The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1882-08-13

| gown OF woollen stuff-a cotton slip. with
out underclothng OF any kind, makes
| up her costume. Mr. Locke assures us
that tho comfortable stockings and stout
shoes. and tho red kcrchief about her
neck which she Ia made to wear in pictures
are entirely apocryphal. We're my lords
agent to see such clothing upon girl. he
would Immediately raise the rent upon her
father and keep on raising IL till no was Ger
| tain that shoes and stockings would be impOs-
sible" Neither does the Irish peasant girl
dance Pat down at rustic balls. for the sufficient
reason that there are no balls. And moreover
| when the days hard work Ia done. she Ia glad
enough to croop into her wrctchcd bed Of dried
leaves. and pull over her the potato sack which
| constitutes her solo covering. and. soothed to
sleep by tho gruntings OF tho pigs her COM
panions. to forget rent and landlords. and go
of into the land of happiness which to her is
America
We hear great deal about the intemporance
! Of the Irish people, Mr.. Locke however. was
| present at q mass meeting organized by the
| Land League and comprising not less than
| 100000 people, and he saw but three
| drunken mon in the whole OF tho vast uhrong.
| Much again Is said about the Irish propensity
| to brawls. yet on this occasion, tn ugh the peo
| pie were wild with enthusiasm. there was not
| n single fight Even in the ease OF cvictons,
| lLtckS lOunu THAI Us Tuio lhtTo 10 hO VIZ
| lonce. no shooting. or mobbing on the part Of
| the elected tenant-the only obstacle encoun-
| tered being the difficulty experienced since the
| institution OF the Land League in obtaining n
| now occupant. The relation OF the Irish farmer
| to his landlord In the south and west Of the
| isiand-the situation OF the descendants Of tho
| English and Scotch settlers in Ulster is, OF
course. very different-is thus defined by the
author: The occupant has no lease; he is
simple tenant at will he holds farm at the
good pleasure Of his landlord: his life Ia in
the hands of dissolute scoundrel who
has no brains. backed by dissolute
scoundrel in tho form OF an agent who has
brains. and both OF these seoundrels are backed
| by the bayonets OF the British Government"
| And again: The farmer Of Cork and Upper
airy has nothing to say about himself. his wife.
or his children. II the son OF the thief who
stole his land loses money at bacarat in Paris.
he telegraphs the other thief. his agent. that he
wants money. and the secondary thief. who has
a percentage in the robbery. goes about among
the tenants and raises the rent"
| Mr.. Locke gives On illustration OF the power
| OF the landlord over his tenant which occurred
upon the estate Of Lord Leitrim who was sub
seouently murdered for cause mentioned in
this volume-a cause which. from the time Of
Lucretia to our own. has been held to 60
| far to justify assassination. 1t appears that
| Lord Leitrim had an Industrious ten
ant. whose farm he had long been
eovetng. but which. owing to the excited
feeling Of the country. he did not venture to
take by force. He accordingly sought and
| found q legal pretext. An Irish tenant is not
permitted by the paternal Government under
which he starves to make any improvements
without the consent Of the landlord. He can
not build addition TO his cabin. cannot dig
| M taatp Ia tha latt
| OF the law. but It has never been enforced, for
In the nature Of things the tenant would not
do more than was profitable to himself for an
| improvement OF the land which would inevita-
| bly, inure to the enrichment OF the land
lord. since the latter docs not fail to raise the
rent with every improvement made. Now.
Lord Leitrim's tenant needed a ditch. pre-
paratory to the reclamation OF bog
behind it. and he had been devoting
all his spare time for two years TO
digging it. He could have no reason to sup
pose that my lord would object to his reclaim
| ing the bog. But Mr.. Locke goes ON 10 tell us
that one Saturday Mike was working In the
ditch up to his knees In water. when my lord
came riding by. The latter saw his opportu-
nifty. He knew the law What arc you doingp"
he asked. Making tho fdrain. sor." replied
Mike proudly for was a big job he had under
| taken with his two hands. Who gave you per-
| mission to make ditch on my land p demand
ed Lord Leitrim. MY fine fellow, you have
that dirt all back by Monday morning. or out
| you CO." Mike saw the trap he had fallen into.
Before striking q spade into the earth he
should have gone to my lords agent
and got permission. As it was, ejectment
| was inevitable for he had furnished the land
lord with q legal excuse for robbing him Of
| years OF labor. The next morning. however.
he went to the chapel and told his story to the
priest The sermon that day was very short
one and mainly devoted to Mikes case. At it's
| conclusion the priest asked every man In the
parish to come at once with his spade and help
| to put that earth back. They came. thou
sands Of them. and they wrought with a
will. and long before Monday morning the
drain wes filled up as smoothly as possible
| When Lord Letrm came riding by again to see
the drain and give orders for Mikes eviction
| he found that his seemingly impossible condi-
ton had been fulfilled as II by fairies.
By way OF explaining what landlordism in
Ireland really means. Mr.. Locke condenses the
history Of the barony Of Farney which was
granted to Lord Essex In 1906 and leased by
him for yearly rent OF ESQ. Now it Is undis-
| puted that they who proilted by this conhsca-
| cation and their descendants have never put o
penny upon this tract They have never dug
ditch. removed stone. or cut square foot OF
bog. The cabins In which the tenantry have
lived they built for themselves. and every i'm
provement. great and small. they made with
their own capital and labor. In spite Of such
facts. the process of swindlng robbing. spola-
ton. and plumber has gone until this estate.
which began with yielding E250 in 1906. now
yields the enormous revenue of 10000 An
other suggestive case Of landlordism is ex-
hibited in the estate which Boyle. notorious
horse thief and forGer bought from Raleigh
for $780, One small portion OF this estate. now
owned by tho Duke OF Deyonshire. who Is one
OF the horse thiers descendants yields at pres
ent an annual income OF 100000.
Mr. Locke did not conllne his observations OF
land troubles to Ireland. though it WAS. OF
course. in ireland that he observed the worst
condition Of affairs But no thinks that Eng
land will experience. within a very few years
an almost equally violent land agitation. He
says that farming in England does not pay
much battar than i'm Ireland and the reason