The Sun.
London, England, 1847-11-17 00:00:00

CHANCERY.

The case of wholesale eviction in Meath was
brought before the Rolls' Court on Saturday last.
The lands from which they had been turned out were
part of those involved in the celebrated cause of
" O'Conor v. Malone," which occupied the Court for
some years. Nearly one hundred houses were thrown
down, and the wretched inmates have been since
existing in temporary hovels erected at the hedge-
sides.

On Saturday Mr. Berwick, QC., applied, on behalf
of tenants who had been evicted from their holdings,
that the court should grant them some compensation,
so as to enable them to support life and provide them-
selves with shelter during the winter, and to assist
them to emigrate at the first opportunity. The head
tenant, Mrs. Chute, had entered into a consent in the
name of the tenants for an habere to issue on foot of
an ejectment, which had been served on condition of
her being relieved of all rents and arrears due by her.
The habere did accordingly issue, and 120 families
were put out on the road without a roof to shelter
them, their houses haring been unroofed or thrown
down. A miserable pittance of 21. 10s. was given to
each person on their eviction, but that afforded but a
very brief subsistence to each family, consisting of
seven or eight persons. The poor tenants hail, at the
time of their eviction, paid a sum of 3491., which
came nearly to a year's rent of the land they held.
Mrs. Chute, the head tenant, was allowed to surrender
in 1845, and at that time there was an arrear of
9301. The tenants were not then disturbed ; they
held' Wach of them not more than five acres, for
which they paid the enormous rent of 2/. 12s. 6d. per
acre—or in all about 5461. a year for about 210
aereo. The tenants having contrived, under many
hardships, to pay the sum of 3461., the head tenant
gave consent for the habere to issue on condition of
her being relieved from arrears ; it was put into exe-
cution, ninety-nine houses were stripped or levelled,
and 120Ahtilies were put out of their homes without
shelter from the inclemency of the weather.. Now it
was important to remark that this took place in the
union of Oldcastle. The workhouse there was full,
and eten for out-door relief arrangements were not
yet perfected; but if the poor people could get a
pittance of food, where were they to turn for shelter ?
They would perish from cold, or he smitten with
fever and die by the road side unless relieved. A
proposition had been made to allow these poor people
a small sum for each family, to;assist them in procur-
ing shelter, and enabling them to emigrate, but this
had been objected to by Mr. 'Malone, whose interest
in the land was that he was next in remainder.
Counsel submitted that this wets a case in which the
co tert could interpose its authority, and direct the
ap
plication of a portion of the large fund in Court to
tethneacartsed,iwt
who had of the cause for the relief of these poor
and who hail paid
acted in the most peaceable manner,
all that they could, after the
disaster they psuiff
wheenredevibcyted
the failure of the potato
crop, and who,
ffered net the slightest
resistance to the law, although there was reason to
• believe that the lease had not` expired xpired at the time.
The Master of the Rolls said
that.at before he would
make any order on the matter
hshould have, in
pounds, shillings, and'pence, an accurate statement of
o require a
the arrears duce by the tenants,
and
short affidavit from Mr. Malone stating
i n
Admitted the jurisdiction of the-,, 11Ceurt gto whether he
order for the relief of the tenants, and gi'vlanli;cean
Lis
reasons for refusing the proposition.
The case stands over accordingly.
CHANGES AMONGST THE ASSISTANT BARRISTERS.
The following changes have taken place among the
assistant barristers, in consequence of the death of the
late Mr. Mayne :—Mr. O'Shauganessyhas been re-
moved from Louth to Mayo; Mr. Baldwin
cepted Louth, his professional business requiring him
to give up Cork, the d,ities of which involve
,
lenehened absene •• oil Dublin. Mr. Berwick goes
to Cork, from Waterford. Whether Mr. Gorges
will be appoin • ted to Waterford, or some other county,
has not yet been determined on.
THE O'CONNELL MOSUMENT.—The amount con-
tributed yesterday to raise a national monument to
the late Mr. O'Connell, in the various Roman Catholic
chapels of Dublin, was 1,290/.; and it is likely that
the metropolitan collection will reach 1,5001.
The Lord L. ieutenant has appointed Edw. Wynne,
Esq. (late inspecting offieer at Ennistymon);' As•
sistant Poor-law Commissioner in Ireland.