Part 10

[22] The following extract from Captain Mann’s Narrative, descriptive of what took place at this period in the county of Clare, will be read with interest: “The early culture of 1846 was in no way improved; a great proportion of the land was again tilled with potatoes, under the expectation that, as in former years, the late scarcity would be followed by a bountiful supply. The first alarm was in the latter part of July, when the potatoes showed symptoms of the previous year’s disease; but I shall never forget the change in one week in August. On the first occasion, on an official visit of inspection, I had passed over thirty-two miles thickly studded with potato fields in full bloom. The next time the face of the whole country was changed; the stalk remained bright green, but the leaves were all scorched black. It was the work of a night. Distress and fear was pictured in every countenance, and there was a general rush to dig and sell, or consume the crop by feeding pigs and cattle, fearing in a short time they would prove unfit for any use. Consequently there was a very wasteful expenditure, and distress showed itself much earlier than in the preceding season.”

[23] The following extract from Captain Mann’s Narrative will give some idea of the difficulty of prevailing on the people to have recourse to the new food:--“The first issue of Indian corn meal was in March, 1846. It is impossible to conceive the strong prejudice against it; and I may here bear testimony to the benevolent and right feeling of the Rev. J. Kenny, P P. Previously to the sale of the meal being commenced, a small portion was sent to me by Commissary-General (now Sir Edward) Coffin, which I placed in the hands of the reverend gentleman. He tried and approved of it, and in order to overcome any feeling against it, subsequently, with his two curates, all but entirely lived on the meal made into bread and stirabout, for nearly a fortnight using all his influence to convince the people that the pernicious effects ascribed to it were untrue. Such conduct is above any praise of mine. The success attending this measure, it is quite unnecessary for me to allude to; and the merchants profiting by the example, commenced a trade new to them by importing the article.” The use of Indian corn meal was adopted in hundreds of households of the higher classes, both Protestant and Roman Catholic, besides that of Father Kenny, for the purpose of overcoming the popular prejudice by the force of example. The Society of Arts awarded a gold medal to Mr. O’Brien, baker, of Leinster Street, Dublin, for the attention paid by him to the introduction of cheap popular modes of preparing Indian corn for use; and tens of thousands of pamphlets and printed sheets were distributed through the Commissariat containing instructions for cooking the Indian corn, and showing the people what other cheap descriptions of food were available to them. Those who know how difficult it is to induce a large population to adopt new habits, will be surprised at the success which attended these efforts. The “yellow meal,” as it is called, was first known as “Peel’s brimstone,” and it was remembered that the attempt to introduce it in a former season of distress occasioned a popular commotion, arising from the absurd notion that it had the effect of turning those who ate it black.

[24] This minute will be found from pages 67 to 71 of the first Board of Works Series of Parliamentary Papers for 1847.

[25] A member of the Board of Works, writing to a friend, observed as follows:--“I hope never to see such a winter and spring again. I can truly say, in looking back upon it, even now, that it appears to me, not a succession of weeks and days, but one long continuous day, with occasional intervals of nightmare sleep. Rest one could never have, night nor day, when one felt that in every minute lost a score of men might die.”

[26] An officer of the Board of Works, observing the emaciated condition of the labourers, reported that, as an engineer, he was ashamed of allotting so little task-work for a day’s wages, while, as a man, he was ashamed of requiring so much. In some districts proof of attendance was obliged to be considered sufficient to entitle the labourer to his wages. The exhausted state of the workmen was one main cause of the small quantity of work done compared with the money expended. The Irish peasant had been accustomed to remain at home, cowering over his turf fire, during the inclement season of the year, and exposure to the cold and rain on the roads, without sufficient food or clothing, greatly contributed to the prevailing sickness. In order to obviate this as far as possible, a Circular Letter was issued by the Board of Works (1st series of 1847, page 499) directing that, in case of snow or heavy rain, the labourers should merely attend roll call in the morning, and be entered on the pay list for half a day’s pay; and if it afterwards became fine, they were to come to work, which would entitle them to a further allowance.

[27] In this month (March) the expenditure upon the Relief Works was heaviest, viz.:--

Labour and Plant £1,024,518 Extra Staff 26,254 ---------- Per Month £1,050,772

In the Week ending 13 March, 1847, the expenditure for all the above services was £259,105 which gives a Daily average for that week 43,184 On the 5th March there was remitted into the interior for carrying on Relief Works 68,000 On the 30th March, only 16,000 These two are the extremes during the month. The mean (for the month) of daily remittance 38,920

[28] The proceedings of the Government, in reference to this point, are fully explained in a letter from Mr. Trevelyan to Colonel Jones, and in the accompanying Treasury Minute, printed in the first Board of Works Series for 1847, page 97 to 100.

[29] See page 44 of the first Board of Works Series of 1847.

