Although the manner in which the Irish peasantry exists is revolting to the feelings of those unaccustomed to the inspection of their wretchedness and poverty, yet are they rich in the contentment which springs from a patient submission to their lot, from their conjugal attachment and affection to their offspring, and from a natural buoyancy of spirits, that makes the heaviest evils sit lightly on their hearts, with the exception of their being unable to earn a sufficiency to ensure the continuance of the cabin roof over the heads of their families—a source of the greatest affiction and misery, from one end of Ireland to the other. cessors. The general interest and happi- | early marriages; and thus the present inness of a country placed in so irretrievable creasing population might receive a check, a predicament, and which is daily becom- and to a certain extent be restrained within ing worse, cannot fail to excite the most the limits prescribed by the needed emlively apprehension for the continuance of ployment of the country. its tranquillity. The spirits of six millions of people sustained by hope alone, while exercising the most virtuous patience under the severest privations, without the means of employing themselves or of obtaining employment from others, have ample leisure to brood over the misery they endure, and, if it were requisite, to magnify every grievance they are compelled to suffer. It is not surely in human nature to be ever content under such circumstances, aggravated as they are by the want of those essentials ordained to secure the public peace in the fair and impartial distribution of justice. The benefits to which the labourer is entitled from the protection of the law, come not within the view of his pretensions: the daily execution of it by the military is familiar to his observation, and in his community is denounced the result of tyranny; while the religious persuasion of the great bulk of the people condemus them to ignorance, and increases and foments their prejudices. Is it possible to contemplate such a state of human existence, in such a country, immediately under the eye of the legislature, and the administration of a free constitution, without sincerely hoping, and fervently supplicating, that the effectual protection of the former, and the benevolent dispensation of the latter, may be speedily directed to the relief of this unfortunate, mismanaged, and neglected people? The interference of government in their behalf, if it were only by the enforcement of such rules and regulations as might be suggested for their comfort, according to the local necessities of each province or district, would not only have the popular effect of exhibiting a disposition in the state to regard their wants and meliorate their condition; but it would be an irresistible stimulus to the individual proprietor of the soil, and the opulent capitalist, to unite in so benevolent and patriotic a work, and, by the powers which each might possess, to devise means for the employment of the overflowing population. The introduction of manufactories and fisheries, of trade and commerce, could not but produce a prodigious increase of manual labor, which, on being rewarded according to exertion, would soon produce industry and emulation; these would speedily create artificial wants, the indulgence in which, after a time, would disincline the people, if not to improvident, to We found a general frankness and hospitality to prevail every where—and that it is a most unjust censure to charge the Irish, with a prejudice against the English. The higher ranks are too enlightened and generous a people, to attribute any of their inconveniences from political arrangements, to the individuals of the mother country. The generality of the lower orders entertain no idea on the subject; it must consequently be greatly the fault of the English visitor or traveller, and for which he would be undeserving any commisseration, if he met with any thing in Ireland which should detract from the laws of hospitality. We have been the more copious in our extracts from these interesting volumes, on account of the importance and correctness of the facts they relate; which correctness, as to the line of country reaching from Waterford to Limerick, we can attest from personal observation of the State of Ireland a few years since. And as the affairs of that country will, in all probability, form an early topic of discussion in the approaching parliament, we recommend Mr. Curwen's volume to the attentive consideration of our Senators, as well as to all who take an interest in the welfare of their fellow subjects. A Narrative of a Journey of five Thousand miles through the Eastern and Western States of America; contained in eight reports, addressed to the thirtynine English families, by whom the Author was deputed, in June, 1817, to ascertain whether any and what part of the United States would be suitable for their residence; with remarks on Mr. Birkbeck's Notes and Letters. By Henry Bradshaw Fearon. 