303
THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 7TH
1880.
At a Preliminary Meeting convened by His Excellency the Governor, and held at Government House, on Saturday, the 6th March, 1880, the following Resolutions were unanimously passed:
sulred. That a Public Meeting be called to obtain subscriptions for the relief of the present distress in Ireland, the funds so collected to be sent to the Duchess of Marlborough's Committee."
sofred."That a Local Committee be formed representing the principal interests in the Com- munity, and that Mr. JACKSON be requested to act as Honorary Secretary and Treasurer pro. tem, to "make arrangements for calling the Meeting."
Subscriptions amounting to $1,840 were collected in the room.
In serordance with the above Resolutions, a Public Meeting was held in the City Hall, on the 8th March, for the purpose of inaugurating a Subscription for the Relief of the Distress in Ireland. Excellency Governor HENNESSY presided, and the attendance was large and enthusiastic. Amongst e present were His Excellency Major-General DONOVAN, Sir JOHN SMALE, Chief Justice; Bishop Benbos, Hon. W. H. MARSH, Colonial Secretary; Hon. E. O'MALLEY, Attorney-General; Hon. P. YE. Hon. No CHOY, Mr. T. JACKSON, most of the Leading Members of the Mercantile Community, atal a large number of Military and Civil Officers.
Jom..
The GOVERNOR said-My Lord Bishop, Ladies and Gentlemen, the announcements in the Public Press inve informed you that I took the liberty to summon a Preliminary Meeting of some Irish gertlemen at Government House, to consider the distress in Ireland. We resolved to ask you to come begiler to-day, for the purpose of raising subscriptions to be sent to the Duchess of MARLBOROUGH'S Now, you are men of business, and my first duty is to endeavour briefly to explain to you how it comes to pass that we have to ask you for subscriptions. I cannot deny that the loss of the crops k place in England as well as in Ireland, and that, in fact, the loss of the crops in England was ually greater than that in Ireland; but, nevertheless, the fact remains that the distress in Ireland is far more severe, and threatens a more dangerous future, than the distress in England. The special ason why Ireland suffers so much when distress of this kind occurs has been explained in a letter on the Duchess of MARLBOROUGH, which puts the whole case so clearly that, with your permission, I will read it. Her Grace says:----
poor
The class whom I and those associated with me are endeavouring to assist is chiefly composed small farmers holding from two to ten acres of land, extremely numerons in Ireland, as you are rhaps aware. These sorely tried people are excluded by law from obtaining relief under the tes unless they first give up their land, and, rather than yield to this necessity, it is known that they will submit to inconceivable privations. It cannot be doubted that the want throughout This land, if not promptly responded to by the voice of charity, will culminate in a famine.”
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The fact is, as the Duchess puts it in that letter, the poor law in Ireland is different from the poor w in England, according to the English poor law it is sufficient if the Relieving Officers and - Board of Guardians should be of opinion that any man is destitute; that gives him a claim Parochial Relief. But unfortunately in Ireland there exists the addendum that the occup! es all holdings, though the whole of their crops may have failed, though they may be absolutely eving, cannot get relief according to law. Perhaps I may mention here that an attempt was le some years ago to remedy this state of the law, and to assimilate the law of Ireland to that o. gland. A bill to that effect was passed in the House of Commons. It was proposed by the Ed KIMBERLEY in the House of Lords, but, owing to the late period of the session, it did not pas, sequently, it was again pressed on the attention of the House of Commons, and again was passed repeated debates and divisions. It was then moved in the House of Lords by the late Di NEWCASTLE. He described that provision of the Irish poor law as a harsh and unjust provision. vision which would always be fatal to the people of Ireland when distress arose. But, by a su jority of four, the bill was unfortunately thrown out. We therefore see that the poor rates of the try provided by the law of Ireland are not available for a considerable portion of the population. if these rates are not so available, what is the meaning of an Irish famine, what is it in reality? looking around here to-day, I see some countrymen of mine, but perhaps there are few present actually remember the events of the great faunine of 1846 and 18:17. I am sorry to say that I am nough to remember them; and though I was only twelve years of age at the time, I have a vivid tion of the fact that I then saw in the streets of Cork one morning seven dead bodies lying not from the residence of my father a sight which has remained ever engraved on my memory. They in two groups, one a group of five people lying dead, and another of two--a woman, apparently ng woman, and what appeared to me to be a very old but diminutive woman, but, on looking Similar scenes were y. I saw that it was in reality a dead child; it had died of starvation. essed week after week by those who were in the South and West of Ireland. Some months rolled and another event occurred which struck me forcibly. I was walking not far from the ely ol and I came close to an old grave-yard where I saw a group of people collected round an open Suddenly, there arose near at hand the anestation for the dead, and a peasant who was dig in the road said to me, "That, sir, is the pleasantest music that has fallen en my ears in a day," for the preceding twelve months had behold so many dead in Ireland-the faring n people buried without coffins-that even the accustomed weeping for the dead was suspended Irish peasant was delighted to hear once more the cry of launoutation. Well, years rolled the effects of that famine were still felt in Ireland, and I have myself seen at Qeenstown. ping into the emigrant ships, strong men shedding tears on quitting their country, and carrying
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