood is founded exclusively upon igno- 
 rance, and if the Scripture Extracts were alto- 
 gether excluded from the schools, much as I 
 should regret it, I should still see in those well 
 executed books of general information, in those 
 volumes on geometry and arithmetic, and in those 
 attractive maps, the materials for thought, and 
 the means of knowledge, threatening the demo- 
 lition, at no distant period, of the whole fabric of 
 [rish superstition. Where has Romanism yet en- 
 dured a wide spread and liberal education ? In 
 what part of Europe are educated men bigoted 
 Catholics ? They are not in Spain, they are not 
 in France, and when party politics cease to make
 
 Ireland in 1836. 329 
 
 them so, why should they be in Ireland ? The 
 eleven hundred schools of the Board ought, 
 then, even at the worst, though many should 
 be found in nunneries and friaries, without any 
 Protestant inspection, to be a source of satisfac- 
 tion to Protestants, for they are pushing the whole 
 nation one step forward towards spiritual freedom. 
 Whether these views be correct or not, 
 the system has been sanctioned by successive 
 governments, of the most opposite politics, and 
 1,181 schools are now formed upon it. There 
 are 400 pending applications ; 116 clergymen of 
 the Establishment, and 100 Presbyterian and 
 Dissenting ministers, have been applicants ; and of 
 714 correspondents of the Board, through whom 
 all the salaries are paid, 231 are Protestants.* 
 Under these circumstances, does it not become 
 expedient, that the Protestant clergy, instead of 
 unqualified opposition to the National Board, 
 should endeavour, by all lawful means, to im- 
 prove its management, and direct its funds ? 
 The first thing to be done, is, doubtless, to mul- 
 tiply, to the utmost, superior scriptural schools, 
 * Third Report.
 
 3:30 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 with able masters, excellent books of useful in- 
 formation, good maps, and a diligent superinten- 
 dence ; so that the children may not be tempted 
 from them, by the better teaching in Roman 
 Catholic schools. Nor is this contrary to the 
 wishes of, at least, one member of the Board, 
 since the third Report contains the following 
 expressions of the Archbishop of Dublin : "The 
 rector of each parish must be left to judge what 
 system is best suited to his own ; and I am very 
 far from wishing that a more imperfect system 
 should be introduced in any place, where one 
 intrinsically better can be made available. I 
 never understood that it was intended to sub- 
 stitute such (national) schools, for those, on a 
 more perfect system, in any place where such 
 should have been introduced, and found to suc- 
 ceed, but to rescue from hopeless ignorance 
 those who (whether by their own fault, or other- 
 wise) could not be brought to avail themselves 
 of any better plan."* The next thing is, as 
 the clergy of the dioceses of Derry and Armagh 
 
 * Third Report.
 
 Ireland in 183G. 331 
 
 have done, to petition in a kind and conciliating 
 spirit, for improvements. 
 
 But before any alterations are effected, I do not 
 see what is to hinder any clergyman having a 
 good school under the National Board. Let a 
 clergyman or any one else apply for a National 
 School, himself raising, without any alliance with 
 the Priest, the funds required in conjunction with 
 the national grant. The school hours are usually, 
 I believe, from ten till three o'clock. During 
 those hours, the children may learn much of 
 christian doctrine from the Scripture extracts, if 
 the patron feel that he can conscientiously employ 
 them. If not, then they may be excluded, and 
 the instruction to those children whose parents 
 disapprove of reading the Bible, must be merely 
 secular. But from nine till ten, or from three 
 to four, or even from two to three, as the Roman 
 Catholic Catechisms are used in the schools of 
 Newtown, Kilkenny, and other places, so the Bible 
 may be freely used by all the children whose 
 parents wish it. Of this the Reports of the 
 Board afford full proof. The Synod of Ulster 
 presented to the Board four propositions, of which
 
 332 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 the second and third were as follows. " That it 
 shall be (he right of all parents to require of 
 patrons and managers of schools to set apart for 
 reading the Holy Scriptures a convenient and 
 sufficient portion of the stated school hours, and 
 to direct the master, or some other whom the 
 parents may appoint and provide, to superintend 
 the reading." And " that all children whose 
 parents and guardians shall so direct, shall daily 
 read the Holy Scriptui'es during the period 
 appointed," &c. These propositions the Board 
 determined to be agreeable to the principles of 
 their system. Accordingly a Presbyterian Minis- 
 ter was allowed to direct the last school hour 
 from two to three, in his school, to be employed 
 in reading the Bible; those whose parents dis- 
 approved of that habit, either retiring or con- 
 tinuing their other lessons.* Further, among the 
 regulations laid down by the Board, 1 find the 
 following. "One day in each week, independently 
 of Sunday, is to be set apart for religious instruc- 
 tion of the children, on which day such pastors 
 or other persons as are approved of by the parents 
 * Reports, pp. 17, 18.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 333 
 
 and guardians of the children shall have access to 
 them for that purpose," &c. The managers of 
 schools are also expected, should the parents 
 of any of the children desire it, to afford 
 convenient opportunity and facility for the same 
 purpose, either before or after the ordinary 
 school business (as the managers may determine) 
 on the other days of the Meek."* And if 
 the instruction then given be aff'ectionate, 
 serious, and intelligent, numbers would, doubt- 
 less, profit by it. If, then, without infringement 
 of the rules of the system, nuns and friars may 
 multiply schools, which have a preponderating 
 Roman Catholic influence, so may Protestant 
 clergymen, by the funds, by the excellent books 
 of the Board, and by the use of the Scriptures 
 out of school hours, carry the most effective 
 scriptural schools, into the wildest, and most 
 backward districts of Ireland. Surely, Protestant 
 ministers should not regret the opportunity. The 
 solitary objection to this course, appears to be the 
 apparent sanction afforded to the R^man Catho- 
 lic priest, by the right which the national system 
 * Pirst Report.
 
 a34 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 concedes to him, of entering and examining the 
 school. But if there be any sanction, it must 
 be mutual; the priest must as much concede 
 the validity of the Protestant ministry, as the 
 protestant concedes his. Now does he so 1 When 
 Mr. Conolly established his Achill schools, in di- 
 rect opposition to those of Mr. Nangle, did he 
 thereby confirm the authority of Mr. Nangle's 
 mission I as nothing could be further from his 
 thoughts, so nothing could be more contrary to 
 the fact. And just as little would the authority 
 of the Roman Catholic priest be confirmed by 
 any national . school established under Protestant 
 superintendence. Can, then, the clergy of Ire- 
 land induce Parliament to recur to the system 
 of Bible schools? Is there any hope that the 
 Roman Catholics would now consent to such a 
 system ? If not, ought Ireland to be left with- 
 out education ? If there are to be national 
 schools, ought Protestants, by keeping aloof, to 
 suffer the national funds to be placed exclusively 
 in Roman Catholic hands? If none of these, 
 then let the clergy of the church of Ireland, 
 henceforth, strive to turn the public grant to
 
 Ireland in 1836. 335 
 
 the best account ? By following^ this course zea- 
 lously, it seems to me that they may do essential 
 service to their country. Whenever a good 
 national school is established, under Protestant 
 influence, in small places, at least, it would 
 preclude the erection of one under Roman 
 Catholic influence. Now we see these schools 
 planted almost within the chapel yard ; they 
 would then be, at least, equidistant from the 
 chapel and the church : and the island might 
 be filled speedily with effective schools, which, 
 so far from encouraging Popery, would almost 
 certainly hasten its total overthrow. If, fur- 
 ther, the clergy are anxious to petition for altera-, 
 tions of the system, their petitions will hereby 
 come with greater force, when their concurrence 
 with the system, as far as they can consistently 
 go, has proved, that their objections have no- 
 thing in them which is political and factious ; 
 and if they wish to see Ireland filled with Bible 
 readers, and Bible schools ; nothing is more like- 
 ly to hasten that consummation, than the estab- 
 lishment of schools, where they may learn to read 
 and think, to get a better livelihood, to acquire
 
 336 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 independence of mind, and to love the Protestant 
 clergyman, who, without being their religious 
 teacher, has been their benefactor and their friend. 
 Discussing these interesting questions, we spee- 
 dily consumed the little leisure which was left 
 to us; my dear friend, whose activity, resolution, 
 and good nature often remind me of Martin 
 Luther, though he has none of that Reformer's 
 bitterness, was called to a pastoral engagement, 
 and we proceeded to Dublin.
 
 337 
 
 CHA^PTER XIII. 
 
 Visit to Maynooth — Some Account of its present Extent, its 
 Discipline, and its Studies — Other Roman Catholic Semi- 
 naries. 
 
