OCR Text |
Show IRELAND FACES ' ' ANOTHER FAMINE. There is now no doubt whatever than an extensive area of the poorest district dis-trict in the west of Ireland is threatened threat-ened with famine. The potato crop has failed badly the tubers, where not actually diseased, being wretchedly small. To these people, eking out the barest subsistence at the best of times, on pitifully meagre and unproductive holdings, reclaimed by their own slavish slav-ish toil, from the bog or barren hillside, hill-side, the potato jr; the staff of life. They never get meat more than two or three : times a year, living on. itiaize. potatoes jj and dried fish chiefly. The weather,' prevailing damp, has been worse than I usual, and from July 15 to Sept. 10, there was not a single fine day. I In Castlerea. County Roscommon, one of the most severely affected districts, dis-tricts, last spring the local authorities foreseeing the possibility of a bad potato po-tato crop, as the preceding year's seeds were very inferior, asked permission from Dublin Casile to spend a small sum in distributing new seeds, but this demand was curtly refused. The good land has been almost wholly whol-ly absorbed into great, fertile grazing farms, while the tenants are steadily driven on to the bare, stony patches, or bogland, where economic rent is unearnable. The land act of last year gave them no relief, as the government govern-ment refused the earnest demand of the Irish party to include among its provisions the power compulsorily to acquire these grazing farms for division' divis-ion' among the people in the congested areas adjoining them. Dublin Castle has sent down inspectors, inspec-tors, but, as usual., they refused to recognize that there is any need for urgent ur-gent help, as the tenants have in some cases enough potatoes to carry them over till Christmas without absolute starvation. Special correspondents from London papers going over the ground, give appalling acocunts of the privation of the peasants, whose cheerful cheer-ful patience and uncomplainingness sometimes provokes their strong admiration. ad-miration. The island of Achill, off the coast of Gnhvay, is one of the worst parts, as there absolute famine is only a matter of three or four weeks. Illness Ill-ness from want is common, and the dread famine fever cannot long be staved off. The Daily Chronicle correspondent cor-respondent says: |