Ireland Under Coercion (2nd ed.) (2 of 2) (1888) by William Henry Hurlbert

W >> William Henry Hurlbert >> Ireland Under Coercion (2nd ed.) (2 of 2) (1888)

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20

Mr. Fred. Moorhead, who, instructed by Mr. O'Kearney Whyte, appeared for
the Coroner, asked whether the Court would require, as was usual when
costs were awarded against a magistrate, an undertaking from the other
side--

The Lord Chief-Justice.--That is not to bring an action against the
Coroner, you mean?

Mr. Moorhead.--Yes, my Lord. I think it is a usual undertaking when
costs are awarded in such a case. I think you ought--

The Lord Chief-Justice.--Well, I don't know that we ought, but we most
certainly will not. (Laughter.)

Mr. David Sherlock, who (instructed by Mr. Archibald W. Disdall)
appeared for Ellen Gaffney.--Rest assured, we certainly will bring an
action.

THE END.

* * * * *

FOOTNOTES:

[1] I have the authority of Mr. Hennessey, "the best living
Irish scholar, and a Kerryman to boot," for this spelling. I am quite
right, he says, in stating that the people there pronounce the names of
Glenbeigh and Rossbeigh as Glenbehy and Rossbehy in three syllables.
"Bethe," pronounced "behy," is the genitive of "beith," the birch, of
which there were formerly large woods in Ireland. Glenbehy and Rossbehy
mean the "Glen," and the "Ross" or "wooded point" of the birch.

[2] A letter received by me from a Protestant Irish gentleman,
long an ardent Nationalist, seems to confirm this. He writes to me (June
15),

"There is a noble river here, with a convenient line of quays for
unloading merchandise. But every sack that is landed must be carried
out of the ship on men's backs. The quay labourers won't allow a
steam crane to be set up. If it is tried there is a riot and a
tumult, and no Limerick tradesman can purchase anything from a
vessel that uses it, on pain of being boycotted. The result is that
the labourers are masters of the situation, and when they catch a
vessel with a cargo which it is imperative to land quickly, they
wait till the work is half done, and then strike for 8s. a day! If
other labourers are imported, they are boycotted for 'grabbing
work,' and any one who sells provisions to them is boycotted."

[3] An interesting account of this gentleman, and of his
connection with the earlier developments of the Irish agitation, given
to me by Mr. Colomb of the R.I.C., will be found at p.38, and in the
Appendix, Note F.

[4] See Appendix, Note F.

[5] The name of this blacksmith's son learned in the Law of the
League is given in Lord Cowper's Report (2. 18,370) as Michael Healy.
While these pages are in the printer's hands the London papers chronicle
(May 25, 1888) the arrest of a person described to me as this
magistrate's brother, Jeremiah Healy, on a charge of robbing and setting
fire to the Protestant church at Killarney!

[6] Mr. Colomb sends me, June 30, the following interesting
note:--The letter of which I gave you a copy was produced in evidence at
Kerry Summer Assizes, 1867. J. D. Sheehan, Esq., M.P., is the same man
who was arrested on the 12th February 1867, and to whom the foregoing
letter, ordering the rising in Killarney, is addressed. He was kept in
custody for some time, and eventually released, it is believed, on the
understanding that he was to keep out of Ireland. He came back in 1873
or 1874 and married the proprietress of a Hotel at Killarney. His
connection with the Glenbehy evictions is referred to on page 10, and in
Note F of the Appendix I give an interesting account, furnished me by
Mr. Colomb, of his activity in connection with the case of the Misses
Curtin at Firies.

[7] In the time of Henry VIII. these cities waged actual war
with each other, like Florence and Pisa, by sea and land. Limerick was
then called "Little London."

[8] It was on the 17th October 1886 that Mr. Dillon first
promulgated the Plan of Campaign at all at Portumna.

[9] Mr. Ponsonby's account of this affair will be found in the
Appendix, Note G. The Post-Office Savings Bank deposits at Youghal,
which were L3031, 0s. 7d. in 1880, rose to L7038, 7s. 2d. in 1887.

