AGRARIAN OUTRAGE. 95 



Perthshire man, who was dreadfully mangled by a set 

 of ruffians here a few months ago. These men were 

 hired by a person on the estate, who had taken offence 

 at Mr Sharp for nothing more serious than this — yiz. : 

 This man, having had the privilege of helping himself 

 to fodder and turnips for his cows from Lord Mont- 

 eagle's yard, unavoidably caused a waste, to stop which 

 the steward required that the cows should be fed at the 

 same time, and in the same way, with the others on 

 the farm. In revenge for this very proper and reason- 

 able arrangement, one Sunday forenoon, as he was pre- 

 paring to go to church, a party of ruffians entered the 

 house, and cut and wounded poor Sharp most shame- 

 fully ; it having afterwards appeared, in the evidence 

 on the trial, that their instructions were to give him a 

 " beating/' and, above all, to cut him about the legs, so 

 that he might be ever afterwards unfitted for the office 

 of a steward. The scoundrels were got, and eleven of 

 them transported ; but poor Mr Sharp will never 

 recover, perhaps not long survive, this brutal and 

 dastardly attack.* 



I cannot forbear mentioning the noble conduct of Mr 

 Stephen De Vere, as related to me by Lord Monteagle. 

 A large body of the tenants of Sir Aubrey De Vere, 

 foreseeing the calamity likely to fall on them from the 

 effects of the famine, resolved to emigrate to North 

 America. To guard them against the wretched treat- 

 ment to which they were then exposed on the voyage, 

 this young gentleman accompanied his father's tenants, 

 taking a steerage berth, and sharing in their privations. 



* For statement of Agrarian Outrages, see Appendix, No. 7. 



