To you is due the final accomplishment of one of the noblest acts of England--the abolition of West Indian slavery. The battle was commenced by man, and fought manfully; but without your aid he could not have conquered as he did. Your generous voices cheered him on, and he became invincible. And so will it ever be in Great Britain. O! give but the same aid now, and you will accomplish at least an equal good.
If of the aristocracy, tell to those whose halls you adorn, that the peasant _woman_ of Ireland can only obtain warmth enough to save her from perishing, and give her sleep, by herding with her pig! Say, _Woman sleeps thus!_ and ask, _should it be?_ Mayhap when Woman in her loveliness and power thus pleads for Woman in her misery and poverty, the chord may be struck which will proclaim the _sin_, and produce its abolishment.
If the mansion of the wealthy be guided or blessed by thy residence, proclaim the fearful fact, and whispering ask, "For what does God give wealth?" The answer may not come at first, or for a time; but whisper again--and 'tis said that angels' whispers fill the air with charity and love. So, perhaps, will thine--and wealth may at thy bidding aid to rescue Woman from such degradation.
If the middle class (from which England's greatness springs), claims thee as its own, tell to all around the truth which tells of Britain's shame--_that the Irishwoman is forced to herd with cattle_! Plead, and say--Am I not a woman, and is she not my sister? And by degrees thy pleadings will strike man's heart, for the thought will come upon him--"Oh! that one I love should fall to such a lot," and his voice will join thine in truthfulness and charity, to win others to the task of rooting out the evil.
If thou art poor, I need not plead. The poor feel for the poor, and spare even somewhat from their poverty. Their hearts can tell the pangs of poverty, and pity fills them with love and charity and regret that poverty makes them powerless. But still thou hast a _voice_. Raise it, and cry shame on those who may, yet will not save the nation from the stain of this deep indignity to _woman_!
And how, you may ask, is this to be done? Most simply. Ireland possesses wealth in soil--in fuel--in minerals--in fisheries--in water-power--in short, in all things fitted to be developed by the great and wonderful business capability, knowledge, and capital of England; but the latter has feared without just reason--has been acted upon by groundless prejudices and dreads, so as to prevent that business intercourse and mercantile enterprise, for which Ireland offers such beneficial opening; and she has been left to herself, to anarchy, misrule, and neglect, until she has sunk into pauperism. In a word, let England but embark a just portion of her enterprise and capital, and talent in Ireland, in place of _seeking_ for opportunity to do so abroad. In doing this, she will employ the people in useful occupations highly profitable, and in proportion as such be done will Ireland's poverty vanish, and Great Britain's wealth increase. _Ask for this;--and that the peasant labourer shall be paid in money, not potatoes. And if you ask from your heart, you will succeed._