RALAHINE AND ITS TP^ACHINGS 467 



in number from 52 to 81. All these entered upon it half- 

 starved and in rags. At the end of the third year the}^ 

 were all strong and well fed, and had at least two suits of 

 clothes each, and many of them had saved money in the 

 form of labour-notes represented by the net increase in 

 stock and crops above what was required for payment of 

 the exorbitant rent. There had been no deaths, no illness, 

 no quarrels, and no secessions from the little communit3\ 

 All were contented and happy, and were looking forward 

 with confidence to a still greater prosperity in the coming 

 year, and the certainty in a few years more of being able 

 to pay off the value of the stock and implements and thus 

 become the owners of everything but the land. 



There was abundance of water-power on the property ; 

 and it was contemplated some day to utilize it for the pur- 

 pose of establishing home-manufactures, which would give 

 profitable employment to many of the members during 

 bad weather, or at seasons of less pressure in agricultural 

 work, and thus add still further to the productiveness and 

 self-supporting character of the Association. 



If the rent had been a fair one, that is at least £200 a 

 year less than was actually paid, there is no reasonable 

 doubt that there would have been a continuous increase 

 of prosperity, and that ultimately double the number of 

 persons could have been easily supjoorted on the land. 

 Never perhaps in the history of our countrj^ was there 

 a more important social experiment tried, or one that 

 was so completely successful and so thoroughly 

 beneficial. 



But suddenly a terrible misfortune fell upon them 

 and shattered their prosperity and their hopes. The 

 landlord and president of the Association, not long after 

 the harvest-home suddenly disappeared. During the time 

 that Mr. Craig and the other members of the Associa- 

 tion had been working hard to ensure their own and his 

 prosperity, he had spent much of his time from home, 

 had been gambling in Dublin, and had got into such 

 difficulties that he felt them to be overwhelming. He 

 therefore escaped to America without a word of explana- 

 tion to his family. A banker to whom he owed money 



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