PROJECT RECLAMATION OF ONE MILLION ACRES WASTE LANDS, IN lEELAND, COLONIES OF HER PRESENT SURPLUS AND UNEMPLOYED POPULATION, SHOULD, IN THE FIRST KST.WCE, RENDER THOSE LANDS AVAILABLE FOB THEIR Oira SUPPORT, AND FINALLY, IN A PERIOD OF CiMTIltU-'tllte §Taf0, CO^’^’EBT THEM INTO A CONSIDERABLE AND PERMANENT ITEM OF REVENUE, IN THE SHAPE OF WHILE THE HABITS AND CONDITION OF THAT POPULATION SHOULD BK PROGRESSn'‘ELY AND ESSENTIALLY IMPROVED. DUBLIN ; GEORGE FOLDS, PRINTER, 1, ST. ANDREW-STREET, 184T. PROJECT THE RECLAMATION OF WASTE LANDS IN IRELAND. In introducing my subject I adopt ins a principle that labor alone jrroduces Capital! !—and that all its accumulations through the complicated channels of modern enterprise are solely traceable to that source. Labor primarily pi’oduces Capital! !—and the increase of Capital is uniformly proportioned to the continuity of laborious exertions, and to the judgment with Avhieh they are directed. Population therefore is a source of strength, and the means of increasing the resources of a Nation, so long as that population can be profitably em¬ ployed : a totally, idle population cannot exist, since God has laid domi an immutable law, that “ by the sweat of man’s brow he must eat bread.” A partially idle population must be poor, for the fruits of the toil of a portion must go to support the entire, and thus stamp the trace of poverty on all. It is therefore of the utmost importance to a Nation that all her population should have occupa¬ tion, and that the labor of each should be made not only to support himself but to produce a surplus, which in the aggregate will create a fund for keeping up civil and social institutions as well as national defences, and for the support of such as through age, or infirmity, or by the visitation of God, may be unable for a time, or permanently to work for their own living. In Ireland, unfortu¬ nately, only a portion of her population can find remunerative employment: at present some dis¬ tricts are so densely peopled as to render it impossible for the area they occupy to afturd them sustenance, while generally speaking, through the arable and cultivated surface of the Island there are found hands enough, without the intervention of the first, to perform the usual quantity of agricultural operations. Thus a considerable portion of able bodied men and their families are throvni on the industrial portion of the community, and on the property of the country for support, whose labor, imder judicious guidance, could not only be made to provide for their o^vn comfoitable sustenance, but to add to the national resoui’ces —to the greatness and aggran¬ disement of their country. Tlie present is an humble suggestion of the means by which, (with the aid of legislative enact¬ ments,) . so great a number as 125,000 families, assumed to average six each, being a total of 750,000 souls, might be usefully and profitably employed for themselves and for the community at large; thus relieving property- and industry from the burden of their support, and rendering, at least the young, valuable members of societ}’, gifted with knowledge of an useful character, and with powers of self dependence far be 3 'Ond those at present possessed by their coimtrj-men in a corres¬ ponding class of life. The relief arising from the removal of so large a number now literally being supported without contributing any thing to the sum of national wealth, would tend to give the general labor market a healthy tone, and leave room for the independent and profitable eiiijdoyment of the residue in the ordinary siuirees of occupation of the peasantr}'. This object I conceive might be realized by the Government undertaking the reclamation of a portion of the Waste Lands of Ireland, through the medium of the labor of a portion of her surplus popukitiou. I believe it is computed that there are now 5,000,000 of Irish Acres of Land in Ireland lying waste and wholly un[)roductive, a considerable portion of which is highly ejipable (d' reclamation. I would suggest to try One Million Acres of the altove Five on the following plan, taking care to have them selected as much as practicable on the Sea Coast, and as nearly united together as circumstances might permit. The first task would be to obtain possession of those Acres from the Proprietors, and this may be done equitably, and by Act of Parliament on the following principle. To let each Proprietor prove satisfactorily what rental he derived from tlie Land required for any average of year.