SKIBBEREEN AND CASTLETOWN BOARDS OF GUARDIANS.
RETURN to nn Order of the Honourable The House of Commons, dnted ~4 June 1 86~;-fLlr,
COPIES or EXTRACTS" of CORRESPONDENCE wi th the SKIBBERE'EN and CASTLETOWN BOARDS of GUARDIANS and the POOR. LAW I NSPECTORS with tIle POOR LAW BOARD since November' 1861."
NOie.-It has been assumed that Correspondence rela.ting to Distress in the two Unions named is what is required by the Order.
Poor Lo.w Commission Office,} B.BANK S, Dublin, 12 July 1802. Chief Clerk . .
(Sj" R,b,," P"Z.)
Ordered, by The House of Commons, to be Pn'nt,d, . ,8 JuI!J ,862. [ 2 ]
CON TEN T S.
I.-SKIBBEREEN UNION.
No. Date. Page.
L Letter from the Commissioners to the B OfU'd of Guardians 26 November 1861 3 2. E xtract from Guardians' Minutes - • - - - 28" _ .. 3 3. Extract from Mr. Horsley's Half-yearly Report - - 20 December " 3 4. Extract from Guardiani Minutes ---- - 27 March • 1862 5. Letter from the Commissionors to tho Board of Guardians 9 April - " •4 6. Letter from the Commiuionera to Mr. Horsiey, Poor Law Inapector------I. .. Copy Constabulary Report, enclosed in No.6. - " • 1. R eport from MI'. H orsley, P oor Law Inspector - - 23 • Enclosure I, in No.7. Minules of Evidence taken " " • by ~ Jr. Horsley. - - - - - 6 Enclosure 2, in No. 7. Proceedings before the Coronel'------1 8. Letter from the Commis.;ioners to Mr. Horsley -- 11 May - 8 9. Letter from the Commissioners to the Board of Guardians 17 " " R eport from Mr. H orsley, Poor Law Inspector -- " 10• 10. 2 1 " · " II. R eport from Mr. H orsle" Poor Lnw Inspector - - 23 " - " 11 12. Extruct fr om Guardians Minutes - - - - - 22 " · 12 IS. Letter from the Commill8ioners to the Board of GuardiOons 26 II · " 12 14. Letter from the Commissioners to Mr. H orsley - - - 30 " " IS E:rtract from" Cork Examiner," of 29 May 1862, - " enclosed in No. 14: ------IS 16. Extl'llct from Guardians' Minutes - - -- - 29 " 13 16. Letter from the Commissioners to Mr. Horsley - - 8 June - " 14 11. Letter fl'om the Commissioners to M r. Honley - - 2 .. · " 14 Copy Constabulftry Report, enclosed in No. 11 - 14 R eport from Mr. Horsley, P oor Law Inspector -- 18. 1 " E nclosure I, in No. Hi. Minutes of E vidence taken " " by Mr. B oteley ------11 Enclosure 2, in No.· 18. Proceedings before the Cotonel' . ---. -- 11 19. Extract from Mr. H Ol'3 ley's Half-yearly R eport - - 18 IJ - 1862 18
II.-CASTLETOWN UNION. I. Extract frum Guardians' Minutes - - • - - 14 November 186 1 I. 2. Letter from the Commissioners to the Board of Guardians 26" . " I. 3. ExtTact from Guardians' Minutes --- - • 213 " - " 10 4. Extract from Guardians' Minntes _ - - - - 9 J anuary - 1862 20 20 Letter from the Commissioners to the Board of Guardinns 18 " - JI ••6. L etter from the Commissioners to the Board of Guardiaos 3 February " 20 1. Letter from the Commissioners to Mr, Horsley - - 4 ,. - .. 21 Memorial enclosed in No. 7 - - - - - 21 22 8. Report from Mr. H orsley, Poor Law I n"pector - - 14 " 9. Letter from the Commissioners to Mr. H orsley -- 9 April " 23 Extract from U Freeman's Journal," of 9 April 1862, " enclosed in No. 9 • __ -- - 23 10. Letter from tbe Commissioners to Mr. 110rsley - • 11 23 Copy Constabulary Report. enclosed in No. 10 - " " 2' II. Letter from the Commi5§ ioners to MJ:. Horsley -- 12 11 ,. 26 Extract from the U Cork Exuminer," of 10 April 1862, enclosed in No. 11 - - - - - 2. 12. Report {l'Om Mr. H orsley, P oor Law I nspector • - 27 Enclosure I,in No. 12. Minutes of Evidence - o. E nclosure 2, in No. 12. E xtract from Reoord of D eaths . ____ • __ 30 13. Letter from the Commissioners to the B oard of Guardians 24 .. 31 14. E xtract from Mr. B;0rsley's H alf·yearly Report -- 3 May " 32 I •• Extract from Guardians' Minutes J - - - - - " 32 8 " I • • Letter from the Commil»ioners to the B oard of Guardians 20 " as 11. Letter from the Commissioners to the Board of Guardians 11 " 33 18. S4 Extract frow Guardians' Minutes _ _ _ - - 22 " " I •. Letter from the Commilsioners to the Boa.rd of Guardians 2 J une " S. 00. Report fl'om Mr. H orsley, P OOl' Law Inspector - _ 24 May " 3' 21. Extract from Guardians' Minutes _ _ _ -- 36 29 " " 22. Letter from the Commissioners to the B oard of Guardians 7 J une " 3. 23. Extract from R eport from D r. Pw'cell, Medical Inspector - " 31 24. Report from Reheving Officer, forwul'ded with Guardians' 3 " " Minute$ of 12 J une 1862 ______31 12 " " [ 3 ]
COPIES or EXTRACTS of CORRESPONDENCE with the SKIBBEREEN and C..lSTLE TOWN BOARDS of GUARDIANS and the POOR LAW I NSPECTORS with the POOH. LAW BOARD siDce November 1 861.
-1.
SKIBBEREEN UNION.
(No. 24,611/61.) No. I.-LBTTER from the Commissioners to the Board of Guardians. Poor Law Commission Ollice, Dublin, Sir, 26 November 1 86l. ADVERTING to their letter of tbe loth October last, on the subject of the loss of the potato crop in the present YL!ar, and the probable increase of applicants Sk'bb I. u' . for re II·e f, t he"e ommlSS loners 'd'"lor a 1l1IDlstermg t hI'e aws lor re IIe' f 0 f tbe poor I ereeo__ DIO. ' " in lrelllDd, desire to inform the Board of Guardians of Skibbereen Union, that they llave had under consideration the propriety of a temporary increase in th e number of relieving officers in some of Ihe unions in the west of Ireland, whicll contain inlIabited districts remote from the Union workhouse, in order that in any case of sudden and urgent necessity arising in such districts, the provisional powers of the relieving officer may be available for the immediate relief of des- titution, and especially for the conveyance of persoDs in extreme distress or sick- Dess to the workhouse. There is at present, as the Commissioners believe, only one relieving officer for the entire union, resident in Skibbereen. . The Commissioners request the views of the Board of Guardians on the sub ject, in reference to such districts as those around Glandol'c, Drinagh, Dromo- league, Baltimore, &c. . By order of the Commissioners, To the Clerk, Skibbereen Union. (signed) B. Banks, Cbief Clerk.
(No. 25,436/62.) No. 2.-ExTRACT from Guardians' Minutes of 28th November 186 1. Read letter, No. 24,611/61, dated 26 November 1861. Subject, the appoint ment of additional relieving officers. Ordered,-The guardians beg in reply to inform the
(No. 26,794/61.) No. a.-EXTRACT from Mr. H orsley's Half-yearly Report; dated 20 D.cember 1861. THERE is no indication at present of any severe pres.sure ?n the workhouse, but ~t is to be apprehended that considerable. distress :vd1 eXIst among the labo~- 109 classes and artisans in the town of Sklhbereen m the course of the commg spring.
A 2 4 CORRESPONDENCE RELATING TO
J. Skibbcrecn Un ion. (No. 71 53/62.) No. 4 .- ExTR .... CT from Guardians' Minutes of 27Lh March 1862.
Sam uel Horsley, esq., inspector, httving read a communi cation from the Com missione rs relative to the employment of head or oth i!r constabl~s as temporary reliev ing officers, thi s Board is of opinion t b a~ ~o sll ch ~our~e is necessa,'Y in t,his Union, the ordinary arrangements for ~' e~e l v l~g ~pp b ca tlon s for rehef bemg sufficient and th e Board is further of opIDlon tnat It IS unnecessary to go to the expense ~f providing spriog vans for th e conveyance of destitute sick persons to the workhouse, at the expense of the Union; but if Mr. H ors l e~ ,will recom mend to the Commissioners to make a free g rant of any of th e mIlItaryambu. lances men tioned by him, the Board will gladly pay the cost of its transmission from Dublin to the Union. Adopted.
(N o. 7153/62.) No. 5.-LETTER from the Commissioners to the Board of Guardians.
Poor Law Commission Office, Dublin, Sir, 9 Apri! 1862. THE Commissioners for administering the laws for relief of the poor ill Ireland acknowledge the receipt of the minutes or proceedings of the Boa.rd of Guardians of tbe Skibbereen Union on the 27th ultimo, when it appears tbe subject of pro viding a covered vehicle for the con veyance of sick or infirm poor person s to the workhouse, was brought under the guardians' notice by Mr. Horsley, Poor Law Inspector; and ill reference to the Minute of the Board, the Commissioners desire to state, for the Guardians' information, that they yesterday forwarded by railway to BandoD, one of the ambulances lately placed at their disposal, addressed to "the Guardians of Skibbereen Union." By order of the Commissioners, (signed) B. Banks, Chief Clerk. To the Clerk, Skibbereen Union.
(No. 9045/62.)
No. 6.-LETTER from the Commissioners to Mr. J-Im'sley, Poor Law Inspector. Poor Law Commission Office, Dublill , Sir, 19 April 1862. THE Commissioners for administering the laws for relief of the poor in Ireland, fo.rward for your information, a copy of a constabulary report which has been referred to them from the Chief Secretary's department, relating to the circum · stances att f' nding the death of Ellen Saunders, in the Skibbereen Union j and the Commissioners requ est that you will be so good as to make inquiry on oath into the case, and to report to them on the subject, returning the document with your report. By order of the Commissioners, (signed) 13. B anks, Chief Clerk, To Samuel Horsley, Esq., Poor Law Inspector. SKIBBEREEN AND CASTLETOWN UNIONS. 5
(Enclosure ill No.6.) I. Skibbereen Union. COpy CONSTABULARY REPORT.
Police Repol'l, County of Cork. . . Skibbereen, 16 April 1862. IN forwardmg the annexed, I beg to state that the decea.sed was on the morning of her death, and a. few minutes before it. making preparation for the market. There was no evidence that she died from wnnt~ She had some money, but the house in which she li-red i$ miserably bad. . (signed) B ernard Potter, Sub-Insp~tor. VERDICT.
,j That the said de~eas cd (EUen Sauod,ers) at Sk.i~bereen in said county, was found dead in her bed on the 12th lOstant; that she died from disease of the heart, and other complaints produced by privation and exposure to cold."
(N o. 949962.) No. 7 .-REPORT from Mr. Horsley, Poor Law InspectOl·. Gentlemen, Skibbereen, 23 April 1862. ADVERTING to the Commissioner~' communication of the 19th instant, I beg . to state that on thls day I enqUired mto the CJIcumstances attending the death of an aged woman namp.d Ellen Saunders, on whose body an inquest was held on the 14th instant, and I have now tbe honour to transmit herewith, for the information of the Commissioners, the minutes of evidence given on oath before me with reference to the case, and also the depositions made before the coroner; and beg to make the following report with reference thereto. The evic1i;nce of the nearest relatives of th~~eceased, namely that of her son and brother, as well a'i that of John Copitborne and Thomas Sullivan, proves incontestably that her death was not caused by want or privation; that in fact, up to the time of her deatb, she had for her class in life plenty of food, clotbing, and money, and had not endured any hardsh ip. The evidence of Dr. Donovan, medic.l officer of the Skibbereen dispensary district, further proves, that for some months before her death the deceased suffered from derangement of the heart and stomach, and that her sudden death was probably attributable to one 01" otber, if not to both of tbo,e maladies. Mr. Coroner Limerick, moreover, states ih his evidence, that no ev idence was given before him (and the sworn depositions bear out thifl. statement) to show that the death of the deceased was produced U by want, privation, or destitution," and tbat be dissented from the written verdict handed in by the jury, tbough he considered himself bound to accept it - The evidence of the relieving officer, and of the master of the workhouse shows that they never received any application for relief from the deceased at any time. r beg tG state tbat the son and brotber of tbe deceMed, as also, so far as I can gather, tbe public generally, are indignant at tbe nature of tbe verdict found by the coroner's jury; but I may mention at t he same time that the constitution of tbe jury, of whom Jeremiah O'Donovan (Rossa), of Phcenix Society notoriety, was foreman, may in some measure account for its extraordinary character. It is true that the decea.ed had lived in a wretched hovel, and bad thus in had weather been exposed to cold, but it must be borne in mind, a.s will be seen fro m the evidence of her son and brother, that this was a matter of choit::e and not of necessity on her part. I return herewith the copy of Sub.inspector Potter's report of the cas~J and h.eg to state I derived much assistance from him to-day, in procuring Wit nesses, and arriving at the true facts -with respect to it. I have, &c. (signed) Sam",,/ H orsi"}. To the Poor Law Commmissiollers, Poor Law Office, Dublin. 6 CORRESPONDENCE RIlLATING TO
1. Skibbereeo Union. Enclosure 1, in No.7.
MINUTES of EVIDENCE taken by Mr. H orsley.
James Barry, beiol7 duly sworn, saith :-1 am relieving officer for the Skibbereen Union. I have heard of the 8eath of a woman, na~ed Rllen Saunde~s, who lived in ,Chapel-lane, in ' the town of Skibbereen. She never apphed to me for medical or other rehef at any time. r received applications for relief in Skibbereen. though I have no office here; my office is at my own house, between thl'ce and foul' miles from the workhouse. I always enter in my application and report boo~ the case ,of every person wh~ may apJ.lly to me for relief, even in cases where I feel certam the parties have no le;al clalill for rehef. James B arry. Sworn before me on the 23d April 1862, . Samuel Horsley, POOl' Law Inspector.
Robert Evalls, beincr duly sworn, !!aith :-1 am master of the Skibbel'een Workhouse. I have heard of the d e~th of a women, named Ellen Saunders, in the town of Hkibbereen. She never applied to me for relief. I never refu se admission to the workhouse to persons who pI'esent themselves and state thlt they are in a destitu Ie condition. R()bert E vans. Sworn berol'e me on the 23d April1S62. Samuel Horsley.
Jolm Saunders. beincr duly s" om, saith :-1 am son of the late Ellen Saunders, who died suddenly on the 12th at' this month, in nn old house in which she resided in Chapel-lane, Skibberecn. About five or six months before her dp.ath, she had been ill for a month, and was attended by Dr. D onovan, medical officer of the Skibbereen D ispensary district. After she recovered fro m that illness, she was not as sound as she had been before, but had not complained up to the time of her death. She earned her living by her own industry and by mine. On butter-market days she used to assist butter buyers, and was paid by them for that assistance. I don't know how much she earned in that way in each week, but [ am certain it was under 2s. 6 d. It migM be snmetimes 2s., so metimes 1 s. 6 d., and so me times only I s. She had no other means of living except what 1 contributed to her support. I used to give her sometimes 6s. a week, at other timeo 6 8.,2 s., or 3 s., according to my own earnings. Sbe always had plenty of food, plenty of clothing, both body clothlOg and bed clothing. She had no money except 2 ~ d. at the time of her death, but she had suffiw cient food, I never ad vised her to go to the workhouse; she had no occasion fo r workhouse relief before her death. I do not consider she died from privation or hardship, for she had no great hardship, but the hous(! she lived in was exceedingly bad, nnd enou~h to kill any one. I often advised her to leaye that house, and go to another, but she would not leave it. She said she would rather·stop in it, than lodge with anyone. 1 am a labouring man, but ha .... e not had very regul~l' employment. About three years ago, a step-brother of mine died, a nd left me 141. 6s. IOd., 'and ,I gave it to my mother. John &sunders (his x mark). Sworn before me on the'23d of April 1862, .Samuelll{/rslr.y, P oor Law (nspector. Present, Charles Clerke, Clerk of "Union.
