The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1893-08-26
ERIN AT THE FAIR
Continued From First Page.

pOssession of their lands. In course OF
time they became servitors on their own
estates
"Is it true that your workman, Nc
Sweeney, who at the age of 70 dances q
hornpipe like boy,is directly descended
from the Celtic clan of the McSwines OF
Donegal?"
Yes. His ancestors were dispossessed
of various castles, but you see McSwee-
ney has lost none Of his independence"
'.Nor his ability. / never saw feet t1y
faster or take more original steps. How
he must love the EngEsh?'
"Do you blame any Irishman for re-
senting brutal invasion? AS Queen Eli
zabeth failed to annihilate the Colts,
James /. devised the plan OF planting
Ulster after his own heart. he gave all
the fat lands to English and Scotch col
onists and consigned the mere Irish to
the lean land"
HE drove them like swine into bogs
and they settled on lands sloping to the
sea, where you found the poor creatures
in 1888"
Exactly, they became squatters. This
land of theirs was valued in 1880 at 8
pence an acre. Thanks to their reclama-
ton it is now worth about ten times that
amount. AS member of the Irish par.
lament committee, Mr.. Hart suggested
system of migration from the congested
to the grass lands There are immense
tracks, occupied by the peopls in l847,
from which, after the famine, they We're
evicted in 1850 and 1854. Herded in what
was called coffin boats these unfortun-
ate people were swept off to America
with one or two pounds in their pockets
or were driven into the boys. Sheep re-
placed them"
didn't Mr.. Hart and Parnell suggest
the purchase of these tracts?"
eyes, but the scheme fell through.
Many time have cried with indigna-
ton at my country's treatment of pa
tient, gentle, virtuous people. whose sole
desire is the justice of work. Even
when England Investigated Ireland, her
emissaries never consulted priests or
people whom tn ~ despised."
II should go direct to BOTH
"That's just what Mr.. Hart and did.
We appealed to Cardinal Logue who
turned over to us all his books. The
priests keep a census of all animals on
two or tour legs. Thus we got at statis-
ti.s which we substantiated, and returned
home resolved to tell the truth whatever
the cost. I assure you after my sad ex-
perience among che Irish peasantry,
every we'll fed person met in London
seemed an outrage on humanity. Yet
one of the first things I read in the
Times was that spirit in the law]ess-
ness had again broken out in Gweedore,
the server of eviction notices having
been turned back by women and obliged
to eat his rocesses.
II should have done the same thing had
I been one of those women; perhaps
more
"Mind you, that land had been planted
with potatoes by charity funds! Far
from we'll during my trip to Ireland, l
broke down completely on returning and
was confined to my room for six months;
but before gave up work temporarily 1
- IN ho1
the Bishop of Donegal carry on relief
work for six weeks, until the spring po-
tatoes were up. The Times refused to
publish my letter, so l paid for it as an
advertisement. Even John Morley re-
jected it. My sole help was the Daily
Chronicle. Thus from my bed I raised
$4,000 with which relief work WIS carried
on. / begged people to stop pauperizing
race that could and would work. I
appealed through English and Irish pa
pers to the women to form the nucleus of
available industries. This appeal was
heard. We began with knitting and
went on to homespun.'
"Was the work we'll done?"
"On taking the homespun to London
tailors they told me the wool was fine but
the work bad Teach them to dye and
make stuffs like the Scotch said these
tailors. Sending for gillie that knew
learned how dyes were extracted from
wild plants. With this crude informa-
ton l obtained wild plants from Done.
gal, experimental in my own laboratory,
pored over old. manuals and produced
beautiful tints from Irish boys. Gradu-
ally this knowledge was impaired to my
peasant friends, and when Mr.. Hart told
Mr.. Joseph Chamberlain of our success.
the latter said it was the most practical
plan of helping ireland he had heard
Of"
"Where did you get your money!"
II spent my own, aided by few
staunch friends. At last I appealed for
government aid and received $1,000.
Even this small sum excited the ire of