The Sun.
London, England, 1870-03-11 00:00:00

THE IRISH AGRICULTURAL LABOURER..

The inspectors' report affords some sting in-
formation on the condition of the Irish agricultural
labourer. One of the inspectors says that the
employers and the employed have to a certain
extent changed places, the latter class
being now in a position to dictate the
terms upon which they will dispose of their capital,
that is, their labour, to the former. Another in-
. spector says that the farmers are beginning to com-
plain that labourers dictate their own terms. He
also • 9bserves that you cannot convince an
Irishmin that he is better off as a daily
labourer, even with fair wages, than he would
be with a bit of land. In noting these
7Aports the Pall Mall Gazette says that this passion
',And seems to leave the Irish labourer when he
ishis native soil. In the towns of England and.
Ind he takes to the roughest descriptions of un-
labour for daily wages with great
y. It is true, says the same authority, that
,e has little chance of obtaining a small hold-
At in America, where no difficulty stands in his
we do not remember to have noticed that he
ly inclines towards the status of a peasant pro-

"J
L‘ THE MALT TAX.
Lowe seems to have a chance of reconciling
tg body of agriculturists, if he will do some-
with the malt tax. A farmer writes to the
Tsph to say that the repeal of the impost is
party question. The Conservatives, says
titer, have treated the repealers very ill of
;ears, and the allegiance of many has
,lienated. "If Mr. Lowe succeeds in shifting
ax from the agriculturists on to a- substitute, he
amonst other incidental advantages, convince
members of a most influential class who still
to be convinced, of the mistake many of them
made in years past in pinning their faith to the
-vatives as being their friends, of which error,
assure you so many of them have, on other
ids, repented, that the farmers no longer
e to be treated as opponents by a Liberal
d,"

POOR RATE INEQUALITIES.

,turn of the poor rate levied in the unions of
and and Wales bears striking testimony to the
of the burdens borne by the people in
t parts of the country. In London alone the
the pound levied for the relief of the poor
from 61d. in Paddington, ltd. in Hampstead,
1. for the city of London, to 3s. 7d. at Stepney,

in West London, and 3s. laid. in Bethnal-green.
iuth is burdened with the highest rate In the
y-4s. 7d., though Holyhead, Pwllheli, Stoke
-el, King's Lynn, and Colchester are all very
_ _

Button; in Sussex, is mulcted in only 34.,
Ilme in Lancashire, only 6d., and there
Any at about 6d. or 7d. Comparatively
,nions or parishes contain above 100,000 acres,
this respect Devonshire is remarkable, for it
asses seven which are much above the limit. Of
)(In unions in Lincolnshire, only three are not
100,000 acres. The largest union in
land and Wales is Bellingham, in Northumber-
, which contains 233,861 acres. The
test is the Middle Temple, which contains only
Tres, eighty-one inhabitants, and is without a
These legal precincts were made a parish by
tin the reign of Elizabeth. The most populous
are, in order, Liverpool,`Birmingham,the far-
St. Pancras, and Manchester.

GAOL-BIRD LITERATURE.
special number of Rochetort's paper, the Mar-
lie, which has just been issued, is composed
,ly of contributions from men in prison. These
.unable treasures are thought to justify a con-
Able increase in the price of the number which
ins them; though one Imperialist journal smartly
.ks that prison produce, according to rule, ought
cheaper, rather than clearer than market price.
igst the contributions is one purporting to come
O'Donovan Rossa, who is described as a "Fenian
per of the British Parliament, condemned to the

's; and detained in Newgate." This description
Mainly not quite accurate; but it is a great im-
Anent on the letter itself. Rossa says that the
authorities starved him, deprived him of light,
aye him chains and a Bible. He was forced to
in water which had alrea4y, been used
alf a dozen English prisoners: A certain
ty of oakum was given him to pick,
lie understanding that he would fast if he did
fish it. On one oceasion he completed his task
tinutes before the fixed time, and took up a
The officer accused him of idling; be was
red to bread and water, and confined in a dark
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