Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1882-03-17

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Gen. Henry Boynton spoke to . lare,
audience in Grand Army Hall last night OF
Ireland. giving the results of his tour through
the Emerald Isle and his Interview. with RI.
people. The lecture was very interesting
Astounding in we'll written descriptions of the
beautiful scenery and cite. of the island. and
Oh incidents of his trip. Mr.. E. r. Pierce
presided and introduced the speaker. We
give below synopsis of the lecture.
me lecturer first gave description of the
extreme beauty of Tough Foyle. on his intro.
doction there to Ireland at half past two
ciock on summers morning.-with the
oid castle and fine mansions and blooming
gardens and charming landscapes. He de.
serioed visit to those great wonders, Giants
1Ause"ay and the great natural cavern of
Tort Coona; the one towering high in the air.
and the other deep down under the surface Of
the earth.
Next came trip through fair Coleraiue.
the lovely vale of the North. and then ,bron oh
county Antrim, from which the father of
President Arthur emigrated to America.
The condition of peasants. As he saw il
ana heard II stated from the tenants them
selves, and the oppression BY the landhold-
eis, shows that even in the most fertile re-
giohs OF ireland, where the farmers raise
great crops, that the proceeds of not
only the field crops but of the straw
berries and even flowers raised in
thelr small gardens must go to paw the yerx
nigh rent, while the poor farmer and his
family must subsist mainly upon such Dor
lions OF their crops as are unmarketable.
I hroofed cottages in many places showed
where poor tenants had been driven from
their homes for non-payment of rent Yet
with all Its hardships, he met a great num-
Der OF remarkably fine, handsome, stalwart
men, and found them unsurpassed for genial
manly, gentlemanly courtesy.
Belfast he found to be a great city of
100000 inhabitants. 1t is well built through.
out, there being no poor buildings seen in il.
and everywhere showing the evidences of
great thrift and in ustry 1t is a manufactur-
ing city. Here he visited the largest linen
factory IN the world, that of the York Com
paDy, the buildings of which cover almost
four acres of ground. Here he saw 5000
operatives at work in this one factory. The
BOTANIC Garden here is a wonder even in
Europe for the magniticence of its then bios.
soming rhOd0dendrOns, as well as for its fine
and extensive ornamental grounds and park
collection. At Clontarf he saw the old time
battle ground, where the great Irish chief
tam, old Brian Borru, of romantic and heroic
renown, still held in cherished memory by
the Irish, was 700 years ago slain in battle
with the Danes
Dublin was found to be a very fine city much
Weather and better built than he expect.
ed. From the top of Nelson's monument
10 feet high, it is seen stretching away off, a
great mass of buildings, until its borders are
q m 10 inf ln L.
picture galleries and statues are very interest
ing, and its lovely parks are fine and extern
sive. In Queens College trinity he saw
many extremely valuable old books. includ-
ing one of the first Bibles printed from NOV
able type. Close by stands the fine old Irish
Parliament buildings. mournful monuments
OF the times when Ireland had parliament of
its own. The Bank of Dublin was found to
be fitted up in style of most superb mag
nificence, far suspassng that of the great
Bank of England or any bank seen in Europe
He was surprised at seeing so very rich dis
play of goods in the stores of Dublin silks
laces and the most beautiful porcelains and
many other indications of a luxury loving
class of customers. He took several rides
over the city on Irish jaunting cars, quaint
but very conv enient conveyance, and visited
the Earl Of Lecester's picture gallery
containing some fine old masters, and
collection Of statuary. St. Patricks Cathe-
dral. built over the miraculous well of that
well-known saint. is extremely interesting
with its grand pillars, and arches and ceilings
decorated with the magnificent colored light
that streams down from its superb colored
windows, and with Its many grand tombs and
monuments and statutes of the illustrious
Irishmen, whose mortal remains now repose
beneath this great roof. Here we see the
storied monuments of many men whose
names are household woi DIS in literature. sci
ence, theology, art, learning and in heroism
Ireland has been rich in great men.
On the face of the great hill of Howth hung
lovely farms, with their cottages, and cattle.
and gardens and rows of variegated fields,
each framed in with a fully blossomed hedge
of whitethorn, with row of trees along it,
and all appearing to the enraptured eye of
the traveller like great bright oil paintings.
freshly drawn by the brush of some giant and
master artist, and then hung upon the bold
front of these heights. Gen. Bovnton here re-
counted some amusing adventures which his
party had at Dublin Castle and other places
He found Ireland remarkable for its beauty
of scenery, its good roads. its very fine dairy
products. its fertility of soil. but most of all
by its containing so many Of the finest look
ing and tallest and largest men that he saw
in any country in Europe except England.
He frequently saw land in Ireland that is
paying a rent of pound sterling (S4.S6) an
acre a year, and some paying even about $40
an acre rent and this, too, in the
country. Were it not that the Irish are
among the best farmers in the world, it
would be utterly impossible for them to pay
such enormous rent. Yet these lands have
been made fertile at the expense of the ten
ant. and not of the landlord. Land that once
produced but little has been fortified by such
means as bone fertilizers, bought with the
tenants money, and made to produce great
crops. instead of almost no crops at all; and
as fast "a these purchased fertilizers increas
ed the richness of the product the landlord
has generally increased the rent, and the huts
that the tenants live in were built by the ten
ants themselves, and they are required to pay
rent for them. II a tenant has aided a much
needed shed or dug well. or added a window
to his windowless hut, the landlord has
generally been prompt to require him to pay
additional rent for it. This is rack rent.
If the tenant declines, then off comes the roof
of his house and it is burnt before his eyes by
constables and posse called in bv the land
lords stewart: the landlord himself frequent
" residing in Paris or England and spending
the money thus robbed from honest industry,
in a country foreign to Ireland, thus not only
robbing the tenant but doing all in his power
to impoverish the land itself. And for oppos
49, sb;,-s and spch thasa IL ia that