The Soup-kitchen Act--The harvest of 1847--Out-door Relief Act--Great extension of out-door relief--Number relieved--Parliamentary papers--Perplexing--Misleading--Sums voted--Sums expended--Sums remitted--Total Treasury advances under various Acts--Total remissions--Sum actually given as a free gift to meet the Famine--Charitable Associations--Sums collected and disbursed by them--Two Queen's Letters--Amount raised by them--Assisting distressed Unions--Feeding and clothing school children--Feeling about the Irish Famine in America--Meetings throughout the Union--Subscriptions--Money--Food--Number of Ships sent to Ireland with Provisions--Freight of Provisions--Ships of War--The "Jamestown" and "Macedonian"--Various Theories about the Blight--The Religious Theory--Peculiar--Quotations--Rev. Hugh M'Neill--Charles Dickens--The Catholic Cantons of Switzerland--Belgium--France--The Rhenish Provinces--Proselytism--Various causes for Conversions assigned--The late Archbishop Whately's Opinions--His Convert--He rejects the idea that Converts were bought--Statement of the late Archdeacon O'Sullivan--Dr. Forbes on the Conversions in the West--Mr. M'Carthy Downing's Letter--The Subscription of £1,000--Baron Dowse--Conclusion 505 (NOTE A.)--Absenteeism: Mr. M'Culloch's defence of it examined, 522 (NOTE B.)--Smith O'Brien's refusal to serve on a Committee of the House of Commons, 556 (NOTE C.)--Treasury Minute, dated August 31st, 1846 541 (NOTE D.)--The "Labouchere Letter," Authorizing Reproductive Employment, 549 THE GREAT FAMINE OF 1847, ETC. CHAPTER I.