Daniel D OMvan, being duly sworn, saith :- 1 am medical officer of Skibbereen Dispen· sary district. I knew the late Ellen Saunders. who died suddenly on the 12th instant. A bout six months before her aeath I attended her at her ow n house, which was in a bad t.late, but not so bad as at the time of her death. When 1 was attending her she was sub ject to palpitation flf the heart and violent pains in the bowels, fesembling colic. I _ ~eli .eved her to be suffering from derangement of the heart; and I think it likely she. died of disease of the heart, and other diseases. I matte no postwn\oltem examination of the body, as it wns not considered necessal~y. I think the insufficiency of the house, and her exposure to cold in consequence may have accelerated her death, especially as she was subject to chronic disease previously. I consider exposure to sevel'e cold almost as detrimental to life as want of food m the case of very delicate persuns. [do not consider that her death is attribu table rutogether to exposure to cold, but to one or other of the diseases under which she had laboured for some lime previously. There was no fuel in the house, and only a few ashes on the hearth. D aniel Donovan, M. D. Sworn before me on the 23d April 1862, Samuel H orsle.II, , P oor Law Inspector.
J olm Copillwrnr, being duly sworn, saith :- 1 am a grocer in the town of Skibbereen. 1 k ne w the late Ellen Saunders. At the time of her death, I had a 3um of 8 s. in keeping foc SK!BBEREEN AND CASTLETOWN UNIONS. 7 for ber. It was ~he bain!lCe of a larger s~m \\'ith which she had entrusted me, and upon which I. she drew from bme to bme as she required. I never knew her to be suffering from priva Skibbereen Union. tion Of destitution. I paid the balance in my hands to her brother and son after her death. The sum she originally l odged with me was about 5i. I cannot recollect the date of such lodgment. J ohn Copithorne. Sworn before me on the 23d April 1862, Samuel Horsity.
Thumas Sullivan. bein g duly sworn, saith :-1 nm n shopkeeper in Skibbereen. I kn ew the late Ellen Saunders. I had no money in keeping for hel'. I had some at one time; 61., but she drew the, last. of it, 3 s: 6 d., on the 26th of last M urch. She always had plenty, and was not at any hme III a destitute state. She used to have frequent dealings Wlth me and always paid me. ' Th orna$ Sullivan. Sworn before me on the 23d April 1862, Samuel H orsley.
Andrew Sullivan, being duly sworn, saith :-The late Ellen Saunders was my sister. She bad plenty of food and means, and leavings at the time of her death. There was about half a stone of Indian meal in her house at the time of her death. I never knew her to suffer from want offOod or clothing, or to endure much hardship. I was much displeased to hear that the jury returned a verdict that her death was produced by privation, because it was not the case. I never would have pennitted he!' to suffer privation for two minutes. She had plenty of her own. Her house was a bad one, and I told her to come and live with me, but she said she would rather live by herself. Andrew S ullivan ( hi s x mark). Sworn before me on the 23d April 1862, Samutl H orsley. W itness, B ernard Potter, Sub;Inspeclor.
Paul Limrick, being duly sworn, saith :- 1 am coroner for the county of Cork. I held an inquest ·on the body of Ellen Saunders 0 0 the 14th of the present mon th. No evidence was given before me to show that the deceased died of want, privation, UJ' destitution. I only considered it necessary to hold an inquest because deceased was foun d dead in her bed, no one having been present at her demise. I considered myself bound to accept the written verdict handed in hy the jury, though I dissented from it. Paul Limrick. Sworn before me on the 23d April 186 2, Samuel H orsley.
Enclosure 2, in No. 7.
PROOEEDINGS before the Coroner. County of Cork, to wit. :. AN inquisition intended and taken for our Sovereign Lady the Queen, nt SkiLbereeu, situate at Skibbereen, in the parish of Abbeystrowey, ba lony of E. D. of \Ve,st Carbeny, in the county of Cork, on the 14th day of April, in lhe 25th , year of the reign of our saId Sovereign Lady Victoria, before me, P aul Limrick, Esq., one of the coroners of our said lndy the Q ueen for the said county, on view of the body of Ellen Saunders, of Skilibere~ n, widow, then and there lyin g dead, upon the ofltns of, 1. Jeremiah O'Donovan (Ross a.), 2. Cornel.ius DriE:coll, 3. J ohn Neli ~llJ), 4. J oh~ Sh eo , 6. Eugene .Daly, 6. Edward. ~eefe, 7. J eremIah SulltvBn, 8. James White, 9. Patnck Barry, 10. D amel Duggan, 11. Michael D uggan, 12. J ohn M tCarthy. good and ~ aw ful men of the ·said county, duly chosen, and who being then nnd there duly sworn and charged to inquire, ror our said Lady th e Queeo, when, bow, and by what means the said Ellen Saunders caooe to her death, do, upon their oaths, say, that the said deceased, at Skibbereen, in sllid couoty, was found dead in her bed on the' 12th instant; that she died from disease of the· hC'art and other complaints produced by ,privation and exposure to cold. ~ witn e~s wh ereof the said coroner and the jurors afores~i d have hereuoto set and 8ub- 8cnbed theu' hands and s~als the day and year first above wntten. I . Jeremiah O'D onovan (Rossa). 7. J eremiah Sullivan. 2 . Cornelius .Drilcoll. 8. Jam'es White, 3. Jolm Neligan. 9. P atrick Barry. 4. Jolin Shea. 10. D aniel D 1!9gan. 6. Eugene Daly. 11 . Michael D uggan. 6. Edward Keef e. 12. J ohn MCartl,y. (sign.d) Paul Limt'ick, Coroner.
A4 8 CORRESPONDENCE RELATING TO
I. County of Cork, to wit. Sk ibbereen Union. DEPOSITWN,S of witnesses taken, sworn, and examined before m,e, Paul Li~rick. Esq., one of Her M lljesty s cotoaers (or the county of Cork, taken at Skibbereen, III th e parish of Abbeyslrowey, barony of E. D. of We~t Carberry, in the said county, on the 14th day of April 1862, on view of the body of Ellen Saunders, then and there lying dead; Daniel Donovan, of Skibbereen, Esq., M. D" depose th and saith :-[ saw and exami!led the body of deceased 00 yesterday; there were no mal'ks of viole,nce on the, b?dy. I attended her ahout six months ago at her own house; she was subj ect to a pam III the stomach resem_ bling colic, and had also an affection of the chest and palpitation. I am of opinion that she died from disease of the heart. Daniel D onovan, M. D. Paul Limrick, Coroner.
County of Cal k, to wi t.
D EI'O!S ITI0NS of witnesses taken, sworn, and examined before me, Paul Limrick, Esq., one of Her Majesty's coroners for the c~unty of Co rk, tll.'k.en at Skibbereen. ill the parish of .Abbeystrowey, barony of E. D. of W est Carbery, in th e sa id counly, o~ the 14tb day of April 1862, on view of the body of E!len Saunders then and there lymg dead . John Saundel's, of Skibbereen, labourer, deposeth and saith : - Ellen Saunders was my mOlher. On Friday night last abou t nine o'clo(,k she complain~ of ~eing unwell. ~ he ~xpressed 110 wish for a doctor or clergyman. She pa ~ 8ed the mght fairly. About Dine 0 clock the next morning I went out to get some vinegar for my motber. I relUmed .with i t; she drank it; I then left the house and returned shortly; Iilh e then told me to brillu some water j I did so ; she drauk about half a tumbler full. I then went up the road a bit and returned flbout 11 o'clock. I then was ta1king to her, and went to the garden nnd about the place. I then went down street and remained there uutil about three o'clock. At that hour I returned home a!'!;nin. I found n change in her countenance find called her twice i she did not answer, and I found her dead. John Saunders (his x mark). Paul L imrick, Coroner.
(No. 108 M. /62.) No. 8.-LErrER from the Commissioners to Mr. Horsley. Poor Law Commission Office, Dublin, Sir, 17 May 1862. T HE Commissioners for administering the laws for relief of the poor in Ireland, desire to state, for your information, that a communication appeared in the "Cork Examiner" newspaper of the 2d in stant, purporting t o be from a special reporter, referring generally to the alleged existence of distress amongst the great body of the people in the west of the county of Cork, and to the increase. of that distress, and ad vertin g more especially to the district extend ing along the coast south of Skibbereen, from Castlehaven to Cape Clear. In subsequent communications, contained in the" Cork Examiner" of the 8th, ~th, loth, 13th, 14th, and 15th instant, the same correspondent gives .the result of his visits to Cape Clear, Baltimore, Cape Clear Island, Sherkin Island, The Marshes, Clanlaurence, Derreen, :md Inchintaglin, in the Skibbereen and Castletown Unions, and describes in detail the condition of the population, naming several persons in each locality with whom he has conversed on the sub· ject, or whose places of aboue he has visiled. The Commissioners forward copies of the newspapers to you herewith, and they :equest that YO ll will have the goodness to visit each uf the localities in question, and to report to the Commissioners generally as to the state of emp l oy ~ ment, bealth of the population, and alleged destitution of tIle people. Th~ Commissioners have at the same time to state, that they do not expect you to f!0 Into each case of alleged neglect unless you find it convenient to do so, The substance of the?!e communications to the "Cork Examiner" will, the Commis~i o u E: r s believe, be brought under the notice of Parliament, on Friday, the 23d lOstant, and the Commissioners will be g lad to receive your report at your earliest convenience. By orde,', &c. To S. Horsley, Esq. (signed) B. Banks, Poor Law Inspector, Killarney. Chief Clerk. SKIBBEREEN AND CASTLETOWN UNIONS. 9 r. (No. 1 00 M. /02.) Skibbereen Uniun. Nc. 9.-LETTElt fro m the Commi.,sioners to th e Board of Guardians.
Poor Law Commiss ion Office, Dublin, Si r, 17 .M ay 1862. THE Commissioners for administering the laws 1'01' J'e li ef of t. he poor in Ireland desire to call the Httentlon of the B oal'd of Gua.rdians of' SkiIJuereen Union to the statements contained in communications which have appeared in the H Cork Examiner" new spa p ~r of the 2 cJ, 8th, 9 t. Ii , lOlh, 131h, and 14th instunt.. regnrding the a l~ eg c u eXlstence of distress a,nd destitution among the ureat body of the people 111 the west of the county of Cork, and to the iucrease ~f tha t d istress, In the Cape. Clear District, families na.med Sautry j \ Vhe1an, :Michael j Nolan; Shea, )11'5.; Fitzgerald. David; Whelau,J err)'; Nolau, Bohane, Minchnn; Reg-an, Patr ic k i Sheeh an, Daniel; Dawley, J ohn; Donughue-, Mrs.; D riscoll , H Ul:ley; Driscoll, Florence; and Ca.dogan, are speciall y lTI t:ntione.d. In Sherkin Island, persons named Brien, Daniel i Snutry, Mrs. ; M'Cnrthy, Jeremiah j Coghlan, Peter j Driscoll, Curly; Scannell. Patrick ; Scannell ; Carthy, Owen ; Sullivan, \Vm.; Gosnell, James; Driscoll. JCI:ry j Codigan, Mrs. i Dri~co ll, Florence; Fch nly, Simon; O'Hara, Randall j Donoghue. Tim.; Carthy, Michael; Nolan, ,\\rm . ; Fitzgerald, Garrett j Hurley, J ohn ; Young. Min chane ; Denis, Williaru j R egan, Patrick j H ogan, Mrs.; Connell j and Hegan, Denis; are mentioned . In Baltimore and the neighbourhood, persons a.re mentioned named Coghlan, Patrick; D oughue; Cottrell, Mrs.; Sweeny, Den is i Kearney, Michael; llrien, Sullivan; Brown, Mrs.; H.egan. Michael; Neill, Daniel ; Driscoll, I~drs .; Dris coll, Timothy; K earney, Mrs. j Driscoll t T imothy; Driscoll. Patrick j Keam ey; Hegllrty, Mr~.; Kearney. Daniel; Collins, Patriek ; Driscoll, Mrs. ; Halluhan j Neill, J ohn; Leon ard. Patrick ; Connolly, J ohn; and Har rington, Daniel. In the place called IC The Mrlrshes," in the parish of Aughadown, persons are mentioned named Reg an , H egarty, and Driscoll. The Cornm i ~sio ners 'Will endeavour to obtain and forward copies of the news papers to the Board of Gnardians, and in the meantime the Commissioners suggest that the relieving officer should be directed to visit the localities refefl'ed to, and make personal in qui!'Y at the homes of all applicants for relief, and report generally as to the state in which he fi nds the poor. giving provisional rel ief in cases of sudden and urgen t necessity. or where sickness p revails, and ofi'erjng relief in the workhouse where he finds it necessary. T he relieving officer should likewise report all thc ordinary cases to the Board of Guardians for their decision. . The Commissioners request you to give the necessary directions to the re li e v~ mg officer in anticipation of the meeting of the Board of Guardians, that he may act pr:omptly should emergency ari se, aDd that h e m ay on that day give the guard utlls aU the inform ation he may be enabled to collect in t.he interval. By order, &c. (signed) B. Banks, Chief Clel'k. To the Clerk, Skihbereen Union. B 1 0 CORRESPONDENCE RELATING TO r. (No. 11,657 /62.) Slt ibbereen Union. No. l O.-REPORT from 1\.f1'. H orsley, P oor Law Inspector. Gentlemen, ,'" . .Skibbereen, 21 May 1862. A DVERTING to the CommlsslOne:s c,?mmUnlcatlOll of the 17t h instant. en. c1osioa' copies of the II Cork ExamIner newspaper of the 2d, 8th, 9th,10th 13th,14th, and 15th instant, I beg to state that I visited Baltimore, S h erki ~ Island, and Cape CLear. h;l ~ nd ,Yeste rday, . a n ~ ,regret to report ,that at present severe distress nnd privatIon 10 many mdlvldual cases, vergIng upon utter destittlti ull, prevail to a considerable extent among the inhabitants of those localities. In the Islands of Sherk in and Cape Clear, I visited several of the cases pointed out by the special l'eport er of the II Cork Examiner," as well as many others not menLioned by him ; and I fer l bound to report that. in my opi nion the state ments roatle by hi m wir h regard to the distressed ~Illd precarious condition of many of the inhabitants of those islands are not o"ercharged, and that had it not been for the ex traordinary exertiou~ of the pari sh priest and his curates and the still more extraordinary charity of the poor towards those poorer tha~ themseh'es, deaths from deslitution would ere now have o~("l1rrcd . As it is, the coun tenances and persons of some of the women and chIldren whom 1 saw yesterday presented ullmistakeable indication,; of their having been subj ec ted to the want of a suffici en ey of food, fi re, and clothing . In some of the houses I visited yesterday there was no foo d, ill others a. small quantity uf Indian mL'al ouly, and in nOlle of them waS there uny fuel, eXC t~ p t a little dried cow. dung and furze procll!'ed by great labour. Thf: islanders, especittl1y in CHpe ClearJ appear to be a hardy and self-rel iant race, lwt the failure in the potato and other crops of last year, tog~ther with the unproductiveness of lust season's fi shing, has reduced them to great strai ts, espe cially as they are largely in debt to the meal dt:alers, and have bee n compe lled to part with thei r stock, And to pawn or sell their fi sh ing g'eal' to Jl urchase food . In these islands and on some parts of tile mainland adjoini ng, thrre are few or n o employers of labour at !l1oney wages. Indeed, almost c y el'Y man way be Eaid to be his ow n em ployer, eithe 1' in till ing his own small holding 0 1' in fishing. I am told, an d can readily h~ li e\!e it, lhat more 01' les s distress lIas prevailed for many years past in the islands, for I thi nk th ey an' over-populated for their extent and capabililie::, but when both till tIle same pu rpose, from wh ence Ire will returllJ weather permitting,.,in time to report fully to the Board of Guardia ns at th(!ir meeti ng to-morrow. I think it quite im possi ble for one relieving' office r only, were he ever so ph~. sically energetic and active, to overtake the duties of the entire u nion j an.~ .it_IS ex tremely SKlfiBEREEN AND CASTLETOWN UNIONS. 