the students have the advantage of the large city hospitals for their clinical studies; and the standard required for a degree is high.  And not only is Trinity College open to all students without distinction of creed, but the College authorities have frequently offered a site within their grounds for a Roman Catholic Chapel and the salary of a Chaplain who would take spiritual care of his flock.  Nevertheless the Roman Catholic bishops have ordered that no candidate who has been trained at any College except the Catholic University school shall be eligible for the post of Dispensary Doctor; and when an election takes place (as for instance that at Kiltimagh in 1905) the question of professional qualification is not taken into consideration—­having been trained at a “godless college” is a fatal bar to any candidate, however able.  In the Kiltimagh case, the resolution passed shortly after the election by the local branch of the United Irish League is instructive reading:—­

“That we, the members of the Kiltimagh Branch of the United Irish League, take advantage of this our first meeting since the important Election of Medical Officer for the Kiltimagh Dispensary District, to express our appreciation of all the Guardians for the several divisions in this parish for the faithful honesty with which they represented us on that occasion.  We feel proud to know that not one of our representatives voted for a Queen’s College man against a Catholic University man.  They voted for a man who is the stamp of man we want—­a sound Catholic, a sound Nationalist, a Gaelic Leaguer, and a highly qualified medical man.  We believe their action will meet with the approval of the Bishops and Priests of Ireland.”

To one who lives in Ireland it is sad enough to see year by year the most able and promising of the medical students being driven out of the country on account of their religion, and forced to look for openings elsewhere; but to a thoughtful observer it is even worse than that; it is the beginning of the new Penal Laws.

And when we turn to other matters, where the marvellous efficiency of the County Councils exists, is hard for an unprejudiced enquirer to find.  The old Grand Juries handed over the roads and bridges in excellent order; they are certainly not better now, and in many cases worse.  In fact, one English theoretical Radical who paid a brief visit to Ireland, inhaled so much Hibernian logic during his hurried tour that he solemnly argued that the badness of the roads proved that the Councils had been governing too economically; and therefore what was needed was a central body—­that is, an Irish Parliament—­to stir up the local administration!  Nationalist writers claim that the rates are going down; but that merely means that they are not so high now as they were soon after the Act came into force, not that they are lower than before 1898.  It was expected that the rates would be reduced by the operation of the Old Age Pensions Act; but that has not proved to be the case.  And the increase in local indebtedness is alarming.