century, that they were more "fitted for the meridian of Barbary." You
have heard, no doubt, of wholesale evictions; they are of frequent
occurrence in Ireland--sometimes from political motives, because the
poor man will not vote with his landlord; sometimes from religious
motives, because the poor man will not worship God according to his
landlord's conscience; sometimes from selfish motives, because his
landlord wishes to enlarge his domain, or to graze more cattle. The
motive does not matter much to the poor victim. He is flung out upon the
roadside; if he is very poor, he may die there, or he may go to the
workhouse, but he must not be taken in, even for a time, by any other
family on the estate. The Irish Celt, with his warm heart and generous
impulses, would, at all risks to himself, take in the poor outcasts, and
share his poverty with them; but the landlord could not allow this. The
commission of one evil deed necessitates the commission of another. An
Irish gentleman, who has no personal interest in land, and is therefore
able to look calmly on the question, has been at the pains to collect
instances of this tyranny, in his _Plea for the Celtic Race._ I shall
only mention one as a sample. In the year 1851, on an estate which was
at the time supposed to be one of the most fairly treated in Ireland,
"the agent of the property had given public notice to the tenantry that
expulsion from their farms would be the penalty inflicted on them, if
they harboured _any one_ not resident on the estate. The penalty was
enforced against a widow, for giving food and shelter _to a destitute
grandson of twelve years old_. The child's mother at one time held a
little dwelling, from which she was expelled; his father was dead. He
found a refuge with his grandmother, who was ejected from her farm for
harbouring the poor boy." When such things can occur, we should not hear
anything more about the Irish having only "sentimental grievances." The
poor child was eventually driven from house to house. He stole a
shilling and a hen--poor fellow!--what else could he be expected to do?