The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1880-03-17
THE FAMINE IN IRELAND.
Appalling Accounts from the Parish
Priests.

THE FAMINE IN IRELAND.
Appalling Accounts from the Parish
Priests.
DUBLIN, February 26.-This mornings mail
brought many letters from the North, South
and West Of Ireland from parish priests who
live in the parishes their letters describe. l
have made extracts from those received from
the North and South, given herewith, and
shall send the substance OF those received
from the West In another letter. These state
ments made by the parish priests may DC
taken TO fairly described the present condition
of the peasantry In the hungcr.hauntcd re.
gions Of this unhappy country.
The North of Ireland.
COUNTY DONEGAL.
This Is the extreme northwcstcrly county,
and the letters are from four OF the most des-
titutc parishes:
kILLYBEGS, February 22.-May I ask you
to make known to our American friends the
IN ass of misery and restitution that SO exclu-
sively pervadcS all parts or this parish. |
have been the greater part of forty-slX years
In the parish both as curite and parish priest.
and l have seen nothing to approach the sad
afl:ction with which we are now visited.
On. country has been sinking fast Into a
deep gulf for the last three years, out OF wnich
no amount Of private charity Will extricate
II. The failure of the crops for the past three
wears has caused q deficit OF f35.O00,0D, fl2,-
0VU, 900 OF which Is placed to the loss sustained
lation comprises 3,l6S persons, equal to 600
umilies-prlncipally small farmers. one-half
the number paying under "a rent and the 9th.
ers from "a to ElO per annum. The quality OF
There is no market for labor, and the men
arc principally employed on the scanty labor
on their farms and In the Fisheries. We nave
no employment for the women Formerly
every cottage had Its spinning wheel for max:
ing wooden turead thread and linen yarn. ana
in most OF the cottages there was u loom Tor
the weaving of cloth and linen. but ms I'm.
portant branch OF industry has now disap
pcared, owing to the Introduction or machine
ry and the erection Of large factories IN cities.
The looms have been broken up for rewood.
our other manufactures have been crushed
out by partial legislation to favor England.
Ont OF population OF 600 families In this par.
ish, 800 families have received relief from our
committee for the last five weeks. The poor
people are plunged into so much debt thai no
amount of public charity will apply Il suffi-
cicnt remedy. STEPHENS. PIP.
CLoUMASY, February 22.-All the people
with the exception of ninc,or ten families &C.
cupy land. The average size of the farms is
about four acres, hut many have not more
than two in which they can put any crop.
ing about fifty families, nearly 4OW nave got
relief after q due investigation into their cir:
cumstances. and / can say from personal
knowledge that almost lOO more are SUFFERING
intense want. There are 200 families whose
only food weeks has been Indian meal pre-
pared with water In tine form or Stirabout,
and sometimes for q varirty. In the form or q
cake. They would not complain even II tney
had Il sutficicncy of this food. A poor woman,
tho wife OF Dan Dohcrry, OF Altahai, came 70
ME about n fortnight ago: she had nine child
rem. I knew the family quite well; Ihe
house IN which eleven OF u family 1--we ~
made up Of n single apartment; there is no
furniture. even Of the rudest Kind. except q
couple Of OF stools and on apology for bed,
with q few old rags to do the place or cover,
told me that her family had nothing to :eat.
The only thing they possessed was n couple
OF hens which she sold to get adlttie meal. l
was called to attend II man who, the doctor
declared, was dying Of dropay. brought on
from want OF nourisnment. The mar was
| rolled up in what once had been q shawl.
This and on old sheet was the only covering
he had on him. The house was destitute or
every kind Of furniture. The children were
literally naked, and gathered around a few
n there was any demand for labor the case
would not be 80 very hard. but there are no
large farms, and each family Is able to DO the
work of their own little farm within them
selves. The causes that brought on the pres
last three years. The immediate cause Is the
great failure OF the potato crop: the other
principal causes are tho lailura OF inc Eng
lish labor market. and the decrease In the
! UTlCC VI Z hIilu vi
About 900 men go annually to the harvest
in England: these bring home on an average
fS u man; last year they did not average
above g. q man. Several families along the
shore a fow years ago made rom flO to Ell
a year on kclp last year they made nothing,
nor can they for the future, RS this industry Is
superseded. Another great cause-and the
most prominent Onn-iSa bsenteoism.. AlltEc
landlords are Englishmpn, and there has been
n continual drain of f5.tW O year from the
! place without any returns in It's stead: more
over, the landlords have made no efforts 20
far to relieve the distreSs-at least as for ~ my
| knowledge goes. There Is much need OF food
! md seed. If seed Is not supplied to the desti-
| tutc farmer q much worse fate awaits him
next year. Yours faithfully.