 After breakfast (August 20th) we drove to see 
 ray old friend Captain Robinson, at Barber's-town 
 Castle, near Celbridge, passing on our way 
 through the Phoenix Park, the Hyde Park of 
 Dublin. It wants fine wood; but its extent, its 
 large thorns, its wild looking furze, with a boun- 
 dary of beautiful hills, make it, in my opinion, 
 very superior to its London rival. Captain Robin- 
 son was kind enough to drive us to Maynooth, 
 where Dr. Montague, the President, with great 
 courtesy conducted us over the building. I was 
 curious to see this " hot-bed of bigotry," this 
 "nurse of discord," this "source of sedition," 
 this "grand curse of Ireland," as I found it gene- 
 
 Q
 
 338 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 rally esteemed to be by those Protestants who 
 mentioned it. It was established by an Act of 
 the Irish Parliament, passed in the year 1795.* 
 The Parliamentary grants by which it has been 
 principally supported, have varied in amount. 
 For the first twenty-one years they averaged 
 about 8,000/. a year, Irish currency, and since 
 1813, the annual grant has been 9,673/. Irish.+ 
 The buildings now form three sides of a quad- 
 rangle, containing a chapel, a refectory, a library, 
 various lecture rooms, and apartments for the 
 President, Vice Presidents, Professors, and 
 Students. Seventy-four acres of land adjoining, 
 are held by the College on leases for ever. The 
 superintendence and instruction of the Students is 
 committed to the following- officers, a President, 
 Vice President, two Deans, a Librarian, a 
 Bursar, and nine Professors. In 1826, there 
 were 391 Students, of whom 250 were maintained 
 by the Grant, 110 were Pensioners, 20 were 
 Bursars, and 11 were in the Dunboyne Class. ^: 
 The number of students is now increased to 450. 
 
 * Eighth Report of the Commissioners of Education, p. 5. 
 tib. p.r. llh.8.
 
 Ireland IxN 1836. 339 
 
 No one of these young men can be admitted to 
 the college without the recommendation of his 
 bishop, who holds an annual examination of candi- 
 dates within his diocese, and recommends whom 
 he thinks fit.* To the bishops also is allotted the 
 right of naming the 250 students who are main- 
 tained by the grant, in the following proportions ; 
 the provinces of Armagh and Cashel present each 
 75 students, and those of Dublin and of Tuam, 
 each 50. f 
 
 At his admission, each Pensioner is said (o 
 expend as follows. 
 
 Outfit and journey £l7 
 
 Furniture and College dress ... 10 
 
 Deposit 9 
 
 Yearly pension 21 
 
 Sundries . , 12 
 
 Total £69 
 
 From this sum must be deducted for each of 
 the free students, the 21/. pension, making their 
 first year's expences 48/. It may be seen by 
 this statement that the students cannot be taken 
 from the lowest class. 
 
 They are usually admitted about the age of 
 
 * Ap. to Eighth Report, 58, 59. f lb. 31. 
 
 q2
 
 340 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 seventeen, and continue about six years in the 
 college. The first three they pass through the 
 class of rhetoric, the logic class, and the class of 
 mathematics ; and they then enter the class of 
 theology, in which they continue likewise three 
 years. At the end of the first year of theology, 
 the student being now twenty-one years of 
 age, is usually made sub-deacon ; the second year, 
 he is made deacon ; and the third year he is or- 
 dained priest. Some students come at an earlier 
 age, and are placed in the humanity class, which 
 is one year below the rhetoric ; and occasionally 
 they come later. In the one case the academical 
 course would be seven years, in the other, it 
 would only be five, or even less. For the lowest 
 class a youth should have read Caesar's Commen- 
 taries, Sallust, Virgil's Eclogues, and parts of 
 Cicero. For the higher humanity class he must be 
 conversant with Cicero, Livy, Horace, Virgil, Ju- 
 venal, Zenophon, and Homer. For the logic class 
 he must likewise have read parts of Tacitus, 
 Demosthenes, and Longinus.* One year is de- 
 voted to mathematics, in which they are expected 
 
 * Ap. Eighth Report, 56, 57.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 341 
 
 to make themselves well acquainted with arith- 
 metic, with the elements of algebra, with a trea- 
 tise on geometry, with plane and spherical tri- 
 gonometry, with the elements of mechanics, and 
 with astronomy.* Youths under twenty years 
 of age are expected to learn this in one year. I 
 can remember my freshman's year at Trinity 
 College, Cambridge, and believe that the majority 
 of these students must know about as much on 
 these subjects at the end of the year as at the 
 beginning, and no more. The course of theology, 
 on the other hand, seems to be very Romish. 
 Ten Latin treatises are to be waded through. 
 1. De Religioni. 2. De Ecclesia. 3. De Mysterio, 
 S. S. Trinitatis. 4. De Sacramento Penitentiae. 
 5. De Sacramentis in Genere. 6. De Actibus 
 Humanis, &c. &c. 7. De Pra^ceptis, &c. 8. De 
 Simonia, de censuris, et irregularitatibus. 9. De 
 Ordine, et de Matrimonio. 10. De Baptismo, 
 de Confirmatione, de Extrema Unctione; and 
 then at the end of the 10th tract comes, de gra- 
 tia Dei, et de Deo ! What a mass of reading 
 apparently upon forms, and ceremonies, and sacra- 
 * Ap. Eighth Report, 146.
 
 342 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 ments, and discipline ! and what omission of all 
 that constitutes the essence of the Gospel ! On 
 the fall of man, on the atonement of Jesus Christ, 
 on justification, on the work of the Spirit, on the 
 promises of the Gospel, on regeneration, on sanc- 
 tification, on devotedness to the will of God, on 
 communion with God, and on heavenly happiness, 
 they appear to read almost nothing! All the 
 life, all the thoughts, and all the heart of the 
 Roman Catholic Priest, are to be devoted to the 
 mass, to the seven sacraments, to the precepts of 
 the Church, to the confessional, and to extreme 
 unction, &c. &c. ; with these, therefore, must his 
 ten tracts, and his three years of theology be 
 chiefly filled. Scripture is not, however, wholly 
 concealed from their view. There is a professor 
 of Hebrew and of Sacred Scripture, whose duty it 
 is to give the whole theological class, containing 
 200 students, two lectures every week on Scrip- 
 ture. In 1826, the professor, Mr. Browne, lectured 
 on the whole of St. Matthew and St. John, on the 
 Epistles to the Romans, to the Galatians, to the 
 Corinthians, to the Hebrews, to Timothy, and to
 
 Ireland in 183G. 343 
 
 Titus, and on those of St Peter too. On tlie Old 
 Testament he had rarely time to enter.* 
 
 Besides this, the students of every class are 
 freely permitted to read the Scriptures in their 
 hours of leisure. All the witnesses examined 
 before the Commissioners, even those who had 
 become Protestants after leaving Maynooth, 
 agreed in this. No restriction is laid upon any 
 student. So far, indeed, from that, it is on the 
 contrary a rule of the College that each student 
 should furnish himself with a copy of the Douay 
 Bible on his admission. 
 
 The following was the evidence of the Pre- 
 sident, Dr. CroUy, before the Commissioners. 
 
 Has any student, so long as lie continues in the 
 liumanity class, [the lowest] and in the rhetoric class, 
 full permission to read the Scriptures in English, at 
 his own private hours and apart from observation ? 
 
 We never forbid him to read them whenever he 
 pleases, if it does not interfere with his other duties. 
 
 Is lie permitted to do it? 
 
 Certainly he is permitted ; he can have the Testa- 
 ment in bis room, and read it whenever he pleases. 
 During- tiie hours of study there are certain books 
 pointed out for the students, which they are obliged 
 * Ap. Eiglith Report, 151.
 
 344 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 to read during those hours, but at other hours of 
 the day they can take up any book they please, and 
 if they have a mind to read the Testament, nobody 
 will ever interfere with them : they are even en- 
 couraged to do it. 
 
 Then, in point of fact, there never has been any 
 dissatisfaction expressed to any young man in the 
 Institution, on the part of any of the superiors, on 
 the ground of his reading the Scriptures in his own 
 room ? 
 
 Quite the contrary, as far as I have ever been able 
 to learn. 
 
 At any period of the course, however early ? 
 
 At any period of the course, however early : on the 
 contrary, we require that they shall have Bibles, every 
 one of them. 
 
 The entire Bible ? 
 Yes. 
 
 In English ? 
 Yes. 
 
 Where is that Bible to be kept ? 
 The Bibles are kept at the Library, until purchased 
 by the students. 
 
 The following was the evidence of Dr. Mon- 
 tague, then the Vice President. 
 
 Do any other duties fall to you than those which 
 are discharged by the President ? 
 
 At present I undertake to direct the junior students 
 of the house in the study of the sacred Scriptures,
 
 Ireland in 183G. 345 
 
 and I also explain the Catechism twice a week. They 
 recite a chapter of the Catechism, and account for 
 three chapters of the Old Testament, which I after- 
 wards explain. 
 
 With respect to the New Testament what course 
 do you pursue ? 
 
 My class is a preparation for the study of the New 
 Testament, which is explained to the theologians by 
 the Professor of Sacred Scripture. 
 
