"Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people. "And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun. And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel. "And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law. For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it."* * Deut. xxxii. v. 1 to 47. : CHAPTER XI. RECORD OF FAMINES. It appears from the numerous ruins of Pyramids (and Round Towers), that the ancients, such as Zaphnath-paaneah and Moses-the latter under a great many different names--in their wisdom and forethought erected them as granaries, so that, notwithstanding the various causes of famine, their territories might be always well provisioned and able to withstand the attack of the dire enemy. The Famine Statistics of modern times show how necessary those precautions were. If the Round Towers of Ireland had still been used in the Christian Era as granaries, and well stored with corn, instead of being turned into towers for hanging church bells in, how many precious lives would have been saved during all those famines which devastated that beautiful island ! The following is a Chronological Table of Famines* that visited Ireland within the Christian Era. A.D. 10-15 76 A general fruitlessness, giving rise to * Walford, On the Famines of the World: Past and Present. A.D. 192 General scarcity; bad harvest; mortality and emigration, "so that lands and houses, territories and tribes, were emptied."-First notice of emigration. Destruction of food and scarcity, lasted four years. Great famine. Great scarcity; and in following year. Famine and pestilence during three years, 66 so that men ate each other." Great famine throughout the kingdom; and more or less for several years. Famine and an earthquake. Famine from drought. 535 664 669 695-700 759 768 772 824-25 Great dearth. 895-97 963-64 An intolerable famine, " 1047 1116 1153 1188 1200 1203 1227 1262 1271 1295 1302 1314 Famine from invasion of locusts. so that parents sold their children for food." Great famine and snow. Great famine, "during which the people even ate each other. Great famine in Munster, and spread all over Ireland. Great scarcity of food in north of Ire A great famine, "so that priests ate flesh in Lent." A great famine throughout the country. Pestilence and famine in the whole of Great dearth during this and the previous Famine. Famine and various distempers. A.D. 1316 1317 1332 1339 1410 1433 1447 1491 1497 1522 1586 1588-89 Great dearth. Eight captured Scots eaten A great famine throughout the country in "A great famine.” Famine of great severity. Great famine in the Spring. Such a famine that it was called, "The "Intolerable famine throughout all Ireland A great famine. Extreme famine consequent on the wars of Desmond. Human flesh said to have been eaten. Great famine," when one did eate another for hunger." 1601-03 Great scarcity and want. 1650-51 1690 again reported. Cannibalism A famine throughout the country. Sieges 1727-29 Corn very dear. "Many hundreds per ished." Emigration. 1739-40 Potatoes destroyed by frost; wheat 42 shillings per kilderkin. 1765 Great scarcity; distilling and exportation of corn prohibited by Act of Parlia 1822 ment. Dreadful famine, produced by failure of potato crop. "While, however, the agriculturists of the continent were suffering from an abundance, a grievous famine arose in Ireland, showing the anomalies of her situation, resulting A.D. 1831 1845 1846-47 either from the staple food of her population differing from that of surrounding nations, or the limitation of her commercial exchanges with her neighbours. Her distresses from scarcity were aggravated by the agrarian outrages, originating in the pressure of tythes and rack-rents on the peasantry and small farmers. Several of the ringleaders of these disorders were apprehended by the civil and military power, and great numbers executed or transported."-Wade's Brit. Hist. Famine; Parliament granted £40,000 for relief; £74,410 subscriptions in England. Famine; the Government expended £850,000 in relief of sufferers. Great potato famine; Parliament advanced nearly £10,000,000; about 275,000 persons are supposed to have perished. The famine in the whole lasted over nearly six years; the population became reduced by about 2,500,000. The emigration to America was 1,180,409, and 1,029,552 are said to have died from starvation and pestilence consequent upon it. This is probably over-stated. It is further said that about 25 per cent. of the emigrants died within twelve months of leaving. The Commerce and Navigation Laws were repealed. The above table shows how terribly the Irish people have suffered from want of food, and how in their hunger they have been compelled to have |