11 extremely desirable, especially in such a year as this, that a second relieving I. otficel' should he appointed with the least pos~ible delay. ~kibbereen tTn iOrf. I thi nk his head-CJ uartera should be Baltimore, and that his distl'ict shou ld com prise the islands of Shel'k i.n ancl Cape Clear, togethel' with a cUDsideJ'aLle portion of th e u nion, on tb~ maJt1land. 1 shall bring this view befol'(:: t be Board of Gu ,!rdialls at then' me et lO~ to-morrow. I was nccom panied to Shel'kin and Cilpe Clear yesterday by two members of the Board of Guardians, \'iz., Mr. M'Carthy D uwning and Mr. H en l'y Mmmion, who Wt'r e eye-witnesses wi th m )'~e lf of the condition of t!1e population therein . I do lIot apprehend that any (leaths will occur from actual , starvation; such tl calam iTY will be averted by p rompt and liberal act,ion on the part of the Board of Guardians, nnd by the uenevolent exertions nuw being made, or rather conti [] ued, by the parish prie:;r , Mr. Lender, and otbers, on be half of those w ho cannot or ,~ ill not accept of in-dour reli ef. 1 have, &c. To the P oor Law Commissioner.:; , (signed) S. H orsley. Poor Law Office, Dublin. (No. 11 ,736/62.) No. ll.- R EPOllT from !\fro lIouley, Poor Ln\\' Insptctol'. Gentlemen, Skibbereen, 22 May 1862. ADVERTI~G to the Cotnmis~iotlers' commnniclltion of the 1 7th instant, and to my report of ye!:lterday, relative to the condition of th e population in the Islands of Sherkin nnd Cape Clear, uud on the mainland, about Baltimore, I bf:'g to state that 1 vi~ited the Marshcs of AughHdo wn yesterday, in order to ascertain wh ether the !itatements of the special reporter of the Ce Cork Examiner" newspaper, re lating to t-he cOlld ition of the population in that distl'ict , and which appeared in the issue of that jourual on the 14th instant, are substantially correct; and 1 am glad to be able to report that, so fill' from their being so, they give a gl'os,sly ovel'chal'ged pictUl'e of the actual state of the district in question. Froill information derived from reliable sources, and from my own obsenation yesterda.y, I am enabled to repo:'t that, although a few of the small landholders and some few person!'; amon g t he labouring classes are largely iu debt, and very poor, none of them are sufferin o- from \'}an t of sufficient food Ol' tbe other necessaries of life; and that t here is re~ul1 e ri1t i \'e employment of one k ind or another fo r all the able-bodied labourers in the district, if they choose to look fo r and accept it. .1 vi ~ i t c d the partic ular cases pointed out by the special reporter, and asccr tamed th e following fu cts from the lips of the IJarties t hemselves :- Regan's wife (her husband being at work with a neighbouring fal'oH'r for the day, at 1 s. wages) informed me ,that her husbaud did not get regular daily em ployment, but admitted that he did not always look for it, aud that he .had not applied for work on a new road that is being mHde within a mile of his house; she furlher stated, that had not they lost from disease t wo pigs, worth about 8t., t.hey wou ld have beeu comfortably off in eyery I" fSpect. As Regan holds no land , he and his (amily are eligiule to workhouse relief, if they should unfor tunately becomc destitute . On visiting Driscoll's house, I found that he, like Regan, was at -work with a neigh bouring farmer, and received 1 s. per day when so employed; and as he holds no land, he and his family also can, if necessary. be \"el.ic,!ed in the work house, but I do not beli eve they will require to apply for admISSIon thereto. Hegarty's wife (her husband being regularly employed, at 6 s. a week, by Mr. J agoe) informed me that she and her family were able to live, and had enough t? eat; that they had an acre of p otatoes planted, and some land under other tIllage. She and ber ch ildren seemed healthy and cheerful; and there was ~ o th i ng i? thei r outward appearance or demeanour wh ich wo~ld lead ID': to ,be lIeve that they were either. s,uffer ing, or bad suffered, from distress or pnvallon. Ill(J~ed . I s~w no one ill the district presenting such , an ,appearance,. . 'Ih~ speCi al reporter 's "isit had eviJently led many of the poorer IIlbabltants of the district in question to believe tha.t out-door relief wou ld be extended to them, 4"4· n 2 and 12 CORRESPONDENCE RELATING TO 1. and they were uncl eI' tile impression t.hat my visit was with a view to its beina Skibberccn Union. ~Horcl~~: for more than one of them sa id to me, "Is it the priest wiil g i v~ It out r I retur n to office herew ith th e special r eporter's communication which was sent for my iuformatioll und guidance. I have, &.c. (signed) S. H orsley. To the POOl' Law Commissioners, Poor Law Office, Dublin. (No. 11,904 /62.) No. 12.-ExrftACT from Guarpians' Minutes, dated 22 May 1862. Heliev.ing; Officer's Report. Gentlemen, I VIS1TED Sherkin and Cape Clear on Monday, Tuesd,1Y, and Vvedne5day. I found the utmost destitUlion and a want of any sufficient quuutity of provision of any Lind. flnd no fuel except the droppings of' tbe cows. 1 did not hea r that anyone died of stan at ion, nor do .1 believe allY person did, but many, €spe. cially the children, who were emaciated to tile greatest degree, and unless im mediate relief' is ~~;i'vell from tbis, until the potatoes are fit for use, I fear some will perish. 1 would humldy saggest, that relief be gi\'en as far as it can in meal. All the indL1cements 1 eould offer, nor the advice of the clergymen, could indUCt;: parties who were evidently sufti:>ring from hunger tu go intu the work house. Your, &c. (signed) J a'llles Barry. Re.c;oIveo,-That 1\1'Carthy Downing, H. R. Mannion, R. Coppinger, and ]1nrtin Jenning-s, Esqrs., be appointed a committee t.o purchase meal, and ap point an assistant rel ieving officer pro tem . to rel ieve the i IImediate distress in Cape Clear and Sherkin 'of those classes entitled under the first section of the Act. John E. Browne. Adopted. P. O. Rea. R esolved,-That on this day fortnight we appoi~t a relieving officer for the electoral di"lsions of Cape Clear, Tullagh, and the t. wo Atlghudowns, for three months, at a salary of 4l. pel' month, and 10 s. a weck fur a boat, t.h e reliev ing officer being bound to go at least once a week intu Cape Clear and Sherkin, and more fr equently if required, and that an adverlist:ment be accordingly :inserted. . .. Adopted. Resolved,-That the clerk be directed to procure the necessary books and forms for ghoing out-door relief when ord.ered by the guaruians. Adopted. (No. Il,004 /62.) No. 13.-LETTER. from the Commissioners to the Board of Guardians. Poor Law Commission Office, Dublin, Sir, · 26 Mav 1862. THE Comn~ i ss ioll e 1' 5 for administeril1O' the laws for relief' of the poor in Ireland .acknowledge the receipt of t.he minutesoaf proceedings of the Board of Guardians cjf SkibbeTeen Union on the 22£1 in!:tunt ; and desire to express theil' approval of the appointment of an additional relievin'g' officer for the di'3t riet, comprising the electora j SKIBBEREEN AND CASTLETOWN UNIONS. ' .1 elect oral divisions of Cape Clear, Tul1agh, Aghfl down N orlh and Aghadown I. Soulh, as 1)r0pos:ed by the Board of Guardians ; such additional relie\'iotr officer Skibbereen Union; the Commissioners d~sire to add, w~U be invested with the powers andore5pon~ sibiJities of the office mdep,endent ot ~he other relievi ng officer. The usual form of quenes respecting, the person appointed to the office is enclosed, and. when duly filled up and sIgned, should be returned to this office. Bv order. &c. W (signed) B. Banks, Chief Clerk. To the Clerk, Skibbereen Union. (No. 120 ,.,./62). No. 14.-LET'fER from the Commissioners to Mr. Hm·sleg. POOl' Law Commission Office, Dublin, ~ 30M~1862 . THE Commissioners for administering the laws for relief of the poor in Ireland forwa rd for ) ' otlf information the accumpanyinCf extr:l ct from t he a Cork. Ex aminer:' of 29th ins-tant, r elating to the death eta child named Re!!an, at Cape Clear, in the Skibbereen Union j and the Commissiont::rs request that you will be so ~o o d as to make inquiry into the facts of the case, and report to them on the ,ubject. By order, &c, (signed) B. Banks, Cbief Clerk. To S. Horsley, Esq., Poor Law Inspector, Killarney. Enclosure in No, 14. (No. 120 M.I.2.) EXTRACT from" Cork Examiner" of 29 M ay 1862. Cape Clear.-Death from Starv~tion . ~ AN inqnest has been held on the body of one of tile children of Thomas Re~an, the child whose death we mentioned a few days SlDce, A medical man was examined, who had made n po st-mortem examination. He stated that he found scarcely any food whatever in the stomach, The jury returned a verdict, "vVe find that said deceased, on the 23d instant, at Cape Clear, died from want and starvation," (No. 12, 3 REPORT of the Relieving Offi cer pro tem. Gentlemen. ON last Frida'y, at 12 ,o'clock noou, I left Skibbereen w i ~h one ton of mea! for disl.ributiQn am ongst the destitute poor of Cape and SherklO Islands. 1 alTlved at Sherkin at 3 o'clock P.M. :md left seven and a haIr cwt. of meal at the house of Daniel Minn ham, after making preparations to send an account to all the poor who~e names were previously t'lken down by Mr , 13 a~TY, that they may.attend next day. I proceeded to Cupe with t\\ ehe and a halt cwt. more. I ,dId not land before 7 o'clock, as the weather was most unfavourable that e~e,nlllg, and n~xt m(lrnin~ 1 gave eleven and a half c,,:t. of meal to 81, fam 1il,e:, numb erln~ 225 persons; amongst those are fi ve or SIX small farmers, With f:l1nI,hes apparently in the most extreme state of destitution, and who wou ld not go JIlto the work house. In the house of onc Thomas Began , of Li ~nm o lla, a,child Wl1S d~ad , and hom the wretched appearance, and that of the fuml1y, ! consIdered she dle~l fro~ want of lhe necessaries of life. 1 left about ouc <:wt. of meal spared l,n tlll~ island, I came to Sherkin on Saturday, and then d istributed a h alf cw~. ot meal amongst 58 fam ilies, numbering] 72 persons; about 40 were unsupphed, and I 404. B 3 requested CORRESPONDENCE RELATING TO I. requested some of those supplied to assist these until.! could come again. It is Skibbereen Union. . . of course possible that in disc harging so urgent a duty. and of necessily in so prompt a manner, that SO lm~ decepthm nw.y have beel] practised on me, but with my instructions 1 did my best. The pl" ople appeal'..:d more destitute in Cape than in Sherkin; in both places many of them said they might not want pOOl' r elief long as th~y had hope.s the ~everend .i\h. Le~d e r would re turn to them with money suffic ient to pru\,[de fishl1lg materials, wh Ich would be a means of uffordinr.r them employment and permanent relief. The entire number r elieved are 139 head of families, and single old people. all numbering 397 individuals. I l'ema.~n, &c. (signed) J. O' Donovan (Rossa). (No. 12.383 /62.) No.1 G.- LETTER from the Commission ers to Mr. lIol's/ey. Poor Law Commission Office, Dublin, Sir, 3 June 1862. REFERRING to your observations on the minutes of proceedings of the Hoard of Guardia1Js of Skibbereen Un ion (.In the 29th ultimo, respecting- th~ report of MI'. O'Donovan, relieving officer, us to the relie f afforded by him to (he p OO l' on the Islands of' Cape Clear and SherJ.; iu, the Com!11issioners for administering the laws for relief of the p OO l' in Ireland request that you will have the gooduess to take the opportunity of )'0111' inquiring into the death of the child, Ma.ry Regan, as instru(![-ed by lheir letter of tht: 30th ultimo, to report again to them us to the state of Cape Clear, Shel'k in, and I3altimore, more especially i1S to the suffi ciency of the rel ;ef atfonh'd therein ei tller Ily the rates of the union or from private funds. By order of the Commissioners, To S. Horsley, Esq .• (signed) B . Banks, Chief Clerk. POOl' Law Inspector, Sklbbel'een . . (No; 12,251 /62.) No. 17.-LETTER from the Commissioners to Mr. Horsley. Poor Law Commission Office, Dublin, Sir, 2J une 1862. REFERRING to t.he letter of 30th ultimo, the Commissioners for administel" ing the lawlI> for relief of the poor in Ireland, forward fur your information the accompanying copy 01' a constabulary report referred to them from the Chief Secretary's office, rdating to the d [~at h of' Mary Regan, in the Skibbel'een Union. You will be good enough to ret.urn tbe document with your ff.! POl't. By order. &c. (signed) B. Banks. Chief Clerk. To S. Ho r,1ey, Esq., Poor Law Inspector, Killarney. Enclosure in No. 17. COpy CONSTADUL.A.RY REPORT. (No. 12,251 /62.) County ofOork, West Rid i n~.-Deflth from Destitution of Mary Regan, aged 12 months. Copy of VERDICT. "That the said deceased, on the 23d instant (May), at Cape Clear, in thi s county, died from want and starvation." Skibbereen, 28 May 1862. Having attended the inqllest in this case, and taken copies of the evidence, whil'h I heg to attach fot'the Inspectol' General's information. This. SKIBBEREEN AND CASTLETOWN UNIONS. 15 Th is is the child and fami ly to whom so much public attention has been lately invited I. by the public press, &c', . Sklbbereeu Union. On heuring of the cll11d's death, I dll'ected C onstable 1\f ahollY to mDke partit!uiar and per sonal inquiry into tbe circumsta~c e!ol and, CUUSf\ ';If de :~ th. and report to me accordi?gly. The father and lU otber ~hen, notwlths,t a l! dmg theil' eVIdence belare the coroner, mdrgnantly denied that want (If lood had contributed to her ueath; but by Illl accounts th ~. y were some tim e ago in a pitiable state. r (signed) Bo'nard Potltr, S.l. EVID ENCE :-Dealh of Mary R egan, Infant 1'll cmus R'gan, of Cape C lear. farrl1t'r, deposeth Rnd s (signed) Thomas R~gan (his x mark). :t.1argaret R e~ a" , of Cape Clear,married woman,deposeth and snith: The deceased was my daughter ; she was ill seven or eight days before her death i 1 hod not suffi cient suck for the child , occasioned by not having sufficient food; she was never without having victuals once n day, consisti ng uf' Illdinn me a~ and nothing else, ex(",ept that now or then we limy get a drop of milk frOll' one of the Ilelghbou rs; I had often to break an egg in water to dl'ink it in ordel' to have suck for the child; if I had sufficient breast for the child I think slie would be better. t~igned) Margaret Regan (her x mark). Samuel William Rohinson, of BaltimorE' , Esq., M. D., deposeth and saith: I made a POS l mortem examination of the deceased this day j the external appearance of the body was emaciated j I found no food of any description either in the ,:;tomach or intestines. I heard the evidence of the father and mother of the child; I think the mother, trusting to one meal of I nu ian meal sometimes in the day. and ll ot having other nourir:;h ment, would be sufficient to account for death; ill fa ct, that the child died from want of nourishmrnt. (signed) Snmuel W. Rooi,,!-spn, }d.D. '. Dated at Skibbereen, 2~ May 1862. B ernard Polter, S.I. T he Inspector Genera1. (N o. 12,970 /62.) No. 18. -REPORT from MI'. H orsley, Poor Law Inspector. Gentlemen, 7 June 1862. ADVERTING to the Commission ers' communications of the 30th ultimo, and of the 2c1 Hnd 3d instant, I beg' to state that on the 6th instant I inquired into the case of Mary R egan, a child of about 12 mon ths old, who died <:It Cape Clear Island on the 23d ultimo, and on \\'ho .