 To what class of students is this instruction given ? 
 
 It is given to the rhetoric and to the humanity 
 classes. 
 
 They only continue under your care one year ? 
 
 Yes, they all attend me for one year, and during 
 that year they all procure Bibles, which they are 
 admonished to read and study during their entire 
 course. 
 
 Does every young man in the class procure a Bible 
 for himself ? 
 
 Every one. 
 
 Do they keep them in their own possession ? 
 
 Yes. 
 
 Is the edition you allude to the stereotype edition 
 that has been published lately by Coyne ? 
 
 That is the one they have now in their hands. 
 
 At what price is it now sold ? 
 
 Fourteen shillings, I believe.* 
 
 Professor Dowley declared, that a regulation 
 
 • Ap. to Eighth Report, 107. 
 
 q3
 
 846 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 had been made obliging- every student, on en- 
 trance into the humanity class, to procure a Bible 
 of his own. That in his time about half the 
 students in theology had Testaments, and that 
 in consequence of the comparative cheapness of 
 the Bible, a larger number of copies than ever 
 before were now in their hands. 
 
 Mr. Dixon, on the other hand, who was a 
 student of Maynooth previous to 1816, and is 
 now a Protestant clergyman, declared that there 
 was no such regulation in his time. During the 
 four years of his college life he had no Bible. He 
 did not know of any students under the divinity 
 class who possessed them. The divinity students 
 did not usually refer to the original Scriptures. 
 And when there were one hundred and sixty 
 students in the public hall preparing for the 
 Scripture lecture, he did not see upon the tables 
 above a dozen Bibles and Testaments. Mr. 
 Crowley, since become a Protestant, who had 
 been the lecturer in dogmatic theology, stated to 
 the Commissioners that he used to lecture on 
 parts of the New Testament, when his pupils 
 had their Testaments before them.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 347 
 
 Mr. Molony, now a Presbyterian, stated that 
 when he was a student he had a Latin Vulgate, 
 but that he had seldom seen more than about twelve 
 Bibles and Testaments on the tables in the hall. 
 
 Each also of the following students examined 
 by the Commissioners, said that he possessed the 
 Bible. 
 
 Anthony Reynolds, humanity class ; 
 
 Patrick Leahy, rhetoric class ; 
 
 George Chapman, logic class ; 
 
 Edward Haylward, mathematical class ; 
 
 Rev. Thomas Furlong, Dunboyne class. 
 
 Mr. Furlong stated that each student, at 
 entrance, is now obliged to purchase a copy, if he 
 do not otherwise procure one ; and Mr. Reynolds 
 said, " We are obliged to pay a certain sum at 
 entrance, for which we receive hooks, and the 
 Bible is one of them."^ 
 
 T have seen Maynooth severely blamed for 
 its neglect of Scripture ; but to be just, I must 
 confess that to this day there is not, I believe, 
 even in the University of Cambridge, though 
 there is much religion there, an equal attentiotj 
 * Ap. to Eighth Report, 413, 423, &c. &c. 
 
 q4
 
 348 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 given to the public exposition of the Bible. With 
 the habits of Oxford I am less acquainted. 
 
 The Maynooth discipline is severe. The stu- 
 dents rise at five in the summer months, and at 
 six during- the winter. Their rule of domestic 
 discipline, in true Roman Catholic style, orders, 
 " on the signal being given, and the Benedicamus 
 Domino being heard, let each person answer 
 Deo Gratias, and immediately let him arise from 
 bed, and making the most holy sign of the cross, 
 let him put on his clothes, and as soon as he has 
 done so, let him employ himself sedulously for the 
 space of half an hour in washing his hands, adjusting 
 his bed, and in making up his room." They then 
 assemble in the chapel for morning prayer, after 
 which they study till eight, and then attend mass. 
 Mass is followed by breakfast. From half-past 
 nine till half-past ten they study ; from that time 
 till half-past eleven they attend lectures. From 
 twelve till two they study, and from two to three 
 attend lectures ; then follows dinner and exercise 
 till five. From five till eight they study; at 
 nine they assemble for evening prayer, after 
 which they retire to their rooms, and must be
 
 Ireland in 1836. 349 
 
 in bed by ten. The relaxation in the midst of 
 these studies is rather triste. Behind the college 
 is a square space, and beyond this a gravel walk 
 for a quarter of a mile. Here they make their 
 melancholy promenade, unless they play at ball 
 or at prison bars.* If any student should pass 
 the boundaries of the college without leave, or 
 designedly withdraw himself from the body of 
 the students on the public walk, or from the 
 eyes of the person to whose charge he may have 
 been committed, he is liable, by the college sta- 
 tutes, to expulsion. He is liable to the same 
 punishment if he should bring into the college 
 " books or writings tending to calumniate the 
 Roman Catholic religion," &c. or use any books 
 forbidden to the entire community by the Pre- 
 sident or Dean. To render the surveillance more 
 complete, all letters, in or out, pass through the 
 hands of the Dean, who has the right of opening 
 (hem, but does not exercise it. By night and 
 day too the Deans have the right of entering 
 every apartment ; and by the statutes they are 
 enjoined (o do so at least twice a fortnight, when 
 * Ap. Eighth Rep. p. 63.
 
 J350 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 they are to examine their books, and, with the 
 President's consent, even their desks and papers. 
 
 About fifty receive priest's orders annually, 
 and when they either return to the dioceses from 
 which they were sent, or with the consent of their 
 respective bishops, get cures elsewhere. But 
 the total number of priests in Ireland being 
 about 3,000, their church requires an annual 
 supply of about 80 priests. To meet this want 
 some students are ordained from Roman Catho- 
 lic seminaries at Kilkenny, Waterford, Tuam, and 
 Wexford. And there are about 140 more stu- 
 dents for the priesthood at different colleges on 
 the Continent ; 70 in the Irish College at Paris, 
 about 12 at Rome, and the remainder at Sala- 
 manca, Lisbon, and several French seminaries.* 
 The Jesuit College, at Clongowes, near May- 
 nooth, educates only laymen. 
 
 When I visited the college it was vacation : 
 40 or 50 students were still however in residence. 
 They were generally athletic youths, with good 
 countenances, and with all the appearance of 
 robust health. Several were dressed as priests. 
 * Ap. Eighth Rep. 51,52.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 351 
 
 Their caps and gowns are very much like those 
 of the smaller colleges at Cambridge : and 
 although the statutes prescribe " Neve ipsi ves- 
 tibus dilacerafis in publicum prodeant, ut agres- 
 tem fngiant negligentiam," many of the gowns 
 were indescribably ragged, and occasionally I 
 observed a yawning rent at the knee. I had 
 heard something of the dirt of the place. This, 
 if true, is a great disgrace to the college, not 
 only because it is ungentleman-like, but espe- 
 cially because it is one of the duties of the priest- 
 hood to raise the habits of the poor from dirt to 
 cleanliness ; from disorder to neatness ; and how 
 shall the priest do this if he be himself slovenly 
 and dirty ? While we were there, the bell rang 
 for dinner, and we looked into the refectory. 
 At the tables each student still wore his cap. The 
 substantial and excellent dinner was served in 
 the simplest style, on a coarse table cloth, adorned 
 with pewter plates, and with knives and forks 
 having black bone handles. Amidst the clatter of 
 the knives, and the rapid movements of the hun- 
 gry operators, a young man, vith a sonorous 
 voice, read from a pulpit, according to their
 
 352 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 custom, a chapter of the Old Testament. From 
 the refectory we passed to the library, which 
 is not like the beautiful library of Trinity Col- 
 lege, Dublin, or that for which I have much more 
 affection, at Trinity, Cambridge, but it is a large 
 collection of Roman Catholic Divinity, with the 
 principal Classics, with some Protestant Critics, 
 as Poole, Hammond, and Lowth, and with 
 various works of Polite Literature. It has al- 
 ready cost the college £1,500, and if they have 
 not a more costly collection, let us remember 
 the infamous laws under which their literature 
 has been long repressed. By an Act in the reign 
 of Charles II. it was provided, that every school- 
 master should take the oath of supremacy ; in 
 other words, that no Roman Catholic should 
 keep a school. And by another statute in the 
 seventh year of William III. it was rendered 
 highly penal to receive any other than a Pro- 
 testant education : if a Roman Catholic was sent 
 abroad to be educated in the tenets of his own 
 religion, he was liable to the disabilities imposed 
 by the Act ; and it was enacted, that no persoti 
 of the Popish religion should p?/&/?c/y feach
 
 Ireland in 1836. 353 
 
 school, under a j^enaltij of twenty pounds, and 
 three months imprisonment.* 
 
 As I departed from the college, grateful for 
 the polite attentions of Dr. Montague, I could 
 not but reflect with melancholy interest on the 
 prodigious moral power lodged within the walls 
 of that mean, rough cast, and white-washed 
 range of buildings, standing without one archi- 
 tectural recommendation, on that dull and gloomy 
 flat. What a vomitory of fiery zeal for worth- 
 less ceremonies and fatal errors ! Thence how 
 the priestly deluge, issuing like an infant sea, or 
 rather like a fiery flood from it's roaring crater, 
 pours over the parishes of Ireland, to repress 
 all spiritual improvement by their anti-protestant 
 enmities and their cumbrous rites! For those 
 poor youths themselves, many of them with in- 
 genuous countenances, I felt a deeper pity still. 
 There, before they know it, to be drilled and 
 practised for their hopeless warfare against the 
 kingdom of Christ; there to imbibe endless pre- 
 judices fatal to themselves and others; there to 
 be sworn upon the altars of superstition to an 
 * 1st Rep. of Ed. Commis p. 4.
 
