IRELAND. [From the " Times," April 15.] DISTRESS IN THE WEST.

New Zealander, Volume 3, Issue 127, 18 August 1847, Page 3

IRELAND. [From the " Times," April 15.] DISTRESS IN THE WEST.

Mr. Edward Bulleu, the secretary of the Royal Agricultural Improvement Society, has nd'lrcssed the following letter to Mr. David Charles Lrttouchc, the head of the old established banking fimi m this city :—: — Dublin, April 9. Sir, — At the close of the late memorable meeting at the Rotunda, 1 was particularly struck with an observation of yours, that, instead of discussing abstract questions of doubtful political economy, which tnu'i eveutually end, as they have done, in nothing, the whole combined energies of the country should be concentrated and directed to one great objectnamely, the timely supply of food in the remote and friendless districts of the west. T felt on that occasion that you, and you alone, had made the propei hit, and I believe I stated so ut the time*— while past experience -hat convinced mt, that if half the wealth and energy that have been unfortunately wasted, bad been judiciously directed. to this one object, much loss of humati life would have been saved, and much of the present social disorganization prevented, I shall, therefore, take the liberty, through you. of laying the following observations on the subject, before the public :-— Anxious to study matters with my own eyes, I lately visited at considerable expense nnd trouble, the whole of the much afflicted province of Connaught, and from Gal way to Clifdcn. and round by the sea coast to Westporl, Belmullet, and Ballina, I may safely say that the mind of man cannot conceive, nor pen describe, the scenes I witnessed in those districts. No accounts that have yet appeared, could possibly exaggerate the destitution and distress, and it would require the vigorous and descriptive powers of a Dickens or a Defoe to do them justice. The leading features are— the general want of cultivation; the wandering and distracted habits of | the peasantry in search of daily sustenance ; but, above all thingn, the total absence of wholesome portable food to bustuin existence. - With regard to the first, little has yet been done in husbandry from Oughterard round to Crossinolina and Bnngor. There arc, no doubt, some bright exceptions in the centre of the province, where the fostering hand of residency is apparent; but all round the densely popu atcd sea-coast districts, the evil was too overwhelming to be stemmed. Want of horse-power to plough up the land is every where experienced ; want of proper seed to sow it is equally felt ; and, thirdly, 1 fear that want of proper manure to meet anthing like a green crop will be the severest want ol all. These are ku<l truths, .Sir, but the sooner they are known the better. With regard to the habits of the people, they appear completely changed and disorganised, Instead of that attachment to their small holdings which marked their Conner character, they wander about in groups in search of sonii'lhinglike solid food ; and as well might you expect industry and exertion front a pack of tamUhcd wolves, as from the famiuestricken creatures that I saw roaming about '.u every direction. The only relief they have yet received, has been dearly earned on the public works, and it was a pain* ful sight to sec the remnants of humanity called upon to ape the efforts of able-bodied men. die sight struck me also as particularly revolting, and which I pointed out to .some English tratcllci* who accompanied me, and that was, the women woikitig on the new made roads, it was really painful to see them, with their daik Spanish features and their blue mantles, and taeir red Cotuiumara costume, as becoming at auy thing in Andalusia, toiling away upon the public road*, and bearing burdcus on their backs, that baffled the efforts of their exhausted husbands. Sir, I have seen women such as I have described, staggering along under heavy loads, and holding their babies to their brea&ts ; and, as they struggled ou through snow and toii, you naturally asked whether it was possible that you were in the dominions of the Britannic (^uecu, and that thCse were her subjects. The scenes I witnessed at Belmullet were appalling. Typhus was in almost eveiy house, and dysentery, that greatest scourge of the lutmuu race, was universal. I was told that the prevalence of

this fearful malady nrose principally from the liquid diet to which they aie now subjected, the badly dressed Indian meal being at present their only sustenance. If tins he the fact, the threatened deluge of bud soup should be stopped, and its pernicious effects at once urrested. I may now be naturally asked, " What remedy I should propose for this disastrous state of things?" My answer is,— That remedy there is none; time and Piovidence alone can solve that problem in these remote and unlrK-ndcd districts ; but I cannot help thinking that much might still be done in the way of alleviation, by judiciously directed energy aud cooperation. Sir, what struck me as most remnikahle was, the *otal want of broad, of good household breed, made r rom the »h >le meal, which has ever been ordained by Pio\i li-nci' as the Icg.timate food nf civilized mnii. Fiom Oii;htorard to iinllinn, and down through the centre of ftlavo, I did not see Mb of household bread, m>r a si>ne of wheaten meal. Nothing but the finest white bread, Irom first quality American flour, morel ke pastiy than otherwise, and seliin;: (.very where at the monstrous price of Is. for the 41b. loaf. So litile was hitheito known of the use of biead, that there was hardly a miller or a baker in these immense districts, except at Westport ; so tha» you may easily conceive the privation of the people lor want of the manufactured article. — " the stalT of life." It wos a gainful si»ht to see the poor creatures from the works, paying 31. for a single pound of bread which; by a little judicious management, might easily be "managed on the spot, and «old at a great reduction in abundance. 3d. for a pound of •white bread makes a sad hole in a poor man's daily pittance, and gives him but comparatively little value for his money. Next to household, I think Indian corn, soaked in •water and boiled whole was the best and most portable condiment I saw. It is called "hominy* in America, and when eaten with treacle, milk, butter, or salt, or any other little reasoning, it will do more to fasten the life in a poor labouring man than any thing I have seen yet, excepting good household bread. What 1 would tn^gi«l, therefore, N, tUt every effort should be made to 'ush the whole wheateu meal into the remote districts. Wherever a British steamer can float, supplies should be pushed up those i t>«p navigable estiuiieton the western coast where <i titutinn is greatest, and accessible by sea. That fi" different philanthropic bodies now in existeuee «•' ,ld combine with government, and aid in the ( !ion of bakeries and ovens, either in place of the ", v kitchens or in conjunction with them. Any country mason, with a trowel aud a few stones will build an oven, while it will require much trouble and expense to erect a " balicrk dc cuisne,'' such as now contemplated. Moreover, the raw material, the meal („■ household flour, can easily be supplied for the bakeries, but there is no possibility of getting anything like animal substance in the west for soup. It is easy for gentlemen to make good soup in Dublin, ■with the metropolitan markets at their backs, but send them down to Connaught, and give them the ■whole range from Connemaia to Belmullet, and let me see what kiud of vital support they will make with the materials there at their command. Moreover, baked bread is portable, and lasting: ft little child can procure enough foi a family, leaving the ablebodied members some chance of leturning to their legitimate avocations of tilling the land. The •upplies at Cork, Limerick, and Galway, are now abundant, and will increase, but all that will be vain, if such ste f s as these be not immediately taken, for pushing the ground material into these remote places, and manufacturing it into bread. Providence has suddenly changed the people of Ireland from a root to a bread eating population, and it is our duty to make every arrangement to meet the above transition with eueigy and effect* Your obedient servant, Edwaiid Buujen.