The Irish standard., 1901-12-14
Found Great Changes in the Emerald Isle
After His Long Absence of
Half Century.
The People are Now Better Educated and
Better off Every Way Than
in the Old Time.

peculiar circumstances, leases are
sometimes entered into between land
lord and tenant, which do not carry
with .them rights of tenure. These
are leases for any period less than
one year. They are usually made out
for eleven months, and are intended
to reserve to the landlords the priv
ilege of dealing with their lands as
they desire. But I have nephew
who, under such leases, has held GER
tain land for twenty-f consecutive
years.
'"Then, too, under the poor laws, the
common laborers are excellently taken
care of. The p. L. g. as he is COM
monty known-in other words, the
poor law guardian is privileged to
confiscate for a laborer's cottage an
acre of land anywhere he sees fit.
Upon these plots which are given the
poor laborers to till, comfortable
houses Of stone are built, sanitary and
wholesome.
II found also that the farms held
by tenants have fairly doubled in size
since lived there. Some people even
have returned from America and have
taken up farms, attracted by the high
price which is paid for pork used in
making Irish bacon, which is greatly
in demand, though why it should be
considered superior to American ba-
con I cannot understand. When 1
was in the country live hogs were
bringing 1211a cents pound.
''The saddening thing about the
country, however, is it's absence of
young men. They are all gone, and
no one is left to carry on business
except the old men, the young women
and boys. 1 saw hundreds of hand
some, intelligent, well-educated young
women doing all the light work about
the farms, in addition to their inevi-
table household duties. 1t is cruel
burden, almost immoral, 1 should say.
The women do the great bulk of the
business of the country. They buy
and market the live stock, superin-
tend the putting in of crops, manage
the dairies and their products, attend
to the work of wool-gathering and
selling, and even transact the legal
business that pertains to the renting
of their property. In the towns one
finds them in charge of the shops,
and nearly all the hotels are man.
aged by them. Very good hotels they
are, too, as I can testify.
"The trouble is that since manu-
featuring has been driven out of the
country by the rigorous English laws,
the business of agriculture is not suf-
ficient to support the population, and
so the young men have been forced to
seek their fortunes elsewhere. When
1 left the country in 1916, Ireland
had population of $s,5OO,OOO. To.
day her population is only 5,O0O,OOO
The crying need of the hour is for at
least a sufficient measure of home rule
to enable her to develop manufacturing
industries and retain her population
The finest water power in the world
is going to waste along her rivers"
Very pathetic, yet mingled with a
strain of inevitable Irish humor, were
the experiences of Mr.. Barron when
he went about to make himself known
to his relatives and old friends.
"When reached Graigue," said he
II did not go to any of my relatives
at once, but 1 took up my quarters in
a comfortable hotel. 1 then sauntered
out and began investigating the signs
over the shops. Graigue is one of the
busiest little towns I have ever seen
and it has two long, principal bust
ness streets. The names over the shop
doors were, in the main, the ones ]
had been familiar with in my boy.
hood, but found, upon investigation
that the establishments were being
conducted by the children and grand
children Of the people had once
known. Nearly every generation has
remained in the town. Finally, turn
led into the shop Of a man named Moy.