IRELAND.

Wellington Independent, Volume VI, Issue 477, 8 May 1850, Page 3

IRELAND.

OF THE KIMCI7SH UNION. The Clare Journal gives a lamentable account of the state of tin's doomed union. It appears that about; "Eleven thousand extra paupers have been suddenly deprived of reliefin consequence of the board of guardians having no funds wherewith to purchase it; and even the inmates qf the workhouse would have last week shared the same hard fate were it not that Colonel Vandeleur had become personally responsible for a supply of meal to meet the emergency. An earnest appeal was made by the board' to the commissioners, imploring further grants or advances" from Government as the only means of saving the lives of the people. The reply of the commissioners was read at the last meeting of the boai'd of guardians, positively refusing to make an application to the Treasury on/ behalf of the union as requested by the board." The Ennis Union of which Sir Lucius' O'Brien is chairman, appears to be in an equally hopeless condition. The subjoined resolution, adopted an Saturday last ; tells its own tale:— ""That this board, under the present circumstances of the country, are totally unable to pay offtheir liabilities, amounting in the past month to £ 19,388, and to support their poor; and they now beg most earnestly that assistance be allbrded them by an'advance from the rate in aid, towards supporting those paupers in the in and outdoor establishments, and thus enable the. board' to discharge in' part their present liabilities, by the rate now in course of collection. They' are now placed in a y condition- very distressing, namely, having several demands made' upon thorn by various contractors, who

have advanced almost the entire of their available capital, and are now in such a position that they cannot continue any longer to give in supplies; and the board will; when this occurs, and it isiiow daily threatened, be compelled to open their doors and discharge all th'eii' paupers, or if the bodrd be compelled to meet their current expenses by their Weekly receipts of rate, they will devote to complete ruin many of those men who .have advanced their whole nieaiis upon the faith of the board."

The KhJkush Catastrophe.—The Limurick Chronicle, which rouohed us this morning, brings tha following account of theinelaneholy catastrophe at Kilrush, by which 41 human creatures were hurried toa premature grave. Of the number which thus perished 37 were paupers the remainhiing four being one of the ferrymen and two young girls (one a farmer's daughter, the other a servant), and a child of J 8 months old:—" On Wednesday evening, at five o'clock, intelligence reached the town of Kilrush, that a large number of persons, most of whom were paupers, who had been seeking outdoor relief, were drowned while crossing the ferry on their return to Moyarta. That humane and excellent officer, Capt. Kennedy, accompanied by Dr. G'Donnell, proceeded immediately to the scene of the tragedy, taking with them such restoratives as are generally used in recovering the drowned ; but none of the bodies were washed on shore that night. Those gentlemen remained out all night, and the scene next morning, (Thursday) was most distressing. No less than 33 dead bodies were washed ashore on the northern side of the ferry. They were removed to an adjacent field, and the coroner, Mr. Frank O'Donne.il, arriving soon after from Kilkee, an inquest was held on their wretched remains. It appeared upon the inquiry that no less than 43 or 45 persons (for they could not tell the exact number), were allowed to crowd into a crazy end rotten boat, i which has been plying on this ferry for the last 40 years. The boat moved on as far as the middle of the ferry, when a sea broke over her stern, and filled her at orice, the wind blowing strong from the south-east at the time. She upset instantly, and her miserable living freight were inuuerged in the merciless waters, whilu four (who were eventually saved) clung to her until a boat came from Captain Cox's men to their assistance. The verdict of the coroner's jury was as usual in such cases, but imputing gross neglect, and attaching censure ■■ to the owners of the boat for admitting such a number of persons into so frail a , draft. With the exception of four, the victims were all paupers who had frequently come into the town in vaiii to se'eTc outdoor relief, and were returning that sad evening to their wretched hovels in the parishes of Moyarta and Kilballyowen. The disconsolate relatives of the unfortunate victims came down on the shore, bewailing with heart rending cries the awful calamity, and the bodies of others were recognized by the aid of the relieving officer. Captain Kennedy distributed money to those poor creatures, and sent into the Kilrush workhouse" for coffins for the dead. There were two other bodies found on Thursday night, and four on yesterday morning, making a total of 39 found dead, and two are still missing. The ferry, as it is called, where this nfosf melancholy catastrophe occurred, is an arm of the Shannon, extending into the spot called the " turf yards" by the roads to Kilkee, and the -peasantry from the western parts of Clare have | made it from time immemorial their shortest way home. It is stated that the unfortunate creatures forced their way into the boat as it grew dark, and that act would appear as if they were reckless of their lives, or as if heaven awarded them a more merciful death than .starvation, by which they probably would laave perished in a few days more. They came in many times to Kilrush seeking for relief, and were crowded in squalid groups around the workhouse gate, the mbst' miserable spectacle that ever shocked the eye of humanity. The doomed beings were obliged for the last fortnight to return to the -country without receiving one pound of meal, and the charity of the shopkeepers of ••Kilrush must have been the only means during, the sad. interim', together with that of the Roman Catholic clergy, of preserving their miserable lives, and those of many others. The residence of the pari'slrpriest, the Rev. T. Kelly, Kilrush, is every day beset by such forlorn and destitute creatures. The state of this wretched union is almost without a parallel, and except for somo humane arrangements made by Colonel Vandeleur with Mr. Kelly, the manager of the National Bank, the inmates of the workhouse would have had no' food during the past week. There are daily njeetiugs of the board of guardians, but what can they do when the Poor Law Commissioners treat their appeals on behalf of a perishing multitude with indifference and contempt ? A member of the board went specially'to Dublin last week, and represented the deplorable state of l!ic union to the Commissioners, but the mission of that gentleman appears to have been uUcrlyJhutlcss.