302 



Earnings of Irish Labourers in 1907. [July, 



from 24th June to 15th August. Their total cash earnings amounted to £6 each (or 

 1 5^. Sd. per week), and in addition they were provided with sleeping accommodation 

 and food and drink. They afterwards went into Lincolnshire for the corn harvest. 



Lincolnshire. — An employer in the Spilsby Union furnished particulars of the 

 earnings of 20 Irish labourers who worked from August to October on his farm. 

 Most of the men come from Sligo, and all of them had been haymaking in Yorkshire, 

 Durham, or Lancashire before coming to him. The aggregate cash earnings of the 

 20 men amounted to ^263 185. 4^., which yields an average of ^"13 i>s. lid. per man, 

 or, taking into account the aggregate number of days worked, 30s. per week per man. 

 Nearly all of these returned direct to Ireland. They slept in a barn on straw, and were 

 allowed fuel and about 18 gallons of beer each during the period referred to. 



Another employer in Lincolnshire had 12 men from Roscommon working at 

 potato picking on his farm from October 7th to 31st. Their total cash earnings 

 amounted to £8j i$s. i^d., giving an average of 4.1s. gd. each per week. These 

 men were provided with sleeping accommodation and coal and potatoes. 



Worcestershire. — On a farm near Evesham five Irishman from Mayo were 

 employed from June to October, and their cash earnings averaged about £1 per week. 

 They were provided with sleeping accommodation in a small house, and were given 

 fuel free. The employer states that these men have come to him every summer 

 " some of them for twenty years." He remarks that the men live very dheaply and 

 send most of their earnings home — as soon as they arrive they borrow money to send 

 home, and it is very rarely a man goes away without paying the money we advance to 

 him." 



Warwickshire. — Information respecting seven men from County Mayo was 

 received from two employers in Warwickshire. On one farm six men were employed 

 and were paid at the rate of ^"i per week with sleeping accommodation and fuel. On 

 the other farm a man was paid \%s. a week for about 24 weeks with an extra 

 allowance of £2 10s. He was also provided with sleeping accommodation and fuel 

 and beer. 



Scot/and. — Returns have been received relating to 162 Irish labourers employed 

 on 21 farms in Scotland. The majority of these men were from Donegal. The 

 employers generally lodged them in a bothy or other building free of charge, and 

 provided porridge and milk night and morning as well as some bread and beer during 

 the day ; also fuel. On a farm in the county of Wigtown four men were employed 

 during the harvest of five weeks, their cash earnings amounting to £\ \^s. each, or an 

 average of \gs. per week. 



An employer in Dumbartonshire gives particulars of the earnings of 10 men from 

 County Donegal. Their aggregate cash earnings amounted to ^197 2s., or an 

 average of i6j-. per man per week. These men came direct from Ireland and 

 returned to their homes in October, 



Seven men who had been working all the summer in Fife and Midlothian were 

 employed on a farm in Berwickshire from September 9th. Four of them returned to 

 Ireland on the 19th October, their cash earnings on this farm amounting to £6 iSs. 

 each (23^. per week). The other three men left on 26th October, and went to other 

 employment in Scotland, their cash earnings amounting to £8 2s. 4d. each (235. 2d. 

 per week). 



On another farm in Berwickshire 19 men were employed. Their cash earnings 

 amounted to £90 12s., or an average of i8j-. Sd. per man per week. Employment 

 continued from September nth to October 29th, during which time 10 of the men 

 left to seek employment elsewhere ; those who remained returned direct to Ireland. 



Information has been received from nine potato merchants in Scotland as to the 

 employment of Irish labourers for potato lifting. These merchants employed about 

 592 persons (238 males and 354 females) in the season of 1907, and their total cash 

 earnings are estimated at ,£10,570. Most of the parties of labourers arrived in 

 Scotland about the middle of June and remained until the end of November. In 



