The Sun.
London, England, 1846-04-18 00:00:00

INCOME AND EXPENDITURE.

Mr. CARDWELL brought up a report of the general
income and expenditure of the country.
ROMAN CATHOLICS IN THE ARMY.
Mr. JOHN O'CONNELL presented a petition from
Wexford, praying that better arrangements might be car-
ried out than at present, for affording spiritual instruction
to Roman Catholic soldiers in the colonies and on foreign
service.
ADDITIONAL MEMBERS FOR TIIE COUNTY
OF CORK.
Mr. O'CONNELL gave notice that he should postpone
his motion for leave to introduce a Bill to enable the
county of Cork to send two additional Members to re-
place those formerly returned for Sudbury, till Tuesday
next.

FERMOY UNION.
Mr. J. O'CONNELL gave notice that, on Tuesday
next, he should move for copies of the correspondence
which had taken place between the guardians of this
union and the Poor-law Commissioners with respect to
an alleged neglect of the paupers in that union; and for
copies of the correspondence which had taken place be-
tween those guardians and the Rev. Daniel Dilworth,
in January last, calling their attention to the condition
of the paupers.

OUTRAGES AND DISTRESS IN IRELAND.
Mr. D. BROWNE wished to ask the Right Hon.
Baronet at the head of her Majesty's Government
whether he had received any official information with
respect to the fearful state of the poor in the south of
Ireland from the want of food—that they had stopped
and robbed several mills, cars, and boats laden with flour
and meal? He wished to ask if such information had
reached her Majesty's Government, and whether they
had taken any steps to afford relief to those unfortunate
persons who had been reduced to such a state, and in-
duced to commit violence by the want of the necessaries
of life? He did not ask the question with any intention
to embarrass the Government, but in order to allay the
anxiety which prevailed in Ireland on the subject.
Sir R. PEEL assured the Hon. Gentleman that both
his Hon. Friend (Sir J. Graham) and himself had re-
ceived information, from time to time, from the proper
authorities with respect to the outrages which had been
recently perpetrated in Ireland, and with respect to the
sufferings of the Feople from the want of food,
caused by the failure of the potato crop.
He must say that these accounts testified
to the fortitude and forbearance with which the
people had borne their sufferings.—(Hear.) Outrages
had been committed, the perpetrators of which must be
punished—(Hear)—and steps had accordingly been
taken by the Executive to punish those concerned in
them; and the Hon. Gentleman and the House might
rest assured that every means would be taken to diminish
and altogether suppress these outrages. With
respect to the sufferings of the people, the
Government had taken steps, by the introduction
of maize and other food into Ireland, to alleviate them,
but he could assure him that the exertions of the Govern-
ment to accomplish this would be greatly facilitated, and
the people of Ireland consequently benefited, by the House
passing the Corn Bill without any unnecessary delay.

IRISH COERCION BILL.
Upon the motion of Sir J. GRAHAM that the order
of the day be now read,

Mr. S. b'BRIEN said he did not rise for the purpose
of moving the order of the day, but to make another
appeal to her Majesty's Government on behalf of the
people of that part of Ireland to which the Hon. Member,
who had just sat down, had alluded. Upon a late occa-
sion, when he called tha attention of the Government to
this matter, he did not consider that the measure then
proposed could be at all adequate to meet the distressed
state of the people ; and an attack was then made upon
him for what he stated. However, the facts that had
every day since been developed had proved that he was
correct, and he did not know how the Government
could desire to have stronger proof of it unless the people
were to die in thousands. But he had now two instances
of recent date ; one, where an inquest was held on the
body of a poor man found dead in a ditch in the
county of Roscommon, and it was proved he had
died of hunger ; and the next was a case of
a similar nature which had occurred in Limerick.
Accounts of these distresses were coming from every
part of the country. (The Hon. Member then read a
statement which appeared in the Limerick Tory paper,
to the effect that the people in that district were starving;
and that though voluntary benevolence was doing much,
it was not doing more than it ought, and that Govern-
ment should interfere in a prompt and decided manner.)
Now he (Mr. O'Brien) was perfectly willing to give the
Government the praise which was due to them for their
introduction of Indian meal.—(llear, hear.) But he
was perfectly unable 1,0 understand a letter which ap-
peared in the Cork paper. In that part of Ireland food
was selling at famine prices, and Indian meal was intro-
duced to keep down the prices; a certain portion of it was
distributed, but the benefit was stopped by some
arbitrary decree of the persons in authority; an ap-
plication was made to the relief committee in Dublin,
and the answer received was, that the supply was in-
tended to be preserved for the pressure during the sum-
mer months, until which time the landowners were ex-
pected to contribute to the relief of the distressed.
Now, really he thought that the Indian meal was for
the purpose of meeting the temporary distress. The
Irish labourer did not depend upon the wages which
he received ; he gets from the landlord or farmer.e_as
small portion of land, and the produce enabl
him to support his family throughout pleyear.
Now for several months in the year the labouring classes
could nut obtain employment at all. It was well known
that at the present moment potatoes were selling at 6d.
and Bd. per stone, and any one acquainted with Ireland
must be aware that such a price was almost amounting
to a state of famine and starvation. That article of food
was now double the ordinary price. It was clear that the
Government should not wait till the people were actually
starved to death. They were at that moment in such a
state of destitution, that they would rather be shot than
starved to death. They were not ignorant of the state
of the people ; the papers were filled with statements of
attacks on vessels. There was one attack made on a
boat proceeding from Limerick to Clare loaded with
flour. The whole cargo was seized, and the value
amounted to over 2001. This was a fearful state of things.
There had already been outrages in Tipperary and
Clonmel. It appeared from the accounts in the public
papers that a few days ago an outrage of that description
had broken out in Tipperary, when the people seized on
a large quantity of flour, which was on its way to ports for
exportation. At Clonmel the famine riot consisted
of between 4,000 and 5,000 people, where 250 cart loads
of flour were seized upon by the populace. The mili-
tary, however, being brought, the property was retaken
and escorted to the ports for exportation, which showed
plainly that there was abundance of food in the country
for the relief of the people, if they were allowed to use it,
which fact of course served to aggravate the distress under
which the people laboured ; and it was most surprising
that the people, under such circumstances, did
not commit more outrages upon person and pro-
perty. And the Right Honourable Gentleman at the
head of the Government should recollect that the people
of Ireland were only at the commencement of their
famine; they would yet have to undergo some four or
five months more of distress, and he would once more
solemnly appeal to the Government, and ask them whe-
ther they thought that their present measures of relief
were adequate to meet the distress of the Irish people ?
He might say that, with respect to the resident gentry
in Ireland, the majority of the landlords were benevo-
lently contributing to the relief of the people; but those
of them who were most able to do so subscribed nothing
at all. But neither had this measure any provisiontooo_
meet;
the exigencies of the present time. Neither was
u the p
law, as it existed in Ireland, a system calculated to
benefit the people of that country. Surely it was the
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