8vo. 10s. 6d. Long man and Co. Loudon, 1818. has furnished us with striking examples of the comfortlessness, oppression, selfishness, venality, bigotry, filthiness, political corrruption, vanity, barbarity, fanaticism, and various other attractions which are diffused over this boast The frequency of emigration fromed Land of Liberty. It shall be our England to the United States of Ame-business to place a few of these in their rica, has produced in the public mind no common degree of anxiety; and upon a subject which agitates so many minds -this is by far the most important publication that has hitherto appeared. Fearon's route through the various proper light, instead of following Mr. places which he visited. The following are our Author's remraks concerning the city of New York; they are rather brief, hut perhaps they tell better for their pithiness. "The capitalist may manage to obtain 7 per cent with good security. The lawyer and the doctor will not succeed. An or the worn-out, exposed impostor, Frey, who said he was converted from Judaism to Christianity, has been attracting large audiences in New York. The proficient in the fine arts will receive little encouragement. The literary man must starve. The tutor's posts are pre-occupied. The shopin London, unless he be a man of superior keeper may do as well, but not better than talent and large capital; for such requisites, I think, there is a fine opening. The farmer (Mr. Cobbett says) must labour hard, and be but scantily remunerated. the clerk and the shopman will get but littie more than their board and lodging. Mechanics, whose trades are of the first necessity, will do well; those not such, or woollen, glass, earthenware, silk and stockwho understand only the cotton, linen, ing manufactures, cannot obtain employment. The labouring man will do well, particularly if he have a wife and children, who are capable of contributing not merely to the consuming, but to the earning also of the common stock." Mr. Fearon, as we learn from his preface, was deputed by a circle of friends, comprising thirty-nine families, to visit the United States, in order to ascertain whether any and what part of that vast country would be suitable for their resi-thodox minister would do so. By the way, dence. He communicated the results of his inquiries in the eight reports that compose the present volume. From a careful examination of its contents, we are fully justified in saying that he appears to have executed the trust thus delegated to him with zeal, and intelligence, and upon the whole with impartiality Being avowedly a friend of civit and religious liberty in its utmost extent, he entered upon that land of promise with every disposition to view things on their bright side; but his enthusiasm seems to have cooled as he advanced; and without suffering any abatement of his love for freedom, he experienced a most sensible diminution of his love for the possessors of freedom. After a very elaborate and candid investigation of the state of the country, and the character of the people, he returned to England; and the" Sketches" which he has brought with him, furnish the materials of a picture by no means alluring. In his laudable anxiety to procure homely and useful information for his friends, he has collected explicit statements concerning the value of every kind of property, of rents, of the wages of labour, and of the prices of commodities. He has been particular in his inquiries on the relative demand for artisans of every kind; on the encouragement given to various manufactures, and on the most eligible channels for the employment of capital. These details are all of the utmost importance; and in giving information to his constituents concerning them, he "Upon the whole, a walk through New is, on the surface of society, a carelessness, York will disappoint an Englishman; there a laziness, an unsocial indifference, which freezes the blood and disgusts the judgment." To Englishmen, who justly glory in the purity and impartiality of our courts of justice, the following observations on the administration of justice, and on the Judges of the United States, are not the most inviting in the world. "Our case, (a charge of ill usage, brought by the second steward of the vessel in which the Author went out, against IMMORALITY. "Of the state of public morals I find considerable difficulty in forming my judg the Captain,) was called; it was not tried, | stitute, in the sight of those who have once in consequence of, I believe, the well-paid enjoyed it, the principal charm of domestic management of counsel. I am informed, on life." good authority, that great corruption exists in these minor courts. The Judge is said to have a good understanding with the constable; he receives too, a larger sum in cases of conviction than in those of acquittal. Itment. The habits of the people are marked by caution and secrecy. Although the eyes is indisputable that the constables are remarkably anxious for jobs; and that the and ears of a stranger are not insulted in the openness of noon day with evidence Judge strongly participates in their feelings of hardened profligacy, I have, neverAn important legal officer here (New York,) has been long known to practice the theless, reason to believe, in its existence to a very great extent; though perhaps most disgraceful imposition; but his political views are in agreement with those of there is no Philadelphia parent would say to me what a respectable New Yorker did the State Government, and therefore he re-There is not a father in this city but tains his situation." who is sorry that he has got a son!!! ?'” Advertisement from the Kentucky Reporter "TAKE NOTICE, "I have been present in courts where this (the dependence of judges upon the counsel) has been strikingly injurious to the cause of justice. Some of the judges are, doubtless, men of superior legal knowledge, and high standing in society; but there are others who certainly are not in possession of the former, though they may be of the latter qualification; as, for instance, the chief justice of the Common Pleas, at Newark, who is a