BlairAndCernyFamilie..

lreIand, so that most of the people !'Iere dependent
on farmine for a living. Yet a large part of the
land came into the hands of absentee landlords who
lived in England. They rarely set foot in the
eountry and took no interest in thejr tenants
beyond the money their agents could extort from
them.
If the tenant could not payr he was promptly
evicted. However, even a tenant who paid 'pas not
seeure. He m.isht be put cut of his home so that
the landlord eould qet a higher rent frorn the next
oecunant. If an evieted tenant had made any
improvements he eould not clairn payrnent for them.
The peasants were often on the verge of being
starved. Tn 18h7, the t'Black Year of Fortlr Sevenrrt
the potato crop failed almost entirely. Thousands
died of starvation in spite of the relief eiven by
the governnent. ft was in the nidst of this
terrible famine that Irish enigrants began to come
to America; Withln half a eentury four millicn
Irish left the shores of their native land. Iviany
carne to New York and to Boston. They carried with
them a bitter hatred of England.
The seraration of ehurch and state occurred
in 1859. Althoueh the Enslish hdd succeeded in
making Illster Protestant, nearly all the lrish
renained Catholic. ltrevertheless the .Anelican
Church had been established as the official church.
The people had to oay for its uokeep out of their
seanty ineornes even though they did not attend.
At the same time, they tried to sunoort their own
Catholic priests as best they could.
The frish parliament consisted only of ioncatholics,
so that four-fifths of the people were
excluded frorn the sovernnent. At this tine harsh
laws diseriminated asainst the Catholics. Their
ehildren had to go to Protestant sehools or else
remai-n at home. Catholies were not nernitted to
attend the university, nor could they hold public
offiee.
ft was not until 1869 ttrat Catholies were able
to break the hold of the established church in
Ireland. With strong support from Gladstone, the