«, (to be named by himself,) and to pay him 25 years purchase of this rent, or else, to let him give up the Land without irau\ediate purchase, on condition of enjoy¬ ing half the rental it should produce after a lapse of TAventy-one years, (by tvhich time the original outlay Avould be repaid to Government,) when, in the event of sucli covenant, half the Lands should vest in the Grotvii, the other half in the original Pi'oprietoi'. 6 Either of those courses would he just, and I apprehend that the relief property must experience by thus removing and providing for so large a portion of the burden resulting fl’om an over redundant population, would induce Landlords in general, to come the more easily into teims, and to promote the object of Government, viz. : the immediate provision for 750,000 souls of our surplus population tlirough the medium of their own labor, and the ultimate creation of State Revenue to he derived from the same source. Proprietors rejecting such fair conditions, and thus interposing a bar to the bringing those lands into a state of productive usefulness, as well as to the support of a certain portion of the able bodied poor and their families, should surely not complain to have those same lands taxed for the support of those poor, not according to their present value but according to that increased value, which would be consequent on their accepting the proposed tenns. For the conducting the reclamation of the Million Acres the following general Staff will be necessary, and those are exclusive of, and apart from, the local Staffs recjuisite for each individual settlement. First a Board of Commissioners for the general direction of the undertaking, who should be responsible for the proper conduct of the whole, and for the Revenues to be produced from it. This Commission should consist of Five paid Commissioners, the first or Principal to be Chainnan, and to have £4,000 ^ annum, the four Assistants to have £l,000 ^ annum each. Second an Engineering Staff at an expense of £6,000 ^ 7 annum, the first or Principal to have £600 ^ annum salary, assisted by Eighteen of £270 a year each, the remaining £540 ^ annum to go to pay their Chainmen and Assistants. Third a Staff of Agricultural Chemists, at an expense of £2,000 ^ annum, the Principal to have £400 ^ annum, and to be assisted by Sixteen, at £100 a year each. Fourth and last. A Secretaiy, - £400 ^ annum Assistant do. - 200 ■ „ An Accountant 300 Assistant do. - 150 A Kegister 200 5 Office Clerks, £50 each 250 The whole £1,500 The general Staff expense would thus be annually, as follows : Conducting Commission - - £8,000 Engineering Staff - - - 6,000 Chemical Staff - - - 2,000 Office Staff - - - - 1,500 Total £17,500 Travelling, Postage, Stationary, and Contingencies for general and for local Staffs £20,000 The Land obtained, the Engineering Staff should be put into immediate requisition, to ascertain the falls and levels of the Land, to set out main drains, regulate the course of rivers, to set out roads, &c. all of which should be brought into realization 8 through the labor of the Colonists. The Chemical Staff should then be also employed in testing the qualities and capabilities of the respective sods, in considering the composition and characters of the manures suited to each, and in commimicating to the Agriculturists the best practical modes for their formation, as u'eU as those most judicious for their application. The 1,000,000 Acres should then he divided into Farms of 400 Acres each, over each of vrhich an experienced and practical Agriculturist and Land Reclaimer should preside, with a Salary of Fifty Poimds ^ annum, and a residence. The Village on each Fann should contain .50 families, to be taken from all or any paids of Ireland burdened with an excessive Pauper Population, and those families may be calculated to average each six individuals : should they not be found exact to this, a few may be added or diminished to make up that just number. Thus the Agriculturist would have to direct the labor of 300 persons, whose continuous systematic exertions thus directed may be estimated as competent in two years to bring the 400 Acres into drainage and tilth ; from two years to four years it may be estimated to produce what would support the current expend¬ iture, and from four yeai-s forward to the end of twenty-one years to produce an annual surplus which in that time would amply repay the original outlay. Besides the