 354 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 interminable hatred of what they call heresy, 
 ■which is, indeed, pure and undefiled religion — 
 to have prejudice blacken into malice against 
 those who love God, to have all their worldly 
 interests thenceforth identified with priestcraft ; 
 to settle down, perhaps, after a fearful struggle 
 between interest and conscience, into epicurean 
 scepticism ; perhaps, in some instances, to teach 
 the people to adore what they know to be a bit 
 of bread; to curse them from the altar for what 
 they themselves believe to be a right and a duty, 
 the perusal of the word of God ; and lastly, to 
 depise them for trembling at the impotent male- 
 diction.
 
 355 
 
 CHAPTER XIV, 
 
 Contrast between England and Ireland — What may be done 
 to improve the Condition of the Irish Labourer-- Poor Law 
 Bill — Emigration — Bill for the Extension and Promotion of 
 Public Works — Inland Navigation — Rail-roads — Duty of 
 Landlords— Duty of the Clergy— Schools — Loan Libraries- 
 Various Societies — Home Mission — Concluding Remarks. 
 
 Poor Ireland! what are to be its future for- 
 tunes? Its peasantry are turbulent; its crimes 
 are multiplied. Superstition is a mill-stone round 
 its neck ; it hates England ; it abhors Protes- 
 tantism ; and, with a tiger roar, it rages for repeal. 
 But why? Because united with the wealthiest 
 country in the world, it continues to be the 
 poorest : because while they are sisters, and 
 should be equals, the one is clothed in purple 
 and fares sumptuously every day, the other is 
 clothed in rags, has no supply for her hunger, 
 and lies at her sister's gate full of sores : because 
 the roads are thronged with its cattle, and its 
 pigs, its butter, and its harvests, all hastening
 
 356 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 to a foreign market, not to bring back wealth to 
 the farmer, and trade to the inland towns, but to 
 discharge the rent of the absentee, leaving the 
 whole land denuded, and the whole population 
 distressed. Wind and rain drive through its 
 decayed roofs ; the wet settles on its earthy 
 floors ; and its whole aspect is beggarly. Beau- 
 tiful parks enclosed amidst a world of wretched 
 hovels, only serve to make those hovels the 
 more hideous. All life there seems a despe- 
 rate struggle to live : not a tree, not a flower, 
 not a hedge scarcely must grow— they are not 
 necessary — and Ireland has nothing to do with 
 ornament or with delight. Who can blame the 
 Irish labourers for being turbulent? Well fed 
 and freed from anxiety, the English populace 
 lies in deep repose ; but would it, if it were starved 
 as Ireland is I No, the Irish are patience and 
 gentleness, compared with what, under half their 
 privations, we should see the populace of Bir- 
 mingham or Manchester to be. They are worthy 
 of the deepest pity, and rather than blame their 
 turbulence, we should admire their resignation. 
 Compare, for a moment, the conditions of the two
 
 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 357 
 
 islands, as marked by the different items of the 
 followiriff table : — 
 
 
 England. 
 
 Ireland. 
 
 Population in 1831 . . . 
 
 1 3,091,005 fl 
 
 7,767,401 b 
 
 Statute acres 
 
 32,247,080 c 
 
 19,944,209 rf 
 
 Cultivated acres .... 
 
 29,000,000 e 
 
 14,603,473/ 
 
 Waste lands 
 
 3,247,680 
 
 5,340,736g 
 
 Improvable wastes . . . 
 
 
 4,900,000 h 
 
 Agricultural families . . . 
 
 761,348 i 
 
 884,339 /c 
 
 Families engaged chiefly in ^ 
 trade and manufactures . S 
 
 1,182,912/ 
 
 249,359 / 
 
 Number of merchant ships . 
 
 14,421w 
 
 1,456 ;n 
 
 Tonnage 
 
 1, 807,487m/ 
 
 108,128»i 
 
 Miles of cana, 1833 . . . 
 
 2,1 74« 
 
 270 n 
 
 Miles of railroad made or } 
 in progress in 1833 . . S 
 
 500h 
 
 9n 
 
 From this table it appears, 
 
 1. That though England is more than half as 
 large again as Ireland, it has not nearly as much 
 of improvable land lying waste.* 
 
 a M'Culloch's Statistics, I. 405. b M'C. I. 437. 
 
 c lb. I. 6. d lb. I. 543. e lb. 529, 530. 
 
 / lb. 543. g lb 543 h Pebrer's Statistics, p. 351. 
 
 « M'Culloch, I. 544. /c lb. 545. / lb. II. 199. 
 
 ?ii lb. II. 195. n William's Inland Navigation, p. 14. 
 
 * Since this work was written, I have met with the Third 
 Report of the Commissioners for inquiring into the condition
 
 358 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 2. That though England has more than twice 
 the number of cultivated acres, the number of 
 agricultural families is 100,000 less.f 
 
 3. That though the population of England is 
 not twice that of Ireland, it has nearly five times 
 the number of persons employed in trade, manu- 
 factures, and handicraft. 
 
 4. That the number of ships belonging to the 
 one, is nearly ten times greater than that be- 
 longing to the other, and (he tonnage of the one 
 sixteen times greater than the tonnage of the 
 other. 
 
 of the poorer classes, and shall corroborate or correct my own 
 remarks from its very interesting statements. 
 
 " It appears that there are 3,000,000 of Irish acres of 
 waste land, equal to 5,000,000, of English acres, which are 
 considered to be almost all reclaimable." Third Report, p. 18. 
 
 t There were in Great Britain in 1831, 1,055,982, agricul- 
 tural labourers; in Ireland 1,131,715, although tlie cultivated 
 land of Great Britain amounts to about 34,250,000 acres, 
 and that of Ireland only to about 14,600,000. We thus find 
 that there are in Ireland about five agricultural labourers for 
 every two that there are for the same quantity of land in Great 
 Britain. lb. p. 3. 
 
 There are in Ireland a greater number of labourers abso- 
 lutely than in the whole of Great Britain, more than double 
 the number relatively to cultivated land, and more than four 
 times the number relatively to produce. lb. p. 5.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 359 
 
 5. That the length of canal in England is eight 
 times greater than that in Ireland ; and the length 
 of rail-road will shortly be more than fifty times 
 greater in the one than in the other. 
 
 Along the roads of England you meet its gentry 
 every where, in Ireland the roads are desolate. 
 We have left them the middlemen, but its pro- 
 prietors have sought our shores. Around every 
 English town you may see neat villas with their 
 ornamented grounds ; the Irish town has nothing 
 to adorn its outskirts but comfortless mud hovels. 
 The whole surface of England is covered with 
 substantial farm-houses ; in Ireland they are 
 scarcely to be seen. The average of wages in 
 England to every agricultural labourer, must be, 
 at least, seven shillings a week ; the Irish average 
 is not more than three shillings.* In the one 
 country, the labourer has a warm and weather- 
 tight cottage, with its honeysuckle creeping round 
 
 * " We understand that the earnings of an agricultural 
 labourer in Great Britain, average from eight to ten shillings 
 a week, while in Ireland they average from two shillings to 
 two shillings and sixpence, or thereabouts." Third Report, 
 p. 4.
 
 360 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 its window, its garden, its pig-stye, its fence, 
 and its wicket gate ,• in the other, the cottier has 
 nothing but mud walls, with or without a rood 
 of potatoe ground. In England, the poorest 
 are decently clothed ; in Ireland, those who are 
 better off than their neighbours often appear in 
 rags. The English cottager has wheaten bread, 
 with cheese or bacon, the Irish has dry potatoes.* 
 What then is to be the end of all this? Can 
 any thing be done materially to improve their lot? 
 The difficulties in the way are great. Educate 
 them. Yes — but what will all the education in 
 the world avail, while in every parish the excess 
 
 * " We cannot estimate the number of persons in Ireland 
 out of work and in distress thirty weeks of the year, at less 
 than 585,000, nor the number of persons dependent on them, 
 at less than 1,800,000, making in the whole 2,385,000." 
 lb. p. 5. 
 
