Part 6

Bengal 8,200 Bombay 2,976 Madras 1,150 Ceylon 718 Hong Kong, 18th Royal Irish 82 Mobile, U. S. 192 Toronto, C. W. 300 England, including 200ℓ. from Lord John Russell 302 ------- £13,920

The whole of this sum was distributed between the 24th of April and the 21st of December, 1846, and was entirely independent of the large subscriptions from different parts of British India subsequently added to the funds of other societies. More than 2000 letters were received by the Trustees of the Indian Relief Fund; and by a strict attention to economy, they were enabled to distribute 13,920ℓ. at an expense of 180ℓ.

In the United Kingdom, the Society of Friends were, as usual, first in the field of benevolent action. When the renewed and more alarming failure of the potato crop in the autumn of 1846 showed the necessity for serious exertion, a subscription was opened by them in London in the month of November in that year; members of the Society were sent on a deputation to Ireland, and those who resided there aided by their personal exertions and local knowledge. On the 6th January, 1847, a committee, of which Mr. Jones Loyd was chairman, and Mr. Thomas Baring and Baron Rothschild were members, invited contributions under the designation of the “British Association for the Relief of extreme Distress in Ireland and the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.” On the 13th of January, 1847, a Queen’s Letter was issued with the same object, and the 24th of March was appointed by proclamation, for a General Fast and Humiliation before Almighty God, “in behalf of ourselves and of our brethren, who in many parts of this United Kingdom are suffering extreme famine and sickness.” A painful and tender sympathy pervaded every class of society. From the Queen on her throne to the convicts in the hulks, expenses were curtailed, and privations were endured, in order to swell the Irish subscription. The fast was observed with unusual solemnity, and the London season of this year was remarkable for the absence of gaiety and expensive entertainments. The vibration was felt through every nerve of the British Empire. The remotest stations in India, the most recent settlements in the backwoods of Canada, contributed their quota, and 652ℓ. was subscribed by the British residing in the city of Mexico, at a time when their trade was cut off, and their personal safety compromised by the war with the United States. The sum collected under the Queen’s letter was 171,533ℓ. The amount separately contributed through the British Association was 263,251ℓ.[47]; and this aggregate amount of 434,784ℓ., was divided in the proportion of five-sixths to Ireland and one-sixth to Scotland. But besides this great stream of charity, there were a thousand other channels which it is impossible to trace, and of the aggregate result of which no estimate can be formed. There were separate committees which raised and sent over large sums of money. There were ladies’ associations without end to collect small weekly subscriptions and make up clothes to send to Ireland. The opera, the fancy bazaar, the fashionable ball rendered tribute; and, above all, there were the private efforts of numberless individuals, each acting for himself and choosing his own almoners, of which no record exists except on High. Upon application being made to the managers of the Provincial Bank of Ireland to permit English charitable remittances to pass without the usual charge, it turned out that they had been in the habit of doing so for a considerable time, and that the amount sent through that one channel, in the six months ending on the 4th March, 1847, exceeded 20,000ℓ. In the contemplation of this great calamity, the people of the United States of America forgot their separate nationality, and remembered only that they were sprung from the same origin as ourselves. The sympathy there was earnest and universal, and the manifestations of it most generous and munificent. The contributions from this land of plenty consisted principally of Indian corn and other kinds of provisions, and the cargoes were, for the most part, consigned to the Society of Friends, whose quiet, patient, practical exertions, commanded universal confidence. The freight and charges on the supplies of food and clothing sent to Ireland by charitable societies and individuals, as well from the United States and Canada on the one side, as from England on the other, were paid by the Government, to an amount exceeding 50,000ℓ.[48]; all customs dues were remitted, and the meal and other articles were to a great extent taken charge of by the officers of the Commissariat, and held by them at the disposal of the parties to whom they had been consigned for distribution; by which means the necessary harmony was preserved between the operations of the Government and those of the private associations, and the bounty of the subscribers reached the destitute persons for whom it was intended, with as small a deduction as possible for incidental expenses. Thus, when the British Association was desirous of giving the cultivators on the Western Coast of Ireland an opportunity of purchasing seed at a low market price at the close of the sowing season of 1847, five large steamers were collected by the Government, which were loaded in a remarkably short space of time, with oats and other seed provided by the Association, and were sent forth, each to its appointed section of the Western Coast; so that every harbour accessible to a steamer, from Kinsale to Londonderry, was looked into, and what remained unsold was left in the Government depôts for subsequent sale or gratuitous distribution. On the other hand, the Government received much assistance and support from the operations of these benevolent societies, and they were especially useful in bridging over the fearful interval between the system of relief by work and relief by food. Several gentlemen, with a noble self-devotion, volunteered their services to the British Association, among whom Lord Robert Clinton, Lord James Butler, Count Strzelecki, and Mr. Higgins, were distinguished by their zeal and ability, and by the fortitude with which, for months together, they endured the pain and risk attending the immediate contact with hunger and disease.