Agriculturist each tillage should possess a school-master, whose salary I woidd also fix at £50 ^ annum, and a residence : his duty should be to take the young people in classes, each cla. 20,000 iient and Local Staffs, . J £3,712,500 The foregoing will have to go on for two years without any return. The second year will require some Seed for the produce of the third. The third and fourth years will, (I calculate,) as the Land tvill be but imperfectly cultivated, pay only the current expenditure, leaffing no surplus: from that forward, I estimate the produce to l)e at the rate of £8,462,500 per annum; the Annual Expenditure as above, with the addition of 1,603,229/- for Seed, being on the whole 5,315.7'29/. per annum, and leaving a profit of 3,146,77^. per annum, which in fifteen years will payback the primary outlay with interest at 5 per cent, per annum, and for the suc¬ ceeding six years, produce a revenue of 18,880,026/. besides creating a permanent income of at least 1,000,000/. per annum, all produced through the medium of the labor of a portion of the community now thrown as a burden on the resources of the country; Avhose children being thus brought up in order, industry, habitual cultivation of the mental and bodily powers, and in the knowledge of improved practical Agriculture, would be a superior class of Tenants to fann the Land they had reclaimed, while their surplus population would be most competent to provide for themselves, either as Emigrant Settlers in some of our Colonies, Settlers for farther reclamation at home, as Stewards of knowledge and industry, or as Farmers of a superior class. The labour of those Settlers thus directed, should, besides cultivating and fencing their Land, make Roads to connect each Settlement Avith the other, Avhere they might be contiguous, and Avith the great leading Roads of the Country; and all thisAvithout leA^dng any Rate for them on the respective Counties. They might also construct the Earth-works of Rail- Avays, so fiAi- as their own territories might extend, ndienever any general Line approached near them, and thus establish a means for the transit of their produce to distant markets. I Avould here suggest, that as those Settlements should thus proA'ide for all their OAvn Avorks of a public character, they should, (at least until Avell established), be free from all Land Rates and Taxes. The streams, I’ivers, and such Avater as might be converged to a point i)y 14 di-aining, should be, as fiir as pi'acticable, so disposed as to become available for mill-sites and imgation. There should be green cropping, proper rotation Crops, stall feeding, dairy, pigs, poultry, &c., on each Settlement, and the whole should be converted into a source of profit, after i)ro\fiding for the wants of the Colonists. In the space of a year there will be many wet days, during which the occupation of the ilales should consist in dressing Flax, making baskets, preparing metal for the roads, (under a shed,) and such other labours as may be done under slielter, while the Females should spin, knit, sew, or be occupied in such other way as may tend to promote their own comfort, and also to produce profit. There will, no doubt, among so many, be some tradesmen, as tailors, shoemakers, carpenters, and weavers; who, on wet-days might ply their respec¬ tive trades, and teach them to a portion of the boys; and thus become in some degree, independent of extrinsic aid for their clothing and repairs. Cattle, sheep, poultry, pigs, and horses, would have by degrees to be purchased, but, I consider, that those can be obtained from the Fund under the head Contingencies, as also that a portion of the allocation for the first year’s seed, (which is reckoned at the full amount, though but a portion will be required,) may be applied to obtain them. Those ivhen fat would be sold, and the proceedsand profits of the sales be allocated to purchase new, which process should go on in rotation, till the stock should be clear and become part of the propeily of the Colonies. I say nothing of religious instraction, because each and aU Districts of Waste Lands, in Ireland, are ]0 incinclecl in some Parish; and it Avill be the duty of the respective Clergymen of those Parishes, to instruct their Parishioners in the principles and practice of religion. I estimate that a loan of 25,000,000/., at 5 per cent, interest, payable nothin Fifteen years, will realize the entire plan; that that Loan with the Interest, will be paid olf in Fifteen