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¦ * * Vtt-e? i-f/i-' , *r<-niwr-tat-i* a...
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... V -DunTHP 1"" i *' -' isr.8. _Qb...uaiA- x-x» BR° l^{toESI^jraiTT). ~~ r
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IMPORTANT TO HEALTHY MEN* FROM FORTY TO ...
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REVISING BARRISTERS. A MANUAL of the LAW...
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THE NORTHERN STAR. SATURDAY , SEPTEMBER 13. 1815.
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MR. O'CONNOR AND HIS BELGIAN TOUR. Mb. O...
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MORE OF "IRELAND'S RUIN:" or ins BLESSED...
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iiVuch moun tain grazing land as will ke...
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" At first they came by twos and threes ...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
¦ * * Vtt-E? I-F/I-' , *R<-Niwr-Tat-I* A...
¦ _* * _Vtt-e ? _i-f / _i- ' , * r < -niwr-tat-i * a n September 13 , _184- _* . 9 _^~ = _^ ' '¦ ; i- - - ¦ "; ' —_ - .. . ; r - _.- _ " _» .: ' _£ _& . & - _^ fiBT HER _. N STAR . Vnnnr _,--- _,,
... V -Dunthp 1"" I *' -' Isr.8. _Qb...Uaia- X-X» Br° L^{Toesi^Jraitt). ~~ R
. . . V _-DunTHP "" i _* ' - _' isr . _8 . _ Qb ... uaiA- _x-x _» BR ° _l _^{ toESI _^ _jraiTT ) . ~~ r
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Ad00410
IMPOBTAXT TO WOBKING MES . _g-ELF-ISTEREST being too firstlaw of nature ( and tlirou gh life we find this the one grand ruling prm . dole— either is it wrong , if not carried ont to an _imnronV _e-rtentJ _, in these days of ineertitade it hdioves S man to have a thought lor the futurc-to make some provision for the time of sickness , want of employment , and such like contingencies to which man is liable . _^ _The various sodeli .-s formedfor this purpose are amongst the foremost , established by the philanthropist of our day ; the greatest good has accrued from them ; hut the most prominent stands the various Secret Orders ; the prinives them
Ad00411
IMPORTANT TO WORKING MEN TINDER FORTY TEARS OF AGE . _Jpetrfo the interests of yourselves and families ; hasten and join ihat flourishing institution , the " United _Patriots' Benefit Sode ig , '" _enrolled and empowered by jtctof Parliament to extend over pie United King 4 om . TIE Society is on a new , yet correct principle , and is the only Benefit Society legalised with the privilege of establishing branches , appointing sub-secretaries , having Eub-committees , < i c . Loot around at the numerous unenrolled societies in particular , ever breaking np , and men , after being members from , twenty to forty years , who
Ad00412
Contributions per calendar l month for Sickness and > 0 1 4 to 0 2 7 Management . J , Levies according to the demands on each division per _jnarter . Entrance according to age , ftom two shillings and _tfgh tpence to nine shillings and twopence . . Weekly Meetings at the London Society House , Brown * Bear Tavern , Broad-street , Bloomsbury , every Tuesday ereniu -r , at ciglit o ' clock . P _« irS 0 DS can enroll at the Society Hous * any day by paying the entrance _monty . The following is a list ofthe Branches , Samesof the Sub-Secretaries , Places of Meeting , and Counties situated In at present , forming limbs of this growing and gigantic Society , where persons can be entered any time hy the Sub-Secretaries at their residence , or at the Branch Houses : —
Important To Healthy Men* From Forty To ...
_IMPORTANT TO HEALTHY MEN * FROM FORTY TO FIFTY-FIVE TEAKS OF AGE . Tie United Patriarchs ' Benefit Society , including Medical Attendance and Medicine . Enrolled and Empowered by Act of Parliament to extend over the United- Eingdom . THE want ofa Society of this nature must be evident * " to eveiy -person _vrlioiiray liave neglected _providing against the calamities of life in their youth . It is in _Four Divisions , after the manner of the United Patriots ' , having the same Benefits , except that of lyings-in . This
Society is Established at the same London Oiiice , and at the same Country Houses in the same towns . It also has the same _Odicers for its Agents , & c . Thc Contributions are on thesanie scale per lunarmonth , _BlankfonilS and information for the admission of country members can "be obtained at any time by applying to the Agents , ic , al their residences , or atthe meetinghouses . Also information for forniio . _s Localities , appointing Agents , Medical Attendants , he ., can be obtained by letter , pre-paid , endosing postage stamps for return letter , or three postage stamps for form , & c . Direct , sir . D . W . Huffy , London Office , No . 13 , Tottenham-court , New-road , St . Pancras .
Revising Barristers. A Manual Of The Law...
REVISING BARRISTERS . A MANUAL of the LAW and PRACTICE of REGISTKAT 10 X cf _VOTEUS in England and Wales , imfer 4 he Slid tf Wiffiam IV , cap . 45 and C ; Tictoria , £ 1 ™ indnd , 1 , _3 a 11 « 'e recent A ppeal Cases . Bv _S _*? fi f _^ -, terSU ' & * _*** _" _« TcmPlc > _*™ _. nsto-ut-la * . v , 3 ) C . L . second edition , price Ms . Owen _Bicharas , Law _Uociiscller , he , 194 . Fleet-street ,- -
Ad00413
lisSONS IN _MILIARY AND _^ _gs . 7 _MAliLM * , MADAME GALLIOS , U , Ken * Bond-street , continues her superior method Of teaching the art of Dress-Making . She undertakes to make persons of the smallest capacity proficient in Cutting , Fitting , and Executing , in the most finished style , in Six Lessons , for One Pound . Her superior method can be fuUy substantiated by references to pupils , and has never been equalled b y - an e _» mpetitor . US' Practice hours from eleven till fou _** .