butchernot a butcher retired from business, and become a lawyer, but he attends to both trades, even on the same day, selling at 7 o'clock in the morning a leg of mutton, and at 11 supplying his customers with a slice of Blackstone. Much evil must necessarily arise from this heterogeneous admixture of ignorance with learning." Our next extracts will substantiate the charges of filthiness, immorality, cruelty, and dishonesty, which Mr. Fearon has brought against the inhabitants of the American Union. FILTH. "After a residence of three days at the Hotel (Philadelphia,) I removed to a private boarding house, in one of the bed-rooms of which I am now writing. The dining. room of this establishment is genteel, but the other apartments, and more particularly the kitchen, are of a kind uot much to excite admiration. I perceived here what unpleasant as may be the discovery, Lthink I have observed elsewhere, and-worse still, what I fear pervades this new world, an affectation of splendour, or what may be called style, in those things intended to meet the public eye; with a lamentable want even of cleanliness in such matters as are removed from that ordeal. may be added, an appearance of uncomfortable extravagance, and an ignorance of that kind of order and neatness which con To this And beware of the swindler Jesse Dogherty, who married me in November last, and some time after marriage informed me that he had another wife alive, aud before recovered, the villain left me, and took one of my best horses-one of my neighbours was so good as to follow him and take the horse from him, and bring him back. The said Dogherty is about forty years of age, five feet ten inches high, round shouldered, thick lips, complexion and hair dark, grey eyes, remarkably ugly, and ill-natured, and very fond of ardent spirits, and by profession a notorious liar. This is therefore to warn all widows to beware of the swindler, as all he wants is their property, and they may go to the devil for him after he gets that--The said Dogherty has a number of wives living, perhaps eight or ten (the number not positively known,) and will, no doubt, if he can get them, have eight or ten more. I believe that is the way he makes his living.-Mary Dodd, Livingston County, Ky, Sept. 5, 1817." ‹ THE AMATEUR WHO HO was so much admired with the plates in a few volumes of highly finished books, designed by Westall, as to carry them off on the 8th and 9th inst. without paying for them, is desired to return them previous to the 26th instant; as they will then be wanted. Attention to this will save time and unpleasant feelings." CRUELTY. At this same Inn, an instance of the shocking barbarity with which slaves are treated in the United States, of which this volume abounds with proofs afflicting to humanity, is related. condition of the world at large, its political situation and true interests, he is rarely clear-headed; not from want of capacity, but the sources of his knowledge have been so jumbled, and his information in general is so ill-arranged, that he is often, in the same breadth, an advocate for the nation at large dislike England, and yet, extremes of liberty and of slavery. The both individually and collectively, would be offended should a hint be expressed that they were of Irish or of Dutch, and not of English, descent. They contend for the superiority of their genius in taste, mechanical arts, and literature, and yet they disregard fashions or books which are not imported from Great Britain. Notwithstanding this voluntary national dependence, there are, perhaps, no people, not even excepting the French, who are so vain as the Americans; their self-estimation, and. "A few minutes before dinner, my attention was excited by the piteous cries of themselves or their country, are quite ludicool-headed bombast, when speaking of a human voice, accompanied with the loud cracking of a whip. Following the sound, Moreau, who, at the commencement of the crous. An anecdote is told by General I found that it issued from a log barn, late war with England, was in America;— the door of which was fastened. Peeping A friend, addressing him, observed that his through the logs, I perceived the bar-military talents would be of essential ser keeper, together with a stout man, more than six feet high, who was Colonel and a negro-boy about 14 years of age, stript naked, receiving the lashes of these monsters, who relieved each other in the use of a horsewhip: the poor boy fell down upon his knees several times, begging and praying that they would not kill him, and that he would do any thing they liked; this him under similar circumstances." "The whole company at dinner sanctioned this barbarous conduct, and the humane landlord was only angry because the niggar was not his own, "but left under his care by a friend, and he did not like to have a friend's property injured." Such treatment of their wretched slaves, the Author assures us, is common in Kentucky; while in the Eastern and older States the oppression of all persons of colour is intolerably grievous." ARROGANCE, AND ILLIBERALITY TO FO REIGNERS. Converse with an American upon the vice to the Republic. He replied in the drummer in the American army who did negative; adding that there was not a not think himself equal to General Moreau. This fact will apply to all occupations with an equal degree of faithfulness. Every man here thinks he has arrived at the acme of perfection; the mechanics themselves Possess the same feeling. When at Newark, I was informed that some choice designs in chair-japanning and coach plating were