e
been absurdly unsuccessful, who believe that to aid the poor you must
rob the rich, and that the No-rent Manifesto, the Plan of Campaign,
and the Land League, with its story of outrage and murder, were the
perfection of modern statesmanship. The Balfour system teaches men to
help themselves. The Morley system teaches men to help themselves to
their neighbour's goods.

My friend gave a few more instances of useful assistance rendered by
what the poor folks call the Blessed Board. Special arrangements have
been made to enable the farmers to improve the breed of horses. The
Queen presented an Arabian horse named Tirassan to the County Donegal.
Bulls of superior breed have been sold to decent, honest farmers at
one-third of their cost, and this small figure was payable in two
yearly instalments. About two hundred black-faced Scotch rams and
Cheviot rams have been located in Donegal and Galway free of charge,
and young boars of the pure Yorkshire breed are sold to certain
selected farmers at a nominal charge on certain conditions calculated
to prove useful to the neighbourhood. The breeding and rearing of
poultry has received a world of attention, and the poor folks who make
a little money by the sale of eggs have been supplied with the best
information and substantial assistance.

In a former letter I described the Aran sea-fisheries, and before that
I adverted to the fact that the Shetland fishermen came to the Irish
Coast, caught ling, and brought it back salted to sell to Irish
fishermen. The Board has engaged an experienced fish-curer from Norway
to show Irishmen how the thing is done, and English and Scotch
fish-curers have been sent to several stations to give instruction in
mackerel and herring-curing. Fifteen fish-curing stations are now in
full swing, and the poor Irish fishermen, instead of buying salt ling
at 2d. a pound, are now selling it at L18 to L20 per ton. A big
steamer has been chartered to carry the salt, the fish, and for other
useful purposes.

Contrast this work and these results with the work of the Irish
agitators and with that of Messrs. Gladstone, Morley, and Co.
Sentiment and starvation versus salt fish and satiety. A red-faced
Yorkshireman who knows all about fish-curing, said:--"When first I
came here I'm blest if the men wasn't transparent. You could see
through 'em like lookin' through the rungs of a ladder. Now the
beggars are growin' double chins. Now they're a-gettin' cheeky.
They'r