years, and that the income of the remaining Six years ^vill produce, in aid of the public revenue of the Country, no less a sum than 18,880,026/., after which the Land will be worth 1/. an Acre, at the lowest calculation, and at that estimate null produce 1,000,000/. sterling, per annum. I estimate the purchase of the Land to average 21. an Acre, or 2,000,000/. sterling, being something over Is. 7d. per Acre, at twenty-five years purchase; and add it thus as a separate item of the permanent ■Expenditure; the Principal and interest of that 2,000,000/., are therefore included in all the calculations. If, however, the arrangement with the Fee 0-wners should be, that they should give up their Land, on the condition of having half the Rental produced at the end of Tweny-one years; at least, 500,000/ per annum, will then go to them, and an equal sum per annum, be secured in aid of the public revenue of the Country. In this latter case, the first issue of Stock may be, that 2,000,000/. less than the estimate given, which, with the interest thereon at 5 per cent, being 100,000/., per annum, for Fifteen years, will be saved to the undertaking, and will enhance the profit by a sum of 3,500,000/. The outlay would Ifi in that event be clear in less than Fourteen years, in place of Fifteen years, tvliich is the time stated in the subjoined Estimate. I give a Table of the different Crops desirable to be cultivated, and -would have the variety, as far as practicable, on eveiy Settlement, tsath a view to teach the Settlers their proper culture, but would not adhere arbitrarily to the fixed number of acres put do-svn for each, as aspect, soil situation, and many undefinable circumstances -will make it desir¬ able to have a greater quantity of particular Crops on one Settlement, and a lesser on another : those variations should be under the control of the con¬ ducting Board of Commissioners, who should take care to have them so managed as to produce the greatest amount of profit in each, and that in all there should be such a selection of cropping as would guarantee the Settlers and the Country from a recurrence of the recent calamity brought on Ireland by the failure of a particular Crop. Here follows the table of Crops for 400 Irish Acres* -nith the assumed value of each per Acre, and the value of the whole. A similar table of the Seed is also given. * 400 Irish Acres is equal to 647 British. 18 Flax, 20 Acres produce £10 per Acre, £200 Nursery, 1 „ „ 25 do. 25 Oziery, 4 „ „ 15 do. CO Turnips, 44 „ » 12 do. 528 Mangold Worzel 8 „ „ 10 do. 80 Carrots, 8 „ „ 15 do. 120 Parsnips, M „ 15 do¬ CO Cabbage, 3 „ 12 do. 3C Potatoes, 72 „ „ 12 do. 864 Oats, 60 „ » 6 do. SCO Barley or Bere, 32 „ „ 8 do. 256 Wheat, 32 „ „ 10 do. 320 Rye, 4 „ 6 do. 24 Pasture & Mea¬ dow, 80 „ „ 3 do. 240 Clover and Rye- Grass, 8 „ g do. 40 Vetches, 8 „ )> 3 do. 40 Beans, 4 „ „ 10 do. 40 Onions, 2 ,, „ 20 do. 40 Buck Wheat, 1 „ „ 6 do. 6 Field Peas, 1 » » 6 do. (i Rape. 4 „ „ 10 do. 40 400 Acres. Value of Annual £3385 Produce 19 0 Flax, 1 Nursery, 4 Oziery, 4 Turnips, 8 Mang-old Wor- zel, 3 Carrots, 4 Parsnips, 3 Cabbages, 2 Potatoes, D Oats, 2 Barley or Bere, 2 Wheat, 4 Rye, 3 Pasture and Meadow, 3 CWer&Rye- L Grass, 3 Vetches, 4 Beans, 2 Onions, [ Buck Wheat, I Field Peas, t Rape, Quantity of Seed per Aero. 2t-bushels at 9s. £ Berry’s Masts, &c. 1 5 lbs. at Is. 3d. 5 lbs. at ‘2s. 5 lbs. at ‘25. 6d. 5 lbs. at 2s. 2d. 4 lbs. at 3s. 9d. 160 stone at 6d. 20 stone at Is. 6d. 16 stone at 2s. 16 stone at 2s. 6d. 1 3 bushels at 1 Is. 1 I..aid down for 4 ve.ar.^, n for 5 jear.s, 3 Inihl'.. at 10s. £l lO.s. 0 10 0 12 0 10 1 0 15 Ityr, 4 bii.sbel.s at lO.s. 10 lbs. at os. 2s bushels at 9s. 20 stone at 2s. 6d. 4 stone at 2s. (id. 2 10 1 2 2 10 22 10 0 12 0 0 12 0 0 13 15 0 4 0 0 .5 0 0 2 3 4 2 5 0 288 0 0 90 0 0 51 4 0 64 0 0 6 1-2 0 24 0 0 8 16 0 16 8 0 8 0 0 5 0 0 1 2 6 2 10 0 2 0 0 400 Irish Acres, equal to Per Annum £641 5 10 647a. 3;-. 