Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition
The Miseries and Beauties of Ireland (Author: Jonathan Binns)
chapter 14
Journey from Sligo to Ballina — Ballisodare — Public buildings at Ballina — Salmon leap — Rents, and prices of provisions — Lough Conn and Lough Cullen — Lord Lucan's bog — Castlebar — Market-women — Sheep on small farms — Castlebar Lake — Croagh Patrick — Marquis of Sligo — Robinson's Hotel, Westport — Introduction of the linen manufacture by Lord Altamont — Population of Westport — Desire for large farms — Emigration — Leases — Letting in common — Cabins — Size of farms — Agriculture of the district — Sheep shearing — The roads — "Driving" — Potatoes.
From Sligo to Ballina I travelled by the mail, a conveyance dragged by four miserably poor and incompetent horses, to which the driver, after the most approved fashion of his country, applied the incessant but unavailing stimulus of the whip. Such was the respect evinced by the people whom we met or overtook, for the vehicle by which we travelled, that they manifested the greatest anxiety
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to clear the road as we approached, hauling their horses violently out of the way, and running their carts into the ditches on either side of the road, as chance might direct, to give us room. Notwithstanding these laudable attempts, the driver was often at a loss to know on which side he could pass, although ultimately the whole road was left open to him. Even foot passengers often run into the ditches when they see the mail approaching.
Ballisodare, through which we passed, is celebrated for its extensive water corn-mills; here, too, are several fine falls of the river Arrow, or Colloney-water, over a very rocky bed. Marble quarries and lead mines are in the vicinity. The farmers for twenty miles round, bring their corn to the mills at Ballisodare, from whence the meal is exported. Several carts of oats arrived whilst the mail was detained. The factor, without ceremony, ripped open the seams of the poor farmers' sacks in different places, and poked into the oats. The tricks occasionally practised by some of the farmers, render this, I was informed, a necessary precaution.
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On arriving at Ballina, on the border of the county of Mayo, the mail was instantly surrounded by thirteen beggars, all of whom supplicated us, in the most pitiful terms, and, as a matter of course, in God's name, for a trifle — and several of them followed us to the inn, and crowded about the windows.
Ballina is an improving town, and contains about 6000 inhabitants. A fine old bridge formerly crossed the river Moy, and has been much noticed by travellers, but it was taken down two or three years ago, and its place supplied by another, which, though less interesting, is more convenient. A spacious quay and another bridge are also in progress. At Ballina a large Roman Catholic chapel has recently been built, but the funds being insufficient to complete the tower, that part of the edifice remains unfinished. Of this structure (so highly praised by Inglis) I cannot speak in terms of approval. The architect, I think, might have profited by taking a hint or two from the remains of an old abbey near at hand.
At a short distance from the town, Colonel
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Gore is building a splendid mansion in the Elizabethan style. The grounds were not yet laid out, but, under judicious management, they are susceptible of great beauty. Colonel Gore is said to be a good landlord.
The Salmon Leap on the river is a very attractive object. The river is of great breadth, and many deep ledges of limestone rocks, over which the water falls tumultuously, with deafening roar, extend from side to side. The fishery is very productive, and the rent is from £1200 to £1400 per annum. In 1779 it let, according to Young, for £250. I was informed that as many as 1030 salmon had been taken at one time. The season for fishing on this river closes on the 12th of August. The Ballina fish are sent to Liverpool and Glasgow.
At Ballina I saw droves of large mules, each mule carrying a woman, seated behind her panniers of turf, waiting for purchasers.
From several intelligent persons whom I met in the evening at the house of a gentleman to whom I had been provided with a letter of introduction,
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I learnt that high rents and want of employment are general in that part of the country, that agriculture does not receive the attention which it deserves, and that the condition of the farmers is considerably worse than it was formerly. The labourers suffer for want of food and clothing, many of them having nothing but dry potatoes, and cannot get regular employment. The price of oats was from 6d. to 6 1/2d. per stone; beef and mutton, from 3 1/2 to 4d. per lb.; trout 2 1/2 to 3d.; eels 2d., or if very fine, 2 1/2; potatoes, 2d. per stone. Rent in general is about 20s. per acre, but the quality of land is extremely various. Wages, from 8d. to 10d., without diet. The following is Arthur Young's account of the diet of the poor in this part, from which it will appear that their situation is considerably deteriorated. "The poor," says he, "in general live on potatoes and milk, nine months out of the twelve; the other three, on bread and milk. All of them have one or two cows. Fish is exceedingly plentiful, particularly oysters, which may be had for 1s.a cart load; herrings are a considerable article of
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food. In domestic economy, they reckon that the men feed their family by their labour in the fields, and that the women pay the rent by spinning."