Ad00414
TO T - SHAREHOLDERS OP THE WESTEND CHARTIST - flAXL . AT A PUBLIC MEETING of Shareholders , held Sept . _Jth , 1845 , it was agreed : —* "Thatpersons applying to Mj . Shackleton , at No , 1 , Turnagain-lane , Skinner-strcp ' t , Snow-hill , should have the money returned that is due to each . All claims must be made as soon as _convenient , for none will be attended to after three monthB from this date ; after which all money remaining in band will be given to the Veteran Patriots * Fund . "
Ad00415
EMIGRATION TO THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE . Ij VftEE PASSAGE ; under the sanction of Government The undersigned are authorised by her Majesty ' s Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners to grant a free passage to the _tfeove eminently healthy and prosperous Colony to married Agricultural Labourers , Shepherds , Male and Female Domestic and Farm Servants , Bricklayers , Carpenters , Masons , and Smiths , of sober and industrious -character . The demand for labour at the Cape is urgent , and is well remunerated in wages , provisions , clothing , and lodging . AU particulars will be furnished on application , personally , or by letter , to John Marshall and Co ., 26 , Birchin-lane , Cornhill , London ; or 79 , High-street , Southampton .
Ad00416
TIIE Q UEEN ! TBIUMPH FOB THE PICTORIAL TIMES ! _ fTlHE FULL LENGTH " _-1 4 _>_ JL PORTRAIT of Her Ma-4 t _* mmmb jesty queen tictobia m _^ _SBSHfc _^ . her Robes of State ( size 20 in . / J _^ bMhK _& _Sj _ky 15 ) , exquisitely engraved , _^^ jflSI _^ E _^^^ _KsaL _^ and equal to prints Sold at wH _^ _Sd _^ _hIbS _^ ° n SATUIlI > AT ' SEPT * Sotb * _yvBBHKfi | i 8 *| K The PicTOBUL TiSies of that ' _£ JHkBK 3 HKE _& day will also contain an _ori-^ _BnMgHG _^ _BBSP } ous House of Brunswick , with * _MKHHE 5 jjhI Illustrations of the principal _HQbF _' _* ' events of the present reign , * SK _» beautifully engraved .
Ad00417
AMERICAN EMIGRATION OFFICE , 9 G , Waterloo-road , _Liverpool THE Subscribers continue to despatch first-class Packets to NEW YORK , BOSTON , QUEBEC , MONTREAL , PHILADELPHIA , NEW ORLEANS , and ST . JOHN'S , N . B . They are also Agents for the New Line of New York Packets , comprising the following magnificent ships : — 2 _biw . To Sail , _Hottinodee 1150 6 th September . Liverpool 1150 Cth October .
Ad00418
COLOSSEUM . PATRONISED and visited by her Most Gracious MAJESTY and his Royal Highness Prince ALBERT . OPEN DAILY from Ten till Six . Prouonnced by the Press , and confirmed by every visitor to be the most perfect triumph of Art in its various branches , both by Day and Night , that has ever been achieved . Equal to six exhibitions . The Glyptotheca , containing works of the first artists ; Mont Blane and Mountain Torrents , Superb Conservatories , Gothic aviary , Classic Ruins and Fountains , Panorama of London , re-painted by Mr . Parris , & c . Admittance , 3 s . Children , half-price . The Stalactite Caverns , the most magnificent of all the temples which nature has built for herself in the regions of night Is . extra _.
Ad00419
TO THE WORKING CLASSES . IMPORTANT TESTIMONIAL . * We are always gratified in noticing the laudable exertions of the industrious and provident among ouv fellow-labourers in the social vineyard , to avert from themselves and families , as far as human foresight may do , the calamities attendant upon an old age of destitution , or a period of wearisome inactivity and uselessness , through sickness or accident ; and we will venture to say , that up to fhe extreme limit of what is called the middle class of society , thereis no method so likely to attain the object as the institution of securely based and judiciously regulated Benefit Societies . Our attention was some time since called to the subject by tbe proceedings of one accordant with our views , enrolled
Ad00420
EVERT MAN _UAZ _S _^ WA HOUSE OF HIS OWN Second _SUton _^ _- ( h Pr 0 Bident Investment _AsteeUCm . T ° pt _?^ _' _* _- 011 MONEY to MEMBERS to BUILD or * .. CHASE PROPERTY upon the Security of the Proper purchased , the rent of which will aid in re-paym |? the amount advanced .
Ad00421
JUST PUBLISHED , In one volume , foolscap 8 vo ., neat cloth , price 7 s . 6 d ., THE PURGATORY OP SUICIDES : A Prison Rhyme : in Ten Books : BY THOMAS COOPER THE CHARTIST . J . How , Publisher , 132 , Fleet-street . _$ * _* r Orders from the Country to be sent through the Booksellers .
The Northern Star. Saturday , September 13. 1815.
THE NORTHERN STAR . SATURDAY , SEPTEMBER 13 . 1815 .
Mr. O'Connor And His Belgian Tour. Mb. O...
MR . O'CONNOR AND HIS BELGIAN TOUR . Mb . O'Connor , in accordance with tlie announcement in last week ' s Star , started for Belgium on Saturday evening last . Ifc would bo Monday mid-day ere lie arrived at Brussels , we believe ; and the time of the Post starting after that , to reach , us on Tliursday , would ba so short ; that he would not have time to make any observations worth writing about . No doubt but next week we shall have a good budget from him .
More Of "Ireland's Ruin:" Or Ins Blessed...
