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the fact that Her Majesty the Queen, with her usual benevolence, has given a large contribution to the Duchess of Marlborough's distross fund. That Pearess of benevolence in her own right, Lady Bardott Coutts, has subscribed £5,000 to the fund, and Mr. Gordon Bennett, of the New York Herald, has subscribed $100,000.-- (Applause.) I mention those facts for this reason, that Her Majesty the Queen has the very best sources of information at her disposal, that Lady Burdett Coutts is a charitable lady who never lays out a pound except in the right direction, and that Mr. Gordon Bennett also has neaus at his disposal which render him an eminent authority. In ad- dition to that, I hold in my hand a telegram from Dublin Castle which was sent to me last week. It is to this effect, "Acute distress prevails," signed by the Duchess of Marlborough. I think, therefore, that you have before you evidence of distress. You have, I think, before you the olearest proof that the time bas come when some steps must be taken to meet the impending dis- tress. But you are fairly entitled to ask also. if this money he sent to the Duchess of Marl- borough's fund, how will it be dealt with ? That is answered authoritatively by the last mail, in a few words, which I will take the liberty of rend- ing, in a lending article in The Times newspaper.
We continue to receive satisfactory assurance of i the progress made with the collections for the Duchess : of Marlborough's fund, both in this country and in Ireland, and of the care with which the money is laid out. The object is one for which both money and care are needed. Almost every day brings fresh proofi of the reality and magnitude of the existing distress i in Ireland.
The result is that the small far. mare in the west of Ireland are now in want of the! necessaries of life, and that the labourers who depend npon them for employment are in even worse case, and are barely contriving to keep body and soul to gether upon rations of maize-meal and water, tilk and oatmeal being luxnries beyond their reach. It is for the relief of those poor creatures that the Duchess of Marlborough and her committee are doing all they can. The public has the means of judging the way in which the work is done. Every penny they have! received is accounted for; the names of the recipients are recorded and way be seen; local committees or local agents are appointed to superintend the distri bution of each grant. The atmost care is taken that; the money shall reach the fittest objects with no waste by the way.
ow, I am aware that some gentlemen in the i community would wish to send subscriptions to the fand being collected by the Lord Mayor of Dublin. I will only say this, that I receivel information by the last mail that the Duchess
of Marborough's Committee and the Lord Mayor's Committee are working in complate harmony. I have ascertained that a leading member of the Lord Mayor's Committee, on be half of that Committee, applied to the Dachess of Marlborough's fand on behalf of some childron of Dublin who wore in great distress, and the i Duoboss gave as-istance at once. Both com mittees are working harmoniously and on pa- rallel lines. Therefore, I think that you may fairly leave to the committee you will be asked to approve of to-day, our own local Committee, the question whether it may not be in the power of that Committee to send a contribution to the Lord Mayor's fund as well as to the Duchess of Marlborough's.-(Applause.) There is not, in fact, in the whole of Ireland, a man more zealous or active in mitigating distress than Mr. Grey, the Lord Mayor of Dab. lin.--(Applause.) Accordingly, ladies and gen. tlemen, I feel convinced that, whatever we may do in the way of subscriptions, the money will! be well laid out, and wil not be wasted. And of one other thing I am also coufident; when I see the commercial gentlemen of the colony in this ball to-day, when I know the character of Hongkong, its reputation as the leading com- mercial community in Her Majesty's Colonial Empire, a community ever distinguished by munificenco, I also fuel that the appeal whic I and my countrymen are now making will not be made in vain.--(Loud applause.)
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The CHEF JUSTION-Your Excellency, ladies and gentlemen, when I entered this room I did not expect that I should be called on to take any ! prominent part on this occasion. I think it
would have been kindness if I had been told. I But I certainly did expect that a gentleman recently como among us (Mr. O'Malley), knowing something of Ireland both from education, connection, and rogard--because that he must have for the country-I had thought that he would have been the man to have first addressed you, next to His Excellency, and
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that he would have given us some of that eloquence of which Ireland takes pretty nearly the monopoly.--(liear, hear.) Then we have my friend whom I see here (the Goneral); hei ought also to have brought, before I was call-d on, his contribution to the eloquence of this on. casion; and my friend near the window (Mr. Brereton), whose eloquence has often turned me and led me sometimes astray, sometimes right. He ought certainly to have been here to have led everyone right on this occasion by his eloquence.--(Applause.) As it is, I really have nothing to say. I do not know, and I do not pretend to know, the misery that there is in Ireland. I do not pretend to have comprehended | or taken in the wretchedness that has brought men! down to the grave and has laid prostrate men by ¦ the hundred, I fear by the thousand, But still I have read something in the papers, like overy- body else, and I cannot help feeling that we all ought to come forward on such an ogcasion, and that it is our business bere not to say who is to bime for the prosent famine, not to discuss whe ther it is one party or another. One thing I am sure of, that there is no man in England of any station whatever who would willingly for any party purpose have caused one death in Iro-1 land-(Applause.) For myself, I am proud of all our public unen in England. I think it is; the glory of England that there is not a man to whom the finger of scorn could be pointed as being thoroughly selfish in bis politics. I believe on all sides all have endeavoured to do right, and if any have done wrong it has been, because they have been mistaken. Whigs way be mistakon, Conservatives may be mistaken, but it is mistake only. But we are all one at least in this, in the acknowledgment of our common humanity and the daty we all owe to that con- mou human nature of which we all par take. (Applanse.) It would be a very diff. cult thing to attempt to say why this fa- mine exists in Ireland. If I were to make the attempt I know I should make a hundred blunders at least before I get to the end of it, and therefore I shall avoid all consideration of why the present state of things exists. I only agree in this. that there is a great amount of human misery, and when that exists I am
to it ought
call forth universal sympathy. I hardly know what to say further on this subject. There is but one thing for our consiloration. Homo sum et nihil humanam a me olienum puto. I think every man who has a soul and power of thought mast think this is an occasion for him to do his utmost. Something has been said as to whom the money is to be on- ! trusted to. Well I have no particular deference ; for the Duchess of Marlborough. She is a very excellent person indeed, but this I know, Lat the Dachess is acting under a respon- sibility. Her husband is responsible to the nation that the money she expends is properly expended, for even in polities as well as in uivil life we are all of us responsible for our »ives. { --Laughter and applause.) That being so, it does seem to me the wife of the Viceroy of Ire- land is the person above all others, if she will un- dertake the kindly office, to whom we should extend the distribution of the small contri- | bution this small Colony can give.
I baro not the honour of kuowing the Lord Mayor of Dublin. Many persons here may kuow hiin, bat there is no private individual, be ho what he may, there is no gentleman in the position of the Lord Mayor of Dublin, who is in tho responsible posi- tion of the Duke of Marlborough. There fore I conveive the money from a colony like this should go to a person responsible to the world in a way which the Lord Mayor, however high a man he may be, is not. There is no tribunal to which be may be brought as there is to which the Duke of Marlborough may be. Of course. eory one knows that in talking of bringing the Duke of Marlborongh to a tribunal it is only a comparison, because he stands on a pedestal far above all suspicion. I do hope that! whatever money goes from Hongkong will be i distributed under the responsibility of the j Duke of Marlborough, because it is the Duke's responsibility, although it is the Buchess's fund. I have troubled you at too great length on this subject, and I must say I think it really too bad Ireland is not supported here by the eloquence of three at least of its' distinguished representatives in this colony. I
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