^WflJNIVERV// VjjsclOSAfJCflfx^ o mjllVDJO't^^ %0JnV3JO't^ ^WEUNIVERVA v^lOSANCElfx. % G 5. ■= o ?13DNVS01^ 3133NV-.S01^ ^lOSANCElfj^ %a3AINfl-3WV^ a;^10SANCEI% ^UIBRARYQ^. ^ILIBRARYQ^ '^^IfOJIWDJO^ ^OFCAIIFO%.. ,Oe ^0FCAIIF0%. %a3AiNfl-3\\v- %Aavaaii# ^mvaan# llIBRARY^/^ ^MIBRARY(7/v AMEIINIVER5"//, ^lOSANCElfj-;*, J/OJIIVDJO'^ %0jnV0JO^^' o Waan-^^ "^AavaaiH^ %OJI1VOJO^ ^•i/OJITYD-JO'^ "% ^lOSANCElfj-^ o ^OfCAllFO/?;!^ ^OFCALIFO% %a3AINn3\\V %Abvaan# ^lllBRARYQc. § 1 ir—^, ,\W£UNIVER% .< ^lOSANCElfx^ %0JnV3J0'^ . m. ,^OFCAIIFO% :> V/ _ f ^ .. . !=> ^lOSANCElfj-^ o 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/;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 Conimii ja 0/ ^ O « i: — &. H :»^ ^ -5(50 5 W >o w • "3 '2 O • 1 5 "^si ' 1 S &) S p^ o o o CS c o u o M • -a o o • OS • en jC C o u 3 ^ .■^ ^ w S o o t—l 9^ • S^ ^ J 3 o 1 3 t. rt j:;; CS £. w be cS 3 &,&, WW ? ITl C^ Ireland in 163G. 121 (V) =0 TH O W o o CO o "^ ti W 1 ;i2^Ht-i M O 1> s^ p^ -5 '^ f? - ce o o .;: • c >- -t: „ OJ 3 QJ W V *- ^ lOI— ] I— 1 5^ ^ ■^ O 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., lOs 6d. boards. 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