~e body an inqurst was held on the Tuesday following, when a verdict of" Died of want and starvation" was found. I have now the honour to transmit, for the inform ation .of the Commissioners, the m i ll ~tes of evidence, on oa.th, given before me with reference to the case, and ahiO caples of the depositions made at the inquest, lind beg to report thereupon as follows :- The child in question was daughter of T homas Regan, who holds a ~mal1 f~rm on Cnpe Clear Island at an . I. . at the time, and they also appeared to be much emaciated, and not to have been Sklbbereen Umon. eit.her regularly or suffi ciently fed . -- The deposi ti ons of' the child's parents at the inquest. in regard to their having suffered from want of sufficient. food, al'e very much in nccurdance with the statp.ments thus made to myself by the mother on the 20th ultimo, hut it would appear frum the evidence of' the warden, Edward Shipsey, given before me on t il e 5th instant, t.hat Regan had one cow wbich was giving milk for a fortnight before the chilli 's death . It is possible, howevel', Ihat, owing to the privations endured by the mo ther for a long time pr ev i ou~ly, the amelioration in li ef circumstances in regard to foot! may have occurred too late to pn'serve the life of the child. I searched the house of Rega n on the 20lh instaut, Hnd found no food in it. except three or four small cakes of gl'iJdled Indian meal bread, and two or thret handsful of uncooked I nd ian meal. I saw no cow, and the family told me they had nothing to e."tist up on except some Indian meal !\Ilpplied to them from time to time by the charity of their nt"ighbollrs, and by the Roman Catholic curate. I knew that Thomas Regan's bral,her had a cow giving milk, but it was s t nt~ d t.h ut t he quantit.y she gave daily did not exceed three pints, and his own f<:lrni ly consisted of his wife and two children. Upon the whole, I see no just grounds for questiouing the propriety of the verdict at the inquest. The jury was composed of eight of the inhabitants of the Isla.nds of Sherkin and Cape Clenr (aU of whom, with t.wo exceptions, hol d land), and of four of the in habitants from the mainland about Baltimore. I have 110 doubt they a1'l'lved at theil' \'erdict solely on the evidence of the deceased child's parents, and all t hat of the medical man who made u post-mortem examination of the body. I bfg to report, however, that the evidence of the ward en and of the relieving oOicer proves that no blame in this case is attat.:haole to the local authorities entrusted with the administration of relief to the poor, as no aplJlication was made 10 them on behalf of Regan'S family; an d I fee l certain, from fI ll that I have heard, tlwt had the parties most interested in the Islunds of C,'pe Clear and Sherkin, namely, thc proprietu rs and their Enclosure 1, in No. 18. (No. 12,970/62.) MINUTES ofEvIDBNCB taken by Mr. Horsley. 1.LMES BARRY, being duly SWOrn, saith :-1 alll Relieving Officer for the Skibbereen Union. I have heard of the death of Mary Regan, aged 12 months, who died in CSJ.>6 Clear Island, and on whose body an inquest ":8S recently held. I did not attend the Inquest; her parents did n llt app1y to me for medical or other Poor Law relief, prior 10 her death. There was an appeara.nce O! .g rea~ distress an~ destitution amoll~ some of the people on Cape Clear I sland wh~ n I VI81Led It. on the 20th, 2 1 ~t, and, 22d ultimo, but I thi nk that if fine weather n?w sets m! remunerntlv ~ ~mp.loyment In fi~hln g, and preparing the produce for markel, Will be obtamable by the mhabltants of the lsland, and that all severe distress will cease to pre\" ai l among them. James Barry. Sworn berore me, the 6th day or Jnne 1862. Samuel Horlley, Poor Law Inspector. EDWUD SRIPSBT, being duly sworn, saith :-1 reside on Cape Clpar Island, and am a 'Varden appointed by the Poor Law Guardians of the Skibbereen Union. I know the family of Thomfts Regan, of LisDlona, in the I sland of Cape Clear. He holds land from Sir Henry Beehan at an annual rent of about 6l. I believe he sub-let a portion of the land to his brother. I did not attend the inquest which was held on the b ody of Mary Regan, aged 12 months, daughter to Thomas ltegan. Neither Thomas Regan, no1' his wife, nor a.ny one on their behaIr, applied to me for medical relief or other Poor L aw relief, up to the death of tbeir child Mary. Since the neath of the child, her mother, Margaret, applied to me for some of the mea l that Mr. Beehan had entrusted to me for distribution. I did not give her any of it, as her husband, T homas Regan, signed with many others a memorial to the Board or Guardians, requestiog them not to graot out-door rel ief in the island. I heard the family were in distress berore the death of the child. I think that Regan owes a year's rent to the landlord. I believe he has one cow, and I hea rd sbe was giving milk for about a fortn ight berore tbe child's deatb. I am baililfto the landlord. My brother Thomas was on the coroner's jury, and a few more of the residents on the Island of Cape Clear were on it also. Mv brother is a tentant farmer on the island. Before the child's death, I heard that the priest was giving ticltets fur meal to some of the did tressed people in the island. I never visited the family of Thomas Regan this year except in my capacity as boilitT, an'd therefol'e (Cannot say whether they were in distress or not. I think all the early planted potatoes will be available for food about the lOth of July if blight does not attack them. Some of the crop will be fit for use by the end of this month j a few gardcns are already tit for use. Edward Ship$ey, junior. Sworn befo re me, on the 5th day of June 1862. Samuel H orsley. Enclosure 2, in No. 18. F~OCEEDtNGS berore the Coroner. County of Cork to wit. , AN inquisition indented and taken for our Sovereign Lady the Queen .a~ ,Cape Clear, situate at Cape Clear, in the parish of Clear 1s1andJ barony of ,West DIVISion of West Carbery, in the county of Cork on the 271h day of May"in the, 26~h yeH.r of the r e i~n of our said Sovereign Lauy Queen Victoria, before me, P.8.ul LIIDrlck, Esq., one of ,the coroners of our said Lady the Queen for said county, 011 vIew of the body of Mary Regan, of Cape Clear, an infant, then Ilnd there lying dead, upon the oaths of- 1. Edward Young, 7. Cornelius Driscoll, 2. T~ol,nas Sh'psey, 8. Patrick. Hurley, 3. 'Vllltam Briao, 9. Timoth y Driscoll, 4. Michael Kearny, 10. Corn~liu~ Conoolly, 6. Cornelius Sheehan, n . Thomas Leonard, 6. Daniel M'Carthy, 12. Michael Driscoll, good and lawful men of the said county duly chosen, and who being then and there duly sworn, and cbarged t.o inquire for our said Lady the Queen, when, how, and by what means 424. . C th, CORRESPONDENCE RELATING TO . 1. 5kilibereen Union. the said Mary Rt'gan carne to her <1 ':3.tll, do \lpOI! their ?sths, say lhat tile ,said deceased on the 21'st instant at Cape Clear, in saId county, (lied froLll want and starvatIon. Signed by Edward Young. x Cornelius DriscoU. x Thomas SlLipsry. )( Patrick Hurly. X William O'Brien. x ' Timotllll Driscoll. lJ[ichael Kearny. x Cornelius Connolly. )( Cornelius Sheehan . x Thomas Leollm·d. Daniel ft/j'Ca,,.,lty. Michael Driscoll. x .t'll marksmen. Paul L imrick, Coroner. COUllty of Cork to wit. D EPOS1TlONS of v..'itnesses taken, sworn, and examined b .. fore' me, P aul Limrick, Esq., one of Her Majesty':! Coroners fo r the C('Iunty of C()l'k, tak~L1 at Cape Clear, in the Parish of Clear Island, on the 2.1th (lay of May ISG'l, ~m view of the body of Ma.ry Regan, an infant then and there lying dead. TH OMAS RZGAN, of C~p e Clear, farmer, ~epose th and saith .:-The deceased was my daughter, she died on F riday last, she .was Sick for seven or eight days befort! her death, I do not know what was the matter With her, she wns about 12 months old, the child had nothing e~se to li ve UP(Hl but her mother's breast, .and if we .had. flour o~ s ll ~a r she mi vht h ave taken it; there WIIS whey, but ~he used to obj ect 1.0 takmg It; I ~hmk If the mothel' h ad nourishment the c?ild wou ld be better; we had plen.ty of meal du.rmg the child's sick ness, and if we had It not of our own, we could get It from the neIghbours; before the child's i lln e~s we had not sufficient, we had not hi ng but Inllian meal~ which sometimes when we had it we used twice a day, sometimes three timE's a day, and sometimes once a day. T homo.$ Regan (his x malk). Paul L imrick, Coroner. Like depClsitiClns Clf Margaret Re!rtln, of Cape Clear, marl iecl woman, who deposeth and snith :-The deceased was my dauahtel', she was iii for seven 01' eight days before her death, I had not su ffici ent suck for t he ch'fld, occusiuned by nOI having suffi(·ient food. I was never without h aving victuals oncp. a day consisling of Indian meal and nothing else, except that now or tllen we mlly get a drop of milk from one of the neighbours; I had often to break an egg ill WaleI' to drinK it in order 10 have Buck for the child; if I had sufhcient breast fo r the cnild 1 think she would be better. Margaret R egan (her )( mark). P aul L imrick, Coroner. Like depositions of Samuel William Robinson, Esq., M. D, who deposeth and Aaith :-I made R. po ~t mortem examination of the deceutied this d ay j the external :tppearance of the body was very emaciated; I fo und no food of any d E's cription either in the stomach Clr intestines j I hf':ard the evidence of the father and mother of ti le child j I think the mother trusting to one menl of Indian meal sometimes in t he day, and not havina other nourish ment, would be sufficient to account fo r death ; ill fa ct that the child died fr~m want of food or. nourishment. Somtul William Robinson, !>t . D. Pa'lll Limlick, Coroner. (No. 13,820/62.) No. 19.-ExTRACT from Mr. H orsley's Half-yearly Report, dated 18 June 1862. THE union is in no difficulty ill regard to financi al matters. Although tllCre has b een consid erable distress amOllO' the IabonrinO' and small farming classes, and also m anv m echanics and artizalJs i n the towns aOnd vi ll a ~' es, during the past six months; there has b et!n no great pressure for workh;u:;e relief. SKIBBEREEN AND CASTLETOWN UN IONS. - 11. - C ASTLETOWN U N I ON. (No. 24,611 /61.) No. 1.- EXTRACT fl'om Guardians' Minutes, dated 14 November 18 G1. II. CIlSLletolVn Union. ORDERBD, That t~e clerk forward to the Secretary of the Admiralty, to be laid befo re the Lords COmnIlSs.:one rs, a copy of the followillg resoll1tio n unani mously passed by the guardians at their meeting of this day :_ Resolved, That i.naslfl uch as we I ~ave had laid b e fol'~ us (the guardians of the· Castlcrown Umon) a statement on apparen tly good authority. to t he effect that certain" defence works" Hr e contemplated to be carried on on Bere Island, in this union, by Government,-Tu:tt we desire to express OUI' st roll!' and decided opinion on the propriety and extJ'em e desirableness (in case tbe ~ tate ment made to us shou ld be correct) of commencing such works with as little delay as possible, That Bere Island hav ing been most severely visited by the potato blig ht of this year, and its inhabitants being altogether devoid of other resources to rely on fl)}' support, they must be exposed to the worst consequences of extreme want if not assisted by the works in question or some similar mode of relief. (No. 24,611/61.) No. 2.-LB'rTB ll from the Commissioners to the Board of Guardians. Pool'Law Commission Office, Dublin, Sir, 26 NO\'ember 18 61. ADVERTI NG to their letter of toe loth October las t on toe subject of the toss of the potato crop in the present year and the probable increase (I f applicants fol' relief, the Commissioners for Admiuistering the Laws fot' Relief of ,the P oor in Ireland desire to inform the Board of Guardians of Castl etown Union that they bave undel' consi deration the prop l'iety of il tem porary increase in the number of relieving officers in some of tile unions in the west of lreland which contain inhabited districts remote frum the union workhouse, in o1'd('r that in any case of sudden and urgent neces..:;;.ity arising in such districts, the provisional powel's of the reli evi ng officer may be available for the immediate reli ef of destitution, and especially for the co nveyance of persons in eXlreme distl'e5s or sickness to the workhouse. There are, at present, as the Commi~sio n ers are informed, two relievi ng officers, one resilient at Leitrim Adl'igole, and the other at Eyries. Castletown. The Commissioners rP.q uest Ihe vi ews of the Board on this SU?jcct. in reference to the districts north of K ilkinnery Day, and to Bere Islo.nd, 111 WlllCh the Commissioners observe, by the guardians' minutes of the 14th instant, the guardians anticipate mucl! distress. By ~rd er of the Commissionel's, To the Clerk, (signed) B. Banks, Chi ef Clerk. Castl etown Union. (No. 26,503/61.) No. 3.-ExTRACT from Guardians' Minutes, dated 28 November 186l. No. 24,611/61. 26 November 1861. From the Poor Law Commissioners, ad~'ert.in O' to their l et t ~r of' the 10tb ultimo on the subject of the potato blight th is y eil~, a l1~ stati ng that they have had ~n~el' consider~t i on the I ~l'upriet.r o~ a temporary Increase in the number of relwv lOg officers lU some. ot the UD IOUS 4 24. C 2 In 20 CORRESPONDENCE RELATING TO II. Ca8tietown Union. in the west of IrE'land which contain r emote inhabited districts, in order to a~ord. imm edia~e ~elie f to any cas~ of a sud?en and urgent ~ature which may al'l SC m those dlstrl cts, and requestlDg the vIews of the guardIans of this union on the subject with reference to di strict north of Killinery, or rather Kilkimihan Bay and Bere Island in the latter, where the guardians apprehend there will be much distress, a5 appears by thei r minutes of the 14th instant,-Read. The guardians are of opinion that the two relieving officers DOW in the union are more than sufficient to meet tbe present or any demands which may in future be made for relief. (No. 1087/62.) No. 4.- ExTRACT from Guardians' Minutes, dated 9 January 1862. MR. H ORS LEY having brought before the Board two letters from the Poor Law Commission ers, of the 6th and 9th December, on the subject of the expediency of employing ju ~tice constables as additional relieving officers, and also as to the providing a covered spring van for the conveyance of paupers, tbe guardians beg to state that, in their opinion, the service of the police as relieving officers is not required, there being two relieving officers residing in the only locality in which there are not police stations, except at the mines, where there are two guardians. With regard to the spring van, the Board will be glad to have Olle, if the Commissioners will be kind enough to give it to them, Mr. H orsley having stated he will so recommend. (No. 1087/62.) No. 5 .-LETTER from the Commissioners to the Board of Guardians. Poor Law, Commission Office, Dublin, Sir, 18 January 1862. TtiE Commissioners for administering the Laws for Relief of the Poor in Ireland acknow1 edge the receipt of the Minutes of proceedings of the Board of Guard ians of the Castletown Union on the 9th instant, and desi re to inform the Board that they can ha,,"e a spring vehicle for the removal of poor persons to the workhouse on paying the expenses of its conveyance to Castle town. By order, &c. To the Clerk, (signed) B. Banks, Chief Clerk. Castletown Union, Berehaven. (No, 2246/62.) No. 6.-LETTER from the Commissioners to the Board of Guardians. Poor Law Commission Office, Dublin, Sir, 3 February 1862. ADVERTING to their letter of the 18th ultimo, the Commissioners for adminis tering the Laws for Relief of the Poor in Ireland desire to state, for the informa tion of the B~>ard of Guardians of Castletown Union, that the vehicle therei n referred to WIll be forward ed to Bandon to-day by railway, directed to "The GuardIans of the Poor, Castleto\Vn Union, Berehaven." By order, &c. To the Clerk, (signed) B. Banks, Chief Clerk. Castletown Union, Berehav,en. SKIBBEREEN AND CASTLETOWN UNIONS. II. Castletow.Q Ullion. ( No. 2876/62.) No. 7.