The Express.
London, England, 1846-10-22 00:00:00

grass," three cows' grass, half a cow's grass, a quarter
I of a cow's grass, actually down to " the eighth part
of a cow's grass," or half a fro. tof land ! The shape
which " a farm" often took in consequence of this
system was nest whimsical, yet unavoidable; the
length of the best circumstanced farms being from
thirty to sixty times that of their breadth ; and the
worst had its length three hundred and thirty-two
' times its breadth!
I tat the aim el meads wee sot scrined to the land, the say
ids ses lama to is,. beer Mused asissier Naples
; haws; sal the tellterha thebeess, at sa earth seer be depended
am at teas t--la se Miami kiss; time ire sae coasted in
• sae kale bat the peer hide me asired mereet se the valbeta-
i loot of the warterwimorarry la natio* mebee, am a then
Ming willing to anambeas tiernassay, fir sesesetheity it
Wane quite broe. Ilea rue new Medias tem sa tae masa;
et With one a the " sormar ans be the naiad. @Maned on
a Nedletrats kr advice, deft Oa the Waal wee Mindy useless
stow ; that he bed not My art ea dusty. Ids paper hoof, et his
ova mem, bat bad shod thin Meth hot twine, to beet! yet the
ether two propthare resolutely rallased to shoe mere than their
0115 hot t
In their dwelling habits, there was the same con-
fusion. It often happened that a man had three places
of abode : " one in the mountains, another upon the
shore, and the third upni an Wand, he and his family
flitting from one to another of these habitations."
Change of pasture for the cow, or for two or three
starving sheep, was the sad yet amusing excuse for
these peregrinations.
The cabins of those who remained stationary were
in the most abject condition of destitution and filth.
The Memoir of Patrick M'Kye states that there were
some cabins which had from 1 to 30 ewts. of manure
inside the walls ; and " others, having from 10 to 15
tons weight of dung, and only cleaned out once a
year!"
The boats used by the peasantry were a sort of
basket-work cot, covered with tarred canvas ; and as
they had no keel, they required a constant care and
balancing of everything within them, alive or dead,
or they would immediately capsize. The cargoes,
nevertheless, were ingeniously and safely conveyed in
them, though often at the greatest risk. The follow-
ing extraordinary narratives appear to be well au-
thenticated :
Paddy M'Bride, like Crime, was sole lord of the small bland o
Hooey, about two or three miles north of Ballyrnes, between Tory
island and the mainland. Paddy was a cattle breeder in small way ;
he hired a bull fur the wagon, which was landed on Dooey Island.
When the season had passed, he w.,s tied four shanks together (on a
small strand, the only one spot on the island from whence the bull
could be chinned), and rolled into a corragh of wicker work seven
feet long, four feet beam, and two feet to depth of hold ; all this was
done by Paddy and two sons of his, then well-grown young men,
Charley and Hugh. The corragii was propelled by a paddle wrought
by threes ; and Hugh, who was the stoutest of the two, took charge
of the bull; and occasionally steered the corragh with a spare paddle.
Away they Merged, Cluirley, the bull, and Hughey. They got on
cheerly until they were half way, when the bull broke the lashing of
his shatilut, and threatened death and destruction to all bands.
There was no time to hesitate; Hughey threw himself on the bull, and
taking off Ms hat or " caubeen,^ pulled it over the nose of the bull,
and Charley turned and got his feet to the snout of the animal,
and both succeeded completely in stopping respiration, so that in a
few minutes the bull was dead. Both Charter and Hugh M'Bride
are alive and well, and still on Island Llooey. Hugh bad a knife, and
first thought of cutting the bull's " wizen," but a lucky presence of
mind suggested the " eaubeen," width ended the animal's life without
a dying throe, the fear of which deterred Hugh from using the knife.
The M'Bridas were sued for the value of the bull, but under the cir-
cumstances of the case, the jury decided in their favour.
Another instance of the rash and reckless daring of these islanders
(beinem pLae here) may be told—it happened recently and in the
neighbourhood. A man and his wife coming out of the Island of
Arranmore, in a little boat filled with turf, had a horse standing on
the top of it ; with the roll of a sea, the animal was thrown out, and
as they were a long way from land, must have been drowned, had not
the man eleverly succeeded in getting him into the boat again!!
