D. Polin, Pittsburg, to Wm. Bennet, Mercer, Pa., 6-2-1818 (cont'nd) 2 the prospect of establishing ourselves as Teachers of the languages - Our Brother Arthur, who is older than James, is also along & hopes to get forward in the farming line - We can as yet form no idea of our success from the short time we have been in this country, but every account we have received is pretty flattering - We had letters of recomnendation to some Gentlemen in Baltimore, where we landed, & they W have encouraged us to stop there, only that I did not wish to take upon me a very weighty rent, besides I preferred the Western country, that my eldest brother might the more readily get some land into his possession - I taught the Academy in Newtownards for upwards of six years & could have lived happy & well there, had the times not got so bad - I was enabled however to make some money there, & come out in pretty easy circumstances - I intend to go straight from this to Kentucky & will rest for a week or two with John Kelly or John McCallister till something turns up to our advantage - We had some thoughts of commencing in this city, but every thing is quite flat & discouraging here, As to Ireland it is in a most wretched state - The resources the people had for r making money are completely extinct - The farming interest has under- gone a great change for the worse & there is no hope of any altera- tion or relief except in case of Revolution - The country is groan- I.C. ing under a most exorbitant taxation & there can be no relief for this independent of a Revolution, because it takes the most of the Revenues of the Empire to pay the interest of the National debt - England & Scotland are both nearly as ill off, & at the present time taxes I firmly believe, there is a stronger revolutionary spirit there, than was in Ireland the time you turned out, & if they were not deterred by the points of the bayonets, it would very soon break out - The people may be kept back awhile, but I ain convinced, they will in the end be enabled to assert their independence - It will however take a long time to unite Ireland or to make them behold their grievances thro' one focus, in consequence of the narrow sys- tem of party which prevails there - The Government have connived at a disunion of the people & they have succeeded to the full extent of their wishes - The Orange system prevails among the prodestants & even some of the Presbyterians - There is a Catholick party called Thrashers which is opposed to the Orangemen & these two factions are continually fighting & often murdering each other - Saintfield is just as bad a place as I know in this line, & the con- sequences of their quarrels is often very disagreeable - The Church is buckled to the State which is a grievance & abuse, & the exor- bitance of the tythes is the cause of disturbance in many parts of Ireland - Such is a brief sketch of the state of your old country & taking all & all, I think we may thank God that we are got out of it, & in a country where the natural rights of man are cherished, & where enabled to appear in his true & real shape - Long may the Republic of the United States flourish free from the en- croach of corruption, & be an assylum to the unfortunate & oppressed subjects of every other country - I be very much obliged to you, if you write me a long letter after you receive this & direct it to the care of John Kelly near Springfield, Washington County, State of Kentucky & let me be where I may, he will send it to me * Let me know how you come on & how all the family are & if you wish to ask any more questions about the old country & your friends & neighbours I will be happy /in? giving you all the