A large committee, with the Marquis of Kildare at its head, was formed in Dublin under the name of the “General Central Relief Committee for all Ireland,” the contributions received by which amounted to upwards of 50,000ℓ., independently of 10,000ℓ. in cash and an equal value in food, entrusted to this committee from the sum raised by the Queen’s Letter. British North America contributed through this medium the munificent sum of 12,463ℓ., including 5,873ℓ. from Montreal; 1571ℓ. from Quebec; and 3,472ℓ. from Toronto. The United States gave 5,852ℓ., of which 3,199ℓ. was from New Orleans. British India 5,674ℓ.; the Cape of Good Hope 2,900ℓ.; Australia 2,282ℓ.; South America 772ℓ.; the Military 386ℓ.; Scotland, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Gibraltar, the Channel Islands, West Indies, the Ionian Islands, &c., 2,168ℓ.; Ireland, independently of local subscriptions, which were very considerable, 9,888ℓ.; and England, over and above the 20,000ℓ. remitted from the produce of the Queen’s Letter, 8,886ℓ.

Subscriptions were received to a smaller amount, but from an earlier period of the distress, by another committee established in Dublin under the name of the “Irish Relief Association for the Destitute Peasantry,” which was announced to be a reorganization of the Association formed during the period of famine in the West of Ireland in 1831. The list of patrons commenced with the names of the Archbishop of Dublin and the Duke of Manchester; and, independently of some cargoes of corn, flour, &c., from Canada and the United States, the funds placed at their disposal amounted to nearly 42,000ℓ., among the contributions to which, the following were conspicuous:--England, 17,782ℓ.; Ireland, 6,151ℓ.; France, 1,390ℓ.; Italy, including 1,481ℓ. from Rome, 2,708ℓ.; British North America, 2,821ℓ. (1,165ℓ. of this being from Quebec); United States, 847ℓ.; India, 5,947ℓ., of which the large proportion of 4,981ℓ. was from Madras; West Indies, 1,043ℓ.; Australia, 2,314ℓ.; and from the officers and men of various regiments, and the pensioners and constabulary, 508ℓ.

But the most considerable of the Dublin Charitable Committees was that composed of members of the Society of Friends, of which Mr. Joseph Bewley and Mr. Jonathan Pim were the Secretaries. The contributions placed at their disposal since the 3rd of December, 1846, in money and provisions, have been to the amount of upwards of 168,000ℓ., of which no less than 108,651ℓ. is the estimated value of provisions (7,935 tons) consigned to them from the United States of America. Of the subscriptions in money, 35,393ℓ. was remitted by the London Committee of the Society of Friends; 8,494ℓ. by members of the Society and others in Dublin; and the large sum of 15,567ℓ. by persons residing in the United States. The provisions received from America were as follows:--

Estimated Value. _Tons_ £ s. d. From New York 4,496 58,299 15 0 ” Philadelphia 1,870¼ 24,948 18 0 ” New Orleans 349 7,538 5 0 ” Newark, N. J. 316¾ 5,141 0 0 ” Baltimore 262½ 3,913 10 0 ” Richmond, V. 252½ 3,486 15 0 ” Charleston 169 2,362 0 0 ” Alexandria, V. 102 1,422 10 0 From Sundry other Ports, United States, America 117 1,518 7 10

And in addition to these large donations of money and food, consignments of clothing were received from England and America, to the estimated value of from 5,000ℓ. to 10,000ℓ.