MORE OF "IRELAND'S RUIN : " or ins BLESSED EFFECTS OF LANDLORDISM AND JIN . SECURITY OF TENURE . At last we are haying Ireland ' s misery laid bare . At last we are having the curtain fairly lifted up , and the terrible scenes of degradation and utter abjectness hitherto enacted behind the veil of religious and national prejudice opened out in all their _hideousness for a world te gaze at ! It is true we have had glimpses beforetime . It is true that occasional peep _shayc been afforded ; , nay , even at times some portion of the covering jpraaway , and more than a glance obtained ofthe _letfijtrffand breadth , and depth of that misery which the landlord class have so systematically striven to hide from view . Cobbett , in
his short and nasty journey through a portion of the Irish interior , did this for us . He shoved that in no country under the sun , sava g e or " civilised , " was there to be found such a state of utter destitution and debasement in condition , as existed in the " Green Isle . " The Irish Poor Law Commission of Inquiry established the same truth ; and subsequently it has been confirmed by the inquiries of the Devon Land Commission . Travellers , too , who have gone over Ireland , havo noted and promulgated the same facta . The pages of KonL and of _Ikolis te _« m with observations to this effect . But until now , we had not the detail ; until now , we had not
the entire picture ; until now , we had not the filling in of the general outline ; until now , we had not the CAUSE o ( that utter wretchedness everywhere abounding traced HOME ; until now wc had not names , an d d ates , an d facts , indelibly fixed , * until now , we were not able to deal with the facts jn connection wiih the persons who have caused them to be : but now we are en a bled to do this ; now , the information is supplied ; now , we have exposed to viow the whole question , ev e n 'in minute detail ; and now , t h erefore , we c a n deal with it , and draw correct inferences and deductions from it . For this full information we are indebted to the Times , who has , in this p articular , rendered essential service to the cause o f h u man p ro g r e ss ; a servi c e sufficient to atone for many of the enormous sins that same journal
committed against the " movement to meliorate the awful condition it now shows to exist ; sins committed in the days when that movement was not so fashionable as it is now—when it was only joined in by the workers who "felt the iron , " and before they had succeeded in impregnating the public mind with the philosophy which seeks to give the producer a greater " SHARE" than " _Lindlobdism" and " Masterdom" can afford ; sins committed in the days when rampant authority put down complaint with tho hi gh-hand of power , and when the drunken bullfrogs of the middle classes mounted their cavalry horses , and stifled the murmurs pf discontent in the groans of tho wounded and the dying ; sins committed in tjic days when the Times was emphatically the " Bloody old Times "
. So long ago as April , 1833 , William Cobmtt prop o s ed the establishment , by thepeople themselves , ofa _"RECKONING COMMISSION ;' which should furnish itself with facts in relation to thc " OWNERS" of property , to enable the p eo pl e to settle with them wh e n the " day of reckoning " came . H e mo o ted this p oint at a tim e w h e n " Commissions" against the people were beginning their unholy efforts ; when the Poor Law Commission of Inquiry was " making out a case" for the abolition of all Poor Laws , and d evisin g measures to reduce the
working people of England to " live on a coarser sort of food ; " when they were " reporting" in favour ofthe establishment of a "Rural Police , " armed with daggers and pistols , to "keepdown" the working people , who " embodied the spirit of discontent '* in the shape of SWING-FIRES and thus made their " grumblings FELT ; " it was at this time , and under such circumstances that the far-seeing politician of tho age proposed his "Reckoning Commission" in manner following : —
DEFENCE ASSOCIATION , Seeing the oppressions which we endure ; seeing how small a share of the taxe » is paid by the aristocracy , and how large a portion of them they receive , it appears to me , that this is the great evil of the country . Wo have seen the game laws hardened to a degree that our fathers never could hare dreamed of ; wo have seen the new trespass law , and the new Highway Acts , almost deprive us of the right of _setting our feet upon any part of our country ; we have seen the trial by jury in great part laid aside , as far as related to the offences of tho common people ; we have Been our properly seized by tho taxgatherers Of various descriptions , and by tithe-gatherers _.
and taken from us without any trial hy jury ; we have seen our property taxed most enormously hy stamp and auction duties , while the landowners have oscaped those taxes , and while we hav _« been compelled to pay pensions and sinecures to support the families of this aristocracy , In short , we have seen _ourselves ruined , pressed down , one after another , into a state of pauperism ; and now we behold scheme * for establishing a gendarmerie to compel us to submit in 6 ilence to all these wrongs . "What , then , are we to do in such a caso as this ! What aTe we to do in our own defence . It appears to me , that there ought to be established an association under the following title , and for the following objects : —
DEFENCE ASSOCIATION ; Or , an association for protecting tradesmen , and oth % r tho industrious classes , against all _unconstitutional encroochnients of the aristocracy . To be established in London , with a chairman , deputy chairman , and secretary . To correspond with all parts of thc kingdom ; and to receive statements of acts done towards the industrious classes , which would bo proper subjects of representa-- tion to the Parliament .
