The Irish standard., 1908-06-20
Three-Fifths Of This Duty to Be Taken Off
and Placed Elsewhere, Thus Benefit
ing the Poorer Man. -.
With Experience in Almost Every Line Of
Affliction, the Evil Of Tuberculosis
is Now Being Faced.

Rarely does Ine man WIFI LINE
Hoe" find anything that touches his
lot in the Budget. But this time is the
exception; it is really a poor mans
Budget, and especially so to the poor
of Ireland, writes s. ]. B., in Dublin
letter to the San Francisco Monitor,
under date of May 20.
Ireland has had from antiquity a
reputation for her devotion to a ma
tional concoction known as whisky;
1t has also during the past fifty years
developed quite taste for a foreign
concoction known as tea" Now, in
the preparation Of these Gas of many
other things). sugar is largely used.
And sugar is one of the dutiable i'm
ports; SO that Ireland pays annually
into the British treasury 100000 Cor
$3.000,000) as sugar tax. Now, how
ever, the man who does the housekeep-
ing for the British Empire is going to
be =nauche easier sonzus in these things.
For he has thrown off three-flfths Of
this duty and places it elsewhere. This
will mean so much saved to Ireland;
only, let us hope that she will not use
IL for increased indulgence in the one
or the other luxury named.
The poor man is to be remembered
in another way. If he has come to the
ten. and has less than 226 or $3.50
year to live on; or, if being married,
the old couple has less than G39 to
live on-in the former case the treas
) ury will help to the extent of five
shilllings a week; and in the latter to
tho extent of seven shilllings and six
pence. It is estimated that there are
10000 such cases in Ireland. This
would mean the return Of about $780,
900 Of our annual contribution to the
treasury, and will help to brighten the
declining years Of many a wayworn
pilgrim of life. The cost Is anticipated
to be about six million pounds a year.
tiseth," is a consoling truth; and if
the converse is also true-namely that
whom the Lord chastiseth He loveth-
then we, the Irish nation, are surely
predestined people. For we have had
experience in every line of affliction;
famine, war and pestilence; wet sum-
mers, "big winds' and coercion acts;
everything and everybody seems to
have had a whack at us. Last, but
not least, comes the great evil of tu-
berculosis. And we are just waking
up to the fact that it has long been
amongst us doing its deadly work
while our arms have been turned
against other foes less worthy of our
steel. Tuberculosis claims annually in
ireland twelve thousand human vic
Tins. This is an average of one to
every three hundred and sixty of our
population; whereas in England and
Scotland the average is only one in
every fourteen hundred. Surely it was
time to see If we could not diminish
the holocaust. This has been done in
recent years in an organized way un-
der the auspices Of that great friend
of Ireland-Lady Aberdeen. A Tu-
berculosis Exhibition organized with
Lady Aberdeen as president, has Wis
tied fifty of the principal cities and
towns of Ireland, and by means of lee
lures, views. ETC., has shown the peo-
pie the extent of the evil and how
they may join in the fight 1t is one
Of the many things in which the
Orange and Green may unite without
compromising principles; and already
much good has been done.
Audi alteram partem" is wise
maxim. We have been hearing so
much within late years from Irish
FLANDERS. Gaelic Leaguers and Sinn
Feiners, about the new soul that had
come into Ireland. and about her
growth az . manufacturing nation