ABSTRACT
By the 1840s, Burritt, already a supporter of abolition and temperance, was becoming increasingly interested in peace. In June 1846, he sailed to England, to promote this issue. He also wanted to develop an 'Ocean Penny Post', to make transatlantic communications cheaper. On arrival in Liverpool, Burritt sought a meeting with Richard Rathbone, from a family of nonconformist merchants, who were known for their philanthropy. Before travelling to Ireland, Burritt made various entreaties on behalf of the Irish poor, both to the British government and to his fellow Americans. One of his appeals was read out at a meeting in Worcester in Connecticut in mid-February 1847, which proved to be: much the largest meeting ever held for such a purpose in this town. Burritt was to claim subsequently that his appeals to the people of Massachusetts were the impetus for the American government's decision to send the relief-laden Jamestown to Cork from Boston.
