Page:Letters to Lord John Russell on the Further Measures for the Social Amelioration of Ireland.djvu/15

12 their farms—by an active reclamation of their waste land—by encouraging their tenants by liberal arrangements as to tenure or aid, to bring forth their little hoards of hidden capital, or to set to work with their own strong sinews to drain and otherwise improve the lands they occupy, or the surrounding waste—by acting, in short, as several enterprising landlords, such as Lord George Hill, Captain Kennedy, and others have acted, they might enable all to live decently off the produce of the land, and improve their own rental at the same time. They wholly refuse their belief in this; and that they will act upon the recommendation is entirely out of the question.

And yet nothing can be more true, or more capable of demonstration, than the assertion that there is no real redundancy of population generally in Ireland. Nay, that even in the most distressed and apparently overcrowded districts a wise and prudent management of their natural resources night find profitable employment for all, to the great advantage of the proprietors themselves, and the still greater benefit of the people and the public which is so deeply interested in this result. But I am exceeding all due limits, and must reserve my proofs of this assertion to another occasion. Meantime, I remain, my Lord,

Your Lordship's very obedient servant,

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