y
exist, and if the admitted misery of the Irish people can, with truth,
be attributed to the unjust or partial legislation of the British
Parliament.

We do not seek to deny, that the interests of Ireland have not been
neglected or unfairly dealt by, in former times. With that we have
nothing now to do; we take the existing state of things, and we
maintain, and will, we trust, convince our readers, that instead of
being oppressed or wronged by legislative enactments, Ireland is (as
matters are at present managed) greatly favoured, and that instead of
complaining of injustice, her inhabitants should be most grateful for
the exemptions which are granted them, and for the fostering care
which a Conservative government has extended, and is still anxious to
extend to them.

In supporting our view of the case, we shall appeal to facts--facts
which, if untrue, can easily be refuted; and first, we shall apply
ourselves to the amount of taxation imposed on Ireland by the Imperial
Parliament. _The Irish people are exempt from every species of direct
taxation!_ and their indirect taxes are not more than those to which
the inhabitants of England and Scotland are subject. Thus, while the
English and Scotch gentleman is taxed for his servants, his carriages,
his horses, his dogs, and his armorial bearings--and, in addition,
pays, in common with the trading and operative classes, his
window-tax--the Irish gentleman and tradesman are totally free from
all such imposts. And though, at first sight, this exemption would
seem to benefit only the wealthier classes, still when we find, as is
certainly the case, that it enables the Irish gentry to keep much
larger establishments than men of similar fortune could attempt to do
in this country; that consequently more persons are employed as
servants; that it enhances the value of horses by increasing the
demand for them; that it also greatly adds to the number of carriages
used, and, of course, to the employment of the artisan--we must admit
that it has no slight influence on the condition both of the tradesman
and the agriculturist.

Ireland pays no income-tax! (at least no Irishman need pay it if he
choose to reside at home;) for the Minister and the Parliament, _so
hostile_ to Irish interests, have only subjected the absentees to its
operation; and we find, that in the year ending the 10th October
1844--

England and Scotland paid by assessed
taxes,