[147]
Captain Wynne further says, that the perpetrator of the outrage was
known, but could not be brought to justice. The Board of Works, to mark
its indignation at this murderous attack upon one of its servants,
stopped the works in the locality, and the inhabitants, miserably off
before, sank into a state of the most heartrending destitution, as is
testified by Captain Wynne, writing from the same place a fortnight or
three weeks after, to Colonel Jones.[148] "I must again," he says, "call
your attention to the appalling state in which Clare Abbey is at
present. I ventured through that parish this day, to ascertain the
condition of the inhabitants, and although a man not easily moved, I
confess myself unmanned by the extent and intensity of suffering I
witnessed, more especially among the women and little children, crowds
of whom were to be seen scattered over the turnip fields, like a flock
of famishing crows, devouring the raw turnips, and mostly half naked,
shivering in the snow and sleet, uttering exclamations of despair,
whilst their children were screaming with hunger. I am a match for
anything else I may meet with here, but this I cannot stand. When may we
expect to resume the works?" This letter does much credit to the feeling
and manly heart of Captain Wynne.
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