The Sun.
London, England, 1847-02-05 00:00:00

FAMINE IN IRELAND AND SCOT-
LAND.
UNITED RELIEF ASSOCIATION;
A public meeting, convened by the committee appOinted
at the recent conference of clergymen and dissenting ILlktifi-
ters, held at Exeter Hall, assembled in the large room of
that building, at twelve o'clock yesterday, to receive state-
ments from deputations who have arrived from Ireland and
Scotland, to communicate to the British public the real facts
of the present distress as they have witnessed them in these
countries. The meeting was very respectably but not nu--
merously attended.
The following gentlemen occupied the platform :--,Samuel
Gurney, Esq., Dr. Ur wick Dublin ; Dr. M'Lecd, Glasgoir;
Luke Hansard, Esq., Charles Cochrane, Esq , Dr. Ferguson,
St. Dacy Irvine, Esq., a; F. Mosse, Esq., Morris Were, Esq.,
Sir Kenneth Mackenzix, Dr. Mackenzie, P. Fitter, Esq.,
Mr. Randolph, and a number of clergymen and dissenting
ministers.
On the motion of the Rev. Dr. CARLISLE, Samuel Gurney
EP

.sq., was called' to the chair
The CHAIRMAN, in opening the proceedings, said they were
met to take into consideration the great afflictions of Scotland
and. Ireland at the present time, with a view to alleviate
them. As gentlemen were present able to speak more accu-
rately on the sul ject than he was, he would not trespass on
their time, but it could not be denied that thousands of per-
sons would fall victims to the calamity. Scotland was not
so severely visited as Ireland, but in the Hebrides, Shetland,
and other western isles, the scarcity of food waegreat, and he
was glad that they were to receive a portion of the funds.
The distress, however, in Ireland was beyond•description. The
calamity was so great that no amount of relief would do
more than partially relieve it. There could be no doubt
but thousands would fall victims, and he was sure it must
afford pleasure to every one if, by his or her individual as-
sistance, a single life could be preserved. He would now
call upon others better able to :communicate information to
address them.
The Rev. Dr. UxwicK (Dublin) then addressed the meet-
ing, and after dwelling upon the assistance which Ireland
received ffortangland in 1822, whim the last famine visited
the fermercountry, said that great as that visitation was, and
much as it was felt, it could not be cOmpared to that
hich
at present visited that country. According to the calculations
made in the House of Commons and elsewhere, the money
value of the food lost did not amount to less than twelve
millions by the lowest estimate, sixteen millions by another
estimate, amid twenty millious by a third estimate. When it
was considered, then, that this losi fell especially on. the
lower classes of Ireland, who made the potatoes their sole
food, some idea might be formed of the immensity of the
wretchedness. It was calculated that it would take
ten -vessels, of five hundred tons each, to arrive in Ireland
for three hundred successive days, to provide a sufficient
quantity of food for the wants of the people. This, which
he Believed was not an exaggerated estimate, would afford
some idea of the great scarcity of food in Ireland. The Rev.
Gentleman then proceeded to detail the distress in different
localities in Ireland. In Dublin workhouse, which was cal-
culated to contain from 1,800 to 2,000 persons, a very few
weeks ago, 800 or 900 of them were ill with fever and
dysentery, and among the children measles prevailed to an
alarming extent. The schools of surgery in Dublin never
received so many bodies for dissection as they did recently,
which was entirely owing to the famine, and to the
inability of the poor to bury their dead. In Waterford
Cork, Clonmel, Sligo, and other places, the destitution was
equally great, and in many places more extreme. Much
was said about the g.eeat purchase of arms in Ireland, but he
accounted for that &ciin the repeal of the Arms Act last ses-
sion, and from the feeling of insecurity caused by the desti-
tution. Besides, the arms were purchased by those who
were in comfi noble circumstances. The deposit of money
in the savings' banks wasxlso brought forward to show that
the destitution could . not be so extreme. But to
all this he would reply, " Look at the Irish
newspapers; see ,the number of inquests daily reported
in them, to each one of which was appended
the verdict 'Died from starvation l'—'Died from starva-
tion Died from starvation "He concluded by moving
the following resolution :—" That upon the evidence daily
received through the public journals, and from private
sources, detailing scenes of the utmost destitution, and con-
tinued deaths from starvation, 'in Ireland especially, but also
in Scotland and even in our own country, it is the conviction
of this meeting that it is desirable to make a more general
collection, and upon a broader basis of appeal, than any that
has yet been made, throughout the length and breadth of
the land."
