U/
,72 MINUTES OF EVIDENCE TAKEN BEFORE 4ieueJSlahomj,Y^i.
lands or working mines and quarries.
I know the difficulties, and therefore de'
-— to secure the tenant's possession ; if that be done, many adventure* will be ml !
June-1835.
w]lich are now checked by thc very possibility of the tenant's possession h"
disturbed.
Capitalists will not be satisfied with mere possession; they ran h^ secured against every possible risk of disturbance before they can be induced to til their capital.
2037.
Has any thing been done with respect to the custodiam process wh' is complained of in Ireland ?—
Neither that or many other recommendations ml by the Law Commissioners have been attended to.
The custodiam nrc is a great evil; the successive Governments from 1823 have promised that^r should be remedied; they have also promised that the office of sheriff" should b regulated; but notwithstanding those promises, these defects of our legal systein besides many others, such as the Bankrupt Law, &c.
remain unattended to.
' 2038.
Does emigration to any extent take place from Ireland to America at thi moment?—To
a considerable extent; but thc disastrous losses from the ports of Limerick and Cork within the last two years have materially checked the tide of emigration.
2039.
Do you think emigration beneficial?—Most
certainly; and if we are to have some modified provision for the poor in Ireland, unaccompanied by emigration and public works to a considerable extent, we shall find any poor law system no matter how modified in degree, a most intolerable burden, instead of beina ag I hope it will become, a blessing to Ireland.
2040.
Have you any thing else to suggest to the Committee?—With
regard to emigration, I should wish to state, that there is at present a plan before the Government for the formation of a society to aid emigration from Ireland-it was submitted to-day to Lord Glenelg, by a deputation headed by Lord Fitzwilliara and others, and a Bill is now before the House of Commons to carry it into effect.
2041.
Does distress prevail in many parts of Ireland at this moment?—From
letters which I have received from Ireland, and other letters which I have seen, it appears that there is very great distress; there is almost a famine in parts of the counties of Kerry, Mayo, Galway and Cork; even on the Crown lands in the county of Cork, I find, by letters I have seen, that it is scarcely possible (even with abundant means in money) to get provisions for the labourers on that estate; and at Killarney, the price of potatoes is 6d.
per stone, which we consider to be a famine price.
2042.
When potatoes are at 6d.
per stone, are not the Irish people generally compelled to live on one meal a day ?—They
must: if you take the average wages for the whole year, we find that the labourer does not get more than $d.
a day to support himself and his family; consequently, if the price of potatoes is 6d.
a stone, it becomes a famine price.
2043.
Has he on many occasions to let his strip of land, which yields him a quantity of provisions, at a rate somewhat less than to purchase in the market?
—That condition depends upon the season ; if the potatoe crop is a failure, he loses the advantage he hoped for from his garden supply.
2044.
Do you think the working classes are as well fed now as they were ten years ago ?—Generally
speaking, far better.
^
2045.
Does not Ireland export more pigs and cattle and grain than she formerly did ?—Certainly
; and more are produced in consequence of the increased facilities for their export 2046.
Has not the agriculture of Ireland greatly increased within the last ten or fifteen years ?—Certainly.
2047.
Have not extensive tracts of country been cultivated which were formerly waste ?—Certainly.
I visited the districts through which the Wellesley and Anglesey roads have been made last September; I had not seen that district from the time they were commenced, and I was astonished at the increased quantity of land taken into cultivation since their formation.
If I had entertained any doubt before as to the propriety of opening roads in such districts, my visit to the South of Ireland last September would have completely removed them.
2048.
You think the neighbourhood of the Wellesley and Anglesey roads pre¬ sents an astonishing contrast with the present situation of Connemara, as desert by Mr.
Darcy ?—Certainly.
2049.
If there were lines of road through that uncultivated tract of country at Connemara, do you not think that the condition of Connemara would he ditferen