KILCoR, February 23.-Thc extent OF this
parish Is about thirty tive square miles, the
greater portion OF which Is bleak mountains.
The average OF arabic land for each occupier
, In the parish Is only one acre. There nre 'th
families. with m evern:c OF five members IN
each. Oftliesc, 800 families are In want borl-
ering on II state Of of actual starvation. We
have had funds to relieve A6O families for the
| past few weeks. This relief Is given In In.
dian meal, onc-half stone 10 each member OF
n family rs n weekly Allowances scnnty
SuDyTy when 1t Is known that this Is their
only store Of provision. and even that Is un-
certain; besides / can certify that one family
In thirty has not the luxury OF milk 10 use
with their Indian. meal porrlhgc. We hate
I1Cl " =" -
whom we are urahlcto extend any MD whal-
socvcr. 1t Is not food alone that these poor
people are in need of; they have no seed 10
sow their little holdings. They nave inisern-
BILE clothing. and from nm inspection OF, their
houses | can safely declare that along tho sea
coast tire are over one hundred families VINO
have no hedclothcs. entered the mouse OF
William Mckinley. Eilbcrg. q few days ago;
his wife has been confined to her bed nf bed
can call IT. for the past Twelve months; SIX
small children sat around what could scarce
" be termed a firc-but how can | describe
their clothing? They were literally naked,
II I except the few tattercd ra"s that were
rolled around them. In the same own IL
Pat McI.on"hlin, with Il family OF eight.
equally miserable. the youngest being twin
infants.
PArlCK L.oGREE, /. p.
GwEEponE. February 2l.-This parish Is q
blclk and barren tract CT land. In IL few
weeks probably no: fifty out of the one thou
sand families in the district will be free from
distress. The magnitude OF the labor OF the
Relief Committee, and the appalling distress
In the parish, mRy be estimated ron the TACT
that in n day of distribution, OF relief, recent
iy, a1 families were relieved. nndtw-nty-iour
tons OF Indian meal were distributed. Inc
hardships are appalling. The situation Is dui'
ly becoming more alarming: 4 sad anu pitt
able sisht-a hungry and mmishing people
asking from their priest, who shares all their
misery and wrctchcdness because ne cannon
supply it-not bread, but the humblest and
! cheapest food that can DC supplleu lot nulhhn
! use. Indian meal. 1t Is surprising, yet not the
less true, that eggs have been the chief cur
rency for tho past two months.
JAMES McFADDEN. PIP.
COUNT LEITRIM.
The following letters describe the distr ISIS
In two parishes OF County Leitr1m, which Hes
south of Donegal and Is bounded by Sligo on
the southwest:
CARREGALLEN. February 2l.-Thc popula.
ton OF Carrcgallcn Parish includes &O faini-
lies, OF whom 600 are Catholics. At present
3N families arc applying for relief, and the
! number increases weekly.
Three acres would average the support OF
one cow, while the average quantity OF land
held by the farming class may be computed
| at about ten acres. The Farmers here have
ceased TO cultivate their arms rs heretofore,
prcferring stock TO agriculture. Stock was
remunerative till last year, when butter and
! stock vent down to half their forlne value;
hence the collapse.
The people here are sure to die of slow star
Walton, and the average OF deaths Is treble that
of any other year.
could give you 80 names OF families In
this darish whose clothes are worse than the
greatest beggar l ever witnessed, They are
without shoes to theiI feet and have no pos.
sible means of obtaining them, and l fear next
yea will be far worse than tho present.
The poor farmers are unable to give EN-
ployincnt or TO pay their debts Mt the shops.
| Many farmers arc mt present under ejectInents
from their landlords, although the latter
know 1t Is impossible for their poor tenants TO