Waste 163 



having " left the world," can always re-appear 

 when money is going. This kind of " Agricultural 

 and Technical Instruction " has made great 

 strides since the convenient removal of Sir 

 Horace Plunkett. 



.The other instance is provided by the Con- 

 gested Districts Board, in which the law of the 

 King is now openly set aside and the law of the 

 ecclesiastic substituted. Under the civil law, the 

 administrative unit is the District Council, but, 

 under the ecclesiastical law, it is the parish, and 

 thus we get the " Parish Committee." The head 

 of it is an ecclesiastic, and he nominates the rest of 

 the members, who " represent the people." 

 " The people " are supposed to elect the Com- 

 mittee, but should a man oppose the ecclesiastic's 

 wish, he can put an end to the scheme altogether, 

 and then set the mob at the undesirable man for 

 " keeping the money out of the parish." The 

 Congested Districts Board hands over the tax- 

 payers' money to this little secret society, and 

 the alleged purpose is to stimulate " improve- 

 ments." A peasant proposes to build a piggery, 

 and the ecclesiastic is delighted to hear that he 

 means to " put out the pigs," which have up to 

 now shared the family sitting-room with their 

 owner. A " supervisor " goes round to examine 

 the plans, and assuming the work is executed to 

 his approval, the Committee make a free grant 

 towards the cost of the edifice. The supervisor 

 is controlled by the Committee (that is, by the 

 ecclesiastic), but he is paid by the taxpayer One 



