[24] The 24¼ millions in England and Wales are kept in order by a police force of 29,689. In Scotland 3½ millions of population have only 3356 policemen. In Ireland, with a population well under 5½ millions, there are 12,081 policemen. And yet, as will appear presently, there is far less crime in Ireland relatively than in either of the other kingdoms. [25] It is only just to admit that the death sentences are not a fair test. Too many murders remain undetected, owing to the existence of agrarian conspiracy. The number of murders known to have been committed is unluckily not to be found in the returns to which I have access. But the very fact of their remaining undetected is a proof that they are not directly connected with intoxication, for it shows that they are for the most part agrarian. [26] It has been calculated, apparently on trustworthy data, that an acre of land planted with larch or fir, at an expense of about £20, would be worth £2000 at the end of forty years, besides the intermediate yield from clearings of young timber, game cover, and so forth. This is a very high return for a small outlay; but it is completely beyond the means of any peasant proprietor. [27] _Eason's Almanac_, 1879. The actual number is 285,464. The total of agricultural holdings is 581,963. [28] I have unfortunately been unable to obtain any statistics of the cross-channel trade. I find it stated in _Thom's Directory_ that the trade of Belfast alone was valued in the year 1866 at £24,332,000--viz., £12,417,000 imports and £11,915,000 exports. The year 1866 was a bad year: so it may be assumed that these figures represent a low average. I find no means of estimating the import and export trade of Cork and Dublin. I may mention here that one cause of interruption in the composition of this paper was an unsuccessful search for complete trade statistics. [29] A few of the Home Rule M.P.'s who are now stumping the country on the Land grievance are themselves landlords. It has been suggested that they should introduce fixity of tenure on their estates, in one or other of its various forms. Mr. Errington (who is _not_ one of the stump orators of the party) has, I am told, notified his intention to give long leases to his tenantry. In a case like this the _argumentum ad hominem_, though a perfectly fair one, is a perfectly useless one.