Part 11

Chapter 113,607 wordsPublic domain

£ s. d. Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen [A]2,000 0 0 H. R. H. Prince Albert 500 0 0 Her Majesty the Queen Dowager 1,000 0 0 His Majesty the King of Hanover, as Duke of Cumberland and Chancellor of the University of Dublin 1,000 0 0 His Imperial Highness the Sultan 1,000 0 0 The East India Company 1,000 0 0 The Corporation of the City of London 1,000 0 0 The Bank of England 1,000 0 0 The Duke of Devonshire 1,000 0 0 The Worshipful Company of Grocers 1,000 0 0 Messrs. Jones Loyd and Co. 1,000 0 0 ” Rothschild and Co. 1,000 0 0 ” Baring Brothers and Co. 1,000 0 0 ” Truman, Hanbury, and Co. (including 50ℓ. from their clerks, and 8ℓ. 10s. from their workmen) 1,163 10 0 ” Smith, Payne, and Smiths 1,000 0 0 ” Overend, Gurney, & Co. 1,000 0 0 An English Friend, two Donations 1,004 0 0 An Irish Landlord, for Skibbereen 1,000 0 0 Manchester and Salford Relief Committee 7,785 0 0 Newcastle and Gateshead ditto 3,902 0 0 Hull ditto 3,800 0 0 Leeds ditto 2,500 0 0 Huddersfield ditto 2,103 0 0 Wolverhampton ditto 1,838 0 0 York ditto 1,700 0 0 Cambridge University and Town, including 617ℓ. 10s. from Trinity College, and 500ℓ. collected at the Baptist Chapel in St. Andrew Street 2,706 0 0 Oxford University and City 1,770 0 0 Proceeds of a Ball at Florence given by the Prince de Demidoff at San Donato, besides 500ℓ. from the Florence Relief Committee, and 9ℓ. 13s. 9d. from the English servants at Florence 891 17 2 St. Petersburgh 2,644 0 0 Constantinople 620 0 0 Amsterdam; collections in the English Church 561 0 0 Denmark; partly collected by Parish Priests in the provinces 504 0 0 Malta and Gozo 720 0 0 Remittances from British Guiana, the result of public subscription 3,000 0 0 Nova Scotia, including a vote of 2,250ℓ. by the House of Assembly 2,915 0 0 Barbadoes Relief Committee 2,575 0 0 South Australia £1,000 in money, and an equal value in Wheat 2,000 0 0 Jamaica, including a vote of 525ℓ. by the House of Assembly 1,537 0 0 Trinidad 1,350 0 0 Newfoundland 868 0 0 St. Lucia 614 0 0 Grenada 564 0 0 St. Christopher; vote of the Legislature of the Island 505 0 0 Bermuda; vote of the House of Assembly 500 0 0 Hobart Town 500 0 0 Bombay 9,000 0 0 Madras 2,150 0 0 Remittance from the Mauritius, including 111ℓ. 16s. 11d. from the Seychelles Islands, and 16ℓ. 7s. from Rodrigues, and in addition to 2,211ℓ. 13s. collected by the Vicar Apostolic and sent direct to Ireland. (The amount subscribed at the Seychelles Islands, and at Rodrigues, is very remarkable, when the poverty of their inhabitants is considered.) 3,020 0 0 Collection at Basseterre, St. Kitts, from Negroes belonging to the Congregation under the charge of the Moravian Missionaries, per Rev. G. W. Westerley 15 17 10 Officers and crew of Her Majesty’s ship “Hibernia” 167 17 11 Contribution by the Governor, Commissioner, Lieutenant-Governor, and officers of Greenwich Hospital, being the sum allowed them for a festival dinner in commemoration of the battle off Cape St. Vincent 40 0 0 The 2nd Regiment of Life Guards 156 4 6 A diamond cross from a lady (realized) 42 0 0 Workmen employed by Sir John Guest at the Dowlas Iron Works 176 17 10 Metropolitan Police 161 0 0 Proceeds of two amateur performances at the St. James’s Theatre 1,413 0 0 Collected on board the British and North American Royal Mail steamer “Hibernia” for Ireland 51 12 8 Wesleyan Methodists; part of the first distribution of collections in various chapels 5,000 0 0 Members of the London Daily Press, chiefly Reporters and Compositors, in addition to other Contributions 88 18 0 Proprietors of the “Morning Herald” and “Daily News,” each 100 0 0 “Punch” 50 0 0

Many of the smaller subscriptions, such as 800ℓ. from the Town of Bridgewater, and 747ℓ. from the Bahamas, are more remarkable in proportion to the means of the contributors, than many of those which have been mentioned.