Nor are feats of generous daring and true heroism
wanting among these poor people, not merely to-
wards each other, but when the life of a stranger has
been in peril. We gather from Lord George Hill
various facts and statements, that the inhabitants of
this wild region are for the most part generous, droll;
reckless of life when excited, ingenious in contriving,
quick and clever in action; they are also quick to
understand, but puzzling themselves by the con-
fusing perplexities of all imaginable provisions
against being cheated, and to secure their own
interests and purposes. This latter characteristic,
with the ludicrous confusion it necessarily induces, is
commonly observable in all the Irish peasantry. That
the people of Gwcedore did not owe their destitution
and misery to idleness and depravity, but far rather
to adverse circumstances and the want of help, let the
following facts attest and explain:
The nearest market towns being nine, sateen, and twenty-eight
mile. di.tant ; they had thus far to go in order to purchase the
smallest or commonest articles, such is Iron to oboe a horse, boards
and nail. for a coffin, ice. ; and a man going such a distance, with a
horse-load of oat. e., a sack-fullidungaticroas its back), would
=cid any price which might be offeetid, rather than bring it back;
advantage was consequently taken of this very circumstance by the
trailer+. The general system, or alternative, therefore, was to make
the grain into whisky, which was certain of paying a remunerating
price, besides that this mode of trading was more agreeable and con-
genial to a people fond of excitement and en irregular life, though, of
cour-c, the practice was sure to load to idleness and dissolute habits.
In fact, the people were, in a great measure, driven into, and exposed
to, these snares, owing to what has just been stated, six., the want of
a more legitimate mart for traffic.
Such was the condition of the people and their
affairs, previous to the arrival of Lord George Hill
among them. What he did for them, and how he
effected the change, is comprised in the second divi-
sion of these very interesting Facts, and will ap-
propriately form the subject of a second notice.

fllntbessitp anti Clerical Athos.
CAMBRIDGE, Oer. 21.—At a Congregation held this day, the fol. 1
lowing University Examiners fer 11347 were appointed by grace of the
~enatc:—For Medical Deserts: : Dr. Paget, Cahn. For the Mathe-
matteal Tripes: Mr. Mathison, Trin.; Mr. Sykes, Perob. Of the
Quenionists, not Candidates for Honours.-3tatliematiral : Mr. Black-
all, John's; Mr. Goodwin, Cetus. Classical: Mr. Thacker, Thin. ;
Mr. Atlay, John's. Acts of the Apostlesoke. : Mr. Edleston, 'frin.; Mr.
John's. For the Classical Tripes Mr. Beiitson, Pemb.; Mr.
Freer, Tells.; Mr. Harper, John's; Mr. Frame, John's. For the
previous Examinations, Lent and Michaelmas Teems Mr. Thomp-
son, jun., John's ; Mr. Fowler, Sidney ; Mr. A. T. Cory, Pemb. ; Mr.
Marsh, Trin.
At the same Congregation, the following graces also passed the
Senate : To allow Mr. Power, of Pembroke College, to take out of
the University Library the manuscripts marked 'Ee 2, 3." and
"Mm, 3, 21," under the usual bond. To grant to the lalirary of King
C,ollege, intim Isle of Mon, copies of all books which have Men
printed at the Pitt Frew on account of the University, and also such
editions of the Bible and Prayer Book as mac be selected by the
Syndics—the library of that institution, which included a former
grant of books from this University, baying been destroyed be fire.
On the recommendation of the Woodwardian trustees to affix the seal
to a tease of the 'Charlton Hall Farm to Mr. Frederick Grimmer. To
allow Mr. Bernard, Ochre,' Teacher, thirty pounds from the l'nirer-
sity cheat. To appoint the examination of the Questionists who are
condidates for mathematical honours, to begin on the Wednesday
week preceding the ling Monday in the Lent
thatn to be continued
on the Thursday, Friday, and Sattoday of week, and on the
Monday and Tuesday of the following week. To allow Mr. Skinner,
Jona, Mr. Gall, Clare, Mr. Marsh, Trin.-hall, and Mr. Frerc, Down-
ing, to resume their regency.
The following was also offered to the Senate, but thrown out on a
division, the plocolo and non-place's being equal, viz., 13 : To
rapt the
the proposal o•
f the Yeneratile Arelulesoon linrney, D.D., as the
representative of the last surviving Trustees of a Fund which was
raised for the benefit of the late Professor Porson, for founding from
, the residue of the said Fund now in hishands and the interest theme n,
l a Scholarship to be culled the Poison Fcltolarship. At the same eon-
' gregation the following degrees were conferred :-31rtsters of Arlo :
G. S. Drew, B. Whytehead, John's; It. E. Roy, Corpus.—Brtehrlors
) of Arts: P. J. Ablxit, Corpus ;C. E. Douglass, Trinity ; S. Prince,