Sir
George Grey, one of the Secretaries of State, supported the clause,
because he had always understood that small holdings were the bane of
Ireland; from which observation it is clear he accepted it as an
exterminating clause. Now, suppose it is admitted that small holdings
were the bane of Ireland, who, we may be permitted to ask, created them?
The very landlords who now sought to abolish them, at the expense of
millions of lives. Again, if small holdings were the bane of Ireland,
was the midst of an unparalleled famine the proper time to remove the
bane? Ought not such a bane be the subject of legislation, when society
was in its normal state? Sir George thought not, and hence he virtually
says to the landlords, "Now is your time to get rid of the people; they
have served your purpose; they are useful to you no longer; why should
they cumber the ground?" Mr. Poulett Scrope objected to carrying the
clause so suddenly into execution, as it would be a complete clearance
of the small farmers of Ireland, and would amount to a social revolution
in the state of things in that country. Mr. Sharman Crawford said he
would divide the House against the clause, which he did.
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