-LBTTER from the Commissioners to Mr. Hm'sley. Sir, . . . . . Poor Law 2~~~.::~~~nl~~~e , Dublin, T HE CommISSIOners for admtnlstenng the Laws for Relief of the Poor in Irelan d forward herewitll. a memurial, add'ressed to his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant (referred to thIS depar tment) by the gentry, clergy, nnd other inha bitants of the barony of Bere, representing the distressed cGndition of that dis_ trict; and the Commissioners reque!it that you will have the goodness to make inquiry, and to report to them on the subject with as little delay as possible. A previous memorial from the Castle town Union, together with the papers connected therewith, are enclosed fo r your inform ation. By order, &c. To S. Horsley, Esq., (signed) B. Banks, Chi ef Clerk. Poor Law Inspector, Caherciveen. Enclosure in No.7. MElI[oRIA.L. To his Excellellcy George William Frederick, Earl of Carlisle, Lord Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland. The humble Memori al of the Gentry, C!er~y , and other Inhabitants of the Barony of Bere in Public Meeting assembled, ' Respectfully showelh, THAT memorialists view with great alarm the wide-spread misery and destitution occBsioned in this part of Ireland by the almost total failure of the potato crop, and a. considerable deficiency in all other agricultural produce of the past year, deem it a duty they owe to your Excellency, as Chief Governor of the country, and to a numerous and deserving cl ass of their fellow being!l, wh o are likely to fall victims to such destitution, if not seasonably checked, to lay the facts of the case plainly and briefly be/ore your Excellency. That memorialists, who from resid~nce in the district, and personal acquaintance with its condition, are in possession of most re liable sources of information, hesitate not to state that th e deficiency of the potato crop was notless than three-fourths of the avemge prod uce, and that the available ooe.fourth was of such an inferior quality as to render it a very unwh olesome lIrticle of food. That in consequenoe of this great deficiency of the potato crop 1\ sixfold trade in Indian meal has, and is now being carried on, fo r the la!Ot fou r months in the district, wbereby the resources of the a~ricultural popultltion are exhausted. Th~t such a umve~sal calamity Cllnnot be m?re beneficially or effectually rel~p.ved than b.y a/fordmg remunerallve employment to ollr willing labourers by the executIOn of pubhc works in a district hitherto comparatively neglected, but wh ich, from its important ~ osi tion, ought to receive peculiar and fostering: attention from the Government. That memoriali sts respectfully claim your Excellency's kind attention to a few of the numerous works which seem to them, if undertak.en, at present well calculated to meet the pr~~ing emergency, ·and confer vast benefits on the barony of B~re. . .Fm.t, the completion of the li ah thouse on Bere Island. ThiS work, admItted to be of urgent necessity, was, after a larO"': expenditure of public money, under the superintendence of t h ~ Ballast Board. left in an ;:O unfinished state, and remains so to the pre5ent date j the melancholy wrecks which have occurred on this coast may be attributed in a great degree to Ibis lighthouse nnt having been completed, and by which the ,~ estern entn.nce to ou~ noble harbour wou ld have been made known to the bewildered marmer. I ndependently ot the present distress, memorialists conceive this work should have long since been completed:, and oug.ht n o ~ to be no longer dererred...... ~he eXtensIon of the existing qUilY o.t Castletown, which 10 lts present slate ii totally manequate to the increasina trade of the town. The completion of the d~fence work s at Bere Island, which memnrialists have reason tn believe have been approved of and recommcnded by the military authorities, and estimates framed fo r such. ~' b e co nstruction or the W est Cork Railway ed endiog from Blmdon to S~ib beree ll. T.hls .work, if carried 00, would employ a large portion or the labouri ng populatIon or the dlAtflct, and when completed confer great and lastincr benefi.t.g on the country . .I n conclusion, memorial isis regret e xceed~ly being o.b1iged to state. t~a t from the pl·O. prletors of the barony of Bere, with few exceptio ns, no II Ss l s t at~Ce whatever IS to be expecled, 424_ c 3 au d 22 CORRESPONDENCE RELATING TO ll. Cnsttelown Union. and in consequence your memorialists conscientiously believe, unless Government aid be immediately affordeu in sou:e shape Or otb~r, the ~acrifice of hum~n . l i fe on a Jarge scale 1S likely to be the consequence; a consummntH)1l wh ich your memor1allsts (eel assured would not be more se r iou~ l y de[>\c.Jred ~y anyone lhan by your Excellency, who so worthily repr~sent.s Her g~clO~s I\hlJesty 1Il ,Irelalld, and to who (NO.3 830 62.) No. S .-REPORT from Mr. Horsley, Poor Law Inspector. Gentlemen, ItJ. February 1862. ADVERTING to tile Commissioners' communication of the 4 th instant, forward ing to me a m~m o l'jal addressed to his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant by the gentry, clergy, and other inhabitants of the barony of ilere, representing the distressed condition of that district, I ha.ve the llUDour to report that I visited the district in question on Monday last. and that having on that and the three following days made particular inqui ri es respecting the present condition and future prospects for the next four months of the popUlation within the barony, I sec no reason to apprehend that t.he gloomy anticipations of the memorialists will be realised, or that extreme destitutioll, likely to involve the sacrifice of human life from want of food, will prev<.Iil to any appreciable extent betweeu this time and next harvest. Among the un(jerruted occupiers of land, a rather numerous class in tlle barony, severe pecuniary distress is, and will be fe lt for sume time to come; and it is possible that n few of them will be unnble to meet their engagements to the landlords and to the provisi on merchants, and will hove in consequence to abandon thei r small holdings, aod becume chargeable for a time npon the pOOl' rates for :support. But I believe these cases will lJe very rarc, for the proprietors are. not only exercising forhearance ill the lI ~a tter of' n ·nt towards partil?s so situated, but ar~ assisting them with seed potatoes aud seed oats for their land; and the meal and provi~ion merchant.s, who (ow ing chiefly, I believe, to the general cry of distress Hnd famine l'aised in some instances, with a dew to obtaining, if pO!?'l:I ibl e, Government aiel towards t.il e furthel'ance of certain. imp~rta nt works of local enteJ'prise) had. become alarmed, aud Slopped I;Idvanc ing pro .... isi ons on credit, are regnining confidence as to the ultimate solvellcy of Ihe farming cl (No. 7 8M/62. ) No. 9.-L ETTER from the Commissioners to Mr. Horsley. Poor La.w Com mi s~ion Office, Dublin, Sir, 9 A PI'j) 1862. TH E C ommissioners for administering the LawR for Relief of the Poor in Il'eland forward, for your information , tbe accompanying extract from the " Freeman·s J ournal" of thi s date, relating to the death of a li ttle girl, named Mary Murph y, in the Caslletown Union j and the Commissioners rel]uest that you will be 8-0 good as to make inq uiry on oath into tile facts alleged in this eaEe, and to report to them on the subj ect at your earliest.convenience, l'eturning the extract with your report. By order, &c. To S. H orsley, Esq ., ('ign ed) B. Banks, Chief Clerk. Poor Law Inspector, Croo ill. Enclosure in No. 9. (No. 78 M/G2 .) EXTRACT from jl Freeman's Journal," of 9 April 1802. Death from Destitution.-(F rom our Correspondent.) Skibbereen, ApriI7.-Paul Limrirk, Esq., coroner, held an inquest on the body of a Jittle girl, named Mary Murphy, uf Kilcathel;ne, in the bal"o ll Y of Bere, who died on the 3d instant, from infl amed lung!'! , caused by want and destitution . The jury at the silme time stated that great distl'ess existed in the district. (No. 8418/62.) No. lo.-LE'ITBR fl'om the Commissioners to Mr. Horsley. Poor Law Commission Office. Dubliu , Si r, 11 April 1862. THE Commissioners for administering the Laws fol' R elief of the P OO l' ill Ireland forward, for your informat.i on, the ·accompanying copy of a constabu lary report, which they have this day received from th e C hi ef Secretary 's Department, relatinO' to the death of a female (whose name is not stated) on tbe 3d instant, at KOcatherine, in the Castletown U uion. The Commissioners presume that the report relates to the death. of ~ a ry Murphy, into the circumstances of which you h ave been already Instructed to make inquiry. You will be so good as to r etu rn the enclosed document wi th yo ur report. By order, &c. To S. Horsley, Esq. . (signed) B. Banks, Chief Clerk. POOl' Law Inspector, Ki ll arn ey. ------C4 CORRESPONDENOE RELATING TO II. Gutlet?wn Union. ~ Enclosure in No. 10. (No. 8418/62.) Copy Constabulary Repo,t. Cork, W. R.-Union of Castletowll. VERDICT. 0" THAT the sa i~ deceased, on the 3d instant, at Kilcatherine, in said COll!Ity. died frum dIsease, namely, dIsease of the lunge nnd scrofula, h!l.sten ed by want and destItuti on," "And we are of opinion that great distress exists in this locality/' . . . Castie!own, 5 April 1862. Deceased bad been for some tIme suffenng from dlf;ease of the lungs and scrofula. Her father is a small farmer, paying 2 l. 68 . Bd. a year for his bolding, but depending principally on chnnce wages as a labourer, for his support. The Reverend Messrs. O'Reilly, p,p" and Scully, n.c·c., attended the inquest the former actin g as interpreter, at the request of the coroner and jury, as botl, Murphy and Shee were Irish witnesses. I a l: ne.x copies of the entire proceedings, for t.he informatIOn of Government. The workhouse here can accommodnte 566 persons j there are only 221 in it nt present. This time last year there were 171 inmates. ' (signed) J. S . Graham, S. 1. 2nd . The Inspector General of Constabulary. Coumy of Cork to wit. An inquisition in dented and taken for our Sovereign Lady the Queen, at Kilcatberine, in the parish of Kilcatherine, barony of Bere, in the county of Co rk, on 5th day of April, in the 26th year of the reign of our said Sovereign Lady Victoria, before me, P aul Limrick, Esq" one of the Coroners of our sa id Lady the Qil een, tor the said county, on view of the body of Mary Murphy, of Kilcnlherine, then and there lying dead , upon the oalhs of- 1. Timothy Dwyer, g. Timothy MCCarthy, 2. Timothy R. Harrington, 10. J ohn Murphy, 3. Michael J. Sullivan, 11. Pat Sullivan, 4. M ichael M'Carthy, 12. Cornelius Kelly, 5. Michael Hanly, 13. Timothy Harrington, 6. Timothy Hanley, 14. Patrick Neall, 7. Patrick Neall, Seu, 15. Kean H ori han, 8. Patrick Kelly, good nnd lawful men of the s lid county, duly chosen, and who being thC' n and there duly S WOTO, and charged to inquire for our said Lady the Queen, Whe-Il , how, and by what meaDS lhe ~ai d Mary Murph:v came to her death, do upon their oaths say, that the said deceased , on the 3d instant, ilt Kilcathenne in said county, died from disease. namely, disease of Ihe lungs a nd scrofu la, hastened by want and destitution , and we arc of oplilion that gre-at distress exisLB in this lucalilY. In witneJ:;s wl~e reof said coroner and the jurors uforesaid l~ave hereunto set alld subscnbed their bands and seals the day and year first above ruen· honed. Paul Limrick, Coroner. (~igned by 1'2 Jural·s.) Depositions ', f witlle-sses taken, swo rn, and exami ned before me, Paul Limrick, E~q., oue of Her Mlljcsty's coroners for the coun ty of Cork, taken at Kilcatherine, in the parish of K i lcath~ rine , barony of Bere, in said county, on the 5th day of' April 1862, on view of t~ e Lady ?f l\,J al'Y Murphy, of Kilcatherillr, then and there lying dead. Quinlan Mu rphy, ~fKIlp ('a lherme, fft rmel', deposeth and saith: The decell.!led WrlS my daughter; she was sullJect to loads of sickness for some time, and wilen she used to gf':1 the s' l'ength of food it used to restore be- r, but latterly 1 was not able to give her food . 1 got meuicine from Dr. Lefebure for her. I .lZn v~ her, "mall P,Otataes du~ out of the tillage, Indian meal, gruel, a~d small (Iro l'S of milk Irom time to time, when 1 could /lel i1. I was al the work at the mmes l~t week, n.nd retu,;ned hallie on Sunday morning. My wife told me she sent the deceased child to fl. neIghboUi s house. fo r SODlE' food on the previous day, Ihat she got none, a~d th,at the fam Il y went to bed Without any food nll.d only abou t a quart of milk. The chIl d died on Thursday, about 2 o'clock. I bro u ' rl~t two stone of mettl born e 8.11d the child ate it, but thfew it uP, agai~. It wns very often that my family bad nnly one meal of Indian meal stlrabout, With a little fis~} in the day, nnd not sufficient even of that. My cow ca.lved about three weeks ngo, and slllce the- n we had a li ttle milk. I have no food in the house, nor mon~y to buy it, and I bad Illst night to bOITOW a little meal for my family from a neigb bou,r. SInce SUllday last" my wife. myself, and t wo children, had only the two stone of In? lan m(!al that I brought from the mines, ulltil lee;t nigh t, when I borrowed ,s~ lll e ,from a ~el~hbo ur, as Itefore stated ; we had no turf~ and only a little brosna. My OPIll IOtlIS, tl~ a t tf ShC: had.a suffi ciency of food that she ma.y recover. My mother-in-law and another child of mille dIed about a lIIonlh a frO, and were often without food before their deaths. ' I JlOld SKIBBEREEN AND CASTLETOWN UNIONS. II. I hold only about 'J l. 6 s. worlh efland. I would have gone to the workhouse .with the Cutletovrri Union. children, but heard that in consequence of having th~ land they ~ould not be. admitted exrept 1 went in myself, and that I would not do. My wife was beggmg: about, to get Bome~ thin!!: fo r the cbildren. I had not CO ll sta~t work, but when employed "1 got, sd. a day and my food. My \\'ife planted about seven,welghts of scuUanes, dug out of the tillage, the same th at 1 got out of the tillage for the clutdreu. I hold the land from L Ol'd Bantry, but was unable to pay the rent. Quinlan Murphy (his + m.. k). Paul Limrick, Coroner. County of Cork to Wit. DBPOSITIONS of Witnesses taken, sworn, and examined before me, P aul Limrick, Esq., one of Her Maj ~sty 's Coroners fur the county of C~rk, taken a~ Kilcatherine~ barony of Bere, in the said county, on the 5th day of Apn11862, on Vlew of the body of Mary Murphy, of Kilcatherine, then and there lying dead. Charles H aine, of Castletown, Bereha"en. Esq., M.D., deposeth and saitb : I saw and eXllmined the body of rl~ceased this day; there wel'e no marks of violence or injury exter nally' the body was nnt very much emaciated. I maJe a post mortem examination ; [ open;d the st~mach, there was no food in it, th~re ~vas a cavity in t.be u~pe r por~on of the right lung which would have caused her death III time; she was also afh'cted with scrofula that would be caused by Wflnt of foou, clothing, and fire. I heard the evidence of her f County of COl'k to Wit. DEPOSITIONS of Witnesses taken, swo rn , and examined before me, Paul Lim rick, Esq., one of H er Majesty's coroners for the county of Cork, taken at Kilcntherine, iu the parish of Kilc 1l 1herine, barony of Bere, in the said county, on the 5th day of April 1862, on view of the body of Mary Murphy, thE'n and there lying dead. James Shea, Cof Kilcatherinf>, fa rmer, deposeth and saitb: I am uncle to the deceased, a.nd know the family; they were in want of food and drink often, and also of fire ; there were certain times lor the last three months that they had not sufficient, and, lit certain times, nothing at all; the family were oHen days for the last thl'ee months without food. James Shea (bis x mark). P aul Limriclt. True copies of said inquest ~nd depositions, the originals of which are in my custody in Crown Office, county of Cork, which I attest. R . .Donovan, Clerk of Crown, 14th April 1862. County Cork . .. (No. 84 M. 162.) No. 11.-LE'I"nm from the Commissioners to Mr. H orsley. P oor Law Commission Office, Dublin, Sir, 12 April 1862. WITH reference to their letters of the 9th and 11th instant, relating to the death of. a. fem?le named Murphy in the CastJetown. Union, the Commissioners ~or AdmlDlstermg the Laws fo r Relief of the Poor m Ireland forward for your ~nfor!llation the accompanying extr act from th~ "C()rk Examiner" .of t~e l.