The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1880-02-14
NUMBER 81.
The Irish Famine.

Last week the New York Herald
made the announcement that it uon-
tributes one hundred thousand dol.
lars to an Irish relief fund, the dis
trlbution of which shall be contidsd
to such agencies as it may select, and
to which fund it invites further con,
tfibutions. 1t is not worth while to
expend words in praise of this mag
nificent gift of Mr.. Benefits to
starving people, for it speaks strong
~ enough for itself. But the timei-
ness OF the largess would be less ap.
parent if it Were not accompanied
by showing of the extent of the
distress in Ireland. as compiled from
the authoritative sources at Dublin,
In the counties of Mayo, Galway,
sligo, Kerry, Donegal. Roscommon,
Cork, Clare, Limerick, Tipperary,
Ieitfisia. Wicklow, Iossa chan, AVes. J.
meath, Longford and Kilkenny,
there are reported to be 3I2,370 peo.
pie so much wanting food that act
ual starvation is at their doors.
Among the local returns we read
such statements as that in one dis
trlct there will be death from STAR
vatlon in less than a month :" in AM,
other that ''seed potatoes are being
eaten by the starving :" in another
tnat 1.-TWO hundred families are on
the verge of starvation )" in another
that "children remain at home from
school, crying with hunger )" in an
other that "hundreds will be dead
and buried before help can arrive"
and that landlord in Mayo county,
writes, 81 am prisoner in nv own
house because cannot bear the sto.
rles of the hundreds who surround
it. and | am poWerless 10 give.n.
These are not fahciful exhibitions of
the extremities of the Irish peasan-.
try they are vouched for by Catho-
lie and Protestant clergy, by county
officials and by agents of the various
relief funds. The picture is shock
ing. In this country of ours, where,
happily, no man who is sober and
industrious need never know what it
is to feel the pangs of approaching
death resulting from absolute depri-.
walton of food, ii is hard to realize
the fearful impoverishment of these.
Irish laborers and farmers. The
gaunt figure of death in this shape
strides across but few American doors.
/ but 1t is none the less terrible figure.
to those men and women i'm the
island across the sea. The tyranny
OF landlordism has crowded them to
the seeking of a livelihood upon al
most barren acres, and when the lit
tie land that they are permitted to
occupy fails to yield its fruits, no
more helpless and stricken people in
habits the face of the world. There
is no use at this moment of wasting
upon the landed proprietors invec-
tive of their sins that have condnced
to the misery of Irishmen. They
mnst be utterly callous if they do not
regret the past and seek amendment.
in the future. But the political side
of the matter at present sinks into
insgniticance in comparison with
that of putting bread and meat into
the mouths of the sufferers to save
their lives. The United States has
commenced to contribute nobly but
its generosity is yet far from reach
ing its limit, There will yet be much
| money and many ship loads of pro-.
visions and breadstuffs sent from our
shores to Ireland, probably far ex-
ceeding the outpour of English lib
erality; but. after the task Of reliev-.
ing the famine of 1880 is finished, it,
should not be forgotten that the
causes to which il is attributable will
remain until Irishmen are rid of the
burden of "A system that renders their
country what John Stuart Mill said
of it-that: 1.-The Irish tenant is the
only human being in existence who
has nothing to gain by increased in.
dustry, and nothing to lose by in
creased idleness."