In our way to Westport we passed along the side of Lough Conn. This lake is nine miles long, and is connected with Lough Cullen by a narrow strait, crossed by a bridge, over which we passed. These lakes vary in breadth from one to three miles. The shores are rocky, barren, and lonely; here and there, little plots of cultivated ground appear; and in other places the active mountain sheep may be seen threading their way among the bold masses of granite, or leaping securely from peak to peak. Lough Conn can scarcely boast of a tree or a bush. Very different indeed is it from the rich verdant slopes, and the glowing arbutus-islands of Lough Gilly; yet I felt that I could have spent many days with great pleasure in the wild and rocky neighbourhood of this usually disparaged lake. Its shores are much indented, forming themselves into innumerable little bays and creeks, and at no great distance rises the conical Nephin mountain, whose height
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is stated in old maps to be 2840 feet. Lough Conn is spangled with several small islands, all of them consisting of granite, combined in masses of curious and picturesque effect — some shooting boldly and perpendicularly from the edge of the water, or darkly overhanging it, and others sloping away gently and sweetly into it. It is generally believed that this lake ebbs and flows. The day before I passed, it had been flowing (the driver told me) from the direction of Lough Cullen, and he suggested the probability of our seeing it return. In this, however, we were disappointed. This belief, I doubt not, arises from the effect of the wind, and at other times the re-action of the current from Lough Cullen, which cannot find sufficient vent. These lakes possess many charms for fishermen, and are celebrated for the Gillaroo trout.
After leaving the lake, the road to Westport passes over a tract of bog land — to travellers in general uninteresting, but to me full of peculiar interest. It belongs to Lord Lucan, who has shewn a most laudable desire to promote the comfort and the happiness of the poor about him.
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Upon this bog his lordship has built several neat and convenient cottages of the stone of the neighbourhood, which is granite; and the tenants, who have a lease for seven years of their respective properties, are not only not charged any rent at all during that period, but are actually paid, for the first three years, for the labour they devote to their allotments. The bog is exhibited in a variety of conditions — from being just meered out, to a high state of cultivation, growing potatoes, rape, turnips, and cabbages. Lord Lucan's benevolent plan has been objected to, on the ground of the tenant not having a sufficient interest in the land he cultivates. This may or may not be a valid objection; I shall leave it to be settled by such as can find in their hearts to cavil at an act of noble generosity. To me it appears that Lord Lucan's chief praise is due to his having devised a method of teaching a habit of industry and peace; and great will be his reward, independently of any remote benefits, when he sees those, who (but for his exertions) would have been living a life of idleness, penury, and probably vice, actively employed
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in providing the means of a comparatively comfortable subsistence for themselves and their families. Such acts as this of Lord Lucan's are not so much to be estimated in respect of the immediate good they produce, as of the excellent principles they establish as the foundation of permanent advantages.
Castlebar, about nine miles from Lough Conn, consists of one street of nearly a mile in length. A Jail and Jailor's house, which cost £20,000, and extensive Barracks, at a similar cost, have been recently built there. These structures, notwithstanding their claims to admiration, as public buildings, are calculated to excite very different feelings, when contrasted with the wretched cabins amid which they rise, and when it is considered that the funds for their erection were wrung from a poverty-stricken and miserable population. The barracks were raised upon the site of the old castle, whose venerable remains were rudely sacrificed, I suspect, to make way for the modern buildings. In 1798, the French force, under Humbert, possessed themselves of the town, in
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which they remained from the 26th of August to the 26th of September. The Earl of Lucan, the owner of the town, has a residence in the suburbs, but it does not possess any particular attractions.
It was market day at Castlebar when I arrived there, and I strolled for a couple of hours among the market people. Great numbers of women, holding a hank or two of yarn of their own spinning, stood in the streets and offered their trifling commodities for sale. Very few of those whom I addressed could speak English; but some of the men about, seeing the disadvantages under which I laboured, very obligingly stepped forward, and offered assistance as interpreters. This sort of politeness is common to the Irish. I ascertained that the women could not earn by spinning more than a penny or twopence a day, and hundreds of them attended the market whose earnings for the whole week did not exceed sixpence or ninepence; yet notwithstanding this inadequate reward of long and hard labour, their honest countenances wore the habitual
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impress of cheerfulness and perfect good humour. Scarcely any of the women had shoes, and I felt considerable alarm while threading my way through a dense crowd, lest I should step upon their feet.