~th lDstant, and request that you will at the sa.me tIme be so good as to lDqUtre mto the facts here stated with regard to the case of the woman name4 Neil, and to report to them on the suhjecjt. By order, &c. To S. Horsley, Esq., (signed) B . Banks, Chief Clerk. Poor Law Inspector, Killarney. D Enclosure 26 CORRESPO NDENCE RE LATING TO II. Csstleto",n Union. Enclosure in No 11. (No. S.. r. /62.) EXTRA.CT froUl the" Cork Examiner" of l oth A pril 1862. Distress in Berehaven. To the Editor of the" Cork E xaminer." Dear Sir, IT is now nearly fi ve weeks since I foulld it necessary to give the most emphatic con ~ tradiction to certain statements contained in a letter add ressed by Mr. Puxley, of Dunbay Castle, to Sir R. Pee], relative to the distress said to exist ill this part of the world. Feeling at t he time thal bis letter was not only replete with grogs inaccm·a.cies, but like wise productive of a l ar~e amount of mischief, I was roost anxious that the pu blic should be mude aware of the actual condition of this district, and [ thel'efore threw down to MI', Puxley a. challenge which would, if accepted, bring to light Whaleycr was involved in obscurity or doubt, and furnish such information us must have enabled all candid und honest minds to a11i.ve at a sound and sati.. factory conclusion. I publicly declared, too, that want ilnd destitution to an alarming extent prevailed through the entire barony, nnd in support of this nssertion, !'ill pplied you with facL<; and fig ures, \vhich could neither be ga.insayed nOr denied, It j;; to be hoped that Mr. Puxley has wei>.:hed well those facls and figul""es; for reflection on them could scal'cely f1l il to mnke him a' !!l"aceful convert to my opinion, and convince him of the abSU 1'di ty of clinging any IanO'er to his theory of" General PI'osperity." '= The poor of BeI'ehuvell have much to sulfci' and much 10 complaill of. Dfly by day they are forced 10 drink of the bitter cup of wnnt and misery. Go(l alone knows "the half of whllt they endure j and then, amid all th is, to taunt and sting them with the assuranCt: that they are prosperous, is Christian sympathy of a \'ery unpleasing kind. On Sa.turda,Y, the Mh instant, an lI1que<;t was held within a few miles of this town, on the bodyof a girl named Ellen Murphy. Stephen Murphy, fathpr of the deceased, deposeJ, that for Ihe past three months his family (consisting of a wife, mother-in-law, and four children), were living on one meal per day, and that not a Eutficient rnp.al. F or severHI weeks his family were subsistin9; on the boullty of their neighboUl'S, and on many oCCll.sions had to go to bf'd without n meal of any kind. Der.eased went out on Saturday evening, the 29th ult" in search of somethill~ to eat, al ld had to return hallIe WIthout it. H is mother in-law and another child flied about n month ago; for sevel"8.1 weeks previous to their death, they bad not eaten sufficient food. He frequently u ~ ed to go into his little garden to try if by chance he might fi nd n. few !>mall potatoes there that Ill"y have e!;cnped him when digging out last November. 'fhe deceased was sickly fo r n lon~ time, but always rallied when sbe got enough of food. There were many families in the neighbourhood as badly off as bis. James Shea , uncle to the deceased, SWOl'e that he knew Murphy's fnmily to be in the greatest distress for the last tlHc~ months, going to bed many nights supp~l'less, and scarcely ever having enoucrh to preserve life, Dr. Haines deposed that Ellen Murphy had disease of the lungs and scroful~; one of her lungs, was eo.tirely gone. This disease might be brought on by want of proper food and dothlog. He believed this family were in ~reat distress, having neither fi re, nor clothing, nor food enough, Deceased would have died in course of time of decline. This is the substance of the sworn evidence before the Cot'Oller, and on this evidence the jury relurned the fonowing verdict: fI We find that E ll en Murphy died' aI, Kilcatberi ne-on the 3d in~tant, of disease of the lungs Hnd sc(ofula, hAstened by want and deslitution." Now, I think that the fact of three unfortunate human being:s perishin,g in this way, afford~ abundant, proof of the extent to which famine pre\'ails i n Mr. Puxley's district, and what IS worse, I feel confidellt thnt the case of the Murphy's is only the forerunner of Ulany others equally sad, alid not very rD.r distant. , Sl!l'ely Mr. Puxl,ey mus~ have been in totnl ignorance of ,the real circumstances of the dlsln ct wht'll he smd to Sir R, Veel, fI I would not accept ~l.Id from anyone (even fro?l the Gm'ernmcnl) .rOl', any of my people or neighbourhood." It is true, indeed, that If the Govel'l1ment did Its duty by the peoplf', and gave useful and remunerative employment, h~, nl?re than anyone in this barony, wonld be put to serious inconvenience thereby. At hiS m~nes therc prev,ails a. deep an.d wide-spread spirit of discontent and di,saffection, The millers are !oud III their com plmnts of the smailne!=;s of the wages, contendmg that 2 I. 9 $, per month IS n, poor reward for men who earn their bread in poisoned pits a thousand feet below the service of the earth, turning day imo night, and thus reverRina the very order of nature" and ;xposec1 h,ourly to accidents, fatal as well as serious, Another grievance t hey cOll lplal1l of IS, that whI le tbey receive but 2 1, 98" the fpw CO l'U i!! h miners are paid 6,1. 7 8: ~d" 9/., and ,cyen 10 I. a month. Paddy ('oDsiders himself as active, intelligent, hard workmg, ~ s good ~n every sense as the stranger from Wales, mId , with this fl:'eling, we cannot ~ond~r If h~ ?bJects to ,th t! pres~t system, and would gladly hai l an opportunity of hettermg- hls conditIOn. Owmg, therefore, to scanty wages and wounded pride, there can' be no -doubt that the men now employed at the mines would, in the morninO', flock to any quarter where they co~ld obtain a I~ fail' day's payn fOI' a " fair day's work," Il~ d see the consequence. If the engmes at the mme wc:re to be stopped for even the short space of three or four days, " water SKIBBEREEN AND CASTLETOW'" UNIONS. 27 II. water would immediately rush into the shaft s in such qu a .n~ i t ie s , and with such velocity, as CsstietowD Union. to render its rem?vaJ a . I ~~ou r almost H erculean , the ralsmg of copper ore would. in the meantime, be an lffiPOSs!blll ty. ami , mOJlths would pass by er~ n:e again saw MI'. Pux.ley's fleet of schoonel's w e l ~hmg anchor m liallydollegan Bay. ViCwlIlg the matter in t his J j~hl. it wou ld appear that Government works would be to some detrimental, whil e for t.he mosses we must regard, them as not merely useful but indispensable as a means of procuring the necessaries of lIfe. At t his moment, while ,I writeJ tb ~re are m a ~y p~rsons. lhr01.~ gl~out the union pining away in want and squalor, rapIdly hastentllg to their dIssolutIOn, victims, not of disease. but of destitution; nor is it rash to pr ~rl i ct .that hefore th.e close of nex t J un\! a coroner's jUlY \V iii have to pronounce many a verdict still more starlhll ~ ~ h an .that found in dIe cuse of Ellen Murphy. And yet we a r~ told that Bereh aven reJ olce~ In 1< ge tl ~ra l pt·os perity." Your n:adrrs may ask me why dld n o ~ St.e phen Murphy send. hiS mother-m-Inw and two child ren into the workhouse. Because, lU the first place, he, hke most of our poor people had a house and 8. small plot otiground for which be assumes under Lord Bantry a yearly'rent tof 21. 5$. ; second ly, because their horror of the poorhouse is nea rly insuperable. O n the 13th of March I visited a woman named Neil who lived at a place call ed Filane. within It short distance of the town. H er house was scarce ly fit for pigs, its dimensions beino- about D feet by 5. For t wo days nothing but cold water passed her l ips. She had no firc~ and, [ may add, no bed clothes. .Sh was in one word, helpless,. fr iendless, lJenniless. I administered to her the last rites of Holy Church, and, when lea.vi ng, urg-ed her, almost beg<1ed of her, to seek for admission to the workhouse, but in vain. She preferred remainina \\' he~e sbe was. On coming Olll 1 met a young mlln who lives neal' the pl ace, and said t~ him," It wou ld be a charity to take that poor creature to the work ho llse, as she cannot survive much langei' in such misery." He repl ied, " W e would take her thel'e long aao if she allowed us, but she would not ; and iudeed, sir, it is hard to ask anyone to go t h el"e~ for as fas t as they enter t.heyare comi ng out of it dead." To this I could make no reply, knowing what was said to be aLmost literally true. The ave r~e workhouse population is about ] 80 of all ages and sexes. Since the 1st J anuary 1862, out of tbis number a o have died ; that is precisely one-sixth of the whole ill th l'~e months. S upposing- this morta li ty to proceed at the same rate up to January 1863, we would then have 120 deaths, which would reduce the average Humber in the house to 60! I am utterly unable to assign any cause or reason for all this ; but one thing is cert!lin, that it bas fill ed the needy and indigent with alarm, and few wi ll now consent to take refuge within its uingy walls save those who dread t he idea ofbeiog illtelTed wi thout a cottin. We are still in hopes that Mr. Maguire and the other honest Irish members may induce the Governmen t to turn its attention to the cries of a famishing people, and not persist in allowing itself to be misled by the misrepresentations of those who, though want and famin p: stalk the land, are so blind as to see only " general prosperity." Yours, &.c. 0astletown B ere, 8th April 1862. (signed) J olm O'Leary, R . C. C. (No. 9084162.) No. 12.-RE,PORT from Mr. llo1'sley, Poor L,,"w I nspector. G entlemen, 1 8 April 18 62. IN accordance wi th the instructions contained in thc Commissioners' com ~unica t ion s of the 9th and lIth 'instant, I inquired on V\r ednesdllY last into the CIrcumstances attending the death of a girl na m ed Mary M'Jrphy. on whose body an inquest was held at Kilcatberin e, in the Castletown Union , on the 5th instant, and a verdict returned of " Died from disease, namely, disease of the lungs and scrofula, hastened by want and destitution"; an d I have now th e ]lODour to transmit herewith the depositions taken by the coroner at the inquest, as well as the minutes of evidence on oath given before me on the 15th, and beg to report as follows with r eference to th!:! case in question:- It appears that the fath er of the deceased Mary Murphy holds a small mOUD ~ain farm of about 10 statute acres, at an annual rent of 21. 5s. 6d., which Includes the right of commODaO'e to the value of a fe w shillings on a mountain of about 1,200 acres. The Po~l' Law valuation of this farm, inclusive of the right of commonage, is 21. 2 8. It furth e-r appears, that owing to tLe serious failure in the potato. crop and th? b~d harves t last year, Murphy and his family have been suifermg se ~ e r e prI VatlOn ~ for the last few weeks, so much so, indeed, that on many occaSlOns they .have D?t had more than one meal a day, and even t hat frequently a scu n~y and InsuffiCient one . M.urphy's earnings , independently of the produce of Ius 4 24. D 2 farm, 28 CORRESPONDENCE RELATING TO II. CastJetowD Union. farm seem to have been, since last Christm as, very small and irregular and as he, owed to the meal mereI lant s a sum eq ual to 18 mont IIS ' fent of' his holding, he has been unable to obtain on credit p~ovi s i ons for the su pport of himself and family, and has been dependent cillefly on the charity of hi::; neighbours (many of whom are very poor themselves) for the means of existence. Under these circumstances, I ~ee D? reason to qU,est,ion the general propriety of the verdict returned by the Jury 1O the case 0/ IllS deceased daughter, for t here caD be little doubt that, although she appears to have been a weak and sickly child from her infancy, ;~nd to. have died at las.t of chronic di sea:::es, her life might have been prolonged for a time had she recc l'o'ed the fo od and medical care su ited to her con dition . W hilst this is the case, however, it must be borne in mind t hat neither Murphy nor any of his family made application to the relieving office r, the wardens, the dispensary medical officer, Dr. Haines, or the Board of Guardi ans, for relief; and that Murphy himself could scarcely be considered destitute whilst he held so much land and possessed stock, namely, two cows, two sheep, and a lamb, which he might have disposed of for the support of his family. From inquiries which I made of the relieving offic ers and some of the Ro man Catholic clergv nt the inquiry on Wednesday, I have reason to bel ieve that very many of t he small tenant fal'mel's and their families are similarly circum· stan.ced with Murphy, and are enduring great 'privation and hal·d sh ip. O lle of the relieving offi cers, Mr. Murphy, showed me a Jist of 64 families, co mprising 386 sou ls, who, in his opinion, ure at t bi s time existing Oll one meal a day; ~ut he told me that with scarcely any. exception, they all possess stock, too much stock, indeed, for the Jand on which it i:5 placed, and which is therefo re, from being bad ly fed, of comparatively small value. This class of small farmers cling with the utmost tenacity to their holdings, and to the stock upon them; and although experience must have taught lh em that they and their families can even, in the best of years (epecially ::;ince the fi shing in tl).e bny has, for the last three yea rs! been almost unproductive), bal'ely sube:.ist by the land they hold, they will continue to struggle on and endure any - thing short of actual starvation rather than su rrender it to the landlord. . T he relievi ng offi ce rs are humane and active, and have hee n made acquainted with the tenor of the Commissioners' circulars relating to relief to families of persoll s occupyjng more than a qua rter of an acre of land. I beg fu rther to report, that in compliance with the Commissioners' instruc tions contained in their letter of the 12th in stant, I inquired into the circ um~ stances of Margaret Neil's case, as depi cted in the letter of the Rev. John O'Leary, R.C. C., to the editor of t·he " Cork Examiner," on the 8th instant. I went on the afternoon of Tuesday last to see ' Neil, and found ber sitting up by a wretched fire in her hovel of a cabin by tbe road side. She informed me she had enough to eat, and. was in better heal th than when she was visited by Mr. O' Leary. She i ~ a proper case for "he workhouse, as she has no land or means, and is aged and infil'm, wi thout an yone to look after her. IrecolD. mended her to go to the workhouse, but she said she would not as she feared sile wo uld lose her sight if she did, as on a former occasion her eyes had become sore there. frJr. 'O'Leary's statements, in so fa r as they bear upon the sanitary condition of the Castletown Workhouse, are scarcely fair, for although 28 dea ths have occurred therein, from the 1st January last to the 16th instant, both days inclusive, the Commis5iollen will observe , from the accompanying. extract from the record of dt:aths' boo k, that with three exceptions they were those or perso ns who had arrived at more than the ordinary limit of human life, and who might, th~refore) be expect.ed in the course of nature to pass away ; 15 of th e5e persons dIed between the agt's of 70 and 90 ; six bdween the aO'€' S of 60 and 70, and four between the ages of 50 and 60. The dates of tiJeir last admission to the poor-house, also', will show that many of them arrived at the workho'Jse in a moribund condition, and some of tbem were probably sent there for the purpose of being buried at the expense of the union. Mr. O'Leary admitted fairly to me on W edllesday last, that t he dietaries in the wOl'khou.:ie are excellent in point of qu antity and quality, and that in other respects the general treatment of the inmates is unexceptionable. 