Mr. James F. Tuke, in a very weighty letter to
Wednesday's Times, gives his own impression of the scarcity which is likely to be felt in some districts of Ireland about the beginning of next year. He holds that "there is no danger of what is termed famine; that the area over which serious failure of the [potato] crop exists is limited to a few Western Unions, and does not appear to extend so widely as in the well-known failure of 1879-80; and that to compare the present state of things with 1846 can only be the result of complete ignorance of that terrible time ;" and further, that the people in the worst areas are much better able to bear losses than they were in 1879-80, because the price of stock is high, the crop of oats is good, the rate of wages brought back from England has been good, and also because the people depend much less on the potato for their food than they did ten years ago. There is no occasion as yet for the efforts of private charity, which, however, Mr. Tuke thinks, might be timely towards the end of the year or the beginning of next year, but which now would be premature and mischievous by inducing the people to make less earnest efforts for themselves. Mr. Tuke's advice will have great influence both in this country and in the United States, as he has twice proved himself the best friend whom the Irish cottier has found in his distress.
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