Clifden Poor Law Union, Minute Book, 1882-1883
Pages 423 - 446 missing. Includes:
-‘Pursuant to the Notice of Motion handed in by me I have to request the Clerk to lay before this Board the Law relating to the qualification for Guardian, and to ask him if he is aware on what grounds said qualification was raised from £10 to £30 and I beg to move that as this is one of the poorest Unions in Ireland and that so few are qualified and willing to act in the capacity of Guardian. We hereby respectfully request the LGB to reduce forever hereafter the necessary qualification for that office in this Union to what it originally was namely a valuation of £10.’ (p70, see also p109 & 112).
-‘Whereas in this Union there are only 90 men qualified to act as Guardians and of this number 6 are Protestant and 1 Catholic resident landlords and of the others 7 in Holy Orders, 1 Resident Magistrate, 1 Dispensary M.D., and 1 Clerk of Union and the Board at present constituted consists of 19 ex-officios of whom only 2 are Catholics and the remainder consists of men elected but some of those elected Guardians never attend a meeting of the Board but they are elected because there are not a sufficient number to be found qualified and willing to act, and at this moment there is one Division unrepresented in consequence of the Member elected, he not being found to possess the £30 qualification after being returned.
Be it resolved - that as there are not a sufficient number of men for rate payers to select from that the LGB be and are hereby respectfully requested to reduce the qualification to what it originally stood at namely £10’ (pp169-170, see also p208).
-‘Resolved: That the Board of Guardians of this Union decline to become contributor to the National School Teachers Act’ (p229).
-‘Resolved: Tthat the LGB be requested to ask Mr Tuke’s committee to add the following Electoral Divisions of this Union for assisted emigration in-as-much as they are over populated and a great number of the people are very poor etc:
Ballinakill, Bencor, Cleggan, Clifden, Cushkillen, Derrycuala, Derrylea, Doonloughan, Illion, Moyrus and Roundstone’ (p230).
-‘Resolved: That the Clerk be requested to Summon a full meeting of the Board for this day fortnight with a view of asking the LGB to use their influence with the Government to commence at once either a Tramway or Railway between Galway and Clifden which would give sufficient employment to all able-bodied people in three Unions and is sure to be remunerative’ (p231).
-‘It having come to our knowledge the Relieving Officers of the Union are in the habit of absenting themselves from their districts going in charge of emigrants to Galway which will cause them at least to be three days absent in the week, and this having occurred on several occasions which must have caused the wants of the destitute poor to be greatly neglected in their trying season, and further as we were recently obliged to appoint a temporary assistant Relieving Officer.
Resolved that we now direct that all the Relieving Officers in the Union discontinue from this day forth leaving their districts without Board’s permission’ (p449).