28p. British. - 20 The seed, the payment of the staff, and the support of the Settlers -would be the current ex¬ pense : the value of the crops, cattle, pigs, poultiy, &c. raised on the settlements and disposed of an¬ nually -would constitute the annual Revenue, and the surplus of the one over the other, the annual Profit. I fix on twenty-one years as the time that Government shonld preserve a special control over this population, because the young and the infant Settlers -would require that period of time to mature their habits and conduct, and to fit tliein fur the independent place which they are intended to assume in the world as Fanners on their omi account, when they -will have been qualified for ’that position by a sufficient period of the above system of training. Tlie Chairman and Board of Commissioners -n-Ul have ample emplomnent in pro-riding Stock for the Settlements, ^Markets for the produce, directing the laljors of the several Staffs, and in inspection of their regular working : they must be men of undoubted capacity, of extensive and general information; of such a class of intellect and gifted with such physical powers as if applied in any other channel would realize an income at least equal to their salaries. Their remuneration cannot therefore be considered excessive, since their entire time and faculties must be devoted to the properly conducting this most important undertakmg ; no portion whatever of their energies can be spared to carry on any other pursuit, therefore their salaries should be such as would sustain their Families independently of all other aid, and thus relieve their minds from eveiy other care apart from the steady prosecution of the one object committed to their conduct. 21 The same observations, though on a more limited scale, mil apply to the Engineering and Chemical Staffs. The item, travelling expenses, stationery, postage, contingencies, may also at a first view appear high at 20,000^. per annum ; however the Stationery of 8,.500 Functionaries at the Settlements, viz. ; 2,.500 Agriculturists, 2,500 School-masters, 2,500 i\latrons, and 1,000 Medical Officers, putting it clovm at so low a thing as M. per week for each, amounts to 5,475/. per annum, not to mention travelling ex¬ penses of the Staffs, consisting of—first, Hoard of Commissioners, 5; Engineering, 19; Chemical, 17; Office, 10 ; in all, 51 persons, to which add their Stationery Postage, and Contingencies : all this is liarely provided for in the allocation of 20,000/. for that service; besides there will be a regular account kept of every item, and, should there l)e a saving- effected, it will go to the credit of the undertaking. The Engineering Staff, and possibly the Chemical Staff may, I apprehend, be dispensed -sffith after ten years or thereabouts, but I nevertheless ])ut their payment down as for twenty-one years, because circumstances must decide on the ensdoin of such a reduction, and also on the point of time when it may be prudent to make it, which may all Iw ti'usted to the discretion of the Board of Commissioners. In the event of such reduction, however, and from the time it may take place, the Kevenue of the Lands will lie in the same proportion increased. The rotation of Crops as given for each Settlement of Four Hundred Irish Acres in the foregoing Table, will produce on the aggregate of two thousand five hundred settlements on the Million Acres the. following C|uantity of each, which is given rvith its computed value per Acre, and amounts on the aggregate to £8,462,500. The quantity of seed necessary to produce those Crops on 1,000,000 Acres, being 2,500 Settlements, and its amomit in Money, is also given, -with tables in continuation to show the total pemanent, as well as the total annual, expenditure of the entire. CROP TABLE. o.> iJa«, To^lValuo. Flax, 50,000 £10 £500,000 Nurserj", 2,500 •25 6-2,500 Ozierj', 10,000 15 150,000 Turnips, 110,000 12 1,320,000 ilangold Worzell, 20,000 10 •200,000 Carrots, 20,000 15 300,000 Parsnips, 10,000 15 150,000 Cabbage, 7,500 12 90,000 Potatoes, 180,000 12 •2,100,000 Oats, 150,000 6 900,000 Barley or Bere, 80,000 8 040,000 Wheat, 80,000 10 800,000 Rye, 10,000 6 00,000 Pasture and Mea- dow, 200,000 3 600,000 Clover and Rye- Grass, 20,000 .') 100,000 Vetches, 20,000 5 100,000 Beans, 10,000 10 100,000 Onions, 5,000 20 100,000 Buck Wheat. 2,500 (! 15,000 Peas, 2,500 0 15,000 Rape, 10,000 10 100,000 Acres 1,000,000 Irish. £8,462,500 Equal to 1,619,8121 English.- 22 SEED TABLE. doll. li'isli Acre.-!. Quantity of Sl'L\ 1. Viilui; Atre. Vuluc_ F)a.