JOHN BULL'S OTHER ISLAND. 183 



developed in the prosperous country shop- 

 keeper and pubHcan, who, as the " gombeen- 

 man " or money-lender, has been responsible 

 for as much misery amongst the Irish people 

 as the landlord class, and unfortunately for 

 local government in Ireland this creature is 

 still to be met with on the seats of the 

 mighty. He is far too often the poor law 

 guardian, and so exercises publicly as well as 

 privately his tyrannical sway ; and if the 

 Congested Districts Board and the Depart- 

 ment for Agriculture had been called into 

 being for no other reason than to strike at the 

 domination of this despot, that alone would 

 have justified their existence. 



The Credit Banks, formed by the State 

 Departments, are, I am thankful to say, now 

 reducing the power of the gombeen-man. 

 Instead of paying any tiling from 60 per cent 

 upwards (and the cost of several drinks) for 

 money borrowed to carry over a bad season, 

 or with which to buy a cow or a pig, 

 the Irish farmer can now borrow it at 3 

 per cent.^ The gombeen-man has generally 



* This low rate of interest imfortunately is only charged in 

 Congested Districts when the transaction takes place without the 

 intermediary of a Joint-Stock Bank. 



