A Hundred Years Ago
TILE " SPECTATOR," MARCH 14TH, 1829.
NEWS OF THE WEEK.
Vox POPIILL THE witty author of the Presbyterian Eloquence mentions, ,that at an early period of the " Kirk of Scotland," the usual way in which the congregation expressed their approbation of the minister was to cry aloud at the affecting passages of the sermon. An honest clergyman of those times, who had somewhat more gumption thin the rest, happening to preach a sermon to the Presbytery—of Selkirk; we believe—was very much annoyed by an old crone who cried and sobbed accordance to every sentence. At length-, wearied withthe interruption, he stopped his harangue, and exclaimed- " Auld fule bodie ! what stand ye greeting there about ? I'm sure ye cilium understand ae word I say : I question if my "brethren understand .me." Ma. WasoN, who formerly amused the House of CoMmons so Much by his general speech on the Catholic Question, has been almost
equally successful this week, in a speech on Ireland. -
" Sir, if I were asked to find a remedy for the evils of Ireland, the advice that I would give to Ministers would be to give up Sierra Leone to the Pope, and then to rid the island of Ireland 'of all the mischievous priests, and all the officials of Papistry-, and let them go to Sierra Leone, and send all the discontented spirits of Ireland after them. (Laughter.) Now, Sir, that I take to be the wisest plan the Ministry could adopt for remedying the evils of Ireland. Another advice I would give them would be, to pass an act to compel the landholders of Ireland to stay six months at home—to live half a year in their own country ; also that every well-disposed family of the peasantry should get a half acre of ground for a potato-garden. Sir, there is much barren land in that fine country. Now, all the evils of Ireland, I say, arise from the want of potato-gardens among the poor people. (Laughter.) Sir, this Ian plan' would do a vast deal of good ; it would tend to the cultivation of the land ; it would introduce habits of industry among the people ; and in the course of a few years it would make Ireland as still and quiet as a mill-pond.!'
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