XXII.
THE EARL OF ENNISKILLEN AND HIS TENANTS - CAUSES OF DISSATISFACTION -
SPREAD OF THE LAND LEAGUE AMONGST ENNISKILLEN ORANGEMEN - A SAMPLE
GRIEVANCE - THE AGENTS' COMMISSION - A LINK THAT NEEDS STRENGTHENING - THE
LANDLORD'S SIDE.
It seems a great pity that the attachment between the Earl of
Enniskillen and his tenants should suffer interruption or be in danger
of passing away.
The Earl, now an old man, was much loved by his people,
until, in a day evil alike for him and for his tenants, he got a new
agent from the County Sligo. Of course, I am telling the tale as it was
told to me. Since this agent came on the property, re-valuation, rent
raising, vexatious office rules, have been the order of things on the
estate. The result of this new state of things, has been that the Land
League has spread among the tenants like wildfire. I did not feel
inclined to take these statements without a grain of salt. To hear of
the Land League spreading among Enniskillen Orangemen, among the Earl's
tenants, of dissatisfaction creeping in between these people
historically loyal and attached to a family who had been their chiefs
and landlords for centuries, was surprising to me.
To convince me that such was the case, I was requested to listen to one
of the Earl's tenants reciting the story of his grievances at the hands
of the Earl's agent. It was a sample case, I was told, and would explain
why the people joined the Land League.
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