The Rev. Dr. M'LEoD seconded the resolution, and con-
curred with the Rev. Gentleman who last addressed them,
that the state of distress in Scotland could not be compared
with that of Ireland. The latter he believed to be unpa-
ralleled. In the Western Isles, however, the destitution was of
the most painful kind. He could speak of instances where
the fountain of nature was dried up at the mother's breast.
He could speak of instances of a similarly frightful nature, but
to an int Aligent audience like that before him, who were in -
the habit of reading thb papers, it was unnecessary. He
would, however, state that there was a.population of 30,000
suffering from the effects of the scarcity, amid that there
were 150,000 of this population seven-eighths of
whose food consisted entirely of potatoes. The re-
maining 150,000 did not live entirely on potatoes;
they lived a little above the others, but the failure
had affected them greatly, 'and they would be in as poor and
in as So ititute condition as the others in a few months.
They would have no.seed to put into the ground in spring
time, and unless relief were given to them, the scarcity, next
year, would be as great, and the whole fabric of society would
totter to the ground. He did not believe that the helpless
condition of the people was owing to the landlords, but to
the circumstance of the annihilation of the kelp manu-
facture, which was carried on to a great extent' in . the.
,islands, - and which was altogether destroyed by a
to legislative enactment. It was, therefore, by no
kless negligence of the proprietors that this inability of the
ople to sustain themselves, under the present calamity, -
attributable, but to the cause to which he referred, as
,o the land being turned into pasturage, and to the popu-
i • tion:being driven out to make way for the graziers. It
waeeiee, howeverpeto the proprietors to state that, with
oneeeTception, theft' conduct on the present occasictt was
n0b1e.,,;, his exceftion, too, was brought to his senses by
the feet:d OT pupa toinion. It was a mistake to say that tIO
160,0001. given the late Drainage Act was money given
to the Highlands. It was money lent to Scotland on good
security, every penny of which, principal and interest, must
be repaid. The Reverend Gentleman concluded by making
a powerful appeal to the feelings of the meeting, aid hoped
that they would respond to the call now made upon them.-
The Rev. Dr. LEIFCHILD supported thezeutlioion, and
while he concurred with *the 11ev. GentlernansNvho had just 40
addressed them as to,the.,state of Scotland and Ireland, he
was bound to sfatertbat they had at home among themselves
a large populaelora who were houseless, penniless, and desti-
tute. The calamity was universal. There was not a county
exempt from the visitation, and this feature made him say
that it was unparalleled in extent if not in severity. The
present association had no poison of 'sectarianism
vitiating the milk of human kindness in itsAdmAseLa position. It was constituted of Ininigers and jaymen dtw: •
various religious denominations, and this circumstanc4 in-
vested it with a claim on the charity of the public, which he
hoped would be responded to. If4here was any one who might be disposed to confine his bounty to the " hotaselipld of the faith," he would tell him that this was net sanctionetiatr'4
by scriptural authority, for the Churches of the Gentile Came •to the rescue when the poor of Judea were visited with afflic-
tion. The man who offered a bribe to a poor man to become
one of his religion insulted alike the sanctity of religion and
the human mind. There was enough for all if it was
fairly distributed, for God did not, bring people into the
world without providing for their wants.: Avarice, however,
destroyed his benevolent intentions, and begot the hag
beggary, which brought up theft
_from the bottomless pit.
tie could not help admiring the resignation with which the
poor bore their woes and refrained from turbu4ncoe; and be-
fore he sat down he must express his satieffction with the--
Government of -the country for the exertiabs they made to
meet the emergency.
The resolution was then put to thA meeting, and carried
unanimously.
Mr. FOSTER, son of Mr. Foster, Of Norwich (both of whom
lately travelled through Ireland), then addressed the meeting.
