The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1880-03-11
THE IRISH FAMINE.
The Story Of Ireland's Woes Told by the
Rev. Geo. H. Hepworth.

The Story OF Ireland's Woes Told by the
Rev. Geo. H. Hepworth,
New YORK, March 10.-A dispatch from
London, by Rev. George III. Hepworth, states
that he has visited the suffering counties of
Ireland as member of the Herald committee.
He addresses the donors of the fund, and says:
Ut is easy to understand the causes of the
present poverty. The people have had three
bad crops in succession Things have been
growing worse and worse, until the almost
utter failure of the crops last year brought
them to the verge OF starvation. They have
nothing to plant, a want of which the British
Government will supply by the loan of seed
potatoes on very easy terms. They have moth
ing to eat, want which you have yourselves
SO generously helped to supply by gifts which
am sure you will supplement by other gifts
when you know what is the real state of the
case. In order to understand for myself the
condition of affairs. spent few days under
the leadership of Col. King Hartman, covering
about 80 square miles on the first day and over
40 on the second. 1 visited large number of
small settlements ON the west bank of the
shannon, in counties Roscommon and Sligo.
For about ten hours each day rode and
walked, entering altogether about hundred
wretched novels, which this afflicted people
delusively call their homes, and where from
morning till night they encounter the dread
monotony OF want and misery. While fully
prepared to meet more or less distress every
where, knowing through former visits some
thing of the chronic state of poverty in which
the people live, was not prepared, nor could
anything have ever before seen in any degree
prepare me for the scenes of abject misery and
sickening squallor which I found at every
turn. The people did not know of my coming
and could not prepare for any dramatic display
OF wretchedness and want"
Mr.. Hepworth reports searching every cor
ner OF scores OF houses, but found no means of
subsistence. He depicts the famished APP
pearance OF the people, who seized bread like
hungry wolves, many not having had ANYTHING
to eat for twenty-fou hours He gives an ac-
count of their huts, or houses, in which live
their own cows and pigs with the people, They
have eaten all their potatoes, and all the food
they now have is a few pounds of Indian meal,
which they mix in water and make into STIR
about.
Mr.. Hepworth says: 81 have asked again
and again what part of their wretchedneSS is
due to intemperance. l am assured that it is
caused solely by the utter failure of the crops,
and with all this poverty the majority of the
Irish are cheerful. The people are enduring
the great stress of suffering with pluck and
courage which are truly admirable. 1t is
my hope and prayer that the American people
will not feel that enough has been already
done. Punched as the Irish are to-day, their
condition is one of happiness in comparison
with that in which they will find themselves
in the course of few weeks. From the early
part of April until the first crop is reaped, that
will be the season of their real trouble-of
their actual struggle for existence. Feed
them until the middle of the summer and the
blessings of the whole of Ireland will rest on
your generous hearts. The committee have
money, but it is not enough to last until the
end Of the famine. Hundreds, thousands,
tens of thousands are keeping soul and body
together by your bounty and generosity. For
the sake of charity make one more effort, give
your committee the means of wardng off the
otherwise inevitable horror Of starvation.
shall visit Mayo and Donegal naxt week and
will make another report
LONDON, March 1O.-The Mansion House
Committee have informed Hepworth that it
will heartily cooperate with the Herald Fund
Committee in the distribution of relief, and
presses the need of economy in administering
the funds as there is great reason to fear an
increase of destitution in May, June and July.
The Mansion House subscriptions aggregate
100000, of which s54000 are on hand