more to the purpose. I allude to an attempt to ameliorate the condition of his tenantry. I find this vast estate, consisting of over 200,000 acres, is now advertised for sale. We are naturally averse to change; it is painful therefore to hear of estates being sold which have been in the possession of a family for centuries but this feeling is soon dissipated on visiting this vast estate, on which Nature has lavished so profusely her gifts, and which have been so grossly neglected by man. Mr. Drummond truly remarked that property has its duties as well as its rights;-how sadly have the former been neglected here. I feel convinced that many estates must change hands in Ireland before much good can be effected. There appears to be a great want of either energy or capital, or possibly both, with many of the existing landlords.

It was boasted by one of the members of this family, commonly known as 'Dick Mar

debt. The man who is unable to meet his own difficulties is represented as encountering those of the nation.

tin,' speaking of his own possessions, that "Here, thank God, the king's writ is not worth a halfpenny." It would not be difficult to enumerate instances of the anomalous condition of this country fifty years ago, and which has given rise to so many almost incredible stories; but I leave that for abler heads to do.

I should have liked to have stopped at the village of Ballynahinch, but the farm-houses, where anglers usually stay, not presenting a very inviting appearance, I proceeded on to Clifden. The scenery between Ballynahinch and this place is quite in keeping with what has already been described. I was not sorry to find myself housed at a tolerably comfortable inn, considering the remoteness of the district. As I had been travelling two days and nights without intermission previously to my arrival at Clifden, I need not say I possessed all the requisites, as far as inclination was concerned, to enjoy a good night's rest, and felt inclined to exclaim with Sancho Panza, "Blessings on the man who invented sleep!"

16

CHAPTER II.

"Nothing, indeed, can be prettier than the situation of Clifden, at the head of the deep narrow inlet of the sea, above which it stands, and with a splendid amphitheatre of mountains surrounding it."-INGLIS.

"It is a singular fact, that the further you travel westward in Ireland, the more bountiful does Nature appear to have been in heaping upon the country natural resources, and the less has been done by the hand of man to use and improve them."-FOSTER.

CLIFDEN Owes its existence to the formation of the mail-coach road which was projected by the late Alexander Nimmo about thirty years ago; it may therefore be in some measure compared to Egypt, which, it is said, was the gift of the Nile. I ought to have said a word en passant respecting this road, which has been most judiciously laid out, and I am happy to be able to add that picturesque effect appears to have formed an element in its selection. It is, like most of the roads in this country, in admirable condition, which

is in a great measure attributable to the abundance of granite and calcareous sand in the neighbourhood, the uses of which in repairing roads appear to be thoroughly understood: when fresh metalling is put on, it is usual to throw over it some of the calcareous sand which abounds in nearly all the bays on this coast; it has the effect of making the mass bind quickly. It is not necessary to comment on the moral effect produced by making roads through this district, and thus letting in civilization. Sir Robert Kane*

mentions a fact, which shows that, in a commercial point of view, it was also beneficial: he says, "The town of Clifden, in Connamara, and the surrounding country, were, in 1815, in such a state of seclusion, that it contributed no revenue whatever to the State, and, up to 1822, its agriculture was so imperfect that scarcely a stone of oats could be got; in 1836, Clifden had become an export town, having sent out 800 tons of oats, and it produced to the revenue annually £7000.

*Industrial Resources of Ireland.'

B

From the expenditure in Connaught in seven years of £160,000 in public works, the increase of annual revenue derivable from the province has become equal to the entire amount. This should not be called a grant of money, but the investment of capital with the realization of enormous profits: an individual would most happily advance the money if he were allowed to appropriate a fourth of the returns; such sums, therefore, should not be looked upon as boons or favours, as they too frequently are, but as a part of the ordinary duties of a Government. When Mr. Nimmo was engaged in the construction of the Connamara roads, his workmen were actually inconvenienced by the country cars conveying produce and objects of traffic even up to the spot which the engineers were at the moment commencing to render passable;❞— a proof, if proofs were wanting, how much roads were required through the district.

The site of the town of Clifden has been happily chosen, which is in some measure proved by the fact of its having increased so much in size in a comparatively short period.