The meeting was very numerously attended by
leading citizens and clergymen of various denominations. Amongst the
latter were the Most Rev. Dr. Murray, Archbishop of Dublin, and the
Provost of Trinity College. A committee was formed, whose duties were to
raise funds, and, "by a due disbursement thereof," for the relief of the
necessitous, to endeavour to mitigate "the alarming and unparalleled
distress of the poor of the city," and so arrest the progress of "a
train of evils that must otherwise follow in the track of famine."
Four days later "The General Central Relief Committee for all Ireland"
sprang into existence, under the chairmanship of the Marquis of Kildare,
the present Duke of Leinster. This became a very important and useful
body, having disbursed, during the year of its existence, over seventy
thousand pounds. Greater still were the results achieved by a committee
formed on the 13th of November, 1846, by the Society of Friends. That
admirably managed body sent members of the Society to the most
distressed parts of the country, in order to investigate on the spot the
real state of things, and report upon them. This committee received from
various parts of the world, the very large sum of L198,326 15s.
Pages:
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613