66 ALARM OF TENANTS AT INCREASING RATES. He was case of a tenant, on whose farm I was to-day, and which is now to be let. This man came to the country thirteen years ago, with not more than £100 of capital. His landlord lent him £300, and with this he contrived to stock and carry on a farm of 300 acres. very skilful in the management of sheep-stock, and introduced the best rams from England, with which he improved his own stock, and then sold their produce at high prices in the surrounding country. So well did this succeed, that in a few years be repaid his landlord the borrowed money, besides, at the same time, greatly increasing the numbers and quality of his farm-stock. The frightful increase of rates, with diminished prices of produce, alarmed him : he found the capital which he had accumulated by skill and industry slipping away ; he could not get what he considered an adequate abatement of rent from his landlord, though the increase in his rates amounted to nearly a secoud rent; so, availing himself of the power of surrender, which is fortunately a clause introduced into most Irish leases, he determined to sell all off, and quit the country for New Zealand. After paying all his debt, he has retired with a capital of £1000, and his farm is abandoned to the landlord, who is now anxious to get a solvent tenant at a lower rent than, I am assured, this man would have gladly paid, and remained in the country. But how much does this single example teach! First, that the soil yields a grateful return to industry and skill; second, that these are marred by the impolicy of placing the pressure of the rates exclusively on the tenant, (which is unbappily the law in Ireland,) thereby driving out of the country RELIEF ROADS-SCARIFF. 67 a prosperous, skilful farmer, whose example was of the utmost benefit in a district where these qualities are so deficient, but who felt himself compelled to remove his capital from the danger in which it stood of being absorbed in the general poverty of the country; and third, the short-sighted policy of the landlord, (too common, I lament to say, and mainly to be attributed to a want of that knowledge of the proper business of a landlord, to which I have already had occasion to refer,) in refusing to share the difficulties of the times with his tenant, because he was a solvent man,—and the natural consequence of this in disgusting the tenant, who then abandoned the farm, for which its owner cannot now get a solvent tenant at the greatly reduced rent he is at length willing to accept for it. In the neighbourhood of Tulla there are some good farms to be let, sound sheep-land, on the estate of Mr Molony of Kiltanon. I passed several of the roads to-day on which improvements had been begun, but never completed, at the time of the famine. Several of these had been left in a state which rendered them actually dangerous to the traveller, and others were quite useless to anybody. From Tulla to Scariff and Lough Derg, the land is of various quality. Behind Scariff it rises to a considerable elevation, innumerable little patches of cultivation stretching up the mountain side, and encouraging the growth of a population which nothing but potato culture could keep in existence from the produce of such a soil as that on which they were located. The 68 LOUGH DERG-KILLALOE. a consequence has been a mass of pauperism, now overspreading the better part of the surrounding country, and threatening eventually to absorb the entire produce of the land embraced in this union. The banks of Lough Derg are generally fertile and picturesque, there being many very eligible estates and farms in the extensive district between Portumna and Killaloe. A steamer plies regularly on the lake. From Tomgraney the road passes over a comparatively elevated district, between which and the Lough lies much improvable land, which is at present in a very neglected state. Descending the hill near Tinerana, the eye rests with pleasure on the neatly laid out and well-cultivated fields, interspersed with the woods, surrounding the mansion-house of that name, and stretching down to the margin of the lake. Winding along its shores, the road affords many beautiful views to the traveller of the fertile lands of Tipperary, rising from the opposite side of the lake, up the green slopes of the Arra mountains, beyond which may be also seen the tops of the Silvermine and Keeper. Near Killaloe stands an old fort, beautifully situated on a green mound commanding the entrance into Lough Derg, which is here gradually narrowed into the bed of the Shannon. Proceeding southwards from Killaloe, the land on the road-side is generally inferior as far as O'Brien's Bridge, where, crossing the broad and beautiful river, you enter the county of Limerick. Along this fertile valley, the country is now rich and well wooded; the frowning ruins of ancient castles, and the “shining morning face” of modern mansions, equally SUBURBS OF LIMERICK-WEST OF CLARE. 69 bespeaking the good taste of their founders in their choice of a situation. Passing the demesne of Lord Clare, whose umbrageous woods shut out the river altogether, and proceeding a mile or two farther along fields of deep red friable soil, you reach the suburbs of the city of Limerick, where those who are curious in such matters may have an opportunity of inspecting, by dozens, some of the poorest and most wretched cottages in Ireland. My time was too limited to admit of my visiting the western portion of the county of Clare, where I was informed that at Miltown Malbay very extensive and judicious improvements are going on. The district round Corofin, to the north-west of Ennis, is famed for its rich pastures. The south-west division, embracing the union of Kilrush, noted for its evictions and its poverty, is situated on the coal formation, (not usually favourable for agricultural enterprise ;) but the whole of the north bank of the Shannon, from Limerick to Kilrush, is well worth the inspection of persons in quest of land. CHAPTER VI. THE CITY OF LIMERICK-ADARE-CROOM-EAST LOTHIAN FARMER-BRUFF -RENT OF LAND-PEOPLE GRATEFUL FOR EMPLOYMENT-LIMERICK TARBERT MR BLACKER'S TILE AND TO TARBERT BY STEAMER TARBERT - MR FITZGERALD'S CASTLE-FOYNES-ASKEATON- - CLARINA - TERVOEVIEW FROM CARRIGOGUNNIEL-RENTAL AND PRICE OF AN ESTATE PEAT-GLIN WRETCHED HUTS. THE city of Limerick (population 52,315) is situated ninety-two miles west of Dublin, and distant by railway 129 miles. It stands partly on an island in the Shannon, which is navigable by large ships to the town. The principal streets in the new part of the town are laid out in straight lines, with broad thoroughfares, and high, well-built brick houses, very much resembling the better streets of Dublin. There was a business-like appearance about the shops and people. The town itself stands low, but with its cathedral, bridges, and fine river, is not wanting in picturesque effect. For extent and population it is now the fourth town in Ireland. The shipping at the quays was not numerous. There are but two small steamers which ply from the port, and both are employed only in the summer, one being laid up during winter, as the other is found sufficient for the trade. These steamers ply down the river to Kilrush, calling off the ports on each side |