The ladies of Ireland exerted themselves with characteristic zeal and benevolence, to alleviate the sufferings of their country-people, and to promote their moral advancement, by awakening and encouraging a spirit of independent exertion, and fostering habits of industry and self-reliance. The “Ladies’ Relief Association for Ireland,” in the management of which the Honourable Mrs. Newcombe takes the principal part, and the objects of which are “to encourage industry among the female peasantry of Ireland, to contribute towards providing nourishment for the sick, and to procure clothing for the destitute,” raised 11,465ℓ. previously to the 1st of August, 1847, of which 3,043ℓ. was derived from the proceeds of a Fancy Bazaar in London, and of this sum 2,500ℓ. was appropriated to the relief of families whose husbands or fathers “have been removed while performing their painfully laborious duties.” The “Ladies’ Industrial Society for the Encouragement of Remunerative Labour among the Peasantry of Ireland,” of which Mrs. Lloyd is the active promoter, more particularly aims at encouraging the manufacture of those articles which are likely to find a ready sale in the trade; for which purpose, instruction is given in the best and most practicable descriptions of remunerative labour; patterns, models, and implements are furnished, and a sale is provided for the produce, through the intervention of a mercantile agency in Dublin. Numerous benevolent persons adopted the same course in various parts of Ireland, sometimes in connection with these societies, and sometimes using their own means, with such aid as was sent to them by their private friends. Mr. Gildea, the Rector of Newport, and the ladies of his family, revived the manufacture of coarse linen at that place, and they have employed between 500 and 600 females since the beginning of January, in the execution of orders sent them by charitable persons[49]. The ladies of the Presentation Convent at Galway gave every day a good meal of porridge to upwards of 600 starving children who attended their schools. The ladies of the Owenmore Relief Committee raised and expended in various works of charity, 2,427ℓ., exclusive of grants of the British Association and of the Government, to five parochial kitchens superintended by them. Want of space alone prevents us from alluding to many other similar instances.

In the autumn and winter of 1846 efforts were made to induce the Government to take an active part in assisting emigration by an apportionment of the expense of passage and outfit between the public, the landlords, and the emigrants themselves; but, on a full consideration of the subject, it appeared that the emigration about to take place in the ensuing season to Canada and the United States, without any assistance from the public, was likely to be quite as large as those countries could properly absorb, and that the consequence of the interference of the Government would be that the movement would be carried beyond those limits which were consistent with safety, and that a burthen would be transferred to the taxpayers of the United Kingdom, which would otherwise be borne by those to whom it properly belonged, owing to their interests being more immediately concerned. It is also a point of primary importance, that those persons should emigrate, who, from age, health, character, and circumstances, are best able to contend with the hardships and difficulties of a settler’s life, and it was considered that this object would be most fully attained if the emigration were entirely voluntary. The true test of fitness in this case is the possession, on the part of each individual concerned, of the will and ability to emigrate; and the probability of helpless multitudes being sent forth, who, both for their own sakes and for that of the colony, ought to have remained at home, is increased in proportion as other motives and other interests besides those of the emigrant himself influence his act of expatriation. For these reasons Her Majesty’s Ministers determined to confine themselves to taking increased securities for the safety of the emigrants during their voyage, and their early and satisfactory settlement after their arrival abroad. Additional emigration agents were appointed to Liverpool and to different Irish ports; the annual vote in aid of colonial funds for the relief of sick and destitute emigrants from the United Kingdom, was increased from 1000ℓ. to 10,000ℓ.; provision was made for giving assistance in the case of emigrant ships being driven back by stress of weather, and the Governor-General of Canada was informed that Her Majesty’s Government would be prepared to defray its fair share of any further expense that might have to be incurred in giving the Emigrants necessary relief, or in forwarding them to places where they might obtain employment[50].

