Mr. Lowe has had his way about the Irish Railroads,
and we are sorry for it. Lord Claud Hamilton proposed a resolution in favour of their purchase by the State, on Tuesday, which was seconded by the O'Conor Don, thus showing that it is a sub- ject on which the extremest extremes are at one in Ireland ; and Mr. G-oldsmid, who moved an amendment in the contrary sense, with ingenuous ingenuity pressed Mr. Gladstone to give a candid answer. Mr. Gladstone met the proposal with so dis- tinct a negative, as to startle the memory into recollection of a speech which he made not many years ago equally distinctly in favour of the project. Of course, it is the business of a Government not to trade, but to govern ; but, of course, it is equally the business of &Government to oversee the highways of the kingdom, and to overrule the exercise of monopolies. And of course, again, it is the business of Government to do whatever the governed really desire should be done by Government, rather than by companies and. individuals. The Irish Railways are, however, invited to amalgamate, and to- borrow money on Go- vemment security, by which processes Mr. Gladstone believes they could increase their dividends by the sum of 2130,000 a year The Irish Companies will, we hope, close with the proposal, but. not as a final solution of the question.
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