 " Their habitations (i. e. those of the labourers generally) 
 are wTetched hovels ; several of a family sleep together upon 
 straw, or on the bare ground, sometimes with a blanket, some- 
 times even without so much to cover them ; their food com- 
 monly consists of dry potatoes, and with these they are at 
 times so scantily supplied as to be obliged to stint themselves 
 to one spare meal in the day. There are even instances of 
 persons being driven by hunger to seek sustenance in wild 
 herbs." lb. p. 3.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 361 
 
 of labourers brings down wages to the lowest 
 point which will maintain life, and there are 
 hundreds whose employment is " to walk about 
 all day with nothing to do, but to drag misery 
 at their heels?" Will not education just serve 
 to dip the sting of sorrow in poison, and then 
 drive it in deeper? Employ them. "Yes : but of 
 what use is employment if the whole population 
 is so reckless of improvement and so devoted to 
 drinking, that additional wages, leaving their 
 houses as wretched, and their children as naked 
 as before, shall all be consumed in whiskey? 
 Well then, the two must be combined, (hey must 
 be employed, they must be educated, and they 
 must have the Gospel preached to them. Em- 
 ployment will afford them the means of improving 
 their condition, and education will give them the 
 disposition to improve it. 
 
 A Select Committee on the state of the poor 
 in Ireland in 1830, suggested in their Report, 
 the following among other remedies. 
 
 1. A bill for national education. 
 
 2. A bill to facilitate emigration. 
 
 R
 
 362 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 3. A bill for the extension and promotion of 
 public works. 
 
 4. A bill for drainage and embankments. 
 
 5. A poor law bill. 
 
 Of the first of these remedies I have already 
 written at length, and of the last I will only 
 repeat what has been said a thousand times, that 
 unless the very greatest care be taken both in the 
 framing and the administration of the law, the 
 remedy will be worse than the disease. 
 
 Should each of the others involve a considera- 
 ble expenditure of public money, surely no 
 Englishman who is not steeped to the very lips 
 in selfishness, will grudge any sum which may 
 "be requisite. Justice and charity require the 
 expenditure. Are we, the wealthiest nation on 
 the earth, to see an island so closely allied to us, 
 drowned in misery, and grudge the cost of its 
 rescue I Can we see millions dragging on a 
 miserable existence in want and sorrow, and have 
 the slightest Christian principle, if we do not aid 
 them to obtain for themselves food and clothing? 
 Besides, we make it poor ; for though we pay for
 
 Ireland in 183G. 363 
 
 its corn, its bacon, and its butter, we receive the 
 incomes of its absentees. Thus we thrive upon its 
 starvation, and it is but common justice to vote 
 back for its use, part of the millions which we draw 
 from it. And if we do they will abundantly repay 
 us. If the Irish labourer is clothed, he must buy 
 our cottons and our woollens ; if he fills his kitcheu 
 range with crockery, he must buy our hardware. 
 Let us enrich Ireland, and we enlarge the home 
 market for our manufactures. If we wish to 
 stop agitation there, we must enrich it. If we 
 wish either to diminish or to improve the Irish 
 colony in each of our great cities, now often their 
 greatest pest, we must enrich it. Whatever 
 public grants, therefore, may furnish permanent 
 employment to the Irish population, will be 
 equally just, humane, and prudent. 
 
 The Committee of 1830 suggested a Bill to 
 facilitate emigration at the expense of the emi- 
 grants, or that of their landlords. But this is 
 either to promote the emigration of the best 
 class of Irishmen, whom we wish to keep at home, 
 or to do nothing : since the whole body of unem- 
 
 r2
 
 fiG4 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 ployed labourers, now starved and demoralized by 
 want of work, can of course contribute nothing 
 towards this passage and their outfit. Why should 
 not a large part of the expense be defrayed by 
 a public grant f* The passage- money from Cork, 
 Waterford, and Limerick, is only from 305. to 
 505. per head, and Mhile there is so frightful 
 an excess of labourers in Ireland, 30,000 able- 
 bodied men could at once find employment in 
 Upper Canada alone. f I'his would afford some 
 relief. 
 
 Then come the unculti\ated lands to be con- 
 
 * We have mentioned emigration as one of the purposes to 
 whicli the natioi.al rate shouUl contribiite ; but as the United 
 Kingdom must be benefited in a very great degree, and par- 
 ticularly in point of revenue, by the improvement which 
 extensive emigration, coming in aid of a general course of 
 amelioration, cannot fail to produce in Ireland, we submit 
 tliat one-half of tiie expense should be borne by the general 
 
 lunds of tlie empire ^^ e propose that the other half 
 
 be defrayed partly by the national rate, and pi;rtly by the 
 owners of the lands from wliich the emigrants remove, or from 
 which they ha^■e been ejected within the preceding twelve 
 nionths, provided that they previously resided thereupon for a 
 period of three years. — Third Report, p. 26. 
 
 t Quarterly Review, Sept. 1835.
 
 Ireland in 1S36. 365 
 
 sidered. Ireland contains, excluding its lakes, 
 1^,944,209 acres. Of these 14,003,473 are culti- 
 vated ; 5,340,730 are waste, of which 4,900,000 
 are tlought to be improvable.* A large part of 
 the bogs, which altogether amount to 2,330,000 
 English acres, are said to be susceptible of drain- 
 age. They are rarely quite flat, and the great 
 bog of Allan is 270 feet above high water.^f- 
 "Were these waste lands reclaimed and culti- 
 vated, they would furnish food and employment 
 for numbers. The Committee of 1830 proposed 
 therefore a Bill for the drainage of bogs, and for 
 the embankment of marsh lands. The following- 
 statements from Mr. Kennedy's work show indeed 
 that sometimes wastes may be I'eclaimed by labour 
 without capital. Being trustee to a property con- 
 taining 1,150 acres, of which, when he assumed 
 the management, 900 were waste land, he has let 
 part of this land on lease to reclaiming tenants, 
 and thus describes his plan. 
 
 " My bargain was that they should have a 
 lease for 21 years, on the terms of reclaiming 
 
 * IM'Culloch's Statistics, I. ,^43. Pe1)rer, p. IJ.ll. 
 t Bell's Geography, Vol. iii. Part 1, pp. 23G, 239.
 
 36G Ireland in 183G. 
 
 one acre each year, and holding for the first 
 seven years rent free : the eighth year paying 
 one shilling an acre, the ninth year two shillings 
 an acre, the tenth three, and so on, increasing a 
 s-hilling an acre every year till the end of the 
 lease. The first operation of each of these settlers 
 was to construct a temporary sod hut, about 14 
 feet long by 10 feet wide, which cost the occu- 
 piers about 8 days' labour in construction, besides 
 an outlay of 7s. 6d. for roofing timber, 6s. worth 
 of thatch, and about Qs. for a door; making the 
 whole average outlay for building the house, in- 
 cluding the value of the occupier's labour, and all 
 materials used, 1/. 2s. Gd. Having made their 
 temporary huts, the settlers commenced working 
 at their land ; got a good deal of draining done, 
 and prepared an acre or more for potatoes with 
 lime, ashes, and a coating of clay ; they thus 
 secured some food for the future. The second 
 year another acre was prepared for potatoes, 
 as the first, and the acre of the previous year 
 was sown with oats: and thus they proceeded for 
 the third, fourth, and fifth years, adding some 
 an acre yearly, and some less, to the productive
 
 Ireland in 1836. 867 
 
 portion of their land, collecting materials for 
 building at the same time; so that those who 
 have completed their sixth year have brought 
 a large piece of land to a productive state, and 
 
 have built permanent stone houses This 
 
 principle (of an increasing rent) must not be 
 confounded with that of taxing the tenant's 
 improvement, because he is bound to pay the 
 same sum whether he improve his farm or not ; 
 it rather acts as a spur, impelling him to improve, 
 in order to meet the engagement into which he 
 has voluntarily entered, and which is profitable 
 to him at all times of his lease." .... Although 
 the tenant has twenty acres of land, he " can 
 only use one of these acres the first year, two 
 the second, and so on : whatever rent, therefore, 
 is charged for the whole farm must be paid in 
 the first year, out of the surplus produce of the 
 one cultivated acre ; the second year it must be 
 paid out of the surplus produce of two acres, and 
 
 so on The following table illustrates 
 
 this.
 
 3G8 
 
 Ireland in 1830. 
 
 Years of Ihe 
 lease. 
 
 Estimated value 
 ol gruss piudiice. 
 
 Rents. 
 