The corn and meal were brought into the town by horses, mules, and asses, many of which remained in the market with their loads upon their backs. Oats were selling at 5d. and 6d. per stone. But little wheat is produced in the neighbourhood, nor is barley much grown, except to supply the potheen manufactories in the mountains. Rents are about 20s. an acre; and wages from 6d. to 8d. a day; but if regular work is afforded, 6d., without diet, is the usual amount. Although their agriculture and customs seem better adapted to the last century, yet if we may draw a comparison between their present practises, and the account given by Arthur Young in 1779, some improvement has actually taken place. "To Castlebar," says he, "over an indifferent country and a vile stony road; about that town the husbandry is admirable. They have three customs,
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which I must begin with; first they harrow by the tail; item the fellow who leads the horses of the plough, walks backward before them the whole day long, and in order to make them advance, strikes them in the face. Item, they burn the corn in the straw, instead of thrashing it."15
I attached myself for a short time to a man walking to market with a bale of woollen cloth, or flannel, manufactured by himself and his family. His farm consisted of 9 acres, and he kept 10 sheep; one pound of his wool, he stated, was worth from 14d. to 16d. and would make two bandles of flannel — a bandle being four inches short of a yard. The cloth was worth 1s.per
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bandle; he therefore got 4 1/2 d. per bandle for the making, or 9d. per lb. profit on the wool. He also spun and wove the wool into frieze for his own coats. The information received from this man confirms the opinion I have previously expressed, that the small farmers would find it profitable to keep a few sheep, which they might tie upon the clover or rape, or secure by nets, as they do in the sheep districts in England. These nets might be made from coarse wool, or inferior flax, or hemp of their own growth; and thus an employment, both interesting and advantageous, would be provided for the winter season. If it be objected that I have previously condemned the practice of confining animals on the land, my reply is this — that the advantage of confining sheep in yards is doubtful, not having been sufficiently tested by experiment. We know it is successful as regards cattle; at the same time, I am not sure that a small farmer or cottier might not keep two or three Leicester sheep to advantage in a small yard, netted or paled off, to be supplied with rape and other food by the wife or children.
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On the road to Westport, Castlebar Lake, a fine sheet of water, was on our right for some miles — our way lying through scenery of much variety and beauty. As we descend the hill into the town, the magnificent Bay, including Achill, and Clare, and numerous other islands, opens out grandly before us. Croagh Patrick,16 too, or the Reek (as some call this mountain), is seen from hence in perfection. Croagh Patrick is of conical form, and is abundantly frequented for the purposes of penance: it is still more useful as a landmark at sea. Upon this hill St. Patrick is said to have collected all the venomous reptiles in Ireland, and cast them into the bay: it is accordingly regarded with an astonishing degree of veneration. I frequently heard the driver of the mail, in allusion to the penitential associations of the mountain, say, "If you don't behave, I'll send you round the Reek."
At the harbour and quay I saw only a boat or two, yet the warehouses are extensive, and there
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is a considerable export of grain and butter. The imports are timber, salt, iron, and coals. Westport belongs to the Marquis of Sligo, whose annual income is said to be about £25,000. Being Governor of Jamaica when I visited the town, he was necessarily an absentee. The people of Westport have abundant cause to regret his absence; for when resident among them, he contributed, in many respects, and in a very important degree, to the happiness and prosperity of the community which surrounded him. I was told of an incredible number of hired servants who were constantly employed about the house, and was informed that to each of his tradesmen he gave a guinea a week, with permission to follow their trades as usual when he did not require their services. At one of the elections, however, a party was raised against him — his carriage and horses were injured — and he shortly afterwards left the country in disgust. Sincerely is it to be hoped that this electioneering hostility may subside, and its unhappy consequences be suspended; for the presence of a man like the Marquis of Sligo, whose personal example
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no less tended to elevate the moral character, than his munificent generosity contributed to promote the physical welfare of the population among which he lived, is a blessing that may safely be pronounced to be of incalculable worth.
