The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-11-30
IRELAND'S WOES

u. D.
ROWS AND sUFFERINGs OF THE IRISH FAR
MERs-A PATHETIC APPEAL-wHAT CAN BE
DONE?
WASHINGTON, Nov. 20, 1879.
The following is the copy of letter received here
a few days ago by Miss Esmeralda Boyle which
as will be seen. makes sad exhibition Of
affairs among the tenantry in Ireland. Canon
Burke is. understand. related to the eminent
Dominican Friar. Father Tom Burke. and is
priest of considerable influence in Mayo. Miss
Boyle has decided to place a copy of the letter in
the hands of every Senator and Representative when
Congress meets next week. with the hope that
thing may be done to alleviate the suffering at pres,
ent felt in Ern:-
CLAnEMoRRIs. COUNTY MAYO. IRELAND.(
November Eve 1879. T.
My DEAR Miss BoYLE-It is now six months since
YOU had q letter from me. Last May our people
were hopeful that. after the unusually winter
which had passed. the summer would be very fine
and the harvest would come to crown with an album
dant return the labors and trials OF the year.
The contrary of all this has come to pass.
Since 1s45 the Irish people have not haa SO
bad a failure in the potato crop. In some districts
it is present half in others threefourths. and
have been told that some farmers have lost even
more than three-iourths OF the normal return Tho
cereal crops are not all that one could wish. The
cold of winter is felt already In the chill northern
blasts, and even in this. the last evening Of
October there are many cornhelds unreaped
and few not wholly ripe. Peat or turf Is.
in connaught. the only fuel; this eye, years peat
threatens. Along with these misfortunes sent by
God for the chastsement and Improvement OF our
people, thcre exists also great commercial depres-
sion. The price for sheep. COWS, oxen and al Kinds
of live stock Is only one-hnlt what 1t had been
two years ago; and this depression Is notably low
no demand for animals that are not or in
good condition. American farm produce has cheap
ened our markets immensely
Hence you will see that our people cannot pay the
high rents which they are accustomed to pay. Nay.
some Of the small farmers cannot continue to hold
to the farms they have hitherto titled They will
have quite enough to do this year to exist merely
they will be in position to support their sons
aud daughters and prepare them for the battle OF
life.
Already the cry has gone FORTH What is to be done
for the reduction Of rents? Most of the landowners
in this parish have RENTED twenty-five per cont
(Those landlords who hold extensive property have
given no reduction.l
FUTILE APPEALS TO GOVERNMENT.
Abatement such rs this, however, is not sufficient.
All the priests and people Of Connaught have under
one form or another. memoria,izcd the Lord
Lieutenant who rules Ireland to give the people en-
ployment ut some remunerative work Yesterday the
bishops OF Ireland implored Her Majesty's Vicege-
rent to the peoples lives. This days Freenans
Journal contains the strange news that His Grace the
Lord Lieutenant has turned deaf to the appeal
of the Irish bishops. To-day the Corporation of
Dublin lays the prayers of famishing nation ut the
feet of its Governor. This day win witness thu
same callous reply.
I must express IN opinion which is known by
many to be true, that His Grace the Duke of MARI
borough personally feels for tho peoples wants, but
as a member OF the Earl of Beaconsfeld's government
he will do and can do-nothing. On the first week
November
will lay a similar appeal before the Prime Minister
Dsrael will simply laugh at their apparent earnest
ness What does he care If 100000 Irish people die
OF faminef Nothing!
He regards Irshmen just as no regards their Aryan
cousins to the east and west of the Indus Like the
lark in the fable the Irish people think that
they must depend themselves and on the chill
dren OF their The distress which has fallen
on this country is in truth great and the people,
fear, must suffer- The only immediate and direct
remedy is employment. This they are not likely, You
see, to obtain Immigration, therefore. to America
renewed, You cannot but observe the fraternal
spirit in which King Alfonso OF Spain has acted
fered from the late floods. He, like q father. ran
to aid his children, the Spaniards
How differently, compared with our rulers. the
Emperor and Empress of Austria acted last spring
to those among their subjects who in like manner
had suffered! Four years ago the Garonne swollen
by the rains Of the Pyrenees, committed great
then President, Marshal MacMahon, went in person
to relieve the sufferers. The people of these ma
tions ask for bread. and they receive abundance Of
bread and every requisite. We ask for Bread and
are given stone; fish. and behold! serpent IL
presented. Disraeli does not govern on principle
Of right OF dstributive justice with fatherly
for the subjects OF this nation. his rule is
OF policy and statecraft. directed by imperial in
terests, and seemingly the outcome of political
pressure. You were never in Ireland. Many Irish
ana ireland S II anS s. Tsy
know how multtudes then asked for bread,
"and there were none to break it unto them. Then.
in Jerusalem during the captivity. ''the children
aud the sucklings tainted away in the Streets"
FAMILIES STARVING.
myself strong men and young women die Of
starvation; one young girl especially. of nineteen
the eldest of poor family OF nine struggle in the
laws of hunger for six months and then perish liter
ally reduced to q heap of bones. did my best al
the time to help that family. was then
only eighteen years OF age ! saw two
striven in vain to obtain sufficient nutriment to
tain life from the grass OF the held. Scenes like
that such things occurred but saw them. saw
hundreds OF children, from the age or two to twelve
with hair on their skinny arms andcheeks fully one
half inch long-a false growth caused by decay aud
hunger. l one Thousand men and women
and children Of all sizes and ages outside the
house of Casebar assembled for inspection by order
of the poor law guardians. lest any name should be
the relieving officers list except those who
actually at the time alive. cannot say in tho flesh.
for flesh they had none. Their presence ut the time
young l was, reminded me OF the vision Of bones
beheld by the prophet.
Shall scenes like these occur again God Forbid
Shall the children Of Saint Patrck-the OF
saints and sages; the descendants of u noble race;
quering Mali the Great: the O'Briens; the ODon-
nells your cousins from Donegal; the O'Loughlins
and MacLoughlns; the OReilys, O'Kelly and all
the O's and Macs of the grand Milesian stock-per.
ish miserably from neglect? Shall the children of
the highminded and fiery. yet noble Norman fami.
The times are changed. Food. at all events. Is
cheap. Onr friends ~ America will send relief the
first moment tho real crisis, which is fastening,
shall come. Let not Ireland be Jerusalem was in
the days of jeremiah, "a laughing stock deri-
sion to all the people-their song ali day long"
II God has not blessed with abundant wealth
he has given q noble heritage In ancestry
iustrous for noble deeds and for the greatest of all
His gfts-the blessing of the divine faith.
people gifted with natural and super
natural endowments is worthy to be saved
Judas Maccabeus nobly stood up and val.
iantly fought for the Jews in the days Of Epphanes
OF Antiochus. judith was their saviour when Holo-
fernes threatened them with destruction. Esther
called to the throne of Ahasuerus to foil the VII
lany Of the Prime Minister Of Aman.
AMERICA HELP?
Can you do any good for your people in the land
and trials; the second, to fix them in the homes OF
their fathers. by making them proprietors
OF their farms. This latter IL difficult
task; yet the cry has gone forth. and all
Irishmen at home aud abroad. have echoed the call
and proclaim that the Irish race will DO satisfied
with nothing less. There is peasant proprietary
in Belgium. France. sweden. Norway. Denmark.
Greece part of Italy America. Why not in Ireland?
This is the teaching of tho statesmen of England and
OF her scholars-Bright. Cobden Lord John Russell,