To give advice upon the subject , and oxtain redress where that is possible . To receive statements relative to all acts of oppression ; and in aii cases to be very particular in giving the names of the parties and the places of their residence . To obtain , in reference to the direct taxes , an accurate list of the names and places of residence of all the great landowners in each county ; to ascertain , as nearly as possible , when each of them came to his estate , anil whether he got it by purchase , heirship , or bequest ; and also to ascertain the probable _tvorth of it . To cause to be printed , upon a small piece of paper , and at a very c ' l"" '* " t _<* . a true pedigree of every great
More Of "Ireland's Ruin:" Or Ins Blessed...
landowner , showing how much of the public , _xtvbney he or tmyof his rrfa . io . ui have received , ' . _fwto- _yltting his predecessors for three or four generation _^ . gR OU , j _^ ho _^ came by his estate , and particularly _showing what men , women , or children , appertain ' flg t 0 him , are or have ' been on . the pension or _s _' . _necure list ; and to cause a sufficient number of t ' jtege papeIB to be circulated amongst the _industr ' _^ _ci aB 8 M j n _^ immediate ne ighbourhood ; so ' cbat we may all know one another well . T _# getthe _nanr- _jg 0 f 0 u _^ e justices of the peaco in the several coo -uties , and to ascertain whether they be receivers 0 f _tj _^ , 0 f _fa _^ ana to what amount . To ascer _j n t a 8 nearly as may be , the amount of the toy -tithes , of the abbey-lands , of the college property , of tiie bishop ' s properly , and of the dean and chapter properly ,
in each , county ; and also oi the corporation and public churity property ; and to ascertain in whose hands oaeh parcel of this property is . Tha associaton might take care to furnish lists of the abbey-lands ; and the correspondents would inform them in whose hands they arc , and the worth of them . There aro divers other things to mention of a most interesting nature . I throw out this merely as a hint for others toimprore upon . This is the sort of " commissien " that is wanted ; and 1 would call it the " Reckoning Commission , " for it is absolutely necessary that we begin to make up our accounts , and t _» have them ready . It would be a sad thing for us to be taken by surprise . When we all know one another well , we shall easily arrange matters quietly , we shall easily come to an " equitable adjustment . "
In this proposal Cobbett was but before hu timethe usual fate of all popular teachers . As might be ex p ecte d , the b a re p rop o sition was enou g h to drive the " OWNERS" of property stark staring mad . The author of it was subject to the most virulent abuse . He was told that he " speculated on public confusion ; " that he sought to establish in Englaad the " reign of terror ; " to " produce confiscation ;" to " rob the owners ol property of what was their own : " tol d th i s , too , by the men who had sent out the Poor Law _Commission of Inquiry , which
reported in favour of the entire abrogation of the people ' s right to live out ofthe soil ! in favour also of schemes to re d uce them to a coarser sort of diet !! and in favour also of an ARMED POLICE throughout the kingdom , to beat out the brains of " embodied discontent" with the metal-mounted truncheon ! On one occasion , the present Premier himself mad « a ferocious onslaught on the member for Oldham , in the House of Commons , for having put forth this proposal for a " Reckoning Commission . " His words were , amid the deafening cheers and roaring shouts ofthe " noblest assembly of freemen in the world : "—
God forbid that thc hon . member ' s speculations on the prospect of " public confusion" should be realized . He laboured under no apprehension that they would .. He felt confident , whatever might be the political differences that divided public men , that all who were possessed of property would unite in its defence and put down sueh attempts . ( Great cheering . ) Not only would it be the greatest calamity , but a calamity tenfold greater than had ever happened to this country , because accompanied by the greatest disgrace , to live under the domination of
such instruments as these . ( General and long-continued cheering . ) " Come the eleventh plague , rather than this should be ; " Come sink us rather in the sea . " Come rather pestilence , and reap us down ; " Come God's sword rather than our own , " Let rather Koman come again , " Or Saxon , Norman , or the Dane . - " In all the bonds we ever bore , " We grieved , we sighed , we wept ; we never blushed before . "
It i s littl e m o re than ten years since this famous bomb a stic a l a p ostr op he a ga inst the Reckoning Commission was uttered by Sir Robert Peel , amid " c h eers , " which more resembled the roars of mailmen than the expression of feeling on the part of sober sanity . It is little more than ten years since the bare proposal frightened the " Lords of the soil" from their propriety —( not their property . '—would to God that it had!)—it is little more than ten years ago all this ;—and the Times is now daily engaged in collecting facts to be used for the very purpose that Cobbett recommended ! _Cobueit , thc author of the proposal for a "Reckoning Commission , " is dead ; but the Times is doing Cobbett _' s work as well as he could have wished had he been alive How WELL that work is being done the reader shall now judge .
Last week we accompanied the " Times ' s Commissioner" —he that is collecting materials for the "Reckoning" —in a portion of his journey over Ireland in search of facts . We left him at Cavan , where he liad discovered tJie great political secret , that" those who WILL live comfortably , andwcll DO live comf o rta b l y and well " : in other words ; that those who are determined "to make their grumblings FELT" are attended to , and have secured to- , them a far greater share than those who are confeniif tliey can only procure hog's-food to live on . We left "our Reckoning Commissioner" at Cavan ? where he had
made this all-important discovery , through noticing thc distinguishing characteristics of the two " > aees , "the " grumblers" andthe " slavishly content " : and we have now to accompany liim to Donboai ., and learn the facts his sharp-witted observation has made him acquainted with . Hear him : — The town of Donegal exhibits another of those numerous examples of neglect with . which Ireland abounds . The bay of Donegal , dotted with green islands , —with the Atlantic Ocean on one side , and the town nestling at the foot of arange of magnificent hills , which rise in the background abruptly behind it , on the other , affords scenery of the most exquisite natural beauty .
