have endeavoured to review, in the spirit of candour, the great and manifold changes effected by the events of the last few years in the social state of this country. Ireland is awaking, as it were, from a long dream, and is now, for the first time, casting off the preju. dices and follies under which it has lain oppressed for so many dreary centuries, and is putting on new strength, like a giant ready to run his course. All the dormant materials of wealth, particularly land and labour, are in abundance. Titles to Irish property are now clear and satisfactory, and may be obtained at a trifling cost. Land is, therefore, placed within the reach of every monied man, however small his fortune. It is no longer circumvented by legal technicalities, nor undermined by mystery and doubt; and the sum paid a few years since for the "good-will" of a farm will now, in most cases, purchase the fee. Agrarian outrages have ceased, and the unemployed labourers receive with a hearty welcome, as their best friends and benefactors, those who may be tempted by the vast capabilities of Ireland to challenge the kindness and hospitality of its people, and avail themselves of its ample resources. In fact, there never was a period in our history when such inducements were offered for the investment of money in land, and when an intelligent person possessed of a moderate sum might turn it to better account. These opinions have received a great deal of confirmation from the perusal of a really excellent book just published, entitled "The Saxon in Ireland,"+ and which we strongly recommend to the notice of our readers. The design of the work is to direct the attention of persons looking out for either investments or new settlements to the great advantages offered by Ireland, and to induce such parties to visit the country and judge for themselves; and we fully concur with the author in his opinion, that were the unfortunate prejudices that exist against Ireland, founded as they are, for the most part, in ignorance,

once removed, men would surely pause before they crossed the broad Atlantic in search of a new field for the employment of capital, or the profitable exercise of their intelligence and industry."

In one respect, Ireland appears to be the most unfortunate country in the world. Misrepresented, not understood, with our faults exaggerated, our defects magnified, and our national character a constant theme of ridicule abroad, we have failed to reap even the minimum of advantage that generally flows from that source. The dif ficulties and dangers that exist in other lands appear only so many inducements to the adventurous traveller to endeavour to triumph over such obstacles. Encounters with brigands, savages, and wild beasts, have all their peculiar charms, but the idiosyncracies and extravagances of the Irish, whether real or imaginary, fail to awake even curiosity, and appear only to deter visiters. Such, however, was not the case with the "Saxon":

"I became interested (upon the subject of Ireland) beyond my expectation. Its whole history was one sad romance; the impatient struggles of a turbulent but generous people with a series of ignorant and oppressive governments. Its statistics were suggestive of many deep thoughts and curious calculations. The descriptions of its fertility, its pastoral beauty and mountain grandeur, were most attractive; and I deeply lamented that such a country, so near our own shores, so connected with us by every tie, should be alien, if not hostile-a drag upon our prosperity, a perplexity to all governments, a help to none."

Determined to investigate, for himself, the causes of Irish misery, he came to Ireland; and after collecting a great deal of information relating to the condition of the people, and care. fully examining a great portion of the country, principally in the counties of Galway and Mayo, he finally made up his mind to become a settler, and to make Erin his adopted land. This work is the more valuable as it shows

the process through which, little by little, his national prejudices against us were gradually undermined, and gave way, at last, to the conviction, that both the people and the country possessed, in themselves, the germ of renovation. It appeared self-evident to him, that we could not remain stationary; that a propinquity to the fervent activity of England could not fail to animate Ireland with her own leaven; and that "that spirit of enterprise, which had already converted so many far distant deserts of the earth into smiling and prosperous colonies, could and would not suffer one of the loveliest and most fertile islands of the world, only a few hours' distance from her own shores, to remain a mere waste, inhabited as it was by a hardy, intelligent, but degraded population." The peculiar circumstances, too, under which this resolution was formed will also add much weight to his statements. We can collect from passages scattered through the volume, that after passing the meridian of life he found that his career must be commenced again; that the happy, joyous home of many years must be deserted. Enactments hastily carried into effect, and principles which, under Providence, had created England's power and prosperity, hastily abandoned without sufficient grounds, and merely on the chance of something better, had involved him in the difficulties that have overwhelmed the entire agricultural classes. After bravely contending against inevitable results, he felt it was madness to continue hoping against hope; but he did not despair. He determined to emigrate, and to endure, with fortitude, all the discomforts and privations of an emigrant's life. "Were stern realities," he was reminded, "better known, many would pause and consider well ere they thus expatriated themselves. Once embarked, once arrived in the distant settlement, they have but one alternative, to make the best of it. It is not easy to retrace a course of a thousand miles." Fully impressed with the force of this reasoning, he wisely determined not to make his selection till after the fullest consideration of the subject. New Zealand, Australia, icy Canada, and the burning Cape, all engrossed his attention; each in turn appeared to oppose insuperable obstacles. At last, in a fortunate hour, he was recommended to examine

