This was a place at which Indian corn flour, that which after a while was generally termed "meal" in those famine days, was sold to the poor.
At this period much of it was absolutely given away.

This plan, however, was soon found to be injurious; for hundreds would get it who were not absolutely in want, and would then sell it;--for the famine by no means improved the morals of the people.
And therefore it was found better to sell the flour; to sell it at a cheap rate, considerably less sometimes than the cost price; and to put the means of buying it into the hands of the people by giving them work, and paying them wages.

Towards the end of these times, when the full weight of the blow was understood, and the subject had been in some sort studied, the general rule was thus to sell the meal at its true price, hindering the exorbitant profit of hucksters by the use of large stores, and to require that all those who could not buy it should seek the means of living within the walls of workhouses.

The regular established workhouses,--unions as they were called,--were not as yet numerous, but supernumerary houses were provided in every town, and were crowded from the cellars to the roofs.
It need hardly be explained that no general rule could be established and acted upon at once.

The numbers to be dealt with were so great, that the exceptions to all rules were overwhelming.