Disturbed Ireland : $b being the letters written during the winter of 1880-81Becker, Bernard H. (Bernard Henry)
History
Disturbed Ireland : $b being the letters written during the winter of 1880-81
Becker, Bernard H. (Bernard Henry)
Ireland -- Social conditions; Working class -- Ireland
The general aspect of everybody and everything in Ballinrobe this
morning expressed fatigue. The Ulster contingent, who call themselves
"workmen," were terribly knocked up by their walk of about thirteen
miles from Claremorris, a fact which hardly speaks well for their
thews and sinews, but in fairness it must be admitted that they were
obliged to undertake their march after a long and fatiguing railway
journey, at sundown, on a muddy road, and in alternate light and heavy
rain. They were also poorly fed, for their carts and implements
generally only came in here this afternoon, escorted by the Royal
Dragoons, under Captain Tomkinson, during part of the distance, and
for the remainder by a troop of the 19th Hussars; wherefore the Ulster
"workmen" hardly appeared to advantage this morning until breakfast
had been supplied them in the infantry barracks. Then they
straightened their backs and stood squarely enough to make a very old
soldier exclaim with delight, "Foine men, sorr, they'd be with me to
dhrill 'um for a couple o' weeks."
Poorly fed as the Orangemen were, their case was not nearly so hard as
that of the military. It is all very well to send "the fut and the
dhragoons in squadhrons and plathoons" to the fore, but it is not
clever to send them to Ballinrobe or elsewhere without tents, baggage,
or food. That furious Ulster Tories, "spoiling for a fight," should
leave everything but repeating rifles and revolving pistols behind
when rushing to possible fray is quite conceivable; but that the
Control Department should always blunder when troops are moved rapidly
is not quite so easy to understand.
By what appears almost persistent clumsiness the troops sent hither
were allowed to arrive many hours before their tents, baggage, and
provisions. Suddenly ordered to leave Dublin, two squadrons of the
19th Hussars, a not very huge or unmanageable army of a hundred and
twenty men, came away without being allowed to bring rations with
them. The effect of this blundering is that the Hussars have been
pursued by their food and tents, and on the night of their arrival
were utterly without any accommodation whatever. The cooking pots have
only just arrived here. Why it should take three days to convey a
cooking pot over the distance a man travels in less than ten hours it
is difficult to imagine; but the fact is absolutely true,
nevertheless. The officer commanding the unlucky Hussars has more
cause to complain than any of his men, for, owing to an accident to
his own charger on the railway platform, he was obliged to ride a
fresh horse, which, startled by the crowd, yesterday reared suddenly,
and fell backwards upon Major Coghill, who is now confined to his
room. It is hoped that no bones are broken, but this is not yet
accurately ascertained, so great is the swelling and inflammation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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