The officers and men of the Coast Guard raised a fund amounting to 429ℓ. which was expended by the members of the force in Ireland in giving relief in the neighbourhood of their respective stations. From the commencement of the distress, the Coast Guard has been distinguished for its active benevolence.

The National Club in London collected a sum of 17,930ℓ., 1000ℓ. of which was from various congregations at Brighton, 500ℓ. from an anonymous contributor, and 500ℓ. from the Wesleyan Irish and Scotch Relief Committee. This fund was intrusted for distribution to the clergy of the Established Church in Ireland, acting under a committee appointed for each diocese, headed by the bishop.

The amount collected by the London Committee of the Society of Friends was 43,026ℓ., nearly the whole of which was disbursed through the Dublin Friends’ Committee.

[A] Her Majesty also contributed £500 to the Ladies’ Clothing Fund, which was established in connection with the British Relief Association.

[48] Two United States ships of war, the “Jamestown” and “Macedonian,” were manned by volunteers, and sent to Ireland and Scotland with the following charitable supplies, for which no claim for freight was made. These two cargoes will serve as a specimen of the rest:--

“JAMESTOWN.”

Corn and Grain:-- cwt. qrs. bshl. Wheat 4 0 Barley 3 4 Oats 2 4 Rye 9 2 Peas 30 0 Beans 279 3 Indian Corn or Maize 339 2

Meal and Flour:-- Wheatmeal or Flour 96 1 0 Barleymeal } Oatmeal } 19 2 16 Indian Corn Meal 4,229 3 0

Rice 154 1 4 Bread and Biscuit 1,048 3 21 Potatoes 61 1 1 Apples, dried 6 Pork 707 0 16 Hams 291 3 4 Fish 4 0 0 Clothing 10 cases, 18 barrels.

“MACEDONIAN.”

Landed in Ireland.

Indian Corn Meal, 5,324 barrels at 196 lbs. each 1,043,504 pounds. Rice, equal to 217 tierces at 6 cwt. each 145,824 ” Beans, 6 tierces of 4 cwt., 66 bbls. of 196 lbs., 38 bags of 100 lbs. 19,424 ” Peas, 53 bbls. of 196 lbs., 100 bags of 100 lbs. each. 11,388 ” Indian Corn, 38 bags of 100 lbs. 3,800 ” Wheat, 1 bag 100 ” Salt Pork, 1 barrel 200 ” ------ Pounds 1,224,240 = 546-1200/2240 tons.

Besides 100 barrels Indian Corn Meal and 3 packages of Clothing, landed as a “private consignment to the Rev. Mr. Taylor.”

Clothing, 13 boxes, 3 bales, 3 barrels 19 packages.

Landed in Scotland.

1 package clothing, 1 barrel beef, 143 barrels meal, 133 bags oats, 2 barrels beans, and 8 chests of tea.

Of which the Glasgow Section received--

1 package clothing, 1 barrel beef, 37 barrels meal, 133 bags oats, and 8 chests tea.

The Edinburgh Section received--

100 barrels meal; and 6 barrels meal and 2 barrels beans were delivered to Mr. Mathieson, of Stirling, as instructed by the manifest.

[49] Nearly 3000ℓ. was remitted to Mr. Gildea in advance, in sums of from 10s. to 20ℓ., for linens to be afterwards furnished. He might have received much larger sums, and he found great difficulty in stopping the outpouring of sympathy and support that came upon him; and until it became generally known that he had returned large sums of money, the influx did not cease. It is an interesting fact that of 30,000 yards of linen made up to the end of October, there is only one piece that was not duly returned to him by the workwomen, and Mr. Gildea thinks he shall still get the missing piece.

[50] Upwards of 100,000ℓ. has been expended by the Home and Provincial Governments, in giving relief to the sick and destitute emigrants landed in Canada in 1847, and in forwarding them to their destinations.

[51] The following extract from a letter from Mr. Jacob Harvey of New York, to Mr. Jonathan Pim, one of the Secretaries of the Dublin Relief Committee of the Society of Friends, contains many interesting particulars relating to these remittances, which are highly honourable to the Irish character:--

“New York, January 5, 1847.