[10] As to the ability of these tenants to pay their way, one
fact which I have since ascertained sufficiently supports Mr. Tener's
contention. The deposits in the Postal Savings Banks of the three purely
agricultural towns of Portumna, Woodford, and Loughrea, which in 1880,
throwing off the shillings and pence, were respectively, L2539, L259,
and L5500, rose in 1887 to L3376, L1350, and L6311, an increase of
nearly L3000.

[11] Mr. Tener, to whom I sent proofs of these pages, writes to
me (July 18): "I shall soon execute the decree of the County-Court Judge
Henn against Father Coen for L5, 5s., being two and a half year's
rent."

[12] At a hearing of cases before Judge Henn some time after I
left Portumna, the Judge was reported in the papers as "severely"
commenting upon the carelessness with which the estate-books were kept,
tenants who were proceeded against for arrears producing "receipts" in
court. I wrote to Mr. Tener on this subject. Under date of June 5th he
replied to me: "Judge Henn did not use the severe language reported.
There was no reporter present but a local man, and I have reason to
believe the report in the _Freeman's Journal_ came from the lawyer of
the tenants, who is on the staff of that journal. But the tenants are
drilled not to show the receipts they hold, and to take advantage of
every little error which they might at once get corrected by calling at
the estate office. In no case, however, did any wrong occur to any
tenant."

[13] The town and estate proper of Woodford belong to Sir Henry
Burke, Bart. The nearest point to Woodford of Lord Clamicarde's property
is distant one mile from the town. And on the so-called Woodford estate
there are not "316 tenants," as stated in publications I have seen, but
260.

[14] Martin Kenny, the "victim" of this eviction, is the tenant
to whom the Rev. Mr. Crawford (_vide_ page 118) gave L50 for certain
cattle, in order that he (Kenny) might pay his rent But, although he got
the L50, he nevertheless suffered himself to be evicted; no doubt
fearing the vengeance of the League should he pay.

[15] The valuation for taxes of this holding is L7, 15s. for
the land, and L5 for the presbytery house. The church is exempt.

[16] Of "Dr." Tully Mr. Tener wrote to me (July 18):

"Tully has the holding at L2, 10s. a year, being 50 per cent, under
the valuation of the land for taxes, which is L3, 15s. As the total
valuation with the house (built by him) is only L4, he pays no
poor-rates. He was in arrears May 1, 1887, of three years for L7,
10s. Lord Clanricarde offered him, with others, 20 per cent,
abatement, making for him 70 per cent, under the valuation--and he
refused!"

Since then (on Saturday Sept. 1), Tully has been evicted after a
dramatic "resistance," of which, with instructive incidents attending
it, Mr. Tener sends me an account, to be found in the Appendix, Note H.

[17] Note H2.

[18] Mr. Tener writes to me (July 18):

"At Allendarragh, near the scene of Finlay's murder, Thomas Noonan,
who lately was brave enough to accept the post of process-server
vacated by that murder, was shot at on the 13th instant. It was on
the highway. He heard a heavy stone fall from a wall on the road and
turned to see what caused it. He distinctly saw two men behind the
wall with guns, and saw them fire. One shot struck a stone in the
road very near him--the other went wide. His idea is that one gun
dislodged the stone on which it had been laid for an aim, and that
its fall disturbed the aim and saved him. He fully identifies one of
the men as Henry Bowles, a nephew of 'Dr.' Tully, who lives with
Tully, and Bowles, after being arrested and examined at Woodford,
has been remanded, bail being refused, to Galway Jail. Before this
shooting Noonan had served a notice from me upon Tully, against whom
I have Judge Henn's decree for three years' rent, and whose equity
of redemption expired July 9th."

[19] I have since learned that my jarvey was well informed. Sir
Henry Burke actually paid Mr. Dillon L160 for the maintenance of his
tenants while out of their farms. This, two other landlords, Lords
Dunsandle and Westmeath, refused to do, but, like Sir Henry, they both
paid all the costs, and accepted a "League" reduction of 5s. 6d. and 6s.
in the pound (June 9, 1888).

[20] Down to the date at which I write this note (June 9), Mr.
Seigne has kindly, but without results, endeavoured to get for me some
authentic return made by a small tenant-farmer of his incomings and
outgoings.

[21] Note I.

[22] Note K.

