which appears to have diminished the flock and cattle of Ireland from about four millions fterling to lefs than half a million. But (he adds) during almoft the whole of the laft century, " plenty of food and frequency of marriage, powerfully feconded by a climate highly falubrious, did, in an eminent manner, conduce to multiply the people of Ireland;" and hence, he thinks," we might infer, a priori, the existence of a dense population in that country."-The efficacy of the foregoing caufes is then fet forth in detail. Salubrity of climate is fhown to operate greatly in favour of longevity and the procreation of children; and the plenty of food which the inferior orders of the Irish have enjoyed almost uniformly during the laft century, is afcribed partly to the excefs of their peculiar food (potatoes), and partly to their prevailing cuftoms. According to the average produce of Ireland, the author (following Mr. A. Young) confiders one acre of potatoes as capable of fupporting eight perfons throughout the year, or, by proper economy, even a greater number. This quantity of land, it feems, has hitherto in moft parts of Ireland been attainable, in lieu of wages, by almost all defcriptions of working people refident in the country. The general price of potatoes is alfo flated before the year 1799 not to have exceeded twopence per ftone; and in the year 1801, after two years of unprecedented fcarcity, the price of potatoes fell, in most parts of Ireland, nearly twice as much as thofe of wheat and oats. This abundance of food, and the affiftance which the children of the Irish give to their parents, the author confiders as the chief caufes of the extraordinary frequency of marriage among the people of Ireland, fo often remarked by ftrangers. It is alfo promoted by the Roman Catholic Clergy, who derive a great portion of their incomes from marriages and chriftenings.

It is further fhown, that the climate of Ireland has undergone a confiderable change for the better fince about the middle of the feventeenth century, the thick woods which covered the greater part of the country having ceafed to exift, and the rich deep foil, which pervades it in various directions, being no longer undrained or in a state of

nature.

The author next treats" of the circumftances which have tended to fruftrate, in a confiderable degree, the agency of the caufes of a rapid multiplication of people in Ireland." As to the firft of thefe (the rigorous and vindictive government to which, according to him, the Roman Catholics were expofed during about three-fourths of the last century)

we

we are not prepared to admit its exiftence, in the degree fuppofed; fince although fome of those laws undoubtedly were oppreffive, they had in general, we believe, lain dormant long before the entire abrogation of them. The illiberal and unwife fhackies impofed on the trade of Ireland are confidered by the author as another caufe that operated against population; and he also obferves, that during almoft as long a period as that throughout which these restrictions continued, the pafturage of Ireland was ruinously disproportioned to its tillage. Owing to thefe caufes, the country was during many years annually drained by confiderable emigrations to America, and great numbers of the Irifh were enlifted in the armies of France and Spain-a practice which (incredible as it may feem) the author ftates, and in a great degree proves, to have been connived at by the English Government. Having enumerated these feveral caufes of depopulation, he concludes that "if, neverthelefs, the population did, as it is known to have done, increafe with confiderable celerity," there can be no ground. of furprize" at its having increased with rapidity, fince the removal of every obftruction to its progrefs, the different caufes of its increafe ftill continuing to operate with unabated energy." P. C6.

The author next proceeds to the more pofitive proofs refpecting the population of Ireland, and relies much on the affertions of Mr. A. Young, as to the increase in several diftricts which he, vifited. Thefe aflertions, however, are thrown out in very loofe and general terms, neither specifying the amount of this fuppofed increase, nor the data upon which the opinion of its exiftence refts. We believe, however, the general fact, and agree with this writer as to the little reliance that can be placed on the returns of the collectors of hearth-money, and as to the defects and irregularities in the collection of the revenue in Ireland.

The period at which the population of Ireland doubles is next deduced from a combination of various Returns. The laft of thefe, made in 1791, contains 701,102 houfes, and (at & inhabitants to each houfe) 4,206,612 perfons, which exceeds the Return immediately preceding it, made in 1788, by 51,102 houíes, and 306,612 perfons. The author, however, reckons the average annual increase throughout the last century, fuited to the average stock of people during that period, at 59,052, and fhows the average period of doubling to have been fomewhat lefs than 44 years. Here he goes into a train of reafoning, to which it is impoffible to do juftice without giving the whole in detail, which our

limits do not permit; but concludes, that the period of doubling cannot, at all events, exceed 46 years.

He next lays before us "the confiderations which warrant a prefumption that the population of Ireland doubles in 46 years, and of the actual magnitude of the population of that country. Here alfo the author's reafonings go into very minute details, but appear ingenious, and, generally fpeaking, juft. The late rapid increase of people in Ruffia, (a country apparently not fo favourably circumftanced as Ireland,) and the increase of population in North America, (a country not more favourably fituated,) are adverted to for the purpose of confirming the author's opinion. A variety of local circumftances, as to different parts of Ireland, are alfo detailed. Of these none is more gratifying than the general change in the difpofition of the lower orders of people, within the last twenty-five years, from flothfulness to induftry. This the author afferts with a confidence founded, we hope, in truth, and indeed to a certain degree fupported by other refpectable writers. The lofs during that period by an external war, a tranfitory rebellion, and two years of fcarcity, was not, in his opinion, greater than could be fupplied by generation in lefs than four years.