Early in the year 1847 the roads to the Irish sea-ports were thronged with families hastening to escape the evils which impended over their native land. The complaint in Ireland, at the time, was, that those who went belonged to the best and most substantial class of the agricultural population. The complaint afterwards in Canada was that those who came were the helpless and destitute. The fact was, that the emigrants generally belonged to that class of small holders, who, being somewhat above the level of the prevailing destitution, had sufficient resources left to enable them to make the effort required to effect their removal to a foreign land; and the steps taken by them to convert their property into an available form, had for months before been the subject of observation. Large remittances, estimated to amount to 200,000ℓ. in the year ending on the 30th March, 1847, were also made by the Irish emigrants settled in the United States and the British North American provinces, to enable their relations in Ireland to follow them[51]. The emigration of 1846 from the United Kingdom, which was the largest ever known up to that time, amounted to 129,851 persons; the emigration of the first three quarters of 1847 was 240,461; and almost the whole of it was from Ireland to Canada and the United States[52].

Even this does not represent the full extent of the outpouring of the population of Ireland which took place in this eventful year. From the 13th January to the 1st November, 278,005[53] immigrants arrived at Liverpool from Ireland, of whom only 122,981 sailed from that port to foreign countries. The conflux of this mixed multitude was formidable both to the health and resources of the inhabitants of Liverpool; but they nobly faced the danger, and exerted themselves to meet the emergency with the vigour it required. The portion of the town occupied by the Irish was divided into thirteen districts, in each of which a relief station was opened, and twenty-four additional relieving officers were appointed, under the superintendence of two inspectors. The number of persons relieved daily amounted for some time to upwards of 10,000. The district medical officers were increased from six to twenty-one, and extensive premises were hired or constructed for the purpose of being used as temporary fever hospitals. All this was done at the expense of the inhabitants, and the only assistance given by the Government was, that when the fever increased to an alarming extent, quarantine ships were stationed in the Mersey to receive the infected. Nineteen relieving officers died at Liverpool alone of fever caught in the execution of their duties. The influx of poor Irish by way of Glasgow, Ardrossan, Port Patrick, Fleetwood, the Welsh ports, Bristol, Plymouth, Southampton, and London itself, was also very large; and quarantine arrangements had to be made in the Clyde similar to those at Liverpool.

Some relief was obtained by the passing of the Act 10 & 11 Vic. c. 33, “to amend the Laws relating to the Removal of Poor Persons from England and Scotland;” and 4,583 paupers who had become chargeable to the Liverpool parochial funds, or who applied to be removed, were sent back to their own districts in Ireland, at a cost of 1,322ℓ., between the 19th July, when the Act came into operation, and the 31st October. Previously to this, there was very little crime among these poor people, not even in petty thefts; but it soon appeared that they preferred being sent to prison to being sent back to Ireland. In the year ending 30th September, 1846, 398 natives of Ireland were committed to the borough prison at Liverpool for begging, pilfering about the docks, &c. In the year ending 30th September, 1847, 888 were so committed. In the month of October 1846, 80 were committed; in the same month of 1847, 142. This pauper immigration passed inland to all the large towns of this island, as far as London and Edinburgh; and the following statement of the number of Roman Catholic clergymen who died of the Irish fever caught in attending the sick since March 1847, may be taken as an index of the relative pressure[54]:--

_Lancashire._

Rev. Peter Nightingale, resident priest of St. Anthony’s, Great Homer Street, Liverpool.

William Parker, senior resident priest of St. Patrick’s, Park Lane, Liverpool.

Richard Grayston, resident priest of St. Patrick’s, Park Lane, Liverpool.

James Haggar, resident priest of St. Patrick’s, Park Lane, Liverpool.

