Of Course I Could Not Understand
More Than The Scope Of Their Discourse, But I Understood Distinctly One
Question Asked;
"How much do you get for a day's work?" "One shilling
and two pence a day." "Without food of course?
" "Of course." I had
heard in the North that casual laborers get two shillings a day there,
but they do not get two shillings when employed constantly. The laborers
on one well-managed estate which I have been over in Antrim are paid ten
shillings a week, and pay one shilling a week out of that for their
cottages, which are kept in good repair at the expense of their
employer. Of course these men must have been workmen skilled in some
particular work, or they would not have come from the wages of the North
to the West to work at the common rate of wage going here, which I am
told is at the highest seven shillings a week and rent to pay out of
that. Of course, when masons are paid one and twopence, laborers will be
paid much less.
The avenue along which we travelled was a causeway made at great expense
along the brow of a steep hill or rather ridge, one side being supported
by a stone wall. This work, undertaken for the benefit of travellers to
Ashford, must have afforded constant employment for a good many men for
a long time. Arriving at a modern archway in the ancient style protected
by an iron gate, we sought admittance, showing our permit from the
office.
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