286 IRELAND 



the individual. The peasant who is told that 

 if he joins an agricultural co-operative society 

 he will get so much more for his eggs, his 

 butter, or his other produce, is deaf to the 

 argument. But if the appeal be made to his 

 feelings of brotherly love and of patriotism — if 

 he is told, for instance, that by joining the 

 society he will help to improve the position alike 

 of those around him and of his country in 

 general — he responds instantly, and is eager to 

 do what he can. In the wealthier districts 

 business considerations have the greater weight ; 

 but one of the oddities of the situation in the 

 Irish rural districts is that, the poorer the man, 

 the safer it is to appeal to his heart rather than 

 to his pocket. In the one case he will regularly 

 walk long distances to attend the meetings that 

 are called ; in the other he would hardly, as it 

 were, cross the street. 



The healthy public spirit thus being aroused 

 may be illustrated by a gathering held in one of 

 the most impoverished districts in the west of 

 Ireland to consider the formation of a co-opera- 

 tive credit bank. An organizer from Dublin 

 explained to the assembled peasantry that the 

 proposed bank would be established on the basis 

 of unlimited liability, so that if a borrower or 

 his sureties failed to refund the amount borrowed 



