And on they
went enquiring when they should have been acting. With the information
given by Professors Lindley and Playfair in their hands, they appointed
another Commission about this time, which sat in Dublin Castle and was
presided over by Mr. Lucas, then Under-Secretary. Its Secretary, Captain
Kennedy, applied to the Mansion House Committee for information. That
body at once placed its whole correspondence at the disposal of the
Commissioners; the Lord Mayor had an interview with Sir Thomas
Freemantle, one of them, by whom he was assured that the Government was
fully prepared to take such steps as might be found necessary for the
protection of the people, when the emergency should arise.
Most people thought it had arisen already.
On the 8th of December, a full fortnight after this interview, a set of
queries, similar to those issued months before by the Mansion House
Committee, were printed and circulated by the new Commissioners, asking
for information that had already come in from every part of the country
--even to superabundance.
On the 10th of December the Corporation of Dublin agreed to an address
to the Queen, calling her Majesty's attention to the potato blight, and
the impending famine consequent upon it.
Pages:
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148