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The Daily Press.
1 HONGKONG, MARCH 10TH, 1880.
THE DISTRESS IN IRELAND.
PUBLIC MEETING IN THE CITY HALF.
A public meeting was held in the City Hall, on the 8th inst.. for the parpose of inangarating a subscription for the relief of the distress in Ireland. His Excellency the Governor prosided, and the attendance was large and enthusiastic. Amongst those present were His Excellency Major-General Donovan, Sir John Smule, Chist Justice; Bishop Burden. Hon. W. H. Marsh, Colonial Secretary; fion. it. O'Malley, Attorney- General; Hon. P. Ryrie, Hou. Ng Choy, Mr. T. Jackson, most of the leading members of the mercantile community, and a large number of | military and civil officers. Mrs. Hennessy and
one or two other ladies were also present,
The GOVERNOR said My Lord Bishop, ladies and gentlemen, the announcements which haveap- peared in the public press have informed you that I took the liberty to summon a preliminary meet- ing of some Irish gentlemen at Government House, to consider what steps we might recommend to our friends in this colony for dealing with the dis- tress in Ireland. I may say that, althongh correct in the main, the report which appeared in the evening paper paid me tbis compliment, that it attributed to me the sporches of four or five other gentlemen who spoke at that meeting. We resolved to ask you to come together to-day, for the purpose of raising subscriptions to be sent to the Duchess of Marlborough's fund for the relief of the distress in Ireland. Now, you are men of business, and my first duty is to en- deavour briefly to explain to you how it comes to pass that we have to ask you for subscrip- tions. I cannot deny that the loss of the crops took place in England as well as in Ireland, and that, in fact, the loss of the crops in Englaud was actually greater than that in Ireland, but, nevertheless, the fact remains that the distress in Ireland is far more severe, and threatens a far more dangerous future, than the distress in Eng. land. Ireland, unfortunately, is a country subject to famines, and the special reason why Troland suffers so much when distress of this kind occurs has been explained in a letter from the Duchess of Marlborough, which puts the whole case so clearly that, with your permission, I will read it. Her Grace says:-
The class whom I and those aasoolated with me are endeavouring to assist is chiefly composed of small farmers holding from two to ten acres of land, ex. tremely numerous in Irelsud, as you are perhaps aware. These sorely tried people are excluded by law from obtaining relief under the poor rates unless they first give up their land, and, rather than yield to this neces eity, it is wor
is well known that they will submit to incon- ceivable privations. Every caution is taken by the Committee of which I are president to obtain in- formation from local sources of the most trustworthy character, in order that only the tenly deserving shall receive aid from the funds at our disposal. Itelief is administered, irrespective of creed, through the agency of local Committees, composed of resident proprietore, ministers of all persnasions, and the dispensary medi- cal officers, who are intimately acquainted with the circumstances of the people. Not only has present starvation to be contended with, but also the preser- vation of the land from barrenness, by the distribu tion of seed, will be a future source of cure to this Committee, and you will be able to form some idea of the extent of our operations and our needs when I state that we are now engaged in supplying funds to 37 local Committees, working in an area onupied by eight counties; and the demande for relief from other districts come thickly upon us every day. It cannost be doubted that the want throughout this land, if not promptly responded to by the voice of charity, will culminate in a famine, with the usual concomitants and successors of sickness and epidemics. Earnestly : hoping that you may find it in your power to aid us in this crisis, I beg to remain, yours faithfully,
FRANCES ANNE MARLBOROVDE.
The fact is, as the Duchess pats it in that letter, the Poor low in Ireland is different from the poor law in England. According to the English poor law it is safficient if the relieving officers of the Board of guardians should be of opinion that any man is destitute; that gives him a claim ou parochial relief. But unfortunately in Ireland there exists the addendum that the occupiers of small holdings, though the whole
arose.
of their crops may have failed, though they may he absolutely starving, cannot get relief accord- ing to law, Perhaps I may mention here that an attempt was made some years ago to remedy this state of the law, and to assimilate the law of Ireland to that of England. A bill to that was effect passed in the House of Commons. It was proposed by the Earl of Kimberley in the House of Lords, bat, owing to the late period of the session, it did not pass, Subsequently, it was again pressed on the at- tention of the House of Commons, and again was passed after re peated debates and divisions. It was then moved in the House of Lords by the Jate Duke of Newcastle. He described that pro- vision of the Irish poor law as a harsh and un- just provisiou, a provision which would always! ho fatal to the people of Ireland when distress Bat, by a small majority of four, the bill was unfortunately thrown out. We therefore see that the poor rates of the country provided by the law of Ireland are not available for a considerable portion of the population. Andi if these rates are not so available, what is the meaning of an Irish famine, what are its i consequence, what is it in reality? On look- · ing around here to-day, I see some country. men of mine, but perhaps there are few present. who actually remember the events of the t great famine of 1846 and 1847. I am sorry to say that I am old enough to remember them; and, though I was only twelve years of age at the time, I have a vivid collection of the fact that I then saw in the streets of Cork one morning seven dead bodies lying not far from the resi- dence of my father, a sight which has remained | ever engraved on my memory. They were in two i groups, one a group of five people lying dead, aud another of two-a woman, apparently a young woman, and what appeared to me to be a very old bat diminutive woman, but, on looking closely, I saw that it was in reality a dead child, it had died of starvation. imilar, scenes were witnessed week after wook by those who were in the south aud west of Ireland. Some! months rolled on, and and another event occurred which struck me forcibly. I was walking not far from the city of Cork, and I came close to an old grave-yard where I saw a group of puople collected round an open grave. Sud- denly, there arose near at hand the lamen- tation for the dead, and a peasant who was standing in the road said to me, "That, sir. is the pleasantest music that has fallen on my ears for many a day," for the preceding twelve months had beheld so many dead in Ireland--the famine strickon people buried without coffins- that even the accustomed weeping for the dead was suspended, and the Irish peasant was de
! lighted to hear once more the cry of lamentation. Well, years rolled on, but the effects of that fa- ! mine were still felt in Ireland, and I have myself
3 seen at Queenstown, stopping into the emigrant ships, strong men shedding tears on quitting i their country, and carrying with them, wrapped up in their pocket haudkerchiefs, little bits of green sod. What for? So attached to the soil! are the Irish peasants that, when they leave the country and know they will never return-going to Canada on the United States-they carry with! them little particles of their native earth to have them placed upon their graves. There is no mas present but knows that the effects of the famine then afflicted the country might have been pre- į vented, or at least mitigated. What we are › engaged upon to-day is this; we are now meet- iug to do that which was not dono with t respect to the famine of 1846 and 1×47; that is, we are meeting to prevent the famine.-- (Applause) Prevention is better than a tardy and ineffectual onre, and if the Government of ' that day had bat battled with the impending famine u Ireland towards the end of 1845 and in the year 1846, Ireland would not have lost three millions from her population. Applause.) Her population was the eight and a half millious: she has now five millions and a half. And, more than that, if her population had gone on increasing in the same ratio as the population of England and Scotland, Ireland would now certain twelve millions of people; and I believe that her feriale soil would provide ample food for that population. Now, with respect to the present distress, what evidence have we? We havo, to begin with, the various letters which have been received from our friends, and the statementa the public press; and especially I may refer to
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