MR. O'BRIENasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, 605 Whether any of the emigrants forwarded to America by Mr. Tuke's Committee were persons who had been inmates of the Belmullet Union Workhouse?
§ MR. TREVELYANI have applied to Dublin, and am informed that the authorities are in communication with Mr. Tuke; but that the right man for information is my hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Mr. S. Buxton), who has worked with such extraordinary and disinterested energy in the West of Ireland. He informs me that out of the 2,500 emigrated, with the circumstances of all of whom he made himself intimately acquainted, he knows but two families who had been in the Belmullet Workhouse. In one case the father, Henry Barrett, went out to his son at Rose Mountain, Wisconsin; he received £9 on landing in America, and my hon. Friend has heard from the son that the party have arrived safely, and are doing well. The other family went to Minnesota, and got £6 on landing. They left as long ago as March 30. There was, perhaps, a single woman besides; but my hon. Friend is pretty sure there were no more.
MR. O'BRIENsaid, in reference to a previous reply of the right hon. Gentleman, that these persons were not ordered to be returned by the American Government on account of their poverty, he would like to ask him was it not a fact that the only money they had on landing was the £1 or so left after paying for their passage money, &c.; and he would like further to ask him whether any proposal would be made to the United States Emigration Commissioners to allow these unfortunate people to land, with some provision for their maintenance, instead of having them sent back again to the workhouse?
§ MR. TREVELYANInconsequence of the suggestions of my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle (Mr. J. Cowen) last night, I have drafted a letter, the result of which will be that we shall ascertain whether the suggestions he made can be carried out. Until we obtain full information I shall be unable to inform the House on what grounds these poor people have been sent back. They are so few, and the circumstances are so very different, that I cannot but think that it is not a question of a few pounds, but that the United States authorities see something about them 606 which make them not satisfactory settlers. It is impossible to say anything further just now.
§ MR. LEAMYasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, If it is the fact that some of the Irish emigrants whom the American Government have ordered to be sent back to Europe are coming back in a ship bound for Antwerp; and, if this is so, whether the Irish Government intend to send anyone to Antwerp to look after the returned emigrants, and to provide for them a passage to Ireland?
§ MR. TREVELYANI have requested the Foreign Office to ascertain how this matter stands. Her Majesty's Representative has been communicated with, and has been asked to watch carefully what are the steps taken in each individual case.