Ireland, and the result is best told in his own words :

"I do not hesitate to confess, that Ireland, in the fertility of its soil, the kindness and hospitality of its people, and the beauty of its scenery, has far surpassed my expectations. I am decidedly of opinion, too, that fortune, respectability, and happiness, may be found even there. Let a few English families cluster together, purchase, or take on lease estates in the same neighbourhood, hold together, mutually assisting each other, keeping the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace,' as the Apostle advises, acting kindly and justly to the inhabitants, eschewing politics, not meddling with the religion of others, but quietly practising their own; I repeat, let emigrant families act thus, and 1, for one, would prefer green Erin as a settlement to any country on the globe. And why not? Are sensible men to be scared with the interested exagge rations of unpatriotic speakers and writers, who would gladly drive industry and civilization from their native shores in order to serve their own purposes? Are the Irish worse than John Heki, and other native chiefs? or, are they more relentless than the Caffres, or the Red Indians, or the Cannibals of North Australia? In nine cases out of ten, their crimes, deep and fearful as they are, have sprung from the sense of injury, and from the heartless system under which they live, or rather, under which they starve. These days of injustice and crime are passing, though slowly, away, and the time is approaching when Ireland must and will be in the strictest union with her sister island; when the same laws, the same usages, the same language, the same feelings will prevail As yet, the Englishman lingers, hesitates, hugs his old prejudices; but the bolder few are already at work. They are silently, and most advantageously, purchasing lands and houses; they see the horizon clearing away after the long storm; and they and their descendants will, no doubt, reap a plenteous harvest. Gradually others will follow, till, I verily believe, Ireland will be the fashion, as Scotland. has lately been, and everybody rushing that way will wonder why they delayed so long."

in both.

In connexion with this subject the last Report of the Incumbered Estates' Commissioners is somewhat gratifying. It appears by it that property to the amount of £160,000 has been already purchased in Henrietta-street by Engfish and Scotch parties (about thirty

in number); but as the Commissioners have no means of ascertaining these facts, except so far as they can be collected from their addresses stated in the deeds of conveyance, and as it is probable that the temporary abodes in Ireland of such purchasers, and not their former abodes in England or Scotland will be often given, it would appear that this return must be far below the actual number. And since the date of their report, the extensive estates of the Hon. Thomas French, in the county of Galway, have been purchased (with the exception of two or three lots) by Mr. Lynott in trust for Mr. Thorngate, an English gentleman of fortune, for the sum of £23,990; and a newspaper paragraph states that another English gentleman has purchased Sir Richard O'Donnell's Ballycroy estate for the sum of £33,000; and that a valuable copper mine has been discovered, almost on the surface of the ground, upon another estate lately purchased by a settler in the county of Mayo. The immense importance to Ireland of securing purchasers of this class may be judged of by a single example:-The estate of Harding Grove, near Charleville, in the county of Limerick, containing 600 acres of excellent land, and unincumbered by tenants, was sold by the Commissioners by public auction. It was purchased by a Scotchman, a sub-railway contractor, for £6,000. The purchaser has already taken possession of the ground, and intends to settle upon it, and to expend a large sum of money in its improvement. It is probable that its annual profits would at present pay ten per cent. upon the purchasemoney without making any improvement upon it, and that the same per centage would be returned upon every sum of money judiciously sunk in permanent works of reclamation.

As an example of the advantages Ireland offers to the settler who is desirous to hire and not to purchase land, we subjoin the following cases which have come under our notice: A gentleman, highly connected, and educated at an English university, has taken a farm of 450 Irish acres in a wild district in the county of Mayo. His rent is £170 a year, including taxes and £5 per cent. interest upon the cost of a new house and offices erected at an expense of £300. He is two miles from a bad market, and

