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CSO/RP/1831/1481

Letter from Joseph Foster, 62 Queen Street, parish of St Pauls, Dublin, to Edward Geoffrey Smith Stanley, Chief Secretary, stating that the lord mayor, recorder and board of aldermen have not exercised good judgement in the appointment of census collectors to act in the city of Dublin and seeking redress; complaining that ‘men and boys’ were appointed without qualifications; protesting that some are not resident in the parish and are without the necessary ‘local knowledge’. Enclosing memorial from Foster to the Lord Mayor, Recorder and Board of Aldermen, declaring that as vestry clerk of St Pauls he is a ‘fit person’ to take the census of the parish since he has both knowledge and wide experience of the area in question; with various testimonies below from local dignitaries such as Rev Thomas Radcliff, rector of St Pauls, Rev William Lynell, curate of St Pauls, plus a number of other church wardens. Also letter from Bartholomew Hatton, 80 Capel Street, [Dublin], to Stanley, drawing attention to the ‘illegal manner’ in which city enumerators were selected at sessions and seeking the interference of government; asserting that those to be employed were chosen prior to the meeting of the board and lack knowledge, experience or maturity; supposing that he was rejected on grounds that he supported the lord mayor of Dublin [Sir Robert Harty] and [Louis] Perrin in the late election; appends to base a list of those who were selected as census collectors with comment added to each.

Apr 1831-13 Jun 1831

1831

CSO/RP/1831/1482

Letter from John Killaly, [civil engineer], Newport, [County Mayo], to Lieutenant Colonel Sir William Gosset, Under Secretary, reporting that at present he has 500 men employed in road construction on a line between Newport and Achill Sound; indicating his intention of increasing the number of men to 700 as the scope of the work extends to Achill Island itself and to a road began under Alexander Nimmo, [civil engineer] in that quarter. Also letter from Killaly, Tullamore, [Kings County or County Offaly], to Henry William Paget, Lord Lieutenant, conveying that as many as 1000 persons are now employed in public works on the island of Achill; observing that the oat and potato crops are doing well due to the late rain in that place; also stating that he is about making an investigation of opening a navigation on the River Fergus between the port of Clare and the town of Ennis [County Clare]. Also additional letter from Killaly, Ennis, to Paget, reporting on the commencement of his survey of the River Fergus which will take another few days to complete; adding that he will prepare plans and estimates on the project and noting that it will cost £30000 provided that no ‘extraordinary difficulty’ should occur.

9 Jun 1831-25 Jun 1831

1831

CSO/RP/1831/1483

Petition of Miles Bourke, Balcara, [Ballycarra], near Castlebar, [County Mayo], to Henry William Paget, Lord Lieutenant, requesting extension of a measure of charity as he has been without food for a couple of days; complaining of the ‘awful prospects of starvation & want’ and referring to his past services in the yeomanry; alluding also to a certificate sent with a previous communication to Dublin Castle endorsed by Capt Maurice Blake.

10 Jun 1831

1831

CSO/RP/1831/1484

Letter from John Galaher [Gallagher], Ballyclemay, Ballymahon, [County Longford], to Henry William Paget, Lord Lieutenant, offering some thoughts on the amelioration of Ireland; contending that if the county tax were judiciously used it would be the means of giving employment to several thousands of poor labourers in the repair of the roads for three months of the year; insisting, however, that the roads need be made with ‘Broken Stones’ and that the stones should be broken by the roadside using manual labour; anticipating the economic benefits to the lower orders and to landholders, a beneficial charge that would bring about the restoration of tranquillity to the whole country.

11 Jun 1831

1831

CSO/RP/1831/1485

Letter from Gregory Haines, Deputy Commissary General, Commissary General's Office, Dublin, to Edward Geoffrey Smith Stanley, Chief Secretary, reporting on a payment from Capt [James] Ireland, Sub-inspector of police, Roscommon, [County Roscommon], of £21 19s 2d in connection with ‘articles chargeable’ issued in 1830; adding that the sum has been placed in the Bank of Ireland and filed under police accounts.

