THOUGHTS ON EMIGRATION,
SUGGESTED BY THE FOREGOING FACTS.

Assist us at home
And we ne'er need roam.

The " Facts from Gweedore" have been published from a desire to show, that as so many thousands of acres still remain uncultivated in Ireland, the population cannot be said to be too great for the country, but that it merely requires to be more equally distributed over its surface, and that to effect this, capital, superintendence, and nursing, are indispensable.

If this be so, "and population is riches," why should Emigration be encouraged by the State, there being room enough for the people and for their improvement at home, and when so much larger an amount of human happiness might be diffused through Ireland, if a portion of public patronage were bestowed upon the promotion and encouragement of elementary instruction, thereby conducting life, vigor, and hope into those channels which private benevolence can scarcely be expected to originate and keep going. The evils of Emigration are great, personally and politically; personally—it inflicts expatriation, a punishment without crime; politically—it is a sort of national suicide, needlessly, wilfully, recklessly, discarding a worthy, intelligent, enterprising class. Instead, therefore, of "Ireland for the Irish," let us have "The Irish for Ireland." Is it too much to say, or too much to expect, that if the Peasantry of Ireland were assisted at home, Emigration, with its attendant evils, dangers, and heart-rending separations, would, to a very great extent, be uncalled for; while, at the same time, a fair and remunerative return for capital expended, might be calculated upon; to which may be added, the unspeakable satisfaction to be derived from an humble consciousness, that our time, thoughts, talents, influence, means, were devoted to the noble effort of raising the character, encreasing and perpetuating the comforts of the kind-hearted beings whom Divine Providence has made to be mainly dependant upon our guardianship and mercy.

Emigration never can be looked upon as a remedy while it involves in its consequences the utter and irreparable disruption of every blessed tie entwined around the human heart! Is it straining the Scriptures to add, in the words of the Prophet, "Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him; but weep sore for him that goeth away; for he shall return no more,

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## INTRODUCTORY NOTICE.

THE object of the following pages is, to give some idea of the ruinous system of Rundale, as practised in the district of Gweedore, (Parish of Tullaghobegly, Barony of Kilmacrennan,) County Donegal; with a brief statement of efforts made on the property of Lord G. A. Hill, to obviate it and its attendant evils, and otherwise to improve the condition and increase the comforts of the tenantry.

The customs, &c. of the inhabitants of a wild and very populous district, situated on the N. W. Coast, or corner of Ireland, with the productions, (animal, mineral, and vegetable—fish, flesh, and fowl,) and other peculiarities, are incidentally alluded to; and a few scattered anecdotes, original and illustrative, introduced.

A cursory notice of towns, routes, roads, distances, hotels, conveyances, (from steam ships to mountain ponies) and localities, attractive to anglers, botanists, mineralogists, &c. &c. from Londonderry to Lough Erne, via Gweedore, is added, with a view of assisting ramblers through the varied and beautiful scenes to be met with in those parts of Ulster.

Half a dozen Lithographic drawings are interspersed, made from sketches taken on the spot by Lady Harriet Clive, and kindly presented to Lord G. A. Hill. A map has also been added.

FACTS FROM GWEEDORE.

"But let us try these truths with closer eyes,
And trace them through the prospect as it lies."—GOLDSMITH.

In the year 1838, and subsequently, Lord George A. Hill purchased small properties, situated at Gweedore, in the parish of Tullaghbegly, County Donegal, which in the aggregate amounted to upwards of twenty-three thousand acres; the number of inhabitants thereon being about three thousand; nearly seven hundred of whom paid rent.

The district extends for some miles along the N. W. coast or corner of Ireland, and the scenery is of the very wildest description; the Atlantic dashing along those shores in all its magnificent freshness, whilst the harsh screeching of the sea-fowl is its continual and suitable accompaniment. The coast is studded with numerous little islands, and when the ocean is "up," or ruffled, it may be seen striking against opposing head-lands or precipitous cliffs, with a force and effect that is grand beyond description; the waves forming into a column of foam on receiving such a check, which is driven to an immense height, and will remain visible for many seconds, until the feathered spray becomes gracefully and gradually dispersed—

"It plays with the clouds, it mocks the skies,
Or like a cradled creature lies."

The social condition of the peasantry, previously to the transfer of these properties, was more deplorable than can well be conceived; famine was periodical, and fever its attendant; wretchedness pervaded the district.

At last that very extremity of misery, which threatened even depopulation, excited or directed, the philanthropy of one in humble life, (the teacher of the National School) who in his benevolent effort to depict the wants, sufferings, and privations of his neighbours, collected his materials, and embodied them in a memorial, which he forwarded to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, in the year 1837.

The following is an authentic copy of that faithful memorial—

"To his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland,
"THE MEMORIAL OF PATRICK M'KYE.

"MOST HUMBLY SHewETH,

"That the parishioners of this parish of West Tullaghbegley, in the Barony of Kilmacrennan, and County of Donegal, are in the most needy, hungry, and naked condition of any people that ever came within the precincts of my knowledge, although I have travelled a part of nine Counties in Ireland, also a part of England and Scotland, together with a part of British America; I have likewise perambulated 2253 miles through seven of the United States, and never witnessed the tenth part of such hunger, hardships, and nakedness.

