The Express.
London, England, 1850-10-01 00:00:00

all be potted, preserved, and shipped for almost next
to nothing, and, I lolly regret, for the sake of iota od-
ing purchasers. that Mr. Rob!rteon's leases have so
beg to run. I should mention that this gentleman
holds, in &Adidas to the fishery, two considerable
portions of land upon leases for the byes of himself
end his wife, and 21 years after the death of the sur-
vives of them. The quantity of land thus held is not
defined, but the rent paid le N. for one portion, and
161. for the other. The dates of these leases, though
very important to the purchaser,are not particularised
is the schedule. From appearances I should hag
that, if good, these leases must be of considerable
vales.
I have now described the land of Baliinabineh and
its remarksble sod, as I think, truly valuable fish.-
rtes. With the first I feu that little is to be done—
of the last I feel assured that, were they in the banes
of the purchaser of the irate, a great source of reve-
nue would be ay..114.b1e. Mr. Robertson has does a
great deal : his entarpr.s• in this field of labour has
undcubtedly been meritorious r bat his position es
taunt of tone fisheries and lands I should consider
as extremely detrimental to the interests both of the
sellers and the purchaser. With such incembrances
the valor of Ballinahinch appears to me to be greatly
deteriorated. Are there any other points about the
property to eompanute for such great drawbacks?
Almost every one has heard of the Ballisahinch
marble gaunt,. They ere situated at the back of a
mountain about two miles off the main toad, and
about 4 miles, or perhaps 31, in • direct line, from
the nearest place of shipment. The quarries them-
selves aressaly worked. They are only 18 feet from
the surface, and, although at present they are full of
water, which the labourers have neon in the habit of
scooping out with ladles, any engineer would pump
it out fur them with a smell steam-fogies is hen
a day. There would be nothing difficult to a
speculator in the carriage of the marble to the
wharf,. Any one who has sten the granite
quarries near Liskeard, or is the Isle of Portland,
will be struck with the facility with which, in cos-
petition, this marble might be carried. But I fancy
the objeeton to 11.1linsMach marble lies less in the
difficulty of getting. it or carrying it than in the dif-
ficulty of work;eg It fairly when it is procured. The
marble bas a beautiful vein of pale , diver-
sified with yellow, and occasionally with a greyish
hiss. There are other sot is which are nearly- white,
and upon another portion of the estate I wand
that black spicimens are obtained. But marble ma-
mas say that all this marble is brittle, and that
the careful labour of a week in working it
is apt to be marred by one unhappy chip. How far
this is the case I must leave those to decide who un-
derstand better than myself the qualities of marble.
I can only say that if this objection to it is removed I
can see nothing which meld prevent a men of enter-
prise and capital from bringing the Irish marble into
ecespetilon wi.h the stone of any other country in
the world. -. _ _ _

There is an advantage about Ballinabinch, inferior
is its commerc.al importance, but net to be de-
spised now that Connemara is likely to be
breaght within a reasonable journey of Dub-
lin, and even of our owe metropolis. Every
tees of the road which wird' through the
estate brings the traveller upon some new geese on
which imagination rests with pleasure as • place
united for a summer residence. The circles is every
lake you pane reveal the harlots of the trout, which
are ben to be caught in the utmeet perfection and of
every variety. Upon almrwt every bill, lam told,
the sportsman is sure to Bad a pack of gross*, end in
the bays and coves there are wild fowl of every variety
and in considttable numbers. As a country for the
lover of the gun and rod, Ballinahinch is probably
unequalled. Already one gentleman from Dublin has
built himself a box epos' the mountains. and I feel
thoroughly convinced, the moment the Galway rail-
road opera, that a doses furtiehed shootiortlodgee,
built among picturesque meows of the hills, with
opportunity of obtaining supplies from some good
general store to be established in the neighbourhood,
would let here at prices that would be amply re-
munerative. Ary one who bought Ballinahinch would,
by acting on this hint, do vast good to the poor on the
estate, and would bring about himself agreed& so-
ciety, which, I seed hardly say, is no inconsiderable
der &Tatum here.

