The Social Condition Of Ireland

A special correspondent of Saunaert NewsJetler givcs tl. e followiug icoount of the present " Social aspect of the South ol Ireland :" '■ Uiileö the peasant mistakes you for a ppy, a gauger, or a valuator going to raiso the rent on him, hla intelligenco and practical knovvlcdge are very valuable in enabling you to go below the suiface, and learn the true condition oí the country. The first greai npparent change is ín the iuiproved condition of tho dwellings and dresa of the people. In Wexford, Kilkeiiny, Tipperary and Wiiteit'ord, one no longcr see.s tho normal diiDg pit and pool of fetid water in close proxiuiity to the houtse, the uiifaji ing friend to typhus fever and dysóútcry ; the roofs are now fairly thatched, and tho walls whitewaahed, and uot rarely my bo observed some littfe atteiupt at ornament in the way of a hedgorovv, or flowera in the potato garden. But it is in tho dross, ospoci.iüy of the women, that tho ihofet niarked progresa has been mude. 'Tweuty yeurs ago the weariug of sboes aud stockings wüs tho eseeption, and not the rule, and on a fair or rnarkot day, the little proprietiea of lifo were to be observad, these artides were oarried until tho ownern reached the environs of thu town, and wero then put on, more for ornament ihíin use; but at present the neiuly shaped bout 8 to bo louiid inside the hou$e, v, hilo a moro cluuisy slioe is availablo for .ttie rqugh wcirk of the fields ; and on Sundays the road glitters vvith thu variety of brig'it coh)r.s su.spended on the crinoline, which fashion hat impoi ted into the most primitivo districts. It may, howevor, be askt'd, has this external improvement bfen gained by running into debt, or, f not, from wlience oan the money be obtained ? Tho solution is an easy ono ; the priee of butter, of poultry, oí eggs, etc., has increased enormously, and the demaud is still more than the supply, and ship pers who send to Euland have their varioua agents going about and opening depots where purehases are proinptly made ; so that egs, which usod to be sold tliree for a penny in iiny villa ge, will realize in slimmer from 7d to lÜd a dozen, and in winter go up as high as even Is ; and chickens that were a drug at 6d, are readily tnken at Is and more. The daughters of the small farmers are alicwed to rear fowls for themselves, and one woman, whose üockB of turkeys in a wild part oí the county oí Waterford cnDstituted quite a picture, stated that she paid the rent of the ground she held, namely, L33 a year, by tnia one source of rovenue. It is in the ïsi titer of food and oreature comforts that no equal progrss has been made ; and, 'rom my observation, I should be led to ie conclusión that those of the Irish wbo are a Hule elevuled over the haad,o moutli condition ol the mere laborur isplay a wonderful amount of pradeños, 'orbe.irance, and cheerfulncss of miüd, ndor what would try the temper and neite tbu impruvidence of tbe same lass oí peoplo at the other side of he channel. They are grateful i'or tbo eturning supplv of whoksome and cheap ioud, giveu through lbo agency of he potato, and but'ermilk is an ind'üence, wpile tbe use of fresh inilk would )e a hn'uiy only to bu occ-.sior.ally grat-' fied. Karely, even on a y, iloes )aecn acjompany the pot uf cabbagu ; and baeon, butter, íowl, aud egn;s, are 'eserved íor sale, not ior persoual enoyinenl. No doubt " starvatiou" will and must dotnoralizo. But the poasantry here, who curtainly enjoy but a re strioted and littla-varying díe ary, are not debilitated, and even the most prejudced must admit that the virtue ei the wouaen is a line feature in thcir character. With respect to the diminished ntimber oí the people, from the eÖect of the famine years, and subsequent eraigration, the result of inquiry from varioua quarters leads to the couelusion that whilu the soil, if worked adequately, wou'nl sustaiu more than were ever on its surfaee, yet, that in the present atate of agrietilture, there are hands enough to do the required work, and that without the employer being obliged to pay more than a decent rale of wages. Thure were periods when a man willing to work for 3d a day and bis diet could not even be secure of that; and surely the avernge of 6s or 7s a week for one who, most likely, has others dependoot on hitu, is not íq excess of what the most cold-blodi'd of política] economista would sanction, when balaucing bis Favorita rows of figures agaiimt tho shrinking and sensitivo übjcots of hurnanily placed in the opposite scale. Many of the farmers are now beginning to buy or hiro reaping machines, and in the very busiest period of thij harvust, 2s or 2s Cd íor men, with their (liet, and Ís 4d to Ís 8d í'or binders, constitute no very excessivo Uriff." A Paris correspoudont tells the following stoiy : A newly mado doctor, practisius; in tho euvirons of Paris, was callod in by a small shopkeeper to see her child, suffermg frota] a sudden íll ness. líe gave a preseription, went away, and callüd two clava after. The woman met hiiii on tlie threihold, ivripging her hands, "with her fac batlied in tears. " How is the child ?" " Dead," was the agonized answer. ''Dead! what with ?'' " The moasels," gasped the weeping mother. " Measals !" thundered tlie doctor; " wretched wom m, you llave killed yonr child. If you liad only told me that it was tbc measeis, I should have presciibed fot' it diroctly." A lady of a certain age says tbe reason ao oíd maid is gencrally so devoted to her cat i, that not having a husbantl, Hhe naturally tuke.s to tho next most treacbcrouH animal,