Keith A of Hertford, have I actually argued that the British Government of the day could not have done more? Have I argued that the British Government of the day should not have done more?

In my first post I pointed out that the bulk of emigration to America was from the UK to Canada aboard British registered vessels because it was offered free, not Ireland direct to the United States of America as most fondly imagine. Because the latter cost money, the passengers had to prove they were in good health and have at least £10 in cash or assets on arrival (a lot of money in those days).

The second post pointed out two things, the first that the British Government was the largest relief contributer followed by the British Quakers, the impression being given is that the British Government did nothing, which is quite wrong. US grain was being bought up by every major state in Europe, it was in short supply and commanding extremely high prices.

The second thing pointed out was that conditions for transporting and distributing aid were not exactly easy in the mid-1800's. In 1985 in Ethiopia people still died by the hundreds of thousands, with the entire world helping.

People also tend to forget that this blight affected the whole of Europe, the British Government had to cope with famines in Ireland (1846 to 1851) and in Scotland (1847 to 1857) simultaneously.

Queen Victoria's personal contribution was £2000 (the equivalent of over 70,000 euros in todays money), and it should be remembered that at the time the monarchy was by no means wealthy. The private wealth of the present Queen is due in no small part to the efforts and efficient estate management of Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert.

As far as lessons learned go, those quick to condemn Sir Charles Edward Trevelyan should take a look at his later career in India, as Governor of Madras, where his experiences of what measures worked in Ireland and what didn't saved hundreds of thousands of lives when he was faced with the problems of famine and drought.

As early as 1830, the Duke of Wellington was complaining of the number of people dying as a result of malnutrition in Ireland. Every year there was a spate of deaths amongst the poor that ran in the thousands, in the gap period between last years crop running out and the first of the new seasons crop being ready pick. The repeal of the corn law by Peel's Tory Government was achieved in May 1846 in an attempt to lower the price of bread, the repeal was hastened through the House of Lords with the assistance of the Duke of Wellington. Unfortunately Peel's Government fell and the Whigs came to power on a free trade/laissez-faire ticket, just at the time the blight was about to get worse.

Could they (the British Government) have done more, of course they could, had they been able to predict, at the time, what the next five years was about to bring. They hadn't a clue about what was going to hit them, because it was new. What caused the "blight", like the potato itself, came across the sea from America, on a ship that made an exceptionally fast passage at, coincidentally, just the wrong time of year. The "blight" first appeared in South Dorset and the Isle of Wight then spread. It had not occured before because normally the passage time across the Atlantic was long enough to kill the spores off (Ref: The Great Hunger).

Should they have done more, again of course they should, once the true magnitude of what was happening had dawned upon them. Now in real terms translate into actions. First of all who are "They" - the British Government. The Potato Famine/The Irish Potato Famine, gives the impression that the people died of hunger. Obviously a great number did, but more died of disease. Unfortunately "They" the British Government have got to convince members of the public - healthy members of the public, i.e. the likes of you and me at the time - to roll our sleeves up and get stuck in. Now back in the mid-1800's, and I dare say nowadays, when confronted with killers like typhoid,typhus and cholera, healthy members of the public, by and large, would be somewhat reluctant to get involved - after all "They" can't force us. On the food issue, stop exporting food from Ireland and turn it all towards those who needed it before it goes rotten. How do you get it there? Who delivers it? That leaves the measure of evacuation, get people away, and that was done.

By the bye Ard, Cecil Woodham-Smith was born in Wales of a family of Irish descent, she was not English. And according to the 1851 census of Ireland the population at that time (towards the end of the Famine) was counted as being 6.6 million.