The noble Marquis very handsomely presented Mr. Robinson not only with the commodious hotel which bears his name, but with six acres of excellent ground, all rent free. He also furnished the house, and was preparing to fit it up still more extensively and sumptuously, when he left the country. This hotel has been praised, and deservedly praised too, by all travellers. I had not anticipated any thing so comfortable and elegant. The furniture is of the best quality, the plate and glass remarkably beautiful, and the rooms are hung with paintings like a gentleman's house. In front of the hotel is a long flagged walk, and a clean street or mall, planted with trees on both sides, and refreshed by a transparent stream which flows between them. Opposite the house stands a large Catholic chapel, the congregation of which is immense. Mr. Robinson is a highly respectable
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and gentlemanly man, and his wife possesses the attractive qualities of attention, kindness, and something more than professional hospitality. Here, as elsewhere, I was sorry to find that the servants bear an indifferent character. Without wishing to impute any impropriety to Mr. or Mrs. Robinson, I must again remark that I believe this to arise from the suspicious manner in which domestics are generally treated. A good master makes a good servant.
Westport House, the seat of the Marquis of Sligo, is a substantial building of Roman architecture, with walled terraces and flighted steps; it is situated in a beautiful and secluded valley, richly adorned with wood and water. In the park stands a rural-looking church, embosomed in trees. When Arthur Young visited Westport, Lord Altamont, who then owned this mansion, had made valuable experiments on bog land with great success. He states that Lord Altamont's great-grandfather "found the estate, in 1650, a continued forest. These woods were much more than a century's growth. There is a tradition in the country that
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it was depopulated by the plague, and upon that the wood sprung up which formed those forests." Lord Altamont in 1772 brought a superior breed of cattle into the country; he also introduced the linen manufacture; built good houses for this purpose, and let them on reasonable terms. He also gave the people looms; lent them money to buy yarn with; and bought all the goods they could not sell, to the extent of £400 a year. Arthur Young further informs us that "the progress of this manufacture has been prodigious, for at first Lord Altamont was the only buyer, whereas for two years past there has not been less than £10,000 a year laid out at this market in linen. Yet with all this increase they do not yet weave a tenth part of the yarn that is spun in the neighbourhood." These were Ireland's golden days; yet we should do a manifest injustice to the present if we neglected to state, that in the contemplated improvement of her rivers, harbours, roads, and agriculture, advantages of a much more extensive and abiding importance are proposed.
The town of Westport contains about 4500 inhabitants,
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400 houses, and 53 licensed public-houses or spirit-shops — so that there is rather more than one spirit-shop to every eight houses; In the rest of the barony, with a rural population of nearly 30,000, there are but six licensed houses; a less number than formerly. The increase of the licensed spirit-shops has been considerably checked of late by the refusal of the magistrates to grant licenses; but over the unlicensed houses, which vary in number as the seasons are good or bad, they cannot of course exercise any control. When the oat crop has been plentiful, and the price of grain is proportionately low, a large portion of it is secretly malted and distilled. In this way it yields more than if sold in the market in its raw state; and under these circumstances, the unlicensed houses frequently exceed in number those that are licensed. Notwithstanding these facts, the people are a sober people. It was remarked in evidence, that in most places "they were more hungry than drunk."
Some men who were digging potatoes near the town, informed me that they paid from £2. 10s.
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to £3. 10s. per acre for the potato land, and found the manure, seed, and labour: on this plan the potatoes cost them 2d. per stone. The year after, the farmer ploughs the land, and gets a crop of oats from it: the labourers occupy it the ensuing year, and so on alternately; an advantageous system for the farmer, at the expense of the labourer. At the same time, the labourer is glad to make sure of his crop of potatoes at 2d. per stone.
None of the tenants in the barony of Murrisk (in which Westport is situated) hold as many as ten acres of arable land, and the majority do not hold more than four. The desire of the landlords, as appeared from some evidence given before the Assistant Commissioners, was to increase the size of the holdings on their estates; but in consequence of the additional pressure of population, they had but few opportunities of carrying their wishes into effect. Sir S. O'Mally stated, that for his own part, the certainty of causing distress was the only reason that prevented him from promoting a more rapid junction of farms. Up to the period of the disfranchisement of the 40s. freeholders,
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the landlords were universally desirous of multiplying the number of their tenants — the fathers being frequently solicited by the agents to divide their land among their children; but since that important measure in 1829, large holdings only were desired. The landlords are accordingly anxious to get rid of the old 40s. freeholders, and to establish £10 franchises in their stead. Most of those who were thus ejected, being possessed of no property of their own, were consequently cast upon the world destitute; the generality of them became beggars, but some were engaged as cottiers and small holders. None of them emigrated, not having the necessary means, and the landlords did not assist them. Several of the witnesses stated, that a very general disposition to emigrate exists among the small tenantry, but that without assistance it cannot of course be gratified; and many of the labourers present declared "that half the country would go if they could: those who stay envy those who have left them behind in misery and want."
