The Irish standard., 1891-04-11
BLOODY BALFOuR'S FUND.
What Edward Eggleston Saw Dur
ing His Recent Visit To
Galway.
UNDER THE EYEOF A POLICEMAN.
That Is The Way Balfour Extends Relief
10 the People aud Paws Them
20 Gents Day.

20 Gents a Day.
Edward EgglestOu writes the follow
ina interesting account to the New
York World, Of what he saw IN Galway;
We drove up from Galway few
days ago, passing the wretched village
of Spiddal and so on round the coast
through the stoniest land that the eye
ever lighted opon. 1t is q country
crowded With people. Women with
bare legs in winter weather carry"
ing creels loaded with turf. and lads all
the way up to II years Of age dressed IN
frocks of homespun made Of undyed
white wool, appeared here and there
upon the road, and poor little thatched
cabins were set down everywhere
among the obtrusiya rocks. 1t is the
Irish tradition that precisely here stood
the tower OF BABEL; this illlmitable
ocean of rocks is the debris.
In Carraroe, which is a peninsula lit
tered everywhere with rocks and boul-
ders, and thick sown with human be-.
ings dwelling in smoky howell. We saw
the first of tie government relief works
Roads that for goodness would shame
nearly every cross street in Brooklyn
and some OF the avenues in New York,
axe in construction through Carraroe
Before the Old famine Of 1845 there was
hardlv decent cartway in the west
coast. The people had a strange drag
made OF two poles. with some kind Of a
roller instead of wheels. LII the famine
of 1845. and the following years, roads
were built to furnish relief for the
starving population, and carts came in
fashion at first with truck wheels Of g
solid piece of wood. Now, again the
potato has failed, and in SUCH a COM
nunity there are no reserves. Either
she government must feed the people
directly or it must give them work. or
oy hundreds of thousands in the great
canine, the CHASTITY tales of which were
The latest news discussed by every
American freside ia my boyhood.
In all these coast parishes now the
DOOR people breaking stone at rs cents a
day OF our money for the able bodied,
The women get 10 pence. say 20 cents a
lay, and then little girls, pounding
way with all the strength of their
slender arms. receive Is cents. They
all work under the eye of policeman.
and considering the antagon1sm Of the
people to the Royal Irish constabulary,
one can easily conceive that such a
taskmaker, idly overlooking their work.
il not grateful to them. But it is one
2,f those felicitous devices by which MIR.
l,alfour contrlYes to keep the Irish
warm.
If the government saved money by
sing the the batonman for the purpose
tae thing would be less Irritating, but
q constable, besides his regular pay.
receives shilling extra for the service
about three and a half times the wages
IL ad able bodied man working under
A.im. In some places the working pe0-
vie are not paid in money, but in orders
a3n shop-keeper for Indian meal or
oatmeal. The Indian meal here is of
slle coarse kind used for feeding horses
wite US.
The great difficulty about this kind
OF relief lies in the fact that the men
Uorking on the road cannot plant pota.
G0es, and If the potatoes are not set
glAere will be more suffering. Potato
planting is different thing here from
what it is with us. One must grovel
i'll the slime to reap sea weed at low
tlle with sickle for fertilizing. Some
times the sickle is tied to pole to cut
the precious weed in the water.
This weed is carried In creels on the
backs of women, OF heaeed high on the
tack of dlminutive donkey, if the far
III 81 is rich enough to possess one The
whole process of planting the potatoes
ls almost as lab0rious and painful as
the handling Of rare exotics would be
with one Of our gardeners. When all
is done, the potatoes lie in beds we'll
tranched and carefully rounded, and
tha work has all been done by hand,
from spading and spreading the weed
80 the last rounding of the bed. One
nsver sees a plough along the west
coast. A whole farm In Ohrraroe or in
Coshleen would not afferd room to use
two horse team.
BESIDES the relief given BY work upon
the roads, there Is what is popularly
known as Mr.. Balfonrs fund. Relief
from this has been held back until
now. The money is raised By personal
contributions under the auspices Of
srhe Castle" as the goyernment Of