County Meath

“ It is on the river Blackwater, a tributary of the historic Boyne. Nothing can exceed the fertility of the land round Kells; but that does it no good, for the land is almost all in grass, the rural population sparse, and consequently, of very little outside support to the town. But Kells is no worse off than the other towns of Meath. It is, as far as soil is concerned, the richest county in Ireland, but its towns are either in a state of [Pg 272] absolute decay, or at a standstill. There is hardly any tilled land in the county; its herds are large, and its population consequently declining. ”

“ In the following summer Davies made a circuit in Meath, Westmeath, Longford, King’s County and Queen’s County. The country was peaceful and the relentless enforcement of the shilling fine for every Sunday’s and holiday’s absence from service had the effect of filling the town churches, but this reformation was ‘principally effected by the civil magistrate,’ for ruined churches and absentee incumbents were general throughout the country. ”

“ MEATH (pronounced with th soft, as in the) , a county of Ireland in the province of Leinster, bounded E. by the Irish Sea, S.E. by Dublin, S. by Kildare and King’s County, W. by Westmeath, N.W. by Cavan and Monaghan, and N.E. by Louth. Area 579,320 acres, or about 905 sq. m. In some districts the surface is varied by hills and swells, which to the west reach a considerable elevation, although the general features of a fine champain country are never lost. The coast, low and shelving, extends about 10 m., but there is no harbour of importance. Laytown is a small seaside resort, 5 m. ”

“ It is true they have not always chimneys to their cabins, the door serving for that and window too; if their eyes are not affected with the smoke it may be an advantage in warmth. Every cottage swarms with poultry, and most of them have pigs. Land lets at twenty shillings an acre, which is the average rent of the whole county of Meath to the occupier, but if the tenures of middlemen are included it is not above fourteen shillings. This intermediate tenant between landlord and occupier is very common here. ”

“ The debt due to the 'adventurers' was primarily charged on the forfeited lands in the moieties of ten counties, which were to be divided equally by them with the soldiers, as it was considered that peaceable possession would be thereby secured to the civilian owners, viz.: Waterford, Limerick, Tipperary, Meath, West Meath, King's County, Queen's County, Antrim, Down, Armagh, and on the whole county of Louth as an additional security. ”

“ The business was to be managed by levee inspectors, at first appointed by the county court of the county, but afterwards elected by the voters of the several levee districts, and payments for work done or expenses incurred were to be made by the drafts of the levee inspectors for the district on the levee treasurer appointed by the county court of the county to receive and disburse according to law all funds raised from levee taxes in the county. Only lands benefited by protection from overflow by the levees could be taxed. ”

“ The county comprises 12 baronies and 46 civil parishes. It returns two members to parliament, for the Birr and Tullamore divisions respectively. Previous to the Union, King’s County returned six members to parliament, two for the county, and two for each of the boroughs of Philipstown and Banagher. Assizes are held at Tullamore and quarter sessions at Parsonstown, Philipstown and Tullamore. The county is divided into the Protestant dioceses of Killaloe, Meath and Ossory; and the Roman Catholic dioceses of Ardagh, Kildare and Leighlin, Ossory and Clonfert. ”

“ In the purchase of land for a poor-farm, the authority of the commissioners of a county is very clearly set forth. The mode of raising the money, and paying it over, are all definitely stated. These statutes set a limit, beyond which they cannot go. They are a guide, not only to the commissioners, but equally so to all persons dealing with them, who must see to it that their contracts are within the boundaries thus described. * * * Here we find the authority, and indeed the only authority, for the purchase and payment of money for a 'poor-farm' by the county commissioners ”

“ The commissioners court, as found by the Texas Supreme Court, performs more functions in the area of the county outside Midland City than it does within the city limits. Therefore, each rural resident has a greater interest in its activities than each city dweller. Yet under the majority's formula the urban residents are to have a dominant voice in the county government, precisely proportional to their numbers, and little or no allowance may be made for the greater stake of the rural inhabitants in the county government. ”

“ If we could leave this Poor Farm, having seen so [Pg 267] much and no more, we could think of it again only with feelings of pleasure that the county’s unfortunates were provided for so comfortably; but standing alone is an old brick building in which the insane are kept and this must be visited too. It is a gloomy place, coming out of the bright October sun, but when your eyes become accustomed to the shadows, you see what this county has provided for the insane who are neglected by the great mother state. ”

“ This was a bill in equity, filed in the circuit court of the United States for the district of Minnesota by Patrick Meehan and James Meehan, citizens of Wisconsin, against Ray W. Jones, a citizen of Minnesota, to quiet title in a strip of land 10 feet wide along the westerly shore of the Red Lake river, in the county of Polk and state of Minnesota, extending from the northeasterly intersection of the plat of the village of Thief River Falls with the shore at a point near the junction of the two rivers, and being a part of lot 1 in section 34, township 154, and range 43. ”

“ Within the last ten or twelve years the whole country has been studded with good substantial stone or brick houses, or good white painted frame houses, even for thirty miles back, and the farms are well fenced and cultivated, showing undeniable signs of comfort and independence. Streams and water are abundant, and there are several thriving villages and hamlets scattered through the county,—the village of Canniff's Mills, three miles from Belleville, and soon destined to form a part of it, alone containing a population of about a thousand. ”

