The Sun.
London, England, 1822-11-29 00:00:00

EOR,THE SUN,

MR. EDITOR—From the spirit of liberality
evinced by your Paper at all times, but by none
more so than on the late memorable one respect-
ing the Subscription for the suffering and famish- ,
ing Peasantry' of Ireland, I am induced to ad-
dress you on the present occasion. Born amongst
a people whose romantic attachment to their
native country forms one of the most prominent
features in their character, I should not pay my-
self so poor a compliment as to assume any
exclusive honour from the part which I have taken
in endeavouring to relieve (or at least to alleviate)
their calamities ; and had it pleased fortune to
have bestowed upon me a portion of those fa-
vours which it was the prerogative of my birth
and station in society to have expected, I should
rather perish than have become the herald of
my own exertions (however great) to relieve
their unparalleled misfortunes. Having had very
early, as well as very accurate, information (in
the beginning of the present year) respecting the
distressed state of Ireland, and certainty of the
peasantry of that delightful country being ex-
posed to the ravages of pestilence and famine,
unless instantaneous and ample relief were afford-
ed, I addressed letters to various high official
characters on the subject, but not receiving any
satisfactory answers from them, I addressed let-
ters to the Marquis Conyngham, and the Earl
of Blessinton ; from them I received most kind
and satisfactory answers; and to them I proposed
raising by public subscription at least one hun-
dred thousand pounds within one month for the
peasantry of Ireland.
Not satisfied however that my duty was wholly
performed by the communications I had made, I
applied through that part of the public press un-
der my own immediate controul to the well known
charitable feelings of the people of England ; and
though during a period of several months it was my
painful and severe task to labour alone,yet I had at
length the heartfelt gratification to find that I
had succeeded in fanning the almost expiring em-
bers of English benevolence for Irish misery into
a glorious flame, which triumphantly spread from
one end of the country to the other, contributing
more to the glory of England and to the tran-
quillity of Ireland than any event which has for
many years taken place. And I beg leave to
add, that as I stipulated for no remuneration,
and sought not to promote any private interest of
my own, so had I no object in view but to pro-
mote the tranquillity of my native and 'the glory
of my adopted country, and to consolidate the
United honour, happiness, and interest of both.
—I am not so presumptuous as to arrogate to my-
self the exclusive merit of ameliorating the suf-
ferings of the unfortunate country whose miseries
my unceasing exertions were directed to relieve ;
I cannot, however, suppress my full conviction,
that one other suggestion also of mine (through
the medium of the Morning Post of the Bth of
May last, to which Paper I take the liberty to
refer your Readers), and which with pride and
pleasnre I observed was so highly approved 'by
his Majesty, and by his Government, as to be
thought deserving of a place in his Majesty's last
Speech from the Throne ; I allude to the Charity
Sermons (recommended by me to be preached)
in all Churches and Chapels, of every religious
denomination, throughout the United Kingdom,
and by which (exclusive of many other and sig-
nal advantages) the immence sum of nearly three
hundred thousand pounds has been obtained,
and that the spirit of kindness displayed by his
Majesty's English and Scotch subjects, and the
liberality which the Army and Navy manifested
on that occasion for their Irish Brethren in dis-
tress, and the Christian Spirit which the Protes-
tant Clergy and Laity evinced for their Catholic
fellow-subjects in the hour of necessity, have
done more to subdue the spirit of disunion,
anti in subordination, and to unite the diffe-
rent countries by feelings of mutual good-will
and attachment, than could have been effect-
ed by the application of tens of hundreds of
thousand pounds in any other mode. It now,
Sir, becomes my most painful task to be com-
pelled (through absolute necessity) to state what
•
my situation has become, in consequence of my
unceasing exertions for nearly ten months past in
the service of Ireland.

having gone to considerable expence, in carry-
ing on a widely extended correspondence through-
out all parts of the United Kingdom—to all the
London bankers (the admiration and astonish-
ment of the universe for their boundless acts of
charity,) and from whom, as well as several of
the Scottish and Irish bankers, I received the
handsomest letters (now in my possession)—hav-
ing expended various small sums in advertising
and in giving publicity to so desirable an object—
I not only expended my last shilling, but I also
incurred some trifling debts; and on Wednesday
morning, thelBth of 'September last, I was ar-
rested, and taken from my bed at an early hour
to a house of confinement, from thence to that
wretched abode, White Cross-street Prison !
where I was compelled to rest on an iron bed-
stead, with straw for my bed and a common
horse-rug to cover me, and from that horrid place
I have been removed to the King's Bench Prison,
the rules of which have been most kindly and
gratuitously granted to me by the Marshal. Such
is the reward I have experienced for being the
original proposer of a plan which has proved so
truly honourable to England and to Scotland, and
so highly beneficial to Ireland.
I have the honour to be, Sir,
Your most obedient,
HUGH DOHERTY.

P. S.—l beg leave to refer you (or your read-
ers) for a confirmation of the above statement,
to James Window, Esq. 8, Craig's-court, Char-
ing-cross, at whose house all communications sent
(postage free) will be received, and forwarded to
me.

A new Theatre is immediately to be erected
at Tewkesbury, at the expence of twenty indivi-
duals, who• are to be joint proprietors.
In some parts of Cumberland and the adjacent
counties, second crops of apples and gooseberries
have been gathered.