te individual ought to
have the power of preventing what is for the general prosperity. But
important as the construction of a railway may be, there is no
comparison between its importance and that of saving the lives of a
whole people, for whose benefit railways are constructed, and all
material improvements projected and carried out.

That some compulsory clauses were necessary in the Drainage Bill is
clear from the statement of O'Connell, that but few availed themselves
of its provisions. Speaking of this Bill, a gentleman whose opinion must
carry much weight with it, says, that all acquainted with the subject
admit the whole cost of thorough draining would be returned by the first
crop, or the first two, or at least by the first three crops.[134]
"Under such circumstances," he asks, "how can the country be exposed to
danger or suffering from an infliction such as now threatens? It is
impossible, unless we assume all the parties interested--whether the
government, the landed proprietors, the farmers, or the labourers--to be
inert, and forgetful of their respective interests to an extent of which
the world has not yet seen a parallel ... Is it possible to imagine that
such a cooperation can be withheld: can the alienation and errors
infused among classes be so great, that they will perish rather than
follow their concurrent interests!!!" "The Drainage Act of 1846 made the
expense of drainage works a first charge upon the land, and that Act
could be easily expanded and adjusted to the present emergency of the
country. _This principle, alike equitable, comprehensive, and applicable
to our case, is the law; and it only requires that it should be
judiciously and extensively used in order to effect the most rapid and
beneficial change that ever occurred in any country._"[135] That want of
co-operation amongst men for their respective interests of which this
well-informed writer asserts the world had seen no parallel, occurred in
Ireland. Millions of acres were in a wretched half barren condition for
want of being drained; the money for the purpose, already granted by
Parliament, was in the coffers of the Board of Works, and more would
have been supplied; the return for the outlay would have been quick and
remunerative; but the money remained unused and sterile; the land was
not drained, and the people in myriads died of hunger.

We must not, however, be unjust to the parties named in the quotation
given above. The farmers