3-071-248 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Departure of Irish emigrants, 1881. The doleful countenances and demeanour of these poor people, waiting on the platform of a railway station for the train which must convey them to a port of embarkation, should not be regarded as protesting against emigration to America or elsewhere, if this be considered the best remedy for the distress of the agricultural peasantry. We have read and heard some very decided opinions, from persons of great practical acquaintance with the industrial capabilities of the West of Ireland people, and with the conditions of those new lands of promise [ie Canada and the United States] to which they are invited to transfer their labour, in hope of a secure and comfortable livelihood...However woe-begone and sorrowful they look - the Irish are most affectionate to their kindred - at the moment of parting from those dearest to them, and from the home of their youth, it is yet to be hoped that they will hail the arrival in Manitoba, or wherever they are going, with a cheerful alacrity, and will soon be engaged in profitable work. Any testimonies...proving that Irish emigrants of this class have actually done well in the New World should be published for the consolation of those who sympathise with their lot'. From "Illustrated London News", 1881.