He threatened them, too, with the danger
of losing their properties, unless they so acted. "The Government plan
of succour," he says, "is calculated to produce throughout Ireland a
more extended Poor Law, necessarily calculated to extend outdoor relief
to all adult labourers and their families, in a state of destitution, as
well as to all other destitute poor. The English statute of Elizabeth is
being extended to Ireland, and the poverty of the country is about to be
placed for support upon the property--especially upon the landed
property." And again: "The English plan of out-door relief, in its worst
form, will be almost insensibly communicated to Ireland, and their [the
proprietors,] estates not only burthened but actually confiscated." The
remedy for this, he says, is combination amongst the owners of land. The
baronial sessions proved the possibility of such a combination, but they
lasted only a part of a day--there should be a great central permanent
committee in Dublin, appointed by the landowners, and communicating
between them and the Government. Such a body would be most influential,
and could organize the best plans for obtaining Government and local
relief.
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