uld not help it; but as he turned away from the sight
which was yielding him harmless enjoyment, to the forgetfulness of
misery for the moment, and perhaps to create in him desires for better
things, and give him greater energy to work and labour for them; he was
rudely branded, with a mark of debasement, and I could see in the poor
fellow's eye and gait, though _labourer_ he was, pride and degradation
contending for the mastery; but the latter conquered, and he did "move
on," almost admitting by the act that he _was_ "AN IRISH VAGABOND."

* * * * *

The position of the lower class of Irish in England is evidently not to
be envied, but what is it in Ireland?

In the paper annexed, on "_The Potato Truck System of Ireland_," will be
found the ground-work of the misery of the peasantry. The whole
recompense for their labour is the potato. If it fail, they starve. In
summer's heat and winter's cold the potato is their only food; water
their only drink. They hunger from labour and exertion--the potato
satisfies their craving appetite. Sickness comes, and they thirst from
fever--water quenches their burning desire. Nature overcomes disease,
and they long for food to re-invigorate their frame. What get they?--the
potato! The child sinks in weakness towards its grave. What holds it
betwixt life and death?--the potato. It is the Alpha and Omega of their
existence. A blessing granted by Providence to man, but made by man a
curse to his fellow-beings. From what causes come the charges made, and
made with truth, against the Irish peasant, of "_indolence_" and "_filth
in and about their habitations_?"--One and all from that dreadful
system, the "_potato truck_!"

Tourists tell that "_the cabin of the Irish peasant must be approached
through heaps of manure at either side, making it necessary to step over
pool after pool, to reach the entrance_." This is no more than fact, but
the cause should be told too.

From the detail of the truck-system, it will be seen that the
unfortunate peasant is paid for his labour by land to cultivate the
potatoes which sustain his existence, and these potatoes cannot be
effectively grown without manure. His cabin is usually situate on some
road-side, his potato-garden rarely with it, and the only spot he
possesses, upon which he can collect manure to obtain food for himself
and family throughout the year, is the little space reserved before his
door. He has nothing el