Mr. Trevelyan also made a speech of great mark on
Thurs- day at Galashiels, in which he defended the Irish policy of the Government against the criticisms both of men like Messrs. Biggar and Healy, who say rather what their audiences wish them to say, than what they have evidence to prove; and also against the Orangemen, who accuse the Irish Govern- ment of being in league with the party of Messrs. Biggar and Healy. What Mr. Biggar says is of no account at all ; but Mr. Healy is a man of remarkable ability, and when he declared that if the gaols and workhouses in Ire- land were big enough to imprison the whole Irish people, Mr. Trevelyan would be so pleased that he would not care even to exile them to the New World, he knew what he was about, though he did not believe what he said. The truth is that there never was heartier service given to Ireland than Lord Spencer's and Mr. Trevelyan's, and Irishmen are beginning to understand this. They now pay their rents willingly ; boycotting has almost ceased ; the tenants are beginning to spend a great deal in im- provements, the demand for building materials for cattle-sheds and cottages growing brisker every day ; and there are signs all over the country that the minute attention to small matters, on which the success of the petty system of agriculture depends, is rapidly increasing.
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