Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1883-10-24
Far III and Peasant Life In Ireland.


have seen the Irish farmer there-havt
visited him 10 his little farm house and
cabin-have walked and talked with him
and | now write what | have seen and
know. will deal with individual cases,
which may serve as typical illustrations ol
The Irish situation to day.
He was small farmer. In the English
courts, there have been recent legal solu
lions of the meaning OF the term farmer in
the kingdom, and it had been held, that a
man renting four acres of land and keep
ing two cows, ETC., could not be called Il
farmer but must be termed a gardener OF
crofter, and his legal dog keeping privi.
leges must be those of the latter. and not
hose of a farmer.
His farm consisted of 40 acres for which
with the "seadngs' be paid rent TO The
man who he said had hired this land"
and about half the land in the county, nj
lie rate of Is. he acre and taxes. These
taxes were Is 4d to the pound paid in rent,
for poor rates, and l0d IN the pound road
taxes HIS children were sent to the
national schools, where he paid 5s every
hree months for instruction. If Il man was
100 poor 10 pay this school rate. it was
RENTED.
Every winter he sent Car Zip carl)
load of turf, cut from his own bogs, as his
household fire wood, school tax levy. The
poor man at the same season sent his
children to the national schools with II
piece of turf under each arm-if they
could raise any turf; If not they warmed
their toes at the other boys peat contribu.
tions All the children of Ireland have
schooling at hand, without money or
price, ii they so elect; yet many OF the
children of The poor, are, said my Irish
man, put to work pulling weeds, lending
cattle, ETC., when so young they hardly
know what work is, and are thus robbed
If education.
That is the reason why so many Irish
men and Irish maids are here with Us,
without any knowledge of reading and
writing. The hours of schoolin! Gone
SESSION. 10 to 8. At l2a recess for lunch
and play. the lunch IL piece OF bread and
II bottle of milk; or where poverty rules.
the bread without the milk.
In regard to church rates one farmer
said he was not obliged 10 pay anything.
I'VE pay according 10 our goodness and
our MEANS" said he. He always went to
meeting every Sunday morning. Seats
all tree The box went round; the pei niles
and half pennies were slung in by those
who had them TO spare. Christmas ana
Easter all good Catholics q profess to be
one. he sald) give the father, the priest. II
certain sum. The range of these gifts
were 2s from the laborlng man Gf he had
1 ha,
gentleman farmer.
1t was quite the thing for friends attend
ing funerals 10 bring Is each for the
church. The priests in his locality
received no direct pay for attending tuner
ais. The body of the dead Was placed
without The door of the co lage. and pray.
ers there said over it, by the priesI, ai!eI
which it was slaken on the bier the grave
ward, all the moui htrs Waklng behind It,,
where the dead was OF the humber class
rs.
NV IRISH farmer said my generation"
have II plot in the graveyard, and so have
nothing ITO pay Tor grave hnt lht
humber classes have to pay something for
"A place Of burial, which does not give
them ownership, but Only right OF occupa'
tun for term Of years, alter which others
may be buried in the same place. Oiten
the poor, in bearing their dead for burial,
carry along with them digging tools, with
which they open a grave and cover the
= REMAINS. ihn ,o,l, nS hm'yino thn;r dead-work
..i ,"e va" ,o,, " bir.a Ha,nMis onite com
MON in Ireland,
rne i,ish farmer grew no wood upon
t;a ihr i'nd "nd @ 49, nsan ne wood for his fires
rn,C irnm his hoo was his onlv fuel-,urt
"a, ana ,'1 ,,,od M w5.n ,he farm work was
w., w., "r" ;nn and given lono season of
d,,,;p., III, farm rrons were onls pota
,o.a 1n,nu,s wheat. rye. mapgels and
,I,n ,rn,.or,;ons ,f ,bos,. several crops are
,mJ ~ nJ,ppa,ad hv ,he order in which i have
i,s'od ,hou ,a,s headline the line. These
,s.'" ,r.. .hnn, rho nrices he Generally obtained
ra. h;1, rows y, tho marker town near nv
Ivhao, mar barrel ot 20 stone. Sos: puia.
,,a- n., barrel of 81 stone. lSs. He kep,
Iu ahon, 20 % hens For his EGGS he was paid
Ia w "a - dozen ACCORDING 10 The season
IS Ina year He had a small flock oI
|rhe women drove the geese To
,a'ta, ,rheo ,hev had ,nv to sell. and ON
,ha hoof ;ns, ~ Ihev had wadded 10
.nu ~ NoG'' ,n', 'eoId for ,hon, os a n,ir
u,s o,hsr f,rm nroducts were generally
consnme1 on The p,ace with the exception
Of ,be MOS which generally went to pa,
rho 49, ..rintn ms For his medical attend ,nce
be had IN nav his doctor about Il dollar a
n,si, nv I hut W he hey Ia horers mostly depend upon
ts .s' a;suonsarv oua w ssrvicp or 90 without apy
doo,or e1 u '
49, ~ ~, ,,,or q, food our Irish farmer
hon his t ,hroa ] eonare meals a dav. but
uau han more no Wv vorv ar nIain meals. Bread and
oa, on1 weaI " were his hest holds; he had n
little fresh meat in his house. A dish OF
bacon and cabbage was apt to be his piece
de resistance at dinner. At Christmas he
was likely TO have Joint of fresh meat.
The humble lanorers around him, who
were honpv if thew could get q shilling a
dav the YEAR round, but who were not
generally so fortunate AS to have steady
had been in the habit oi
making their three meals day on pola.
Toes and stir about. Potatoes had often
failed them of late years. and now they
bought bag of oatmeal or Indian corn
meal and did the best they could with it