\-, 50,000 n bushels at 9s. £l -2 6 £50,250 Nursei'y, 2,500 Berry’s Masts, &c. I'2 0 0 50,000 Oziery, 10,000 Setts, .3 0 0 30,000 Turnips, 110,000 51b. at Is. 3d. 0 0 3 34,375 Man. Worzel, 20,000 5lb. per acre, at Ss. 0 10 0 10,000 Carrots, 20.000 51b. do. at 2s. 6d. 0 12 6 12,500 Parsnips, 10,000 5lb. do. at2s.2d. 0 10 10 5,416 13s. 4d. Cabbage, 7,500 4lb. do. at3s.i)d. 0 15 0 5,625 Potatoes, 180,000 160 stone at 6d. 4 0 0 720,000 Oats, 150,000 20 stone at Is. 6d. 1 10 0 225,000 Barley, 80,000 16 stone at 2s. 1 12 0 128,000 Wheat, 80,000 16 stone at 2s. 6d. 2 0 0 160,000 Rye, 10,000 3 bushels at 11s. 1 13 0 16,500 Pasturelaiddown ^ Total Kxpensc i'l Is, „ n „ (-r. (.r,,. Cor 4 years, 200,000 |.,.oporlion for 1 year. ^ Clover and Rye- m , i t-i • Grass, to last 2 20,000 7 v“' 7^'“ f •^'•1 2 0 22,000 ^ 1 1 ear s Proportion. Vetches, 20,000 I‘=;( 2 1 0 41,000 Beans, 10,000 4 bushels at lOs. 2 0 0 20,000 Onions, 5,000 101b. at 5s. 2 10 0 12,500 Buckwheat, 2,500 2i-bushels at 9s. 1 2 6 2,812 10s. Od. I’ield Peas, 2,500 20 stone at 2s. 6d. 2 10 0 6,250 Rape, 10,000 4 stone at 2s. 6d. 0 10 0 5,000 Acres 1,000,000 Irish £1,603,229 Equal to 1,619,8124 English - 26 Aggregate Permanent Outlay on Buildings^ Tools, ^’r., and Purchase of Land. Cottages, 1 •25,000 £30 each. £.■5,750,000 Bams, •2,500 50 each. 1 •2.5,000 Stables, 2,500 50 each. 1-25,000 Feeding Stalls, •2,500 50 eacli. 1-25,000 Cart & Tool Houses, 2,500 50 each, 1-25,000 Cow Houses, •2,500 50 each. 1-25,000 Dairies, 2,500 40 each, 100,000 Piggeries, 2,500 40 each. 100,000 Poultr}- Yards, •2,500 20 each. 50,000 Necessaries, •2,500 20 each, 50,000 School Houses, •2,500 30 each. 75,000 Mess Houses, •2.500 00 each, 150,000 School Masters, do. 2,500 50 each. 1-2,5,000 Agriculturists’ do. 2,500 50 each. 1-25,000 Matrons’ do. 2,500 40 each, 100,000 Medical Officers’ do. 1,000 100 each. 100,000 Furniture for 125,000 Cottag( ?s, 4 each. 500,000 Do. for Schools, 2,500 4 each. 10,000 Do. for Mess Rooms, 2,500 () each, 15,000 Agrigult. Implements, •2,500 200 each. 500,000 Plant for Draining, 2,500 200 each. 500,000 Purchase of Land being £2 the j Irish Acre, and rather more / than Is. 7d. per Acre, at 25 V •2,000,000 years purchase, for 1,000,000 1 Acres £8,875,000 Estimate of Annual Outlay for 1,000,000 Acres. Support and Clothing 125,000 Families, 750,000 souls, per ;innm. each Family 25/. £3 125,000 Agriculturists, 2,500, salary for eacl 50/. 125,000 School Masters, 2,500, do. do. 50/. 125,000 Matrons, 2,500, do. do. 40/. 100,000 Medical Officers, 1,000, do. do. 150/. 150,000 Medicine, 2,500, per ann. for each 20/. 50,000 Chairman Coraissr. 1, per annum 4,000/. Assistant do. 4, do. 1000/. 4,000/. Chief Engineer, 1, do. 600/. .‘\ssistant do. 18, do. 270/. 4,860/. Chief Chemist, 1, do. 400/. Assistant do. 10, do. 100/. 1,G00/. Secretary, 1, do. 400/. Assistant do. 1, do. 200/. Accountant, 1, do. 300/. Assistant do. 1, do. 150/. Register, 1. do. 200/. Office Clerks, 5, do. each 50/. 250/. Chainmen & Engineers’ Assistants, 27, do. each 20/. 540/. 17,500 Travelling E.xpen jes. Postage, 20,000 Stationery, for Schools and \ Staffs, with Contingencies ) 'I’otal Ajjnual Expenditure £3 .712,500 28 I Lave said 25 ilillions will defiay tke entire expense: to obtain this sum a Fund might be created, to be called “ The Irish Waste Land Recla¬ mation Fund,” guaranteed by the Government, and to bear Interest at the rate of 5 per cent, per annum . The portion required for the first years operations will be as follows, and Stock to that amount only need be issued for the first year, ^^z. : For permanent Expenditure, - - . £6,875,000 For purchase of Land ... 2,000,000 jiimnal Expenditure . - - - 3,712,500 £12,587,500 Interest at 5 per cent, on above - - 629,375 Issue of Stock for First Year - £13,216,875 Second Year Annual Expenditure, £3,712,500 Second Year’s Seed, 1,603,229 Year’s - Stock. £.5,31-5,729 Intest, on £-5,31 -5,729 926,631 Do. 13,216,875 - 2nd Year’s-£6,242,360 £6,242,360 Total, £18,-532,604 - For the Third Year it is estimated that the produce will support the current expenditure; the only expense will therefore be for Seed, for Interest on Stock already out, and for that to be issued for the service of this the third Year as thus:— Amount Seed £1,603,229 Seed £1,603229 Stock issued 19,4-59,23-5 3rd Year —^- Stock for Interest on 21,062,464 £1, 0-53,124 3j d Year £2,6-56,3-53 £2,656,353 The Fourth Y'ear is estimated as the Third, the Issue to be merely for Interest of Stock already out, with Amount of Seed added, as thus:— Seed £ 1,603,229 \ Seed £ 1,603,229 \ stock Slock out 22,11-5,-588 1,1 85,941 r Tcaf £ 2,789,170 £24,904,758 Brought fort £24,904,788 •2C) Brought forward Add for Cattle and Contingencies, the latter including a Bell and a Clock for each Settle¬ ment, and Legal 'Expenses also - - 96,242 Total Capital Stock issued, as above, in 4 Years £26,000,000 I calculate that on the 5th year the Land will he in full cropping, and that on that and on the