No English or Scotch farmers have settled in
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this barony; but according to the opinion of all the witnesses, without an exception, there is no reason for supposing that they have been deterred by the apprehension of danger either to their lives or properties. "If there were a fund provided for the support of the ejected tenantry" (I quote the words of Sir S. O'Malley), "their animosity would be altogether removed — the sole ground of their hostility to those who supplant them, being, that they have deprived them of the only means within their power of obtaining a livelihood; if they could get permanent employment they would be satisfied." At least one quarter of the barony consists of unreclaimed but improvable bog land; and the small spots which are every year cultivated by the unassisted and unencouraged efforts of the petty tenants, abundantly shew what could be done if capital were judiciously applied. The insertion, in recent leases, against subletting, and specific penalties, such as forfeiture of the lease and the payment of a double rent, has been tried without effect; indeed, it has been found quite
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impossible, on the death of a parent, to prevent the subdivision of his lands among his children.
Strictly speaking, there is only one resident landlord in the barony (Mr. Garvey), and he does not own more than 500 acres. No reason could be assigned by any of the witnesses for the absenteeism of the proprietors in the neighbourhood. Lord Sligo is the only one who has a house in the barony. His lordship occupies about 700 acres, which constitute his domain; he has also a deerpark of great extent, consisting of unreclaimed mountain land, and a large stock farm of the same description. Lord Sligo's leases are for twenty-one years, or one life; Sir S. O'Malley's for two lives. Tenancy at will, or from year to year, is much more common than it was, and is rapidly spreading. The frequent practice of the landlords in the barony is to let in common, and the custom will in some measure explain the absence of any attempt at improvement under this system. The cattle in winter roam over the land where they like; which discourages the sowing of wheat, and the raising of winter food
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for the cattle. Any one partner is answerable for the rent of all, and it often happens that the most industrious has to pay for the others, and to depend upon their honesty for reimbursements. The partners have no fixed interest in the common land; they cannot even tell what portion of it they may have next year. The whole farm, including even the cabins, is frequently divided into lots; and it accordingly often happens, that a man changes his habitation and his corn field, his potato patch and his pasture ground, for situations inconveniently remote from each other. This system naturally engenders considerable discord. In respect of the nature of the leasing system, Mr. M'Donnell remarked "that he never knew an instance of a landlord, on the expiration of a lease of land improved by the tenant, taking one farthing less than the tenant had made it worth; accordingly, when the lease is nearly expired, the occupier invariably exhausts the soil, and sometimes even runs the risk of burning it, because he has no chance of a renewal at a fair rent." "There is but one landlord
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in all Connaught," said one of the witnesses, "who encourages improvements, by allowing for them according to valuation; the consequence is that his estate is in a superior condition, though he gives no leases."
There does not appear to have been much improvement in the cabins of late years. They have no outhouses except pig-sties, and the pig frequently sleeps in the house. During the cholera season they were whitewashed, but this has since been neglected. The pig sleeps in the cabin as frequently as before, and the floor and roof are in as bad a state as they used to be. The cabin, when repaired at all, is always repaired by the tenant. Many persons are unable to leave their cabins in winter, from want of ordinary clothing; but the very general absence of bedding is more particularly felt than any other want; because the floor being of damp clay, the straw laid upon it becomes rapidly bad and unwholesome.
There is no public common in the barony, and very little woodland, with the exception of what
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belongs to the Marquis of Sligo. From half to three-fourths of the barony is mountain and bog, and from two-thirds to three-fourths of the remainder is under tillage. The largest quantity of land held under tillage by one farmer is 10 acres Irish. Five acres are considered a large tillage farm, the average not exceeding three; and part of this, (one-fourth or more), is uncultivated and waste. Besides, the grass for a cow is usually hired on the "mountains" (hilly ground). The general class of farmers hold very small portions of land, not sufficiently large to employ their over-time; and are far from being in as good a condition as constantly employed labourers would be. Yet there is certainly more produce raised now than formerly; if this were not so, the increased population could not exist. Mr. McDonnell stated "that the labouring class — those who actually till the soil — are densely settled together along the coast line of the barony. Here they occupy small portions of land, averaging about three acres a piece. To each holding is attached a piece of contiguous mountain — as much, for a
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holding of three acres, as would support a cow scantily during a few months of the year, and two or three sheep; but as many of them have no money to purchase either a cow or sheep with, the land remains unproductive. A three-acre tenant will have something less than an acre of potatoes, which affords no surplus, and about the same quantity of oats. From the latter alone does he expect any profit, which is almost universally applied to the payment of rent. Indeed, if sufficient for that purpose, he deems himself fortunate. The very low price of the worsted yarn which they make, discourages them from attempting to sell it."