His

ten miles (English) from a good one; turf and sea-weed in abundance close to him, and limestone from four to five miles by sea. His farm is situated along the sea-shore, near a good road, and has all the advantages besides of sea carriage. The district is remarkably healthy, and abounds in game and fish of every sort; and every combination of nature by which the most picturesque scenery can be producedwild mountain, bold rocks, dark shades, deep blue sea, and rich and fertile land, are there. Close to him is an English half-pay officer, who happened to be quartered in the district, and was induced to settle there by the beautiful scenery, excellent sport, cheap rate of living, and great natural advantages offered by the place. farm at present consists of only sixtyfive acres, but he will probably increase it as he becomes more experienced in the management of land. Another farm of 329 acres, all in a ring fence, and including some woods and a small lake, has been taken in the same neighbood by a young English gentleman, as a sheep-farm, at a rent of £100 a year. This, with taxes and poor-rates, will amount to £130; but as the poorrate is rapidly decreasing all over the country, it would not be correct to estimate his permanent outgoings at so large a sum. It may be necessary to remind English readers that in Ireland we have neither land-tax nor assessed taxes, and that our tithes are much below the amount paid in England, whilst a large portion of the country is tithe free. To members of the Society of Friends, whose conscientious scruples often subject them to the greatest inconvenience, Irish tithe-free land offers, in this respect, great temptations. We proceed to give two or three extracts from the "Saxon in Ireland :".

"Much has been done by Sir Richard O'Donnell in the right direction. This enlightened proprietor has especially directed the attention of his tenantry to the growth of flax, procuring them the best seed, and becoming a ready-money purchaser for their produce at a fair and remunerative price, in order to afford them the utmost possible encouragement. He has also introduced into his neighbourhood the patent machinery invented by Mr. Schenck, for steeping and preparing flax, and these highly successful operations are now carried on at the flax works of Messrs. Bernard

and Co., who are the lessees of certain lands possessing a never-failing and powerful fall of water. The mill affords constant employment to several hundreds of the population.

"The same advantages occur at Newport, as before described as belonging to its neighbour and rival, Westport. Both possess much highly improveable land, a generally fertile country, good harbours communicating with Clew Bay, abundance of lime and sea manure, and a quiet and industrious population. On all sides around Newport are most beautiful and eligible sites for settlers; and I had means for ascertaining, from an undoubted source, that a better and a more liberal landlord than Sir Richard O'Donnell is not to be found in Ireland. On conversing with several of the tenants I found them perfectly satisfied with their condition.

I heard

a young man give an account of the wealth possessed by his father, who lived up among the hills. He possessed sixty head of cattle, thirty sheep, fourteen lambs, two or three acres of pota toes, as many of oats, and a range of feeding-ground equal to carry double the quantity of stock. I got the te nant's name, curious to know the rent, and was informed by the steward that he paid £12 annually! If there were many such landlords, poverty and disaffection would soon be as rare in Ireland as toads and serpents."

It is a subject for sad reflection that all the exertions of this excellent and improving landlord could not save his broad acres from the hammer. Having inherited an estate weighed down with incumbrances, he made efforts which, only for the famine, would in a few years have reduced them to a more manageable amount, and finally paid them off; and though Sir Richard O'Donnell could not command success, he did more, he certainly deserved it. The work abounds with such observations as the following:

"This at present waste tract (situated between Westport and Ballinrobe) is called the Monaleiman Bog, and contains upwards of 6,000 English acres, including several lakes and small pools. The moment my eye glanced upon this wide extent I could not but acknowledge its capabilities. Here improvement would have fair scope.

This

large bog, at its highest elevation, is not more than eighty-nine feet above Lough Mask, and into that lake it principally discharges its waters. Long hills of gravel, heathy and barren, and covered with bog, one or two feet deep, intersect

it, and the substratum is for the most part a red sandstone; but a limestone soil abounds in the north, and abundance of limestone gravel may be procured from the east side of the river Aille. This stream is navigable for several miles, to Lough Mask, for boats not drawing more than six feet of water; and as the lake itself is navigable to the river Robe, which will soon be open to Ballinrobe, the district will at once command a good market, and find a ready, cheap, and good supply of all necessaries. The communication also now forming from Lough Corrib to Lough Mask, will greatly improve and open out this part of the country; and it is, therefore, well worthy of the attention of those who look for an open, healthy location, with a certain prospect of an increase of value. Close to Monalieman is another uncultivated tract, called the Cloughbar Bog, in extent nearly 2,000 acres, possessing the advantage of a subsoil of limestone. Its elevation is about seventy-two feet above Lough Mask, and it discharges its waters into that lake. A sum of about £2,000 would thoroughly drain this bog, and render it fit for any of the operations of agriculture. In taking a view of this now bleak and inhospitable district from an eminence near the road, I could not help regretting the expatriation of so many thousands of the inhabitants, who, by the application of so comparatively small an amount of capital, might have found means of employment in the land of their fathers, and increased the power and resources of our common country."

