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O'Rourke, John

"With Notices of Earlier Irish Famines"

"
The Treasury Minute repeats the numbers on the public works during the
month of February. They were, in the
Week ending on the 6th, , . . 615,055
Week ending on the 13th,. . . 605,715
Week ending on the 20th,. . . 668,749
Week ending on the 27th,. . . 708,228
It also gives the outlay for three months, not including the expenses of
the Commissariat Department, which were by no means inconsiderable.
It was for December, . . . . L545,054
" " January, 1847,. . L736,125
" " February, " ,. . L944,141
being nearly a million of money for that month. Besides excluding the
expenditure of the Commissariat, this account did not, of course, take
in the very large sums disbursed by charitable bodies and by private
individuals.
The new Relief Act came into force on the 27th of February, and the
Government obtained, without any difficulty, the permission of
Parliament to borrow L8,000,000, to carry out its provisions. As this
Act was to supersede the Public Works, it was decreed by the Treasury
Minute that on Saturday the 20th of March the labourers on those works
should be reduced by not less than twenty per cent.


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