 Farmer's share, out of 
 which he has to pay- 
 all costs uf cultivation. 
 
 i 
 
 £ 
 
 £ 
 
 £ 
 
 ' 1st 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 2d 
 
 11 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 3d 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 18 
 
 4lh 
 
 26 
 
 
 
 26 
 
 5th 
 
 35 
 
 
 
 35 
 
 6th 
 
 45 
 
 
 
 45 
 
 7 th 
 
 36 
 
 
 
 56 
 
 8th 
 
 64 
 
 1 
 
 63 
 
 9th 
 
 72 
 
 2 
 
 70 
 
 10th 
 
 80 
 
 3 
 
 80 
 
 11th 
 
 88 
 
 4 
 
 84 
 
 l-2th 
 
 96 
 
 5 
 
 91 
 
 13 th 
 
 104 
 
 6 
 
 98 
 
 14th 
 
 112 
 
 7 
 
 105 
 
 15th 
 
 120 
 
 8 
 
 112 
 
 16th 
 
 128 
 
 9 
 
 119 
 
 17th 
 
 136 
 
 10 
 
 126 
 
 18th 
 
 144 
 
 11 
 
 133 
 
 19th 
 
 152 
 
 12 
 
 140 
 
 20th 
 
 160 
 
 13 
 
 147 
 
 21st 
 
 168 
 
 14 
 
 154 
 
 21 
 
 £1,820 
 
 £105 
 
 £1,715 
 
 " We see from the above, that by allowing- an 
 nnemployed workman, who was living in idleness 
 at the expense of his poor employed neighbours, 
 by allowing- such a man to cultivate twenty acres 
 of unproductive bog, he may after the first year 
 be able to maintain himself and his family by 
 his own labour. He may, in twenty-one years.
 
 Ireland in 183G. 3G9 
 
 have created with his own hands produce to the 
 value of 1,820/., instead of having consumed '210/. 
 at other people's expense, supposing him to have 
 an ordinary-sized family, and that the support of 
 each individual would cost 21. yearly. He will 
 have paid in that period 10.5/. rent to his landlord, 
 or 5/. 5.9. for each acre he may have had as his 
 own share, and for contingent charges 1,715/. He 
 will have made the land, which was worth nothing 
 to his landlord, pay lAs. an acre, and probably be 
 worth a yearly rent of 20s. an acre afterwards. 
 
 He will have increased the yearly means 
 
 of supporting his own family from nothing to 
 nearly 154/. a year; and all this can be done to 
 a very great extent, without any investment of 
 capital on the part of the landlord or of any 
 body else."* 
 
 But if ever capital, which neither the landlord 
 nor the farmer can spare, is wanted for the 
 purpose of reclaiming wastes, surely a public 
 grant should assist.-f- 
 
 * Instruct, employ them, Jkc. by Major Kennedy, Chap- 
 ter III. The whole chapter is worth a careful perusal. 
 
 t We recommend in the first place, that a Board shall be 
 appointed for Ireland, with the necessary powers for carrjing 
 
 r3
 
 370 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 Ill the next place the Committee recommended 
 a Bill for the extension and promotion of public 
 works, and 500,000/. were voted to he lent, on 
 (jood security. Of this, in 1833, 216,000/. had 
 been expended; 75,000/. on the Dublin and 
 Kingstown railway, and the remainder on four 
 coast harbours, one fishery pier, three bridges, 
 various roads, a court house, the improvement 
 of slate quarries, the working of mines, and on 
 inland navigation and drainage.* 
 
 This seems most parsimonious liberality. Here 
 is a nation to be raised from pauperism, and to 
 effect it Great Britain votes 500,000/, to he lent 
 on good security. There are piers and coast 
 
 into effect a comprehensive system of national improvement. 
 -p. 17. 
 
 We recommend that the Board of Improvement shall be 
 authorized to appoint Commissioners from time to time to 
 make a survey, valuation, and partition of any waste lands 
 in Ireland. — p. 18. 
 
 And in order to bring all lands partitioned the more imme- 
 diately and beneficially into cultivation, we propose that such 
 main drains and roads as may be required in or through them, 
 shall be made by the Board of Works; which, in consideration 
 thereof, shall have an allotment of a certain part of each 
 waste made to it in trust for the public, &lc. — p. 19. 
 
 * Williams, p. 77.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 371 
 
 liarbours wanting to improve the fisheries ; wide 
 and wild districts want roads through them, and 
 bridges across the rivers. Along both banks of 
 the Shannon, for 230 miles, there is a want of 
 landing-places, quays, and roads leading to them. 
 The island is peculiarly formed for canals and 
 rail-roads, its inland mountains everywhere rising 
 out of wide levels; yet while Great Britain alone 
 has 2,174 miles of canal, and ruil-roads are 
 projected, involving the expenditure of nearly 
 30,000,000 sterling, Ireland has only 270 miles 
 of canal, and 9 miles of rail-road.* The navi- 
 gation of the Shannon has to be improved; 
 Lough Corrib, with its 30,000 acres of water, 
 and 50 miles of coast, and only 13 feet above 
 the level of the sea, has to be opened to the 
 Bay of Galway. A cut of 4 miles would open 
 a water communication between Ballyshannon, in 
 Donegal Bay, and the head of Lough Erne, a dis- 
 tance of 60 miles. f From Enniskillen, on Lough 
 Erne, to LoughNeagh, is under 40 miles, and Lough 
 Neagh is already connected by a canal with 
 
 * Pebrer, 357; Williams, 14; and Dub. Rev. 235. 
 -f Inglis, ii. pp. 33, 38, 154. 
 
 r4
 
 372 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 Belfast. Forty-four miles of canal, therefore 
 would connect Ballyshannon and Belfast, the 
 Atlantic and the Irish Channel ;* and histly, 
 rail -roads have to be effected from Dublin to 
 Valentia, to Sligo and to Belfast, connecting 
 the chief towns of Ireland with the^ capital and 
 with each other. I know not whether the sums 
 which might be expended in public grants, to ac- 
 complish these several objects and others like them, 
 might yield a larger pecuniary return, if, instead 
 of being drawn from our pockets by taxation, they 
 were left to their natural circulation. But the 
 money return is the least consideration here. 
 These public works, if executed speedily, in 
 conjunction with education, are to provide 
 markets for the produce of large districts, now 
 miserably cultivated, to extend agriculture, to 
 employ a mass of labourers in their construction, 
 and to give permanent employment to a larger 
 number in these improved districts ; to lead 
 civilization into the most barbarous districts, 
 and to quiet the most turbulent ; to cheer mil- 
 lions that are suffering under aggravated distress; 
 * Barrow, p. 133.
 
 Ireland in 183G. 373 
 
 to lessen the excess of iabourers, and their 
 ruinous competition for kuid ; to moderate rents, 
 without that violent legislation which trenches 
 on the right of property ; to raise wages ; to in- 
 crease the revenue ; to lessen the police ; to di- 
 minish the army ; to silence the cry for repeal, 
 by making every peasant feel the union to be a 
 blessing; to raise Ireland, as we ought, to the 
 level of England ; to obviate the mischiefs of 
 absenteeism, by increasing the middle class of 
 consumers ; to retain Irish capital, and tempt 
 the English capitalist to employ his wealth in 
 Irish undertakings; to disembarrass the legis- 
 lature in the most difficult of all its duties ; to 
 make Catholic emancipation at length work its 
 due effect; to disarm Roman Catholic prejudices; 
 and to give to Protestantism a fair field in 
 grappling with Romish errors, when penury no 
 longer exasperates the population, and England 
 is no longer hated because it is more prosperous. 
 These are the great objects for which public 
 works ought to be undertaken in Ireland. And 
 when no less than the peace, the prosperity, and 
 the spiritual improvement of Ireland, with the
 
 374 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 blessing of God, depend upon British liberality, 
 no more, let 500,000/. be voted as a loan, on 
 good security. I say not money should be 
 lavished even in these great objects ; but surely 
 there should be such a liberality as may serve 
 the proposed ends, and lead to the accomplish- 
 ment of these works by a conjunction of public 
 and of private funds.* 
 
 At the same time, public grants can never super- 
 sede individual responsibility. Upon the landlords 
 of Ireland, above al!, rests the obligation to ame- 
 liorate the condition of their tenantry. It were 
 a false and criminal notion to entertain that they 
 have received their estates from the hands of God, 
 
 * In order to enable the Board of Works to execute the ad- 
 ditional duties, which we have proposed should be imposed 
 upon it, we feel it necessary to recommend that the fund 
 placed at its disposal should be considerably increased. This 
 may be done without any risk or loss, and with a certainty 
 of great advantage to the public. The interest payable upon 
 loans made by the Board is so much higher than upon the 
 Exchequer Bills which it is authorized to issue, that the sur- 
 plus is more than sufficient to pay all expenses of management; 
 and every outlay of money that has taken place in the making 
 of roads, facilitating intercourse, and opening remote districts 
 in Ireland, has not only tended to great local advantages, but 
 by improving the condition of the people, to a very great in- 
 crease of the public revenue. Third Report, p. 21 .
 