He visited Westport, in the county of Mayo, and the state of
the people could not be realised by the imagination—
personal inspection would be necessary to convince one of the
reality. The town appeared to be one large pauper house,
crowded like a fair. He never saw such an assemblage of
wretched starved creatures. The men ware: worn down to
the skin and bone—were living skeletal-la—and the women
were pale and livid, with the dark 'mark of famine round
their eyes.—(Sensation.) On the public works there was not
more than one out of every 12 of the destitute employed. In
Connemara also the distress was equally great,
and in one village the scarcity was so great that
he could not get a single pound of meal in the whole pla-ce,
and there was not a store within a distance of from 20 to 30
miles.—(Sensation.) Four cases of -death had occurred there
within the two days previously, and he himself was obliged
to supply some of the poor creatures from the hotel at which.
he was residing. The emphatic way in which the poor
people of Ireland spoke of the calamity was, that 6 the
famine is upon us." He would conclude by urging on the
ladies to provide clothing for the naked creatures whose suffer-
ings-from famine•were greatly aggravated by the present in-
clement season. lie would propose the following resolution :
" That whereas her Majesty has called upon the ministers of
the Established Church to make collections in their respec-
tive parishes, so also Diseenting ministers of all denomina-
tions he requested (if they have not already done so) to use
their legitimate power of appeal to their congregations upon
the subject as early as possible, or simultaneously with the
day fixed for the Queen's Letter to be read, 21:t February.
Thus a general voluntary effort will be made by the whole •
nation in mitigation of the awful calamity. And further,
that such ministers be requested to report to the United
Relief Association (at 40, Leicester-squire) the fact of their
having made such collection, as .well as those that purpose so
appealing to their congregatiOns, in order that the same
being announced in the public papers, Aiiey
stimulate other
ministers and congregations to adopt th me course."
The Rev. A. KING seconded the' resolution, and detailed
several instances of the horrifying effects of the famine. In
one instance a family had nothing to subsist on but the car-
case of a dead horse, and the poor creatures exclaimed,
" What, under God, would become of them when the horse
flesh should be finished ?—(Sensation.) In several caste
dead were not interred, owing to the debility of t
In
none
woulddistrict
b e it
carriedw as e computed tAe dn
dt
an one-fifthinstancei
sufficient to
creatures not having strength
ground, the poor
S sation.)
cover them with clay.—( en
there Akre the limbs of dead bodies weobtorhful:didtehnseg°lrioaulbo'rurlveade-
the resolution,'Which
The Rev. THOMAS JAMES supported
carriedn,2oiu.
;nanneimv.oAus.lya.
Huston, to
announced T
' donations were then :—Luke J.
The following
Esq., 150 guineas; C. Cochrane, Esq.. 60 guineas ;
Hansard.
S. Gurney, Esq., ~
augm. ,
seconded by
was then puts to the meeting, eseitrinEg.,
5 guineas; with several others of a smaller amount.
the Rev. O.
en
statement d
ry
aa wsnut u ap n,
oi
embodying
mot
bhu unanimously
dl yy carriedextremegth e
omotionw spsaflino:
InolioNfi
:aCi,nn(i
destitutionigdcaronferoask
),
and
supported
dE s
Rev. O n
St.hTe
substance of the account
LA
wretchednessTui(h arct'
tah e
uthiteANdeFp'utations that have
addressed this meeting, with other needful information, and
that the same be forwarded to the clergy and to the minis-
ters of all denominations,' in order to impress them with the
urgency of the case, and that the same be forwarded also to
all public companies, joint-stock societies, literary institutions,
charitable societies, lecturers, and benevolent persons who
may have it in their power to promote the public collection.
•And that, notwithstanding the benevolent disposition
evinced by the Government of this country, and the gene-
rosity exhibited by her Majesty,. and several branches of
the Royal Family, by the Society of Friends, and many
benevolent individuals, the exigence of the present distress
is so great, and the-hope of its early mitigation so faint, that
there appears a necessity for the committee (appointed at the
late conference of clergymen and ministers on the 18th ult.)
continuing their remedial exertions as the United Relief
Association; and that it is the sense of this meeting that
the administration of the funds collected by the public
appeal maybe confided I"the contributors shall so approve)
to the said committee, and their treasurer, as trustees, who,
while they admit the sadly pre-eminent claim of Irelaga.and
parts of. Saotland upon the generous charity of the ah
a
public, would appropriate a portion also forthe destitute in
England, and who resolve that their distribution shall in all
cases be conducted on unsectarian principles."
The meeting then separated.
given rt coeBi iubCt resolution cy