FACTS FROM GWEEDORE.

PART II.

"The slothful man saith there is a lion in the way."

As soon as Lord G. Hill had purchased the main part of the Gweedore properties, and had appointed an agent, temporary apartments were fitted up on the spot, as it was considered desirable by his Lordship, that he and his agent should reside on the property as constantly as possible, in order that they might become acquainted with the tenantry.

Lord G. Hill also made it his business to visit himself, the house of every tenant on his estate, for the purpose of establishing a mutual acquaintance, and of acquiring an insight into their condition and character. This was much facilitated by his Lordship possessing some knowledge of the Irish language, as it was pleasing and attractive to the people, and brought about an intercourse to which they were unaccustomed, and they asserted that he could not be a lord at all, particularly as he spoke Irish.

As illicit distillation induced lawless and irregular habits in the people, and rendered them liable to fines and impositions, thereby causing the ruin of their families and farms, and frequently also producing famine, by consuming the grain which should otherwise have supplied them with food; measures were immediately adopted to check the pernicious practice.

In 1830, a corn store, 8¼ feet long by 22 feet wide, having three lofts and a kiln, was built at the port of Bunbeg, capable of containing three or four hundred tons of oats. A quay was formed in front of the store, at which vessels of 200 tons can load or discharge, there being 14 feet of water at the height of the tide.

A market was thus established for the grain of the district, the price given for it being much the same as at Letterkenny, six and twenty miles distant.

It may here be remarked, that, at that period, no vessel could be freighted in Liverpool for Gweedore; its bay, and the anchorage under the Island of Gola, being as little known in England as if it had been on the coast of Africa.

Captain Stewart of H.M. Excise Cutter "The Chichester," who wintered at Gweedore in 1841, kindly wrote an account of the spot to some friends in Liverpool, and there has since been no hesitation on the part of ship owners to send vessels to the place.

There was much difficulty in getting this store built; even the *site* of it had to be excavated, by blasting from the solid rock, and there were no masons or carpenters in the country capable of erecting a building of the kind.

So great was the difficulty of getting even a coffin made, that to secure the services of a carpenter, such as the district afforded, many of the people gave him annually by way of a *retaining fee*, sheaves of oats, on the express condition of *making their coffin when they died!*

32

FACTS FROM GWEEDORE.

As the general progress can in no way be more authentically, as well as concisely,
displayed, than by quoting the reports, which gentlemen, who acted as judges at annual
exhibitions, kindly put together for Lord G. Hill's satisfaction; the following passages from
them are selected for this purpose.

The Report for the year 1843, after a prefatory and complimentary observation,
proceeds:—

"When we call to our recollection the state in which this district of country was,
within a few years back, almost in a state of nature, uncultivated and neglected, we cannot
but congratulate his Lordship, his tenants, and the country at large, at the rapid and pro-
gressive improvements which have been made, and which have already so materially changed
the appearance of the country.

"We have found a considerable extent of new ground, reclaimed from bog and
mountain, bearing good crops of oats and potatoes, and in many places, the tenants already
attempting the cultivation of green crops, by raising turnips, the value of which, as it becomes
more generally known, will, no doubt, induce numbers of others to follow their example.

"We have to express our satisfaction at the evident improvement in the mode of
reclaiming and cultivating the boggy and mountain lands by draining and spade husbandry,
and at the judicious manner in which, under the guidance of his Lordship's agriculturist, the
exertions of the people are directed, and their time and labour turned to the best account.

"We are also happy to find so much attention given to the home manufacture of
woolens, the quality of the cloth of various kinds, and the flannel, stockings,* &c., exhibited
being most creditable. This branch of industry is, we conceive particularly valuable, as it
gives that employment to the females for which they are peculiarly fitted, and enables them
to contribute, in no small degree, to the health and comfort of their families, affording cheap
and warm clothing, and inculcating a spirit of exertion among them.

"In nothing, however, have we had such pleasure, as in the marked improvement in
the dwelling and office houses of the tenants, knowing what difficulties old habits and pre-
judices present to such changes. Until lately the people were crowded together in miserable
villages, where want of cleanliness and the impure exhalations of dungpits, close to their
dwelling houses, generated disease and misery. Now we behold in all directions neat and
comfortable cottages attracting the eye by their well thatched roofs and white-washed walls,
giving an aspect of life, health, and cheerfulness: nor were we disappointed upon a closer
inspection; we found that the interior of the houses fully realized the expectations raised
by their exterior appearance, clean, orderly, and well ventilated rooms, comfortable and
suitable beds and bedsteads, with a supply of bedclothing and furniture equal at least to the
wants of the inmates, and in many instances shewing a taste in the arrangement for which
we were quite unprepared.

"Those various improvements we consider, in a great measure, attributable to the
division of the lands into separate farms, and placing each tenant's house upon his own

* The best of the stockings and socks are bought up by Lord G. Hill, and sent to Dublin and London for sale. Last year he purchased to the amount of £70.

