it has gradually advanced—in some places it has doubled—in others it has more than doubled. In the north, the farm servant has become almost master of the market, and is certainly better off than many of the small tenants;—in the south, though still not paid as he should be, his position is much improved, while, all over the country, the navvy, the quarryman, and the drainer are receiving from 10s to 12s a week.[1]
Occasionally complaints are being made of a dearth of hands: it is true this outcry generally means that at particular seasons of pressure, farmers can no longer turn into their fields at a moment's notice the crowd of ill-paid cottiers that used to wait their pleasure in enforced idleness during the slack seasons of the year.[2]
But any temporary inconvenience of this kind will be more than counterbalanced by the necessity which will be imposed on the landed interest, whether proprietors or tenants, to guarantee to those they wish to retain in their service, com-
- ↑ There seems to be a difference of opinion as to what is to be taken as the present rate of wages in Ireland. This is probably occasioned by wages varying in different localities, but to the best of my belief the above is a correct view of the general state of the case. For further information on the subject see Appendix, p, 37. See also Answers to Queries, pp. 278, 280.
- ↑ See Appendix, p. 37, and Answers to Queries, p. 283, and Mr. Robertson's Report, p. 350.
stint themselves to one spare meal in the day. They sometimes get a herring or a little milk, but never get meat except at Christmas, Easter and Shrovetide."—Report of Commission of 1834 on Condition of the People of Ireland. See Appendix, p, 37.