And, having spoken of the poor of the estate, I
ought not, in common justice., to neglect to say som►
thing about this suffering population. It is univer-
sally admitted that the peasants of Connemara are
ezeeedingly sod that they make good
work-people when fairly crewed and well managed.
But only think of their position now! Here is an
estate running through forty miles of emery, on
which there is scarcely 20s. a day 'pent in any sort
of labour ! The only employer in this district for a
lug time past has been Mr. Robertson, of the Fishery.
On no account would I disparage what be has dose.
I believe sincerely that the grateful hearts of the
people warm towards him even for the little
employment he affords them. But I am
boned to say, that I should feel and write
with stronger approval if I did not understand that
all the labourers in his employ are trucked at a
low rate—namely, half a stone of meal a day for
twelve hours' labour, a stone of meal being per-
chasuble at the nearest market fuelevenpencel Well,
then, ooly consider—here is forty miles of country,
and only one employer, and that employer paying his
labourers in kind. When are the people? Where
will yea expect to find them but in the crowded
workhouses of the Clifden union ? Of late, I regret
to say it, wholesale evictions have been going on in
this district. The people have been throat oat of
their houses, and driven into the workhouses in
crowds. I: will be said that they did not pity either
rent or rates. Why how could they pay either rent
or rates when there was not a sixpence passing io the
whole country in the shape of wages? Great blame
is attached throughout this part of Ireland to the
mortgagees of the Ballinahineh property for some
of these prcoeediegs. "Talk of Irish landlords," said
one gentleman to me; " look whatyour Baglish cow-
panics do when they obtain control over estates." And
upon my word, there is stern justice in the reflection
that he cast upon them.
The symptoms of poverty are general throughout
the district. For twenty miles from Oughtsrard ter
Ballanabineb I saw not a single mountain sheep, and
only a few cattle which belonged. to Flynn, the inn-
keeper. What have become of them P The
universel answer is—" Most of them were eaten
dorirg the famine: the few that remained
have been seized for poor rates." Yet the
industry of this people is very marked. All
along the reed the cars is this district are pursued by
sweep sad ctildren striving to sell woollen socks of
their own knittirg. On the mountain sides, too,
there are occasional patches of oats and potatoes, the
property of the osenpant of tome adjacent cabin.
Even under the most disadvantageous eireamatancee,
it is obvious that they strive to earn an honest liveli-
hood. Well may Imy *Viet, Lr what a desperate
struggle it must be.

1 have written se meth respecting this estate, that
I fear to weary you by entering into further detail'.
There are p >micros of it which, if space permitted. I
should desire more particularly to notice. leer beeaus•
I Lem them good isvesteaents, than bemuse they
'moot remarkable peculiarities. One of the lots,
ler example, kande" a large fishing village ;
another includes an ocean island stocked with
deer; in fact, it is impossible to imagine
any characteristic of the wildest mountain merry
that is not included in one or other of the portions
into which this singular estate is lotted. But in
speaking of Ballanahisch demesne I have, I Welt.
'efficiently indicated the general view I entertain of
this estate. That redoes of it are improvable
I do not doubt, end to ttose who are
iaclined to engage in the /tradable work of land
improvement there are ma mast lots inelud-
lag bays from whisk may be obtained the finest
peeeibls manures for beggylands—l mean sea-weed,
and what is usually termed eonl-eand. la feet, if
weave has done little of herself for the remoter parts
of this estate, she hoe provided an abundance of the
beet materials with which the industry of other. may
speedily improve it. I taut siseertly, for the benefit
et ell coseercsd. that eons one may be found to enter
ea the work. The mate of math a district, until some-
body is found to employ the labour on it, cannot but
be miserable. Eve* at this boar, ejeetnieuts are
imps ding over the heads of many who weald will-
isgly work if they mold ealy Ind employment. But
it u to be hoped that tbo Esountarod Estates Court,
by making an early sad unreserved sale of the pro-
perty, will avert the utter ruin with which them poor
seals ars threatened. In this case, as wall as in every
other Ihave milted, it is that court that meat be
looked to so the sous of saving Ireland.