“ The average height of the surface of the county is over 250 ft. above sea-level. The highest summits are Knocklayde (795 ft.) , Hill of Ben (710 ft.) and Knockayon (707 ft.) . A large surface is occupied by bog. A special feature of Westmeath is the number of large loughs, which Jiave a combined area of nearly 17,000 acres. In the north, on the borders of Cavan, is Lough Sheelin, with a length of 5 m., and an average breadth of between 2 and 3 m., and adjoining it is the smaller Lough Kinale. In the centre of the county there is a group of large loughs, of which Lough Dereveragh is 6 ni. ”

“ Administration apart from fiscal supervision in other departments, such as charities, prisons and public health, has advanced much more slowly than reform in the fields which have been mentioned. But every indication for the future is toward greater control through accounting and supervision. The county acts locally in the enforcement of state obligations. The real trouble comes when one undertakes, arbitrarily, to place any given county activity in the local or state category. ”

“ The census of 1871 returned 25 per cent, of the male population as agricultural labourers, farm- servants, and shepherds. Although the county is entirely agricultural, mainly arable, with some wheat and pasture crops, many busy trades are also carried on, brewing and malting, brick-making, lime-burning. There is a great deal of boat-building, and there are many seamen employed on the navigable cuts. The climate of the county is generally healthy, but it would be premature to say that ague is altogether banished from the fen country. ”

“ Where the pure town system prevails the county plays but little part in local administration, and in some States like Rhode Island there are, strictly speaking, no county officers, the county being merely a judicial district without corporate personality. ”

“ You are with all convenient speed to enter into and upon all and every the honors, baronies, manners, castles, messuages, and other the lands, tenements, and hereditaments whatsoever mentioned in your commission, lying within the said county of Westmeath. And by your oathes of good and lawfull men, and by all other lawfull wayes and meanes, you are to inquire and find out the premisses, and every of them, with their and every of their appurtenances. ”

“ This ruler took measures to consolidate the power of the ardrí (supreme king) . He constructed a number of fortresses on the great central plain and carved out the kingdom of Meath to serve as his mensal land. The new kingdom was composed of the present counties of Meath, Westmeath and Longford together with portions of Monaghan, Cavan, King’s Co. and Kildare. He was also the first to levy the famous Leinster tribute, the boroma, in consequence of an insult offered to him by one of the kings of that province. ”

“ This particular Poor Farm is in one of the richest counties of the state. The taxable property of that county is assessed at more than $45,000,000. It contains no large cities (the largest has a population of 15,000) , all but two per cent. of the people are native-born and the proportion of negroes is much less than in the state as a whole. ”

“ Paul, Mr. Ramsey wrote out on a little unpainted washstand his proclamation declaring the territory duly established. On June 11 he announced the division of his immense jurisdiction into three provisional counties, assigning to each one of the three judges, Goodrich, Sherburne, and Meeker, who had been appointed by the President. At the same time he directed the sheriff of St. Croix County to make a census of the population. The reported total did not measure up to the conjectures of hopeful citizens. ”

“ The rivers Clinton, Rouge and Huron, interlocking in different parts extend their many branches, and irrigate the county in a beautiful manner.
Troy embraces townships one and two south in range eleven east, is situate in the southeast quarter of the county, and is principally timbered land; township two in this town is entirely of this description, is heavily wooded with black and white walnut, linden, white, red and black oak, and the westerly half is of that description usually denominated rol [Pg 300] ling timbered land, and in quality of soil, is not surpassed by any in the territory ”

“ The number of inhabitants in the county is stated by the last census at 341,269—the number of square miles that they have to live on, being 1327. [2] —This will be found on proper computation and comparison, to be considerably under the average population of a square mile throughout the rest of England. Thus, the supply of men for all purposes does not appear to be greater than the demand in Cornwall. The remote situation of the county guarantees it against any considerable influx of strangers to compete with the natives for work on their own ground. ”

“ A pilgrimage round the county is like climbing a succession of ridges. The steeps are so steep that they demand real physical effort, and even the drops put a strain on unaccustomed leg-muscles. Newlyn Hill taxes the strength of those coming from normally level districts. It is to be hoped that only horses born and bred in Cornwall are used for the charabancs and other public vehicles; it would be sheer cruelty to bring horses from flat-lands here.
If we scrambled along the coast beyond Mousehole we should come to Lamorna Cove, a deep indentation filled with scrub-bush and small trees. ”

“ It seemed to point back to a time when there were no roads at all in that county. We afterwards read that Pennant, the celebrated tourist, when visiting Caithness in 1769, wrote that at that time there was not a single cart, nor mile of road properly so called in the county. He described the whole district as little better than an "immense morass, with here and there some fruitful spots of oats and bere (barley) , and much coarse grass, almost all wild, there being as yet very little cultivated." And he goes on to add:
Here are neither barns nor granaries ”

“ It is difficult to decide to what extent the smaller freeholders could take an active interest in the affairs of the county. As for the office of knight of the shire, there was no competition in the thirteenth or fourteenth century for the honour of going to Parliament, and it is likely enough that the sheriff, upon whom rested the responsibility for the elections, would in some counties be obliged to nominate and compel the attendance of an unwilling candidate. ”

“ You shall give instructions to the surveyors-general, and the surveyors to be employed under them, in the first place to survey, admeasure, and set forth all and every such of the said forfeited lands and premises as shall lye and be within the respective counties of Limerick, Tipperary, and Waterford, in the province of Munster; the King's County, the Queen's County, the counties of Eastmeath and Westmeath, in the province of Leinster; the counties of Down, Antrim, and Armagh, in the province of Ulster ”