The cost of Irish Primary Education—­L1,632,000, as I pointed out in Chapter IX.—­is at once too high and too low; too high in the sense that much of it is wasted owing to the lack of popular control, too low in the sense that it is a scandal to spend nearly as much on police as on the education of children, and L800,000 more on Old Age Pensions than on the education of children.  If part or even the whole of the additional expense eventually necessary is raised by rates, so much the better.  Accurate comparison is difficult with the English and Scottish expenditure on elementary education, because the greater part of the cost in those countries is borne by private endowments and local rates, whereas in Ireland no local rate is raised for elementary education, there are no endowments, and private subscriptions are very small.[128] It is certain, however, that far greater sums, in proportion to population, are spent in England and Scotland than in Ireland.  This is little to be wondered at if we consider the painful history of education in Ireland; but we cannot recall the past, and, as I urged in Chapter IX., one of the first duties of a free Ireland will be to improve the education of the children.

The Irish vote for Universities and Colleges, L166,000, has been swelled by the recent establishment of the National University.  No item in the whole list represents money better spent.

With regard to other Irish services, I shall make use, with Professor Oldham’s consent, of some interesting tables compiled by him, showing the principal variations in Irish expenditure since the year 1891-92.[129]

They include certain expenses which I have already alluded to, and others which I shall have to remark upon further, besides giving a general view of the growth in the cost of Irish government.  Neither of lists A or B is exhaustive: 

A. INCREASES OF EXPENDITURE.

1910-11.    1891-92. 
L           L
1.  Old Age Pensions                    2,408,000        —­
2.  Primary Education                   1,632,000     843,755
3.  Universities and Colleges             166,000      26,000
4.  Payments to Local Taxation Account  1,477,500     399,260

5.  Ireland Development Grant 191,500 —­

6.  Post Office                         1,404,500     749,046
7.  Cost of collecting Irish Revenue      298,000     223,362
8.  Surveys of the United Kingdom          81,000      47,603

9.  Land Commission 414,500 91,826 10.  Department of Agriculture 415,000 44,630 11.  Other items (five[130]) 240,500 172,918
--------- ---------
8,728,500 2,598,400

Nos. 1 to 4 I have already dealt with, but it is interesting to note the contrasting figures of 1893-94.