Ireland Under Coercion: The Diary of an American (2 of 2): (2nd ed.) (1888)Hurlbert, William Henry
History
Ireland Under Coercion: The Diary of an American (2 of 2): (2nd ed.) (1888)
Hurlbert, William Henry
Ireland -- Description and travel; Ireland -- Politics and government -- 1837-1901
"The quarrymen get six shillings a week," he said, "with bread and tea
and butter and meat three times a week. With nine shillings a week and
board, a man'll make himself bigger than * * *!"
"Was the country quiet now?"
"This country here? Oh! it's very quiet; with potatoes at 3s. 6d. a
barrel, it's a good year for the people. They're a very quiet
people,"--in corroboration apparently of which statement he told me a
story of a coroner's jury called to sit on the body of a man found on
the highway shot through the head, which returned an unanimous verdict
of "Died by the visitation of God."
This country is dominated by the Rocky Hills climbing up to Cullenagh,
which divides the Barrow valley from the Nore. We drove this afternoon
to * a most lovely place. The mansion there is now shut up and
dismantled, but the park and the grounds are very beautiful, with a
beauty rather enhanced than diminished by the somewhat unkempt
luxuriance of the vegetation. We passed a now well-grown tree planted by
the Prince of Wales * * * * * * and drove over many miles of excellent
road made by * * * * * * * * employs * * * * * * * * regularly, * * *
men as labourers, cartmen and masons, to whom he pays out annually the
sum of * * Mr. * * who, by the way, rather resented my asking him if he
came of one of the Cromwellian English families so numerous here, and
informed me that his people came over with Strongbow--assures me that
but for these works of * * * * these men under him would be literally
without occupation. In addition to these there are about a dozen more
men employed * * as gamekeepers and plantation-men. At the * * places
belonging to * * * * * * * * * * above eighty men find constant
employment, and receive regular wages amounting to over £4000. Were * *
* * dispossessed or driven out of Ireland, all this outlay would come to
an end, and with what result to these working-men? As things now are,
while * * * working-men receive a regular wage of five shillings, the
same men, as farmers' labourers, would receive, now and then, five
shillings a week, and that without food! I saw enough in the course of
our afternoon's drive to satisfy me that my informant of the morning had
probably not overstated matters when he told me that for at least
seventy per cent. of the work done by the labourers here, from November
to May, they have to look to the landlords. On the property of * * as
well as on the neighbouring properties * * * * * * * the houses have
been generally put up by the landlords. We called in the course of the
afternoon upon a labouring man who lives with his wife in a very neat,
cozy, and quite new house, built recently for him by * *. These good
people have been living on this property for now nearly half a century.
Their new house having been built for them, * * has had an agreement
prepared, under which it may be secured to them. The terms have all been
discussed and found satisfactory, but the old labourer now hesitates
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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