[30] The following shows the extent of the Government interference in the supply of food in the two seasons of 1845-46 and 1846-47:--

+--------------------------------------------+--------------+---------+ | | Reduced | | | | to general | | | | denomination | Cost. | | | of | | | | quarters. | | | +--------------+---------+ |Total quantity of Indian Corn and Oatmeal | | £ | | provided for the Relief Service during the | | | | first season of distress, up to August 1846| 98,810 | 163,240 | | +--------------+---------+ |Of this quantity there remained in store | | | | at the close of the first season of the | 14,575 | 24,073 | | operations | | | | | | | |Total quantity of provisions of all kinds | | | | (Indian Corn, Wheat, Barley, the meal | | | | of those grains, Ryemeal, Biscuit, Peas, | | | | Beans, and Rice) provided for the Relief | | | | Service, during the second season of | | | | distress up to September 1847 | 289,335 | 672,767 | | +--------------+---------+ | | 303,910 | 696,840 | | +--------------+---------+ |There remained in store at the close of | | | | the second season of the operations, about | 108,960 | 249,836 | +--------------------------------------------+--------------+---------+

[31] This was the amount of the private subscriptions upon which Government donations were made; but other large sums were raised by local Irish subscriptions, through the medium of some of the Relief Committees, of which no account was furnished to the Government, because the Committees concerned would not submit to the rule of selling at cost price except in cases of extreme destitution. Large funds were also administered by private individuals, quite independently of the Local Relief Committees; of which class of operations the following account of the expenditure of a Protestant clergyman in the south-west of Ireland, with a parish of 10,000 inhabitants, no resident gentry, not a single town in the whole of it, nor a road through the greater part of it, may be taken as a specimen:--

£ s. d. Gratuitous aid of every sort 306 6 0 Loss by sale of food under market price, when exorbitant 208 9 0 Payment of labour--making road to the bog, and other public works 150 10 0 Seed--corn, wheat, oats, and barley 300 0 0 Turnip seed 15 0 0 Fishing materials 150 10 6 ------------ £1,130 15 6

Funds of this sort administered by benevolent and public-spirited individuals in Ireland, were generally supplied by the exertions of their relations and friends, or by grants from societies in England and elsewhere. It was a common practice for ladies in England to have parishes assigned to them in Ireland, and each lady raised all she could, and made periodical remittances to the clergyman of her adopted parish, receiving accounts from him in return, of the manner in which the money was expended. The self-denial necessary to support this charitable drain was carried to such an extent at Brighton and elsewhere, that the confectioners and other trades-people suffered severely in their business.

[32] Two electoral divisions were sometimes united under one Relief Committee, but the accounts of each electoral division were kept separate.

[33] The ration consisted of one pound of biscuit, meal, or flour; or one quart of soup thickened with meal, with a quarter ration of bread, biscuit or meal. When bread was issued, one pound and a-half was allowed. It was found by experience that the best form in which cooked food could be given, was “stirabout,” made of Indian meal and rice steamed, which was sufficiently solid to be easily carried away by the recipients. The pound ration thus prepared, swelled by the absorption of water to three or four pounds.

[34] Report from Count Strzelecki to the British Relief Association.

[35] Seventh and last Monthly Report of the Relief Commissioners.

[36] Letter from Sir John Burgoyne, quoted by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the House of Commons.

[37] Third Report of the Relief Commission.

[38] The small holders in the Barony of Erris, in this county, declined at first to accept the seed which was offered them, saying that if they sowed it, the crops would be seized by their landlords. This was not believed at the time in England, but it has nevertheless turned out perfectly true. This barony, of which Belmullet is the principal place, is the darkest corner of Ireland. In some instances broken Landowners and their families were receiving rations, while their Tenants were starving.

[39] The following interesting account of what took place in the county of Clare on the subject of seed, is extracted from Captain Mann’s Narrative:

“The first supply of seed sent for distribution by sale, was received on the 13th March last, up to which period the prospect of the tillage of the land being neglected was very alarming. The seed-grain had been in most cases either partially or wholly consumed for food. Bad advice had been given, that the Government or the landlords would be forced into assisting--the former to pay wages for the time while the work was going on, and the latter to provide seed, if the Government would not. The supply alluded to was bere and rye. By dint of persuasion, and having it published by the Roman Catholic clergy, the quantity sent was taken and planted; and here let me add, that the most sanguine could not have anticipated the great benefit of this importation. The value of the bere as an early crop and produce exceeded every expectation. It was reaped and in the market the latter part of July; and as compared with other barley, it is stated to me, thrashed out five stone to the barb, of twenty hand-sheafs, while the other only yielded three stone from the same quantity. The rye grew on bog merely burnt, and that even slightly; in some cases the heather being in bloom where the rye in the same ground was ripe. Thus hundreds of acres were cultivated that might have lain waste; and as the rye-meal brought by the ‘Sisters’ from St. Petersburgh to this depôt, and issued as rations, became, after some opposition, popular with the poor, it does not require any remark to show the value and importance of this article, when considered as an auxiliary substitute for the potato food, and the more so because it can be grown on inferior land here, and not like the Indian corn meal, which we are forced to look to other countries for.

