rents, it was begged that the
Government would lower the rents by law.

The Government, however, absolutely declined to interfere in the matter,
and this will have to be left to the good-will of the landlords.

Should the coming winter turn out as badly as it is feared, the chances
are that there will be more bitter feeling between England and Ireland.
The cause of the strife will be the money that England is said to owe to
Ireland.

Some time ago the Queen appointed a committee to examine the accounts
between the two nations, and see just exactly how each country stood on
the books of the other.

When the committee handed in its report, every one was absolutely amazed
to find that for nearly a hundred years England had been collecting
about thirteen million dollars a year from Ireland over and above the
sum which she had a right to ask for. It was further shown that the
collection of this big tax was in direct violation of a treaty between
England and Ireland.

If the horrors of famine overtake the Emerald Isle, the Irish people
will certainly demand that this money be returned to them; but the sum
is now so enormous that England can never return it in full, and,
whatever she does for Ireland, the sister isle is sure to feel defrauded
and unhappy.

* * * * *

Last July we told you about a great strike that was going on in London
among the engineers. We said that the fight promised to be a long and
bitter one, because both masters and men considered themselves in the
right, and both had plenty of money to help them to stand by their
opinions.

You will be surprised to learn that the strike is still in progress, and
grows stronger as time goes by.

When the strike first began, but seventeen thousand men were involved in
it; but finding the masters refuse to listen to the demands of the men,
the labor unions have decided to call out the workers in thirty other
important industries. This will make about four hundred thousand men in
all on strike.

The complaint of the men is that they want a working day of eight hours,
and do not want to work overtime unless they are paid extra for it.

The engineer's calling is a very hard one; in some branches the men are
forced to work around boilers and furnaces where the heat is stifling.
They feel that eight hours' labor a day is as much as they should be
required to give, and that, if their employers want them to toil longer
than their r