The second period of financial history extended from 1842 to 1869, a period of rapid recovery and of great prosperity in Great Britain, but not so in Ireland. Famine fell upon her in 1846, and thinned her population, followed by emigration, which showed how poverty pressed upon the poor, while the Fenian movement of 1866 showed how widespread was the spirit of unrest. A highly cultivated Liberal statesman was Lord-Lieutenant during several years of the period. An interesting diary which he kept leaves the impression that the leading statesmen of the day were not reading the signs of the times, or gauging the gravity of a growing movement. This was hardly the period to choose for increasing the taxation of Ireland, nevertheless in 1853 Mr. Gladstone extended the Income-tax to Ireland, counterbalancing it in part by the remission of loans granted to Ireland during the famine—a very insufficient compensation. But the Income-tax did not touch the poor, and as I have pointed out there was no reason why the wealthy and comparatively well-to-do classes in Ireland should not contribute to the public expenditure like their brethren in Great Britain. This plea, however, does not extend to the spirit duties which during 1853 Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Disraeli raised to the level of the spirit duties in Great Britain. That tax undoubtedly was paid in great measure by the poorer classes. In one direction there was improvement. In 1842 Sir Robert Peel acceded to power, and inaugurated at once the policy of liberating trade which has conferred such benefits on Great Britain, and in a minor degree on Ireland. The era of prosperity which followed the adoption of the Free Trade policy increased greatly the consuming power of the people, and enabled Mr. Gladstone to largely reduce duties on the principal articles of food consumed by the poorer classes. For example, he and his successors reduced the tea duties from 2s. 2d. to 6d. and abolished the sugar duties. This was undoubtedly the true method of remedying the evil which underlies the plea that identical taxation wronged Ireland. I have shown that that evil was caused not by identical taxation, but by heavy taxes on food, which oppressed alike the poor of Ireland, and the more numerous poor of Great Britain. The policy adopted met the local grievance, by modifying if not removing the general grievance, and this remedy of the general grievance was only rendered possible by the growing prosperity of Great Britain. The poor of Ireland had therefore their full share of the benefit caused by the prosperity of Great Britain. The historian must give full weight to this consideration when he criticises the increase of the Irish spirit duty. There can be little doubt as to the verdict of history, if the choice lies between cheap whisky and dear food on the one side, and cheap food and dear whisky on the other. Between 1860 and 1900 the Customs and Excise duties which were reduced exceeded the like duties increased by