The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1847-02-27
From the Dublin Nation, Of January 2.
STARVATION IN IRELAND.

The Limerick Examiner of Wednesday
| publishes an account of the experience, in
the st. Johns parish, in that city ofn Cntho-
lie clergyman who was one day called upon
TO otficiate AT the death bed ofsevcral persons
dying Of stnrvntion-the family in which
they were members comprising, in all, TWEEN
~ three souls. All these abodes of wretch
edne.'s are described as being nearly similar
no Ueds-scarcely any clothing-no food
the children quite naked. In two, grown up
girls had come home from service, their for
mer employers being unable 10 retain them,
and, III cir scanty earnings having been ex-
hausted, they were NOW perishing with their
parents. In one house the clergyman could
not procure n light to administer the rites Of
religion 10 dying woman, nor could the loan
ola candle be Obtained in the neighborhood.
! The last visit was to girl in fever, who had
three relapses, and is thus described in the
Examiner The father, John Holmes, came
into the room where the clergyman was en-
gagged in his holy missions liomes began to
| cry. He said ''thnt there was dimness in
his sight, and that he thought thar he would
20 mad from hunger before night" The
wife too, came staggering in about the floor
from exhaustion. The clergyman who went
on the mission ofreIigons duty was enabled,
| through the active beneyolence of Mr. John
! Russell (merchant) to give monetary relief
| in each case.
! A correspondent ofthe Freeman's Journal
writing from Mayo, gives a fearful picture of
the state ofthnt county. The scenes describ-
ed are as horrible as any related ofleagured
cities. Men are not unirequently, il is stated
| found dead in the bitches by the way side
Some are so changed by want as NOT to be
recognized by their friends, their looks VOL
| fish, and glaring as madmen, without CLOTH
es or food of any kind, they roam about in
search of food until death seals their misery
a man named Byrue, engaged on the public
works in the parish Of Balla lately died sud
denly, and at the inquest held OH his body,
the following evidence was given:
Margaret BWne, sworn-ls wife ofthe de-
ceased;says that he was at work upon the pub
/ lie works: had no food; was obliged To pledge
/ her clouk for one stCaa of meal; deceased of.
ten said he would do well if he had food or
nourishment, and deponent states, to the best
of her belief, her husband died for want of
! food She las now four children and herself
TO maintain without any support whatever,
except that neighbor allows her TO go into
grape field and pull some of to support ma
l1ure. Deceased died on The 18Th inst.
lanes BrO,cn, Esq, NJ. d., sworn-found
MI The internal organs sound, there was no
food whatever in the stomach or in any por-
(, IN pfirces in the lower portion ofthe large
~, 81 zine; is ofopinon that deceased came by
.l;z o'eY w from inaniion or want of food.
Tho verdict Of the jury was as follows;
lanes wv We came Ivy his death in conSe-
c,,rncc n, ha wing no food for some days, and
died of starI nj. on.
been held Within day or two upon man
who died at Belle, rra. To BATTLE starvation
of coursc. the unG.rtI nate man haf parted
with nearly all his cl, nth 'ng, and. accordingly
the iurv brought in yer, uct-Died OF cold
and destiluion.
Ofcoursc, continues thu W1tGr, II Is ON!
il. rare cases that inqUests M eh''u' h'PuSS's
are for deaths that are acct uh'eu suuucu'
Starvation comes gradually, is long resisted,
is often beaten away for week, o. month
One day some casual charity rescue the VIC
TIM; chance day work saves him aga IN; and
if YOU ask, did such and such Il person &'e OF
starvation, yOu are answcred-"Why, not cN-
acilv of starvation; | think heard twas ievCr,,
or dvSentery, or some such thing he died of !
but he died in terrible want, and had not Il
morsel ofiood in the house when he died"
As YOU pass along the roads you see numbers
upon numbers whose wasted appearance
shows that starvation is hunting them 10 the
grave; and double as they will, in the present
state of the country TO the grave they must
be hunted down nj length; hut as have said,
there is every chance that dysentery, or some
other disease, will he in at the last TO claim
the death. For instance. the turnips that /
have been grown for cattle are now being
sold to the poor; and an enormous price they
fetch-one and siXpenCe and two shIIings a
hundred---about the same price that III ordI-
nary years used TO be paid for potatoes. The
poor boil these turnips, shake over them lii
lie dust of their precious meal. (Which they
buy by retail at the rate of ono pound eight
shiIlings hundred, nnd live, while they can
live, upon that. These people die OF dysen-
terry.
Funerals grow more numerous every day, |
and Il new symptom 0futter stark destItuiion
is now showing itself-the survivors
are too niserably poor TO find cotfins for the |
dead, and in some places in Mayo lam cred |
IDLY informed that they begin 10 bury the
dead without any collins at all!
The Mayo Constitutions, a Tory journal,
gave last week an account ofnine inquests in
which the verdicts were death by starvation.
This week it continues the catalogue, and
adds the following:
We have now to lay before our readers the
continuation of the black list which will he
read with disgust hv every humane person:
On Monday the 2lst inst. MIR Atkinson,
Coroner, held an inquest on the body OF rat
Mcdonnell at SpringhllI. The deceased
was found lying dead in II field. Some wit.
nesses and DIR. Nelson were examined, and
the following verdict was returned: died from
starvation.
On the same day the same Coroner held
an inquest on the body ofOwcn Cane, who
died at Glaneadagh. Verdict, death from
starvation.
On the same day the same coroner held an
inquest on the body of Bridget Joyce, wild