that it is not in the Irish local bodies, but in some of those of London
itself, that financial scandals have been rife.

The one important respect in which the system of local government in
Ireland differs from that established in England, Scotland, and Wales is
that in the first named country the control of the constabulary is ruled
out of the functions of the local bodies, and is still maintained under
the central executive. The plethora of police in the country is one of
the most striking features that meet the eye of anyone visiting it for
the first time. The observant foreigner who, after travelling in
England, crosses to Ireland and there sees on every wayside station at
least two policemen varying the _ennui_ of their unoccupied days by
watching the few trains that pass through, feels homely pleasure at the
thought that the _octroi_ system which he has missed in England is in
force in Ireland, and supposes that the men in uniform whom he cannot
fail to see are the officials of the municipal customs. The tradition in
Ireland is that half a century ago Smith O'Brien, who was under warrant
for arrest, was detained at the station at Thurles by a railway guard,
and that atonement has been made ever since for the absence of police on
that occasion.

The Royal Irish Constabulary, than whom it would be difficult to find a
physically finer lot of men, is a semi-military force living in
barracks, armed with rifles, bayonets, swords, and revolvers. Well may a
French writer exclaim--"Combien differents du legendaire et corpulent
'bobby,' cette 'institution populaire' de la Grande Bretagne," who goes
without even a truncheon as a weapon of offence. The numbers of the
Royal Irish Constabulary, which were largely increased in the days of
widespread agitation, are still maintained with scarcely any
diminution. The force, when established just seventy years ago, at a