MODERN 'ULSTER.*
THE book which forms the subject of this notice gives an inter- esting and sincerely written account of modern Ulster, its character, customs, politics, and industries. It does not profess to be in any sense a work of profound archaeology, but there are many excellent stories of old customs scattered through the work, and the illustrations depicting some of the old cottages of the North are very pleasant.. There are also a certain amount of statistics as to the present condition of Belfast. For example, we are told that in 1912 the pauperism per 1,000 of the population in Belfast was only 107, whereas in Dublin it was 296, in Cork 336, and in Glasgow 263. The average for the United Kingdom was at the same time 220. These are figures of which the city may well be proud. Belfast is not only a city which is prosperous and does not manufacture paupers; it is also a city of thrift. There are probably more people in Belfast who have incomes of over £10,000 a year and live at the rate of £3,000 than in any other town in the United Kingdom. That is why Belfast was able to subscribe £32,000,000 sterling in support of the great War Loan, and thus secured the distinction of fourth city in the Kingdom judged by the response to the appeal of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. But Belfast gave its manhood as well as its money; 42,000 of its citizens joined the Colours. The city, remember, has only one-eleventh of the population of Ireland, yet it gave more than a quarter of Ireland's total recruits. What is specially remarkable about these figures is the fact that Belfast is primarily a shipbuilding and ship-repairing city. Tho Government were therefore anything but anxious to see the shipyards depleted.
The account of the Orange Institution is very fair and reason- able, and shows how ridiculous and unjust is the conventional view of the Orange Lodges. Very remarkable is the account of the growth of the Orange Order in Canada. It only started in 1830, and yet in 1900 it had two thousand lodges, and is still growing fast.
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