 Ireland in 1836. 375 
 
 merely to derive from them, no matter how, the 
 greatest amount of income for their personal 
 gratification. Each of them is called by Divine 
 Providence to make his tenantry happy no less 
 than himself.* How far that solemn trust has 
 been generally executed, let the mean hovels and 
 half- naked forms, scattered over princely ter- 
 ritories, declare. But let the past be buried in 
 oblivion, except as far as it may serve to stimulate 
 to future duty. Some at least of the proprietors 
 of Ireland are humane, generous, and enlight- 
 ened; and it is incalculable how much they may 
 influence the remainder. Their's is a noble vo- 
 cation, if they have the energy and self-denial 
 
 * We have now proposed such remedial measures as we 
 hope will tend to ameliorate the general condition of the 
 Irish poor; bnt whatever may be their tendency, their effi- 
 ciency, under Providence, must depend mainly upon those 
 ■who possess power and influence in the country. It is only 
 through these that the poor can be put into proper courses 
 of industry, taught the value of comforts, or animated to 
 exertions to procure them. In proportion as such persons are 
 raised high, they have high duties to perform ; they are en- 
 dowed with wealth and intelligence, not as means of self- 
 indulgence, or for effecting any sordid object of ambition, but 
 as trusts for the good of their fellow creatures, and which they 
 administer under an awful responsibility. Third Report, p. 31.
 
 376 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 to rise to its demands. Not a peasantry in 
 the world, I believe, would resjDond with more 
 grateful enthusiasm to impartial justice, to be- 
 nevolent sympathy, and to generous self-denial. 
 If a landlord can live among them, let him do 
 it ; if not, he is the more obliged, by duty, to 
 provide an agent who shall watch over their in- 
 terest no less than his, and who, in the absence 
 of their natural protector, shall, by his religious 
 principle, his moral worth, his watchfulness, 
 and his benevolence, as nearly as possible supply 
 the loss. 
 
 Thus himself or by his representative, each 
 may exercise a most important influence upon his 
 tenantry. Let his rents be moderate, and his 
 wages fair, so that both the farmers and the 
 labourers upon his property, may, with economy, 
 sobriety, and industry, have comfortable food, 
 clothing, fuel, and furniture, in a warm, wea- 
 ther proof cabin. If the holdings on his property 
 be so small, and the labourers so numerous that 
 this is impossible, let him not eject, till he has 
 found for the tenantry, to be dispossessed, the 
 means of sustenance elsewhere. When among
 
 Ireland in 183G. 377 
 
 the remainder, be finds an improving tenant, 
 whether with a lease or without it, let that te- 
 nant not only enjoy the fruits of his own industry 
 and capital, by continuing to bold bis land at a 
 fair and moderate rent, but let him have dis- 
 tinguished marks of his landlord's bountv, as an 
 encouragement to him and the rest : indeed, 
 before actual improvement, tenants may be en- 
 couraged to improve. By giving them timber or 
 other advantages, he may induce them to build 
 better houses; by lending them money for manure, 
 he may get them to raise a specified succession 
 of crops, and by being impartially just and kind 
 to all honest and industrious tenants, whether 
 they be Protestant or Catholic; he may prevent 
 hypocrisy on the one hand, and sectarian jea- 
 lousies on the other. He may share with the 
 tenants in the expense of drainage or embank- 
 ments along contiguous farms; he may encou- 
 rage Provident Societies; he may offer premiums 
 for cleanliness and garden cultivation ; he may 
 provide for the wise and careful administration of 
 a loan fund; he may encourage the construction 
 of roads to every neighbouring market or canal ;
 
 378 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 he may form and maintain effective scriptural and 
 agricultural schools ; he may employ a Scripture 
 reader among bis people ; he may furnish them 
 with books of useful knowledge, and offer to them 
 all, the Bible ; he may personally visit the poor ; 
 he may relieve the sick and aged; he may sup- 
 port a dispensary ; and he may encourage by his 
 aid those who maintain their destitute relations. 
 Does all this seem impossible to proprietors whose 
 estates are heavily mortgaged, and who already 
 live beyond their means ? To them no doubt it 
 is. But they have no right so to live. God did 
 not give them their estates to grind the faces of 
 the poor, and extort from the sweat of their brow 
 a splendid income. If they will do their duty, 
 they must, at any cost, not only bring their expen- 
 diture down to their actual income, but far below 
 it. They must create a surplus for the poor, if 
 they would not commit a grievous dereliction of 
 their duty. To make their tenants happy is their 
 first duty as proprietors, and without self-denying- 
 moderation they cannot do it. It is necessary to 
 raise that degraded population, it is not neces- 
 sary to live in splendour. And some there are.
 
 Ireland in 183G. 379 
 
 I doubt not, among the landlords of Ireland, who 
 feel all this. It is their noble calling to cement 
 the severed portions of society, to animate the 
 rich with sympathy towards the poor, and to 
 change the scowl and the curse with which the 
 poor man meets the equipage of the rich, into a 
 frank and smiling benediction. Mr. O'Connell 
 has lately said of the Irish aristocracy, " The 
 greater part of that class entertain an envenomed 
 hatred of the Irish people .... and whenever 
 they can, they treat them worse than aliens."* 
 The refutation, not in words, but in acts, ought 
 to be complete and undeniable. But besides all 
 this expenditure, which will, I am persuaded, 
 seem, not a romantic liberality, but simple Chris- 
 tian benevolence, to those who are governed by 
 the word of God, there must be much personal 
 effort. If a landlord is to exhibit the whole pos- 
 sible extent of his influence to elevate and bless 
 his neighbourhood, he must visit and examine his 
 schools ; he must support by his courtesy and 
 co-operation the faithful minister of his neigh- 
 
 * Letter to Mr. Fogarty, Sept. 10, 1836, in the Weekly 
 Chronicle.
 
 380 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 bourhood ; he must visit from cottage to cottage, 
 exhorting his people to every virtue ; and above 
 all, his life must embody the precepts of the 
 Gospel, and his character exemplify every Chris- 
 tian grace. A few such landlords may be to 
 Ireland a blessing beyond price. 
 
 Hitherto I have spoken of the duty of land- 
 lords to their tenants, but those of them who are 
 Protestants have also another duty. Is it not 
 discreditable to them, when nearly all the landed 
 property of Ireland is in their hands, that the 
 appropriation clause of the tithe bill should occa- 
 sion such a general panic, and that the extinction 
 of tithe, whenever conceived as possible, should 
 be reckoned tantamount to the extinction of Pro- 
 testantism in Ireland? A Protestant ministry 
 extinguished, while fourteen fifteenths of the land 
 is Protestant! Why! where is their Protest- 
 antism ; ^\ here is their fear of God, if they would 
 not find means to maintain their pastors, should 
 the state provision be withdrawn '. Sure I am 
 that it would be an obvious and undeniable duty. 
 Christ has both ordained that the Gospel shall be 
 every where preached, and that the pastor should
 
 Ireland in 1836. 381 
 
 every where be maintained. And I know not 
 how those who disobey both these commands can 
 consider themselves his consistent followers.* 
 The alienation of the entire church property in 
 Ireland, should such a catastrophe occur, ought 
 not to dismiss a single faithful minister from her 
 shores. 
 
 And if the clergy are faithful and laborious, 
 assuredly they need not fear for the permanence 
 of their ministry. Persecuted and despised though 
 many of them may be, it is in their power, with 
 the help of God, to effect an immense improve- 
 ment in the condition of their country. A vast 
 change has already, within the last few years, 
 come over the whole body. It only needs to be 
 completed and confirmed. Dr. M'Hale may exult 
 in their poverty, but men may be powerful bene- 
 factors of their race without being rich. Nay, 
 poverty and insult may be the very discipline 
 which God has ordained to nerve them for the 
 high duty of evangelising Ireland, and, like the 
 cross of Christ, the apj^arent symptom of weak- 
 ness and defeat may be the pledge of victory. 
 
 * Matt.xxviii. 13—20. 1 Cor. ix. 14.
 
