| Title: | McMahon Glynn, Patrick to Glynn, Ellen, 1883 |
|---|---|
| ID | 4375 |
| Collection | Patrick McMahon Glynn: Letters to his family (1874-1927) [Gerald Glynn O'Collins] |
| File | glynn/25 |
| Year | 1883 |
| Sender | McMahon Glynn, Patrick |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | lawyer |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | Kapunda, South Australia, Australia |
| Destination | Gort, Co. Galway, Ireland |
| Recipient | Glynn, Ellen |
| Recipient Gender | female |
| Relationship | son-mother |
| Source | |
| Archive | |
| Doc. No. | |
| Date | |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | |
| Log | unknown |
| Word Count | 1063 |
| Genre | prospects, local economy, socialising, family |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Kapunda South Australia July 5th 1883 My dear Mother It must be a long while since I wrote to you last and, though I am very busy today, I have about time for a short letter. Yesterday I was just a year in the Colony and on looking back find that without having realized £1000 a year, as Davis prognosticated, I have been able to look rich and probably have £30 over. I will be admitted here on the 21st July, at the cost of £16. If the press work had not turned up you would probably have heard that I had shifted to Sydney. The money market in this country has been cramped by three bad harvests in succession — besides other temporary causes — so that law business since I came here has been less remunerative than at any time since the foundation of the Colony. Exceptionally fine rains have raised the hopes of the farmers again, but my conviction is that this will be the last of the Colonies. It's a great copper country—but copper has gone down permanently in price; it has a first class soil — but a light and irregular rainfall; its gold mines have not paid yet, though they have smashed thousands. Under those circumstances I never feel that composure here that belongs to one, who is conscious that he is not a sojourner only in the country, and would probably have thought seriously of changing to elsewhere. I like the bustle and din of the Criminal Courts in a city like Melbourne or Sydney — but object to the starvation diet connected with what is known as 'waiting for a chance.' I have been reading recently Progress and Poverty by Henry George in which the author speaks of the restless spirit of man, and I feel with him that man has a higher object of ambition than the mere gratification of his physical appetites. I know, if my income here was £5000 a year —while there was a bigger world beyond to fail or succeed in I would never rest quiet. You must not think that this is a very bad place. We have a big public dance once a fortnight—a lawn tennis club—private parties etc. and a general air of smartness in everything compared to a provincial town at home. However, these are things I reckon very little. As long as I think that I might have beaten a few fools in a bigger sphere of action, I can never remain quiet. With the exception of the dances, the people here have kindly consented to leave me alone. In fact reading Parliamentary debates, Bills, Politics Colonial and foreign, in addition to the office, permits of no leisure for gossip, especially when there are so many good books in the world unread. What I have just written ran into my mind when I began to write, so I gave expression. Indeed, of regular news, there is nothing of interest to send from here. Lizzy has written to Johnny Wallsh after a very long silence and talks a little about running over to see us from Sydney where she is at present. Her husband is, I believe, a low drunken fellow who contributes very little to their support. I intended to assist her this month, but as the — [fates?] would have it, some months ago, to prevent a fellow being ruined, I guaranteed a claim against him to the extent of £25, which, of course, I had to pay. It would be well for everyone at the outset to take it for granted that it is impossible for nine-tenths of us to discriminate between an honest man and a rogue, so that the safest philosophy is to presume all swindlers and regulate your pocket accordingly. Sister Bernard has not written to me for months. A few weeks ago, however, Johnny Wallsh and I called on and saw Mother Mary at the Convent, who told us she had left Sister Bernard well after a trip to Queensland. The Convent at Sydney commands a delightful view of the Harbour, which is second to none in the world. Sir John O'Shanassy, for a long time leader of the Catholic faction in Victoria, is dead. He lost his seat for Belfast at the last general election, being put out by a State School teacher named Madden, who, I believe, is one of the Loughrea family. I, however, never met him. Fanny McDonald has a lot of boarders now and appears to be getting on. She writes a story or two for the Australian Woman's Magazine; I padded them a little for her here and there, but the public are none the wiser. I hope you get all the Heralds regularly — I left orders to have them sent. All the leading articles— the subleaders, i.e., the small print written with wide spaces between the words, as distinguished from the paragrops; as well as the literary Reviews, are written by me. For instance, "The Victorian Statistics of 82-83" is a subleader; the Review of Fernie's Sermons, one of my reviews. I like the work, but cannot devote sufficient care to it on account of other business. From tomorrow night, for instance, I have to be away, defending a fellow, for two days, so that tomorrow morning I must read the debate on a new Land Bill, the Bill itself, and write a leader on it in too great a hurry for satisfaction to myself. But when a thing has to be done — it will be done. How are all the youngsters getting on at school? I hope shortly to have another letter from you. From the papers that come out it seems that the fates were against me in being away from Ireland when the agrarianism began in fine style. Mclneroey and I were on exactly the same footing when I left. He is probably making £600 or £1000 a year now. If there are any pamphlets by Henry George published on the Land Question in the future, please send them out. His work on Progress and Poverty is shaking the whole edifice of land monopoly from base to pinnacle, and is being read all over the world. It will eventually work a revolution. I have no more time to spare, so with love all I remain Your aff. Son P. McM. Glynn |
