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answer is obvious; that the security appears more doubtful, or the chances of profit smaller. Capital cannot be forced. Mercantile confidence is of slow growth. The slightest appearance of insecurity disturbs it. Men of capital become alarmed, and withdraw. If we are to obtain assistance from the abounding wealth of our neighbours, we must first obtain their confidence, by showing that we offer good security.

But if our security be ever so good, there must also be the hope of profit. Does Ireland offer this inducement? How is it, then, that so many of our own countrymen seem unable to find profitable employment for their capital at home, and therefore invest in foreign securities, in railways, or in the public funds? It is very questionable whether the capital of the country be not fully equivalent to the opportunities which now exist for making use of it. The profits of trade are not higher than in England. Is there any deficiency of capital for the ordinary trade of the country? The agricultural population are unquestionably poor, yet many possess money hoarded up or lodged in the bank at a low rate of interest. But it cannot be expected that they will expend either labour or money on the improvement of the land, without security of possession. When the landlord is embarrassed, and does not himself possess the means of improving his estate, how is it possible to assist him effectually, except by enabling him to sell part, and so obtain capital for the improvement of the remainder?

The large importations of the public funds from England into Ireland, which have been made at many and various times since the union, show the increase of property in this country. These imports of stock, the large sums lent on mortgage, and the competition for every estate brought into the market, prove the difficulty of making a suitable investment, rather than any want of capital. An increase of capital would be useless without the means of profitable employment. When we can offer the opportunity of profitable occupation, with the security which peace and quietness would give, capital will flow in freely, and will be of essential service to the country.

The Absenteeism of so many of the landed proprietors of Ireland has been often complained of; and some have proposed to compel them by law to reside on their estates. The evil of non-residence has been peculiarly felt during the past year, when the assistance of every man of intelligence was required, in the endeavour to relieve the distress of the suffering poor. Even in the best parts of the country, the duties of carrying out effectively the various measures for relief, fell heavily enough on

those who were qualified to undertake them; but how great was the difficulty in the more destitute places! where the landlords were all absentees, where there were few residents of education and property, or perhaps none within a circuit of many miles, inhabited by a dense population, almost all uneducated, and destitute, and needing relief. The want of an upper and middle class is sufficiently obvious, and in many places most grievously felt. Without these classes, it is impossible to carry on the various local institutions of the country.

But how to obviate the difficulty, and to secure the residence of those connected with the locality by property or otherwise, is a very difficult matter. To compel residence by law is out of the question. Even if it were just, or consistent with the constitutional rights of freemen, it would be impossible to carry any plan of taxation into effective operation. It must be made the interest of the proprietors to reside, or they will continue absentees. Non-residence generally results from the embarrasment of the proprietor, from the possession of property elsewhere, from the fear of outrage, or from the want of suitable society. Property cannot be as valuable to a non-resident proprietor, as it might be made by one who would give it his personal attention. If the difficulties were removed which now prevent the free sale of landed property, some

one who could attend to it would purchase from the non-resident owner; and if the number of resident proprietors were increased, the inducements to residence would be greater on account of the improved society, whilst the danger of outrage would be less.

Allusion has been already made to the penal code, as having had a serious effect in depressing the industry of the country. It affected the Roman Catholics directly, lessening their motives for exertion, by taking from them the means of investing their profits in land; and it indirectly affected the dominant class, by creating in them a spirit of pride and exclusiveness, which looked to other means than industry for the acquisition of wealth. It is the unvarying result of partial and oppressive legislation, to injure both the oppressor and the oppressed. In that part of Ulster where the population was almost exclusively Protestant, the linen manufacture has flourished; but the woollen manufacture, which at one time was extensively carried on in the south of Ireland, has almost wholly ceased. It is true that, in accordance with the mistaken policy already alluded to, the manufacture of woollen goods was systematically discouraged by the government; yet its final decay seems due to other causes. It flourished during the period of legal restriction, even to the extent of exporting to England in the face of heavy duties; but has gradually fallen away to its present reduced condition, since the restrictions have been removed, and our woollen manufacturers placed on a par with the English.

Perhaps the main cause of the decay of both the woollen and cotton manufactures in Ireland, has been the growth of the factory system. While the yarn was spun and the cloth woven by hand, and the whole trade carried on without the employment of any very large amount of capital, by individual manufacturers, the small tradesmen in Ireland were on equal terms with their competitors in England, as they possessed fully as much ingenuity and skill, and their pecuniary resources were sufficient for the extent of their business. But when the inventive genius of Watt, Arkwright, and others, changed the character of the manufacturing industry of Great Britain, it became impossible for the manufacturers of Ireland to contend with those of England, unless they also embarked large capitals, and consented to devote the same close attention to the business. To conduct a large manufactory with success requires capital, intelligence, unremitting attention and industry. Few persons in the south of Ireland, possessing these requisites, have been willing to undertake a business involving so much labour, and requiring so large an investment of capital; which,

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