 382 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 Following our Saviour's steps, the Irish clergy 
 seem especially called to be temporal as well as 
 spiritual benefactors to their neighbourhoods, not 
 so much in distributing money, which they per- 
 haps do not possess, as in suggesting improve- 
 ments. Like Oberjin, placed amidst a rude and 
 pauper population, they may make themselves 
 acquainted with each cabin, talk kindly to the 
 children, suggest the advantages of cleanliness, 
 procure a dispensary for the sick, suggest im- 
 provements in their implements of husbandry, or 
 in their modes of cultivation, banish the dung-hill 
 from their doors, recommend the most industrious 
 and upright to their landlord, impress upon the 
 rich the duty of alleviating their sorrows, and 
 raising their condition; they may show them the 
 wastefulness of whiskey-drinking and the crime of 
 illicit distillation; sometimes they may suggest to 
 absentee proprietiors modes by which they may 
 profitably employ the poor ; they may form, en- 
 courage, and superintend the Loan Fund, the 
 Provident Society, and the Temperance Asso- 
 ciation ; and then, in their ministry, like Mr. 
 Nangle in fidelity, though abstaining from all
 
 Ireland in 1836. 383 
 
 ridicule, and keeping' solely to the Scriptures 
 while they expound the Gospel, they may refute 
 the errors of the Church of Rome in their 
 churches, or wherever else they can collect Roman 
 Catholics together. Above all, by a holy, de- 
 voted, and faithful ministry, they may raise the 
 character of their Protestant parishioners, and 
 though at first not a single Roman Catholic 
 should listen to them, the Gospel would be ulti- 
 mately triumphant. If the Protestant School be 
 under excellent management, the children being 
 thoroughly versed in Scripture, imbued with 
 useful knowledge, and trained with especial care 
 in the principles of a high and pure evangelical 
 morality — if the cottages of Protestants be tidy, 
 and their lands in order — if none of them are 
 found at the whiskey-shop — if their word is sacred 
 as an oath — if their promises are faithfully dis- 
 charged, and they fall into no arrears of rent 
 through dishonesty or negligence — if they make 
 good husbands, parents, and children, if their 
 families are affectionate and happy — if they be 
 well instructed in their faith, and zealous
 
 884 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 v'ilhout bigotry or bitterness— if they devoutly 
 observe the Sabbath, and throng the house 
 of prayer — if the poor are contented — the rich 
 are just and charitable — landlords are humane 
 and beneficent — and numbers both of high and 
 low are consistent Christians — and ail tliis may 
 follow, from the blessing of God, upon the 
 exertions and example of a devoted minister — 
 then surely it is not extravagant to expect that 
 numbers of the Catholics will first forego their 
 prejudices, then be led to enquiry, and finally 
 embrace the truth. 
 
 Already there are indications of this improve- 
 ment among the Protestants, and of this action on 
 the mind of Catholics. Mr. Nolan and Mr. 
 Burke concur in stating that priests and laymen 
 are beginning to doubt the truth of their past 
 opinions ; and now, thanks be to God, there is a 
 vast moral machinery beginning to play against 
 the battlements of error through the lenfflh and 
 breadth of the island. The eleven hundred 
 national schools, with all their faults, seem to me 
 laying the axe at the root of the superstitions of
 
 Ireland in 1836. 385 
 
 reland, and preparing the people to understand 
 the claims of Protestantism, and to appreciate 
 evangelical instruction. 
 
 Besides these, the Kildare Place Society, after 
 all the shocks to which the withdrawal of the 
 government grant exposed it, has retained 235 
 Scriptural schools;* has distributed since the 
 commencement of its operations, 1,500,000 books 
 of useful knowledge, and has 1,242 loan libraries.f 
 The Hibernian Society has 97,687 scholars, of 
 whom 29,602 are Roman Catholics, collected into 
 1,011 schools,:]: with 24 inspectors, and 35 Scrip- 
 ture readers.§ The Irish Society has 642 schools, 
 and 20,032 scholars, of whom 15,009 are adults, 
 all reading the Irish Scriptures. || The Baptist 
 Irish Society give a scriptural education to 
 above 4,000 children in 52 schools, and employ 
 89 agents in teaching and preaching ;^ and the 
 Sunday School Society has 2,863 schools, 20,892 
 
 * Second Report of the Commissioners of Public In- 
 struction, p. xiii. 
 
 t Kildare Report for 1835-6. 
 
 t The Commissioners of Public Instruction give them credit 
 only for 618 schools; I do not know the cause of the dis- 
 crepancy. 
 
 § 30th Report. || 18th Report. H 22nd Report. 
 
 S
 
 386 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 gratuitous teachers, and 218,976 scholars ; of 
 which 50 schools, 296 teachers, and 4,514 
 scholars, have been added in the year 1835.* 
 
 Besides this amount of education, we must 
 notice the distribution of books. The Tract 
 Society has issued a vast amount of religious 
 tracts and books. The Hibernian Bible Society, 
 since its commencement in 1806, has issued 
 314,898 Bibles, 466,812 Testaments.f The 
 Sunday School Society, by the help of the British 
 and Foreign Bible Society, has distributed 95,417 
 Bibles, 397,558 Testaments; of which 10,550 
 Bibles, and 23,692 Testaments, have been sold or 
 given away in the last year ; and 800/. within the 
 year has been paid to the Bible Society for its 
 grant.J In the past year the Irish Society has 
 distributed 569 Bibles, 1,615 Testaments ;§ and 
 within the same period, the London Hibernian 
 Society has distributed 3,117 Bibles, 22,976 
 Testaments ; making, with those distributed by 
 them in former years, a total of 369,868 Bibles 
 and Testaments. II 
 
 * 26th Report. f 30th Report. X 26th Report. 
 
 § 18th Report. || 30th Report.
 
 Ireland in 1836. 387 
 
 But the effort at which I look with the greatest 
 satisfaction, exactly suited to the state of Ireland, 
 and already much blessed by God, is the Home 
 Mission. Above one hundred of the most va- 
 luable ministers of Ireland, preaching gratui- 
 tously in nearly 240 stations, in each of which 
 there is a service every fortnight, and leading 
 to diocesan missions, on the same principle, must, 
 with the blessing of God, so animate the piety 
 of the Protestants, and so attract the curiosity 
 of the Catholics, without attacking their pre- 
 judices, or irritating their feelings, that the 
 greatest results may be anticipated from it. And 
 when I add to this, that never have the parochial 
 clergy been so diligent or exemplary as now, 
 that there has been a great increase of piety 
 among them during the last few years, and that 
 the zeal and self-denial of some of them shames 
 our English sloth and self-indulgence; there is 
 every i-eason to hope the best for Ireland. Even 
 agitation, although its designs may be mis- 
 chievous, and its progress unprincipled, will, 
 I firmly believe, be over-ruled for good ; the 
 people courted, flattered, and taught to take
 
 388 Ireland in 1836. 
 
 extravagant views of their power, are at the same 
 time raised from their past prostration of spirit 
 to self-respect and independence. Taught to 
 think for themselves in politics against the dic- 
 tation of their landlords, they must learn to think 
 for themselves in religion in disregard of their 
 priests. And when increasing prosperity, through 
 the paternal care of the legislature, shall render 
 agitation impotent, and the people are become 
 at once cultivated, intelligent, and independent, 
 will they then bear to be cursed for reading the 
 Bible, and for sending their children to a Bible 
 school ? The priest, if he attempts it, will curse 
 the empty air in a deserted chapel, and when he 
 thinks to excommunicate a member of his flock, 
 will find that his flock have excommunicated 
 him. 
 
 Poor Ireland ! There is only one other European 
 nation which has so mournful a history ; but the 
 dawn of a better day is come. She is indissolubly 
 united to England, not as bound in helpless servi- 
 tude to our chariot wheels, but as the equal as- 
 sociate of our triumphs. Ere long, she will have 
 our wealth, our civilization,, our laws, our arts, our
 
 Ireland in 183G. 389 
 
 literature, and, as I confidently hope, our religion. 
 In some things our superior, our equal in almost 
 all, she will soon, I trust, be with us in the van 
 of nations, destined to lead the way in the world's 
 march, under the providence and grace of God, 
 to wealth and knowledge, to liberty, to religion, 
 and to happiness. 
 
 LONDON : 
 J. UEN.N'ETT, UNION BUI LUINGS, LEATH Ell I.ANE.
 
 JUST PUBLISHED, BY JAMES NISBET AND CO. 
 
 21, Berners-Street. 
 
 LORD MANDEVILLE ON THE HEBREWS. 
 H0R7E HERBRAIC.E; an Attempt to discover liovv the 
 
 Argunifciil of the Epistle lo the Hebrews must have been niiderstciiid by 
 those therein adfliesscd. With Appendices on Messiali's Kingduni, Hcc. 
 Royal 8vo., neatly done up in cloth boards and lettered, price Ids. 
 
 Dr. ABERCROMBIE'S INQUIRIES concerning the IN- 
 TELLECTUAL POWERS and the INVESTIGATION of TRUTH. Sixth 
 Edition, 12mo., 7s. clotli boards and lettered. 
 
 The NEW TESTAMENT. Small 32mo., a handsome pocket 
 
 size. In cloth. 4s.; roan, 5s. 6d.; calf, 6s. ; tnorocco, 8s. 
 
 This beautiful edition of the New Testament is enriched with niimerons 
 References, various Readings, Explanatory Notes, &c., with three highly- 
 finished Maps, coloured. 
 
 The PROPHECIES delivered by CHRIST HIMSELF, and 
 
 the MIRACULOUS GIETS exercised by his APOSTLES, applied to the 
 pre.'ent state :inil future prospects of the Church of God : two Dissertations. 
 By the Rev. THOMAS MYERS, M.A. 5s. ch>th boards and lettered. 
 
 SERMONS on PRACTICAL SUBJECTS. By tiie Rev. 
 EDWARD CRAIG, M.A. i2ino., 5s. 6d. boards. 
 
 SERMONS by the Rev. W. FORD VANCE, M.A. 8vo., 
 
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