succeeding years, a portion of the Stock may be paid according to the annexed scale, so that at the end of Kfteen years from the foundation of the Settlements, the 25 Millions Stock with 5 per cent. Interest will be repaid, leaving a considerable surplus on hands. If this Project should meet the approbation and adoption of the Country, and the results as here set out be realized, the Projector would hope from the generous bounty of the British People, who have ever been most ready to express their sense of service rendered, by substan¬ tial acknowledgement, that they would confer on him what should remain of the produce of the fifteen years after paying oflf the princij^al and interest of the 25 Millions, as a means of establish¬ ing his family in honorable afEuence in the country which his labors had benefitted : his contingent }’eward would thus altogether depend on the success of his project, while the succeeding six years are estimated to produce so large a sum as 18,880,62Gh and from that forward an annual income of at least 1,000,000/., which should all go to enrich the Nation’s Treasury. The scale for the paying off Stock should com¬ mence on the 5th year, its basis to be the profits of the undertaking, produced as follows ; 30 Produce of 1,000,000 Acres, as ^ page 24, £8,462,500 Annual Outlay, page 27 £3,712,500 Seed per annum, page 25 1,603,229 £5,315,729 Annual Profit Fund, - - £3,146,771 ofh Year’s profit, £3,146,771 Pay olT Rest for Year’s Interest of Stock, Contingencies, £25,000,000 1,250,000 Available balance £1,896,771 £18,00,000, £96,771 6tb Year’s profit, £3,146,771 Intest- of23,200,000 £1,160000, Available balance, £1,986,771, £1,900,000 £86,771 7th rear’s profit £3,146.771 IntsLof 21,300,000, £l^065,000_ Available balance 2,081,771 £2,090,000 81,771 8th Year’s profits £3,146,771 Deduct for £265,313 Intest, of 19,300,000, £965,000 paying Stock 260,000 Available balance £2,181,771 Rest £5,313 Add from rest 260,000 Total balance £2, 441,771, £2,440,000 £i,771 9th rear’s profit £3,146,771 Intst. of 16,830,000,_£843,000 £2,300,000 £3,771 Available balance ■2..303.771 £10,855 10th rear’s profit £3,146,771 Stock £2,000 IntsL’of 14,560,000, 728,000 - - Balance £8,855 Available balance £2,418,771 Add from Rest 2,000 Total balance '^420,771, £2,420,000 £771 11th rear’s profit £3,146,771 IntsLof 12,140,000, 607,000 Arafrable balance £2,539,771 £2,530,000 £9,771 12lh rear’s profit £3,146,771 Deduct for £19,397 IntsLof 9,610,000 £480,500 Slock £19,000 Available balance £2,666,271 Balance rest, £397 Add from Rest 19,000 Total balance £2,685,271 £2,685,000 £271 Brought fonvard £18.075.000 668 31 Brought forwavd £18,07-3,000 £(j(i8 13th year’s profit £3,146,771 Intst. of 6,925,000 346,250 Available balance £2,800,521 £2,800,000 £521 14th year’s profit £3,146,771 Intst. on 4.125,000, £206,250 Available balance £2,940,521 £2,940,000 £521 15th year’s profit £3,146,771 Intst. on 1,185,000 £59,250 Available balance £3,087,521 £1,185,000 £1,902,521 Paid oil' - - £2.3,000,000 £1,904,231 In making the foregoing estimate of expense and of profit, I have, to the best of my judgment, equally avoided exaggeration of produce, and minimution of necessary expenditure; the calcula¬ tions of Seed, Crops, &c., are all founded on the Irish Acre, -which is that principally in use in the West, North-West, and South-West of Ireland, and I have the assurance of practical men that those calculations -will be amply realised.* In the item of Seed, I expect that after the first years, a considerable saving can be made, as the Land -will gro-\v it of an extremely good quality, and at much less expense, than if it continued to be supplied by Seedsmen. The produce, I also expect, after a fe-w years, to return a better revenue than that laid dorni for it, as a great proportion of it ivill, after a time, be sold in a manufactured state: for instance, the produce of the Oziery -will be sold manufactured into baskets; much of the Flax into Yarn, and a portion of the ■n^ool into stockings. * One Irish Acre is eijual to 1 Acre, 2 Ronds, and 19 Perches, English. 