It is related of Blucher that, upon the occasion of his visiting London, he walked for a long time through the streets, gazing in silence upon the gorgeous wealth and splendour so profusely displayed, and that at length, turning round to his companion, he said, “What a splendid city this would be for a sack." Let the English farmer or manufacturer visit this country, and similar expressions, though with a very different spirit, will find utterance. Beneath his feet he will see the unexplored riches of nature " ready for a sack," and none to oppose; and in the vast and uncultivated tracts, the fields that have lain fallow for ages, and are now ready to disgorge their hoarded stores. All that is wanting is a little capital to enable us to burst the bands that at present confine our energies, for

"This desert soil

Wants not her hidden lustre, gems and gold; Nor want we skill or art from whence to raise Magnificence"

We cannot deprive our readers of the profit and advantage they will derive from the following:

"For the purposes of commerce, internal and external, Galway has few rivals in this or any other country. In the south it possesses one of the finest bays in the world, offering a nearer communication with the continent of America. On the north it will shortly communicate, by means of a broad canal, with the expansive waters of Lough Corrib; and, after a second canal is finished, by Cong into Lough Mask, there will be opened into the interior of the country, a still-water navigation of nearly forty miles in length; and thousands of acres of fertile land, hitherto almost unproductive, will be brought into contiguity with good markets. Lough Corrib is twenty-seven miles long, and covers nearly 50,000 statute acres. It contains numerous fertile islands, and a coast sixty miles in extent. Lough Mask, with the smaller Lough Carra, covers about 25,000 acres, and is in length about ten miles. It is impossible to glance at the map, and not to acknowledge the grandeur and vast utility of this design. Taking

the road that skirts the western shores of Lough Corrib, I paused to watch the operations of many gangs of labourers, who were excavating the large and deep canal, which, as I have before remarked, is to admit vessels of considerable burden from the bay of Galway into the furthest recesses of Loughs Corrib and Mask. As I stood watching these hardy labourers destroying those barriers

which nature had so long opposed to progress, I was convinced of the injustice of one complaint brought against the Irish by their Saxon neighbours, I allude to the charge of idleness. To see those poor fellows work in the midst of water and mud, and in the face of the hardest rock, at once convinced me that it was neither the want of thews and sinews, nor yet of the spirit of industry, that was the cause of those social evils, which had already so affected me during my short progress. That the Irishman can work, and work well; that he will be industrious, where there is the proper stimulus and reward, I cannot but believe, as I look at the spectacle now before me.

And then so cheerful withal!

it afforded a strange, nay more, a favourable contrast to the rude independence, and burly, reckless manner of our English navvies. The more I consider these vast works, these enlightened plans of the legislature, the more am I convinced of their wisdom, and of their enlarged philanthropy. The opening out of these fine districts is the most effec

tive preliminary step that could be taken for the regeneration of Ireland. Practical efforts like these are worth whole tomes of legal enactments, and will do more towards ultimate tranquillity than fifty regiments of soldiers. A new stimulus will thus be given; the time will not be long ere capital flows in, and the keen glance of speculation discovers new and abundant sources of profit and remuneration."

We are now obliged to leave this very interesting portion of the subject. From the above extracts, which are only given as a whet to the appetite, an opportunity has been afforded, we trust, of judging of the nature of the valuable information thickly interwoven with the text of this volume. To extract all the practical and useful facts it contains, would place us under the necessity of transcribing nearly the whole work. For further information the fountain head must be sought. "The Saxon," in his tour, visited Galway, the barony of Ballynahinch, and a great portion of Connemara, Cong, Ballinrobe, Newport, Westport, Headford, Achill, and the districts of Bally. croy, and the barony of Erris. In all these localities he has collected important information, and his work forms a valuable record of the numerous and great advantages nature has lavished with so profuse a hand upon the districts that came under his notice. the peasantry, too, he concludes that they are made of good stuff, that requires only the skill and management of a generous hand to form and fashion it. Let him speak for himself:

Of

"The major part of Ireland is free from any outbreaks of popular violence, and many of the finest and most improvable districts mayclaim an immunity from outrage equally with any district in England itself. I stayed two days and two nights in a farm-house among the mountains of Mayo, which was undefended by either lock or bolt; I have travelled on foot and on horseback,unattended through wild and lonely districts after night-fall; I have passed through the midst of faction-fights, and sojourned in cabins on the solitary shores of the Atlantic, and among the wild moors of the west; but never yet met with either theft, robbery, or violence, nay, not even one symptom of incivility or disrespect."

A work, apparently connected with the subject we have been considering,