13 Jun 1831

1831

CSO/RP/1831/1486

Letter from James Dombrain, Comptroller General of the water guards in Ireland, Westport, [County Mayo], to the Chief Secretary’s Office, alluding to the ‘dreadful state of the poor’ on the west coast of Ireland and referring to his investigation of a number of villages in the region of Belmullet, Blacksod and Bullsmouth on Achill Island; emphasising that a great number of people in the area are wholly dependent upon the food supplies sent to them and stating that he has set aside some monetary provisions for the most distressed cases as well as giving funds to Rev Hargreave for the distribution of food between Westport and Newport. Also letter from [Capt William Boxer], Dunfanaghy, [County Donegal], to Dombrain, stressing the great hunger for food supplies amongst the local inhabitants; referring to the arrival of two vessels at Inishbofin Island and to the great demand for potatoes amongst the poor at Dunfanaghy.

3 Jun 1831-9 Jun 1831

1831

CSO/RP/1831/1487

Letter from Maj [George] Warburton, [Inspector General of Police], Ballinasloe, [County Galway], to Lieutenant Colonel Sir William Gosset, Under Secretary, reflecting on the ‘wretched’ state of accommodation for the police in the village of Woodford; stating that a communication has been made with Sir John Burke on the issue. Enclosing copy letter from Mathew Singleton, Chief Magistrate, Woodford, [Loughrea, County Galway], to Warburton, expressing his disgust at the public house that serves as his station in Woodford; protesting that having returned from the investigation of a crime committed against Thomas Shiel, he found his room ‘full of men drinking, some of whom drunk, and as usual making great noise’; complaining of the impossibility of a magistrate taking information in such an environment and exclaiming ‘oh! What shall I do with my family’?

10 Jun 1831-14 Jun 1831

1831

CSO/RP/1831/1488

Letter from Walter Butler, landed proprietor, Ashfield, Gort, [County Galway], to Henry William Paget, Lord Lieutenant, seeking the assistance of government in addressing his difficult personal circumstances; complaining that his herdsmen have been subjected to intimidation and his cattle driven out on the roads and replaced with ‘Cattle of the Country’; protesting that a number of cattle are driven back to his home place and now ‘starving and dying on my demesne’ and his sheep and lambs ‘are eaten by the Peasantry and even by Dogs and Pigs’; continuing that his hay is robbed, his grass eaten, his fences broken down and boundary walls and fences levelled; stating that he has ‘five slugs lodged in him’ and has been unable to get anyone to work his land and is now facing a famine; noting ‘my persecution commenced immediately after the unfortunate Election in Clare in 1828’ due to his voting for Vesey Fitzgerald against [Daniel] O’Connell and for other manifestation of his political allegiances.

7 Apr 1831

1831

CSO/RP/1831/1489

Letter from Philip Fogarty Jr, Ivy Lodge, Borrisoleigh, [County Tipperary], to the Chief Secretary’s Office, stating his opposition to the appointment of John Cormack as collector of census in the barony of Kilnamanagh in County Tipperary; observing that he was defeated by a margin of seven votes to six at the special sessions held at Nenagh but complaining that Cormack is from a different barony and is ‘unacquainted’ with Kilnamanagh; insisting that since Cormack is not a resident his selection is against the terms of the act of Parliament and seeking redress.

12 Jun 1831

1831

CSO/RP/1831/1490

Letter from the magistrates of the Head Office of Police, [Dublin], to Edward Geoffrey Smith Stanley, Chief Secretary, referring to a report on the state of the police constabulary for County Dublin which Alderman Frederick Darley was unable to present in person due to influenza. Enclosing report of John Tudor, magistrate, Head Office of Police, [Dublin], to Stanley, stating that following an inspection he found that ‘good conduct and discipline’ were to the fore amongst the police of County Dublin; observing that no complaint has been made against any constable and all remain both sober and attentive to duty; adding that the district is undisturbed by any outrage and the common people are ‘in full employment’.

7 Jun 1831-14 Jun 1831

1831