From this prohibition he,
strangely enough, excepted England, although he had just shown that it
was England which was carrying away our provisions with the most
alarming rapidity. He probably made this exception to induce the
Government to lend a more willing ear to his other propositions. He
adduced the example of Belgium, Holland, and even of Russia and Turkey,
in support of this view; all these countries having closed their ports
against the exportation of provisions, under analagous circumstances. 3.
But all this, he said, was not enough; the Government must be called on
to assist the country in buying provisions--called on, not in a spirit
of begging or alms-seeking--but called on to supply from the resources
of Ireland itself money for this purpose. Let our own money be applied
to it. The proceeds of the Woods and Forests in this country are, he
said, L74,000 a year; money, which instead of being applied to Irish
purposes, had gone to improve Windsor and Trafalgar Square--two millions
of Irish money having been already expended in this manner. This is no
time to be bungling at trivial remedies; let a loan of a million and a
half be raised on this L74,000 a year, which, at four per cent.
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