Affuming then, and relying on the aid of other documents to fupport the affumption, that the population of Ireland has experienced, fince the year 1791, an average annual increase of about 91,448 fouls, or increased fo as to afford a profpect of doubling in 46 years, the author computes that there are actually in that country about 5,395,436 people. He points out the mode of computation adopted by him, which, though lefs correct than the method of Dr. Price, appears from the circumftances of Ireland to have been neceffary.

The trade of Ireland is next confidered with reference to the increafe of the population of that country; and undoubtedly the great extenfion of commerce and manufactures, together with the improvements in agriculture, which have taken place, muft have a tendency to promote population. This part of the fubject is difcuffed with much ability and information, on which we regret that we cannot to expatiate as to do it juftice. There is here a digreffion concerning abfentees. The author objects to an undiftinguishing tax upon them, but propofes one which thall be modified according to the circumftances of the feveral claffes into which he divides them; and fhall be applied to the encouragenient of manufactures, the improvement of agriculture, and the difcovery and working of collieries. Whether a mea

fure

fufe of this kind be expedient, or (under the circumstances of Ireland) practicable, we are not prepared to decide.

"the

The writer next very fully and ably argues from the confumption of different articles in Ireland, for the magnitude of its population. With regard to the produce of the hearth-tax (which has been deemed the chief criterion of the population of that kingdom) he fhows that its fluctuations have been fo great as to render it impoffible to draw from thence, during the laft nine years, any fatisfactory inference refpecting the increase of people. He alfo treats of the more apparent caufes of the disparity in point of increase between the populations of England and Ireland, the chief of which feem to have been" a lefs uniformly abundant fupply in the former than in the latter country of the fort of food which the inferior people have been accustomed to fubfift on, and in part occafioned by this caufe a comparative infrequency of marriage." In the fubfequent section ftrong proofs are produced to fhow, that, contrary to appearances, (which the author admits to be againft the fuppofition,) there is a more dense population throughout Ireland than in this kingdom. A very important question comes next under the author's review, namely, numerical proportion of the Roman Catholics to the Proteftants of Ireland." On this point (as he obferves) the opinions of public men in Ireland differ widely from each other, lome afferting that the Roman Catholics are to the Proteftants as little more than two to one," others deeming them "as upwards of four to one." This author (though he recommends the fubject to a farther invefligation by government) inclines to the latter of thefe oppofite opinions; acknowledging, however, that at prefent he is limited to offering mere conjectures," fanctioned by a few authoritative opinions and affertions, and, in fome degree, warranted by a fmall number of detached facts." Thefe opinions themselves are indeed, for the most part, conjectural; at lealt, the evidence in fupport of them is not flated, nor are the perfons themfelves, who have given thefe opinions, named. We are only told, that they enjoyed the very best opportunities of collecting information upon the fubjeét in quellion. They fpeak too with different degrees of certainty. One of thefe gentlemen" is convinced;" another is only " perfuaded;' a third afferts the facts more in detail, but without citing any authority in proof of them. The author, however, details feveral facts applying to particular diflriets and places, from which he deduces an opinion (which, after all, is but conjectural)

conjectural) that in the three provinces of Leinfter, Munfter, and Connaught, the Roman Catholics are to the Protestants as at leaft nine to one. He fuppofes that the city of Dublin and the nine northern counties contain about onethird of the general population, or 1,800,000, of the people of Ireland, and that the Proteftants conftitute about twofifths of that number, or about 720,000. The number in the other provinces (fuppofing the Romanifts to be as nine to one to the Proteftants) would be about 360,000; fo that the whole number of Proteftants in Ireland would, according to this computation, be about 1,080,000, or fomewhat lefs than one-fifth of the population of that country. From this circumftance the author infers, that fince the proportion of Roman Catholics to Proteftants was computed by Sir W. Petty in 1672 at eight to three, and in the year 1731 was only two to one," the once perfecuted, but now tolerated and protected religion must have gained ground moft rapidly on the established one." The caufes of this fuccefs are here intimated, and the fubject undoubtedly claims the early and diligent attention of government.

The laft fubject of this writer's inquiry is, "the com→ petency of Ireland to fupport a much greater population than it now contains." That competency he maintains by a detail of many important facts refpecting the general nature of the foil, and prefent ftate of agriculture in that kingdom. Thefe facts are principally extracted from the Tour of Mr. Arthur Young, and fhow, that, in his opi nion,

"The unproductive land of Ireland may be converted with great profit into permanently rich foil; that many extensive tracts of the profitable land of that country are of fingular fertility; and that the bounty of nature has been, in a great degree, defeated by man.”

The conclufion of this work fo well explains the author's. motives, that we will extract it as an illuftration of his object, and a fpecimen of his manner. It is almost needlefs to add, that although we are not prepared to admit all his deductions without further proof, we cannot but recommend his performance to the ferious confideration of all whofe fituation and talents give them weight and influence. in public measures, as it difplays the refult of laborious inveftigation, and appears to have been dictated by genuine patriotifm.

"A due confideration of the various facts which have been brought into view in the foregoing pages cannot, it is prefumed,