218 A LIFE'S WORK IN IRELAND. 



having made his investigation, she ran after him, and 

 told him she had the year's rent all ready in her house, 

 and meant to pay it ; and an hour after he had left 

 us she ran over in hot haste to me with the rent in 

 full. I sent a card after him to beg if he was in 

 Ireland another year he would let me know, because, 

 should I happen to have any more defaulting tenants 

 I should be so glad to take advantage of his assist- 

 ance. 



The true remedy is to act on simple sound prin- 

 ciple — on that which is the true principle of free 

 trade — that the natural liberty Providence gives of 

 buying and selling, and dealing with what belongs to 

 any man, is best for all, and promotes the greatest 

 happiness of the greatest number. The ingenious 

 hair- splittings now so common to try and justify 

 coniiscating that wliich honestly now belongs to 

 landowners, are instances of the opposite manner of 

 dealing. Nothing else can do real permanent good, 

 and raise the condition of the people. It is aston- 

 ishing how any one who has ever grasped the prin- 

 ciple of free dealing can lay it aside in regard to 

 such a country as Ireland, and fancy that continual 

 concession to indolent, ignorant men can promote 

 their prosperity and raise their moral condition. 

 The lazy, bad tenant is sure to be lazy and bad 

 though he got Tenant-right or was made a peasant - 

 proprietor, or put in any other emplojTnent. To talk 

 of rooting such men in the soil, as Mr. Gladstone did 



