CONTENTS.
[PREFACE.]
[CHAPTER I.]
The Potato--Its introduction into Europe--Sir Walter Raleigh--The Potato of Virginia--The Battata, or sweet Potato--Sir John Hawkins--Sir Francis Drake--Raleigh's numerous exploring expeditions--Story of his distributing Potatoes on the Irish coast on his way from Virginia groundless--Sir Joseph Banks--His history of the introduction of the Potato--Thomas Heriot--His description of the Opanawk a correct description of the Potato--That root in Europe before Raleigh's time--Raleigh an "Undertaker"--The Grants made to him--The Famine after the War with the Desmonds--Introduction of the Potato into Ireland--Did not come rapidly into cultivation--Food of the poorest--Grazing--Graziers--Destruction of Irish Manufactures--Causes of the increasing culture of the Potato--Improvement of Agriculture--Rotation of Crops--Primate Boulter's charity--Buys Corn in the South to sell it cheaply in the North--Years of scarcity from 1720 to 1740--The Famine of 1740-41--The Great Frost--No combined effort to meet this Famine--Vast number of Deaths--The Obelisk at Castletown (Note)--Price of Wheat--Bread Riots--Gangs of Robbers--"The Kellymount Gang"--Severe punishment--Shooting down Food-rioters--The Lord Lieutenant's Address to Parliament--Bill "for the more effectual securing the payments of rents and preventing the frauds of tenants"--This Bill the basis of legislation on the Land Question up to 1870--Land thrown into Grazing--State of the Catholics--Renewal of the Penal Statutes--Fever and bloody flux--Deaths--State of Prisoners--Galway Physicians refuse to attend Patients--The Races of Galway changed to Tuam on account of the Fever in Galway--Balls and Plays!--Rt. Rev. Dr. Berkeley's account of the Famine--The "Groans of Ireland"--Ireland a land of Famine--Dublin Bay--The Coast--The Wicklow Hills--Killiney--Obelisk Hill--What the Obelisk was built for--The Potato more cultivated than ever after 1741--Agricultural literature of the time--Apathy of the Gentry denounced--Comparative yield of Potatoes a hundred years ago and at present--Arthur Young on the Potato--Great increase of its culture in twenty years--The disease called "curl" in the Potato (Note)--Failure of the Potato in 1821--Consequent Famine in 1822--Government grants--Charitable collections--High price of Potatoes--Skibbereen in 1822--Half of the superficies of the Island visited by this Famine--Strange apathy of Statesmen and Landowners with regard to the ever-increasing culture of the Potato--Supposed conquest of Ireland--Ireland kept poor lest she should rebel--The English colony always regarded as the Irish nation--The natives ignored--They lived in the bogs and mountains, and cultivated the Potato, the only food that would grow in such places--No recorded Potato blight before 1729--The probable reason--Poverty of the English colony--Jealousy of England of its progress and prosperity--Commercial jealousy--Destruction of the Woollen manufacture--Its immediate effect--William the Third's Declaration--Absenteeism--Mr. M'Culloch's arguments (Note A.)--Apparently low rents--Not really so--No capital--Little skill--No good Agricultural Implements--Swift's opinion--Arthur Young's opinion--Acts of Parliament--The Catholics permitted to be loyal--Act for reclaiming Bogs--Pension to Apostate Priests increased--Catholic Petition in 1792--The Relief Act of 1793--Population of Ireland at this time--the Forty-shilling Freeholders--Why they were created--Why they were abolished--the cry of over-population,
[CHAPTER II.]
The Potato Blight of 1845--Its appearance in England--In Ireland--Weather--Scotland--Names given to the Blight--First appearance of the Blight in Ireland--Accounts of its progress--The Royal Agricultural Improvement Society of Ireland--Its action--The Dublin Corporation--O'Connell--His plan for meeting the Crisis--Deputation to the Lord Lieutenant--How it was received--Lord Heytesbury's Reply--It displeases the Government--The Times' Commissioner--His suggestions--Mr. Gregory's Letter--Mr. Crichton's--Sir James Murray on the Blight--Action of the Clergy--the Mansion House Committee--Resolutions--Analysis of five hundred letters on the Blight--Partial cessation of the Rot caused by the Blight--Report of Professors Lindley and Playfair--Estimated loss--Query Sheets sent out--Corporation Address to the Queen--Her Reply--Address of the London Corporation asking for Free Trade--The Potato Blight made a party question--Dean Hoare's Letter--Failure of remedies,
[CHAPTER III.]
Lord Heytesbury and Sir Robert Peel--The Potatoes of last year!--Is there a stock of them?--Sir R. Peel and Free Trade--Strength of his Cabinet--Mr. Cobden proposes a Committee of Inquiry--His speech--Its effect--Committee refused--D'Israeli's attack on Sir R. Peel (Note)--Sir Robert puts forward the Potato Blight as the cause for repealing the Corn Laws--The extent of the Failure not exaggerated--Sir James Graham and Sir R. Peel--Appointments of Drs. Lindley and Playfair to investigate the Blight--Sir R. Peel announces that he is a convert to the repeal of the Corn Laws--States his views, but does not reason on them--The Quarterly Review--Special Commissioners--Mr. Buller's letter--Sir James Graham and the Premier--Proceeding by Proclamation instead of by Order in Council--Sir James's sharp reply--Agitation to stop distillation--County Meetings proposed by the Lord Lieutenant--Cabinet Council--The Premier puts his views before it in a memorandum--The Corn Laws--Some of the Cabinet displeased with his views--On the 6th November he submits another memorandum to the Cabinet--Lord Stanley dissents from the Premier's views--The Cabinet meet again next day and he concludes the memorandum--On the 29th November he sends to each of his colleagues a more detailed exposition of his views--Several reply--Another mem. brought before them on the 2nd December--The Cabinet in permanent session--On the 5th of December Sir Robert resigns--Lord John Russell fails to form a Government--The old Cabinet again in power--Mr. Gladstone replaces Lord Stanley,
[CHAPTER IV.]
Meeting of Parliament--Queen's Speech--The Premier's speech on the Address--Goes into the whole question of Free Trade--The protectionists--Lord Brougham's views (Note)--The twelve nights' debate on the Corn Laws--No connection between it and the Famine--Stafford O'Brien's speech--Sir James Graham's reply--Smith O'Brien's speech--His imprisonment (Note B.)--O'Connell's motion--His speech--Sir Robert Peel replies--Substantially agrees with O'Connell--Bill for the protection of life in Ireland--Its first reading opposed by the Irish members--O'Connell leads the Opposition in a speech of two hours--Mr. D'Israeli mistaken in calling it his last speech--His account of it--He misrepresents it--The opinions expressed in it were those O'Connell always held. Break up of the Tory party--Lord George Bentinck becomes leader of the Protectionists--Their difficulty in opposing the Coercion Bill--Ingenious plan of Lord George--Strange combination against the Government--Close of Debate on Coercion Bill--Government defeated by a majority of 73--Measures to meet the Famine--Delay--Accounts from various parts of the country--Great distress--"Are the Landlords making any efforts?"--Notice for rent--The bailiff's reply--Number of Workhouses open--Number of persons in them--Sir Robert Peel's speech on his resignation--Accident to him--His death--The Peels--Sir Robert's qualities and character--His manner of dealing with the Famine--His real object the repeal of the Corn Laws,