Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1847-03-18
THURSDAY, MARCH IS, 1S47.


ganized. In this real and terrible "battle
Of life" wolfsh seishness has taken pos
session of many hearts. Husbands con-
sumo all they can earn on the public roads
little enough | admit and hardly spare
any for their families Sons do the same
Others, however, work for two DAYS on one
meal in order to have some bread for their
furnishing children, and those who cannot
do this remain from home till the children
are gone asleep, in order to avoid hearing
their heart-rending cries for food And, in
deed, on the whole, the wonder is, how so
much natural affection and respect for the
laws remain in the midst of such overwhelm-
ing distress-that imperious Want does not
trample down all the barriers of right, and
all the defences of property.
Again, the association of crowds on pub
lie works,-for the most part utterly useless.
is rapidly corrupting the working classes
making them selfish insubordinate, lazy.
fraudulent Made to travel perhaps four to
six miles to their work before day,-to break
up good road, or open useless one,-ir-
regularly paid, taken from their homes, and
the associations which alone bind and con-
troll the ignorant, learning evil from one an
other land animated by savage sense of
right, and vindictive envy towards the rich,
their morals are undergoing deteriora-
ton, which will, | fear, entail lasting evils
on society, if it do not produce dangerous
CONFUSION. Transferred from the whole
some labour of the field, and from the far
mer's kitchen-tabe, to the highway, where
there is no restraint but the occasional sur
vellance of government officers; and to the
tea-shop, where two scanty meals would con-
sumo his days hire, each man is sorely tempt
ed to forget his domestic and social duties,
and to break the last links of morality.
The gloom of this picture is becoming
daily deeper six months of dreadful suf-
ierings are before us-and God only knows
what the end will be.
MEASURES OF RELIEF.
Our government have done all they could
under the circumstances. They have been
slow in their operations. But human power
and wisdom have been almost overwhelmed
with the magnitude of the emergency and
the local gentry have not aided their efforts
as they should. The consequence is, that
vast sums have been expended on public
works hastily voted, SO useless that the mo-
ney might as well have been given to the
people without asking them to work at all.
1t would have been better indeed to give it
to them in charity, for then the demoraliza-
ton would not be half so great, and it would,
at least, have been received with gratitude.
Meantime all labour is drawn away from the
land, and there has little or no preparation
here been made for the spring work and
unless the government sOao the crop for the
small farmers, next years famine will be
worse than this. Parliament is to meet to-
morrow, when it is hoped something effec-
tual will be done. Incredible as it must ap-
pear to you, our ports still closed, our
navigation laws are still in force, our distil-
leries and breweres are still consuming
grain IN vast quantities, and the continental
nations are allowed to buy up bread stuifs
before they reach our ports, or rather the
ports of Eng land, where the supplies des-
tined for this country must be unshipped and
reshipped, and all this expense with heavy
ireightage is added to the famine price, af-
ter which the Irish must purchase them.
Private charity, however, is doing much.
Associations are formed in Dublin, London
and other parts of England to raise contr-
buttons Congregations are contributing,
and very laudable spirit prevails in all parts
to the utmost to arrest the progress of death
by starvation The government is placing
its war steamers at the service Of these COM
mittees to take supplies to the most desti-
tute localities
In the meantime, the landed proprietors
of Ireland, of all parties, Tory, Wing, Re-
peal, have met to form an "LiSh party in
Parliament" with view to prevent, by le-
glslative measures, the recurrence of such
awful calamities in future May they sue
ceed
Permit me again, most earnestly, to en-
treat your readers in New England to think
of our sad condition under this providential
visitation. | wish ! could be the means of
conveying some relief to the numerous fam
lilies whom | know to be on the verge of
starvation, some of whom, | fear, will be
dead before this meets the eyes of the A
merican public of whose spirit and gen.
crosby have heard much, and of which |
trust my unhappy country will soon have
ample proofs. You are at liberty to give my
name and address to any parties who may
ask them for this purpose. THEoGENEs.