em, has been saved for other purposes, such
as foreign wars, which, since the Irish Famine, have cost as much as
would reclaim them twenty times over, although no one, I should think,
would call those wars "reproductive employment;"--nay, the money spent
on the Crimean war alone, undertaken to keep the Grand Turk on his
throne, would reclaim them twenty times over.

The Government having evidently abandoned their promise of bringing
forward a measure for the reclamation of Irish waste lands, Mr. Poulett
Scrope, (an English member!) on the 22nd of June, moved the following
resolution in the House of Commons: "That the waste lands of Ireland
offer an available resource for the immediate employment and future
maintenance of a part of her population, now apparently redundant; and
that it is expedient to apply them to this great national object, making
equitable compensation to their present proprietors." The hon. member
proceeded to speak in support of his resolution, but, says _Hansard_, he
had not proceeded far when the House was counted out. (!) With respect
to this "count out," the following appeared in the pages of a Dublin
morning journal, from its London correspondent: "In my private note of
last night I enclosed you a copy of a resolution, which Mr. Poulett
Scrope had given notice of his intention to move, with respect to the
waste lands of Ireland. When I closed my letter, the hon. gentleman's
motion stood next on the paper to that which the Commons were engaged in
discussing, but although the House was tolerably full, about a hundred
members being present, I expressed my conviction that a 'count out'
would abruptly terminate that which ought to be a debate of the greatest
possible consequence, The despatch which conveyed my anticipations of
another deliberate insult being offered to the Irish nation, was not
forwarded from the House of Commons more than an hour before the 'count'
took place. There can be little doubt that the Government were privy to
this disreputable manoeuvre, as a debate upon the subject of reclaiming
Irish waste lands, particularly after their broken promises, would, just
at the present moment, and on the eve of a general election, be
exceedingly inconvenient and distasteful.... When the 'count out' took
place, there were only thirty members present, including _thirteen_
Irish members! Where were the virtuous and conscientious men in whom
the constituencies of Ireland had reposed confidence? Wh