“The destitution of our poor at this season will certainly curtail the amount for Ireland, and it is used as an excuse by those who feel called upon to assist them at their own doors first. But I am happy to say that the poor labouring Irish themselves are doing their duty fully. Without any public meetings or addresses, they have been silently remitting their little savings to their relations at home; and these remittances, be it remembered, go to every parish in Ireland, and by every packet. These drafts are from 1ℓ. and upwards; they probably average from 4ℓ. to 5ℓ. In my letter to J. H. Todhunter I told him I had ascertained from five houses here, that within the past sixty days, they have received and remitted from the poor Irish 80,000 dollars. I had not time to send round to the other houses that day; but since the steamer sailed, I have collected further returns, although not yet all; and to my no small delight, the sum total remitted since November the 1st amounts to 150,000 dollars or 30,000ℓ. sterling. I am now collecting an account of the sums remitted through the same houses by the poor Irish for the year 1846, and I have received returns from the five principal houses, and the sum total is 650,000 dollars, or 130,000ℓ. There are yet four houses to hear from, which will swell the amount. This, however, is enough to astonish everybody who has not been aware of the facts; and it is but right that credit should be given to the poor abused Irish for having done their duty. Recollect that the donors are working men and women, and depend upon their daily labour for their daily food; that they have no settled income to rely upon; but with that charming reliance upon Divine Providence which characterizes the Irish peasant, they freely send their first earnings home to father, mother, sister, or brother. I requested J. H. Todhunter to have the facts I gave him published, and I make a similar request to thee, as they are still more cheering. A publication of the kind may stimulate the rich to do their duty, where they have hitherto neglected it; and it will give evidence to those who have no faith in Irishmen, that whenever they are able to get good wages, they never forget their relatives and friends who are in want.”

[52] The emigration for each division of the United Kingdom during the first three quarters of 1847 was as follows; but it must be remembered that those who embarked at Liverpool consisted almost wholly of Irish. There can also be no doubt that the Irish helped to swell the tide from several other ports of Great Britain, and especially in the west of Scotland.

[53] These Irish labourers who annually come to England, by way of Liverpool, to help to gather in the harvest, and return to Ireland after it is over, are included in this number. They are variously estimated at from 10,000 to 30,000.

[54] 5000 Irish paupers were relieved in Manchester in the last week in February, and for several weeks following there were more than 4000 on an average receiving outdoor, and from 600 to 700 in-door, relief. This was independent of the adjoining districts of Salford and Chorlton, where great numbers of Irish were also relieved. Nearly 90,000 destitute and disabled Irish, including women and children, were reported to have received parochial relief in Scotland at a total expense of about 34,000ℓ.; but as the same persons were frequently relieved in more than one parish, and were therefore returned by more than one Inspector, the number of persons of this description newly arrived in Scotland is not so great as that above stated.

[55] The details of the frightful mortality connected with the great emigration of 1847 from Ireland to Canada, are as follows:--

Whole number of British emigrants embarked 89,738

Died on the passage 5,293 at the quarantine station 3,452 at the Quebec Emigrant Hospital 1,041 at the Montreal ditto 3,579 at Kingston and Toronto 1,965 ------ 15,330

showing a mortality of rather more than 17 per cent. on the number embarked. One-third of those who arrived in Canada were received into hospital.

The people of Canada deserve great praise for the spirited and benevolent exertions made by them to meet the exigencies of this disastrous emigration, which is described as having “left traces of death and misery along its course, from the Quarantine Establishment at Grosse Isle to the most distant parts of Upper Canada, cutting down in its progress numbers of estimable citizens.” Besides the larger hospital establishments, twenty-four Boards of Health were formed in Upper Canada. Numerous deaths also took place among the emigrants to New Brunswick. The ships containing the German emigrants, and two ships fitted out by the Duke of Sutherland from Sutherlandshire, arrived in Canada in a perfectly healthy state.

[56] Settlers in the backwoods must have the means of support from twelve to fifteen months after their arrival, and this cannot be accomplished for less than 60ℓ., at the lowest estimate, for each family consisting of a man, his wife, and three children, or equal to 3½ adults on an average.

[57] The repayment of these advances, which amount altogether to £1,145,800, has not yet been pressed, out of consideration for the circumstances of the country.

[58] An Act to make further provision for the Relief of the Destitute Poor in Ireland, 10 Vic. cap. 31--[Passed 8th June, 1847.]

An Act to provide for the Execution of the Laws for the Relief of the Poor in Ireland, 10 & 11 Vic. cap. 90--[Passed 22nd July, 1847.]

An Act to make provision for the Punishment of Vagrants and Persons offending against the Laws in force for the Relief of the Destitute Poor in Ireland, 10 & 11 Vic. cap. 84--[Passed 22nd July, 1847.]

