Morning journal and courier., 1880-01-12
EDITED AND PUBLISHED BY
Monday Morning, Jan. 12, 1880
IREIANn,s NEEn.

Messrs. Parnell and Dillon have issued 8
 formal appeal to the people of America for
 their distressed countrymen. It hes been de-
 cided to establish in New York city a central fund to be called the s'Irish Famine Relief
 Fund.- Messrs. Drexel, Morgan & Co.,, the
 well-known bankers, have undertaken to act
 as treasurers, to receive subscriptions and for
 ward them to Ireland. It is proposed that all sums received shall beimmediately transferred
 to the treasurers of the National Land League
 in Ireland, namely, W. H. O'SuIlivan, mem
 Der of Parliament for Limerick county
 J. G. Biggar, member of Parliament for
 Oavan county, and Patrick Egan, merchant,
 of Dublin, and shall be used by them solely
 for the purpose of the relief of the distress in
 Ireland. Messrs. ParnelI and Dillon also say
 Without wishing to cast any discredit on, or
 to interfere with, the operation of other re-
 lief committees. we think 1t right to point out
 that no other body is possessed of local or
 gsnization in famine districts, whereas our
 organization has. branch associations sitting
 in every town and village of the distressed
 counties, and that whereas, other associations sitting in Dublin or elsewhere at 6 distance
 from the scene of distress, will, as in past
 times, be obliged tosemploy an expensive staff
 to collect information, and to distribute relief,
 we have already possessed ourselves of accu- rate information as to the condition of the people, and that we have at our command an efficient staff willing to carry out the work ab- soluteIy free of expense. So that we are in a position to undertake that every dollar con- fded to our care will be expended in purchas- ing food for the starving peasantry." If the agitators had made this appeal immediately after their arrival in this country, and kept their schemes for the amelioration of the con- dition of Ireland in the background, 1t would have been better, and possibly more would have been contributed. Buttheir mistake should not interfere with generous and speedy re- sponse to their appeal, for there is great and widespread distress to be alleviated. It is believed that no less than 25O, GOO of the peasantry in the counties of Mayo, Galway, Donegal, Sligo, Clare, Kerry and Cork will be without the means of procuring food for at least three months. Dr. MacOarthy, Bishop of Kerry, writes 'sAn along our western shore deep distress prevails. In many par 1snes tueFe ID Aoe a snAAAnS So U" earneo- UT. Conway, Bishop of the KiIlala diocese, com- prising all northern Mayo, writes from Balli- na ''In this town, containing 5000 inhab- Itants, there are at the present time over two thousand persons in state, I may say, of without employment, credit or any means of support, but dependent on the be- nevolence of others. Despite all private sources of relief, verify believe that if the Government will not come to the rescue of the people by ins.ituting public works we shall have more deaths from starvation here this year than in. the years 1916 and 1s47, when 3, GOO died in this town from the effects of starvation There is great distress in Donegal, and from other localities gloomy re- ports come.