32 Mills will doubtless be erected as we go on, and tben the Com may be sold in a manufactured state with an increased Revenue. The profit on feeding cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry, &c., and of daily, avUI, I fully expect, be more than the simple value set down per acre for the Crops. While aU this is progressively realizing, as a. matter of course, enhancement of the Revenue, (of which a faithfiil account must be kept,) will go on to the credit of the uiidei'taking. On the other hand, the entire acreage is liere calculated as being cropped, whereas a considerable portion will be occupied by Houses, Offices, Yard.s of various descriptions, Dungpits, occasional plots of planting, and the necessary roads ; there will also be a certain wear and tear on Farming Imple¬ ments and on Buildings of all hinds : however I think that the one may be fairly estimated at least to balance the other, and any surplus may be advantageously appRed to the erection of Mills, and any other improvement calculated to create a permanently encreased Revenue. I do not think those settlements should be rated for Poor Rates, since they would have no poor, and their establishment'will most probably reduce the poor to be provided for by the existing industry and property of the coimtiy, to the simple number of aged, infii-m, and decrepit, that may exist among them, as the residue of able bodied labour¬ er and their families could not fail to find employ¬ ment in the ordinary channels of the labor of the country. Should the Settlers become discontented and object to labor, I would not recommend to 33 coerce them in the least; they should simply take the clothes they brought and leave the settlement. The recent vagrant act will then meet and prevent them, if they .should determine to live idly and without labor; but I have strong impressions that, after they had for a time enjoyed the advantages of plentiful wholesome food, comfortable clothing, and cleanly and ally lodging ; those good things would by the force of habit, become essential necessities, and that they could not endure • to give them up ; acting on this principle, I would make the punish¬ ment for idleness and insubordination, to consist simply of expulsion from the Settlement. Many are under the impression that deep bog cannot be rendered productive; this however is not the case, as drained bog produces excellent general Crops, and the extreme depth, where it may exist, can be easily cut for fuel, ricked, and remain for the use of the Colonists.* The only soil (or rather no sod) that mil not yield to culture and drainage is the actual Rock, and that which is solely composed of shingles: a small portion of such may be made useful for many purposes, but any considerable extent would of course take away from the chance of profit. How¬ ever the greater portion of the Waste Lands of Ireland are, by the scientific application of labor, highly capable of reclamation, and I am persuaded that a Million Acres may be selected, certain of realising all contained in the foregoing estimate. I have not touched on a source of profit which may be derived from fishing on all such portions of the Settlements as may be situated on the sea coasts, as well as from their tributary Rivers, because the * Peat Fiic-i improves l>y kecpiiio;, if M’l'iiml finm wel. 34 positive locality of the Settlements cannot be yet decided on; I am nevertheless persuaded that, ‘where Settlements may he thus situated, the riches of the deep may be, to a certain extent secured, under this system, -without incurring any extra charge. Bees, also, tho’ not set down as an item of income, are capable of being successfully cultivated, and will bring in a profit without involving any extra expense. I have long revolved the principle of the forego¬ ing Plan in my mind, and have recently -with much labor arranged the details, and con'viuced myself that it is capable of being advantageously carried into execution. I have honestly arrived at that conclusion ; and therefore I feel that I owe it as an imperative duty to the British Empire, in the present impoverished and difficult position of Ireland, to conquer the diffidence so humble an Individual must naturally feel in putting himself prominently forward as the Projector of so extensive an undertaking, and res¬ pectfully to place my views and calculations before the governing Powers of the country, whose •wisdom, enlightenment, and experience, are compe¬ tent to test their merits, and who, if they find them of a character to warrant their support, will, no doubt, submit them to the judgment of the Nation, which is finally to decide their rejection or their adoption. The verdict of the British People will always be honestly given, and I shall receive it, whether favour¬ able or otherwise, ‘with deference and respect. D.iNIEL DESMOND. Ballinasloe, September \Stli. 1847.