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.