The Sun.
London, England, 1846-10-29 00:00:00

Matting flift

LONDON, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1846.

No description, however highly coloured, no lan-
guage, however emphatic, no imagery, however dark
and lugubrious, can by possibil;ty exaggerate the
peril in which the population of Ireland are at pre-
sent placed. " Misery unqualified is in the land—
misery unparalleled—such as was never heard of
before !" exclaims Mr. O'CONNELL ; and that solemn
assurance coming from that eminent authority is, to
the very letter, truth. Winter is approaching rapidly,
and with that winter all the most direful concomi-
tants of national destitution. Great as has been the
scarcity hitherto, grievous as have been the privations
of the peasantry—they are as nothing in comparison
with those privations and that terrible and universal
scarcity which are inevitable, unless prevented by
the interposition of Government, abetted by the as
sistance of ecclesiastical interference and the vigorous
support of the landowners. Supposing the ope-
rations of the Board of Works to be only proportioned
to its recent inactivity, and the pecuniary help de-
rived from the Legislature to be merely meted out
according to that already afforded, the prospects of
our sister island are' truly desolate, the probability
of her emerging unscathed from her present terrific
ordeal are wonderfully insignificant. But our
expectations are not of this mournful character; we
re too sincerely assured of the wisdom and hu-
manity of the existing Administration, and, beyond
this, we ai.-e too.sangie of the emulation which trust
his forthcoming remedies shall be contrastee, v‘ith
chose afforded by his predecessor, to entertain ani
such fearful anticipations, or to continue in suet
utter trepidation fur the lives of our fellow-country.
The dictates of huu.anity are sufficiently
powerful to overrule the most fanatical parsimony ;
the recommendations of safety will, in emergencies,
dissipate the torpor of the most confirmed sluggard.
At an important meeting of landlords
and relief committees, held recently in Fer-
inoy, the Honourable R' presentative of Cork
entered more largely into the consideration
of the necessities of the people and the inertness of
the subordinate officials, than he has done on any
previous occasion. We are rejoiced to find Mr.
O'CONNELL pleading thus earnestly for his country-
men in the days of their most extreme desolation ;
we are rejoiced to find him standing forward as the
champion of that people who never needed the voice
of an advocate so much as at this particular juncture.
After enlarging upon the intensity of the distress
which is now so prevalent in the four provinces, Mr.
O'CONNELL addressed himself more particularly to a
consideration of the part already taken for its ame-
lioration by the present Government. On this point
the Hon. Member spoke in the most feeling
and impressive manner. He eviden!ly appreciated
the responsibilities by which the benevolence of her
MAJESTY'S Ministers was necessarily, to a great
extent, restrained at all times. He knew that 'A hile
immediate an i well-organised efforts to prevent
starvation were incumbent upon a Legislature, that
that Legislature was not the less bound to be cautious
in the distribution of public money and in its inter-
ference with the ordinary machinery of the social
system. Mr. O'CONNELL could not possibly have
overlooked these most manifest duties of a statesman,
lie could not be blind to facts which every successive
year of his active career can only have forced more
and more deeply upon his conviction.
In the sight, however, of the terrific calamities
which have been latterly accumulating in his native
land, seeing before him the woes of an almost de-
spairing peasantry, knowing that in many a roadside
cabin there are human beings on the brink of a death
by famine, and conscious that those same creatures
speak the same language, breathe the same atmo-
sphere, look upon the same landscapes, and are indi-
genous to the same soil with himself, Mr. O'CONNELL
is roused to a sympathy which in its turn roused his
indignation. We honour Mr. !,O'CoNNELL for the
intensity of his feelings upon this subject. There is
always something noble and affecting in the spectacle
of a patriot mourning for the miseries of his coun-
try. When we hear Mr. O'CONNELL exclaiming,
" Things are coming to a frightful pass. Don't you
authorise me to tell the Lord-Lieutenant that the
peace of the country is not secure?—(Loud cries of
'We do.') Don't you authorise me to tell him that
there is actual starvation in the country at this mo-
ment ?—(` We do')—that he will be responsible for
human lives in countless numbers if something be
not done ?—(llear.) I will repeat the echo of your
voices to the Lord-Lieutenant." When we remem-
ber the enthusiasm of sympathy which such conside-

men.

rations could rot fail to excite in a bosom so suscep-

tible to the wrongs of the Irish people, we are not

surprised at what, in other circumstances, would

inevitably have caused us some astonishment ; we

are not surprised to hear the " Liberator" declaring--

" If Government do not e4tablish i'epots and scatter
them in different parts of the country, I announce em-
phatically my opinion that the people will starve in
thousands."

We are not surprised at the earnestness of this ad-

juration, because we remember the abyss of human
suffering into which Ireland is being plunged, and
because we remember that the man who announces

this necessity for so extraordinary a remedy is ac-
tuated to its utterance by the depression of a patriotic
heart.

Mr. O'CoNNELL aeiduces, in support of his proposi-
tion, the example af",rded last winter by Sir ROBERT
PEELnt. Ile says, irideed, most distinctly upon thi,
poi—

"Last year, Nvi.len, the calamity was not near so great,
most active mee;ourm were taken by the Government of