The Irish standard., 1917-01-13
General Council Of the
Irish Councils Meet
Dublin, December Is,
By.
M. O. r.

and the fuel resources of the coun-
try were considered at the annual
meeting of the General Council of the
Irish County Councils, held on De-
cember Sth in this city. While this
body has no legal standing it has
been in existence since the Local
Government Act of 1898 came into
operation. The delegates are the Of
ficers of the various County Councils,
and with the exception of three or
four Northern Counties there was a
full delegation. The General Council
is in restricted sense parliament
and its views are largely in accord
with those of the people.
The first subject discussed at their
last meeting was the high cost of liv-
ing and the acute distress prevailing
among the poor of the cities and
towns. 1t was the sense of the meet
ing that farmers should in future sow
more wheat than had been the custom
up to present. One of the delegates
said that Ireland should be made self
supporting and Independent of food
supplies from abroad. 1t was stated
that the potato crop was partial
failure and that the supply was in
sufficient for home consumption. The
Department of Agriculture was re-
quested to stop the exports of all
foodstuffs for the present. A resolu.
ton was passed urging the break up
of the grazing ranches and the parti
tioning of them into farms of from
40 to so acres.
The industrial resources of Ireland
came in for large share Of discus
sion and in consequence of the high
price of coal, it was urged that the
Irish coal mines be worked to theil
full capacity. The first step to re
lieve the scarcity of fuel was to con
meet the coal mines in active opera
ton with the railways. The question
of providing the poor of the cities will
to the curtailment of the shipping
facilities between this country anC
Great Britain. The communicating
of freight and passenger ships by the
Government as we'll as the destruc
ton of large number of vessels by
the German submarines have dimin
ichn %Lo >f nd f,1n1 mr.
prices are soaring by leaps ant
bounds.
The price of coal in Ireland ha:
nearly doubled. Many of the dele
gates dwelt on the fact that there are
rich coal deposits in several parts o
Ireland. 1t is estimated that the Lein
ster Coal-felds have an almost I'm
limited supply of the best anthracit,
and that with the expenditure of ;
moderate amount of capital it woult
be possible to make Ireland independ
ent of imported Goals.
1t was brought to light also tina
$315 900 of American capital has beel
made available for the building OF
line of railway from the Wolfhill co
leries, Queens County, to the mai
railway station at Athy, County XII
: dare, the nearest centre on the Grea
Southern and Western Railway.
One of the delegates said that tn
Wolfhill coal mines have been worke
5 successfully for several years, but o
I account of the absence of rail faci
tiles, the coal had to be carted di
5 lance of ten miles TO Athy and th
= drawback interferred with the pgofi
, able working Of the mines and tn;
no important development could be e
pected until the railway connectio
s with Athy was effected.
f Council Opposed to CONSUMPTION.
n The delegates at the meeting of tt
J. General Council of Irish County Cou
t ellis voiced the sentiments of fiv
sixths of the people when they passe
t a resolution opposing conscriptio
a They urged that the threat Of co
= scriptiOn was very real and not
s. remote probability as some people pr
e fessed to believe. That Lloyd Geor,
If is eager TO put CONSUMPTION into o
Grafton in Ireland is no secret. :,
Re make the Conscription pill less bitt
E. it is proposed that two bills be pass
lie simultaneously in the House of Coz
lie mons, the one to put into operate
N the Better Government of Ireland A
or in three-fourths of Ireland, the other
III bill to conscript from 100000 to rs
ir 600 young Irishmen. It was said tn
there was reliable authority as to t