Were all _the-advantages- of scenery , locality , bathing , and cheapness of . living this town possesses connected with any English ; town , it would not be long before it was a second Brighton , or Bath , or Cheltenham . There is , however , but one resident landlord , or gentleman , in the neighbourhood , —Mr . Hamilton , —who has built himself a beautiful house on one of the islands in the bay ; and the town remains neglected and poor . From this town I proceeded to Glenties , a village icftidi is the PROPERTY of thc Marquis of Conyngham , whose chief managing agent is Mr . Benbow , M . P , for Dudley . Thc whole ofthe country for many miles in the direction of Dungloe , and beyond that town—in fact , almost the whole barony ofBoylagh belongs to this nobleman , together xoith the
island ofArran , or Arranmore , on the west coast . Omoe , in tub coobse or his life—two years ago—ffic Marquis of Conyngham visited this estate for a few days . His chief agent , Jfr . Benbow , usually comes once a-year ; and the sub-agents visit tho tenants every half-year to collect their vents , At snort period * of a few years the farms are visited to see _xehat increased rent they will bear ; and this IS TIIE EXTENT OP TIIE _ACQUAINTANCE OF TUB MaBQOIS or CoNiNonAM with his tenants . This nobleman , himself , bears the character of a kind-hearted , generous man—fond of yachting and amusement , and having an excessive distaste for every kind of business or trouble . From one end of his large estate here to the Other , nothing il ( 0 befound but poverty , misery , wretched cultivation , andinfinite subdivision of _laxxd . There are no gentry , no middle class , —all are poor—wretchedly poor . Every shilling the
tenants can raise from their half-cultivated land is paid in rent , whilst the PEOPLE SUBSIST FOR THE MOST part ojc * _t potatoes anb water , They are un . taught ; they know not how to improve ; they have no examples before them of a bettor state of things ; they are left to themselves . As they increase in numbers , as not a shilling of the rent is ever spent among them in the shape of capital , in giving them any kind of employment , they are driven to ths land for support , till they infinitely subdividc it , and their poverty and wretchedness necessarily increase as their means lessen . Every rude effort that they make to increase the amount of tho produce is followed immediately by raising their rents in proportion —as it were , to punish them f . ir improving . They are , ¦ J ATUBAII . V EN 0 U 0 H , as DISCONTENTED and full of complaints as tbey are wretched in their condition ,
We will not stop here to inquire how it conies to pass that such an immense track of country " BELONG S" to the Marquis of _Costngham . We do not now ask hoiv he camo to have it ; how he came to " OWN" it . We will not now stop to ascertain whether he got it by purchase , by heirship , 05 , by bequest . We will-not ask now from uOiomhe . purchased it—from whom lie Ueiredit—ov who bequeathed it to him . Nay , we will not even ask concerning his title to it at _pueskst . Enough for us that he has
it : let us sec how he uses it ; and whether the use he makes of it will justify his keeping it . A time will come when all the points of inquiry sot forth abovc wiU have to be entered into—will have to be answered—when we get nearer the " RECKONING . " In the meantime let us be content to store up the pacts we are made acquainted with b y the Times , and deduce from them a lesson that will be useful both for immediate and ulterior purposes . Here is more towards thc " Reckoning " . - —
"What I have stated is not hearsay nor imagination . I walked a couple of miles from _Glimties amongst the farmers' cottages , with a guide , —the Vice-President of tbe Poor Law Union there , —and I will shortl y describe to you tbe condition of the farmers , as I had it from their own lips , and noted down at . the tim e . Tho land is not let by the acre , but by what is termed a _i" cow ' s _gM's' _^ o ma ny " cow ' s grass" to a farm . A « cow's _M-cass" is a measure of land : usuallv it means as
Iivuch Moun Tain Grazing Land As Will Ke...
iiVuch moun tain grazing land as will keep a cow during the summer , and as much arable land as will keep the cowhouse in fodder during ' . . he winter . The size of the farm * varies from 6 to 20 _p _. cres _, and larger , __ by tl ** ; measurement of acres . The . rent of arable land is about 30 s . an acre . It is sandy g 0 il and bojr hiixed , on a granite rock foundation . T . _' grazing-mountain land is let at about 2 s . 6 d . an ac _* j , _e . The farmer pays his rent and rates by disposing of _l >' butter , pigs , eggs , beef , hay , oats , and milk , when ho . can sell it . He usually sells tbe whole of hisproduee , O ' _xceptpotatoes , and iu dear seasons even part of his stocV . of potatoes , and buys meal on credit , in order to pay his ' rent and the county-cess . If the tenant lives near a town where he can sell his milk he sells that also , and
the co _' inmon drink to their potatoes then is an infusion of pepper—pepper and water , a 3 being more tasty than water . Sv . netimes they are so hard pushed for their rent that t _' aey will buy a heifer on credit at £ 6 or £ 7 , much above the market-price , and sell it again for £ 3 or £ _t , to be able to pay the rent or buy meal on credit of local usurers ( giving a promissory note ) at 20 s . a-barrel _, and sell it again to the same usurer at the market price for ready money at 9 s , or 10 s . a barrel . If a farmer is so well off as to have milk to his potatoes , or to be able to buy a few sprats , he is what they term here " thokcy" —tbat is , in independent circumstances . Tbe farmer who gave me this information pays £ 1 G rent , holds seven cows'grass , and I was informed was the most" thokcy" farmer iu the
district . The grazing is so poor that last year these seven cows produced only two firkins of butter , which he sold for £ 0 ; he sold two pigs for £ 5 , and he could hardly tell how he scraped up the rest of the rent from the sale of his oats and some potatoes . This farmer assured me that for the half of this year , whilst his cows gave no milk , be had to subsist on pepper and water and potatoes . He could not afford to eat butter . " Not a bit of bread have I eaten since I was born , " said this man ; " we must sell the corn and the butter to give to the landlord . I have the largest farm in the district ; some don ' t pay more than £ 3 to £ 5 rent , and I am as well off as any in the country . " This man gave me his name , but did not wish it to be published , as it might do him an injury with the
agent . This man also assured me that many of the tenants have no beds , and lie on a " shake-down" of straw or hay on the ground in their _cottagns , with but a blanket or a rug to cover five or six of the family . "Tht people , " he said , "do what they can to improve , but the landlord does nothing , and they have not tbe ability to improve . They ara tenants at will ; aud if they improve , their rent is raised accordingly at the next valuation . The only good thing we have is plenty of turf to keep us warm . We never taste meat of any kind , or bacon , unless a pig chances to die of some disorder and we cannot sell it , and we would not taste that if we could sell it . " I asked him if ha would show me the cottage of any small farmer who lived in the way he had described . He took
