The following letter was received from the Bishop of Raphoe:—

"I am surprised and pained to learn that the motives of the Mansion House Committee have been questioned in America. Such charges as that to which you allude should not be lightly made. To cast, without clear grounds, even a breath of suspicion on the Committee, and thereby impair its efficiency, is a crime against the famine-stricken people of Ireland. The crime is still greater when such suspicions tend to shake the confidence of the generous-hearted American people, to whom we already owe so much, and from whom we expect still more effectual aid in battling with the terrible distress under which our poor country suffers. Surely the authors of such charges would be more cautious did they remember that in making them they snatch the scanty dole of charity from the mouths of weak women and helpless children; yes, and from the mouths of famishing stalwart men, to whom the hunger-pang is a trifle compared with the unspeakable torture of beholding their wives and children pining away through want before their eyes.

"I am happy to express my belief that these charges are groundless, and to testify that I have never heard the motives of your Committee questioned by those who have had the best opportunities of observing its action. I have myself carefully examined its constitution; I have read its rules; I have day by day taken an interest in its proceedings, like to that with which Lazarus watched the crumbs as they dropped from the rich man's table; yet, neither in its constitution, nor rules, nor daily action, could I detect anything which was not honestly directed, according to the best judgment of its members, to the effectual relief of distress—anything which was not calculated to win the confidence of those most deeply interested in the welfare of the poor sufferers.

"It would be deplorable, indeed, should jealousies or misunderstandings creep in to paralyse the action of the various bodies who so nobly devote themselves to the relief of distress. The field is large; there is more than enough of work for all; there is crying need that the efforts of all should be directed to the one great end of saving the people's lives. Hence, humanity, patriotism, charity, and every other motive which can influence an upright mind demand that each of us should sacrifice his private likings for the common good.