An Gorta Mór: Peel’s Cabinet Reconvenes

6 Nov 1845: After previous meetings failed to result in any meaningful action, British Prime Minster Robert Peel's cabinet reconvened to debate remedies for a rapidly expanding potato blight in Ireland.

With the clock ticking, Peel (left) favoured immediate suspension, via order in council, of duties on foreign grains. This expedient approach eliminated the need for formal legislation or the requisite lengthy debate within houses of parliament.

Of sixteen cabinet members, Peel was able to convince only three that such action was necessary. They were:Home Secretary, Sir James Graham (top right)Foreign Secretary, George Hamilton-Gordon (middle right) Secretary at War, Lord Sydney Herbert (bottom right).

The cabinet would once again adjourn but agreed to meet in a month's time. Meanwhile, increasingly alarming reports of the blight in Ireland would continue to roll in.