Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1879-01-01

NNSNta'its, anu Deer, Nnlcn can ht
bought for penny Il glass throughout
these countries
had noticed lots of game on my
Journey, and | asked this gentleman il
hunger did not often tempt the lahore,
to It's appropriation.
Many" he continued, supplement
their harder by poaching; but, owing to
the severity of the game laws, such a
thing is very risky. 1t is common
thing among the boldest to disappear
from the villages after dark, and turn
up some hours after with rabbit, a
hare, partridge, or their smock- pock.
cts heavily lined With potatoes, turnips,
or other vegetables, stolen from the far
mer's fields"
1T is pretty hard for haf-starved
man with a family to see abundance
around HIM, anu vet not be able To Law
his hands upon i,?' | ventured.
Yes, said my informant, "it is hard.
The starving process has gone on so
long that already it is producing re-
markabe results. For instance, we can
no longer get soldiers from the agricul-
tural counties IN England, because the
physique of the people has so deterioy-
ated that 1t Is not even equal in muscle
to that of lads in towns, from whom we
take our recruits"
Il have heard q good deal about the
intellectual and moral degradation of
the English laborer,' | went ON. "What
can you say upon the subject?'
The low intelligence of the pres ent
generation Is not 10 be wondered at, but
the next generation, owing to the Com
pulsory Education bill. will be far differ
ent; and ! think, rs soon rs education
among agrlculturists becomes the rule,
we shall have n succession of aglta-
tons which will completely upset old
land laws. AS TO morality, il is low
enough i'll some districts. 1t is not an
uncommon vice i'll villages, where
sleeping accommodation is so deficient.
that whole families, Of all ages and both
sexes, huddle together in one room.
Some two or three years ago, a case was
reported respecting Il young woman
who had three children, the paternity
OF whom was uncertain, rs she had al
ways lam with Ter father and brother.
Not long ago, an inquest was held at
Stagursey, Bridgewater upon an old
larm-laborer whose daughter had borne
him four children. They had lain upon
iearn and Seaweed covered with mat
ting,-thc children running about naked
IN summer, and covered with an old
sack III winter. This, of course, Is not
general, but 1t is not uncommon; and
you can scarcely expect a much higher
morality III some places, where farmer
and farmers sons treat the daughters Of
The fnrm-laborers pretty much rs many
/ a dissolute slave-owner used to treat his
| female slaves"
! Horrible rs TINS statement is, find it
fully corroborated by the Rev. Mr.. Fry,
who declared, att meeting OF the West
ern Association of Baptsts, in 1876,
that he found in moral England hea-
thenism of the worst description. He
described n village near Taunton where
on II miserable bed lay poor old sick
woman, with a bag hung over her head
to keep the droppings of the roof from
falling upon her. In the same place
was her daughter, with several illegiti-
mate children 10y her own brother. "In q
! tour ofmlne among agricultural laborers
found frequent similar cases The
! landowners" he went on, had re-
duced the people to this state by their
rapacity- and greed; and the state
church clergy have complacently watch
ed the progress OF incest and squalidlty
without demonstrating with the men
who are causing it." a reference to
the Blue Books prepared some time
ago upon the employment of women
and children shows conclusively that
the church-ofEngland clergy possess a
full knowledge OF this mortal rotten
ness, because her Majesty's commits
sioners chiefly relied upon the informa.
ton of the clergy, who even went
around with these gentlemen, and
showed thorough acquaintance with
the awful state of Their parishes.
The Russian peasant has generally
been looked upon as only one grade
above the Chinese; but | am inclined
to think his lot Is Il more enylable one
than that Of his English brother. The
London Globe lately reprinted some in
teresting statistics, published at st.
Petersburg, showing the price Of labor
in Russia this summer. At Sembirsk,
the pay Of a peasant has been from "a
to Is day by himself, or from Is Id
to 3 Cd with his horse. The ser.
vices of his wife and daughter have
been estimated at from SD to I'd. In
Viatka. where the famine has ragged,
it has been possible to obtain man and
his beast at Is 81 day, and himself for
I'd, while 2!d has been the average
wages for his wife. in South Russia.
labor has been dearer. The peasants
of Ekaterinoslay, have demanded Is Sd
to Is sd day without the use OF Their
horse, and at Odessa 25. This seems a
! 1 ,......n,u I,nt, Cnr III,