"In the course of the night the attention of Mr. Hanson was attracted to a most brilliant substance in the centre of the fire, and, on taking it out with the tongs, he, on inspection, found a brooch of considerable size, set with pearls, but the greater part of the gold mounting had melted from it. This circumstance led him to examine the fire more minutely, and he found two more, one of a larger and one of a smaller size, but which, as well as the former, had been seriously damaged by the fire. On communicating the circumstance to Mr. Proctor, the fire and the ashes underneath were carefully examined, and seven good sized brilliants, seven emeralds, one of which is of considerable size and must have been of great value, and four dozen of small but sparkling brilliants were found.
"Lea recollected perfectly, upon searching Jourdan's room, observing the ornamental paper in the fireplace, but not perceiving it disturbed in any way, it did not occur to him to examine it minutely, particularly as the prisoners had trunks in the room. There was no doubt on his mind that the property which had been placed there by Jourdan was of considerable value, from the anxiety evinced by his friends to get to the room to secure it, and it was not at all improbable that there was a portion of the notes stolen from the Custom House placed there also, and, if so, they must have been destroyed by the fire."
Matters were fairly quiet in Ireland, but there was a murder now and then. There was, however, sad distress, and this is the tale told in June. In that month, the poorer inhabitants in many places along the west coast of Ireland, particularly in County Mayo and the adjacent islands, suffered severely from a failure of provisions. At a meeting of a Central Committee for their relief, held at Castlebar, on June 15th, the Rev. Mr. Dwyer stated that the population of Clare Island amounted to three hundred families, of whom only fifteen, at most, had provisions to last the harvest. All the rest were, at that moment, in want, with the exception of twelve or fifteen families who would be equally destitute in a fortnight. Of nineteen families living in one village, twelve had begun to be in want in April. In that village there were six families who, if a shilling could buy a ton of potatoes, were not able to command it. All the other villages in the island were said to be still worse off.
The Rev. Mr. Conolly, from the island of Achill, stated that the crop there was short from last harvest, owing to the failure of the seed in spring, and to the north-western gales of the previous August. He had given relief to seven hundred and fifty families, and he would require thirty tons more than he had to distribute, in order to afford even six stone to each family. Many poor creatures came forward to offer the hides of the goats they had killed, as also geese, hens, stockings, and even wearing apparel, in lieu of potatoes.
A respectable inhabitant of Ihnisturk stated the number of families at about ninety, of which only five were not distressed. Some few might be able to procure food from their own resources, provided the rents were not called in, but if they were, the people would starve. Sligo's agent at Boffin and Stark had given relief to eighty-five families; fifty families were, to his own knowledge, positively in a state of starvation, and utterly destitute of means to procure relief; about one hundred families, besides, were in want; but half that number had some means, the rest had none.
The Rev. Mr. Hughes stated, that the distress in his parish (Burrishoole) was chiefly owing to the failure of the potato crop, some of which was lost by the perishing of the seed, and some by high winds in August. Many families were obliged to put themselves on the short allowance of one meal in the day, so early as last February; he had already seen many with the signs of starvation in their haggard countenances, and had heard them cry from hunger. He knew whole families, each of which had subsisted, frequently, for twenty-four hours on one quart meal. The population was 11,761, of which number five thousand were now actually in want; three hundred families had neither cow, sheep, nor horse, nor any other means to purchase provisions; two hundred families, at least, had not been able to make their usual sowing of potatoes for want of seed; and hundreds would necessarily perish with hunger, unless something was soon done for their relief.
The Rev. Mr. Gibbons stated the population of his parish (Kilgevar) at nine thousand. The crop failed there last year owing to the rotting of the seed and to harsh winds; two thousand five hundred persons were now in distress. About one half of these might struggle through summer, if they sold their few head of cattle to procure provisions, but the rest had no resource. The wives and children of a great many of them had already gone to beg. At subsequent meetings of the committee similar accounts were received from other parts of the western coasts and its islands. They exhibited the state of the country as being deplorably wretched, and the sufferings of the poor as daily and hourly on the increase. Several thousand families were reported to be without food, except the precarious sustenance they were enabled to gather in the fields, and among the rocks on the seashore. Cabbage and shellfish usually furnished their repast. In some places partial relief was given by the meal which the Central Board ordered to certain districts; and a resolution passed at a meeting, by which they requested permission of the London Distress Committee to procure, with the money remaining at their disposal, one hundred tons of meal, to give further assistance. A Mr. Owen, from the Board of Works, attended by order of the Lord Lieutenant, and informed the meeting that his mission was into Erris, where £500 was to be expended for the purpose of giving the poor employment.
