226 A LIFE'S WORK IN IRELAND. 



by landlords cannot be disregarded. If order pre- 

 vails it will go on steadily. A moderate part of men's' 

 incomes applied to this purpose will be enough. Money 

 so spent is not lost ; it will pay well in the end. 



In the past year tenants have awakened to the 

 value of draining, and the loans at one per cent last 

 winter from the Government did great good. Though 

 in strictness of economic principles they might not 

 be justifiable, yet practically I believe the One per 

 cent loans were the most successful step that any 

 Government ever took. The country had advanced 

 sufficiently to profit by them. The gain to those 

 of us who had been draining for many years had 

 been observed, and fruit was now borne by our 

 example. In my Union forty-four loans for draining 

 were taken. I believe half of these were taken by 

 tenants for small sums, 100 and such like. This is 

 a larger total than was ever before spent by tenants 

 on drains within the memory of any one living. The 

 profit certain to be yielded, the drains having been well 

 sunk, under the inspection of Government officers, and 

 having outfalls (whilst many drains they heretofore 

 made for themselves were very shallow and without 

 any outfall), must do great good. 



The sense of success will be such, that it might 

 be wise for the Government to offer once more loans 

 for draining to tenants at a cheap rate. Loans at 

 2 per cent, or even 2^, could be very small loss. 

 More loans would be taken at 2^ per cent (making 



