Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1880-02-20

- TYPICAL Nrthn community
correspondent of the London Times who
is making a tour Of inspection through IRE
land, contributes to that paper some interest
ing particulars concerning the houses and the
life of the Irish tenant farmers and peasants
His tone is kindly and impartial, and, while
he makes no special endeavors to collect sta
tistics, the pictures which he gives of Irish
farms and villages give, after ALL more Wv
| id idea of the actual condition of the people
than mere figures would afford. One Of his
recent letters is written from Casterea lit
tie market town in Roscommon. The town
is in the heart of huge expanse of bog and
stone-wall country, and so generally is the
surface divided into diminutive fields that
from some points Of view more OF stone wall
than of actual land fills the eye. Poor grass
for the most part, occupies the surface, and a
minor portion of the black soil is broken up
for arabic. Both the pasture and the arabic
land show evidences of slovenly treatment
| Sometimes a decent looking farm house, two
stories high with slated roof appears but
| generally, and almost everywhere to the west
and northwest, and extending for very many
miles into the counties of Mayo and Galway,
landscapes dotted interminably with white
walled and straw-thatched cabins commonly
scattered ut intervals of quarter of mile or
less. In innumerable spots occur floors of bog
beside inky pools, on the brink of which are
piled clumps of dried peat for fuel. There
are usually no farm premises except one or
| two small novels, joined to the farmers
dwelling, and sheltering his stock. The one
or two cows and their calves which the farm
er owns are in the fields all winter, an expo
sure rendered possible by the mildness of the
climate, but having an unfavorable effect up
on the value of the animals for food. The
houses are one room high, SONG. of them con-
tanning several rooms, and many but one.
Some of them have no window, the only APP.
erture for light and ventilation being the al
ways open door and the roof through which
the smoke from the peat fire imperfectly es-
capes. Sometimes there is seen a niche in
the wall close to the fire, recess like the berth
| of a ship. which holds a bed for the 'collaugh"
or old mother. Men, women and children all
work, nor is the industry Of the population
their only virtue. In spite OF the insufficient
domestic accommodations, and the almost to-
tai lack of sanitary provision, the moral tone
of the people does not appear to be lowered.
A family limited TO single apartment by
night and day must have their own notions OF
what is decorous and what is not, but the
correspondent testifes that neither the mad
equate house accommodation nor the out
door work of the women and girls induces
| that boldness and rudeness of behavior which
distinguishes the field hands in some parts Of
England The parish priests and other clergy,
and others who are familiar with the charac-
ter of the population Of Roscommon and
Mayo, agree in testifying. that they are AS
well conducted as their appearance indicates.
The amount of intoxicaton is said to be much
below that observed in English rural towns of
similar size ; the people are quiet and peace
full, and the social evil does hot exist The
| experience of the people is duh and unbrok-
en-; there is no gardening or ornamentation
there are no diversions or public entertain
ments; and no printers or booksellers.
1t is evident that population of the char
acter thus described must be- even in seasoLs
Of average prosperity, pretty near the border
line of want But with their industrious hab-
its and simple needs they do contrive to sub
sist, and some of them lay aside small sums
of money. Now, however, they are in pit
liable condition. One half of their small crop
of potatoes was destroyed by disease, and a
further loss was suffered because in the brief
interval between the great rains and the pre-
mature snow and frost they were not able to
dig their potatoes and save their peat too.
The oats did not turn out well, and the price
of cows and calves came down, so that great
numbers of people are compelled to grind the
oats aud eat the potatoes which they should
save for seed Probably from a third to a
half of the population in that section of the
country will have to be supported by extran.
eous help for three or four months. The
correspondent says
The restitution now upon some of the
population and rapidly approaching others,
particularly in the wide track of country
about Ballyhaunis, Claremorris, and Swine
ford, which form "A sort of agricultural rock
cry for 10 and 20 miles together, is so griev-
Gus as to be frightful and appalling to those
who had experience of the great famine and
fever. Like scenes of dire distress, of whole
sale deaths by starvation, perhaps of rebel
lious violence, are certain and very close at
hand, unless prompt assistance be provided
Tor the hungry.
The relief afforded by employment upon
public works will he adds, in many cases
come too late. Even if it were not so, such
works are napplicable to these tiny holdings.
If the poor-houses are open to the sufferers,
the result will be to pauperize them perma-
nently while the class Just above them will
be brought down to their level 10y tue extra
practicable plan appears to be the distribu-
ton of small sums of money and supplies of
food and seed potatoes among the INDECENT
families for several months to come. This
will not involve an extrayagant outlay, if
rightly managed, and it will be the quickest
and surest mode of relief. 1t will of course
be supplementary to such public or private
works as may be found feasible.