A good commencement has already been made towards this decentralisation.
It is stated that Mr. Forster's division of Ireland into Five Districts, each under a "Special Resident Magistrate," who aots as a Royal Commissioner, and is within his division, for police purposes, "the Castle," is working ex- cellently. The number of divisions has been increased to six, under the Hon. T. 0. Plunkett, Mr. Clifford-Lloyd, Mr. H. Blake, Cap- tain Slacke, Captain Butler, and dolonel the Hon. W. Forbes, and the police, being made responsible to them and watched over carefully, have been greatly increased in efficiency. The contra- dictory or impossible orders which used to issue from the- Castle have ceased, and the Administration is organised so that none of its force is wasted. Every fortnight each Commissioner- makes a full report to the Castle, and the Viceroy has thus before him a complete and continuous record of all that passes in Ireland, of the conduct of every officer, and of every new agitation. On any great occasion the " specials " are- consulted, and become a kind of Executive Council for- the maintenance of order. This is, of course, the French system and the Indian system, and so long as .the Specials act strictly within the law, it is probably liable to only one objec- tion. It takes picked men to work it fully. In Ireland, how- ever, where the divisions are few, and where the Government is interested in filling such appointments well, it can hardly fail of its end, which is to make authority efficient within the limits. of the law. The mere knowledge of persons thus obtained speedily becomes invaluable, and all policemen gain new heart from the certainty of being understood.
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