neighbouring parishes and swear the inhabitants of those parishes in
like manner. Proceeding in this manner, they very soon went through
the province of Munster. The first object was the REFORMATION OF
TITHES. They swore not to give more than a certain price per acre,
not to assist or allow them to be assisted in drawing the tithe, and
to permit NO PROCTOR. They next took upon them to prevent the
collection of parish cesses, next to nominate parish clerks, and in
some cases curates, to say what church should or should not be
repaired, and in one case to threaten that they would burn a NEW
church if the OLD one were not given for a mass-house. At last they
proceeded to regulate the price of lands, to raise the price of
labour, and to oppose the collection of the hearth-money and other
taxes. Bodies of 5,000 of them have been seen to march through the
country unarmed, and, if met by any magistrate, THEY NEVER OFFERED
THE SMALLEST RUDENESS OR OFFENCE; on the contrary, they had allowed
persons charged with crimes to be taken from amongst them by the
magistrate ALONE, unaided by any force.

"The Attorney-General said he was well acquainted with the province
of Munster, and that it was impossible for human wretchedness to
EXCEED THAT OF THE PEASANTRY OF THAT PROVINCE. The unhappy tenantry
were GROUND TO POWDER by relentless landlords; that, far from being
able to give the clergy their just dues, they had not food or
raiment for themselves--the landlord grasped the whole; and sorry
was he to add that, not satisfied with the present extortion, some
landlords had been so base as to instigate the insurgents to rob the
clergy of their tithes, not in order to alleviate the distresses of
the tenantry, but that they might add the clergy's share to the
cruel rack-rents they already paid. The poor people of Munster
lived in a MORE ABJECT STATE OF POVERTY THAN HUMAN NATURE COULD BE