"
The miserable, transparent, insulting fallacy that runs through this
statement, is also found in almost all Sir Robert Peel's speeches on the
famine, namely, that there was not food enough in Ireland for its
people; and that it must be brought from foreign countries through the
channels of commerce. Let any one look at the tables of our exports of
food during the famine years, and he will see how the case stood. The
food was in the country, on the very ground where it was
required--beside the starving peasant, but was taken away before his
eyes, while he was left to travel day after day three, four, five, and
in many cases six or seven miles for a pound or two of Indian meal,
carried three thousand miles to replace the wheat and oats of his own
country, of which he was deprived; and there are recorded instances of
men falling down dead at their own threshholds, after such journeys,
without having tasted the food which they had sacrificed their lives to
procure.[117]
It was a question of money also. The Government would not advance
enough of money to buy the wheat, oats, or barley of the country; there
must be a food found that was nearest in price to the potato.
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