The weekly mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado County, Calif.) 1861-1862, 1861-12-14

IhlS Ol course the barber SlaulI assent
cd to.
"But," said the old man, on leaving,
take care you never cheat man by
charging ten times the usual price for II
shave; for it may be another old Billy
Gibbons"
The Promised Fa mine.
We are threatened with another famine
in Ireland. The potato crop has failed
again-uttcrly failed and, notwithstand-
ing nll the bubble about Irish prosperity,
even the remnant of the native population
! subsiSting in the Island is threatened
with starvation and death.
There Hre not so many to Starve to-day
as there were fourteen years ago. .\thr'l
Of the population, or more, have been
CLEARED out in the meanwhile. Where
there were nearly nine millions before to
he thnned down, there arc not six now
it must bc gratifying to the promoters Of
the great British system for the climina-
ti0n Of CcltS TINT their work is in 50 for
ward u condition.
Fur this is whut is understood by thu.
phrase, prosperity Of ireland" the eli
mination of the Celtic natives ever since
the terrible era of ls47, the population is
being steadily reduced; and, ever since
that year, England has proclaimed TO the
world that ireland is steadily prospcring.
There are fewer human beings in the lHnd
every day; there are wider wastes of green
pasture; therefore, prosperity of the Eng
lish pattern (aS many fat Irish oxen and
sheep rs possible to cat, and aS few Irish
CcltS aS possible to cut thcn) is proSrcs,
sing in ireland.
There is great hope that this sort OF
prosperity will get an immense impulse in
ireland this present year Of grace. For
ccetlingly-thc business of the Bankrupt
cy Court has enormously incrcaSrd-t the
number Of artisans, clerks and others, de-
pendent for their daily bread on lhrirlhard
work of hand aud brain, who arc out OF
employment grows daily bigger and, in
town and country, there is suffering and
penury beyond conception. All that was
wanted to aggravatc this universal misery
was the failure Of the potato crop; and that
-eetStlEaaIAittieH- HAS come 'tgHilh-'IAeFe-i IL
little there is little money
there is GricvouS lack Of food: these are
all the conditions necessary for the work
and We shall (aS in 1910 have deaths by
the ditch, side, in plenty, by and bye.
Let us prepare ourselves for this--that
we may not be ovtrshocked when the
thing comes. by the ,lispcnSation or the
British Government, famine aud fever
deadly hunger and deadly sickncss--are
to be rife in Ireland this year.
The thing is interesting, as showing
how ingcniouSly whole people may be
starved out in The midst Of plenty. Food
is icarlully dear in Ireland just now; and
work and money were never SO scarce -
accordingly, when it iSannounccd that the
potato crop has failed again, people natur.
ally prepare, themselves for another fam
inc. But it is necessary to bear fact OF
two in mind. In lS47, when, in popu'
lation Of nine millions, two millions were
doomed to destruction, by the agency o
an artificial famine, twas proved that food
enough had been raised in the country to
feed some sixteen million ofpeoplc. But
the corn and the cattle had been ShippcI
oil to glut the stomach Of the dominant
Anglo.SaXOn,a and much of the money wcnt
after it, whilst all that was lett for thI
Irish peasant was tho blightcd and rottcr
potato; by which effective means the tw,
millions were starved out. In Ireland
MiS gear, Notwithstanding the continued
bad weather, food enough in corn and cat
tic has been raised to feed nearly three
times the present populations; and yet agaiI
we are threatened with famine. Why
Because that food of corn and cattle i,
raised, not for the Irish pcoplc-bccaus'
the potato crop, their food, isagain blight
ed-and because miserable pcasantry
whose doom is to feed Others and starv'
themselves, must starve this time.
Toa foreigner say, a Frcnchman-thi:
thing must seem Incredible: that famine
should smitc population Of less than siA
millions, in land that raises food enough
to maintain sixteen millions. Yet tits I
familiar fact in ireland. At this momen
the food Of the country is passing from
our shores in enormous quantities, to glu
the English market; and the peasants wh'
have raised that rich food, but dare no
eat it, are doomed to starve-bccauSc on'
miserable crop (their sole foodD has failed
This thing would be incomprchensibl'
anywhere else; but it is merely the norma
condition Of ireland.
II ireland were IL free and independent
Nation, we should have another tale tO tell
In time Of scarcity and danger, the frs
care Of II native government would be tina
the people should not Starvc. Now thcr,
never was time when Ireland did no
raise more food than was necessary to tre'
her own populations; and, of course, II ma
tive government, thinking only Of the vel
fare of the Irish people, would take car,
that nothing but the surplus was exported
Under the alien English government tn
only desire is that ireland should be {
feeding farm for England and SO the pro
ducts Of the land are shipped Oft whole
sale, and the mass Of our pcaSantry, still
lingering in the land, are left to starv'
upon the miserable rotting potato. w
bear with all this patiently cnNugh-prob
ably We deserve it,
Dut Wuut pTONlSloL uiS We huN"'S ~
the tuturey We have passed through
bad aud miserable year. Employmrn
has been scarce for the people-monc.
has been scarce for employcrS-busines
has fallen away cruclly-and everybody
from the humbleSt to tho highest, ha
been Strengthened in means. The Ameri
can war has come to cOmplicate GU
troubles; and whatever remnant OF ma
tive manufacture there is in ireland ha
been paralyzcd by it. Meanwhile, come
again the failure Of the pOtatoc crop:
cold and hungry winter is before us; an
from every side comes the grim warnin
that the Irish pcasantry must prepare fl
long season Of bitter suffering -pcrhal
famine and death. Such is the promiS
before us IN this year, when English news
paper editors and English political phi
loSophrrS challenge the world to cOnten
plate the new prosperity Of Ireland! Th
thing seems like wild, mad, hOrriO
dream.
Very horrible, hut very true. We SUI
pose we must submit to it. English p'
llical economy requires that the food I
| l.. a. . nN.,uN,., 10 f..