ndeady and Aughagown. Lord Sligo, accompanied
by some gentlemen, who were staying with him, received them at his hall
door. They said they wanted food and work. His lordship assured them
that he had already represented, in the strongest terms, the necessity
of measures being taken to secure a supply of both, and that he would
repeat his application. They seemed satisfied with this, and quietly
retired.

Towards the end of September, however, the state of the country became
very unsatisfactory and even alarming. The low rate of wages fixed by
the Government; the high price of provisions; the closing of the
Government depots; the large quantities of corn which they saw sent
daily to England, whilst they who raised it starved, were amongst the
chief causes which excited the people to acts of intimidation. In
several instances they went in formidable bodies to the presentment
sessions, apparently under the impression that the ratepayers, there
assembled, had something to do with fixing the amount of wages, which of
course was a popular error. On Monday, the 28th of September, a special
sessions was appointed to be held at Kilmacthomas, some fourteen miles
from Dungarvan, and notices were extensively circulated the day before,
by unknown hands, calling on the people to assemble at Dungarvan on that
day, as the military would be away at the sessions. The avowed object of
this assemblage was to seize provisions by force, or at least to lay
down a scale of prices beyond which they should not be raised. The
authorities had, of course, timely notice of this movement, and left a
sufficient force in the town to protect it. The precaution was not an
idle one, for soon after the dragoons took their departure for
Kilmacthomas, about five thousand men entered Dungarvan, led by a person
named Power, well known in the locality as "lame Pat." The town was
guarded by sixty soldiers and fifty-four police, but in the face of such
numbers, their officers considered it the best policy to stand upon the
defensive, and do nothing until a breach of the peace had been
committed. They, however, cautioned the people, and advised them to
return to their houses; they did not take their advice, but went round
to the various places in which corn was stored, and threatened the
owners, if they attempted to export any of the produce they had
purchased. They next proceeded to the shops where Indian meal was on
sale, and uttered similar threats against the v