ready prey of priestly deluders and political agi tators. "Hereditary bondsmen ! know ye not Who would be free, himself must strike the blow?" This was one of O'Connell's favourite appeals; but he did not tell his poor dupes that the chains to be struck off were not those of "Saxon oppressors," but the chains of ignorance and superstition, and other evils which enslaved their spirits. A more recent political leader, John Francis Maguire, had the courage to speak on one occasion some words worth recalling, now that he is gone and his memory is held in respect. It was when inaugurating the Cork Industrial Exhibition. "Let industry," he said, "be preached as a new gospel to the Irish people, by word, by example, by influence, so that it may reach the hearts and understandings of young and old, and drive into the sea the twin devils of idleness and mendicancy, which have long possessed a noble but afflicted nation." Poor Maguire! he gave the best advice he could in those days, but he was only a blind leader of the blind. He did not see that idleness and mendicancy are only among the many evil fruits springing from the same bitter root-evils which have degraded Spain and other "noble but afflicted nations" to the same level as Ireland. It was to the prince of agitators, Daniel O'Connell, that Sydney Smith said, "What trash to be bawling in the streets about 'the Green Isle,' 'the Isle of the Ocean,' the bold anthem of 'Erin-go-Bragh'! A far better anthem would be 'Erin go bread and cheese,' 'Erin go cabins that will keep out the rain,' 'Erin go pantaloons without holes in them."" The people must help themselves, and not be always calling on others to help them. "A stout constable, an honest justice, a clear highway, and a free chapel "-these are some of the things that Government can secure, and has secured for Ireland. Sydney Smith was one of the most earnest and eloquent advocates of Catholic emancipation. He was not a man of deep feeling on matters of religion, and his one grand panacea for securing peace was the endowment of the Romish priests. But when he was considering the influence of that Church on the condition of the people, here is his deliberate and clearly-expressed judgment: "The Catholic religion contributes to the backwardness and barbarism of Ireland. The debasing superstition, childish ceremonies, and the profound submission to the priesthood which it teaches, all tend to darken men's minds, to impede the progress of knowledge and inquiry, and to prevent Ireland from becoming as free, as powerful, and as rich as the sister kingdom." This is the true key to "the Irish difficulty." But before entering into the subject which it opens up, let us dispose of some other questions which bear upon the condition of Ireland. CHAPTER IV. DECREASE OF POPULATION. EMIGRATION. Census Returns-Depopulation-Subdivision of Land-Small Proprietors-The Irish in England-Emigration to America. HE decrease of population at first glance seems THE at variance with the alleged prosperity of Ireland. It is disheartening to look at the population returns in every census return since 1841. The total of Ireland in that year was 8,196,567. The estimated population at Midsummer, 1845, was 8,295,061, the highest reached. In 1851 it was 6,574,278; in 1861, 5,798,967; in 1871, on the census-night, April 2nd, 5,402,795. The decrease between 1861 and 1871 has been, in every province, in the following ratio: in Leinster, 8.35 per cent.; in Munster, 8:14; in Ulster, 438; in Connaught, 6·83. The population of the four provinces in 1871 stood thus: Leinster, 1,335,960; Munster, 1,390,402; Ulster, 1,830,398; Connaught, 845,913. The only county in all Ireland showing an increase since last census is Antrim, the population of which rose from 378,588 in 1861 to 419,782, an increase of 41,194. In each of the thirty-one remaining counties there has been decrease. From the town returns I select the following items Belfast rose from 121,602 to 174,394, or 43'41 per cent.; Londonderry (city) rose from 20,873 to 25,242, or 20'92 per cent.; Carrickfergus shows an increase of thirty persons; Waterford an increase of forty, probably from the steam line to Milford Haven. The Dublin suburban townships showed an increase of 4,459, or 2.87 per cent. ; but Dublin city a decrease of above 9,000, or 3.50 per cent. Almost every town and county in Ireland showed de crease. It is sad to see everywhere the deserted villages, and ruined homesteads, and roofless cabins. But these ruined houses are in reality marks of the country's progress, as much as the ruined castles and fortresses are marks of the "bad old times" which have passed away. In the times when " every rood of ground maintained its man" it was a poor and precarious maintenance at the best, and always on the verge of starvation by famine, which did come at last. The emigration, which then began to flow in earnest, saved the country. The famine year, with all its calamities, has proved the dawn of a better era, and that by compelling the "depopulation," of which Oliver Goldmith spoke sentimentally in the Dedication to Sir |