As The Fermanagh Farmer Said, They Put Their
Lives Into It.
In the long ago the landlords of Ireland, though extravagant, were not,
as a class, unkindly, but their waste involved the land, and their
absenteeism prevented any thoughts for the benefit of the country ever
occurring to them.
The commercial spirit has invaded the aristocracy and men have begun to
see visions of redeeming their lands from encumbrances and to dream
dreams of still greater aggrandizement, all to be realized by commercial
tact in raising the rents and abolishing the long-suffering people who
could not be squeezed any farther. It was then that the beginning of the
present desperate state of things was inaugurated. I do not think the
landlords deliberately meant to oppress. I think they looked to the one
thing, raising their rental, increasing their income, and went over
everything, through everything to the desired end. They have succeeded
in making a wide separation between the land-holding and land-tilling
classes. It will be a difficult matter to bring them together again.
XXVII.
A HARD LANDLORD INTERVIEWED - CONFLICTING STATEMENTS - COLD STEEL.
The morning after our return to Manor Hamilton, Mr. Corscadden called
on me in response to my note asking for an interview. I had formed a
mental picture of what this gentleman would be like from the description
I had heard of his actions. I found him very different. An elderly man,
tall, gray-haired, soft-spoken, with a certain hesitation of manner,
dressed like a better class-farmer, eyes that looked you square in the
face without flinching, and yet had a kindly expression.
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