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O'Rourke, John

"With Notices of Earlier Irish Famines"

More than one speaker hinted that there existed an
under current for preventing the employment of the people, and that this
under current emanated from the landlords, who were opposed to the
taxing of their properties for such a purpose. At the close of the
meeting, one of the gentlemen present, Mr. John C. Garvey, made the
following observations:--"It has been said that an under current exists
to prevent the employment of the people. In my opinion the landlords
would be working against their own interest in preventing the employment
of the poor. (Cries of No, no.) Well, I, as one of the landlords, do
declare most solemnly, before my God, that I have not only in public,
but in private, done everything that I could do to extend the employment
of the people (loud cheers); and I now brand every landlord that does
not come forward and clear himself of the imputation."
A great number of coroners' inquests were reported from Mayo, but those
inquests were no real indication of the number of deaths which occurred
there from starvation; there were not coroners enough to hold inquests,
and four-fifths of those that were held were not reported. Besides,
inquests were not, and could not be held unless in cases where the death
was somewhat sudden, or had some specialty about it.


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