The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1907-02-02

been thrown into the melting pot.
There arc commissions, some Of them
royal and Some vice regal, inquiring
into the Irish railways with a view, it
under state control: into the workings
OF the congested districts board; into
the department OF agriculture, and iu-
to the administration of the poor law.
Every shaft and crank in the mechan-
ism OF Dublin castle is being tested and
overhauled, and the result will be an
administrative system not merely more
compact, better ordered and less ex.
pensivc, but associated with, if not
directed by. the daily efforts Of tho
people themselves.
But the official fermentation isaas
nothing to the Unofficial. Go where
you will, even into the heart Of .deso-
late Mayo. you do not get>.beyond its
scope. Every town and county seems
to have its Industrial Development ,ag.
.sociation. every paper Seems to be
urging upon the public the duty Of
prefcrring Irish manufactures. Open
ings for new industries and the reviv.
al OF old ones are zealously canvassed..
The resources of the country are be-
ing brought one by one under fresh
and open minded examination: sYou
find priest here who has raised $6,-.
600 to start a woolen mill. You find a
duchess there who has founded a CO.
operative creamery and an earl's wife
somewhere else who has revived in her
neighborhood the homespun tweed in
dustry. The vast extension Of Irish
lacemaking owes more to Lady Aber-
deem than to anyone else. Mr.. Bryce
could hardly stir outside the secretary,s
lodge in Phoenix park without sonle-
body trying to pick his official pocket
for new railway, or a pier or govern
ment aid to this enterprise and to that,
AT the head of all the agencies that
are helping on the economic regener-
alton Of Ireland stand the congested
districts board and the department OF
agriculture. The former has practice
ally built up from nothing the fisheries
on the western coast and is conducts
ing OH land under inconceivable diff
culties a vast experiment in migration,
transplantation and the conversion Of
small barren holdings into moderate
sized farms. But 1t is on the depart.
mcnt of agriculture and technical in
struction that the material progress
Of Ireland must chiefly depend. Its
constitution is unique among British
governing boards. II is assisted by u
council of agriculture Of 102 members,
sixty-eight Of whom are elected by
the county councils; OF a board Of.
technical instruction only four out OF
the twenty one members Of which are
nominated by the department. and
of u board Of agriculture two-tilrds OF
which is also elective. In each county,
- "oAN "'Iii gnu CAiiOuS!l o. 1OCdi COIii.
mttec and thus manages to keep in
touch with the needs Of each district
without losing its centralized ef1icien-
cy.
There are many things in ireland
hat arc difficult to understand. It
appears to have lost half it's popula-
ton since 1897 and, according to Off
cial statistics, is now In a sounder
state financially than at any time since.
tho British connection.
The branches and subbranches ar
the joint-stocll banks have been in-l
creasing iii numbers in recent years
Bank deposits have multiplied beyond
expectation. The savings of the work.
/ ing classes and small farmers have
grown enormously. Railway earnings
have Increased regardless of the de-}
population Of the country. Even tliel
f1our-milling trade, not long ago sol
forlorn, has been almost completely
1tt FL sFt "a