The Largest Amount of Good: Quaker Relief in Ireland, 1654-1921

Jeremy Caple is an assistant professor of history at Wilfrid Laurier
University in Waterloo.

This important and timely work deals with poor relief and famine in
Ireland. Hatton relates the determination of Quaker relief groups to
provide assistance to their less fortunate brethren. Their 300-year
presence in Ireland served as an example of commitment to moral
principles and to the idea that what the country required was
investment, not merely relief measures.

Quaker relief policies centred on two main aims; the first was to
provide immediate sustenance, while the second was to provide investment
that would stimulate employment and effect long-term relief from famine
and starvation. Relief efforts were based on donations from a wide
variety of sources (including Canada and the United States), and the
funds were designated for both relief and investment. Hatton
demonstrates that Quaker relief groups sought to promote the Land Acts
in the belief that such action would free the Irish peasantry from the
curse of the absentee landlord.

Although the famine is not her main focus, Hatton offers some
interesting comments on British government response, demonstrating how
Peel and Russell differed in their policies. Peel, with Irish
experience, recognized that the implementation of the 1834 Poor Law
would only exacerbate the effects of famine. His response was based on
18th-century paternalism, which sanctioned outdoor relief and accepted
wide eligibility. Russell, following Trevelyan’s lead, was far more
dogmatic and pressed the new act into operation. It is important to
note, however, that Hatton rejects the view that London politicians were
evil men whose intent was to reduce the Irish population through
starvation. Rather, it was Britain’s adherence to economic doctrine
and refusal to accept the reality of Ireland that caused the greatest
damage.