eland under the provisions of the Labour-rate Act, was
published on the 31st of the same month; so that the officials whom the
Board had added to their ordinary staff, when entrusted with the
management of the previous public works, were, we may assume, still in
their hands, when they received their new commission from the Treasury.
Although numerous, they were miserably insufficient for the vast and
terrible campaign now before them. Indeed, throughout those trying and
marvellous times, a full supply of efficient officers the Board was
never able to secure; the pressure was so great, the undertakings so
numerous and extensive, that this is by no means matter for surprise. A
few figures selected from their accounts and reports, will serve to show
the sudden and extraordinary expansion of their operations.

The baronies to which loans had been issued up to the 31st of December,
1846, under the Labour-rate Act, numbered _three hundred and
twenty-two_, and the total sum issued up to the same time was L999,661
4s. 2d.--a million of money, in round numbers. Besides this, many of
those baronies (but not all) had obtained loans under previous Acts;
whilst baronies, which had as yet made no application for loans under
the Labour-rate Act, were also indebted to Government for money borrowed
under previous Acts. The number of baronies which had taken out loans
under the Acts of 1 Vic., cap. 21, and 9 and 10 Vic., cap. 124, was four
hundred and twenty-four. The account between the baronies and the
Government stood thus on the 31st of December, 1846:

Loans to baronies under Acts passed previous
to the Labour-rate Act ... L186,060 1 5
Grants ... 229,464 8 0
Loans to baronies under the Labour-rate Act 999,661 4 2
--------------
Making in all ... L1,415,185 13 7

L229,464 8s. 0d. being the amount of grants, and L1,185, 721 5s. 7d.
being the amount of loans; besides which there was expended by the Board
of Works under various drainage Acts, for the year ending 31st December,
1846, a sum of L110,022 14s. 4d.

In the week ending the 3rd of October, there were 20,000 persons
employed on the public works in Ireland; in the week ending the 31st of
the same month, there were over 114,000. In the very next week, the
first week of November, there were 162,000 on the works; an