The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-08-26 00:00:00

STATE OF THE POOR IN IRELAND.

The pecple of CA have proposed the introdneion of pony laws
tutu Ireland at the only permanent remedy. The meeting was held
tot the lath Inst. The Mayor was in the chair.
The Hightitcs. I,r. alc•entr proposed tome resolutions re-
penting the odsting distress, and the necessity of raising a sub-
aeriptioa to relieve it.
In the hest resolution the Lord Mayor was requested to apply to
Isis Majesty and the Lord Lieutenant, reprenmticg the dia-
ereses(' state of his fellow-citizens, and praying the moot serious
consideration of Government to the subject.
31r. T. FITTGIOSON here asked, if nothing further was intended
than appeared on the lire of the proposed resolution ? The pre-
sent distress was most appalling • and, no doubt, the dearness of
toot' contribsted greatly thereto; but if food were at halt its price,
we should still Lave great distress, because there is a want of that
employment which is necessary to enable the lower classes to pur-
chase tool, no matter how cheap it might be. Let me ask the
Meeting, said Mr. Fi.agibbon, if it thinks :hat the misery which
surrounds us is the result al permanent, or merely of temporary
Cathie.' % 1, far one. Sir. am of opinion that the cause is of a per-
tetnent nature, and therefore I would suggest a perntanent remedy.
I *asual charity, such as in pioposed to-day, is evanescent in its
nature, and rpitteinaticquate to the wants of our community. These
want. can only be met by a modified system of poor laws, which.
shall reach the absentee proprietor, the wealthy churchman, ay,
And the wealthy resident layman too, of whom we have many, that
scarcely ever come forward to contribute to any charitable or bene-
.olent object. Are not our puar chiefly supported by the middling
, lasses ? hook at the subscription list of 1£122, and see how many
of those who contributed from 11. to 31. must have abridged their
tuoderate comforts to afford them sumo, while several persons of
w:alth and station gave nothing. It is to relieve the poor from the
! totem of supporting the poor—which ought to fall upon every
in proportion to Iris means and his stake in the country—that
I wish for poor laws, and therefore 1 shall take the sense of the
Meetira on the subject.
Mr. JAMES LANE referred to the situation of England, to show
•hat the remedy propo.cel by Mr. FitrAibbon was not what 'souk'
,iiit this country. Tlicre was great distress in that country, not
few want of poor laws there; but for want of manufacturing em-
ployment.
The Right Rev. Dr. MuWrity was favourable to a modified aye-
teas of poor rues. !fiat.) And he did nee know but a petition
for something of the kind might emanate from the association to
which one of the resolutions relortsd.
hl r. B. J. HACKETT supported' Mr. Fitlitibbeet'S TICS'S, and
part a handsome compliment to those worthy individuals whose
LION'S are ever mandated with our public charities ; but they were
few, and it was because they were few. and hector e d'art mere many
who were as capable of mitigating distress AV they, but who never
telt for It, that be was the firm supporter of the poor-rate system.
f Dear.? A legislative enactment would make every man in Ire.
!and contribute to the support of his fellow creatures, than which
what could be more justor reasonable ? If a compulsory poovaate
be tint established in this country, till those evils would inevitably
follow which lied desisted even. land where the poor had been
abandoned and forgotten. Mr. !Lulea concluded by expressing
his entire willingness to contribute to a fund for immediate pa-
paws, with which object lets friend 3lr. Fitzgibbon's proposition
was sot incompatible.
sir. WM. CNAWTORM, jun. agreed with the Right Rev. Dr.
Murphy, in the proposition of introducing some system of poor
,ors into Ireland—such a system as, while it should provide far the
',rally 4s:reseed, would not prove a premiura for idleness.

