PITIABLE SCENES AT EVICTIONS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1839, 10 January 1889, Page 4

PITIABLE SCENES AT EVICTIONS.

Two very harsh evictions were effected on the estate of the Rev. Jasper Smyth, Rosscarbery, County Cork, recently. The land is of the poorest description, bare and mountainous, a great part of it scarcely fit for the feeding of goats. The tenants chiefly supported themselves by fishing, and that was the principal means by which they paid their rent. Tor some time past fishing, like the land, has been to a great extent a failure, with the result that the unfortunate tenants are in a state of destitution. To show the treatment to which they have been subjected, the following will suffice:— Denis Donovan (G-oula) has a wife and thirteen children. His farm comprised forty acres, fourteen of which are arable, the rest being poor land and barren. The rent was, previous to 1881, £lO a year, and the valuation £l4 10s. A few years prior to 1881 the landlord took an acre for Coastguards’ residence, for which he gets upwards of £SO a year, and allowed the tenant £2a year reduction; making the rent £2B. In 1881 the tenant brought his case before the MacDevitt Commission, and got it reduced to £24, the valuation being £l4 10s, But Darrell has a wife and seven in family. His holding comprised sixteen acres, the valuation being £8 15s. His land was even worse than Donovan’s, about eight acres being fit for tilling, the remaining portion consisting of steep hillside. His rent was up to eight years ago £24, when he settled out of court with his landlord, and bad it fixed at £2O. In August, 1887, the ejectment decrees were put into execution, and the tenants were put back as caretakers. Since then various attempts were made to effect a settlement. . . "When the eviction party arrived at Donovan’s house he offered to pay a year and a half rent, and placed the money on the table. The sheriff’s officer said he could not accept anything; his instructions were to take possession. Father Hill, P.P., who was present, several times offered a year and a half’s rent for Donovan and a year’s rent for Farrell. He (Father Hill) considered Mr Franklin ought to be very thankful to get such liberal offers, taking into account the rackrent the tenants had been paying, the unproductiveness of the soil, and the struggles and privations they endured to make up the money. If these people were put out, he would like to know how much the landlord would make out of the land.

Donovan was about to resist, and armed himself with a scythe, when Father Hill advised him to desist and give up possession quietly, which he accordingly did. The furniture, old and rickety, was then removed, the family put out, and the door locked and barred. The eviction party then went to Farrell’s residence, a miserable, tumbledown old fabric. Proceedings were taken against him for £35, out of which Father Hill offered to pay one year’s rent; but it was not accepted. About two acres of his farm were taken by the landlord for a watchtower for coastguards. The landlord got a large sum for it, and did not allow a penny to the tenant, and charged him the full rent of his holding. His wretched things were removed, and then the door locked, and both families left on the roadside. It was pitiable to hear the lamentations of the women and children when they found themselves east adrift from their poor and humble home. Neither of the tenants had as much as a fourfooted beast.—-Hunedin Star.