100 barrels meal; and 6 barrels meal and 2 barrels beans
were delivered to Mr. Mathieson, of Stirling, as instructed
by the manifest.
[49] Nearly 3000ℓ. was remitted to Mr. Gildea in advance, in sums of
from 10s. to 20ℓ., for linens to be afterwards furnished. He might have
received much larger sums, and he found great difficulty in stopping
the outpouring of sympathy and support that came upon him; and until it
became generally known that he had returned large sums of money, the
influx did not cease. It is an interesting fact that of 30,000 yards
of linen made up to the end of October, there is only one piece that
was not duly returned to him by the workwomen, and Mr. Gildea thinks he
shall still get the missing piece.
[50] Upwards of 100,000ℓ. has been expended by the Home and Provincial
Governments, in giving relief to the sick and destitute emigrants
landed in Canada in 1847, and in forwarding them to their destinations.
[51] The following extract from a letter from Mr. Jacob Harvey of
New York, to Mr. Jonathan Pim, one of the Secretaries of the Dublin
Relief Committee of the Society of Friends, contains many interesting
particulars relating to these remittances, which are highly honourable
to the Irish character:--
“New York, January 5, 1847.
“The destitution of our poor at this season will certainly
curtail the amount for Ireland, and it is used as an excuse by
those who feel called upon to assist them at their own doors
first. But I am happy to say that the poor labouring Irish
themselves are doing their duty fully. Without any public
meetings or addresses, they have been silently remitting
their little savings to their relations at home; and these
remittances, be it remembered, go to every parish in Ireland,
and by every packet. These drafts are from 1ℓ. and upwards;
they probably average from 4ℓ. to 5ℓ. In my letter to J. H.
Todhunter I told him I had ascertained from five houses here,
that within the past sixty days, they have received and
remitted from the poor Irish 80,000 dollars. I had not time
to send round to the other houses that day; but since the
steamer sailed, I have collected further returns, although not
yet all; and to my no small delight, the sum total remitted
since November the 1st amounts to 150,000 dollars or 30,000ℓ.
sterling. I am now collecting an account of the sums remitted
through the same houses by the poor Irish for the year 1846,
and I have received returns from the five principal houses, and
the sum total is 650,000 dollars, or 130,000ℓ. There are yet
four houses to hear from, which will swell the amount. This,
however, is enough to astonish everybody who has not been aware
of the facts; and it is but right that credit should be given
to the poor abused Irish for having done their duty. Recollect
that the donors are working men and women, and depend upon
their daily labour for their daily food; that they have no
settled income to rely upon; but with that charming reliance
upon Divine Providence which characterizes the Irish peasant,
they freely send their first earnings home to father, mother,
sister, or brother. I requested J. H. Todhunter to have the
facts I gave him published, and I make a similar request to
thee, as they are still more cheering. A publication of the
kind may stimulate the rich to do their duty, where they have
hitherto neglected it; and it will give evidence to those who
have no faith in Irishmen, that whenever they are able to get
good wages, they never forget their relatives and friends who
are in want.”
[52] The emigration for each division of the United Kingdom
during the first three quarters of 1847 was as follows; but
it must be remembered that those who embarked at Liverpool
consisted almost wholly of Irish. There can also be no doubt
that the Irish helped to swell the tide from several other
ports of Great Britain, and especially in the west of Scotland.
-----------+-----------------+------------
From | From other | Total from
Liverpool. | English ports. | England.
-----------+-----------------+------------
114,301 | 20,942 | 136,395
-----------+-----------------+------------
From | From |
Scotland. | Ireland. | Total.
-----------+-----------------+------------
8,155 | 95,911 | 240,461
-----------+-----------------+------------
[53] These Irish labourers who annually come to England, by way
of Liverpool, to help to gather in the harvest, and return to
Ireland after it is over, are included in this number. They are
variously estimated at from 10,000 to 30,000.
[54] 5000 Irish paupers were relieved in Manchester in the last
week in February, and for several weeks following there were
more than 4000 on an average receiving outdoor, and from 600
to 700 in-door, relief. This was independent of the adjoining
districts of Salford and Chorlton, where great numbers of Irish
were also relieved. Nearly 90,000 destitute and disabled Irish,
including women and children, were reported to have received
parochial relief in Scotland at a total expense of about
34,000ℓ.; but as the same persons were frequently relieved in
more than one parish, and were therefore returned by more than
one Inspector, the number of persons of this description newly
arrived in Scotland is not so great as that above stated.
[55] The details of the frightful mortality connected with
the great emigration of 1847 from Ireland to Canada, are as
follows:--