before them, and from the verdicts of several coroner’s inquests, held during the previous few days, disease of the most fatal character was spreading in the districts around them, in consequence of the badness of the food purchasable by the working classes.  A little later, the Rev. Mr. Daly announced to the ratepayers at the Fermoy sessions, that at the moment he was addressing them, numbers of persons were living on cabbage leaves, whose countenances were so altered, and whose whole appearance was so changed by starvation and wretchedness, that he could hardly recognise them.  Lord Mountcashel, the Chairman of the sessions, on the same occasion used these remarkable words:  “The people are starving; they have no employment; they require to be attended to immediately, for, starvation will not accommodate itself to any man’s convenience.”  Nothing truer.  Many landlords throughout the country made similar observations; but to all such, the representatives of the Government replied, and not without a good show of reason, that whilst landlords talked in this manner, they themselves, with rare exceptions, did nothing to employ the people, nor did they, in any way, relieve the fearful pressure upon the Public Works.

The earliest famine demonstration seems to have taken place in Westport on the 22nd of August.  On that day a large body of men marched four deep, and in a very orderly manner, to Lord Sligo’s residence, beside the town.  They made their intention known beforehand to the inspector of police, and asked him to be present to show they had no illegal designs.  They were chiefly from Islandeady and Aughagown.  Lord Sligo, accompanied by some gentlemen, who were staying with him, received them at his hall door.  They said they wanted food and work.  His lordship assured them that he had already represented, in the strongest terms, the necessity of measures being taken to secure a supply of both, and that he would repeat his application.  They seemed satisfied with this, and quietly retired.

Towards the end of September, however, the state of the country became very unsatisfactory and even alarming.  The low rate of wages fixed by the Government; the high price of provisions; the closing of the Government depots; the large quantities of corn which they saw sent daily to England, whilst they who raised it starved, were amongst the chief causes which excited the people to acts of intimidation.  In several instances they went in formidable bodies to the presentment sessions, apparently under the impression that the ratepayers, there assembled, had something to do with fixing the amount of wages, which of course was a popular error.  On Monday, the 28th of September, a special sessions was appointed to be held at Kilmacthomas, some fourteen miles from Dungarvan, and notices were extensively circulated the day before, by unknown hands, calling on the people to assemble at Dungarvan on that day, as the military would be away at the