THE IRISH FAMINE FUND.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 2, Issue 612, 5 November 1880, Page 2

THE IRISH FAMINE FUND.

The closing ordinary meeting of the Dublin Mansion House Famine Relief Committee was held on the 14th August last. It appeared that the total amount of subscriptions received amounted to £178,561 10s sd. More than one-half of this,sum came from Australia and New Zealand —Australia-contributing: £83,242 8s lid', and New Zealand £19,345 2i 2d. Englaud and Wales, strange as it may appear, only subscribed as much as New Zealand, namely, £10,610 ,17s Bd. India contributed £16,657 lis Bd, and the United States £ll,lll 3s Id, Ireland is not mentioned under a separate .heading but "individual contributions from Ireland and elsewhere," we are told, amounted to L 21,744 Is, With preference .totjie disbursement of the fund, 84Tiocal committees tfere established and through these agencies L16G,30i were dispensed in providing food, fuel, &o for the destitute. When the 'Mansion House Oommitttee first began their work the business was so great that they very often did not finish till 4 o'clock in the morning. The reality of the distress is seen by the great in- , crease which took place in the death-rate J* of the country/ Taking the four years' 1876-9, it was found that 19,194 more persons died in the last two than in tlie first two years of the period. Taking the space of six years, it : was found that in 1878 there was an excess of 5644 deaths,. and last year a still greater excess of 11,477 deaths over the average of the first four years.