Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1878-04-17
Aerarian AdurdeYs in Ireland.

The murder of the Earl of Leitrim,
April 2, adds another to the long list
of agrarian murders in Ireland. In
this case the victim was the head of
one Of the English families that set
tied in Ireland after the reign of
Queen Elizabeth. The grandfather
of the murdered Earl was raised to
the Irish peeragc in 1888, and was
made Earl of Leitrim in 1895. The
man killed on Tuesday was the third
Earl of the name, and was more than
20 years of age. He had estates in
the counties Of Leitrim and Kildare,
and throughout his life was stern
and exacting landlord. This fact was
notorious, and, among the stories told
of him, was one to the effect that he
always dismissed an appeal made to
him by tenant with the remark that
the applicant might go to hell or
America.
The story of the murder has been
graphically told in our cable dis
patches. Aroused by the ejectment
of a widow and other tenants in ar
rears, q party Of men attacked the
Earl aud his attendants and killed
all. The details bear striking re-
semblance to other murders Of the
kind. On New Years Day in 1889,
Lord Norbury, an Irish peer, while
walking in his own grounds, was shot
dead. The assassin escaped in tho
confusion, and was not captured. In
1912 outrages on the persons and
properties of land wners and agents
were of frequent occurrence. Sever
al landlords and agents were murder
ed, and special commissions were ap-
pointed to secure the arrest and pun
ishment of offenders. In 1843 there
were numerous conflicts between the
police and the peasants. In Novem-
Der, 1843, Mr.. Waller aud family
were fired on by his tenants, and Mr..
Waller and two others were killed.
On the 9th of April, 1S45, rate col
lector was beaten to death on the
public highway, and in the succeed
ing six months thirty or forty homi-
cides were reported. In lS4S five
convicted murderers were hanged,
thirty other persons accused of crime
were transported, and hundreds of
peasants were confined in Jail. In
this year Robert Lindsay Maulever-
er, magistrate of Londonderry and
agent Of extensive estates, was shot
as he was driving home.
In 1856 Miss Charlotte Hends, of
Ballyconnell, was shot and fatally
wounded as she was driving home.
This was in October, and before the
end Of November twenty cases of
murder or murderous assault were
reported. In one case, in 1862, q So
licitor was shot dead at hotel by one
of family upon whom he had served
notice to quit. In May, 1863, Gus
tave Thiebault was murdered on his
grounds near Cahir, Iipperary. In
April, 1868, Howard Featherston-
haugh, Deputy Lieutenant of the
county of Westmeath, was dragged
from his carriage and shot. In May,
1869, farmer was beaten to death for
taking farm from which tenant
had been evicted; a Mr.. Bradshaw
was shot on his own lawn and Cap
tain Tarleton was shot on his own
grounds at Athlone. During the
same year James Hunter, Q Scotch
farmer, was shot while driving home
with his family, and several other
murders were committed. On the
I'd of November, 1870, q bailiff named
Murphy was stoned to death at Tenn
plemore, and in 1874 Mr.. Patten
Bridge, agent in Tipperary, . harsh
and vigorous man, was fired on while
walking with his sister and afterward
while driving. The driver was killed,
and Mr.. Bridge received thirty gum
shot wounds. 81
The last tragedy, with the alluding
circumstances, would indicate that
neither landlords or tenants in cer-
tain districts of Ireland have learned
much by experience, and that all the
efforts ct reform have not brought
about satisfactory state of affairs
On one side landlords make no con-
cessions, and on the other, desperate
men hesitate not to resort to extreme
measures. The murder Of the Earl of
Leitrim will doubtless be followed
by period Of excitement incident to
the prosecution of suspected persons.
Inter Ocean.