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Mr. JAMES DALY said, famine, nakedness, and i.isease, met us
at every tarn--erratelsedness, In a thousand vaned and indeacrib.
able forms. is awainting before us; and is it to be supposed that such
sub 4:iptions as we expect to raise will meet and tonere tt ? No,
t tr—wide aril general distress requires as general a remedy • and you
who oppose the poor-rate, whet better do you propose? 'You will
agree as to the arr.-fulness of the principle—you differ as to the pro-
priety of the present discosalon. But you err. Whatever means of
relict you apply must be immediately applied. Things, bad as
may now one, are not yet come to the worst--about next spring the
1. Inry a ill riSSUllle is most appalling form : you sllol.llil be prepared
beforehand to meet tile exigency. Dr. Murphy, for whose opinion
rune can passibli entertain a higher respect than I, h.st made op-
position. Mere the night lies. Dr. Murphy quickly interrupted
Mr. Daly, and inured him he was much mistaken. Ile (the Doc-
Was by ovens favourable to a poor rate.) (Hear.) Mr.
Daly was happy to be thus corrected. nut some person had urired
the abuses of the poor lutes system; ohmic did not argue inutility.
What would England a now were she without them ? They may
he liable to abuse, as is every thing human ; but without such a
,ay, England, with her present din:ma, could not hold together
tot three years longer. Do the gentlemen who would oppose or
;intrigue the conshieratiod of this subject conceive that Ireland
could remainAinconvulsed for another twelvemonth ? The frame
of society woad break to pieces under the load of misery which
pleases it; shalk we wait calmly for the crash, or exert ourselves
to proven! it ? lie anxiously looked forward to the adoption of a
modified system of poor laws, at the same time that every nerve
should be strained fur the applicadon of immediate relief.
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At t!iis stage of the proceedings., Mr. JAMES DALY regularly
proyescd a resolution, that prirate charity was inadequate to remora
the existing distress, and pledging the Meeting to petition Pai-
l:44watt for a modified ayetem of poor rates.
This Resolution was seconded by Mr. Crawford, jun.

Mr. ROZATNE arid, the errinimity berme to conjure the Meet- I
mg to come to was, to pass the resolution without a dissenting
,mace (loud and continued chetollig), that the city of Cork may
1...ve the credit of originating a c ill on Parliament fur a measure of
ustice art well as policy_-• permanent provision for thelpocT, the
4.1 a of which was the reproach of the country, and an exception to
the civilized world. or did he, he said, surdsin the principle of
a pros tripe for thr poorand unemployed (ruin expediency or mere
polisy ;he urged it its a right—an imprescriptible right. (Hear.)
Who ran deny that. in a state of nature, the savage state in Ante.
rich, for instance, the savage life was one of ease and comfort, a
holiday's life, compared to the precarious lives ct the :,meat bulk of
toe people here hi civilized Europe ? hitch a 'tree of things ought
to exist. What ! exclaimed Mr. iternayne, is the cultivator of
the roil, the artisan, the tradesman, who are the primary cause of
oil our comforts, who bare enriched us, and still oestrus us, and
with them sae ibis old, the feeble, the widow, the orphan, and the
decrepit, to be left any longer to casual charity and eotniniwratioo,
and barely hardly kept from starvation, by the bei.ign and gene-
io.s souls obese bouuty cannot always lust, or aided any thing
Liu:adequate ;elle? Tue laud we inherit is not exclusively ours,
rare the money we have amassed. The distressed have a claim
upon bwh for support, when they cannot, for want of employment
or inabhity to Latour, support themselves.
Dr. LYONS, wishing to unite all parties, prop :wed—That it
being evident that private charity is unequal to the relief of the ex-
isting distress, a requisition be now drasn up and signed by those
present, requesting the Mayor to call a public memind to consider
rue propriety of petioking the Legisimme to frame a modified ays.
remot poor laver for Ireland.
The rcs.ilution being unanimously adopted, and a requisition
intot numerously and respe.eribly awned being handed to the
Mayor. his Worship, without hesitation, called the Meeting for
Thii finale gave the most ample satisfaction to all

STATE OF I RELA ND.—The late rains, we most fervently
hope, will have saved the potatoes which have been put in
timground in April and May. Rut again and again we
imioere the Government—we implore the public—not to
sleep upon the subject of stopping the distilleries. We
have spoken to some eminent distillers in this city and
1,6 neighbourhood on.this matter, and though their own
interest, are deeply concerned, they concur with us in
opinion, that it would be prudent to suspend distillation.
the revenue, as we showed on a former occasion,
would nor sustain ar.y injury in consequence, as sugars
mr,dit he used—and this, too, would be affording a re-
lief to the West India interest, now suffering so st.verely,
awl, Likely to be still more depressed by the inter-
(tic!, which is to. come into opergtion in December
nityte, cutting them off from an intercourse with the
ihrited States. But even this, if it should be
adopted, will not be sufficient. Every praise is due to the
A.etalit Committee and to the Directors of the Itlentlicity
Association ; they are really doing ail that men can do
with their restricted and scanty means. But these will be
exhausted in a few days; and it is quite notorious that
.ffver is making the must frightful progress through the
it; ; that dysentery has set in ; and that hunger is stalking
aeptit the streets, assuming, in. several instances, the tone
tr menace aed desperation, There should be again a ge-
Loral meeting called, to frame a petition to the King, pray-
ing his Majesty to convene Parliament forthwith, for the
purpose of considering and devising the best means of
e eating the most dreadful scourge that ever visited a na-
tIOU. Really no time ought to be lost; We hope that
very county in Ireland will assemble for the purpose.
:iork will meet this day..--I)eldert Evening- l'ust.