Thomas Kelly, D.D., resident priest of St. Joseph’s, Grosvenor Street, Liverpool.

John F. Whitaker, removed from Manchester to succeed Dr. Kelly at St. Joseph’s, where he died.

J. F. Appleton, D.D., senior resident priest of St. Peter’s, Seel Street, Liverpool.

John A. Gilbert, resident priest of St. Mary’s, Edmund Street, Liverpool.

William V. Dale, resident priest of St. Mary’s, Edmund Street, Liverpool.

Robert Gillow, resident priest of St. Nicholas’s, Copperas Hill, Liverpool.

John Hearne, senior priest of St. John’s, Wigan.

Robert Johnson, resident priest of St. John’s, Wigan.

John Dowdall, resident priest in Bolton.

_Cheshire._

Michael Power, resident priest of St. Mary’s, Duckinfield.

_Yorkshire._

Thomas Billington, Vicar-General of Yorkshire district, and senior resident priest of St. Mary’s, York.

Henry Walmsley, senior resident priest of St. Ann’s, Leeds.

Richard Wilson, resident priest of St. Anne’s, Leeds.

Edward Metcalfe, successor to Rev. R. Wilson at St. Anne’s, Leeds.

Joseph Curr, Secretary to Bishop Briggs, with whom he resided at Fulford House near York. He volunteered his services after the death of Mr. Metcalfe, and in the course of a few weeks died at St. Anne’s, Leeds.

J. Coppinger. Removed from Hull to supply the vacancies caused by the above deaths, and very shortly after his removal died at St. Anne’s, Leeds.

_Durham._

Joseph Dugdale, resident priest of St. Mary’s, Stockton.

_Northumberland._

James Standen, senior resident priest of St. Andrew’s, Newcastle-on-Tyne.

Right Rev. Dr. Riddell, Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District and Bishop of Longo. After the death of Mr. Standen, Bishop Riddell undertook to attend to the visitation of the sick in person. He very soon caught the fever and died at Newcastle.

_Staffordshire._

Rev. James Kennedy, resident priest at Newcastle-under-Lyne.

_Gloucestershire._

P. Hartley, resident priest of St. Peter’s, Gloucester.

_Wales._

Edward Mulcahy, resident priest of St. Mary’s, Bangor, North Wales.

M. Carroll, resident priest at Merthyr Tydvil, South Wales.

_Scotland._

Richard Sinnott, Stranraer, Greenock.

J. Bremner, Abbey Parish, Paisley.

W. Walsh, Old Monkland.

The pestilence, which all the precautions practicable on land could not overcome, broke out, as was to be expected, with increased virulence on board the emigrant ships. A new law was passed at Boston in Massachusetts, empowering the local authorities to demand a bond of 1000 dollars from the masters of emigrant ships for each passenger apparently indigent, that he should not become chargeable to the State or to the city for ten years, the effect of which was to divert the stream of emigration to a greater extent than usual to Canada and New Brunswick. The deaths on the voyage to Canada increased from 5 in every 1000 persons embarked, to about 60, or to twelve times their previous rate; and so many more arrived sick, that the proportion of deaths in quarantine to the numbers embarked, increased from 1⅓ to about 40 in the 1000, besides still larger numbers who died at Quebec, Montreal, and elsewhere in the interior[55]. A Medical Board was appointed; large supplies of provisions were dispatched to the quarantine station; tents sufficient for the reception of 10,000 persons were issued from the Ordnance stores, and the labours of the Commissariat in this war against famine and pestilence, were carried on at the same time on both sides of the Atlantic; but the utmost exertions and the most liberal expenditure could not prevent a fearful amount of suffering amongst the emigrants, and a painful spread of disease to the resident population.

We are well aware that among men of talents and of benevolent dispositions, there is a wide difference on the important question of emigration; and in what follows on this subject, we wish to be understood, not as committing ourselves to particular opinions, but merely as making a statement, in pursuance of the historical character of this review, of what we believe to have been the views which guided the resolutions of the Government.