lately produced by two emigrants; the natives turned upon their heels, Ay, they guessed them 'ere were fashions they that it is impossible for a foreiguer to teach had left off." Every American considers him any thing, that his head contains a perfect Encyclopædia. This excessive inflation of mind must be attended with many disadvantages; though when I look at the various causes which have combined to produce it, I am not much surprised at its existence. As a people, they feel that they have got to gain a character, and like individuals under similar circumstances, are captious and conceited in proportion to their defects. They appear to aim at a standard of high reputation, without the laborious task of deserving it, and practise upon themselves the self-deception of believing that they really are what they wish to be. This feeling has not been lessened by their successes in the late contest with Great Britain; for, although in several engagements on our favourite element 3 L which his attention was directed, has caused him to give it the sombre touches by which it is characterized. strictures on Mr. Birkbeck's letters : they had an overwhelming superiority, yet there were instances when that was not the case: and the defeat of the English frigates, with even any disparity of force, was The advantages and disadvantages of too great an honour to be estimated exactly emigration, are thus briefly stated, toas it merited. The boasting upon this sub-wards the close of the work, in some ject is so extravagant that it burlesques the object of its praise. « America is now the ruler of the waves ;" and every song and joke, fact and falsehood, that we have bestowed upon our tars, are transferred to the "Star-spangled banner, and the brave sons of Columbia," with the characteristic fidelity of a national intellect, rendered barren from want of culture and even on such an occasion has hardly produced an attempt at originality l 46 "In going to America, I would say generally, the emigrant must expect to find not an economical or cleanly people, not a social or generous people; not a people of enlarged ideas; not a people of liberal opini ns, or towards whom you can express your thoughts "free as air;” not a people friendly to the advocates of liberty in Europe; not a people who understand liberty from investigation and from prinYet with all this boasting and conceit ciple; not a people who comprehend of their superior talents, it is worthy the meaning of the words "honour," and of remark that the inhabitants of the generosity." On the other hand, he will United States have produced very few find a country possessed of the most enlightoriginal works of distinguished emi-ened civil and political advantages; a peonence. The American ornithology of the late Mr. Wilson is indeed an honour to any country, whether we regard the splendour of its typography or the extent of its research. We might mentioners; a people without an enormous standa few smaller productions which undoubtedly possess considerable value; but the great bulk of American literature consists of reprints of standard English works in a neat and cheap form. There is one topic more, of considerable importance, on which we have not yet given Mr. Fearon's sentiments, that of RELIGION and sorry are we to say that his report is unfavourable. ple reaping the reward of their own labours, a people not paying tithes, and not subjected to heavy taxation without representation; a people with a small national debt; a people without spies and inform ing army; a people in possession of an extent of territory capable of sustaining an increase of millions and tens of millions of population; and a people rapidly advan cing towards national wealth and great ness. We shall not prosecute these extracts any further, but refer our readers to Mr. Fearon's instructive volume. The result of his testimony (and it must be admitted that he is not too partial to his na"I feel," says he, "little hopes of conveying to you a faithful portraiture of this tive country,) is, that England is the prepeople, in their religious character: they ferable country for Englishmen; that, differ essentially from the English Sec-in transporting themselves to the United taries, in being more solemnly bigotted, States, they must sink into the condition more intolerant, and more ignorant of the of exiles, and submit to be so considerScriptures. I do not dis-ed; and that they must purchase the cover those distinctive marks which are boasted exemption from taxes, and the called forth in England by Sectarianism. extension of their civil rights, by the There is not the aristocracy of the Esta-sacrifice of the many physical and blishment, the sourness of the Presbyterian, or the sanctified melancholy of the moral blessings to which they have been accustomed, and which ought to be the Methodist A cold uniform bigotry seems to pervade all parties; equally inaccessi- fruit and prize of liberty. Lastly, it ble to argument, opposed to investigation, may be inferred from Mr. Fearon's and, I fear, indifferent about truth; as it statements that, if the question of preis, even the proud Pharisaical Quaker ap-ference were to be decided by the En pears under a more chilling and more freez-glish residents in America, their votes ing atmosphere in this new world." Fot. wonld (with the exception of a few forThis is a severe picture, and we can-tunate adventurers) be unreservedly in not help suspecting that Mr. Fearon's favour of their native country. Even disappointment in all the objects to Mr. Cobbett, much as he has railed 7 |