[23] While these pages are going through the press a Scottish
friend sends me the following extract from a letter published in the
_Scotsman_ of July 25:--

"In the same way I, in August last, when in Wicklow, ascertained as
carefully as I could the facts as to the Bodyke evictions; and being
desirous to learn now if that estate was still out of cultivation,
as I had found it in August, I wrote the gentleman I have referred
to above. His reply is as follows:--

"'I can answer your question as far as the Brooke estate is
concerned. None of the tenants are back in their farms, nor
are they likely to be. The landlord has the land partly
stocked with cattle; but I may say the land is nearly waste;
the gates, fences, and farmsteads partly destroyed. I was at
the fair of Coolgreany about three weeks ago, and the country
looked quite changed; the weeds predominating in the land
that the tenantry had under cultivation when they were
evicted from their farms. The landlord has done nothing to
lay the land down with grass seed, consequently the land is
waste. The village of Coolgreany is on the property, and
there was a good monthly fair held there, but it is very much
gone down since the disagreement between the landlord and
tenant. The tenants, speaking generally, in allowing
themselves to be evicted and not redeeming before six months,
are giving up all their improvements to the landlord, no
matter what they may be worth. I have got quite tired of the
vexed question, and may say I have given up reading about
evictions, and pity the tenant who is foolish enough to allow
any party to advise him so badly as to allow himself to be
evicted.'

"Those who read this testimony of a candid witness, and remember the
cordial footing on which Mr. Brooke stood with his tenantry in
Bodyke before Mr. Billon appeared amongst them, may well ask what
good his interference did to the now impoverished tenantry of
Bodyke, or to the district now deserted or laid waste.--I am, etc.,

A RADICAL UNIONIST."

[24] In curious confirmation of this opinion expressed to me by
a man of the country in March, I find in the _Dublin Express_ of July
19th this official news from the Athy Vice-Guardians:

"At the meeting of the Vice-Guardians of the Athy Union yesterday, a
letter was read from Mr. G. Finlay, Auditor, in which he stated that
the two sureties of Collector Kealy, of the Luggacurren district,
had been evicted from their holdings by Lord Lansdowne, and were not
now in possession of any lands there. They were allowed outdoor
relief to the extent of L1 a week each on the ground of destitution.
The Auditor continued: 'The Collector tells me that they both
possess other lands, and have money in bank. The Collector is
satisfied that they are as good, if not better, securities for the
amount of his bond now than at the time they became sureties for
him. The Clerk of the Union concurs in this opinion.'

"It was ordered to bring the matter under the notice of the Board."

[25] _Explanatory Note attached to First Edition._--After this
chapter had actually gone to press, I received a letter from the friend
who had put me into communication with the labourers referred to in it,
begging me to strike out all direct indications of their whereabouts, on
the ground that these might lead to grave annoyance and trouble for
these poor men from the local tyrants.

I do not know that I ought to regret the annoyance thus caused to my
publisher and to me, as no words of mine could emphasise so clearly the
nature and the scope of the odious, illegal, or anti-legal "coercion"
established in certain parts of Ireland as the asterisks which mark my
compliance with my friend's request. What can be said for the freedom of
a country in which a man of character and position honestly believes it
to be "dangerous" for poor men to say the things recorded in the text of
this chapter about their own feelings, wishes, opinions, and interests?

[26] It may be well to say here that whatever prominence Mr.
O'Donovan Rossa has had among the Irish in America has been largely, if
not chiefly, due to the curious persistency of Sir William Harcourt,
when a Minister, in making him the ideal Irish-American leader. In and
out of Parliament, Sir William Harcourt continually spoke of Mr. Rossa
as of a kind of Irish Jupiter Tonans, wielding all the terrors of
dynamite from beyond the Atlantic. This was a source of equal amusement
to the Irish-American organisers in America and satisfaction to Mr.
Rossa himself. I remember that when a question arose of excluding Mr.
Rossa from an important Irish-American convention at Philadelphia, as
not being the delegate of any recognised Irish-American body, Mr.
Sullivan told me that he should recommend the admission of Mr. Rossa to
the floor without a right to deliberative action, expressly because his
presence, when reported, would be a cause of terror to Sir William
Harcourt.

[27] See Appendix, Note M.

[28] Note N.

[29] Note O.

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20