1\1o;t SKIBBEREEN AND CASTLETOWN UNIONS. II. Most of the land in th e union is tilled and planted, and the potatoes are above Castlctow n Union. ground, and in a very forward state for t he time of year. I return the documents sent to me for the purposes of the inquiry , and Have, occ. To the Poor Law Commissioners, (sig ned) S. HOI"slcy. Poor Law Office, Dublin. Enclosure 1, in No. 1 2. MIN UTES m' EVIDENCE. Charles Haines, being duly sworn, saith,-I nm Medical Officer of the Kilcntherine Dispensary District, in the Caatletown Union. On the 5th instant, I made post mortem examination of the body of Mary Murphy, at Kilcathcrine, and I have now read the depo sitions made by me on the same day at the coroner's inquest. When I stated in my depositions that scrofula and consumption are predisposed by want of food, I did so in answer to a question to that effect rut to me by one of the jury; I was asked whether I could not use the word" caused," mstead of rr prcdisf osed," in my answer, und I snid I could not in the particular instaD:ce. of ~ary Murphy 8 case; there ":n8 slight ewa~iation only of her body, and that emaClation mlght ha.ve been caused entlrely by the dISeases under which she laboured before death, witbou t any reference to the quantity or quality of t he food. she had been receiving for some time prior to that event. In her case, both thc scrofulous and consumpti\'c appearances seemed .to me to be of long standing; but I think the girl's life might have been prolonged for a time if she had received generous diet and proper care j there was some deposit beneath the skin of Mary Murphy's body, as much as could be expected from the diseases under which she laboured. CILarle8 Ii"aines, L.R.C.P., L.R.C.S.E. Sworn before me, Samuel H orsley, on the ·16th day of April 1862. . S. Horsley, P.L.f. lJ.fargaret M urphY, being duly sworn, saith,-I urn wife to Quin1an Murphy, of Kil catherine. A bout a fortnia-ht auo, our daughter Mary, aged seven years, died; sheeaught cold when quite a child, a~d us~d now and then to be affected with a cough, but she used to recover from it, nnd be tolerably well, so that the cough did not appear to affect her much; I got a syrup for her twice from Dr. L efebure, when he attended as doctor at Ines ; I cannot recollect whether I took. her to Dr. Lefebure. or whether be saw her at aU j I never saw any BOres a.bout ber ; about a week before her death, she and myself, and two other children of mine, bad only half a stone of meal for all entire week; we had about a pint of milk besides for the four of us; before thn.~ we were living upon ODe Dleal a day for five weeks, and that meal was not half a meal for each of us; out of the stone of meal, seven of us lived for five days ; for one day and it hnlfwe were without any f'oof.l at all, except a little salt fish; that happened only on OD e occasion; my busb::md has, and had at the time of my daughter'S death, two cows; one of them was giving a little milk at the time of my daughter'S death; the other bas been dry since last Christmas; we had a third cow a.bout four months before last Christmas; we gave it to Maurice Harrington for ~ 1., which he kept in part payment of an account we owed him for meal; a little after Chnstmas, two growing-up pigs which I had died; we ht""e still two sheep a.nd one lamb; we ha.ve three hens, and we ·killed two more; the hens ha~e not laid any eggs this year; we never applied to the relieving offiMr for rellef; we did not do so, because the neigh bours ~old us we would not be admitted to the workhouse, as my husband held land; we got a. httJe meal, by way of charity, from some of the neighbours; my husband, about two months before my daurrhter's death. worked for a week at the mines, and got five shillings' worth of flour, instead ~f wages; after he left the work at the mines, he ea.l"Ded a.t farm work four stones of meal and two shillings; he has had no work since my daughter's deatb ; he could not go to work, because I was in my confinement; we owe, for meal, 3t. 98. 9d., and 21. 58. 6 d. for a year's rent; we got no seed potatoes from Lord Balltry's agent; the .first da.y we went for ~e.m we could not pay th~ halfprice.which was d em an~ed for them, and when we went agnm, all that were to be gIven gratultously had been given ; we have about a rood of potato ground planted· we have no oats sown ; we have no cabbages planted; the cow, which is in milk, does not give above half a pint daily; one o~ ~.he ~o w s ~s .1 2 years old, Ilnd the other five; thc young one is: dying ; my husband was Jomed In a ;::seme boat, and used to earn D.'om 9l. to 151. each, ycar, till the last three years; for tho last three 42 4. . D 3 years 30 CORRESPONDENCE RELATING TO II. Castletown Union. years we have not earned 21. by fi sh altogether; the potatoes this year were very bad food . we have our share of the boats and net yet ; my mother (liecl about two months before m; daughter Mary, and another d~ugh ter of mine, four years old, died about two months before my mother; they had not sufficient food. Margaret bfurphy (her + mark.) Sworn before mc on the 16th day of April 1862. Samuel HOTs[tlJ_ Witness. George P owe'l' , Workhouse Master. Enclosure 2) ill No. 12. EXTRAC'f from Record of Deaths in Caatletown Union Workhouse. N,. D'~ To wbat Electoral Date of laat ,r C\UJe (if Dea.th. Name. Ag. D iv;.iun AdlZlifiioD to !up" ler. Dntb. Ch&'tw1e• Workhouil/l. --- -- 1862: " JU I,I. rr· brollebitis Doncgao, Honora K illuonellagb - I ~" - - · .. " ""- ".. ),773 II debilital Sullivan, Mary • 80 Cun;'gl... SOn... " · · · · · -- " · Cht{lDic bronchltis · CUllIbaoe, D.niel - Kilol.Ul.ll&fh - 30 Dec. 1858 " " '" debilitu _ Dwyer, Nllrry . "SO KiUuODeoagh 186 1 1,252 31 .. · - - - - " ""- ] , ~6 1 7 February di=hlta. _ - · 8hH. (Tim) Ellen - 90 Kileadlcrine - - 22 Dee. .. 8" - debiliw · · H arring ton, lUI1,Y Kilol.Ulau. gL. - 2 Sept. 1859 • " - - " 1,121 " .. - IIt rullIa · - · Gra:u, Jeremiah - 14 Coolngh - - 24 ~ l3r 1860 I,Bii 26 .. · p b lbui ~ - · · Lyocll, Jobn -- 30 ditto _ - · 20 Fep. 1862 1,387 3 MIlI'ch - diarrh om - · - DOlflliog, Mnry - 81 dino _ -- 12 Feb. 1861. 25 Apri] 18.79 ' 33 • " - chf1)lJie broDtb.iiU · Sullivan (Ste,,) Aln.rguet 60 Kileatherine - · 70 9 Jan. 1,789 6 " · debilitu - - - SuUivao (Skilty) Beliy Unioo at luge - 1862 16 • .. - debili tu - - · Sullivan., Mary - - ' 0 K i!laconenagh - 11 Dec. 1852 1,891 8 .. · chrocic bl'Onchltia · Cro"ley. ~herioe - di¢O . - 27 Feb. 186' 1,889 " 9 " · hroochiw - Murphy, Owen - · " Coolngh - - 13 Feb. .. I ,S" • " - ucitU - - - Sullina Dridget · .. Kilcatherloe - 3 llireh .. 1,841 14 " - debOJitu - · · Murphy, Mary - - 80 ~.. - · 6 Feb. .. 6 15 dfbllitu .., 2 Nov. " · - - - Sullivan, E llen - · CoDlugh - - "" 1,; 36 " .. · cancer of t~ C}'e - Neill, CAt~eriM · 90 Do" - -- 24 Nov. 1861 1,8 10 " .. - gangr{!1!e of lung · Sullivl10 (Chl'llgb) John GO Conlugh - - 16 J.D. 1662 1,880 di (No. 9084/62.) H . No. l3.-LETTER fl'o m the Comm i s~ioners to the Board of Guardians. Cnstletowo UnioD, Poor Law Commission Office, Sir, Dublin, 24 April 1862. THE Commissioners for administering the laws for relief of the poor in l reland, desire to state for the informution of the Board of Guardians of Castletown Union, that their attention having been drawn to the case of a poor child Darned Mary Murphy, upon whose body an inquest was held at Kilcatherine on the 6th instant, the Commissioners instructed Mr. Horsley, poor law inspector, to make ioquiry upon oath into th ~ circumstances of the case, and they have DOW received 1\11'. Horsley's report with the evidence taken by him. The verdict at the inquest held upon the body is to the fo wing effect, namely;- "That the deceased died on the 3d Apri l, at Kilc.therine, from disease of tbe lungs and scrofula, hastened by wallt and destitution." The Comm i ssion e r.~ transmit herewith a copy of the evidence taken by Mr' Horsley, from which it appears that tbe lather of the deceased, Mary Murphy, holds a small mountam farm, and that OWIng to the bad harvest of last year his family have been suffering severe privations for t.he last few weeks; the family baving, it seems, been dependent chiefly on the charity of the neighbours for the means of subsistence. There seems to be no reason to question the general propriety of the verdict in this case, for although the child. Mary Murphy. was weak aDd sickly from her infancy, and died at last of chronic distase, her life might have been prolonged for a time had she received the food and medical care suited to her condition. 'Vhilst this is the case, however, it must be borne in mind that Op.itller the father of the C'hi ld, nor any of hi3 family made application to the relieving officer, the wardel's, the di spensing medical officer, or tllC Board of Guardians for relief. As reg'ards the condilion of the surviving members of the fam ily, the Com mi ss ioners request the guardians' attention t.o the ev idence of' t.he mother, Margaret Murphy. She states that about a week before the death of Mary l\Iurphy. she and the deceased, and two other children, had only half a stone of meal for an entil'e week, and about a pint of milk besides. Before that, they were liviog on onc meal a day for five weeks, and H lhat meal was not half a meal lor either of them," For one day and a h.lf they "ere without any food at all, except a little salt fish, that su fficru only on one occasion. Mrs. Murphy states, that they did not apply to the relieving office ~ for relief. because they were told by the neighbours that they would not be admltted to the workhouse, because her husband held land. The Commissioners desire to brinD' this statement under the particular notice of tile Board of Guardians, and they request that the &ttention of tile relieving officer may be specially directed to the case of this family, with ~efere nce to the construction of the terms of the loth section of the Act 10 Vlct., c. 31, con veyed by th e Commissioners' circular letters to the Board of Guardians, of the 23d May 1848. . .Th~ Guardians will perceive, on reference to this Circular.(a.copy of which Will be found in their Annual Report for 1849, p. 117), t11at It .I~ competent to Board s of Guard ians to relieve the destitute members of fanllhes of persons holding more than a quarter of an acre of land, although such persons them selves are Dot relievable. The Commissioners have further to state for the Guardians' information, that Mr. Horsley made inquiry into the case of a poo r wOlllan named Margaret Neil, to which their attention has been drawn .· It .ppears th.t she lives at. place called Filan., in a wretched ~.bin by the roadside. Mr, Horsley states that she is a proper case for relief in the workhouse, as she has no land or means. and is aged and infirm, without anyone to look after her. 424 . . D 4 The CORRESPONDENCE RELATING TO II. Castletown Union. The Commissioners would recommend that the relieving officer should at once \·isit Margaret Nei l, and tender to her the means of conveyance to the worka house, fo r which purpose the spring van, wh ich has been in the possession of the Guardians, for some months past, would uprear to be most suitable, if she should be in a state to be removed. By order, &c. To the Clerk, Castletown Union. (signed) B. Ban"s, Chief Clerk. (No. 10,225/62.) No. H.- ExTRACT from Mr. Horsley's Half-yearly Report, dated 3 May 1862. ALTHOUGH I believe considerable di stress prevails among the families of the small tenant farmers of the Uuion , tlJere is no pressllre for workhouse relief, there being at the time of my visit, an in crease of only ao inmates over the number of the corresponding period of i (No. 10,780/62.) No. 1 5,-ExTRACT from Guardians' Minutes, dated 8 May 18 62. R EFERRING to the case of Mary Murphy, on whose b ody an inquest was held, this Bo a. rd entirely disbelieve the statement of the mother of the deceased; the Board considers the fact of her not having applied for relief cOI!clusive that she did Dot r equire it j aitd this Board is well aware that any labourer can get ready em ... ployment, in fact, t.here is a great scarcity of labourers. This Board fUl'thcr Slates, that it disbelieves the very exaggerated reports of destitution spread by a party, and which have had the effect of encouragillg idleness and discontent at imagi ... nary wrongs amongst the poor. They cannot too highly hlame the promoters of these false reports j this bei ng tbe only case of alleged des titution, it will hardly support the views of those who have raised this cry of distress, as Dr. Haines has stated that the child named Mary Murphy died in the last stage of con sumption, not accelerated by want; the Doctor further states, that he was asked a foolish que::; tion by one of the jury, as to whether if more fo od were given, life might not have been prolonged a li ttle further? he said of course it might: on the strength of this the jury returned a verdict of death by consumption! 'accelerated by want. . ~r. Horsley'S investigation was quite of a private nature, no notice of it haVing been given to the Board of Guardians, the chairman, or the di~pensary committee. This resolution was put, and carried, the guardians voting thus:'-:" For the Resolution. Against the Resolution. H enry L. Puxley J 'Et:.q. T. O'Kearney White, Esq. ,"V ilJ iam Gillman, Esq. P. O'Sullivan, Esq. M r. Timothy Harrington. Mr. Cornelius J. Harrinot oQ. 1\1r. David D onovan. Mr. Daniel Sheehan. <:> Mr. Philip MurJ.lh y. Mr. Robert Hanley . Philip A, Armstrong, Esq. Captain Hungerford, R. N . SKIBBEIlE-EN AND CASTLETOWN UNIONS. 33 ( No. 10,780/02.) 1/. Castlctown Union. No. 16. - LETTER from the Commissioners to the Board of Guardians. Poor Law Commission Office, Dublin, Sir...... 20 May 1 862. THE COmmlSS]Oners fo~ adml.Dlster.mg the laws for relief of the poor in Ire land have had un der, theIr consl deratlOll th~ resolution passed at the meeting of the Boal'd of Gua.rdlaDS of Castletown Umon on the 8th instant, in which the O'uardians observe, III regard to the case of the poor child named M ary Murphy ~s set out in their letter of the 24th ultimo, that th e fact of the moth E:r of tb~ deceased not h aving applied for relief is "conclusive that she did require it," Ilnd that Dr. Haines has stated that Mary Murphy died in the last stage of con sumption, not accelerated by want. In reference thereto the Commissioners have to point out, that the sworn evidence of the mother of the deceased, and of Dr. I-laines, is totally at variance with these statements. The mother swore that the reason why she did not apply f oJ ! relief was, that her neighbours told her she could not obtain it, because her husband had land j and Dr. Haines' evi dence before the coroner and before Mr. Horsley is to lhe effect, that the death of Mary Murphy, though caused by consumption and scrofula, might ha,'e been, and probably was, hastened by want of suitable fo od and care. With respect to the guarJians statement that Mr. Horsley'S in vestigation was quite of a private nature, the Commissioners have to observe that they instructed. M r.. H orsley to make inquiry into tile case at his earliest convenience. Mr_ Horsley accordingly wrote to the clerk of t.he union, specifyinj! the day on which he would hold it, desiring him to have the reli eving officer in attendance, tilut he might examine him, tlnd summon the necessary witnt'sE'cs ; and it appean to have been a matter of public notoriety that Mr. Horsley would hold the inquiry, several persons, some from distant parts of the union, having been present on tbe oceasioll. By order, &c. To the Clerk, (signed) B. Bank, Chief Clerk. Castle town Uniuu) Bereha ven. (No. 100, M. 62.) No_ 17.