12 MARCH 1864, Page 2

An Irish " Bog Lord " makes a suggestion worth

a dozen Fenian protests. He says that in England the drainage societies lend a proprietor money to drain his land, and obtain under the Act of Parliament a first charge on the rental. Those societies have benefited England incalculably, yet not one of them has ever extended its operations to Ireland, which needs draining a great deal more. Suppose the gentlemen who are making a fuss about Irish taxation—quite a fair subject of inquiry in itself—set them- selves to remedy that practical grievance. In this case, at least, Irishmen are sure to find it easier to make a shilling than to save sixpence.