Distress in Ireland.

Thames Star, Volume XI, Issue 3485, 25 February 1880, Page 2

Distress in Ireland.

The following is the letter from the Duchess of Marlborough to the Times upon the question for the relief of the distress in Ireland :—" Sir, —In the memo* rable year of the Irish famine the columns of your journal were opened to sub* scriptions for the relief of Irish distress, and the appeal was nobly responded to by the generous British public. Since that time your widely-circulated paper has often, and always successfully, appealed to the liberality of the benevolent. After anxious deliberation I have ; resolved to raise a fund in aid of the distressed poor of the West of Ireland, and I beg you to insert this appeal and to advocate their cause in your influential

journal. In doing this I must explain,— Firstly, the reasons that impel me to this step; secondly, the channels through which I would propose the money should be spent; and, thirdly, the uses to which it should be .applied. Firstly, as to my reasons. I would not for a moment compare the present distress, either actual or probable, in Ireland to that of 1847-8, when famine raged in the

land and there was' a complete breakdown of all machinery for relief. lam thankful^ to say things are now very different, and/7 the districts where severe distress and ' famine are impending are comparatively circumscribed. The Government has initiated certain measures for affording employment. • The landlords of Ireland are in numerous cases nobly standing by their people. But, in' spite of this, there is no doubt that in parts of Kerry, Gal? way, Sligo, Mayo, Roscommon, Donegal, and.the south of the county •of Cork—in ' fact, in most of the western districts, of Ireland—there will be extreme misery and suffering among the poor, owing to want of employment, loss of turf, loss of cattle, and failure of potatoes,' unless a vigorous effort of private charity is got up to supplement the* ordinary system of Poor Law relief. ' In this urgent necessity, then, I appeal to - English benevolence. Secondly, with respect to the channels for the distribution of the fund I propose to organise a committee of influential and philanthropic persons, to meet in Dublin once a week, or more if necessary, to receive applications, from the distressed localities, and to decide.on the various claims for assist . tance. It will not be difficult to form local committees and agencies to work in with the Dublin committee, and superintend the distribution of the money. Thirdly, as regards the expenditure of the fund. It should be spent on fuel, food, - clothing, especially for the aged and weak, aad in small sums to keep the families of the able-bodied in temporary distress out of the workhouse; „ There is also another mode in which I should like to spend some'of the money, N and that is, while carefully guarding against proselytism of any kind, to give grants to schools to provide a meal of bread and potatoes, and, if possible, a little clothing where found necessary, for* j the little children attending them. I have tiius very imperfectly described the 1 objects of my appeal. lam fully aware of the responsibilities and difficulties of . such a task as lam undertaking;. but knowing, as I do, the extreme urgency of the case, and in face of the severe weather' 1 we have already had and. shall probably ' have again, I cannot hesitate in making this effort to .elicit the sympathy of my countrymen of the sister isle, and to entreat them generously to contribute to the relief of the miserable sufferers by the inclemency of the ■ seasons, which, added fp the rainy climate and ungeaial soil of the west, has well-nigh ' produced famine of fcod and fuel. '- A committee is in course of formation which will contain the most distinguished names in Ireland, and an account has been opened at the Bank of Ireland, where - subscriptions will be received and placed to the credit of " The Duchess of Marlborough's Relief Fund," and I need hardly say I will undertake to see that any sums contributed to this fund shall be judiciously expended and faithfully dispensed and accounted for without regard to creed or politics; and now, having stated my case simply and without any pretence to eloquence, I believe I am not over-sanguine in may confidence that I have not made this appeal in vain.—l remain, Sir, yours faithfully, F. Mabl> bobough. Viceregal Lodge, Dublin, December 16.