ABSTRACT
Henry Seymour was a Liberal MP for the county of Poole. In a devasting summary of events, Seymour outlines what had happened in the government’s response to the Orissa/Odisha famine. Calling the Lieutenant Governor criminally responsible, Seymour avers that it would be unfair to the Natives who died if Parliament absolved Beadon. A petition from certain Zemindars was also received, stating that the rice crop did not amount to one-third of that of last year. But the Board of Revenue rejected the petition though it was being considered at Calcutta, the people in a particular district were, for want of rice, living on roots. Petitions continued to pour in from the Zemindars, but the Commissioner opposed the making of inquiries for fear the Government should have to remit a portion of their revenue. In June a series of weekly Reports were commenced of all districts visited, and these showed that everywhere rice was wanted.