FACTS FROM GWEEDORE.

33

ground, one of the great advantages of which is, enabling them to place their dwellings,
offices, and manure heaps in the most convenient situations for comfort and cleanliness;
advantages of which, it is but justice to the tenants to say, they have fully availed themselves.

"It was peculiarly gratifying to us to witness the respectable appearance and orderly,
demeanour of the crowds of persons assembled upon this occasion, and the gratitude dis-
played in the looks and manner, even more than by the expressions of the successful candi-
dates, when after the dinner* provided for them by his Lordship; and his agent had announced
the decision of the judges; they approached his Lordship, and received from his hands the
amount of the prizes respectively awarded them.

"In concluding our Report, we cannot avoid noticing the great benefit which his
Lordship has conferred upon this extensive district by the establishments at Bunbeg, where
all the articles required for the consumption of the country are imported and sold at a
moderate rate, and a market provided for the purchase and export of its redundant produce.

"His excellent, comfortable, and well managed hotel, now affords to travellers an
opportunity of visiting this hitherto neglected and almost unknown, but interesting and
beautiful portion of the County Donegal, and of which we have no doubt, numbers will avail
themselves.

D. LATOUCHE.
W. RAMSAY.

HUGH M'FADDEN, P.P.

JOHN LAW.

H. LETHEM.
JOHN SPROULE.

F. MANSFIELD."

The second report quoted from is used only so far as it supplies a notice of things
omitted in, or posterior to, the former.

Alluding to the premiums, it states—

"It is worthy of remark, that so substantial are those rewards, that in several instances
they have many times exceeded the annual amount of rent paid by the successful candidates.

"We are much astonished at the great extent of fencing and draining on the estate;
all having been made since September, 1843; the tenants now beginning to feel the benefit
of such improvements.

"We suppose it would not be believed that in this district, until very lately, fences
were altogether unknown, as this part of the country was held in common; and as to draining,
or removing stones out of the land by trenching, such ideas never entered their heads.

"We wish also to observe, that his Lordship, having imported some of the West-
Highland bulls and heifers, will thereby, in a short time, improve the breed of cattle, as
they seem so peculiarly adapted to this climate: and though it may be wandering from the
limits of an agricultural report—we cannot omit noticing the many additional buildings that
have been erected during the last year.

* The poor people could not believe that they would be permitted *to dine with his Lordship!* When assembled outside the house where the dinner was provided, seeing the surveyor—whom they knew—at the door, they anxiously inquired of him, “if it was really true that they were to go in?”

34

FACTS FROM GWEEDORE.

“ We find a convenient session-house, an airy and commodious school-house, a dispensary,* and several pretty and substantial cottages, all in a state of forwardness. But we were chiefly delighted with the new mill, the machinery of which is constructed on the most improved principles, and erected by a young man, a native of Ramelton.

“ We visited the old and only mill of the district, which was in operation even last season; it is in a romantic and very retired situation, no doubt it answered its purpose all the better on that account, but it is a most miserable specimen of its kind, and very forcibly demonstrates the vast difference between things as they are, and things as they were.

“ The new mill was worked on the premium day, and it was not a little amusing to witness the astonishment of the people at the incomprehensible results it produced.

“ Previously to the distribution of premiums, the anxious party of candidates, to the amount of 235, with his Lordship and a few friends, sat down to a substantial cold dinner, after which the rewards were distributed; and the only incident which occurred to damp the general joy was, that his Lordship, according to his standing rule,† felt himself under the necessity of withholding hard-won premiums from one poor woman, because her husband had been convicted of a misdemeanour, and imprisoned for the offence.

“ And we deem it very deserving of note here, as indicative of his Lordship's determination to suppress the ruinous trade of illicit distillation, that one of the tenants who had been convicted of whiskey making, was excluded from the dinner, and from the list of competitors for the premiums; and this must have been the more vexatious, as the man would have otherwise received one of the first premiums.

“ We are certain we only express the feelings of every person who witnessed, or took part in, the proceedings, when we say, that we enjoyed a high gratification; and that we look forward with great pleasure and interest, to being afforded the privilege of attending similar meetings again.

WILLIAM RAMSAY,
VALENTINE P. GRIFFITH.
THOMAS PATTERSON.
ROBERT PATTERSON.
JOHN MASTERS.

WILLIAM HAGERTY.
GEORGE COOKE.
GEORGE F. BRADY.
JAMES HAWES.”

Gweedore, 10th October, 1844.

An observation at the close of the former report will prepare the reader for some notice of Lord G. Hill's HOTEL.

It was built about the year 1842, and is placed on the roadside, midway between Dunluighy and the sea, in a picturesque situation.

* The establishment of a Dispensary, and consequent introduction into the district of a fully qualified medical gentleman, has been effected since Lord G. Hill became the proprietor.

† Rule.—"The following exceptions shall preclude tenants from receiving any of the foregoing premiums.—Convicted of making, or being concerned in making, illicit malt or whiskey; convicted of being concerned in any breach of the public peace; not paying up their rent, without the necessity of using compulsory measures to induce them to do so.