ainst it, whilst daily wages ranged from eight to tenpence
only. They assaulted overseers; refused to work for them; threatened
their lives, and in one instance at least, attempted the life of a
Government functionary. At the village of Clare, in the county of that
name, some short distance south of Ennis, the capital, this
insubordination seems to have become rather formidable, as a murderous
outrage was committed there on the head steward of the works, Mr. W.
Hennessy, half-way between Clare and Ennis. He was fired upon by one of
four men whom he observed inside the road ditch, as he passed along. The
weapon used was a blunderbuss. It was charged with some of the blasting
powder belonging to the works, and duck shot; so that although Mr.
Hennessy received the contents in his right side, he was not mortally
wounded, and recovered in a little time. Captain Wynne, the local
inspector, giving an account of this outrage to his Board, says, the
cause of the outrage was because Mr. Hennessy was trying to get the men
into proper training. Quite likely. But it must be taken into account,
that a duty of that kind might be done in such a way as neither to
offend the men, nor lose their respect or esteem; and it might be done
in an offensive insolent manner, calculated to exasperate them,
especially as they were in a state of excitement at the period.[147]
Captain Wynne further says, that the perpetrator of the outrage was
known, but could not be brought to justice. The Board of Works, to mark
its indignation at this murderous attack upon one of its servants,
stopped the works in the locality, and the inhabitants, miserably off
before, sank into a state of the most heartrending destitution, as is
testified by Captain Wynne, writing from the same place a fortnight or
three weeks after, to Colonel Jones.[148] "I must again," he says, "call
your attention to the appalling state in which Clare Abbey is at
present. I ventured through that parish this day, to ascertain the
condition of the inhabitants, and although a man not easily moved, I
confess myself unmanned by the extent and intensity of suffering I
witnessed, more especially among the women and little children, crowds
of whom were to be seen scattered over the turnip fields, like a flock
of famishing crows, devouring the raw turnips, and mostly half naked,
shivering in the snow and sleet, uttering exclamations of despair,
whilst their children were screaming with hunger. I am a m