ool
children--Feeling about the Irish Famine in America--Meetings
throughout the Union--Subscriptions--Money--Food--Number of Ships
sent to Ireland with Provisions--Freight of Provisions--Ships of
War--The "Jamestown" and "Macedonian"--Various Theories about the
Blight--The Religious Theory--Peculiar--Quotations--Rev. Hugh
M'Neill--Charles Dickens--The Catholic Cantons of
Switzerland--Belgium--France--The Rhenish
Provinces--Proselytism--Various causes for Conversions assigned--The
late Archbishop Whately's Opinions--His Convert--He rejects the idea
that Converts were bought--Statement of the late Archdeacon
O'Sullivan--Dr. Forbes on the Conversions in the West--Mr. M'Carthy
Downing's Letter--The Subscription of L1,000--Baron
Dowse--Conclusion 505

(NOTE A.)--Absenteeism: Mr. M'Culloch's defence of it examined, 522

(NOTE B.)--Smith O'Brien's refusal to serve on a Committee of
the House of Commons, 556

(NOTE C.)--Treasury Minute, dated August 31st, 1846 541

(NOTE D.)--The "Labouchere Letter," Authorizing Reproductive
Employment, 549

THE GREAT FAMINE OF 1847,

ETC.

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 Obe