Good-day Friends What began as an attempt to show agriculturally the devastation of the potato blight, has expanded. I am attempting to show, through news reports of the day, the results of it in the counties of Ulster. This includes starvation, disease, emigration, increased crime, activities of the poor law unions and the evictions.
We do have quite a number of the court sessions already transcribed for Co. Tyrone. (the crime of larceny increased) https://cotyrone.com/criminals/index.html https://cotyrone.com/newspaper/index.html Regarding evictions, it appears to me, and I am certainly no expert, that one saving grace for the tenants of Ulster, was the 200 year old law of tenant-right, which was enforced in Ulster province only. If anyone has knowledge on this topic, maybe you could share how this helped to prevent the mass evictions which were taking place elsewhere in Ireland? continuing...... 21 Jan. 1847 Medical Report of the Newry Fever Hospital and Dispensary for the Year 1846 Of the 1970 cases cured, there were 454 fever - simple, continued, typhus, and remittent; 497 of diseases digestive organs - of tongue, mouth, stomach, intestines and liver, including 303 of dysentery; 107 of diseases of lungs, wind pipe, other organs of respiration; 12 of cancers; 19 of diseases of brain, spinal marrow and nerves, apoplexy, paralysis, convulsions, neuralgia, &c.; 67 of rheumatism; 28 of fractures and dislocations; 33 diseases eye; 9 of diseases ear; 73 of cutaneous diseases; 15 severe burns and scalds; 35 of diseases peculiar females; 20 of dropsies; 34 of scrophulous diseases; 12 of diseases of dentition; 13 haemorrhoids and excrescences; 11 of inflammation of veins and cellular membrane; 130 of wounds, ulcers, abscesses, carbuncles, &c. 24 erysipelas, measles, and scarletina; 105 of diseases of urinary and generative organs; 175 of labor; 34 of small-pox; 26 of worms; 17 of hooping-cough; 2 strangulated rupture; 3 purpura haemorrhagia; 35 of diseases bones and joints; 9 of polypus; and 3 excessive drunkenness - the latter cured by means stomach pump. Of the 57 deaths, there were 14 from fever; 24 from dysentery; 8 from pulmonary consumption; 2 from dropsy; 1 from purpura hemorrhagia; 2 from small pox; 1 from bronchitis; 1 from obstruction of bowels; 1 from ovarian dropsy; 1 from severe burn; 1 from inflammation of lungs; and 1 from disease of joint. It appears that during this year, 536 persons were admitted into hospital and 2184 received dispensary assistance; whereas in the year 1845, the number admitted into hospital was only 290 and that on the dispensary books,1668. The increase of patients in both these institutions is therefore very considerable. During the first few months of the year there was nothing remarkable either in the amount, or the description of illness that came under my observation, but in the course of the summer and autumn, fever of typhus character became more than ordinarily common and from that time up the present it has evinced a decided tendency to increase. About the beginning of December, all the beds in hospital being occupied and the pressure for admission continuing urgent, without waiting for the permission of the committee, I took the liberty of having provided an additional supply of beds. These also, were speedily filled and a short time before Christmas the hospital contained about 60 patients, almost all of whom laboring under typhus. But notwithstanding this untoward claim upon its accommodation, in no instance was a fever case refused admittance. The type of the disease is a low, though generally not severe, form of typhus, but livid spots are usually present. The mortality is by no means great in the young and middle-aged, but in those advanced in life it is very considerable. Stimulants are early required, bleeding and lowering medicine would not be borne. From every circumstance connected with this disease, I fear the chief cause of its prevalence is, but too apparent, for the histories of all the epidemic fevers to which this country has been subjected clearly prove that they present, in common, the very same features and “no matter how climate altered, or seasons revolved, how summer or winter rolled on; so sure as want appeared, so certainly did pestilence follow.” And although the poor of this neighborhood have not been in the same deplorable state of destitution as those of other places, still it is feared that even here, a deficiency of proper food has had some share in contributing to the increase of fever. In 1817 and 1818, the years of the last general epidemic fever this country - years like the present one, characterized by a great deficiency of food, it is well known that a million and half of persons suffered from fever and that of these at least 65,000 died. I have been induced to mention these facts to show the imperative necessity which at present exists, not only for supporting soup kitchens and in every way in our power providing food for the hungry, but also for putting the medical charities of this country in such a state of efficiency, as will enable them to respond effectually to whatever calls may be made upon them and to exhibit forcibly their real value in alleviating and controlling disease. The next important disease I have to mention is dysentery. This disease commenced here early in September and prevailed largely till the beginning of December, when it began to decline. Nearly 400 cases of it came under my care. It is still frequently met with and occasionally in the same degree of severity as at first. Miserable dwellings, wretched clothing and the want of suitable food, all combined to render it a disease most distressing to the poor and comparatively unsatisfactory as regarded the medical treatment. It was undoubtedly epidemic in its character, but exposure to cold or wet, especially after comparative warmth and unwholesome food, seemed peculiarly favorable to its production. In badly ventilated apartments, a low fever frequently accompanied it, which was apparently infectious. In old persons and infants the mortality was great. These two diseases, fever and dysentery, were those which naturally increased our list of patients and in consequence of the inordinate demand for medical assistance, on both hospital and dispensary, the usual supply of recommendatory tickets was found inadequate. Early in October, therefore, by the directions of the committee, the subscribers were furnished with a further supply. This extra number was entirely requisite, as I believe at present tickets are procurable only with very considerable difficulty. During the summer months, small-pox was somewhat prevalent; 36 cases came under my care. With 2 exceptions, vaccination had not been previously resorted to and in the 2 cases in which the operation had been performed, the disease was extremely mild. Whereas in the other cases, it was generally severe and 2 terminated fatally. J. MORRISON M.D., (Ex) Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, &c. (Newry Telegraph) 3 Apr. 1847 Ireland is now, in one sense, in the midst, in another sense, we fear, in the beginning of a calamity the like of which the world has never seen. Four millions of people, the majority of whom were always upon the verge of utter destitution, have been suddenly deprived of the sole article of their ordinary food. Without any of the ordinary channels of commercial intercourse, by which such a loss could be supplied, the country has had no means of replacing the withdrawal of this perished subsistence and the consequence has been that in a country that is called, civilised, under the protection of the mightiest monarchy upon earth and almost within a day’s communication of the capital of the greatest and richest empire in the world, thousands of our fellow creatures are each day, dying of starvation and the wasted corpses of many left unburied in their miserable hovels, to be devoured by the hungry swine, or to escape this profanation, only to diffuse among the living the malaria of pestilence and death. (Dublin University Magazine) transcribed by Teena -- www.cotyrone.com http://lists.cotyrone.com/mailman/listinfo/ulsterancestry https://www.facebook.com/groups/CoTyroneIrelandGenealogy/ _______________________________________________ UlsterAncestry@cotyrone.com UlsterAncestry Mailing List Searchable Archives: https://www.mail-archive.com/ulsterancestry@cotyrone.com/ http://lists.cotyrone.com/mailman/listinfo/ulsterancestry Website: https://cotyrone.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CoTyroneIrelandGenealogy/