me immediately to the cottages of John and Charles M'Cabe , who lived across a field close by . I state this case to you because it is a sample of the subdivision which is permitted to go on . Tha father rented four cows ' grass , for which he paid £ 510 s . rent . He was so pressed by poverty and distress in 1812 that he sold tbe tenantright of half his farm for £ 15 to another man , who cave in , built a cottage , and occupied it as tenant . His son had married , and having a family growing up , be divided the half of hi » remaining favm . with his son , and father and son are now subsisting with their families on a cow ' s grass of land each . Into these cottages I entered . They were stone-built , and well roofed—but the mud floor was uneven , damp , and filthy . In one corner was a place for
the pig , with a drain from it through the wall to carry off the liquid manure , like a stable . Two chain , a bedstead ofthe rudest description , a cradle , a spinning wheel , and an iron pot constituted the whole furniture . An inner room contained another rude bedstead ; tho mud floor was quite damp . In this room six children slept on host hay , with one dirty blanket to cover them . The father , mother , and an infant slept in the first room , also on loose hay , and with but one blanket on the bed . The children were running about as nearly-naked as possible , dressed in the cast-off rags of the father and mother ; the father could not buy them , chillis . Tliuy had _taevev been to mass for a twelvemonth for want of decent clothes to go in . Both these men assured me that their whole food was potatoes , and
if ihey had a penny to spare they bought salt , or a few sprats , but very seldom those . Instead of buying salt tliey _sometimes bought pepper and mixed it with tha water they drank . This they called " kitchin "—it gave a flavour to their food . Both cottages were in the same wretched condition , and the rent of the farm had been twice raised ; last time from 48 s . to £ 5 10 s . If their rent was not punctually paid , their cattle and everything they had was immediately distrained . From these men I went to another small farmer ' s house . He was mowing . Ills name is Manus M'Ginty . He has two cows' grass , for which he pays £ 3 8 s . There has been no improvement on his farm for the la 6 t twenty years ; but his rent was recently raised from £ 2 5 s . He had potatoes and milk
that day for mowing for a farmer . His usual diet was potatoes and pepper-water . He lived in precisely the samo wretched condition as that whicli I have just described . I give you these as examples , without any kind of selection , o / t / i _« t » iiu _« r « il condition of the tenantry around on this estate . From this place I proceeded to Dungloe , " a village sixteen miles further , direct north—the whole of itin the same property . Near one or two small villages which I passed a good deal of land was brought into cultivation , and bore heavy crops of oats and potatoes ; but a mile beyond these villages nothing but bog and heather is to be seen . Excepting here and there a small patch of potatoes growing , the only sign of industry I saw
was a couple of men on a hill-side boring the bog with an iron rod and searching for timber . I entered several cottages on the , road-side , but tbey wer _« all alike filthy and wretched . Sometimes a calf as well as a pig would be inside them ; sometimes three or four ducks in addition , dabbling in a pool of dirty water in a hole in the mud floor . If you point out this filthy condition to the women in the cottages they generally laugh at it . In fact , they know no better ; they don't know how to live differently , and tliey never had a better example set to them . There is everything to _depresi them , nothing to elevate them ; and the wonder is that , half savage and uncivilized , they are so quiet and tractable as they are .
There is a picture ! Look at it as a whole ; and then in detail ! See the fine end to which " landlordism" leads ! See Mm , a cormorant , devouring what a whole country side produces ; see this man , * this " Marquis" of _Cosyhoham , " fonil of yachting and amusement , and having an exceeding distaste for all kinds of _oustness or trouble ; " see this man wiio never worked a hand-stroke in his life ; who never did anything useful , * who has all his days been « charge , a BURDEN on societ y ; see thisman taking to his cheek the whole produce of "the Barony of Boylagh and the island of Arran , " excepting a portion of _thcroxATous , which areleft as the "SHARE " of those whose sweat has been spent in causing all to
come : see this ; and then say whether it be right that the tastes or distastes ; the whims or the pleasures ; the caprices or the wants even , of such a miserable fop as the said " Marquis" should be attended to before the comforts and well-being of those who till the soil ? If society should take it into its head to do cut / ay with such useless beings as these alldevouring _business-avoiding " Marquises , " and secure to the labourers not only in the Barony ofBoylagh , but in all parts of the kingdom , the fruits of their own industry , or at least arrange that thet shall be " FIRST partakers of them , " would it be angtuorse ? Suppose the " potatoes and thc _pepper-and-ivater " in the hovel ofthe Glenties farmer were to _giye way
to bread , and beef , and butter , and milk , and eggs ; andthe "Marquis" of _Conynouam compelled to give up " yachting" and take to the " business" of the s pade , would it be " a s in ag ainst the Hol y Ghost , nev e r to be for g iven , either in this world or the world to come ? " it is possible that the " Marquis " might so consider it ! and be as " unforgiving" as eternity itself ! but we imagine that the farmer " who pays £ 10 rent ; " who " holds seven cows ' grass , * " who "is withal tho most' thokcy' farmer ofthe district ; " but who " has never eaten a bit of bread since he was born , " because he has to sell his corn and his butter to GIVE to the landlord ; we imagine that this man ivould soon reconcile himself to the change , and " forgive" those who made it '
One thing the poor " lalf-savago , half-civilized " people of this district have yet to learn . They have not yet learnt how to " embody tlieir DISCONTENT " so as to " make their grumblings FELT i" Perhaps thc Times ' _t Commissioner will teach them that lessonlet them into that secret . Should lie do so , he will confer on , them a most incalculable _advantage " Those that WILL live comfortably and well Do live comfortably and well . " O ! may that truth b <* present to the minds of the farmers of Glenties and Arran , at their uprisings and their down-lyings ! If it is , they will not be " so quiet , and so tractable as they are I "
But we liave more fact . * . The bud get is far from being exhausted . The " Marquis" of _Comtxouam will have much to answer for , when the "day ol reckoning" arrives ! But before we record more of those facts , let us have an incident in this horrible narrative which will raise a smile even amidst the disgust and boiling anger thatthe detail of the treat m e nt o f his "tenantry" by the _TnouBLH-escapin _<* Marquis involuntarily excites . The incident is no _lessinstructive _.-as to actual condition ,-f 9 r being a little amusing , and amusingly told : — .
