" Repeated cheers greeted these
observations.
Lord John met Parliament as Prime Minister on the 16th of July; on
which occasion he gave a brief outline of the Government business for
the remainder of the session. He said they would take up, and endeavour
to pass some of the measures of the late Administration. As to Irish
bills, he postponed the most important one, the Tenants' Compensation
Bill, which, he said, was complicated, and was therefore reserved for
further consideration. Referring to the waste lands, the reclamation of
which he had, a short time before, put so prominently forward, he said
he would make preparation for the introduction of a general measure on
the subject. Thus were disposed of in a very brief speech, and in a very
cool manner, the eleven measures which O'Connell required to be passed
before the rising of the Session, and on the passing of which he had
grounded any support he intended to give the Whig Government.
Whilst people were absorbed with the change of Ministry, and the
wretched conflict in Conciliation Hall, the fatal blight began to show
itself in the potato fields of the country. Its earliest recorded
appearance was in Cork, on the 3rd of June.
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