“The supply of green crop and oat-seed by Her Majesty’s ship ‘Dragon’ was received here the 12th of April last. Some few landlords purchased of the first, and supplied their tenantry, but of the latter but little was purchased at that time. The feeling still existed that the Government or the landlords would be forced into providing seed and assisting the tillage; but when that vessel sailed, and they became convinced to the contrary, the most pressing and even distressing applications were made to me by the people to procure a supply of any seed; the fact being clear that grain seed (oats and barley) was not to be procured. Most fortunately, in a few days after, the hired steamer ‘Doris’ arrived with her cargo of oat-seed, the greater part of which was freely purchased, and a vast quantity of land immediately tilled. A sudden and favourable reaction took place, all appearing anxious to raise something, and not let the land run to waste. Turnip-seed was imported by dealers to a very large amount; and those who could, bought and sowed it. Subsequently a small quantity was sent to me for gratuitous distribution. Lists of the parties who received it, and the quantities allotted, are herewith annexed; and to this were added some small pamphlets given to me by Lord Robert Clinton, my object being to assist the poor, and spread the benefit over the greatest possible extent.

“I have now the pleasure to state, that instead of this part of the country being as described in the first series, with respect to green crops, the turnip particularly has become a general produce with even the poorest. Quantities are daily exposed for sale in the markets, and with a mixture of Indian corn meal, rice, or flour, it is used as a substitute for bread. Emulation has been excited; and a few days since I was invited to view an exhibition at Colonel Vandeleur’s, of the following:

stone. lbs. lbs. 3 swedish turnips 4 0 weight. Heaviest of the three 20 3 white ditto 3 11 ” Ditto 20 3 mangle wurzel 3 8 ” Ditto 18

Beside white carrots, &c. Experiments have been tried with the potato set in drills very successfully; and I do trust that improvement will make further progress under the system of instruction which it is said will be adopted.”

[40] The readiness with which the Bank of Ireland, and the Provincial, National and other banks, undertook the office of Treasurer to the Finance Committees, and entered into every proposed detail and accommodation, in support of the operations of the Commissariat, the Relief Commission, and the Board of Works, is very creditable to the managers, and deserves the thanks of the public.

[41] All the letters and proceedings of these officers showed that their predominant feeling was an anxious desire to fulfil the benevolent mission on which they had been sent. One observed that he could bear anything but the “careless misery of the children;” another that his heart was broken by the sobs of the women returning to their homes with a smaller quantity of food than was sufficient for the support of their families.

[42] The Four Commissions employed on these operations were composed as follows:--

The Board of Works.

Lieut.-Col. H. D. Jones, R.E., Chairman. Richard Griffith, Esq., Deputy Chairman. Commissioners: John Radcliff, Esq. Wm. Thos. Mulvany, Esq. Captain Larcom, R.E.

The First Relief Commission, appointed by Sir Robert Peel’s Government

Rt. Hon. E. Lucas, Chairman (afterwards retired). Com.-Gen. Sir R. I. Routh (afterwards Chairman). Colonel D. Mc Gregor. Lieut.-Col. H. D. Jones, R.E. Sir James Dombrain. Professor Sir Robert Kane. E. T. B. Twisleton, Esq. Theobald Mc Kenna, Esq.

The Second Relief Commission, appointed by Lord John Russell’s Government.

Major-Gen. Sir J. F. Burgoyne, K.C.B., Chairman. T. N. Redington, Esq. E. T. B. Twisleton, Esq. Com.-Gen. Sir R. I. Routh. Lieut.-Col. H. D. Jones, R.E. Colonel D. Mc Gregor.

The Poor Law Commissioners in Ireland.

E. T. B. Twisleton, Esq. Rt. Hon. Sir W. M. Somerville, Bart. T. N. Redington, Esq.

Sir Randolph Routh was in charge of the Commissariat from the commencement to the end of the measures of relief.

It is due to Mr. Redington to state that his intimate acquaintance with Ireland, and excellent judgment, were a never-failing ground of reliance in the most difficult emergencies.

[43] One of the principal causes of the expense incurred, was the necessity of finding work for every person in the neighbourhood of his own home, which added greatly to the number of the works, and to the proportion of them left unfinished.

[44] The first instalments due under the 9 & 10 Vic. c. 1 and 2 have been already paid.

[45]

Viz., 25,000ℓ., being the aggregate of the two half-yearly instalments under the 9 & 10 Vic. c. 1; and 291,000ℓ., the same under the 9 & 10 Vic. c. 107 --------- Total 316,000ℓ. ---------

[46] The proportions in which the expenditure was made a local or general charge in the following unions, were--

Loan to Grant in be aid of repaid. rates.

{ Ballina £13,716 £43,610 { Ballinrobe 12,183 27,997 County of Mayo { Castlebar 7,282 19,813 { Swineford 6,620 31,797 { Westport 5,624 37,993

{ Clifden 3,228 8,868 ” Galway { Gort 7,663 18,475

” Clare Scariff 6,406 10,943

” Cork { Bantry 6,079 12,294 { Skibbereen 13,451 21,627

” Kerry Kenmare 3,359 10,956

[47] The following are some of the most remarkable contributions:--