At _Dongloe I was told I should find an „„ amlae _commodation where 1 could sleep . S tay there I must , for there was no other place within a dozen Irish miles off and it was getting ate . Tlie look 0 f the inn w „ n 2 unpromising . A pile of lime aud sand for buiklin " wall adjoining , blocked up the doorway , but a brWit lAtt
Iivuch Moun Tain Grazing Land As Will Ke...
fire and a bearihy _j sntUcd floor—a luxury not to be . met w i . u _OVSi-ywhere iu _Ireland' _-made me hope for a C 6 mfortablerest , ' The brightness of the fire gilded over the discomfort ofthe room . It was perfectly Irish . Two large and apparently much frequented rat-holes in tlie floor showed no want of company of that kind . Tho table was propped ; its cover torn and dirty ; on « of tho windows had before it a broken looking-glass to dress by , corner ofwhich still remained in the frame ; the whitewashed walls were marked round with candle-smokes , where candles had been stuck with their own tallow : and
two lads at one side of the room had a most unpromising appearance . Sundry women ' s caps were stuck under tho testers for readiness , and under each bed was a pile of dirt and sand , the sweepings of the floor from a remote antiquity . After making a tolerable supper on eggs—that only support of travellers in parts of Ireland , —the bread being sour , the butter abominable , the appearance of the salt forbidding its use , and the tea an infusion of some unknown herb , —I went to bed thoroughly tired , hoping to sleep . But the " downy pinions" of what the poet Young describes asr" tired nature ' s sweet restorer" fled from me -. and every moment I remained there I began to have a more and more lively impression of the applicability oftlie chorus of an old song I once heard—————— — These cursed fleas ;
" At First They Came By Twos And Threes ...
" At first they came by twos and threes " But now they come by swarms . " At length the weary night passed over in listening to the gambols of thc rats , making the _rflost of their opportunity at the bread-loaf , until the quacking and cackling of some ducks and hens in the next room assured me morning was breaking . But I do not blame the people . They gave mo tho best they had ; and they never saw , and cannot conceive , anything better . And witli a non-resident landlord , a non-resident agent , no capital spent amongst them , no encouragement given to them , and no one to teach them anything , either by precept or example , how are they likely to improve ! Now for another bundle of " facts . " Let them bo carefully treasured up I They will be wanted at the " Reckoning !"
Next morning I took a boat and guide—a coast-guard man , who could speak Irish , and went over to the Island of Arran , which is also the property of the Marquis of Conyngham . This island is about fifteen miles in circumference , with a lofty hill in its centre , and a gradual declivity down to the sea . It contains eleven villages , each having from nine to fifty cottages , and has a population of about 1 , 300 people ; it yields a rental of from £ 300 to £ 400 a-year to the Marquis of Conyngham , and is three-quarters of an hour ' s sail from the mainland . The rents here are much the same as those on tho mainland , from 20 s . to 30 s . being paid for a cow ' s grass ; but the land is let in rundale .
I must explain tho meaning of this form of letting to your readers . This form of occupation seems to have arisen from a small community equally dividing a portion of arable land for their potatoes , and holding the sur . rounding land in common . As the population increased , the patch of cultivated land being found insufficient to provide them with potatoes , some individual of the community was obliged to bring a patch of the grazing land held in common under cultivation , and tho following y _« ar each _meinbsr of the community claims the right of dividing this laud , made arable out of commonable land , into equal shares . Tbe consequence of this mode of orcupation has been , that a tenant will hold a dozen small patches of land in different places , and almost every potatoe bed or ridge of oats belongs to a different tenant .