-LETTER from the CommissionefE to the Board of Gnordians. P oor Law Commission Office, Sir, Dublin, 17 May 1862. THE Commissioners for ad ministering the lau s fo r relief of the poor in Ireland, desire to call the attention of the Board of Guardians of CastletowD Union, to the statements contained in a communicntion which has appeared in the" Cork Examiner" newspaper of the 15th instant, regarding the alleged existence uf dis tl'ess and destitution among the people in the west of' the county of Cork, and to the increase of that distress. The result of visits to Clanlaurence, Derreen, and Inchintaglin is separately described, and details given of the condition of the people, several persons in each locality being named with whom th e correspondent has conversed, or whose places of abude he bas visi led. In Claniaurence and D erreen pen;ons are mentioned, named Sullivan (Denis), Lynch, Blake (William), Sullivan (Jobn), Carey (Ellen), and Harrington (Michael) . In Inchintaglin, Darby H arrington, Michael Sullivan, a .. family named Connolly, J eremiah Sullivan, and Cornelius Sullivan are mentioned. The Commissioners will endeavour to obtain and forward a copy of the ne"'s paper to the Board of Guardians, and in the meantime the Commissioners suggest that the relieving officer should be directed to visit the l oc~li.ties r eferred tOt and make personal inquiry at the homes of all a pplic a~t s for T~l~ f , and r~p?_I 't ge nerally as to thc state in which he finds the poor, gi\'lug prOVIsIOnal l'ellel In 4.24' E cases 34 CORRESPONDENCE RELATING TO II. cases of sudden and urgent necessity, or where sickness prevails, unu offering CBstletOwn Union. l'eliefin the workhouse where he finds it necessa ry. The relieving officer should likewi se report all the or'uinaJ'Y cases to the Board of Guardians for their decision. The Commissioners request you to give the necp.ssarv directions to the relieving officer, in anticipation of the meetiog of the Board of Guardians, that he Illay act promptly, should emergency arise, and that he may an that day give the guardians all the information he lIlay be enabled to collect in the intel'val. By order, &c. To the Clerk, (sgned) B. Banks, Chief Clerk. Castietown Union, Berehaven. (No. 12,049/62.) Nc. 18.-ExTRACT from Guardians' Minutes, dated 22 May 1 862. READ letter ffom the Poor Law Commissioners, No. 109, M. '/62, dated 17th May, calling the attention of the g uardians to statements made in a communi cation whicb appeared in the" Cork EXfl miner" newspaper, as to alleged uistress the destitution and describing the result of his (correspondent's) visit to Derreeu and Inchintagli n, and giving details of the condition of the people, several persons in each locality being named with wh om he conversed , and whose places of abone he visi ted j in Deneen are mentioned Sullivan (Denis), Blake (William), Lynch, Sullivan (John), Carey (EUen); in lochint.glin, Darby Harrington, Michael Sullivan, Cornelius Sullivan, and a fam ilyrtumed Co nnolly are mentioned. The Commissioners suggest tlmt relieving officers should visit those localities, and make personal inquiry at the hOll ses of all app li cants for relief, and report generally as to the stHte in which he finds the poor, giving provisional relief in cases of sickness or sudden or urgent necessity ; the l'elievi ng officer should like wise report all the ordinary cases to the Board of Guardians for their decision ; and they request that the relieving officer may receive the necessary directions in anticipatio n of the g uardians' meeting that he may act promptly, sho.uld emerp;encyarise. Read . The reli e\>ing officer visited the locali ties and persons named in this letter. The foll owing is tbe substance of a verbal report made by him: a fu ller n'port is expected from him at the guardians' next meeting; Daniel (instead of Denis) Sullivan has left the union witb hi, family to beg about the country; did not see him. John Sullivan holds land to the yalue of 1 1. l Os.; offered hi ll! relief in the workhouse, ,which he refused, not wishing to forsake his humestead. Ellen Carey is sick in fever, and too unwell to be removed to the workhouse ; holds no land. Michael Harrington (not Darby) holds land to tbe value of 3/.; offered him relief in the workhouse, which he refused. . Cornelius Sullivan bolds land to the value of 8 1.; offered him relief in the workhou3e, which be refused. TI~e o.tbeI'S mentioned in the newspaper are in po~se~s i on of small farms, ~arymg 10 value from 3 l. to 8 t. ; ofl'el'ed them relief, in t he workhouse, which they refu;ed . The guardians will give Ellen Carey provi sional relief, until she is sufficie ntly recovered so as to be removed to the workhouse hospital. (No. 1 2,049/62. No. 19.-LETTER from the CODllliissioners to the Board of Guardians. Poor Law Commission Office, Sir, Dublin J 2 June 1862. THE Commissioners for administering the laws for relief of the poor in I re l an~, have, had before them the minutes and proceedings of the Board of guardlan~ of. the ~a~tletown Union of the 22d ultimo, containing a minute in reply to the ComrmsslOners' letter regarding the alleged existence of distress and destitution SKIBBEREEN AND CASTLETOWN UNIONS. 35 destitution in certain parts of the union; and with reference to the measures II. taken by the r~],ieving offi?er. to afford ;elief in certaiu instances, as described in Cutletown Union. the minutes. J he CoromlsslO~er5 dPosl re ~o state, that it would appeal' that the relieving officer has offered r:h~f to persons holding more than a quarter of au acre of land; and the CommIssIoners ha\'e to draw the guardians' attention to their circular letter of 23d May.1S4S (Compendium, pages 055-6), from which they will obser,re that, whIle It IS not to ?e understood that a person occupying more than a quarter of an acre of land 18 himself relievable either in 01' out of the workhouse, such members o~ the family of a person bolding more than a quarter of an acre as nlay be destitute, can le~lly be relieved in the workhouse, 01' if the wurkhouse be fu ll, they may be )'elteved out of the workhouse if an order under the second section uf the Act: 10 Viet., c. 31, be in opel'ation'in the union. It is at the same time 10 ~e borne in mind, that the provisional IJower given to relieving ofJ~cers U1Hiel' s~ctlOn 7 of the Relief Extension Act, applies to every class of destitute persons ID all cases of sudden and urgent necessity. By order of the CCJmmi,siollf~I'S, To the Clerk, (signed) B. Ball's, Chief C lerk. Castletown Union, Berchaven. (No. 11, 913/62.) No. 2o.-REPORT from Mr. lIorsley, Poor Law Inspector. Gentlemen, 24 May 1862. ADVERTING to t.he Commissioners' communication of the ] 7th instant,· and * s.et Skibbereen to the reports which I maue on the 21st and 22·d instant, with I'e erence to the ~irJ.i6' No. 108, condition of the population in certain loealiti es in the SkibbereenfUnion, I beg . 'l. to state that I visited the parish of C lan laurens, in the Castletown Union, yester- day, in order to ascertain the state of the people therein ; and I am glad to be enabled to report that, though considerable dist.ress exists fi t present among the small landholders there, it is uot of such a nature as to justify any apprehension that loss of life will beoccasion~d by starvation or want of sufficient food. Most of the class in question have still stock in the shape of cows, sheep, and pigs, on lbeir holdings j and the cows are now generally giving milk. The fisbing season also is commencing, and wi th. I believe, a fair prospect of being remu- nerative to those engaged in lhat pursuit. In some rare instances, the cows and other stock of small landholders have either been mal'k~d, or decrees obtained by creditors, or put under distf'dint by the landlord, but 1 could not hear of any case in which they had not been left on the land for tbe use and benefit of the occupiers. There is ample accommodation in the workhouse for all destitute persons not holding land; Hnd the Board ofGual'dians have made it generally known throughout the union, that they will receive into the workhouse, whenever such a course may appear to be necessary for the preservation of life. the families of persons who may be precluded by the proviSions of section 1 0 of 10 Viet., c. 31 , from receiving relief for themselves. I beg further to report, that although the la.rge number of men, womeD, and children seen by me ,yesterday were wretcbedly clad, neither their countenances 0; persons afforded any indication of their having suffered from a want of su,ffi Clent food. There was no famine-stricken appearance about ·them; and I have the authority of the Roman Catholic clergy, and of one of the medical officers of tbe union (the other 1 did not see), and also of the people themsel ves, for stating that there is scarcely any fever or other serious sickness wit-hin the union. At present there is scarcely any employmen~ at money wages wit~lin . the r eac~l . of the small landholders or labouring classes In the Clanlaurens distrIct; but It has uever been otherwise at this season of the year. At least four-fifths of the population in the district have always been dependent solely upon the prod uce of their small holdioQ'S, and upon fishing for support. I think it right ~ mention that Mr. Payne, the Earl of Bantry's agent, accompanied me in my walk through Clanlaul'ens and some of the villag~s 414. F ther€lD, CORRESPONDENCE RELATING TO II. therein, "jsited hy the special reporter of the" emk Examiner," and that he CUEtlctown Union. agreed to ad\'ance upon cretlit for three months 50 l. worth of Indian meat to those of the small l"nd h~lders. who are ~ot hopelessly insohent (though without credit at pJ'esent), and thIS aSsistance, wIth other local exertIons, and the deter_ mination of the Board of' Guardians to relieve within the workhouse all such persons as ure eligible to that mode of relief, and may require it in order to 11Teserve life, will! i~ ~y ~pin i on, be, found ,sufficient to meet the. amount of d istress actually eXIstmg In the unIOn, untll the potato crop, which is very forward, shull become available, an event which is likely to oe very general oy the cnd of next mont]l at the Jutest. With regard to the case of Crowley mentioned to th e special reporter of t.he "Cork E>:.aminer/' I beg to report that he is hopel£'ssly insolvent, but not starving, as, though his fiv e cows are under distraint by the landlord, chiefly for the purpose of protecting ,hem from other creditor s, Crowley htls the use uf them fuJ' the support of hi mself and fam ily. To·day I drove through hies and part of Kilcatherine on my way home, and lmve only to report that what I have wl'itten with regard to Clanlaurens applies generally to those places, with. this exception, that there is employment at drainage works .md on the Olakmg of a new road to the Conlagh Mines, within the Tl'ach of the able-bodied men there, the rate of wages being I s. I d. per day for each. ] n conclu ~ion , I beg to report that with the exception of the distress which I witnessed in the .1slauds of Sherkin and Ctlpe Clear, I have seen nothing in my tour between Skibbereen and Ardgrown, to the extreme north-western boundary of the Costleto\\n Union, to render me at all apprehensive that any loss of life will occm among the people by starvation, and in the case of the islands in question, the Board of Guardians, at their meeting on Thursday last, took all the neces sary steps and precautions to prevent such a misfortun e occurring there, even if some of the nnfortunate people should be unahle to conquer their repugnance to accepting relief withi n the workhouse. I return to office the ext.raels from the II Cork Examiuer" newspaper, wh ich I retained till I could make this Report. I have, &c. To the P oor Law Commissioners, (signed) Samuel Borsky. Poor Law Offi~ e, Dublin. (1'10.12,546 62.) No. 21.-ExTRACT from Guardians' Minutes, dated 29 M,'Y 1862. Ordered, That the relieving officer, Mr. Humphrey, visit the Island of Bere and the townland of Rosmaeowan, and report to the guardians, at their next meeting, the condition of the poor generally, and also the circumstances of certain families in Bere Island, mentioned by Mr, Cornelius J, Harrington, P oor·law guardian, on this da)'. (No. 1 2,546 /62.) N o. 22.-LETTER.f'rom the Commissioners to· the Board of Guardians. POOl' Law Commission Office, Sil', Dublin, 7 J une 1862. THE Commissioners for administering the laws for relief of the poor in Ireland acknowlt>dge tIle receipt of the minutes of proceedings of the Board of Guardians of Castletown Union, on the 29th ultimo j and request thut they may be furnished with a copy of the repor t which tI le relieving OfliCt!f has been directed to make, rcgurding the condition of the inhabitants ofthe Island of Bere and of the town lund of Hos-macowen. By order, &e. . To the Clerk, (signed) B. Banks, Chief Clerk. Castletowll Union, Berehaven. SKIBBEREEN AND CASTLE'fOWN UNIONS. 37 (No. 12,580/62.) If. Ctlstielown Union. No. 23.-ExTRACT fi'om a Report from Dr. Purcell, Medical Inspectol', dated 3 June 1862. IN reference to a .I ~tter of the ~ev . Mr. O'Leary. of Calitletown, county Cork, No. 10,669/62, I vIsIted tbat umon last week, and from all the infolmation I obtained, ~hcre has ueen no unu~u~ l sickness of any kind in it for a very COD siderable tIme; on the contrary. It IS at present and bas been healthy. I derived my information from a ,careful examination of the Dispensary medical officers' relief registers. the medical officers themselves, and an inspection of the union workhom:e, and from, ~.orne of the inhabitants in different parts of the union. [ am, therefore, of opmJOll that the reverend gentleman must have derived rus information from imperfect sources. (No. 13,667 /6 2.) No. 24- .-RBPORT from the Relievi ng Officer, forwarded with Guardians' ,Minutes of 12 June 1862. To the Board of Guardians of tbe Castletown Union. Gentlemen, IN accordance to an order made by th~ Board on the 29th ultimo, to the effect of requiring and ordering that 1 should visit destitute people on Bere Island, who were alleged to be suffering from want of food. I according'ly visited those parlies the following day, and those applications for relief will appear befo l'e you tllis day in my application and report book, and whose state and condition there I have represented therein from the informl:ltion I received li'om the parlies themseh'es as well as from their immediate neighbours. I had prepared on the last Buard day a similar report to t.he foregoing to be laid before you, but in consequence of having no Board on thnt day, 1 have to state to you L1 Hlt T. O. Kea rney \¥hite, E8~., tbe lan d agent. of Lord C. P. Clinton for Bere Island, ha s infol'lned me that subsequent to my visit to Bere Island, be hDs sent a quantity of food to the house of Mrs. J ohn Sullivan, of the village in Bere Island, with directions to those acting for him in that loca li ty to n -lieve those people whose applications I took into my books, with an exception of those who were heretofore l'elieyed by the St. Vin cent de Paul Society, and that he also eent 5 l. to the same society ; therefore, after giving the Board tile foregoing informat.ion, I cannot Eay allY more on the su bject. I respectfully further beg leave to inform the Board. that the destitute poor in the Ardrigole Division have been for the last three wet·ks parlly relieved (but not sufficiently) by a large quantifY of meal purchased fllr them by John W. P ryne, Esq ., the agent of' the Earl of Bantry, as well by the charity for them by the parish priest, the Rev. J . O' Reilly, in the city of Cork and elsewhere, and by whose exertions five tons of meal ware shipped th e 91h instant on board the " Hose," of Castletawn, for the relief of the destitute poor of the Adrigole electoral divi .~ ion, but the vessel Ims ti ot yet alTived. . I have, &:c. (signed) Willi.m Murphy, 'fhe Board Room, 12 June 186 2. Rd ievi ng Officer. l)KIIIBl;nI':BI'f .ND CASTI.El'OWN BOARDS OP OU,t.flDlAH S. COPIES or EHUcn 01 eon.tonne•• ilb u.. S .. , ...... ud C~ .·,.rro •• Bou..... of OU""J"~ ..,.! .1>. POOR L~w hnpr.oT (Sir EI<>6m Pul.) ,'4. Urukr 8 (1;1.