From the humidity of the climate, and exposure to the sea blast, the wheat of the district is of bad quality. It is never tried on a naked fallow, but is frequently sown in February. The weeding of corn crops is much neglected, and is done so late as July and August. It did not appear that there were more than six ploughs in the barony; and with the exception of those belonging to Lord Sligo, not a roller is to be
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found. The grain is brought to Westport market in sacks, and never sold by sample. None is reserved for the use of the peasantry. Few keep seed till the following spring; but when sowing time comes, they take it on credit, and pass a note for its payment. Clover is usually sown on portions of land containing not more than half a rood; the quantity of turnips and mangel wurzel is not worth mentioning. Within the last three or four years the deficiencies in the potato crop have been frequent; recently the farmers have planted them whole, but this does not always succeed; and it often happens that the produce of the same seed, in the same field, sown on the same day, is very different; that sown in the afternoon fails, while that sown in the morning, with similar attention, succeeds. This tends to confirm an opinion I have formed in regard to these facts, which are by many considered so extraordinary; viz., that seed planted in the morning is deposited and covered before the sun and wind dry the furrows and the manure in which it is placed. Flax is grown
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in such small quantities (one or two roods) that it can hardly be said to form a part of the rotation. The best land of the farm is usually selected, to which, being in prime condition, no manure is applied; but after twice digging, a quart of seed to the perch is sown in April. American seed, which this year was preferred, sold at 3 1/2d. per quart. A stone of hackled flax worth 7s. 7d., is stated as the average produce of a gallon of seed sown on 4 perches. There are very few sheep kept in the district of Murrisk. The Marquis of Sligo has a flock of Cheviots on mountain land, and they succeed very well. The mountain farmers keep a small number each, but owing to the extensive robberies which have been committed on this description of stock, they are reducing their flocks: large numbers are stolen, and secretly driven out of the district at night. Great losses are experienced also from foxes and eagles. Plucking wool off the backs of the sheep, too, is another species of robbery far from uncommon; and an exceedingly injurious practice obtains among the farmers, of taking
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the lambs from their mothers at night, to enable them to milk the ewes in the morning. The process of shearing the sheep is very irregularly conducted. In October or November they begin shearing half a sheep this month, and the other half the next, in order to raise a small sum of money to meet some pressing exigency. The most usual breed of cattle is the Irish, and that of the worst description. The Marquis of Sligo has, however, located some of the Kiloes, or west Highlands, on some of the mountains, and they are thought well adapted to the district. At the Westport fair (August 6th) I ascertained that the price of a bull of the breed of the country was from eight to £10; that of a cow, from six to £8. There are no dairies in the barony.
The main roads are in good repair, but the crossroads leading to villages are bad. Few carts are accordingly used in the barony. Carts, indeed, as one of the witnesses said, are of no use to the small tenantry, for they can carry to market all the produce they have to sell, in five or six journeys
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on their horses' backs. Within the last few years, however, the Marquis of Sligo has made no fewer than 81 English miles of cross-roads, at a cost of £983. The quit-rents due to the crown, and paid to the excise, are levied on the tenant, if not paid by the landlord; and this practice is the source of great and just complaint. Each occupant is answerable not only for the share upon his own land, but for that of the whole townland of which his forms a part; and hence a feeling of great insecurity is created. If the quit-rent be not paid on the very day it is called for, the cattle are "driven," and for every one so driven, half-a-crown a head is charged in addition. This demand, the reader will observe, is over and above the shilling per annum paid by the farmers as an annual and regular composition to the drivers, whether their services are required or not. To compel a man to pay for having his cattle driven to the pound, is surely sufficiently bad and degrading; but to be regularly taxed for the support of one who is perhaps never employed, is humiliating indeed!
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The crop of potatoes is frequently late in ripening, and the intervening period between the new and the old crop, is one of great distress. Should the crop of one year fail, extreme want is inevitable. Sir S. O. Malley remarked, that if the peasantry were enabled to use corn as their chief diet, the periodical recurrence of distress would in this country be nearly stopped, as a failure in the grain crops hardly ever takes place. Potatoes, on account of their bulk, cannot be conveyed with profit to a great distance, and it frequently happens that they are dear in one place, when, at a distance of twenty miles, they are cheap.
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