I landed nt a village called Labgarroo , containing twenty-four cottages , and almost tha whole of its shock _, ingly-destitut * and half-naked shoeless population immediately cwarmed out and surrounded me , begging mc to go into tlieir cottages—such of them , at least , as could speak English—and look at their misery . Some thrust scraps of paper into my hands with petitions written on them , praying for assistance to keep them from starving , for medical assistance , to have their rents reduced , and so on : such an assemblage of wretched _beggar-Iiku human beings I never saw . Picture to yourself the beg . gars who sometimes on Sundays lie about tbe pavemen ts in the streets of London , dressed up to excite _comniistration _, and who write with a piece of chalk on the _flagg " I ' m starving , " and then lay themselves down beside this
scrawl crouched up in a violent shivering fit as the people pass them from church , and you have an exact fac simile ofthe kind oflooking people around me—the tenants of ths Marquis of Conyngham 1 I asked one man—a cobblerwho spoke English , to show mo into one or two of tlio cottages near . I entered that of Nelly Gallagher ; file pays 80 s . rent for on » cow ' s grass . She was preparing her dinner of potatoes , and—what , think you 1—seaweed . Thoy gather , I was told by some twenty of them ( and saw them using it ) , a kind of seaweed called " dillisk , " which they dry , » ndboil as "kitchin" with their potatoes . It boils down to a kind of gluten with the potatoes , and tht salt in it , they say , makes tlio potatoes more palatable * In winter they gather the common seaweed which grows on the rocks , and which they call" dhoolaman , " in Irish , and cutting oft * the thin leaves at the extremities of the weed boil these , when they cannot got " dillisk , " which is a . better kind of seaweed . They showed mehow theyused it , and above a dozen of them told me the same story ; in
fact , every one that I asked about it confirmed it . My guide , the coast-guard man , and a respectable seaman assured me that the tenants on the mainland in the same manner lived on seaweed part of the " year , and tliat ih . j * used it , as he called it , "kitchin , " to make their potatoe more palatable , and in aid of their potato food . Sonic of these tenants had quantities of laud as small as the fourth part of a cow's grass . Their cottages are stonebuilt , with mud floors , no chimneys , rarely any furniture in them , usually hay on the floor for a bed , with a vug or old cloths for bed covering . I walked over tiie whol island and saw many such , and rarely any in the least degree better . Tliere is ii . Roman Catholic cliapel in tl t island , and a school is talked of being built , but . there is not one at present . Some _kelp-burning is goihg on now , and this has helped the people a good deal . ; At times I was informed , and I can well believe it from what I saw , that their destitution is horrible . Tliey are , _howsver , but a degree worse than tlie tenants on the mainland opposite .
I left the island , and on landing came to this place . Before leaving this estate , the high road crosses a strand at Anngary , over which tho tide flows ten feet deep . This strand is one mile across , and the water was up to the axle of the gig I was in when my guide attempted it . It was quite dusk , and I assure you it was perfectly frightful toa stranger to be in the middle ofthis sheet of water , tbe land every way at least half a mile off , and not knowing _whethsr the next step might not be into deep water . _Thejloardof Works offered to make a road , to avoid this strand ; the Marquis of Conynghain ' s agent , in the name ofliis . principal , opposes this , and will not permit the road to be made through his waste bogliinil ; anil the public must , therefore , submit to the delay and inconvenience and danger of this strand . But what must this be to a poor man or woman who has no horse or jiff , and who is thus compelled often to wait hours for _tbs tide , and then to wadeji mile in water a yard deep ?
Here , however , I leavo the Marquis of _Conyngham's estate , with its thousands of acres of land capable of profitable cultivation , and its everywhere apparent neglect , mismanagement , and misery . His rents are probably not high , considering the capabilities of theland , but they are high considering their actual state of cultivation . The tenants are _. not helped or putin the way of improving ; and it is evident that every shilling beyond bare subsistence is extracted from them and spent elsewhere . It is not a capital realized which ever benefits them . Some may say that the Marquis of Conyngham has a right to do as be likes withhi » property . Grant thathe has , buthehasnorightto
anybody ' s approval , _iithis is what he likes ; and the empire has a right to complain if he so manages his large estate , that he produces general destitution and misery and discontent—if , in fact , he helps to make Ireland that scene of poverty and wretchedness and disturbance wliirh makes it a shame and a source of weakness , instead of its being a pride and a source of _ttrength to the empire . It is possible that tbe Marquis of Conyngham may be ignorant of the condition ofhis Irish tenants ; but " qitifuc ' d per al ' mm _. _ftcit perse : " to him who permits it , the odium of having such a tenantry , and aa estate 50 _m'lni _^' _J _' _> rightly attachas .
Ay , and the RESPONSIBILITY , as well as tho o d ium ! Wc sh a ll have t o tr y s o on , whether UKSPONSIBILITY , as attached to the " owners" of the soil , is , as it is with Ministers , a pure farce . If it be , we shall know what to do ! If ' *• it be not—the " _Mahquis" of _CoiVrxoiiAM will have to fe el it ! Potatoes and seaweed for the w o rker s , that _Aemay enjoy "yachting" a n d escape " _ir . _ouiu- ' ' - 1 " hay on the floor for a bed , with an old rag as covcring ' for bed-clothes : aiid this to give a " . _NUuquis " the means of spending without " business ! " Wc have often heard the aphorism that " property has is
duties as well as its rights . " We are in a fair way 1 X ascertaining the amount of truth contained in the assertion : and if it turn out that tliere really arc duties to perform by the "OWNER" ofa "large estate , " what account will this same Marquis ho able to give of liimself ? Great as may be his "distaste for business , " he will have to app l y hims e lf to this " account , " or give up his estate ! If he will enjoy tho rights , ho must perl ' oim the ditties . It he won't , ho must make way for tliose that will . Maugro all the caut about " he has a right to'do as he likes with his own , " he will have to RECKON UP ' There is one
short answer to all such cant : " no man has a _rigl-i to do W RONCr either with his own or anybody else ' s . " lias ho , Mr . "Marquis" ? Let us hear you contend that he has ! Then wc shall know not only what an s wer to gi ve , but what measures to apply - your case . Admit the truth of our aphorism , and then wc go into xjour case . Is it not wnoso for J ' so to _niauage " your " iarge estate , as to produce general destitution and misery and discontent ? _H-13 not society the right to complain of this ? _?>¦•>'• more ; has it not the right to apply a courectivk ? Have a care , Mr . Marquis ! Your vite ! itiiig . _«' . ' . " _' _- ' ' " terfercd with , _solo' _^ as it interferes with " tke wtdtoes andpaper-wuter" of the _co'is-u' _-oivnis of _kbr _.-tics and Av »« -
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Sept. 13, 1845, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns4_13091845/page/4/
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