[59] “I would sincerely regret that anything I have said should appear to be written as if I sought occasion to point out errors and hold them up; far from it; I mention them with sorrow and a kindly wish that they may be corrected. The position of the respectable classes at this moment in many instances is surely pitiable. There is but one course by which this country can rise and take her proper position, and that is by a hearty and sincere determination to work for the public good, at the same time throwing aside all selfish and party feeling. In that case, there is no reason why we should despair; but otherwise, no mortal can either pass laws or propose any other thing which would be attended with success. In this I particularly allude to the Poor Law now about to be administered. I look upon it as an indirect absentee tax, drawing from those who did not contribute before, or in a very slight degree. It assures the poor man that from the land he must have support, and that what he labours on will one day sustain him when he can no longer toil. It will also compel others to consider that unless employment is provided, they must support him without a remunerative return,--and if this is rightly considered, then the heavy affliction which the Almighty has been pleased to lay on them will prove a lesson for good.

“On the subject of relief being given without having a corresponding return for it in labour, I feel very apprehensive that, owing to the habits of the lower orders, the present repugnance to entering the union-house may give way, and that for the sake of an idle life, they may accept the terms. To prevent this and rescue both landlord and peasant from certain ruin, there must be employment given fairly remunerative to both, not by Government, but by the owners of the soil. Until lately, what was the condition of the peasant? Work as he would, till and rear what he might, he could never hope to benefit. His portion was the potato only, shared, it may be said, with his pig. He dare not use anything else. Let misfortune come on him, or disease render him unable to work, he had no claim on the land. One a little less poor than himself might help him, but who else? The charity I have seen has been from the poor to the poor. Is it any wonder that they became spiritless, idle, and even worse?

“A townland near here, owned by a landlord who resides constantly away, is let to a middleman at 10s. an acre. That middleman resides away also, and he relets it to a person who lives in the county of Cork, and only occasionally comes there. It is sub-let again, until the price received for a quarter of an acre is 1ℓ. 10s. per annum. Can that place be otherwise than full of distress?

“Near it is another townland. The owner resides here, but he has never attended to it. In the late calamity he applied to me for seed and assistance, declaring his intention to provide seed at his own expense; and to insure its being sown, he said he should employ a person to superintend the sowing, as the land was prepared. His tenants were without food; but to encourage and assist in this case, an application was made by me to the Society of Friends for a supply to sustain the people while working, which was granted. The party supposed he had about sixty to provide for, but was frightened at over 600 applications for food; and it then came out that his land was underlet to an enormous degree. He had never paid proper attention by inspecting his farms, &c. The result is, that now he can neither get rent, nor the repayment of the value of the seed. What has been grown will not suffice to feed those who are located on the land. They cannot pay rent, and they will not give up their holdings. The population has been increased in such cases, and others, to an extent beyond what the land can bear. Another cause is, that the Roman Catholic clergy derive their income mainly from fees and contributions at marriages and christenings; and though there are some who see the disastrous result of encouraging the increase of the population, and are scrupulous on that head, still, as their subsistence depends on it, it cannot be expected that they will exert themselves in a way likely to deprive themselves of daily bread by discouraging thoughtless rushing into improvident marriages.”--CAPTAIN MANN’S NARRATIVE.

[60] First Board of Works Series of 1846-7, page 338 to 341.

[61] The purposes to which these loans are applicable are as follows:--

1. The drainage of lands by any means which may be approved by the Commissioners.

2. The subsoiling, trenching, or otherwise deepening and improving the soil of lands.

3. The irrigation or warping of lands.

4. The embankment of lands from the sea or tidal waters, or rivers.

5. The inclosing or fencing, or improving the fences, drains, streams, or water-courses of land.

6. The reclamation of waste or other land.

7. The making of farm roads.

8. The clearing land of rocks and stones.

[62] By neglecting their estates, and omitting to construct proper farm buildings, and to make other necessary improvements, Irish landlords relinquish their position in rural society, and give free scope to the agrarian revolutionary plans which, under the disguise of “fixity of tenure” and “tenant right,” would dispossess the landlord, without conferring any permanent benefit on the tenant. In the smaller class of holdings, the entire gross produce is insufficient to support a family, without allowing for either rent, seed, or taxes; and even supposing that, with the dangerous help of the potato, eked out by harvest-work and begging, a rent is paid, the tendency to multiply and subdivide is so strong, that if the whole rent were given up, the holders would become in a generation or two much more numerous and equally poor. The fact is, that the main hope of extrication from the slough of despond in which the small holders in the centre and west of Ireland are at present sunk, is from the enterprise and capital and improved husbandry of the class of owners commonly known by the name of landlords.

[63] In what follows we must be understood as giving expression to the practical conclusions of those who, having been charged with the unenviable task of superintending the measures of relief, and assisting to replace society on a permanent basis after it had been unsettled by this great calamity, must be allowed to have had unusual advantages for a close examination of the subject under a variety of aspects.