In the Commissariat branch of the operations, every pledge which had been given was strictly adhered to, and confidence having been re-established, prodigious efforts were made by the mercantile community to provide against the approaching scarcity. The whole world was ransacked for supplies; Indian corn, the taste for which had by this time taken root in Ireland, rose to a higher price than wheat; and the London and Liverpool markets were again and again swept by the enterprising operations of the Irish dealers, who, from an early period, appreciated the full extent of the calamity, and acted upon the principle that the gulf which had opened in Ireland would swallow all that could be thrown into it, and remain still unsatisfied. In February 1847, the beneficial effect of these measures began to be apparent. On the 24th of that month, Mr. N. Cummins, a respectable merchant of Cork, wrote as follows to Mr. Trevelyan: “From this gloomy picture I turn to the supply of food, and am happy to say that in this quarter the importations, both direct and from England, during the past month, have been very large; heavy cargoes of maize continue almost daily to arrive, and I feel persuaded that the stocks of bread stuffs generally are accumulating here to a much larger amount than some of our dealers would have it believed. Prices cannot, however, be quoted at more than a turn below the extreme point yet; they stand as follows,--say Indian corn, by retail, 17ℓ. 15s. and 18ℓ. per ton; Indian meal to 19ℓ.; oatmeal, 25ℓ.; wheaten meal, 19ℓ. to 20ℓ. per ton.” On the 12th March, the same gentleman wrote,-- “Our market for Indian corn seems at length quite glutted, the arrivals within the last few days having been so extremely numerous, that the trade is unable to take off the supply, or indeed to find sufficient stowage in the city. Several cargoes for discharge here are at this moment lying under demurrage, and I may quote the article 15s. to 20s. per ton cheaper than a fortnight since.” And on the 19th,-- “There are at present over 100 sail, containing an aggregate amount of bread stuffs not short of 20,000 tons, afloat in our harbour; and maize, which a month since brought freely 18ℓ. per ton, is this day offered in small parcels at 15ℓ.” And on the same day Father Matthew wrote to Mr. Trevelyan as follows:-- “For the first time since the Lord visited this unhappy land with famine, I address you with delight. The markets are rapidly falling; Indian corn from 16ℓ. to 15ℓ. per ton. The vast importations, and the still more vast exportations from America, have produced this blessed effect.” On the 26th March, Mr. Cummins states--